-----
-----
Minato's apartment was huge!
And there were lots of empty rooms!
So even with the sudden addition of Esdeath and the other two, everyone still fit in comfortably.
After the initial introductions, all the girls more or less got to know each other.
"Master, are there lots of strong people here?"
Esdeath crossed her long legs, a gleam of excitement flashing in her eyes.
This woman...
Sitting off to the side and sipping juice, Utaha kept glancing at Esdeath.
Dangerous!
Dangerous in every sense of the word.
Under that gaze, she actually got the feeling she was being stared down by a wild beast.
As for the other two...
She looked at Akame, who was munching on snacks, and Leone, who was drinking red wine, and couldn't help being a little speechless.
The contrast in vibe between those two and Esdeath was just too much.
"There are a lot of strong people, so don't go stirring up trouble," Minato warned, well aware of what Esdeath was like.
"Oh... I see," Esdeath rested her chin on her palm, smiling. "That's kind of a letdown, but if it's your decision, Master... then I guess I'll behave—for now."
As she spoke, Esdeath leaned closer, her long fingers gently tracing Minato's face.
"But... I expect some compensation, okay?"
She stared straight at him, her eyes full of seduction as she slowly moved in closer.
"..."
Utaha's eyes widened.
She knew it!
Her instincts were dead on.
A major threat!
The biggest threat she'd ever faced!
To be so shameless in front of everyone...
She bit her lip as she looked at the two of them.
No.
She needed to speed things up.
She, Utaha, had to be the second!
"S-So bold!"
Asia's face was bright red, steam practically coming out of her ears.
Akame tilted her head. "Esdeath didn't fight today, but she still needs to recharge her mana?"
"Akame, seriously... tone it down."
Leone took another swig of wine and sighed. "You really need to learn some basic common sense."
But wait—
She glanced over at Akame, suddenly thinking.
Now that she thought about it, Akame did get "recharged" the most often.
Could it be… Master prefers that type?
A long while later...
Esdeath finally pulled away from Minato.
Cold...
Seeing the dazed look in Esdeath's eyes, Minato nodded to himself.
Then...
He turned to glance at Utaha.
Yep, this one was definitely flustered.
Tsk tsk… this was getting interesting.
"You pervy Master, I know you're thinking something indecent,"
Meeting Minato's gaze, Utaha trembled and blurted out, "W-With this many people around, don't even think about it!"
And then she practically bolted from the room.
Bang!
The door slammed shut.
Utaha leaned against it, breathing heavily, her hands pressed to her burning cheeks.
"Wait—what the hell did I just do?!"
A moment later, she snapped back to reality and smacked herself in the forehead.
Dammit.
Now how was she supposed to keep fighting?
After hesitating for a moment, she didn't go back out. Instead, she returned to her own room.
"There's so many to choose from... which one should I wear?"
Looking at the pile of clothes she'd bought while out shopping, Utaha started seriously contemplating.
In the living room—
"That Miss Utaha is surprisingly innocent, huh?"
Esdeath's eyes sparkled, a smirk on her lips.
"True," Minato nodded.
Utaha always had a sharp tongue, but that was about it.
Though… something did feel different this time around.
He stroked his chin, deep in thought.
The night was quiet.
Utaha's room was now completely covered in clothes.
She stood in front of the mirror, face flushed.
"This outfit's way too revealing, isn't it?"
It was so skimpy, she practically felt cold all over.
"Should I... change into something else?"
The second that thought popped into her head, she shoved it aside.
No way! What am I thinking?!
This is war!
Of course she had to wear her strongest battle armor!
With that, she tiptoed out of her room and crept to the next one over.
"..."
Minato, who had been reading, heard the door creak. Just as he turned to look, he saw Utaha poking her head in, blushing furiously and clearly avoiding eye contact.
"Well hey there, Utaha. Why're you dressed so lightly? Is it hot?"
"You pervy Master! You're doing that on purpose!"
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"You…"
Utaha widened her eyes and decided, screw it. If she was going down, she'd go all in.
She marched straight over to Minato, gritting her teeth. "Enough with the act already, you damn Master!"
Minato chuckled.
He stopped teasing her and went back to studying his magic book.
Next door—
Asia had buried her head under the blanket, but the strange noises still reached her ears.
Her face started turning pink.
At this rate, she was gonna pass out from lack of oxygen.
Meanwhile—
Esdeath, who'd been about to fall asleep, suddenly opened her icy blue eyes.
"Oh my, I underestimated Miss Utaha."
She casually threw on her white military coat, got out of bed, and pushed open her door.
Right then—
Leone stuck her head out from the next room.
Their eyes met. A knowing look passed between them.
Esdeath blinked playfully and said, "Well well, thinking the same thing as me?"
"W-What are you talking about..."
Leone's face instantly turned red. "I just heard some noise and wanted to check it out, that's all! Don't get the wrong idea!"
With that, she slammed her door shut.
"Ugh, so embarrassing..."
Leone held her face in her hands. "What the hell am I even thinking?"
Still... her eyes drifted toward the bottle of wine on the table. She gulped.
"Such a tsundere."
Esdeath shook her head and strode forward, kicking open the door.
"..." (Utaha)
"..." (Minato)
The room fell into dead silence.
Esdeath gently shut the door behind her, smiling. "I hope I'm not interrupting?"
Utaha was blushing so hard her face could catch fire, and she glared daggers at Esdeath.
"Of course not," Minato said with a calm smile.
When it came to magic theory, the more students, the better.
"Leone, are you drunk again?"
Akame yawned as she opened the door. "It's super late. Can't it wait until morning?"
Leone took a big swig from her bottle. "You don't get it. If we wait 'til morning, it'll be too late."
Before Akame could react, Leone dragged her out. "Come on, we're going to see Master."
"Huh?"
Akame looked confused. Then she seemed to hear something and said, "Wait... I don't think anyone's asleep right now."
"You think? No one's sleeping for sure," Leone muttered as she marched straight toward the source of the noise.
"Master, is everyone having trouble sleeping? Want me to make some late-night snacks?"
Akame blinked innocently.
"Hey there!" Esdeath waved.
"H-Hey there..." Utaha's eye twitched.
Despair.
Just wipe me off the face of the Earth already.
How did things end up like this?
Is this just how people from other worlds operate? No shame? No honor?
She'd finally worked up the nerve and got her chance...
And now…
What even is this?!
"You guys showed up just in time,"
Minato said calmly.
Now it was all fair—he wouldn't have to spend extra time teaching the other two later.
This new magic book was too much of a pain to explain one by one anyway.
"....."