"Soyo, go back first, and text me after your aunt goes to work."
Kitahara Makoto quickly walked in and handed the packed meal to Soyo:
"Then let Hana-chan bring you over, and we'll go to the amusement park together."
Soyo reached out to take the bento, her eyes filled with resentment:
"Is Mutsumi going to the amusement park?"
"If Mutsumi goes, I won't."
What happened last night was too shameful; she simply couldn't face Mutsumi.
Especially since Kitahara Makoto had held her in mid-air in front of Mutsumi...
The more Soyo thought about it, the more ashamed and angry she became, and she couldn't help but bite Kitahara Makoto again.
He even said it was practice in advance, pervert!
He's truly a pervert!
"Ow, ow, ow, I'm sorry." Kitahara Makoto raised his hands in surrender. "Please forgive me, Lady Soyo."
"Hmph~"
"I'll definitely change next time."
"Pervert-kun, there won't be a next time!"
...
Kitahara Makoto soothed Soyo and said softly:
"Since Soyo doesn't want to see Mutsumi, then just the two of us will go to the amusement park. We won't take her; we'll let Mutsumi go home."
Soyo hesitated:
"Will Mutsumi be too lonely by herself?"
Kitahara Makoto was speechless:
"Then should we bring Mutsumi along?"
Soyo quickly pursed her lips:
"Still... let Mutsumi go home."
Kitahara Makoto: "..."
Discussion concluded.
Kitahara Makoto had Hana send Soyo back, then returned to the living room and told Mutsumi to go home, giving a perfectly valid reason:
"It's so hot, running around is too tiring. Mutsumi, go home first, then silently say Hana's name in front of the mirror to summon Hana-chan over. Then you can easily come and go in the future."
"Okay."
Mutsumi was exceptionally obedient.
Kitahara Makoto said softly, "Then after breakfast, Mutsumi, you can go back first. If you want to come over tonight, you can. I have other things to do during the day."
Mutsumi nodded gently, her bright eyes fixed on him, and said expressionlessly, "I want a kiss."
Kitahara Makoto: "..."
Wanting a kiss is fine, but you could at least show some shyness when you say it!
At 8:30 AM.
Soyo passed through the mirror and met up with Kitahara Makoto. The two of them set off for the amusement park together.
They walked in silence.
"Amusement park... We're here again."
Kitahara Makoto extended his right hand and openly held the soft hand of the girl beside him, asking gently, "Soyo, what are your thoughts now?"
"Thoughts, huh..."
Soyo raised her other hand and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes soft, and whispered, "It's really wonderful to have met Kitahara-kun."
Kitahara Makoto smiled:
"What's wonderful?"
Soyo's pretty face flushed, and she couldn't help but glare at him:
"Go away, if you didn't hear it clearly, then forget it."
"I want to hear Soyo-chan say it again, no matter what."
"No, no, no, no~"
...
Although Kitahara was a harem scumbag and also had perverted habits... if she could relive her life with her memories, she would still make the same choice.
No choice.
Both her body and soul had already been imprinted with an indelible mark by Kitahara Makoto.
No need to say more about what happened next.
The two bought tickets and entered the amusement park, strolling around.
During this time, Kitahara Makoto would occasionally activate the dream link. Compared to the various incredible adventures in the dream, the amusement park in reality seemed rather ordinary.
So, after a brief stroll, the two went straight to the Haunted House.
"We've arrived at the Haunted House."
Looking at the familiar Haunted House in front of her, Soyo felt exceptionally subtle.
The first time she came to the amusement park with Kitahara Makoto, she accidentally got separated in the Haunted House. As a result, she encountered the evil spirit that resided there alone, and just as she was in despair, Kitahara Makoto descended from the sky and eliminated the evil spirit.
If she had to say... she probably developed feelings for him at that time, right?
And on the way back, her skirt was empty, and Kitahara saw everything...
"Soyo, why is your face red?"
Kitahara Makoto asked curiously.
"My face isn't red, you're mistaken." Soyo quickly turned her pretty face away, dispelling the terrible images in her mind. "Let's go into the Haunted House quickly."
Although she had encountered an evil spirit in the Haunted House last time, with Kitahara Makoto by her side, she felt no fear at all.
"Let's go."
Kitahara Makoto led Soyo by her small hand and entered the Haunted House.
The two arrived in a hidden room within the Haunted House, and after confirming there were no surveillance cameras, Kitahara Makoto opened his backpack, took out a mirror, and summoned Hana.
Once the anchor point was set, returning to the Haunted House in the future would be a blink of an eye.
Next, he took out the Kessoku Band, hid it on the roof, and had Hana leave a clone to guard it, just in case; now it was time for the Kessoku Band to absorb the free idealistic energy in the air on its own.
The Kessoku Band's efficiency in absorbing idealistic energy was mediocre, but it was stable and had no future troubles; he just needed to check on it daily.
"Done."
Kitahara Makoto clapped his hands, then swiftly guided Soyo through the Haunted House, safely and without encountering any more evil spirits.
"We're out." Kitahara Makoto squinted slightly, looking at the azure sky above, "Let's go, let's rest at the hotel for a bit first."
"Pfft~"
Soyo's pretty face was flushed, and she couldn't help but glare at him.
"Kitahara-kun, don't have your mind full of lewd thoughts."
"I don't, I'm not." Kitahara Makoto said with a righteous expression, "It's so hot, and we've walked for so long, it's normal to find a place to rest for a while, isn't it?"
"Pfft~"
Soyo's eyes shifted, and she lightly spat again.
Excuses.
All just excuses.
He clearly just wanted to go to the hotel to take advantage of her!
"Let's go." Kitahara Makoto extended his right hand, grasping Soyo's soft hand, and said calmly, "It's so hot, if we stay in the sun any longer, our clothes will be soaked, and we didn't rest well last night either."
Soyo got annoyed hearing that, and her cheeks involuntarily puffed up:
"Whose fault is it that we didn't rest well?"
"It's my fault." Kitahara Makoto naturally wouldn't argue about right or wrong, that would be asking for trouble, "So, Soyo-chan, punish me as much as you want today."
"Pfft~"
Soyo gently struggled for a moment, then, with a flushed face, allowed Kitahara Makoto to lead her out of the amusement park.
Although it was very tiring and hard last night, Kitahara Makoto had shared the Night Emperor ability with her, and after waking up, her body and spirit had both recovered to their peak state, so... she could still handle resting at the hotel for a while.
Five o'clock in the afternoon.
Kitahara Makoto and Soyo left the hotel and went home separately.
The journey was silent.
After Kitahara Makoto returned home, he first took a shower and changed clothes, then went out again, heading to Tsukinomori Academy.
"Sakiko, good evening."
Kitahara Makoto raised his hand to greet her.
Today was Ghost-senpai's day out for a stroll, otherwise, he would still be in the hotel right now.
"…Good evening."
Sakiko lightly bit her lower lip, her eyes filled with resentment.
She had messaged Soyo at two o'clock in the afternoon, but Soyo didn't reply until four-thirty; although other possibilities couldn't be ruled out, Sakiko's intuition told her that Soyo was most likely with Kitahara Makoto.
Kitahara Makoto naturally noticed the resentment in Togawa's eyes, but of course, he wouldn't expose it, and said nonchalantly:
"Ghost-senpai said she wanted to go to the fireworks festival, is it today?"
The fireworks festival is a major summer event in Japan, and the dates for its holding are not uniform across various parts of the island nation; even within Tokyo, each district holds its own fireworks festival.
"Okay."
Sakiko nodded gently, and after letting Ghost-senpai possess her, she and Kitahara Makoto left Tsukinomori Academy together.
"Hana has successfully evolved and can now activate the protection domain." On the way to the train station, Kitahara Makoto whispered, "However, after activating the domain for Soyo's, its energy was depleted. To activate it again, we must eat Eden Fruit to replenish its energy."
Sakiko said softly:
"Let's go to the Otherworld together sometime."
"There's one more thing." Kitahara Makoto continued, "Yesterday, I asked the answer book, and Hana can continue to evolve. After successful evolution, she can protect everyone's safety like a talisman, but it requires time and patience."
"So we'll still follow the original plan, first go visit Togawa's dad, leave a coordinate, and then next time Hana can take us mirror-traveling."
Sakiko raised her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, and nodded gently upon hearing this:
"Then let's go on the weekend. I checked the weather forecast this morning, and a typhoon will make landfall a week from now."
"Okay." Kitahara Makoto took out his phone and added it to his memo, "Sakiko, do you want to take a plane or the Shinkansen? I'll book the tickets in advance."
Sakiko pursed her lips and said softly:
"Taking a plane is faster and more convenient."
Kitahara Makoto nodded gently: "Then we'll go by plane."
"…."
The journey was silent.
The two quickly arrived at the fireworks festival located by the sea.
According to their previous agreement, Sakiko released her authority, allowing Ghost-senpai to take over her body, and then it was naturally time for eating, drinking, and playing.
They played until nine o'clock at night, when Ghost-senpai finally took her leave, satisfied.
"Hoo…"
Sakiko regained control of her body, let out a soft breath, tilted her pretty face, and looked up at the night sky, her tone regretful:
"The fireworks festival is almost over."
Kitahara Makoto shook his head:
"It's not over, because the fireworks festival exclusive to me and Sakiko hasn't started yet."
"Eh?"
"When I booked the plane tickets just now, I saw that a fireworks festival is going to be held in the South a week from now." Kitahara Makoto extended his right hand, inviting her, "Sakiko, would you like to go see the fireworks festival in the South together?"
Sakiko turned to look at him, the curve of her profile exceptionally beautiful, her eyes reflecting the fireworks filling the sky, sparkling brightly, and she gently raised her right hand, intertwining her fingers with Kitahara Makoto's:
"It's a deal."
"…."
After a short rest.
Kitahara Makoto and Sakiko rode the train station home together.
After walking Sakiko to her doorstep, Kitahara Makoto stopped, and said expectantly:
"I'm thirsty, I want to come in for a cup of tea."
Upon hearing this, Sakiko's pretty face instantly flushed.
Drinking tea was fake, wanting to take advantage of her was real.
"No." Sakiko covered her chest with one hand and her lower abdomen with the other, glaring at him shyly, "Kitahara-kun, hurry home."
Every time, drinking tea was an excuse; after drinking tea, he would definitely try to find a way to repay her… She didn't need his repayment!
Kitahara Makoto's expression was pitiful:
"I'm really super thirsty, I'll go home after I drink tea."
"Super thirsty, huh?" Sakiko pursed her lips, pointed a finger, "There's a convenience store two hundred meters ahead, my treat, Kitahara-kun can drink whatever he wants."
"Then forget it." The pitiful expression on Kitahara Makoto's face disappeared, "Suddenly, I'm not that thirsty anymore."
"…."
Sakiko lightly bit her lower lip, and her cheeks involuntarily puffed up.
I knew it was just an excuse for you to take advantage of me!
"But I still need to go in." Kitahara Makoto said seriously, "It's too hard to go home alone by car. I want Hana to take me back through the mirror. It's a good opportunity to record the coordinates, so if Sakiko is scared alone at night in the future, she can summon me over anytime."
Sakiko's eyes were wary: "I won't be scared."
"Really?"
Kitahara Makoto lightly raised an eyebrow, lowering his voice:
"Sakiko, have you been on Twitter recently?"
Sakiko blinked her eyes in confusion:
"Not really… What's wrong?"
"Strange phenomena in the real world are becoming more and more frequent." Kitahara Makoto's voice was eerie, "For example, someone tweeted that they heard crying under their bed, someone living on the twelfth floor found a child's handprint on the outside of their window glass, and another person woke up in the morning to find their wardrobe door silently open at some point…"
Sakiko's cheeks quietly puffed up, and she couldn't help but glare at him:
"Don't deliberately scare people!"
"I'm not scaring you, I'm telling the truth." Kitahara Makoto took out his phone, opened Twitter, and handed it to Sakiko, "Sakiko, see for yourself, various strange news reports are indeed increasing."
"…."
Sakiko pursed her lips, and couldn't help but glance at the phone, indeed seeing related content.
"Hana's protection domain hasn't been activated yet, so Sakiko is indeed a bit unsafe alone." Kitahara Makoto's expression became serious, "So, let Hana set an anchor point first. If any unexpected situation occurs, I can be by Sakiko's side at the first moment."
Sakiko silently took out her key and opened the door:
"Excuse me for intruding."
Kitahara Makoto smiled as he walked into the entrance.
Because she needed to practice piano, Togawa's newly rented house was still a detached house, naturally cleaned spotlessly, not a speck of dust, but it felt somewhat indescribably desolate.
"I'm a bit thirsty again." Kitahara Makoto sat on the sofa, "I want to drink tea."
Sakiko walked to the refrigerator, took out a bottle of barley tea:
"Here you go."
"So tired, I can't twist it open."
"…."
Sakiko gave him an annoyed glare, and distorted open the bottle cap.
Kitahara Makoto was still not satisfied:
"I want Togawa to feed me herself."
"Hmm?"
Sakiko's delicate brows slightly furrowed.
"I'm sorry, I was wrong." Kitahara Makoto apologized directly, reaching out to take the barley tea, "I accidentally got carried away, Togawa, please forgive me."
"Hmph~"
Kitahara Makoto took two sips of barley tea, then said:
"Mutsumi wants me to sleep with her again tonight, Sakiko, do you want to come over?"
Sakiko's pretty face quickly flushed, and the terrible scenes from the past flooded her mind as she lightly bit her teeth and said:
"I'm not going. If Kitahara-kun really wants to do something, I, an ordinary girl, can't stop him at all."
Some time ago, she had gone to Kitahara's house at night, thinking she needed to protect Mutsumi, and originally thought that with her there, Kitahara Makoto would surely restrain himself a bit. She didn't expect Kitahara Makoto to become even more excited, even threatening her with words like 'You don't want to wake Mutsumi, do you?' after Mutsumi fell asleep…
What a bad taste!
Such a terrible taste!
Knowing that she would certainly be taken advantage of if she went back, Sakiko, of course, was unwilling to go and ask for trouble.
As for whether Mutsumi would be completely devoured… Soyo had already gotten there first, so one more Mutsumi wouldn't matter.
Well, she still cared a lot, after all.
But since she had accepted Kitahara Makoto's harem-building behavior, the best approach was naturally to turn a blind eye.
"Look on the bright side, if I were the only one dating Kitahara-kun, I would definitely break…"
Sakiko pursed her lips, involuntarily recalling the last time she joined the shared carpool.
Terrifying.
Absolutely terrifying.
Just sharing for such a short while, her mind almost turned to mush; it was hard to imagine how terrifying it would be to endure it alone.
Lost in thought, a voice suddenly rang out.
"The drink tastes off."
"…Huh?"
Sakiko looked up in confusion:
"What is Kitahara-kun talking about?"
"The drink tastes a bit strange." Kitahara Makoto held up the barley tea drink in his hand and said seriously, "It feels like there's something wrong with it."
Sakiko quickly pushed away the terrible memories in her mind, and with a blush, sat down next to Kitahara Makoto:
"Could it be expired?"
"I don't know." Kitahara Makoto handed the drink over, "Sakiko, try it."
"Okay."
Sakiko raised her hand to tuck a strand of black hair behind her ear, took the drink, and took a small sip.
She was almost completely devoured, so an indirect kiss was no big deal at all.
"Hmm…" Sakiko blinked, confused, "It tastes fine, though."
"Sakiko drank the wrong one."
Kitahara Makoto's true intention was revealed, his target directly on Togawa's rosy lips.
Sakiko's eyes widened; she finally knew what Kitahara Makoto wanted to do, but her reaction was a beat too slow, and in the end, Kitahara Makoto still blocked her lips.
An excuse!
It was all an excuse!
He clearly just wanted her to drop her guard!
Knowing that she couldn't escape, Sakiko could only close her eyes in embarrassment, her tongue tip timidly retreating.
Ten minutes later.
"Togawa, thank you for the treat."
Kitahara Makoto sat up, satisfied, and raised a hand to wipe away the silver thread at the corner of his lips:
"Thank you for the treat… I was wrong, it seems the barley tea really had no problem."
"Hoo… hoo…"
Sakiko was breathing heavily, her pretty face flushed crimson, glaring at him in embarrassment.
Kitahara Makoto raised his right hand and said:
"I also want to use the universal exchange coupon to exchange for Togawa's lap pillow."
Sakiko immediately gritted her teeth upon hearing this:
"You even want a lap pillow… How dare you!"
Kitahara Makoto said calmly:
"Of course, it's because my skin is thick enough."
Sakiko: "…"
After chatting with Sakiko for a while longer, Kitahara Makoto got up and walked to the bathroom, summoning Hana.
"Hana, good evening."
Sakiko's voice was gentle as she squatted down to greet Hana.
"Good person."
Hana looked up, waiting for food.
After Sakiko finished feeding her snacks, Kitahara Makoto finally spoke:
"It's almost time to go back. Sakiko, do you want to experience traveling through mirrors?"
Sakiko crossed her arms over her chest: "I absolutely do not want to experience that."
"Alright." Kitahara Makoto nodded, "If you encounter anything strange tonight, remember to notify me immediately."
Sakiko gave him an exasperated look: "Kitahara-kun, don't jinx it."