"Ara, ara, last night my husband was very intimate with me, so I'm a bit low on energy now."
"As for you two, are you perhaps jealous of me and my husband?"
Instantly waking up upon hearing Yamai Sisters' remarks, Kurumi smiled bewitchingly. Just talking wasn't enough for her, she even gently licked Ryuya's neck and pressed on her own abdomen.
"Ah, the feeling of being filled up is really wonderful."
"Tokisaki Kurumi, you...!"
Staring resentfully at the provocative Kurumi, Kaguya, when emotionally charged, temporarily abandoned her refined self-references and her 'queen' pronoun.
She glared fiercely at Kurumi and retorted, "You're just a loser who screams and shouts every night! If we're talking about real combat power, this queen and Yuzuru together are definitely much stronger than you, Tokisaki Kurumi!"
"Concurrence. Although lacking practical experience, Yuzuru and Kaguya have studied many materials. We are certain we can perform better than Tokisaki Kurumi."
Exchanging a look with Kaguya, Yuzuru added.
"Heh." Giving Yamai Sisters a disdainful glance, Kurumi indicated they truly had no idea how strong Ryuya was. Forget the two of them, even she, Kurumi, couldn't withstand Ryuya's combat prowess even after calling in many of her clones.
Not saying much more, her slightly scornful and mocking smile only made Yamai Sisters more furious.
As Kaguya and Yuzuru were about to say something else, fueled by their anger at Kurumi's provocation...
"Hey, hey, Kurumi, Kaguya, Yuzuru, what are you talking about? Did Kurumi and Ryu fight last night? Why? Aren't we all good friends?"
Completely missing the underlying meaning in Kurumi and Yamai Sisters' exchange, Tohka looked at Ryuya, then at Kurumi and the others. Swallowing her eleventh bun, she looked like a curious child.
"Tohka, it's not a fight. It's a battle, a special kind of battle between a man and a woman."
"But it's different from the battles you know. This kind of battle between Ryu and me is something only the very, very closest friends can do."
Looking at the innocent Tohka, Kurumi suddenly smiled, as if thinking of something. She even took Tohka's hand, a strange smile on her face, "Tohka, do you want to try it with me tonight? It's really fun."
"Okay!" Thinking the battle Kurumi described sounded interesting, Tohka excitedly agreed.
"Don't agree, Tohka!"
Quickly pulling Tohka away from Kurumi's hands, Kaguya looked gravely at Tohka, "Tohka, you absolutely must not agree with Kurumi! Don't be fooled by her usually easy-going appearance. In reality, this woman's mind is so deep you can't grasp it!"
"She's scary!"
While speaking, memories of being bullied by Kurumi when they first arrived at Ryuya's house involuntarily surfaced in Kaguya's mind: clothes being taken during baths, being misled by signs Kurumi put up while out at hot springs and accidentally ending up in Ryuya's room, and...
The more she thought about it, the angrier she felt. Kaguya looked at Kurumi with great caution.
"Agreement. Tokisaki Kurumi is scary."
Nodding to indicate she felt the same, Yuzuru even moved her chair back a bit.
"You two really are hopeless."
Completely helpless at Kaguya and Yuzuru's reaction, Kurumi knew her plan to entice Tohka was ruined.
However...
"Ryu, today is the official first day of school, right?"
Looking at Ryuya expectantly, Kurumi felt a bit excited about going to school today. After all, it had been many years since she last attended.
"School?"
Shaking her head, feeling like she was hearing another new word, Tohka vaguely remembered Ryuya mentioning this yesterday. It seemed he had.
So...
"Hey, hey, what is 'school'?"
Once again voicing a childlike question, Tohka quickly learned about the function of school.
At Raizen High School, sitting dazedly through the first class, Shiori's mind was completely occupied by everything that happened yesterday.
For instance, her younger sister, Kotori was actually a member of the anti-Spirit organization, Ratatoskr, and even the Commander of the aerial warship, Fraxinus.
Her other younger sister, Mana, was a member of the other organization, AST.
Even her classmate, Origami, was the same.
Spirits, young girls, Spacequakes... One unfamiliar term after another had shattered the world as Shiori knew it. But more than these, Shiori was more concerned about the two people she saw yesterday.
"Shiori-nee, the mysterious girl you saw yesterday is the Spirit codenamed 'Princess'. The other person is the Spirit codenamed 'Emperor'."
"Both these Spirits have a very high hazard rating. Shiori-nee, if you have any clues about them, you must tell us."
Having explained to Shiori how she survived the accident four years ago and was later found by Ratatoskr's Elliot to become the Commander, Kotori didn't hide her identity. She only asked her sister to definitely share any information about the Princess and the Emperor.
"That's right, Shiori-nee. Kotori and I might be in different organizations, but she's very reliable."
Discovered by the AST's leader due to her excellent athletic abilities, Mana's direct superior was none other than Origami, the girl who became AST's ace through her own efforts.
Although belonging to two different major organizations, the bond between the two sisters had never changed over the years.
Recalling all the information she heard from her two sisters, Shiori, attending school today, clearly hadn't recovered from yesterday's events.
"Itsuka-san? Itsuka-san?"
"Ah... Yes!"
"Nothing, just saw you were distracted. Is it because of yesterday's Spacequake?"
Not commenting much on Shiori's behavior, Tamae could understand. After such a major Spacequake, it was normal for students to have strange thoughts.
Indicating Shiori shouldn't worry, after the first class ended, Tamae cleared her throat lightly and announced excitedly to everyone, "Students, although we experienced the dangerous Spacequake yesterday, we were fortunate not to encounter any real crisis."
"And, I have good news! Today, several transfer students are joining our class. Also, the new homeroom teacher I mentioned yesterday is here today."
"Now, let's welcome our new students and our new teacher. Everyone, please applaud."
Clap clap clap...
As the classroom door opened, everyone in the class let out gasps of admiration, as the people entering were simply too striking.
And Shiori was snapped back to reality by the intense exclamations.
Looking at the man on the platform smiling at her, the scene from yesterday instantly flashed back into her mind.
So...
"You are!"
Standing up agitatedly to look at Ryuya, Shiori spoke.