"Wow, wow! Is this heaven?"
Inside the supermarket, looking at the huge pile of delicious food on the left, then at the various instant food packages on the right, Tohka instantly felt as if she had arrived at Heaven.
"Gyoza, skewers, steak, chicken legs, chicken wings, curry... slurp slurp..."
Her eyes were practically shining with excitement. Finding everything in the supermarket curious and amazing, Tohka watched the people around her putting things they liked into their shopping carts and asked Ryuya, "Ryu, can we just take anything we want here?"
"Well, you can take things, no problem, but in the end, everyone has to go to the checkout counter to pay."
Because a new member, Tohka, had joined the household, in just half a day, they had completely emptied the refrigerator. Although only one person was added, Tohka's appetite could rival Artoria's.
Having gained a new understanding of Tohka's appetite, Ryuya brought the Spirits to the supermarket to buy some food.
Explaining the concept of a supermarket to Tohka, he found she learned very quickly, showing talent reminiscent of Mio's from back then.
"Ah! What's pork cutlet rice? Can I take this?"
After hearing that taking things required money, Tohka showed considerably more restraint.
Even so, her eyes still sparkled as she looked at the countless ingredients, asking if she could take this or that.
"Sure, Tohka. Just tell me what you'd like to eat, and I'll explain what those things taste like."
Ryuya was very indulgent towards Tohka. In his eyes, Tohka was, in a way, his and Mio's child, their third daughter after Altrouge and Arcueid.
He explained the general uses of seasonings like chili and mustard to Tohka.
Besides them, the other Spirits were also doing their own things.
"Hey, hey, Tobiichi Origami, what are you doing here?"
Having finally found Ryuya, Origami certainly wasn't going back to her lonely, solitary home.
She insisted on going to Ryuya's house, giving a very clear reason: to provide a lookout for the AST.
After all, given Ryuya's identity, in AST's eyes, Ryuya and the Spirits were clearly a major threat.
While they superficially agreed to send someone for talks, AST would definitely try various methods to monitor Ryuya's movements during this period.
Under this premise, if Origami stayed by Ryuya's side, AST, unaware of Origami's betrayal, would be more at ease and wouldn't resort to overly aggressive surveillance methods against Ryuya.
Although Ryuya wasn't afraid of such tactics from official organizations like AST, Origami's presence did avoid a lot of trouble, so he naturally let her follow him.
Noticing Origami wasn't in the supermarket area, Yamai Sisters volunteered to follow her.
They went to the upper-level mall of the supermarket. Looking at the various women's clothing boutiques, Kaguya wondered why Origami had come here, 'Was she going to buy clothes?'
"Of course, I'm here to buy clothes."
Glancing strangely at Kaguya and Yuzuru, Origami initially didn't want to talk.
But considering these two Spirits had been with Ryuya for a long time and might know some of the man's preferences, she patiently whispered something in their ears.
"What? Is that really true?"
Hearing what Origami said, Kaguya's astonished expression left her mouth agape, as if she had discovered a whole new world, "So that's how it is, so that's how it is! There's actually so much to it."
Patting Origami's shoulder while recalling her own experiences, Kaguya seemed to understand a bit why that Kurumi was so effective.
"Agreement. Yuzuru thinks Tobiichi Origami is very impressive. From now on, Yuzuru recognizes Tobiichi Origami as her master. Please teach Yuzuru, Great Master!"
Speaking expressionlessly about her admiration for Origami, Yuzuru even took out a notebook from her schoolbag and began quickly recording every key point Origami mentioned.
"You two didn't even know about these things? Don't tell me you both are still... keeping your first time?"
Looking at Yamai Sisters with slight surprise, Origami was met with their blushing, embarrassed faces and silent confirmation.
"Tch... I never thought you two were so inexperienced, no wonder I see that Tokisaki Kurumi walking all over you."
Sighing, Origami continued, "You two are sisters! A pair of sisters is such a powerful weapon, and you don't know how to use it?"
"Denial. Tokisaki Kurumi also has clones. She has even more 'sisters'."
Yuzuru shook her head, disagreeing with Origami's assessment.
"Idiot!" Origami rapped Yuzuru on the head sharply and retorted, "Clones are clones, sisters are sisters. No matter how similar clones are, they're almost the same as the original. But you sisters are different."
"Think about it. Being a pair of sisters, yet completely different individuals, your very titles give you an absolute advantage. If you don't even understand that, what use are you!"
Scolding Yamai Sisters with a look of frustration at their inability to meet expectations, Origami also understood the principle of 'befriend the distant while attacking the near'.
She suggested that the sisters should listen to her advice and devised a rather perfect plan with Kaguya and Yuzuru.
Finally...
"Ara, ara? So, have I been somewhat abandoned now?"
Because of her... how to put it... somewhat rival-yet-friend relationship with Nia, Kurumi had been asked by Nia to bring back some drawing tools for her when she went out.
She's also in the commercial building housing the supermarket, but neither with Ryuya's group nor with Yamai Sisters, Kurumi went alone to the shops selling stationery, drawing paper, etc., and summoned her clones.
"Alright, everyone, go find the things we need quickly. Can't be helped, since Nia begged me so earnestly."
While her clones went to buy the required items, Kurumi, waiting for them, suddenly noticed a huge poster outside the window advertising that the latest popular movie star, Yoimachi Tsukino, would be holding a concert in Tengu City.
"Izayoi Miku? Seems... somewhat familiar."
Looking at Izayoi Miku's poster, Kurumi vaguely remembered seeing this person's photo in Ryuya's phone, 'But the note on Ryu's phone wasn't 'Izayoi Miku'… it was something else, wasn't it?'
'It seemed to be...'
'Yoimachi Ysukino!'