Perhaps Ryuya was right — neither Sakurajima Mai nor Toyohama Nodoka could come up with anything to refute him.
Since Ryuya didn't know the story between the two sisters, he didn't comment further.
And since Mai had company at home, it wasn't appropriate for him to stay long. After finishing dinner and helping wash the dishes, Ryuya got up to leave.
Mai also stood and walked him out.
"Did your sister say when she's leaving?"
After walking a short distance away, Ryuya asked softly.
"Not yet. She actually ran over to my place after arguing with her mother."
Mai seemed helpless about her younger sister.
That girl had always admired her — practically treated her as a role model.
And perhaps influenced by Mai, Nodoka had also stepped onto the path of becoming an idol.
Hearing that, Ryuya felt something was off.
Another mother-daughter argument…
Another idol who had already debuted…
Wasn't that basically a replica of Sakurajima Mai?
With Mai such a shining example ahead of her, Nodoka must be under enormous pressure.
Of course she would be…
There was no need to explain how outstanding Mai was — if Nodoka truly treated her as someone to catch up to, there was no way she wouldn't feel crushed by comparison.
Ryuya pressed his lips together and didn't say it out loud. Someone as smart as Mai had probably realized it already…
"Alright, I'll just teleport from here."
As he spoke, Ryuya stepped forward, wrapped his arms around Mai, and kissed her lips.
Mai showed a hint of shyness, but quickly embraced him back, deepening the affectionate kiss.
Their longing and love flowed between them — until Mai began to run out of breath, and the two reluctantly separated.
"I'll leave after I watch you go inside," Ryuya said with a smile.
"No, I want to watch you leave first."
Mai's sweet smile made her irresistibly charming.
"Toyohama's still alone at home. You should go comfort your sister."
"You're right. Then I'm going."
Mai turned and headed back inside. Just before reaching the door, she looked back and saw Ryuya still standing there, quietly watching her with a faint smile.
She returned a gentle smile before closing the door, seemingly in an excellent mood.
Watching his girlfriend go inside, Ryuya stretched lazily, feeling the magic power inside his body grow significantly again.
He had also collected the "price" of the contract just now — another gratifying increase…
It made him wonder — if he could gain a few more faith contracts, that would feel amazing.
Unfortunately, the only other contract targets he had were the Nakano quintuplets, and those five currently counted as seriously troubled girls…
After spending some time with them earlier, their relationship with Ryuya had improved quite a bit.
But reaching the level of a faith contract like Sakurajima Mai's… they were probably still a hundred thousand miles away.
Since he still had time, he decided to visit the quintuplets' house. It had been several days since he last went.
Teleporting there, the moment Ryuya arrived he smelled a pleasant shampoo fragrance, along with the sound of a hair dryer.
In the living room, a girl was sitting on the sofa blow-drying her hair, her long hair dancing wildly under the airflow.
And on her body — only a bath towel…
Snow-white thighs were right before his eyes, her shoulders completely exposed, and the towel trembled with her movements as if it might fall at any moment.
…Who is this?
In that instant, Ryuya rapidly ran through the distinguishing features of Nino, Miku, Yotsuba, and Itsuki in his mind.
However…
He couldn't tell!
Aside from Ichika's signature short hair making her easy to recognize, once the other four girls changed clothes and lost their defining accessories, Ryuya was completely lost.
"Who is it?"
Hearing a sound, the girl spoke.
That tone…
Nakano Nino!
So it's this little firecracker.
Ryuya successfully identified her just from her voice.
"Is that Yotsuba? Help me grab my contacts — they're on the shelf over there."
Nino looked toward Ryuya's direction, yet didn't recognize him at all.
Only then did Ryuya remember — Nino was severely nearsighted…
As the saying goes, the tragedy of every nearsighted person: take off your glasses and the world becomes flat — beyond ten meters, male and female look the same; beyond twenty meters, humans and animals are indistinguishable.
Right now, Nino perfectly embodied that situation.
Ryuya stood over ten meters away at the entrance, and she couldn't see him clearly at all, mistaking him for Nakano Yotsuba.
"…Nino, it's me, Ryuya."
Ryuya coughed lightly and reminded her softly.
"…Eh!?"
Nino froze for a moment, then reacted and instantly covered her chest.
"R-Ryuya? Ah… what are you doing here, I'm not dressed!"
"Look carefully — you're wearing a bath towel."
Ryuya replied calmly, nearly choking Nino speechless.
Since when does a bath towel count as clothes!?
"Y-You turn around!"
As she spoke, Nino hurriedly ran upstairs, stomping up the steps.
"Hey, be careful."
Ryuya warned.
Before his words even finished, Nino's foot slipped — one slipper flew off.
Great. The classic development.
Beautiful girl fresh out of the bath + staircase = guaranteed slip…
Seeing it clearly, Ryuya instantly vanished from where he stood and appeared in front of Nino, catching her just before she hit the ground.
At that moment, her face was only ten centimeters from the stairs.
With both hands exerting force, Ryuya turned Nino around and smoothly scooped up her legs, carrying her in a bridal carry.
"I told you to be careful."
"Eh?"
Nino came back to her senses, her expression instantly flustered.
"What are you doing? Put me down…"
"Relax. I can only see your thighs — everything else is covered tightly. I'll take you back to your room first. I'm not going to do anything to you."
Ryuya spoke calmly, his blunt words leaving Nino unsure how to respond.
After carrying her back to her room, Nino still looked dazed.
"I left your contacts on the dressing table."
After saying that, Ryuya turned and left Nino's room.
Inside, Nino fumbled to put on her contact lenses. Looking at herself in the mirror, she recalled Ryuya's calm tone and behavior just now — and suddenly her cheeks flushed red.
Why did… Ryuya look kind of handsome just now…
Mm… that domineering, unbothered attitude…
It actually felt pretty manly!
Ryuya was originally Nino's type, and now the girl even started spacing out in infatuation…
Of course, Ryuya had no idea what she was thinking — otherwise he'd probably wonder if this girl had masochistic tendencies…
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