Chapter 88 – Looks Like Jealousy, Actually the Prelude to a Party.
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"Kakaka… my lord~ It seems you had quite the fun time yesterday with that little esper girl~"
Shinobu Oshino grinned mischievously as she held the newspaper up in front of Kihara.
He glanced at it once… then casually tossed it aside.
Without another word, he grabbed her by the waist, pulled her onto his lap and silenced her with a kiss.
"Mm—! Mmph!!"
Shinobu flailed her arms in brief protest… before quickly giving up and enjoying it.
Meanwhile, completely ignoring the scene that could've easily gotten her boyfriend arrested on the spot.
Minami Yume picked up the newspaper, read through it, and a sly smile curved her lips.
She placed the paper in the most visible spot on the table.
Let's see how Tatsumaki reacts when she sees this~
With anticipation in her eyes, she headed into the kitchen to help Rikka Takarada prepare breakfast.
Since Kihara's farmhouse hadn't been upgraded yet, it couldn't fit everyone.
So lately, he had been rotating between the girls' houses.
Last night, he stayed at Akane Shinjo's place.
Yume's little scheme worked perfectly.
At breakfast—
Tatsumaki was teased by the others with the newspaper.
Her flustered, red-faced attempt to defend herself—prioritizing that over eating—was honestly adorable.
In a panic, she suddenly shifted the topic.
She pointed at Shinobu, who was happily devouring donuts on Kihara's lap.
"Aren't you supposed to be a vampire progenitor? Why can you eat normal food?"
The girls instantly grew curious and turned to look at her.
Shinobu finished half a donut in one bite, licked the sugar from her lips, and patted her slightly rounded belly in satisfaction before answering leisurely:
"I am a true ancestor. But I don't have the usual vampire weaknesses."
"After all… my true nature is a sin-born youkai."
"A sin-born… what?"
"Put simply," she said with a faint smirk,
"I am a being born from humanity's Seven Deadly Sins. I revived by consuming my lord's past and memories."
"My purpose is to devour darkness and sin."
"…That actually sounds kinda cool."
"Yeah."
"Devouring sin? That's pretty badass."
A mischievous glint flashed in Shinobu's golden eyes.
"Oh, that part?" she chuckled.
"My lord made it all up during his chuuni phase."
"Cough—!"
The girls nearly choked on their drinks.
They had actually believed her.
After satisfying her teasing streak, Shinobu finally explained her real origin.
Back in his chuuni days, Kihara somehow got hold of a real spell capable of connecting to another dimension.
Through it, he met Shinobu in a dream—at the time, she was being hunted by a powerful youkai.
The two formed a contract:
Kihara would share part of her injuries and heal her through his memories
In return, Shinobu would recognize him as her master… and become his soulmate
"Perhaps my lord's mental power was unusually strong back then," she added thoughtfully.
"To establish a dimensional link with such a crude spell… quite impressive."
"It took me about a year to transfer my core into his body through dreams."
"I healed while learning about him through his memories… and eventually created a new body for myself."
She paused, then added:
"During the battle with Alexis… if Akane hadn't healed him, I would've forcibly emerged from his shadow to keep him alive."
"…Soulmate, huh…"
Compared to Shinobu's past, Akane was far more interested in that one word.
She turned toward Kihara, smiling sweetly—though a dangerous glint flickered beneath it.
"Kihara… are we your soulmates too?"
Before he could answer—
Shinobu narrowed her eyes and let out a cold laugh.
"Ohoho… planning to compete with me for that position, Akane?"
Yume gently set down her chopsticks, tucking her brown hair behind her ear as she smiled.
"That position is way too tempting. I'm joining too."
Rikka added calmly,"I cook for everyone here. Doesn't it make sense for the cook to be the soulmate?"
Tatsumaki crossed her arms and laughed confidently.
"As the strongest one here, that spot is obviously mine!"
What had been a peaceful breakfast instantly turned into a battlefield.
Their gazes clashed like sparks and lightning.
The tension in the air thickened.
Under Fubuki's amused gaze, Kihara's expression gradually calmed.
At first, the question had nearly killed him.
But then—
He realized something.
I'm aiming to become a harem king.
If I can't treat everyone equally… if I can't make all of them happy…
Then I don't deserve that title.
"…Why argue about something like this?"
He stood up.
Then—
He kissed each of them on the cheek.
"You're all my soulmates."
After that, he placed a neatly prepared schedule on the table.
"I'm busy building Pelican Town right now, so I don't have much free time…"
"But I've marked every available slot."
"You can come find me anytime."
Shinobu looked over the schedule and frowned slightly.
"My lord… doesn't this mean you'll have no rest at all?"
"What are you talking about?"
Kihara pinched her soft cheek lightly, then looked at all of them—eyes shining with sincerity.
"As long as I'm with you… that's the best rest I could ever have."
"Happiness alone is enough to wipe away all my fatigue."
—Critical hit.
Akane and the others clutched their chests as if struck by an arrow.
A soft pink aura of sweetness seemed to bloom around them.
"I can't take this anymore!!"
Yume suddenly shot up, her green eyes filled with hearts.
She grabbed Kihara and dragged him straight into the guest room.
SLAM!
The door shut hard.
Moments later—
A soft, cheerful humming sound drifted out.
Rikka stared in disbelief.
"…Yume is that aggressive?"
Shinobu shrugged lightly.
"My lord did call her a 'love-fueled runaway train.' Seems accurate."
"Wait," Tatsumaki suddenly said.
"You mentioned you share memories and thoughts with him, right?"
"That's correct. But only when I'm inside his shadow."
"Then you must know what we look like in his heart, right?!"
At that—
Akane, Rikka, and Tatsumaki all turned to stare at Shinobu.
The invisible pressure from their gaze was overwhelming.
"…Y-your looks are a bit scary…"
Shinobu shrank slightly.
"My lord says it all the time, doesn't he?"
"You are all his most beloved lovers… irreplaceable treasures in this world."
"Unacceptable!"
Akane slammed the table and jumped up.
Under everyone's shocked gaze, she dashed toward the guest room.
"Wait for me! I can't hold back my feelings anymore!"
"Akane, don't cut in line! I'm coming too!"
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Thank you for reading.