Chapter 48: Marisa: I'll Do Anything!
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In the end, Loki cried and wailed dramatically until she managed to "persuade" Ais back to Loki Familia. Riveria confidently patted Kihara on the shoulder and assured him, "Don't worry, I'll make sure Ais returns to your side," before adding with a mischievous smile, "Good luck~"
Afterward, Kihara paid the price of being covered head to toe in Hestia's bite marks to get his goddess to accept his rather expansive romantic situation. The next day, when he went to meet Uranus, two deep crimson lipstick marks still lingered on his neck.
"Hehehe, learning how to balance a harem is also an essential skill for any hero, otherworld hero."
"I didn't come here to listen to your teasing, Uranus."
"I know. With the Black Dragon dead, all three tasks are complete. Thank you for stepping forward to save this world. As long as Hestia is willing, you may take her and leave whenever you wish.
By the way, Freya seems to have taken quite an interest in you. I wonder if—"
"No no no, I prefer pure goddesses. That woman feels like stepping into a bio-hazard hotel and playing survival mode with crazy monsters — way too scary."
"I'll pass the message along. Aside from that, as the savior of Orario, is there anything else you desire?"
"No need. The things I want, you probably don't have anyway. That's all — goodbye."
Kihara waved casually and took his leave from Uranus.
When he returned home, he found Ryuu and Ais sitting face-to-face on the sofa, staring each other down with completely expressionless faces while sparks flew silently through the air. Hestia and Lili sat on tiny stools nearby, happily munching snacks and enjoying the show.
In the end, Ryuu was the first to speak. "So you're saying… all this time, you never realized it was me?"
"At the time we were both only Lv.3, and you had dyed your hair green. I really didn't recognize you."
Ryuu let out a long, exasperated sigh, clearly regretting all the times she had tried to signal him in vain. Then she proudly puffed out her chest. "But now I'm Lv.6 while you're still stuck at Lv.5. This round is my win!"
Ais, who had been competitive since birth, naturally refused to back down. A sharp glint flashed in her eyes as the corners of her lips curved into a faint, confident smile. "Kihara and I did it."
Crack!
The pancake in Hestia's hand was instantly crushed to crumbs. Because of her divine authority, she had never fully given her body to Kihara — aside from innocent kisses, she had kept things modest. But now the "thieving cat" Ais had surged ahead of her. A strong impulse rose in her mind to immediately drag Kihara into the bedroom and settle the matter once and for all.
Seeing the girls' atmosphere turning dangerously hostile — as if weapons would be drawn and blood would spill any second — Kihara immediately stepped forward as the ultimate hate-magnet. "Hey, stop fighting. I still have five girlfriends back in my original world waiting in line ahead of you!"
"Original world???"
Everyone except Hestia — who had known from the start — stared at him in confusion.
Kihara gave a simple explanation: he came from another world and planned to take Hestia and the others there to start a new life. Since he could travel freely between the two worlds, none of them refused. They quickly signed the contract with him.
After bidding farewell to their acquaintances in this world — including a trip to the Soma Familia to buy twenty barrels of divine sake and witness Lili triumphantly overcoming its effects — Kihara led them back to Gensokyo.
[Underground dungeon suitable for use as a mine detected. Automatically designated as mining area.]
[Hestia, Lili, Ais, and Ryuu detected as new town residents. Current resident count: 9. Town festival function unlocked.]
This time, there were no mishaps. After passing through the gap, the group arrived safely on his peaceful farm.
Takarada Rikka was watering the crops with a watering can. When she saw Kihara suddenly return with a group of beautiful girls trailing behind him like a flock of lovely birds, she rolled her eyes in mild exasperation. "First it was me and Akane, then Nanami and the Tatsumaki sisters — three more. Now you've brought back four. Next time you go out, are you just going to bring back five new wives?"
"It's all coincidence. Pure coincidence."
Kihara laughed sheepishly, walked over, and planted a loud "chu" kiss on her soft, delicate cheek. He then introduced everyone properly. Rikka wasn't great at talking with strangers, but the ever-social Akane quickly stepped in to ease the awkwardness.
Akane played the perfect hostess, cheerfully showing Hestia and the others around Kihara's house — the place they would visit often, and maybe even throw parties together someday.
When Kihara asked Rikka about the date, he learned that only three days had passed in Gensokyo.
"By the way, while you were gone these past two days, a blonde girl in a black-and-white dress sneaked over at night and dug up a few seeds. Over there."
Kihara followed Rikka's pointing finger and saw several messy gaps in the once neatly planted field. Even if he replanted immediately, the crops wouldn't mature and harvest at the same time anymore.
The mere thought of this obsessive-compulsive nightmare made Kihara feel like countless Mai-senpais were crawling all over his skin. He grinned ferociously, cracking his knuckles with a menacing pop-pop-pop. "I'll go settle the score with her right now. You rest up — I'll handle the rest of the crops when I get back."
Rikka tucked her sleek black hair behind her cute little ear and continued bending down to water the seeds. "I'm free anyway. It feels good to help share the work. Plus, watching the sprouts grow later will give me a real sense of accomplishment."
"Thanks for the trouble. When I come back, I'll have a surprise for you!"
Kihara gave her a passionate, deep kiss, then hopped onto the motorcycle parked beside the villa and sped off toward the Magic Forest.
"Hmm~ hmm~ hmm~ ♫~"
Rikka hummed a cheerful little tune while watering, the corners of her mouth lifting proudly. She might not be as good as Akane at livening up the mood, but that didn't mean she didn't have her own strengths.
"Silly blockhead… you big flirt~"
…
"Achoo!!"
"Whoa~ Kihara-san, you'd better take care of yourself. You've been sneezing nonstop — catching a cold?"
Kihara shot a cold glare at the black-and-white thief he was carrying by the collar.
"Marisa, stop trying to act friendly. I've been a regular customer at your shop, yet you still had the nerve to sneak into this hardworking farmer's field and steal my seeds. Don't you think you owe me an explanation?"
"How can you call what a magician does 'stealing'? It's borrowing! Borrowing, got it?"
A small round vial "accidentally" rolled from Kihara's pocket into his palm. Both its color and the magical aura it emitted clearly didn't belong to Gensokyo.
"What a shame. I went through the trouble of bringing this rare potion back from another world, planning to give it as a gift to a certain kind-hearted magician. Tsk tsk tsk… Looks like I'll just have to throw it away when I get back."
"Nooo!! Don't!!"
Marisa wailed in despair, wrapping her legs tightly around Kihara's waist. "I'll do anything! Please, just give me that potion!!"
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Thank you for reading.