A gentle flash illuminated the living room of Reik's apartment. When the light faded, four figures stood in the middle of a clean, well-lit room surrounded by modern designer furniture.
The silence was absolute for a few seconds, broken only by the quiet hum of the air conditioner. It was a warm and cozy place, completely different from the architecture of human cities or the lands of the dark elves.
"We made it," Reik said casually, tossing his device onto the coffee table and dropping his shoulders with relief. "Welcome to my humble home on Earth."
Luu Luu was the first to react. Her magenta eyes widened as her orange tail puffed up completely. She began sniffing the air rapidly, taking small hops across the rug.
"What a strange place!" Luu Luu exclaimed, approaching the flat-screen TV mounted on the wall. She touched the glass with the tips of her nails and recoiled upon seeing her own reflection. "Hey! There's a magical black surface here! And the air smells clean, but there are no trees nearby!"
Olga, for her part, walked with imperial elegance toward the living room's large window overlooking the city's skyscrapers. She looked down and narrowed her dark eyes, visibly impressed despite trying to maintain her composure.
"So this is your home..." Olga murmured.
Reik smiled and simply answered with a nod, "Yeah."
"No trace of mana in the atmosphere..." Olga added to herself, gazing out at the cityscape.
Chloe remained a step behind Olga, her hand firm on the hilt of her sword, staring with deep distrust at the refrigerator and the microwave oven.
"Lady Olga, stay on guard," Chloe warned in a stern tone. "That white box over there is making a suspicious noise."
Reik couldn't help but chuckle at the elf guard's paranoia. Shaking his head, he walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and pulled out four cans of ice-cold soda.
"Relax, there are no enemies here," Reik said, handing a can to each of them. "This is called soda. Just pop the metal tab and drink."
Luu Luu examined the can with curiosity, pressing the tab with her small fingers until it opened with a snap. Taking her first sip, the bubbles stung her tongue and she leaped in place, fluffing up her four thick orange curls.
"Aah! It's delicious!" Luu Luu shouted with flushed cheeks, taking another desperate gulp.
Olga tasted the drink more delicately. A subtle gleam of surprise crossed her face as she experienced the sweet, cold flavor.
"Impressive..." the dark elf queen admitted, looking at the can in her hand. "Even the kings of our world would envy this level of refinement."
Before Reik could say anything else, a figure came running down the hallway.
"Reik!"
Miko Yotsuya practically threw herself at him, hugging him tightly as she whispered, "I thought you'd take much longer."
Reik smiled while gently stroking her hair. "Sorry, I got delayed longer than I expected."
Miko nodded before noticing the three women standing behind him. Her eyes first landed on Chloe, who maintained a serious expression; then on Olga, and finally on Luu Luu. For a few seconds, they observed each other in silence until Olga was the first to smile.
"So you're Miko."
She was the only one among the newcomers who knew Miko's identity, as they used to communicate through the group chat. Miko reacted quickly upon recognizing the elf queen and performed a small bow by way of greeting.
"It's nice to finally meet in person," Miko said with a smile before turning toward Luu Luu. "Nice to meet you. Reik told me quite a bit about you."
She accompanied her words with a sidelong glance toward the exorcist, remembering all the "things" he had told her about his interactions with the girl.
Reik simply ignored the look and averted his eyes; after all, if he planned to build a harem, he had to learn to be a bit shameless.
Luu Luu, oblivious to the double meanings, arched an eyebrow and, putting her hands on her hips, remarked, "Only good things, I hope?"
"Yes," Miko replied.
"My..." the girl murmured, raising her chin with pride.
Reik let out a small laugh and teased, "I also told them about your flaws and how annoying you can be."
Luu Luu feigned indignation and, still with her hands on her hips, shot him a threatening glare: "Then I'll have to correct that false version with my fists."
The three women present burst into laughter at the spectacle. At that exact moment, a small figure floated down from the second floor.
"Did Reik arrive?"
Hanako-san descended until she was standing in front of the newcomers. She looked at Reik with sparkling eyes, but upon noticing the guests, she paused.
"Ah! They're the new girls!"
Without waiting for a response, she began flying circles around the elf queen.
"Wow, a real elf... How beautiful." Then she did the same around Luu Luu: "How cute, another loli added to Rei-sama's network." Finally, she looked at Chloe, pretended to be scared, and backed away until she hugged Reik's arm, whispering, "And she's super scary..."
Luu Luu couldn't help but burst into laughter seeing how they were teasing the guard. Chloe, for her part, glared at her before giving a dirty look to the newcomer.
Shortly after, the other residents of the house began making their appearance. Kuchisake-onna walked out of the kitchen wiping her hands with a towel; Sadako slowly emerged from the television; Mary-san appeared sitting elegantly on the back of the sofa; and Hachishaku-sama had to duck her head to get through the doorframe due to her massive height. Even Jinmen-ken raised his head from a corner of the room.
All of them directed their attention toward Olga and Chloe. The atmosphere fell back into an expectant silence.
Although Reik had already written to them through Miko to bring them up to speed on everything, he proceeded to make the formal introductions.
"Well... These are Olga Discordia and Luu Luu. They're also my girlfriends."
Both girls blushed immediately at Reik's words. He smiled upon seeing their reaction; although the bond with Luu Luu had been made official the night before, he and Olga hadn't formally confirmed anything yet, so he was pleased that the elf didn't contradict him.
Then, as if casually remembering, he added, "Ah, and that's Chloe, Olga's bodyguard."
His comment earned him a piercing glare from the guard in question.
Hanako-san exclaimed with a wide smile, "Wow, darling doesn't waste any time! He goes away for a few days and brings us two new sisters!"
Mary-san clapped elegantly. "Welcome."
Sadako gave a small nod by way of greeting, while Kuchisake-onna observed Olga for a few seconds before smiling mischievously.
"Now I understand why Reik took an extra day to come back," Kuchisake-onna commented.
Olga smiled at first, but quickly pouted and murmured while shifting her gaze toward Luu Luu, "You're mistaken, I wasn't the reason."
Luu Luu blushed deeply, but composed herself instantly and said proudly, puffing out her chest, "In the end, he couldn't resist my charms."
Everyone present burst into general laughter. Even Chloe let out a faint, suppressed smile.
Miko walked over until she was standing in front of Luu Luu, who seemed very unique to her. However, she glanced out of the corner of her eye at Reik and cursed him mentally for going after someone with such a youthful appearance. If Reik knew what Miko was thinking, he would have complained, since Luu Luu was technically older than him.
Miko, maintaining a gentle smile, extended her hand to the demi-human.
"I hope we can get along."
Luu Luu observed her hand for a few seconds before shaking it, responding in a voice that attempted to sound authoritative, but with a smile she couldn't contain, "I hope we get along too."
After the greeting, both smiled.
Over the next hour, they chatted animatedly about their respective worlds. The spirits listened fascinated to stories about monsters, magic, armies, and medieval wars. For her part, Olga also seemed pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere.
"I never imagined living under the same roof with so many spirits," Olga remarked, thinking to herself that Reik truly was a unique case, since he didn't even spare ghosts.
Hanako-san raised her hand proudly. "We're one big family!"
"A rather peculiar family," Chloe thought to herself as she watched the scene.