When Rozen returned, his previously deserted room was already occupied by four females.
Besides Yaya who immediately pounced on Rozen, Irori and Komurasaki were also present.
"Rozen!"
Komurasaki, who had been chatting and laughing with Irori, leapt up the moment she saw Rozen return.
"Rozen-sama!"
Irori also looked pleasantly surprised and quickly stood up.
The top figure in the world of Automaton Dolls, the greatest masterpiece of Karyuusai Shouko—an indisputable highest-grade series of Automaton Dolls even from a global perspective—Setsugetsuka.
These three sisters had returned to the Walpurgis Royal Academy of Machinart ahead of Rozen.
Naturally, they were accompanied by Shouko.
"Hmm?"
Shouko, smoking a pipe while seated on the sofa, puffing clouds of smoke, glanced toward Rozen's direction and then paused slightly, as if noticing something.
"Little boy seems to have changed somehow..."
Shouko frowned, carefully studying Rozen.
Having a decent understanding of Rozen, Shouko had noticed subtle changes in him.
However, even she couldn't clearly say what exactly had changed in Rozen.
Even using Spirit Vision, Shouko couldn't detect anything unusual about Rozen, so she could only keep scrutinizing him, trying to uncover the mystery.
As for Rozen, he had already embraced Yaya, who had pounced into his arms.
"Rozen! Rozen! Rozen!"
Yaya, as if reunited with her beloved after ages apart, clung tightly to Rozen while tearfully and joyfully calling his name over and over again.
"Yaya..."
Rozen also embraced the girl who once vowed to accompany him for life, to protect him as an Automaton Doll, feeling her familiar warmth and scent, overwhelmed by nostalgia and tenderness.
Even Rozen, after decades of separation, couldn't hold back his feelings upon seeing Yaya again.
With Yaya in his arms, a gentle expression surfaced on Rozen's face.
But before long, the tenderness on Rozen's face froze, and his smile gradually faded.
He couldn't help it.
"Hehehe... it's Rozen... it's really Rozen... hehehe..."
Yaya, who had just been crying with joy, suddenly had a strange tone in her voice, giggling like a drooling pervert, while her hands started groping Rozen all over inappropriately.
Rozen's mouth twitched, and the corner of his eye began to spasm.
Then...
"BANG!"
A heavy iron fist slammed down onto Yaya's head.
"Ow!"
Yaya clutched her head, squatting down while crying out in pain.
"You little... after so long apart, you greet me like this? Give me back all my nostalgia and emotion just now!" Rozen said, raising his iron fist again in annoyance.
Hearing that, Yaya protested.
"Yaya was emotional and nostalgic too!"
"Then can't you just hug me properly and enjoy the moment quietly?"
"No!"
"...That's a very firm answer. Let me ask, why not?"
"Because it's been two whole months since I saw Rozen! Now that you're finally back, I've made up my mind!"
"... You've made up your mind on what?"
"To do it with Rozen!"
"Denied!"
"Why!?"
Yaya burst into tears.
But Rozen no longer felt a single shred of pity and could only sigh while holding his forehead.
"Yep, that's very Yaya."
At that moment, all the nostalgia Rozen had for returning to this world vanished completely.
Rozen could even sense the astonishment from the four servants residing in his blood.
They must have been just as shocked by Yaya's antics, huh?
Still, Yaya wasn't the only one who had returned.
"Long time no see! Rozen!"
Komurasaki seized her chance and pounced onto Rozen, wrapping her arms around his neck, clinging to him like a koala with an extremely happy expression.
"I'm back too! Did you miss me?"
She asked with a mischievous and innocent smile.
This playful and pure feeling helped Rozen regain a bit of his shaken composure.
Of course, for others, Komurasaki's actions were far less welcome.
"Don't be rude, Komurasaki! Get down right now!"
Irori, slipping into her big sister role, scolded Komurasaki sternly.
"...Komurasaki, while I still have a shred of patience left, you better get down, okay?"
Yaya, who had stood back up without anyone noticing, looked at Komurasaki with lifeless eyes, dilated pupils, and a menacing aura as if black mist were about to pour from her.
But Komurasaki was still smiling.
"Are you two jealous? Don't worry, I'll share a little bit of Rozen with you~"
Komurasaki said innocently, though the words were quite dangerous.
"I-I-I'm not jealous at all! Don't say something so rude! Komurasaki! Get down right now!"
Irori's face turned bright red, and she charged forward in a flustered rage, grabbing Komurasaki, intending to yank her off Rozen.
"Rozen belongs to Yaya! If anyone's sharing, it'll be Yaya doing the sharing! Komurasaki! You're not allowed!"
Yaya got angry too, rushing forward and pulling at Komurasaki with all her might.
"I won't! I won't!"
Komurasaki desperately clung to Rozen's neck, refusing to budge even as Irori and Yaya tried to pull her off, nearly breaking Rozen's neck in the process.
The three sisters surrounded Rozen and started a commotion, dragging him into it, almost choking him to death.
"S-Stop it...!"
Rozen's voice was strained—he was truly on the verge of passing out.
And yet, the sisters' conversation only grew more dangerous.
"Komurasaki! If you don't listen, I'm really going to get mad!"
"Hehehe... Komurasaki, oh you... hehehe..."
"I don't care I don't care! I can't hear anything!"
At this point, Irori started radiating cold air, Yaya wore a zombie-like smile while releasing her mana, and even Komurasaki looked like she was about to use magic.
Rozen knew—he couldn't just watch anymore.
"All of you, STOP!"
At his shout, Irori, Yaya, and Komurasaki all froze on the spot.
Because, on the back of the sisters' hands, a pattern lit up faintly.
Shikigami Contract.
Long ago, Rozen had formed Shikigami Contracts with these three sisters.
Now, Rozen used the power of the contract to halt their rampage—and quickly escaped.
"You three..."
Rozen said, clutching his sore neck, looking at the sisters as the emotion drained from his face, and an overwhelming presence emanated from him.
"Rozen-sama...?"
"R-Rozen...?"
"Rozen?"
Irori, Yaya, and Komurasaki all came back to their senses, their expressions stiffening.
Rozen smiled.
But that smile was completely devoid of emotion.