After chatting with Mio for quite a while, Shichen finally left.
She was getting sleepy, and he waited until she had fallen asleep before going.
She was very prone to sleep these days.
Shichen didn't want to disturb her rest.
All the girls in the house had gone out. After all, they were all adventurers now, and all of them were interested in hunting monsters.
Rin Tohsaka especially had gotten so into it that she didn't even come back during the day to eat. She only returned at night.
Thanks to them, the beginner town had truly become a beginner town.
There were barely any monsters left nearby.
Not just nearby, either. Many areas had already been cleared out quite a bit.
All the girls in the house knew space movement, so distance wasn't really a limitation for them anymore.
Though at first, Shichen had still flown them there himself, riding on Rayquaza and soaring through the sky.
Along the way, they would get fired up and insist on sparring with him first as soon as they arrived.
Shichen's reputation in the beginner town was already beyond saving, and Luna had even blacklisted him completely.
She really couldn't stand him now.
There was no helping it. Bringing so many girls one after another to register as adventurers, all of them clearly in messy relationships with him, made it painfully obvious that he was a womanizer.
Sure, thanks to Shichen bringing everyone there, the beginner town had basically become a village full of bosses, and even the Demon King's army didn't dare come near anymore.
But Luna wasn't about to thank him for that.
Why could all those girls have a chance with him, but not her?
That was the real reason she couldn't stand him.
For Shichen, though, that was actually a good thing. He genuinely wasn't interested in Luna, so being able to keep their relationship ordinary was for the best.
Around noon, people gradually started returning.
The first ones back were Tohru and Rem, since they needed to come back to cook.
"Master!"
"Master!"
The moment they saw him, Tohru and Rem threw themselves into his arms excitedly.
Shichen held his two maids, one on each side. Even in this world, they were still wearing maid outfits.
"Tohru, Rem, long time no see."
"I missed you so much, Master!"
"Rem missed you too!"
"I missed you both too. I'll be spending some time with you lately."
"Really? That's wonderful!" Tohru looked like she might start jumping from happiness.
"Then, Master, would you like Rem to warm your bed tonight?" Rem asked with a bright smile, tilting her head up at him.
"What? Rem, how can you cut in line like that!"
"Rem isn't cutting in line. Tohru just wasn't proactive enough."
"I was just too happy to be reunited with Master. It's not that I wasn't proactive."
"That doesn't matter. Rem got there first."
"No! Master is mine tonight!"
"No, Master is Rem's!"
"He's mine!"
"He's Rem's!"
"Mmph—!"
The two of them clung to him and glared at each other without giving an inch.
They might have been arguing and fighting over him, but in reality the two of them got along extremely well. They worked together in the kitchen every day.
After spending so much time together, they were basically like real sisters.
Still, they hadn't yet reached the point of teaming up against Shichen together.
There was no need. Tohru's strength alone was already enough.
"You two, don't rush," Shichen cut in.
"Master, who are you choosing?"
"Rem will respect Master's decision."
"Well… I've already been reserved," Shichen said awkwardly.
"Huh?" The two of them froze and stared at him blankly.
"I came over this morning. Chisato already claimed me first," he explained.
"So Chisato beat us to it? Damn it!" Tohru gnashed her teeth in frustration.
"Then there's nothing we can do. But Master, you did just say you'd be spending time with us, right? Is tomorrow already booked too?" Rem asked.
"Tomorrow isn't…"
"Then Rem would like to reserve Master for tomorrow!"
"No! Master is mine tomorrow!" Tohru immediately protested.
"I already reserved him first," Rem said with a small smile.
"You… damn it!"
"Hehe, no need to panic. There's plenty of time." Shichen rubbed both their heads to soothe them.
"Then it's settled. The day after tomorrow, Master belongs to me."
"Alright." Shichen smiled and agreed, though inwardly he was starting to panic a little.
The next few days were probably going to be very busy.
Every girl in the house was proactive in her own way. Since he was here, they would probably take turns one after another.
He was about to hit his limits again.
Not everyone came back at noon.
Some were still enjoying the thrill of hunting monsters. Others were too far away and hadn't finished what they were doing, so they didn't want to come back yet.
But that was only because they didn't know Shichen had returned.
If they had known, every single one of them would have rushed back early.
The ones who did come back at noon included Tohka and the other Spirits, Irisviel and the rest, and Natsuki Minamiya's group.
Megumin and the others were off playing in the Crimson Demon Village.
Quite a few people had gone there with them, since that place had all kinds of hilariously ridiculous locations that felt strangely close to modern reality.
It had been a long time since everyone had gathered together for lunch, so Shichen had a little wine with them.
Illya and the younger girls still weren't allowed to drink.
After the wine, everyone was a little tipsy.
Illya and the other little girls were annoyed that they couldn't drink, so they went off to vent their frustration by hunting monsters.
Kanna went with them, since she hadn't been drinking either.
Once everyone had had something to drink, no one wanted to go out again. They all just wanted to relax for a while.
And with Shichen home, they wanted to sit around and talk with him more.
Everyone gathered together, chatting and laughing, each one telling stories about the fun things she had experienced lately, while Shichen quietly listened.
At some point, one person got sleepy, and that set off the rest.
One after another, people started yawning.
"Go get some sleep. There's plenty of time," Kato Megumi said, taking charge.
"Okay."
Everyone listened to her.
Her status as the eldest sister of the family had now been completely accepted.
There was no helping it. Kato Megumi knew everything about everyone—every secret they had.
That meant not only could she get along with everyone, she also knew all their weak spots.
Her position as the eldest sister was completely deserved.
"Mukuro, you go sleep with Shichen," Megumi said next to Hoshimiya Mukuro.
"Huh? Is that really okay?" Mukuro looked at her in surprise.
"Big Sister Megumi, Chisato and I already booked Shichen for tonight," Chisato reminded her.
"Chisato, don't just say that out loud!" Takina scolded her in embarrassment.
"What's the problem? We're all family here."
"You…"
"You booked the nighttime slot, right? Let Mukuro have him for now. She's still a girl, after all," Megumi said with a smile.
"Oh right. Mukuro still hasn't been taken by Shichen yet."
That was something everyone more or less knew. After all, they had all been through it. They could tell at a glance who had and who hadn't.
"And besides, you already know how much stamina Shichen has. It won't interfere with anything."
"Alright then…"
"Big Sister Megumi, are you underestimating Mukuro?" Mukuro sounded a little unconvinced.
"You won't be saying that later. Shichen, go to your room with Mukuro."
"Is this really how this works?" Shichen couldn't help asking.
Why was everything about him being arranged so neatly?
Did he not have any rights at all?
"You tell me whether you want to go or not," Megumi said, glancing at him.
"I'm going." Shichen got up at once and left with Mukuro.
What were "rights," anyway?
At home, the wives came first.
The two of them entered Mukuro's room.
"My lord~"
Mukuro didn't act shy at all. She took his hand and led him straight to her bed.
"I've been waiting so long." She lay down on the bed, her splendid kimono spreading around her like a blooming flower.
She was dazzlingly beautiful.
"Mukuro."
Shichen wasted no more words. He leaned down and kissed her.
Mukuro wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.
The room, like the floral patterns on her kimono, was soon overflowing with spring warmth.