"Darling~"
"Hehe~"
"No, you can't~"
When Shichen opened his eyes, the first thing he heard was Miku Izayoi sleep-talking like a lovestruck woman.
He turned his head to look at her. Her youthful, delicate face was as charming as ever—it was just that the dreamy mumbling did a little damage to the image.
Not that Shichen minded in the slightest.
He smiled and sat up.
He'd spent the night with Miku, just the two of them. No one else had joined them, because until now she'd still been inexperienced in that regard.
He'd already been back here for a week.
Every day, his time had basically been spent either eating or in bed.
Honestly, it was exhausting.
But he was willing to shoulder that burden. A man, the head of the household, had to be ready to work hard.
Only the weak complain about their environment. The strong conquer it.
These past seven days, he'd handled everything with ease.
"Shichen~ hehe~ there… not… allowed~"
"Do you want it or not?" Shichen pinched Miku's lips lightly.
"Mmph…" Miku woke up.
"Darling~"
The moment she saw him, she lit up and threw herself at him.
"Ow…"
But as soon as she reached him, she let out a small cry of pain and frowned.
"Did you forget you're still sore?" Shichen smacked her on the backside and reminded her.
The sound was crisp.
"And you still hit me," Miku pouted pitifully.
"That was to help you remember. Don't move, I'll heal you."
As he spoke, he touched the sore spot and healed her.
"Heal."
"As expected of my darling~"
"You can recover on your own too, can't you?"
"That doesn't count. This is the mark you left on me, so of course I want to remember it properly."
"What kind of nonsense are you saying?" Shichen withdrew his hand.
"Hehe~ Darling, stay in bed with me a little longer." Miku wrapped her arms around him and refused to let go, resting her head against his chest, smiling sweetly.
"Not afraid the others will come check in?"
"I'm not afraid at all~ If they come, I'll just show off."
"Miku… are you maybe a little twisted?" Shichen looked at her strangely.
"Darling, what are you saying~" Miku cooed.
"I hope I'm imagining things…"
He wasn't afraid if she was a little peculiar. Strange tastes were one thing. That was better than wanting to cling to girls all day long.
He'd stepped in early and helped her, so her direction hadn't gone off the rails.
Odd preferences were fine—he could even accept someone like Darkness—but a house full of overly touchy girls wasn't.
"Alright, get up and tidy the room. I'm going to make you something to eat." He patted her again.
"Okay~"
Miku let go, rolled onto her back, and didn't seem to mind at all that she was still completely undressed.
Shichen had already seen plenty last night. He got up, dressed, and started to leave.
"Hurry up. I'm going to make you something good," he said, glancing at her smooth, porcelain-like body and the little red blossom left on the sheets beside her.
"Huh? Darling's making something for me?" Miku sat up, delighted.
"Of course."
"Then I'll clean up right away!"
She jumped up and started tidying the bed without even putting anything on.
Shichen shook his head, dragged his eyes away from the curve of her body, and left.
…
After breakfast, Shichen went out with Elaina.
Over the past few days, she'd gotten used to this family, gotten used to everyone, and gotten used to this world too.
A few days ago, she'd already started going out with Chisato and the others to hunt monsters.
This world had shocked her in all kinds of ways. Magic, skills, and ridiculous abilities you could learn just by defeating monsters—everything here was unbelievable.
She had started to really like this world.
At this rate, it wouldn't be long before she surpassed every witch in her own world.
"Shichen, where are we going?" Elaina asked curiously from behind him as she hugged him while they rode Rayquaza through the sky.
"To relax."
"Relax?"
"Yeah. Today is our date."
"A date… okay!" Elaina hugged him tighter.
These past few days, she hadn't really gotten any proper alone time with him.
They'd only just grown closer, and it was exactly the stage where being together felt sweet and irresistible. She'd already wanted to be alone with him.
But she also knew everyone else had only just reunited with him and wanted time alone too.
So she'd chosen to hold back a little while she settled in.
Now he was actually taking the initiative to be alone with her, and she was thrilled. Her mind had already started preparing for a certain possibility.
Shichen brought her to Arcanretia, the city of hot springs.
If you wanted to rest and unwind, a hot spring was the best choice.
And once Elaina heard him explain that they were there to soak in a hot spring, she became even more certain of her guess and immediately got nervous.
Shichen brought her to a familiar inn and chose a private room with its own bath.
Naturally, it was one room.
The moment they entered, Elaina started shuffling around near the door in tiny steps, visibly tense.
Shichen noticed but didn't say anything. He went straight to the bath area by himself.
"I'm going to soak first. Do whatever you want."
"Huh? Just like that?"
"Aren't we here to enjoy the hot spring?"
"Is that all?" Elaina still sounded suspicious.
"If you want, you can go first. Or you can join me."
"I… I'll join you…" she said softly.
"Alright. I'll wait for you, then." Shichen smiled.
"Mhm…"
After he left, Elaina's heart started racing. She paced around the room restlessly.
At the critical moment, she really was nervous.
But she wasn't the type to back out at the last second.
Taking a deep breath, Elaina steeled herself and headed toward the bath.
In the changing room, she saw Shichen's clothes. Through the fogged glass partition, she could vaguely make out his silhouette.
She started changing too, though very slowly.
Shichen had already been soaking for a while by the time Elaina finally came in.
She was wrapped in a towel, taking tiny steps, her gray-white hair hanging loose and her pretty face flushed bright red.
"You took your time," Shichen teased.
"Mind your own business!" Elaina shot him an embarrassed glare.
"Heh. Come here." He patted the water beside him.
Elaina pressed her lips together and padded toward him on her bare feet.
At the edge of the bath, she clutched the towel at her collarbone and tested the water with one foot.
Her foot was small, pale, and perfectly shaped. Shichen found himself staring.
"What are you looking at?"
"Your feet."
"You…" Blushing hard, Elaina just jumped into the bath with her towel still on.
Water splashed all over Shichen's face.
Wiping the water away, he looked at her helplessly. "What was that supposed to be?"
"I slipped…"
"Did you?" Shichen reached out, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her close until they were pressed together.
Elaina froze.
"What are you so nervous about?"
"I-I'm not nervous…"
"We're here to relax," Shichen said gently.
"Mm…"
"Then let me help you relax."
"How are you going to—mmph!"
The moment Elaina turned her head, she found Shichen right in front of her.
This was not relaxing.
And yet, despite thinking that, she really did loosen up, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him back.
They finally parted after a long while.
"Where's your towel?"
"My tow—huh?" Only then did Elaina realize it was gone.
"Looks like you were more eager than you thought."
"N-no, I just didn't notice…"
"Don't be nervous. Relax." Shichen held her and soothed her.
"There's no way anyone could relax like this!"
"Then stop resisting and get into it."
"..."
Soon, the sound of splashing water started rising and falling.
And before long, Elaina had even started humming a soft little tune.