Chapter 116. yare yare daze

The soft, warm sensation pressed against his side instantly pulled Hozuki Nozomi out of sleep.

Not that he had been sleeping very deeply in the first place.

His half-lidded eyes drifted downward, taking in the situation.

On his left—Mashiro.

On his right—Mahiru.

Both Shiina sisters, tucked under the same blanket as him.

Is this... an accidental harem flag? he thought, blinking in disbelief. I must've unlocked the "Shiina Sisters Co-sleeping Achievement."

But still—what the hell?

He hadn't taught Mashiro anything remotely close to this kind of "sneaky nighttime invasion." So where had she picked up this bold behavior?

Just then, the image of a certain twin-tailed blonde came to mind.

Kashiwagi Eri… or Eriri... That girl had been pestering him about his manuscript deadlines and was supposed to drop by again this weekend.

It had to be her fault.

Mashiro probably got exposed to Eriri's doujinshi or sketchbooks.

That damn otaku artist is corrupting innocent minds!

"Ah-CHOO!"

Somewhere across town, a certain blonde with twin-tails sneezed violently while painting.

Back in Sakurasou, Nozomi's thoughts were interrupted by a soft yawn. Shiina Mahiru stirred in his arms, her long brown hair brushing against his neck.

Her eyes fluttered open slowly, like sakura petals in the wind.

"Ohayou, Nozomi-kun…"

Nozomi smiled, lowering his head to press a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Ohayou, tenshi-chan."

Mahiru's cheeks turned slightly pink. She responded with a sleepy smile before her eyes narrowed in on the figure curled up on Nozomi's other side.

Mashiro.

Still clinging to him like a sleepy kitten, face half-buried in his chest.

"Mashiro, get up!" Mahiru reached over and pinched her cousin's cheek with a playful frown. "You can't keep pretending to be asleep!"

"…The morning hasn't arrived yet…" Mashiro mumbled with a yawn, only to nuzzle closer into Nozomi's chest.

"Don't give me that! Get up!"

In classic Mahiru fashion, she grabbed Mashiro's hand, dragged her out of bed, and marched her up to the third floor. As usual, she picked out underwear and clothes for her cousin, placing them down with an expectant look.

Mashiro, of course, protested with a cute pout. "These aren't cute enough…"

Mahiru clicked her tongue. "You say that, but I know what you're up to. You just want Nozomi-kun to pick out your outfit so you can seduce him."

Honestly, Mashiro might look airheaded, but Mahiru knew better—her cousin had a sneaky streak. The worst part? She now understood what Mashiro had meant by "eating delicious food" in the morning.

Mahiru's cheeks flared at the thought.

She shot her cousin a sharp glare. "Oi… who told you to go eat that kind of 'delicious food' from Nozomi in the first place?"

Mashiro tilted her head, lips forming a small pout. "Mahiru is stingy. You eat it secretly by yourself and don't share with Mashiro."

"THAT'S NOT EVEN THE ISSUE HERE!"

"And anyway, it's not something to share!"

Mahiru was on the verge of losing it. "I'm asking you who taught you this kind of behavior!?"

Mashiro shrugged with perfect innocence. "I learned it from manga."

"…Of course you did," Mahiru muttered. Then she crossed her arms, turning serious. "Listen, you can't do that to any other boys. Got it?"

Mashiro blinked at her for a moment. Then she suddenly turned around and declared loudly, "I'm going to tell Nozomi that Mahiru wants Mashiro to do that to other boys."

"What—!? Omae wa baka ka? That's not what I meant!"

"Hmph. You think Mashiro is dumb? Mashiro would never do that to anyone else! Nozomi is Mashiro's goshujin-sama—the only one!"

Mahiru covered her face and let out a long sigh. "Why is she like this…?"

Mashiro might look like a quiet little snow fairy, but this was clearly Shiina Makoto's genes acting up. That troublemaker used to spout the same kinds of lines back in the day.

Still, despite her eccentricities, Mahiru was glad to know her cousin had some understanding of what was acceptable.

———

Later that morning, Nozomi sat at his desk, staring blankly at a handwritten letter.

The words inside made his head hurt.

"The moment of reunion has arrived. As your child bride, I have grown up and will come to Sakurasou soon. Please prepare our wedding room.

Respectfully presented by—Hozuki Youko."

Nozomi squinted. Child bride?

Where the hell did I get a child bride from!?

He was a time-traveler, sure—but had his "system package" included an automatic childhood betrothal?

Also, the name signed at the bottom—Hozuki Youko?

Same family name. Could she be my imouto?

Was this one of those cliché routes? Tragic dead parents, house inherited, cute imouto on the way?

He rubbed his temples. This plotline's getting out of hand…

Well, there was still an empty room in Sakurasou. One of them was reserved for Aoyama Nanami's upcoming move-in, which would probably trigger a new system task with rewards.

He placed the letter aside with a sigh and stepped out of the room.

Sayu Ogiwara was already bustling around the kitchen, apron on and humming softly as the morning light streamed through the windows of Sakurasou.

It would still take a few more days for her school transfer documents to go through officially, but ever since she had been "rescued," it was like her whole aura had changed. The dark cloud that once followed her had vanished, replaced by a spark of life. She had become cheerful, energetic, and radiated that genki vibe typical of a slice-of-life anime heroine.

This... this is what it means to save a bishoujo, Hozuki Nozomi thought, arms crossed as he leaned on the doorframe, watching her work with a smile creeping up on his face.

Sayu turned toward him, her eyes bright. "Ohayou gozaimasu, Nozomi-san!"

Nozomi blinked. "Wait, why the -san? That makes me sound ancient."

Sayu giggled as she flipped a tamagoyaki. "Because you give off those dependable oyaji vibes! You're super reliable. Like, mature to the point where you could be someone's dad."

"…I'm seventeen," Nozomi deadpanned.

"But you act like a thirty-year-old uncle!" she teased, sticking her tongue out.

Nozomi chuckled and ruffled her hair gently. "Just call me Nozomi. Or if you want to flatter me, Nozomi-nii works too."

"Hehe, hai hai! Anyway, breakfast is ready. Go call everyone down!"

With a nod, Nozomi headed upstairs to the third floor, knocking on doors and waking the rest of the misfit residents. First was Kamigusa Misaki, who, as usual, was passed out with several half-done animation cels sprawled across her futon. Then there were Frieren and Fern—the two mysterious mage girls who had stumbled into this world through a dimensional tear.

Come to think of it, he still owed Frieren big time.

If it hadn't been for her help with the spirit Yuko, things might've turned ugly.

Frieren had just smiled back then, brushing it off. "It's nothing. Ghosts don't exist in my world. They're rare here too. I'm... curious."

That curiosity was dangerous. The last time she got "curious," she nearly tried to reverse-engineer the summoning circle in the hallway.

She'd even started theorizing whether it was possible to create a two-way teleportation gate between this world and hers. Which—given there were only two pairs of magical panties left—might not be a bad idea.

Returning without those might get... awkward.

For now, Frieren seemed content with her life here. She had developed a fondness for instant noodles and cola, and had even become a closet gamer, often glued to the PC late into the night. But she hadn't slacked off completely—she still studied her magic diligently.

The treasure chest that sometimes spawned in Nozomi's room had recently coughed up a batch of mana potions, which Frieren used to replenish her energy.

Of course... there were other methods of mana restoration.

Fern had found out about that.

Unfortunately, she had gotten flustered and refused to ever "replenish" that way again unless Frieren was also involved.

And while Frieren had pretended to be unbothered, Nozomi noticed she hadn't brought it up since.

So, for now, things between him and the two mages were at a... magical stalemate.

Still, there was time. As long as they continued to live under the same roof, it was only a matter of plot progression before their bonds deepened.

Nozomi smiled to himself. After all, Frieren hadn't talked about leaving ever since that night.

———

As for Mai Sakurajima—she hadn't returned yet.

But she had sent Nozomi a message saying she'd be back by tomorrow.

She and her mother had paid a hefty cancellation fee to break free from their old entertainment contract, leaving them practically penniless.

But that wasn't a big deal.

Nozomi had already called in a favor from Yukinoshita Haruno, asking her to start setting up a film and TV company. He would handle the script himself and make Mai the star.

Haruno, of course, couldn't resist teasing him. "You're just using me like a personal assistant now. Calling me onee-san won't get you out of this. Even your fiancée is running errands for you!"

"I'll compensate you properly," Nozomi replied smoothly.

"Oh? And how do you plan on doing that, Nozomi-kun?"

"A sweet date, of course."

Elsewhere, the stock shares Akasaka Ryuunosuke had given him in that multinational VR game company were finally bearing fruit. The company had just finished its alpha test using the core crystal Nozomi had provided—the same crystal that could eventually awaken something much more dangerous.

If Nozomi glanced at the player list, he'd notice one name glowing softly—Kiritani Kazuto.

And deep in a lab, Kayaba Akihiko and his team were unaware that the very crystal they were studying would do more than power their virtual world.

It would hatch.

And once it did—the future of both worlds would belong to Hozuki Nozomi.