*"I want to spend time with you, David."*

Around 12:00 PM, Tomoe, Rangiku, Isane, Sofia, Yoruichi, and Marin were all in the living room watching the anime 'Toradora!' that Marin put on.

Mio was upstairs watching David program so she wasn't down there with the rest.

"Why is she so rude?" Isane asked.

"She's a tsundere! It's her whole shtick, heheh~. This is a cute romcom, you'll get used to Taiga's personality and become obsessed with her!" Marin replied, completely in fangirl mode.

"I like her, she's a feisty little cutie," Sofia said.

Rangiku didn't voice her opinion, but she was just as into the show as Marin was.

*diiiing doooong~*

The girls all looked toward the front door as they heard the doorbell ring.

"Think that's that Shouko girl that David mentioned?" Yoruichi asked.

"There's only one way to find out~!"

Marin paused the show and jumped off the couch, reverting to her human form as she opened the front door.

Standing in the doorway was the beautiful and graceful Shouko Komi, wearing a white blouse under a light pink cardigan, a navy pleated skirt, and black tights with loafers. In her hands was a small black purse that matched her outfit nicely.

She had her hair tied up in a ponytail and had the same expressionless look on her face with slightly narrowed eyes.

When she saw Marin, she tried greeting her.

"G... Goo... G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G..."

Marin tilted her head and wondered why the beautiful girl in front of her was making weird babbling noises while shaking, but then she remembered that Shouko has trouble communicating and figured this is what happened when she tried.

"It's okay~, no need to be so nervous! You must be Shouko Komi, right? I'm Marin Kitagawa, you can just call me Marin~! Come inside, I'll show you around David's place and we can drag him away from the computer, too, heheh~."

Shouko stopped trying to speak and just opened her eyes wide as she quickly nodded her head and shuffled inside.

Marin giggled as she made way for Shouko and closed the door behind her.

『 Marin Kitagawa (Foxy Otaku): Omigosh, this girl is so cuuute~! 』

When Shouko entered the penthouse, she held her purse tightly in both of her hands in front of her, slightly startled by the amount of beautiful women inside.

Marin walked up beside Shouko and looked at the other girls while she gestured to the beauty next to her.

"Girls, this is Shouko Komi, David's new friend. She'll be having lunch with us, but she has trouble talking so don't force her to say anything, okay~?"

The women already knew everything, but still nodded anyway.

They decided to try and ease Shouko's tension by introducing themselves one-by-one without forcing her to talk.

"Good afternoon, Komi-dono. My name is Tomoe, second wife of the young master," Tomoe said with a smile, trying to be as polite as possible.

"I'm Rangiku Matsumoto, just a guest in David's home for a few days," Rangiku greeted with a wave.

"Hello, Komi-san. My name is Isane Kotetsu and I am also just a guest in David's home for a few days with Lieuten--ahem, with Rangiku."

"Name's Yoruichi Shihouin, but you can just call me Yoruichi. I'm just hanging out with David and his wives for a bit until I get bored."

"Sofia Bulga, nice to meet you, Shouko."

Shouko was a little overwhelmed by everyone's introductions, but she nodded her head and bowed slightly to each of them in turn.

"Mio is upstairs, but we'll meet her when we go get David, heheh~," Marin said with a smile.

Shouko opened and closed her mouth multiple times as she tried to introduce herself, but couldn't get her words out.

"Would it be easier to write your words on a piece of paper?" Marin asked, already having thought of a solution to her problem earlier.

Shouko looked over at Marin with her eyes still wide and nodded her head quickly.

"Heheh~, okay, wait here for a second!"

Marin ran off to the door under the stairs and opened it up, revealing her apartment's interior as she walked through and went to rummage through her bedroom.

A few moments later, she came back with an empty notebook and a pencil.

"Here you are~!" Marin said as she passed the items to Shouko.

Shouko carefully took the notebook and pencil before she opened it up and started writing.

She seemed to be scribbling intensely until she flipped the notebook over and held it in front of her as her face became stoic and cold once more.

*"Hello, Tomoe-san, Matsumoto-san, Kotetsu-san, Yoruichi, Bulga-san. My name is Shouko Komi and I am David's friend. He invited me over today so that I could try to practice talking with people and make some friends."*

When everyone read what Shouko wrote, they all felt bittersweet.

Shouko seems like a sweet girl and she only wants to learn how to talk and make friends, how could they not feel a pang in their heart?

Rangiku stood up and walked up to Shouko before giving her a big hug.

"Awwww, you're such a sweetheart~! I'll be your best friend, don't worry! And you can just call me Rangiku!"

Marin crossed her arms and pouted, "Hey! You'll be gone soon so how would you even talk to Shouko?! I'll be her best friend!"

"Haha, don't get ahead of yourselves, you two. Aren't you forgetting about the one who would likely try his hardest to be her best friend?"

Marin and Rangiku looked at each other until they understood who Yoruichi was talking about.

"Right... Hubby would definitely want the best for Shouko. If he can help a beautiful girl with a good personality, we all know he'd do his best," Marin said, jealous of David being able to be Shouko's future best friend.

Shouko felt a little overwhelmed, but still managed to keep her composure as she scribbled in her notebook once more.

*"Thank you, you two. I didn't think I'd get friends so soon, much less people who want to fight over who's my best friend. This is a nice feeling, I just wish I could speak. I'm going to start working on it with David's help and would like to ask for your patience."*

Sofia couldn't help but smile as she said, "Okay, there's no need to be so polite. None of us here have known each other for more than a few days, save for Rangiku and Isane, but we're all casual with each other. You seem to be very well-mannered, but learn to just chill when you're here, haha!"

*scribble scribble scribble*

*"Okay, I will try my best."*

The girls all burst out laughing as they saw Shouko hold up her notebook with a little jump of joy.

"Heheh~, you're too cute, Shouko! Let me show you around the rest of the place now," Marin said as she pulled Shouko's attention away from the group.

Shouko nodded and held her notebook to her chest as she followed behind Marin up the stairs, listening to her along the way as she pointed out and explained what and where everything was.

"This door goes somewhere private that you'd have to ask hubby about, but I can't talk about it unless he approves of it. This door leads to Sofia's room. This door leads to Isane's room. This door leads to Rangiku's room. This door leads to another private area that nobody would ever want to go to, heh... That door leads to hubby's bedroom, and this door..."

Marin entered David's office and turned to face Shouko as she pointed at David and Mio.

"Heheh, this is hubby's office. He's working on a new game engine for his next project, but that's all I know. That's Mio, his third wife. She seems to be fascinated with video games and computers so she's been staying up here to watch him work."

Mio turned her head to look at Marin and Shouko, making eye contact with the latter and raising an eyebrow.

She stood up and walked over to the two girls and gave an elegant bow.

"Good afternoon. You must be Shouko Komi that husband mentioned earlier. My name is Mio, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Marin was taken aback by how prim and proper Mio was being, but figured this must be how she acts around non-hostile strangers.

*scribble scribble scribble*

*"Good afternoon, Mio-san. My name is Shouko Komi, a friend of David's. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well."*

Shouko matched Mio's mannerisms perfectly as she held up her notebook and gave a bow in return.

"Heheh~, Shouko is our friend, Mio. You should be more casual with her," Marin said, finding their interaction cute and endearing.

『 Marin Kitagawa (Foxy Otaku): She'll likely be another sister in the future as well, heheh. 』

『 Mio (Hungry Masochist): I figured as much, but I like her manners and wanted to show my own first. 』

Marin just smiled and walked up to David. He had his earbuds in and was so focused on his work that he didn't notice the two beauties entering behind him.

Marin wrapped her arms around David from behind and rested her head on his shoulder, prompting him to take out his earbuds and turn around.

"Ah, Shouko! I'm sorry I didn't come to greet you when you arrived, I had actually set an alarm for 10 minutes from now to start cooking. When did you get here?"

*scribble scribble scribble*

Shouko blushed when she saw David's smile, but kept her calm otherwise and held up her notebook in front of her face.

*"It's okay! I just got here and met with the women downstairs first. You have very beautiful wives. I didn't know you could marry so many women at such a young age, but they are all very nice, even the women who aren't your wives are very nice! I arrived early because I wanted to try and meet new people and see if I could make friends, and I did! They all said they wanted to be my friends without me even saying anything!"*

Cat ears and a tail seemed to grow out of Shouko as her ears twitched and her tail swayed back and forth.

David had to rub his eyes to clear the illusion away, but after he read everything, he smiled and stood up from his desk.

"Haha, that's good to hear. I'm glad you're already making friends. See? You just need to be around the right people. The girls downstairs aren't afraid of you nor are they intimidated, plus I'm sure being able to write things down on a notebook is helpful, too, right? Also, we're not legally married yet, but that won't stop me from calling them my wives, heheh."

*scribble scribble scribble*

*"I see! And yes, Marin gave me the notebook and pencil, it's very useful! However, I would like to be able to speak in the future so I hope I won't have to only rely on this from now on."*

David smiled even brighter as he read what Shouko wrote.

"Don't worry. Like I said, I'll be your practice partner and if I'm not available, I'm sure Marin or any of the other girls downstairs would help as well if they're around. Do you want to hang out in here or do you want to go downstairs with the others? I'm fine with whichever you prefer," David said.

*scribble scribble scribble*

*"I would like to go downstairs so I can try talking with the others. Even if I can't, it will still be fun to be around them."*

"Hahaha, great! I'm glad to see you already getting out of your comfort zone, that's awesome!"

David felt genuinely happy to see Shouko trying her best to make friends and talk to people when she struggles with the problems she does.

⟪ I hope either me or Marin are in Shouko's class so we can help her make friends at school. I can already see things going well for her. She seems to be in a good mood today, plus she looks so beautiful in that blouse and skirt. I hope she feels comfortable here and has a good time. ⟫

David walked downstairs with Mio, Marin, and Shouko following closely behind.

"Alright, I'll get started on lunch. Girls, please treat Shouko well and try to help her with anything she needs," David said as he entered the kitchen.

Shouko was a little startled to see David leaving so abruptly, but when she realized that he was still nearby, she felt better and was confident in attempting to converse with everyone else.

David pulled out the remaining minotaur meat he had and decided to make a gyudon, or beef bowl, out of it.

⟪ Komoe-chan said she'd bring more minotaur meat from the dungeon so I'll use what I have left for some gyudon. I kinda want to invite Toa over for lunch as well, but I don't know how Shouko would react to the supernatural world and I don't want to make her uncomfortable... ⟫

"Toa?" Rangiku asked, oblivious to the fact that Shouko was sitting right next to them.

*scribble scribble scribble*

*"Can you hear David's voice, too?"*

Marin looked over at Rangiku flatly before shaking her head with a sigh. 

"Haaa... Yes, we all can. There are rules to it though, such as not being able to talk about it to him or other people who can't hear it. Since you should already know about the supernatural side of things, do you mind if I get more comfortable?" Marin whispered.

*scribble scribble scribble*

*"Sure! I've wanted to see the things that David has talked about and am excited to finally get a chance!"*

Marin smiled and shifted to her kitsune form, letting her tails spread out and bristle as she stretched excitedly.

"Heheh~, this is so much better! I wish I could take you to see David's private dimension, it's so cool~!"

Shouko's eyes went wide and had a twinkle in them as she saw Marin's transformation.

*scribble scribble scribble*

*"That's amazing! Is Yoruichi the same Yoruichi that can turn into a cat?"*

Yoruichi smirked as she shifted into her cat form, jumping off the couch and into Shouko's lap.

"C... C... C... Cute...," Shouko whispered, focusing all of her attention on the cute black cat in front of her.

*scribble scribble scribble*

*"Can I pet you?"*

Shouko lowered her notebook in front of Yoruichi, allowing her to read her request.

"Sure, I don't mind," Yoruichi said.

Shouko was a little startled to hear Yoruichi's masculine voice, but decided to pet her anyway.

She smiled as she felt the soft fur between her fingers and only after 20 seconds did she stop petting Yoruichi, allowing her to jump down and shift back into her spirit form.

"Wanna see some other cool stuff?" Marin asked.

Shouko nodded her head excitedly.

"Heheh~, watch this."

Marin raised her right palm up and a pink light shot out of it, splitting into two and forming perfect clones of herself.

Marin B created six balls of foxfire and started tossing them to Marin C.

Marin C caught them and one-by-one, started tossing them back to Marin B.

They continued going back and forth, juggling beautiful red foxfire between themselves.

Shouko watched in amazement as she felt the heat radiating off of the foxfire.

"Marin...," David said, baffled by her blatant show of powers.

Marin B and Marin C dispersed the foxfire immediately and stood with their hands hidden behind their backs as they both looked over at David, along with the original Marin.

"Haaa... Shouko is a normal girl, did you really have to show off?"

Marin put her hand out and absorbed her clones in a pink light before lowering her head and twiddling her thumbs as she stared at the ground.

"If she's going to be our friend, I figured I should show her some cool stuff so she isn't surprised later... She would've found out eventually anyway, I'm sure..."

⟪ And you couldn't wait until after your very first meeting with her?? Seriously, I don't want to scare Shouko off with a bunch of weird shit on her first visit over here! ⟫

"Haaa...," David sighed, rubbing his face.

*scribble scribble scribble*

*"It's okay! I thought it was really cool! I agree with Marin that I would have found out eventually so I'm happy that she trusted me enough to show me her powers!"*

David read Shouko's message from afar and could only smile and shake his head.

'Still, my thoughts weren't a prompt for Marin to publicly expose us so easily. Let our friendship build for a bit first, jeez...'

"Alright, if you're fine with it then I don't mind, Shouko. But Marin, you need to be more careful in the future. Don't just carelessly show off because you want to look cool. And don't deny it either, I know how excited you are to have powers now," David said, slightly scolding Marin for her carelessness.

"Heheh~, but my powers are pretty cool, aren't they?"

David held back a laugh and just turned back to continue making lunch. "Yes... Yes they are..."

Marin smiled smugly as she looked back at Shouko. "I'll stop showing off for now, heheh~. Wanna watch anime with us?"

Shouko nodded excitedly as she turned toward 'Toradora!' that was paused on the TV.

⟪ I'll finish slicing the minotaur meat and onions before marinating them. Then, I'll run to the Cradle real quick and see if Toa wants to join us for lunch. I haven't seen her for a couple of days and while I'm trying to play hard-to-get, I miss seeing her. I'll invite Rinon, too. If Komoe is back by then, having an older kid around might be good for her. ⟫

While David was finishing up his preparations for lunch, the girls were having a fun time watching anime.

"T... T... T..."

Shouko tried talking about the anime, but unfortunately, she couldn't get her words out. She slumped her shoulders down and felt discouraged.

"It's alright, Komi-dono. You don't have to be able to speak on your first day, just take things slow," Tomoe said supportively.

*scribble scribble scribble*

*"Thank you, Tomoe-san. I wanted to say that Taiga is adorable."*

"Hahaha~, she really is!" Rangiku agreed with a laugh.

The girls chatted and enjoyed their time watching TV for a few more minutes, with Shouko occasionally trying to speak, until David came up to them.

"Alright, girls. I'm going to go see if Toa and Rinon want to come over for lunch," he said.

He then looked over at Shouko.

"Shouko, since you already know about the supernatural side of things, I'll let you know ahead of time so you're not worried. I have a private dimension where a bunch of people live and I'm going there now to get some people to have lunch with us and meet you."

*scribble scribble scribble*

*"That sounds cool! Can I go with you?"*

David smiled and said, "Sure! It'll be quick, but I think you'll enjoy it."

Shouko rapidly nodded her head and stood up, trembling in excitement.

The girls all chuckled when they saw Shouko's expression, but nobody else made any moves to accompany David, wanting to give him and Shouko time alone to further their bond.

David waved his hand and created a Mist Gate that led to the foyer of his mansion in the Cradle before turning back to face Shouko.

"Heheh, come on," David said with a chuckle, happy to see the surprised expression on Shouko's face.

He walked through the Mist Gate and disappeared from sight.

Shouko was a little nervous, but only hesitated for a moment before taking small yet quick steps through the Mist Gate, going from a modern penthouse to a luxurious mansion in the blink of an eye.

She looked around in amazement, observing every little detail of her new surroundings with her eyes open wide and her head shifting left and right rapidly.

"Welcome to my mansion in the Sovereign's Cradle, colloquially referred to as just 'The Cradle'. It's a personal dimension that resides in my soul and there are a few different races aside from humans that live here."

*scribble scribble scribble*

*"Your mansion is already very impressive, I can't wait to see more!"*

"Haha, follow me and I'll let you see the place as we make our way over to meet a friend."

Shouko's imaginary cat ears twitched as she happily followed behind David out of his mansion.

David wanted to ask Shiki if he knew where Toa was, but then remembered that Shiki was still out on the balcony of his penthouse.

'I swear, if Shiki just stays on the balcony the entire time he's here, I'll forget all about him...'

[Authors forget about characters all the time when they have a bunch hanging around. It's not surprising you keep forgetting about Shiki.]

'I'm not an author though...'

[You used to be. Your character forgetfulness seems to have carried over, tsk tsk tsk...]

'Meh, I'll do better then.'

Vowing to stop forgetting about certain people, David decided to use his Sakai to search the Cradle for Toa.

It didn't take long to find her walking toward the town from the forest alongside her party and Komoe.

Seeing that it would take a few minutes for them to arrive, David then searched for Rinon, finding her hanging out at Sayo's shop.

⟪ I haven't gone back to Sayo-chan's shop since the first time I met her. Might as well go over and say hello while I invite Rinon over. ⟫

"There's a little orc girl that runs a shop in town and one of the people I'm inviting is over there right now. Wanna go say hi?"

*scribble scribble scribble*

*"An orc? I'm not sure what that is, but I'd love to meet new people!"*

⟪ Ah, Shouko's enthusiasm is so loveable. I want to introduce her to the whole world now, heheh. ⟫

"Alright, let's go!" David said with a smile, leading Shouko through his estate and toward Sayo's store.

Shouko was immersed in her surroundings as she observed everything around her on their way into town, feeling awed by the gorgeous scenery.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at their destination.

"Good morning, Rinon-chan, Sayo-chan!" David called out as he opened the door to the store.

"Young master/Onii-chan!" Sayo and Rinon called out simultaneously.

"Heheh, how are you girls doing today?"

"Very good! My brother had a productive dungeon run this morning and brought back a lot of minotaur meat for me and some others brought their edible gains from other dungeons as well!" Sayo said excitedly.

"I've been keeping Sayo company, but not much else. Onee-chan went to a dungeon with her party again so I wanted to help Sayo out," Rinon said with a smile.

David only now noticed that during the time the Cradle was sped up for 7 months, everyone's fashion sense had shifted away from western fantasy attire to more modern attire.

Both Sayo and Rinon were wearing t-shirts and jeans, something that looked admittedly both humorous and cute on the little orc girl.

David walked up and patted Sayo and Rinon on the head, smiling at them, "Heheh, you girls are doing a wonderful job."

He then turned around and gestured toward Shouko.

"This is my friend, Shouko Komi. She's from my world and has never met any race other than humans so please don't feel offended if she stares, Sayo-chan. She also has trouble talking to people so she writes, but since you all can't read Japanese, I'll translate for her."

Sayo and Rinon finally noticed Shouko and looked her up and down, feeling their breaths hitch due to how beautiful Shouko is.

"Wow...," the two girls said in unison, jaws dropped to the floor.

"Heheh, she's so beautiful that you can't even think of what to say, right?" David asked with a smirk.

Sayo and Rinon just slowly nodded their heads as they continued to admire Shouko.

Shouko blushed and stood still like a statue.

"Haha, I'm just trying to prove a point, Shouko. This is the reaction you're used to getting from people you haven't met before, right?"

*scribble scribble scribble*

*"Yes, it is the reaction I'm used to. So you're saying that people think I'm beautiful and don't know how to react?"*

Shouko held up her notebook in front of her face to hide her blush.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. Your beauty mixed with your cold demeanor makes you intimidating and admirable, stunning those who meet you."

*scribble scribble scribble*

*"Is this what flirting is?"*

"Pfft, hahaha!" David couldn't help but laugh at Shouko's question as she raised her notebook in front of her, not doing a good job of hiding her blush from David at all.

He wiped a tear from his eye and ignored the cute pout that was barely perceptible on Shouko's face as he said, "I was just explaining the reason behind why some people act the way they do around you. I feel that if I were to flirt with you, you'd be uncomfortable and I don't want that. I'll tell you right now that unlike other girls, I won't flirt with you unless you say you want me to, haha."

*scribble scribble scribble*

⟪ I'd love to flirt with Shouko, but I don't think she'd understand it so I'd rather just help her be able to talk with people. I wasn't lying, I really meant it when I said I'd treat her differently. All of the girls in my life are special, whether they're friends or wives, but what makes Shouko special is her lack of an ability to communicate normally and knowing how desperately she wants to fix that, I'll do my best to focus on that before anything else. ⟫

*erase erase, scribble scribble scribble*

David waited patiently for Shouko to get her thoughts out. Sayo and Rinon were still mesmerized by Shouko so they just watched in silent admiration.

It took almost a full minute for Shouko to finish writing her thoughts.

*"I want you to flirt with me."*

She held her notebook in front of her mouth, only showing her cold, narrowed eyes as she stared at David with her hands shaking.

David's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. He was expecting her to laugh or say that she understood what David was trying to do, but never did he think she'd come out and request for him to flirt with her.

"Um... Are you sure? If I flirted with you, that'd be going a bit further than what friends would normally do and I thought you wanted to just started making friends first?"

*scribble scribble scribble*

*"You are my friend, but I want to feel that ticklish feeling in my chest again. I like that feeling you gave me and I like you."*

"..." David blinked a few times at what he just read.

⟪ Did Marin infect Shouko or something? Marin knew me for like a day before she confessed to me, but Shouko has only known me for... well, it's actually been about the same amount of time I suppose... ⟫

Shouko blushed when she heard David say that she confessed to him with his inner voice.

"Ahem... Just to make sure I'm not misreading the situation or your note, was that a love confession or just a general type of 'like' that you feel for me?"

*scribble scribble scribble*

*"I don't know. I just like the feeling of talking to you and how you talk to me. So I said I like you."*

⟪ Ah, false alarm. I did indeed misread things. ⟫

David laughed, "Haha, I see. My apologies, I misunderstood. You're probably just feeling joy and excitement at finally being able to talk to someone. Once you get more friends and talk with them, you'll likely feel the same way. If you still want me to flirt with you in the future, I'd be more than happy to do so."

"..."

Shouko remained silent, not sure if what David said was true or not since she really didn't fully understand her own feelings that well.

"Anyway, Sayo-chan, Rinon-chan, this is Shouko Komi. Shouko, these are Sayo-chan and Rinon-chan. Sayo-chan runs this store with the help of other townsfolk providing her things to sell and Rinon-chan likes to help her out. Rinon-chan is the younger sister of a girl named Toa."

*scribble scribble scribble*

Shouko slightly bowed as she held up the notebook in front of her.

*"I'm Shouko Komi, it's nice to meet you, Sayo-chan and Rinon-chan."*

David translated and relayed Shouko's message to the two girls.

The two girls bowed in return, giving their own greetings which David had translated into Japanese for Shouko.

"Rinon-chan, I'm going to invite Toa over for lunch today and was wondering if you'd like to come? It'll be at my home in my home world and there will be a few other people there, but I'll have quite a lot of food and it feels like it's been quite some time since I've seen you and Toa."

Rinon looked up at David with an excited expression and didn't hesitate as she said, "Yes, please! Even if Onee-chan doesn't go, I'll definitely go!"

David chuckled and patted Rinon on the head, "Heheh, sounds good to me. If Toa doesn't go, then you'll just have to have fun all by yourself, huh?"

"Heheh, yes!" Rinon said, enjoying David's headpats.

⟪ For a 12 year old, Rinon sure likes to act like a little kid, heheh. Oh well, she suffered for some time so she deserves to be able to act like a little kid. At least she's a sweetheart and isn't a menace, heh. ⟫

It didn't take long before Toa and her party ran into Sayo's store, out of breath, followed by Komoe who had a big smile on her face as she carried a large backpack on her back, filled to the brim with large pieces of meat wrapped in butcher's paper.

"Papa!" Komoe said, easily running forward to give David a hug.

David chuckled and hugged Komoe back before letting go and standing up to look at Toa.

"Well, speak of the devil and she shall appear. It's good to see you again, Toa," David said with a smile.

Toa was covered in sweat, blood, and dirt, but she gave David her brightest smile as her large chest was heaving up and down.

David had to work hard to control himself so he didn't become a pervert in front of three children and a new friend.

"It's good to see you again, too, David~," Toa said coquettishly.

⟪ Toa got way too damn sexy in the day or two that I haven't seen her... Damn... ⟫

Toa didn't react visibly, but she felt like she had just claimed a victory in her heart.

David coughed and waved his hand, casting a cleaning spell on all of the new arrivals that left their bodies and armor sparkling clean.

"Toa, do you want to come back to my world for lunch with a few other people?" David asked, reciting programming language syntax in order to keep himself calm.

Toa tossed her bag to the dwarf girl, Ranina, and rushed up to David, grabbing his left arm as she excitedly said, "Yes! I'd love to!"

David felt Toa's soft breasts pressing up against his arm.

'...'

⟪ Mm, not good... Seriously, only a couple of days spent away from Toa and I'm already feeling desperate despite last night's exercise with the girls... Haaa, I definitely can't get riled up when Shouko and the kids are right here... ⟫

"Good, love it, let's go, now," David said quickly.

"Everyone, it was great seeing you, but I have to go back and finish making lunch. Ciao!"

He quickly opened up a Mist Gate and grabbed Shouko's hand with his right hand, not thinking about how she'd feel about suddenly holding a man's hand, and walked through the Mist Gate with Toa still stuck to his left arm.

Rinon and Komoe looked at each other before they ran into the Mist Gate as well, making it in before it closed.

Louisa, Hazal, and Ranina just stared at where the Mist Gate disappeared to, not sure about what to do.

"She definitely wants to sleep with him," Ranina said.

"Yeah...," Louisa agreed.

Hazal didn't know how to feel, but he at least knew that he couldn't get jealous.

Sayo was just happy to see David come to her store and when he and the other girls left, she just turned to the remaining party members and welcomed them to her shop.

...

David, Toa, Shouko, Komoe, and Rinon walked out of the Mist Gate and appeared in the living room of David's penthouse, right next to the couches that everyone was still sitting on as they were enjoying their show. Mio had joined them at some point and was also deeply entranced.

Marin looked back when she felt David arrive and shouted, "Hubby~!" before running over to him, tails swaying behind her excitedly.

"Hey, I'm back," David said, subconsciously squeezing his right hand as he smiled at Marin.

Shouko, whose hand was being held by David, felt him squeeze her hand and she blushed as she looked away from everyone, a look of panic settling on her otherwise stoic face.

Marin noticed and looked down at David holding Shouko's hand and smiled.

"Oho~, that sure was quick? Going from friends to lovers in less than a day?" Marin teased, looking pointedly at David and Shouko's hands.

David was confused until he saw what he was doing.

He quickly released Shouko's hand and said, "I'm sorry, Shouko. I just wanted to make sure you weren't left behind and grabbed your hand without thinking about it."

Shouko's body started trembling again as she turned her back to David and started writing her notes.

*scribble scribble scribble*

*"It's alright, I liked the feeling."*

David wanted to facepalm when he read her message, unsure if she really has been corrupted now.

"I see... Anyway, this is--," David started to introduce Toa to the girls who were now all looking over at him, but when he looked over at Toa, he saw that she was completely overwhelmed by everything around her.

"Kyahaha~! She looks even worse than Shiki! Hahaha~!" Marin laughed, absolutely losing control over her laughter when she saw Toa's expression.

The other girls started laughing as well, but it wasn't a mocking laughter. It was a warm and welcoming laughter.

Rinon wasn't any better than her sister, but she was saved by Komoe. Komoe set down her backpack and took Rinon by the hand and ignored everyone else as she started showing her around the penthouse.

David gently tapped Toa on the shoulder and, as payback for her pressing herself up against him earlier, he blew softly into her ear.

"Hiya!" Toa shouted, letting go of David's arm instinctively as she jumped back and covered her ear with her hand.

"Heheh~."

Marin chuckled and walked up to Toa, pushing David away with her tails as she looked back at him with a smirk. She grabbed Toa's hand and led her over to the couch with the others.

"Come meet everyone while hubby makes lunch~!"

Toa blushed as she recalled the warm breath that David blew in her ear a moment ago and nodded her head, following the first wife to meet the other women in David's home.

"Hahaha, as expected of Marin. Do you want to join them, Shouko?" David asked, smiling as he looked over at Shouko.

Shouko was staring at David and while she looked like her normal self on the outside, her heart was beating rapidly on the inside.

*scribble scribble scribble*

*"I want to spend time with you, David."*

David didn't think anything of it and just smiled wider. "Mm, that's fine by me. Come, we can work on the side dishes while we wait for the meat."

Shouko smiled imperceptibly as she nodded her head and followed behind David to the kitchen, curious to find out more about the ticklish feeling in her chest.

⟪ Lunch is definitely going to be lively today, heheh. I love this warm atmosphere here, I just hope it can continue every day for the rest of our lives. ⟫

[Chaos-chan] 'You flag-raising son of a bitch...'