Morning arrived.
Soft, gentle breaths brushed his ears.
After a brief rest, Rei Ao wore a satisfied smile at the corner of his mouth, lightly stroking the soft hair at both sides of his arms.
"You're awake—no need to pretend to sleep."
At those words, Yui and Yumiko, lying on either side of him, fluttered their eyelashes and slowly opened their eyes.
"Uuh…"
They glanced at each other and then both looked away in embarrassment.
"Alright, don't be so shy. What's done is done; from now on, get along as good sisters."
"Hmph, you're the one who got to enjoy everything!"
Yumiko retorted in an annoyed tone.
"Oh? Are you saying you didn't enjoy it?"
As he said that, Rei Ao's hands started to move again.
"Eek!"
Both girls trembled and hurriedly got up.
"I'm taking a shower!"
In unison, they rushed toward the bathroom—even forgetting they weren't wearing anything. They were terrified Rei Ao would continue. His energy seemed limitless, while the two of them definitely were not.
"Heh."
Rei Ao couldn't help but chuckle. Then he picked up the phone on the bedside table. There was a message from Iroha Isshiki.
Iroha Isshiki: "Rei Ao-kun, I kept waiting for you to come back last night, but you never did, so it got really late and I went home. There's a lot I heard from Yukino-senpai… I feel confused. Can we talk about it later? If I decide I want to know more, will you tell me?"
It was clear from her wording that she'd been thinking deeply and had some concerns. Yukino hadn't said much to Iroha, certainly nothing about the chat group—she was aware of the boundaries.
She only told Iroha that she knew about other worlds and that this world wasn't as simple as it looked, then showed her a bit of her own power. Even that was enough to shake Iroha's entire worldview.
Rei Ao sent a quick response:
Rei Ao: "Alright. If you want a deeper explanation, let me know."
Then he set his phone aside.
"I guess Alicia and Mabel must be nearly done talking. I'll head back."
He rose. His perfect figure was entirely bare to the air. After a brief thought, he decided he should take a shower before leaving. So he walked straight to the bathroom.
Moments later:
"Aaah! R-Rei Ao-kun?!"
"What are you doing here—"
Yukino's apartment.
"Oh, so you're finally willing to come home."
Arms folded across her chest, Yukinoshita Yukino fixed him with a cold stare. She noticed that, having just showered, he bore certain noticeable marks. It wasn't hard to guess what he'd been up to last night.
"Who were you with?"
She had asked Mai and the others. He definitely hadn't been home overnight.
"Yui…"
Rei Ao had no intention of hiding it. The time had come to shock Yukino a little.
"…"
The moment she heard Yui's name, Yukino's expression stiffened. She felt complicated emotions. Among all the people around Rei Ao, she was closest to Yui.
Though she never spelled it out loud, she did treat Yui—who always called her "Yukinon" or "Yuki-chan" so naturally—as a close friend.
Yet to learn that her good friend and the man she liked had spent the night together left her unsettled.
But that wasn't all. After a pause, Rei Ao added,
"…and Yumiko."
"??"
Yukino froze.
"You mean… you were together with Yui and Yumiko? Both of them at once?"
She blinked, trying to confirm.
"Exactly."
Rei Ao nodded, then explained:
"It wasn't me forcing them. They said they had a surprise for me. I'd have been rude to refuse."
"…"
For a moment, Yukino was speechless, her mind stumbling.
One was her good friend, the other was someone she didn't get along with. And both were from the same club—the Service Club.
Her brain pictured a scenario she couldn't fully process. The bigger issue was that she was the one left out. She felt an odd pang in her chest.
"Aaah! Why are you here again?!"
A shrill cry interrupted their exchange. Turning, they saw:
In an oversized white shirt and no pants, Mabel let out a startled yelp. As soon as she saw Rei Ao, she shrank back like a frightened kitten.
"…Rei Ao-san…"
Standing beside her, wearing Mabel's clothes, was the uneasy newcomer, Alicia.
"Mm, morning."
Rei Ao raised a hand casually in greeting. "We'll talk about your situation soon, Alicia. Right now, I need to 'handle' a certain disrespectful person."
His gaze locked onto Mabel meaningfully. She trembled:
"Eek!"
…
"Aah—ooh—it hurts—so painful~ My butt—sob—you beast—sob—!"
From Mabel's room came wave upon wave of tearful wails. Through the open door, one could see her sprawled face-down on the bed, clutching her butt.
Back on the living room sofa, Alicia sat upright, terrified she might be next. She had seen Mabel's ordeal firsthand and it looked unbelievably painful. Just watching gave her goosebumps.
Rubbing his freshly used right hand, Rei Ao spoke:
"Alicia…"
"Yes!"
She instantly stiffened, snapping to attention as though a soldier. She was deathly afraid of crossing him. He gave a wry chuckle:
"No need to act so tense. I only punished Mabel for her lack of respect. That's all."
"Uuh… Y-you won't spank me, will you?"
She shrank back again, wary.
"No. Even if I'd do that to Yukino, I wouldn't do it to you."
"…???"
From the side, Yukino aimed an icy glare. She might have tolerated "painting," but a spanking was absolutely out of the question. But Rei Ao ignored her, as if his remark was just a joke.
Right now, he was focusing on Alicia, and Yukino had no choice but to let it slide, with Alicia's predicament being the pressing matter.
"That's good…"
At hearing no spanking was in store, Alicia finally exhaled a breath of relief. Gathering her thoughts, she set her expression seriously:
"Rei Ao-san, I spoke with Mabel a great deal last night. I've learned so much from her."
She bit her lip and continued:
"She said you have a way to help me return. So…"
"You want me to send you back?" Rei Ao cut to the chase.
"…Yes. If it's not too much trouble, Rei Ao-san…"
She stood up suddenly and bowed. "I'll do anything to show my gratitude if you help me!"
"Oh? Of course, it's possible to send you back. But how will you thank me?"
"R-really?!"
Alicia's face lit up in delight, only to see Rei Ao wearing a mischievous grin.
"Let me warn you first—I don't accept ordinary kinds of thanks."
Alicia: "Eh?"
"But I don't call it a 'reward'—I prefer to call it a trade."
Rei Ao added: "Let's re-introduce ourselves. I'm Rei Ao, the chat group's Admin of the Trading Chat Chat!"
[Ding! You have chosen to add target: Alicia to the Subgroup!]
~~~
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