"Oh, I see."
That sounded reasonable. As for the details of why Futaba was living there, they realized it wasn't their place to probe too deeply.
Ilia was about to continue teaching when Sakurajima Mai suddenly came out of the bedroom with a sullen expression.
"Rei Ao, come over here."
She sounded faintly annoyed.
"Alright, coming. You all go on."
Rei Ao had a vague idea of why Mai seemed upset. He rose and headed into the bedroom with her.
"Huh???"
Once the two had gone in, Furuhashi Fumino couldn't help whispering to Mafuyu Kirisu, "Miss Mafuyu, who was that?"
Kirisu replied, "Her? That's Sakurajima Mai, one of Rei Ao's girlfriends."
"Ehh???"
They both looked utterly confused.
Ogata Rizu asked, "Then that blonde-haired girl from beforewho's she?"
"That's Tohru, the maid working at Rei Ao's house."
" "
They both fell silent. So many women lived here They hadn't expected that.
Shortly after, Sora and Tohru emerged from the bedroom.
Sora clicked her tongue in mild annoyance. "Wonder what got Mai so riled up all of a sudden."
Tohru shrugged. "No idea. Let's just wait outside for a bit."
"And that oneis who?"
"Er, I don't know either."
Faced with Furuhashi Fumino's and Ogata Rizu's renewed questioning looks, Mafuyu Kirisu gave up. She hadn't realized that after just a few days of not visiting, Rei Ao's household had grown to accommodate several new people.
Ilia explained in a calm voice, "That's Sora, Rei Ao-nii's younger sister. Now, don't get distracted; let's keep up our lesson."
"O-okay."
They mentally noted her identity and resumed studying.
Inside the bedroom:
Sakurajima Mai glared fixedly at Rei Ao. After a long moment, she spoke in a low tone:
"You you've been hiding something from me, haven't you?"
"Wouldn't call it hiding. She asked me to wait for the right time to tell you," he replied, unbelievably composed, leaving Mai no room to corner him.
"So it really is her"
Mai's expression grew extremely complicated. Moments ago, in the group chat, she had spotted a familiar name:
Sakurajima Mai: "@Sakurajima Ai, are you Mom?"
At home, Sakurajima Ai, reading that line, froze. She'd been found out. Meaning
Her heart pounded with anxiety, worried her daughter would hate her for being involved with "that man." Although she was very uneasy, she answered:
Sakurajima Ai: "Yes, it's me"
Sakurajima Mai: ""
Kobayashi: "Ohh, that Sakurajima Ai? I noticed her joining earlier, but she never really said anything."
Kasumigaoka Utaha: "She's in here? Didn't notice."
Katou Megumi: "From the looks of it, she's Mai's mother."
Miura Yumiko: "Her mother? I suddenly get a bad feeling about this."
Eriri: "No way, don't we already have enough trouble with my mom? Ugh!"
Katou Hiromi: "Ehm, I seem to be hearing something quite scandalous."
Sakurajima Ai: "I'm sorry, Mai I"
Sakurajima Mai: "No, it's not Mom's fault. If anyone's to blame, it's that man!"
Mai folded her arms, directing a cold stare at Rei Ao. "So what do you plan to say?"
Her eyes were like those of an interrogator. But Rei Ao remained unaffected.
"I don't plan to say anything. Instead, I'm going to do something."
"Y-you! What're you?"
Mai gasped as he suddenly pulled her into an embrace.
"Mm!!!"
Before she could react further, he kissed her. She struggled for a few seconds, then got swept up in it.
Out in the living room:
Furuhashi Fumino's ears twitched; she thought she heard something. Instinctively, she peeked at the half-open bedroom door.
"!!!"
She saw the two locked in a deep kiss. Flushing red, she quickly lowered her head, shocked:
"S-so bold!"
After a short while, Mai's anger mostly subsided. Rei Ao held her soft body, cheek to cheek.
"Mai, I intended to tell you about this anyway. For both you and Ai's sake, I'm not going to hesitate or give up on either of you."
""
Mai's face was burning red, her emotions in tumult. Deep down, she had anticipated this, yet she was still angry when it came to pass. She wasn't mad at him for concealing anything, but more at herself for feeling so humiliated. After all, Ai's identity was special to her. How should she face her mother in the future? Mai was incredibly torn. The only target for her pent-up frustration was Rei Ao, who had caused it all. He'd placated her for now, though, and she felt a bit better seeing that his resolve was unwavering.
Still, she couldn't help feeling a bit resigned. "Then how am I supposed to deal with Mom now?"
"Mai," Rei Ao said gently, "you don't have to be so conflicted. I've got another secret to share: from what Ai told me, you're actually not her biological daughter."
"Eh???"
Mai's eyes went wide in disbelief. She seriously wondered if she was dreaming.
"I know it's tough to swallow," Rei Ao said, "but you could ask her directly."
""
Mai hesitated a while, then truly asked in the group chat:
Sakurajima Mai: "@Sakurajima Ai, so you're saying I'm not your biological daughter?"
"???"
Everyone in the chat was dumbfounded. This was a huge bombshella massive piece of gossip!
~~~
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Chapter 261: Familiar, Void Genome (Bonus Chapter)
As soon as Sakurajima Mai posed her question, everyone in the chat fell silent, turning into onlookers quietly eating their popcorn.
After a while, Sakurajima Ai finally replied.
Sakurajima Ai: "Yes, I'm sorry, Mai. I've never known how to tell you the truth about all this."
Sakurajima Mai: ""
Mai wore a troubled expression.
Hearing the truth from her mother made her feel as though her life had been hit with too many strange things, and this development had thrown her entire worldview into confusion.
Eriri: "Why does your situation sound so much like mine and my mom's?"
Kobayashi: "Wait, there's another one of you?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha: "What's your situation, then?"
Eriri: "Ehhh, I only just found out a few days ago that I'm not Mom's biological daughter, andshe also likes some jerk!"
Sayuri (the mom): "My, my, Eriri. It's not nice to badmouth your mother behind her back~"
Eriri: "Ugh! I'm sorry, Mom!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha: "???
Machida Sonoko: "This is getting really bizarrelike some melodrama!"
Hiratsuka Shizuka: "This isn't just bizarreit's total chaos."
Seeing how tangled these relationships were in the chat, Hiratsuka Shizuka felt a headache coming on.
But some people, seeing these sorts of revelations, started to have strange thoughts.
Yuigahama Yui suddenly ran out of her room. She spotted her mother tidying up clothes on the sofa and blurted,
"Mom, am I really your biological daughter?"
"!!!"
That question made Yui's mom panic, though she quickly forced herself to calm down, brushing back her hair with feigned irritation.
"Yui, saying that will break Mommy's heart."
"Heh heh, I'm just teasing, Mom," Yui giggled and scratched her head, relieved inside. But once she went back to her room and shut the door, Mrs. Yuigahama stared at it in worry.
"Could Yuihave found out something?"
Elsewhere, having learned the truth, Mai was at a loss. She couldn't really be mad at either Rei Ao or her mother, so she just shot Rei Ao a resentful glare.
"Eriri's rightyou really are a scoundrel."
"Haha."
Even being insulted, Rei Ao only laughed aloud.
"Scoundrel or not doesn't matter, as long as you like me. Want me to comfort you a bit?"
"Who wants yourmmph!"
As Rei Ao "comforted" Mai, time slipped by. Evening came; dusk was falling.
Ilia put her books away.
"That'll be it for today."
"Eh?!"
Furuhashi Fumino and Ogata Rizu were reluctant to stop. They had never before experienced studying science or literature so effectively, with that feeling of absorbing knowledge and making real progress. It was downright addictive.
"Studying requires a balance of work and rest, and it's already getting late. You should head home now."
At that point, Rei Ao approached, and Mafuyu Kirisu also stood up.
"Exactly. However important your studies are, we can't have your families worrying."
"Alright."
With no other choice, the pair said their goodbyes. After thanking Ilia and Rei Ao, they left.
Mafuyu Kirisu let out a long sigh and turned to give Rei Ao a thumbs-up.
"Your sister is truly amazing."
She had never seen Furuhashi Fumino and Ogata Rizu so seriousand so enthusiasticabout subjects they were bad at.
"Ilia really is incredible."
Rei Ao smiled. "Miss Mafuyu, care to stay for dinner? We're making sweet-and-sour ribs tonight."
SwSweet-and-sour ribs!
Mafuyu's eyes widened at the thought of sweet-and-sour ribs.
Her throat involuntarily gulped. She hadn't eaten that dish in quite a while. Finally, torn between embarrassment and a favorite meal, she chosesweet-and-sour ribs.
"In that casesorry to intrude!"
She figured a bit of embarrassment was worth it for something delicious.
In the Hidden Base beneath Roppongi Fortthis was the Funeral Parlor's underground stronghold.
"Gai."
Led by Tsugumi and Ayase, Inori arrived to meet Gai: a man whose body was strangely gaunt and elderly-looking. In reality, he was very youngclose to Tsugumi and Ayase's age.
Gai Tsutsugamithe "young" leader of the Funeral Parlor.
(Note: This is a slightly modified version.)
When Tsugumi and Ayase joined the Funeral Parlor, they heard that this wizened man was actually young and were stunned. Later they learned he had some illness that made him look like that, and they respected him for it. Still, in truth, seeing him look so elderly meant they felt no romantic interest in him. Gai himself was quite helpless about it.
Originally he'd hoped that Inori's special bloodgiven her unique backgroundmight suppress his "Apocalypse Virus." But the problem wasblood type! Because of incompatible blood types, it was impossible for him to receive Inori's blood, though it shouldn't have been that way. As a result, his Apocalypse Virus remained uncontrolled, leaving his body in this pitiful state.
Once Tsugumi and Ayase left them, Gai spoke seriously to Inori.
"CoughInori, I have an extremely important mission for you."
"What do you need me to do?"
Inori's face was as serene as ever.
"You must go to one of GHQ's bases and retrievethe 'Void Genome.'"
Gai's aged eyes shone with a keen light. If he could get hold of the Void Genome, he would gain the power to change everything and fulfill his objective.
"All right."
Though Inori had no idea what the Void Genome was, she didn't hesitate to agree. This old man was her savior, and she owed him her life, even if this mission proved dangerous enough to risk it.
~~~
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Chapter 262: Hana Yurikawa, and Gabriel staying at Rei Ao's House? (Bonus Chapter)
"Miko!"
A short-haired orange girl ran up to Miko, proudly swinging her arms as she movedmouth stuffed with bread.
" "
Miko glanced at the evil spirit trailing behind the girl. As it approached, the black crystal pendant on Miko's neck flashed with a faint glow.
"Gyaaaa!!!"
The evil spirit shrieked. Instantly, it disintegrated into ash.
"!!!"
A wave of relief washed over Miko. The protective charm Rei Ao had given her was unbelievably usefulno evil spirit could get within its range. Thinking back on what she "traded" for it (and the rather embarrassing event that happened), she now felt it had been well worth it! Plus, Rei Ao was handsome, so overall she didn't feel shortchanged in the slightest.
"Miko, heh heh, I figured you'd be waiting for me here."
The chesty, somewhat dopey girl before her was Yurikawa Hana, her best friend. Miko cast a surreptitious glance at the bread in Hana's mouth, then asked matter-of-factly,
"Hana, didn't you eat breakfast?"
Hana's face darkened at once.
"Of course I did! My mom made delicious sandwiches, and I stuffed myself 'til I was full. But then, not long after leaving home, I got hungry again. Sigh, I'm kinda used to it by now."
Having an enormous appetite was normal for Hana. Her parents had taken her to a hospital, only to find no problems. In the end, they wrote it off as her having an unusually strong digestive system.
Naturally, Miko already knew the real causejust as Rei Ao had explained. Hana had incredibly strong life energy, which unconsciously attracted spirit beings. Though Hana couldn't see these evil spirits (no "spirit sight" like Miko), her powerful life energy both drew them in and protected her. If any harmful spirit got too close, it would consume some of her life energy in the process. Once that energy was used up, Hana would be in serious danger. Fortunately, she could rapidly replenish her life energy by eatinghence her huge appetite. And, well, Hana did enjoy her food
"Hana, I have a protective amulet that might help you," Miko said, handing her a small black crystal pendant.
"Eh? An amulet?"
Hana inspected the black crystal necklace curiously. Could it really help with her "digestive powers"?
Miko realized it must seem odd, so she opted for honesty.
"Hana, your appetite problem is caused by evil spirits."
"E-evil spirits?!"
Startled, Hana gaped at her friend.
Now that Miko had both the protection for herself and for Hana, she could afford to reveal the truth about evil spirits and life energy. Before long, Hanafully trusting Mikodidn't write her off as a weirdo.
Instead, she shuddered in fear, glancing around.
"Miko, are thereevil spirits around me right now?"
She believed Miko's words instantly. Seeing how much faith her friend had in her, Miko smiled in gratitude.
"Hana, don't worry. With my spirit sight, I saw an evil spirit following you just now, but my amulet wiped it out. So hereyou wear one, too."
"Thank goodness!"
Hana patted her ample chest, relieved. She promptly put the charm on.
"Heh heh, I feel more secure already."
Still, Hana asked curiously, "Miko, where'd you get this amulet? Some shrine?"
Miko shook her head.
"No, Rei Ao-nii gave it to me, and he said to give you one as well."
She spoke the name "Rei Ao" without thinking.
"Rei Ao?" Hana's eyes lit up with a suspicious glint.
"Miko, is this Rei Ao maybe yourboyfriend?"
"Ugh"
Miko blushed. In all honesty, calling him her "boyfriend" might not be entirely correct, but they had done what couples dothings both permissible and notand even met each other's families. Rei Ao had promised to take full responsibility for her. She was just too shy to give him a clear answer yet.
