Kousuke happened to have some free time so he was lying down on the sofa on the management floor.
He’s only half-conscious because he’s on the verge of sleeping.
Then, someone tackled him.
「Oniichan, I have a request」
「….guhooo!」
It was Wanli in human form.
Even though she’s small and light, he was taken by surprise.
Seeing Kousuke writing for a while, Wanli became teary-eyed and apologized.
「I’m sorry….」
Seeing Wanli like that, Kousuke patted her head.
「Ah, yeah. Just be careful next time.」
「Ah, yeah. Just be careful next time.」
「Yeah….!」
He smiled at her and Wanli smiled back.
「So, what do you need?」
「Right….」
-0-
The other day, Wanli said that she and Collete had visited the Elf Village.
At that time, she saw the world tree and there were many beautiful spirits flying around it. She also wants her place to be like that.
She can feel that there are many spirits there but not on the level as the place around the world tree.
In addition to Wanli, the sky and earth fox can also feel spirits and it will strengthen them too if the spirit concentration on their place is high.
When Kousuke heard that, he crossed his arms and began to think.
He’s thinking about how to realize Wanli’s request.
In fact, the effect is something he himself wished for.
However, he has no idea how to increase the number of spirits in a certain area.
No matter how much he thinks about it, he never found an answer so he decided to ask an expert.
-0-
—Scene Change—
-0-
「Oh, I see. So that’s why you came to me for advice.」
The one who said that is Collete.
Incidentally, Collete is also hugging Kousuke’s arm.
Since the incident the other day, Collete has come to prefer being in contact with Kousuke.
On the management floor, where there are some other people, she has learned to control herself and does nothing. However, once given the chance, she will link arms with Kousuke.
In the past, when Sylvia and Peach do that to Kousuke, Collete used to tell them to refrain from doing so.
When Collete started doing that too, Sylvia and Peach told her to refrain from doing so when there are others around.
Still, Collete continued to do so which Sylvia and Peach considered unfair because she’s the one who first asked them to not do so when there are others around.
However, they were the ones who made Collete like that.
Eventually, they managed to have Collete accept their advice.
She was reluctant at first but when Sylvia told her “If you go too far, Kouhi and Mitsuki will be angry.”.
Collete knows what exactly will happen if she offended Kouhi and Mitsuki.
In the worst-case scenario, she would not be allowed to even go near Kousuke.
For Collete, that was the only thing she can’t accept at the moment.
This is why when he visits the elf village, she takes full advantage of the fact that she can’t be pampered by him on the management floor.
At first, the residents of the elf village rolled their eyes when they saw her like that but now, they have accepted it as normal.
Incidentally, when Sheryl saw them for the first time, she whispered “…I envy you.”.
According to Dolly, the elves were changing their attitude toward Collet, who was showing her affection without the fear of being seen.
The couples(including married couples), who used to act like a matured couple, were starting to look like newlyweds after seeing and hearing Collete’s behavior.
Kousuke wondered if that was a good change but Dolly confirmed that it’s definitely a good chance.
Or at least this was what Dolly was hoping for.
It’s not that Kousuke doesn’t like being linked with Collete(in fact, it makes him happy), so he does as he was told.
-0-
Collete nodded when she heard about Wanli’s request from Kousuke but her expression quickly became difficult.
「I want to increase the number of spirits….but…I don’t know if we can install something with that effect.」
She thought about it for a while but shook her head in the end.
「No, you can’t remember because you didn’t pay much attention. How about we go back to the management floor?」
「How about your job?」
Kousuke asked her about her job as the shrine maiden of the world tree.
「I’m fine…I was just finishing it up…and I’m sure you’re glad to see me dressed like this.」
What Collete was showing off was, of course, her shrine maiden outfit.
「N-no, it’s not like that….」
「…really? I’m sure you prefer this to my everyday clothes especially when….hmff」
Kousuke realized that Collete was about to say something dangerous so he blocked her mouth.
Wanli looks confused while Mitsuki smiles.
He also felt that the gaze from the women around has become colder.
「Ahahaha….sorry for the trouble I caused you～」
While covering Collete’s mouth, Kousuke left with a smile on his face as if to cover it up.
-0-
—Scene Change—
-0-
Instead of heading to the management floor immediately from the foot of the world tree where Collete was, he picked up Sheryl and Dolly first before moving to the management floor.
He thought Sheryl, the former shrine maiden of the world tree, should be knowledgeable about spirits.
In addition to that, there’s another reason.
Kousuke would like to confirm with someone about the installations on the management screen.
That someone is Dolly.
Dolly, like the world tree, is growing well and can appear elsewhere in a short time with Sheryl, her shrine maiden.
However, since Sheryl only moves around the elf village and the management floor, they haven’t been able to confirm if she can go to any other places.
There’s no complaint about their narrow scope of activities.
Well, Sheryl doesn’t seem to be dissatisfied because she’s the shrine maiden of the world tree and she rarely leaves its side.
Rather, when she came to the management floor and found out that Dolly could come with her there, she was both surprised and happy.
She was pleased that Dolly could move freely.
With that, he decided to look for something that he can install that would attract spirits with everyone and that includes Dolly.