The afternoon sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows that spanned the entire wall, casting a warm golden glow across the polished floor, which reflected the artwork on the ceiling.
The sun's rays wrapped around the room with a comforting warmth that made everything feel slow and lazy.
This was a refined, elegant-looking living room.
Miku sat on the sofa, having just shed the posture of a leisurely lady enjoying tea.
A sudden look of panic appeared on her noble, almost aristocratic face.
"Naomi, you don't need to stay and drink tea with me this afternoon. You can go home for now."
She directed her words to the girl seated across from her.
"Eh...? Did I do something wrong, dear sister?"
The girl looked back with a pitiable expression, as if on the verge of tears.
"Sorry, but I've got something important to do. I can't keep you company right now."
"Please, would you mind heading back for today? I'll give you an autograph later to make up for it."
"...Okay, I understand."
The girl looked a little disappointed.
But unable to resist Miku's gentle pleading, she stood and quietly left the living room.
Once she heard the door close, Miku let out a relieved sigh and patted her ample chest.
She couldn't risk Souta seeing her inviting a beautiful girl over, it would definitely lead to a misunderstanding about her "cheating."
Souta had made it clear before that he didn't approve of her pursuing other girls, so she felt a bit guilty on that front.
Fortunately, the girl had been obedient and left. Otherwise, things could've gotten messy.
In the past, Miku wouldn't have bothered explaining anything.
She would've just used her voice to "persuade" the girl to leave without question.
But now... things were different.
A gentle smile curved Miku's lips.
Souta had changed her a lot and she wanted to live the way he hoped she would by her demeanor, her choices, her values.
It came with more constraints, but she was happy to follow them.
Because when she did, it felt like Souta was always by her side.
"Oh, right.. it's time to send the invite."
Once the girl's footsteps faded outside, Miku settled down, pulled out the newly acquired system phone, and sent Souta the invitation.
Then, she waited patiently.
About five seconds later, a beam of white light lit up the room.
Souta appeared, bathed in the glow.
Miku immediately sprang up from the sofa and rushed toward him, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Darling, I missed you so much."
She buried her face against his neck, breathing in his scent.
At the same time, the sensation of Miku's embrace helped Souta quickly recover from the disorientation of world-hopping, grounding him back in the physical world.
He gently ran a hand along her back. freёwebnovel.com
"Sorry it took me so long to invite you into the group."
"It's okay. Not much time has passed for me here either." Miku hugged him tighter. "Just knowing you didn't forget me is enough."
Maybe because she missed him so badly, Miku clung to Souta for several minutes before finally letting go, seemingly recharged.
She playfully poked his chest with a finger.
"Darling, you're not blushing this time. Seems like your tolerance has improved since last time."
As she spoke, the silver-violet-haired girl subtly glanced downward toward Souta's lower half.
Souta didn't know how to respond and quickly changed the subject. "How long has it been since I last left?"
Miku took Souta's hand and led him to sit on the sofa.
"Hm?" Souta's nose twitched. "There's more than one perfume scent here..."
He glanced at the two steaming cups of tea on the table and asked suspiciously:
"Was someone else here just now?"
"N-No!" Miku's expression turned a little unnatural. "Those are... for you."
Souta didn't suspect her. He was a bit thirsty anyway, so he reached for one of the cups.
But Miku reacted quickly and grabbed his hand.
"What's wrong?" Souta looked puzzled.
"Darling, drink from mine instead."
Thinking fast, Miku adjusted her expression, gave a teasing smile, and said:
"This way it's like an indirect kiss. Doesn't that excite you, darling?"
She lifted her own cup and handed it to Souta with a grin.
"Even if you lick the rim, I won't mind."
Souta took the cup and casually asked:
"You weren't entertaining a girl earlier, were you?"
"Of course not!" Miku quickly changed the subject. "Darling, did you come here for something?"
Her guilty conscience made her lie instinctively and it struck her—she hated liars. Like the fans who once betrayed her.
But now... here she was, lying without even thinking.
It made her feel a bit complicated and quietly upset.
"Can't I come just to see you?" Souta took a sip of tea, set the cup down, and looked at her.
"Miku, don't be so careful around me. If you act , it makes things awkward for both of us."
He asked, "There was another girl here just now, wasn't there?"
"Don't worry, I'm not mad." Souta gently patted her head.
"Sorry. I lied." Miku lowered her head.
"It was a kind lie, you didn't want to upset me." Souta smiled. "That's different from malicious deceit. Don't be so hard on yourself."
"Darling... you're too good to me."
Miku suddenly lunged and clung to Souta's arm, rubbing her cheek against it.
Souta caught her arms and gently pushed her away.
"Okay, if this keeps up, I can't promise I won't do something."
"I wouldn't mind something happening. Darling, you don't need to hold back."
Miku giggled, lips curled up.
"Compared to last time, you're not turning me down anymore and no one else is home..."
A hint of seduction lit up her face.
Souta stared into her violet-silver eyes and asked seriously:
"Are you really ready for what comes with being with me? You know about my... relationships, right?"
"I know. There's Kurumi-san... and your favorite, Shiroyasha."
"Huh?" Souta looked baffled. "What does Shiroyasha have to do with me? I've told you, I'm not into lolis. That comic was all just embellished by Honjo Nia..."
"It's fine, darling." Miku smiled. "I don't mind."
Seeing her so resolute, Souta decided not to bother explaining.
Pathetic, he tells the truth and no one believes him.
But then he thought of Illya... fine, maybe it's true.
If she's beautiful, be it a loli or a mature lady, it didn't matter.
"You're sure... you won't regret it?" Souta asked seriously.
"No regrets." Miku gave a warm smile. "As long as I have you."
Not only did she not mind, she even welcomed Souta having more girlfriends.
Souta was hers and his girlfriends... why couldn't they be hers too?
Rather than jealousy, she actually felt curious about meeting the others.
Souta didn't pick up on Miku's deeper intentions, but he was touched by her effort and understanding.
He took out his system phone and sent Miku an invitation.
"What's this?" Miku asked curiously.
"My invitation to you. With this, you can visit me in the real world anytime you want."
After pocketing his phone, Souta looked out the window, then back to Miku.
"Miku, do you have plans today?"
"Nope! It's the weekend, so no school, no company events. I'm free all day!"
She smiled expectantly. "Are we going on a date?"
"Not exactly a date, more like taking you along for a trip. Besides visiting you, I need to go to the neighboring city for something."
Souta hadn't forgotten his mission to harvest faith.
To avoid drawing the attention of Mio Takamiya, he had hidden a partition of his divine Kingdom beneath the nearby city.
Since two months had passed here, the faith collected should be enough to refine more divine power.
It was time to go and harvest.
"It might be a bit boring. Want to come along?" Souta asked.
"Of course." Miku nodded.
Souta took her hand, and the two left the living room.
He gave up on using his remaining divine power to teleport, choosing instead to ride in a car with Miku.
He still had a sense of romance, after all.