Kisuke and Aika's solo world went for one full minute before they separated from each other, "...I'd really like to continue, but..." Aika then looked towards the door and saw four pairs of eyes watching the two of them.
While Medusa is giving Aika an encouraging look, Yoruichi and Kuroka are making these smug cat expressions on top of each other and Hestia is at the bottom and peeking through her fingers with a faint blush on her face.
Kisuke, on the other hand, Look behind Aika and saw Sona and Koneko already awake, intently staring at the two of them while laying on their beds. From this, Kisuke heaved a big sigh of relief as he could now believe what Aika said about them nothing hating him as he anticipated, 'A woman's heart is truly a mystery... But I don't think I should study it... Maybe it's something better when vague.'
Aika got off his laps and sat back down on her bed, crossing her legs and not even bothering to fix her almost undone robe.
Since they knew nothing is happening any further, the four people watching from the door entered, "And here I thought you'd pull out his junk while you're at it~." Yoruichi kept her smug and said.
"I would if not for all the eyes on me. I wouldn't mind if everyone undresses with me though~." Aika answered. Different from the past where she would just avoid or react blandly to Yoruichi's remarks, she now how confidence.
Hearing that, however, Kisuke immediately interrupted them, "Let's not go there. Not now." Before they could say anything else, Kisuke changed the topic and faced both Koneko and Sona, "I apologized for what happened. Although I deemed it necessary, what I did is still over the top. I hope that you could forgive me."
Sona and Koneko looked at each other before both of them turned to Aika, who in response, just shrugged her shoulders.
Sone sat up on her bed and faced Kisuke, "I want to know what pushed you to do something like this. Although I can guess, I would like to hear your reasoning first."
Kisuke nodded and explained his actions, "There are multiple things that I want to achieve when I planned for this to happen, however, the main and biggest reason is for you to experience what it feels like to participate in a losing battle and experience the real horrors of the battlefield where those important to you could die.
"And aside from that, I want you to push yourselves more. The more time passes, I can see that you're getting complacent. Even though it's not much and you're still working hard, for the most part, you girls are already afraid to risk yourselves.
"I'm not saying to put yourselves in danger but you should really think of ways that you could improve yourselves by yourselves. It's true that we are going to be together for a long time, but that doesn't mean that you have to depend on me, or to any of us, to teach you things that you should be the one discovering.
"We can only give you advice or point you to a direction when you're confused, but it should never reach the point where we had to lead you by hand.
"And once I noticed that you girls are walking the path of a dead end, I had to correct your mentalities because it's my fault in the first place for spoiling you.
"I watched the three of you fight those Minotaurs and I honestly thought that you did a lot better than what I could hope. You should think back when you felt cornered and you'll understand what I'm talking about.
"There are some other things, but those are just minors things that I prepared for the future."
Sona, Koneko, and Aika recalled their battle again and sure enough, it pushed them to their limits that they didn't know possible.
For Sona, she got over her inhibitions of controlling Mana directly and using it for her magic. The Mana of this world is very volatile and she already gave up the notion of controlling it without absorbing it in her body first. But because of desperation, she was able to achieve and countless possibilities and ideas to improve her magic entered her mind.
For Koneko, since she can't access her own stock of Ki due to Kisuke's sealing, she was able to go around this by forcibly combining the surrounding's Ki to her own Falna and use it. Although it's a very crude method, it opened paths for her own development.
Aika, on the other hand, had the least improvement ability-wise, but as the most normal of all of them, her mentality had a big evolution. Ever since Kisuke took her in, somewhere in her mind, she thought all of these is just a dream that she would wake up from one day. She had lived most of her life as a normal human and even though Kisuke and Yoruichi has been trying their best for her to adapt, it couldn't happen abruptly without a big catalyst. Her battle against Kokabiel doesn't really count as she's under her self-hypnosis that Yoruichi thought her and that only allowed her to escape reality further, but and the battle to the death against the Minotaurs is just what she needed.
After a minute of contemplation after hearing Kisuke's explanation, Sona sighed, "Please don't apologize. Although what you did is cruel, it's for our own good."
Koneko also nodded in agreement, "She's right, Kisuke-senpai... You're a jerk, but a very kind jerk. However, because of this, you've also lost all the reasons for you to kick us away... Although it hasn't happened yet, you're not allowed anymore to keep us out when you're going against something.
"Once we return to our w-... our hometown, your position won't be good and everyone will probably be coming after your head, but you can't leave us out anymore. We could now help you no matter how small the help we could provide...
"Thank you, senpai... For granting us this chance. The chance of fighting beside you and not just watch as a bystander."
Kisuke truly didn't expect this as he's only hoping for them to be safe when his enemies come after him. However, he didn't refute Koneko's words because aside from Yoruichi and Tessai, they are the only ones who expressed their intention of joining him without his manipulations. He might have manipulated them from the beginning, but he never did so that they would join him.
Kisuke then noticed that he cared for them more than he should have. But then again, he would never regret it. After all, because of them, his world expanded.
Shaking his head, Kisuke proposed, "Let's have our status updated."
"Oh! It's finally my turn? Let's go!" Hestia finally spoke up. She didn't want to interrupt their important talk but now they're done, they don't have to ignore her anymore and it's her time to shine.
Hestia then started walking towards the door, however, once she reached the exit, she remembered something, "...By the way... Kisuke-kun... Do I have to prepare?... Mentally I mean..."
"Hmm... Let see... Have you seen other's status, Hestia-sama?" Kisuke asked.
Hestia shook her head.
Kisuke then grinned, then there's nothing to worry about~. You don't have anything to compare it to so it shouldn't be weird from your perspective.
However, the girls knew enough that when Kisuke said there's nothing to worry about with a shit-eating grin of his, something or someone had to take the brunt force of his antics.