I look at Yoshino as she stares at me from the stairs.
"What's your name, little one?" I ask her with a smile.
"Hello, boy. I'm Yoshinon, and she is Yoshino... Are you Shiori-chan's boyfriend?" The puppet starts speaking excitedly for a moment and then says something I wasn't expecting.
"???"
"..." I glance at Shiori for a moment and then at the puppet.
"I know you're joking, but wouldn't it be bad for Shiori to hear you say that?" Yoshino seems a bit concerned about what I said.
"Hahaha, it's just a joke," the puppet says, laughing.
"Sure... I'm Kuroiwa Aurélio, but you can just call me Aurélio, Yoshinon," I say, still maintaining a smile.
"So, Aurélio-kun, are you the friend Shiori-chan talked about?" Yoshino seems unaware that I know she was Shido.
"...you kind of messed up your line."
"Messed up?"
"I know Shiori was Shido, but you said Shiori talked about me, but technically today should be the first time she sees me," I see Yoshino's eyes widen as she realizes the mistake.
"Hahaha, Aurélio-kun is very observant..." Yoshinon was about to say something more but notices Kotori looking at me with anger.
"Something wrong?"
"Nothing, just that Kotori and I were playing a small game, and Kotori lost, so she's a bit mad now," I hear her click her tongue.
"So you're also friends with Kotori? Aurélio-kun is quite the ladies' man," he says jokingly.
"Yes, I had been here before. I also ran into Kotori a few days ago on the street, and we had a good chat."
"Isn't that right, Kotori?" I say, looking at her with a gentle smile that makes her shiver a little.
"Yes, we're... friends," she says, stepping away and going to the kitchen.
"I'm going to help Shido," she announces.
"And you, little one, want to play a game while we wait for dinner?" I say to Yoshino, noticing that Tohka has already gone to the kitchen.
Yoshino comes down the stairs and sits on the couch next to me.
She nods in agreement; she seems curious about me.
"You're also invited to join in, Yoshinon." Now that I see the puppet, I find it strange. It's not that something is wrong... it's just that it has Reiryoku traits. In the anime, it only seems like Yoshino is doing ventriloquism, but seeing it in person, it's as if it's alive.
In the anime, it doesn't seem like a puppet. I wonder if Yoshino's Angel is some kind of armament with its own ego, or if Yoshino has a split personality manifested through her Angel.
"Aurélio-kun, if you keep staring at me like that, I'm going to get shy," the puppet says, scratching its head lightly.
"It's just that I find you very interesting, Yoshinon." Indeed, if it has its own ego, maybe I could create something similar with my Angel, so I would have a trustworthy ally.
"Oh, it's a flirt from Aurélio-kun, but I'm already all Yoshino's, so I'll have to decline Aurélio-kun's advance," he says with a false seriousness to give it a unique tone.
"I understand, what a pity, because I'm also quite interested in Yoshino." If it's a split personality, it means I could create something with its own ego by adding part of my personality to my Angel.
Yoshino covers her face with a hood, but I notice she is blushing. Meanwhile, Yoshinon has his mouth open.
"Well, what do you want to play? We have 20 minutes until dinner."
"Aurélio-kun is too forward, first Kotori-chan and now Yoshino. Aurélio-kun wants to create a harem of little girls, hahaha," he says, laughing, while I notice he is the second "person" to say I like little girls... I don't understand why, since they don't know my personal tastes, but I decide to ignore it.
"Hahaha, I don't think it's anything like that, but if Yoshinon says so... maybe I should take Yoshino from you," I say jokingly, following along.
"Oh, then Aurélio-kun will have a great challenge to pass through me." I notice Yoshino give a little giggle under the hood.
"I'm very good at challenges and never back down from one, so we'll see if you have what it takes to back up your words." I notice Yoshino blushing even more with the wordplay, while Yoshinon laughs at the exchange.
"You're quite funny, Aurélio-kun..." He was going to say something more, but the sound of my phone interrupts.
"One moment, I have to take this call. I hope you understand," I say as I stand up and move a bit away.
I haven't given my number to many people, so it's important.
"I don't recognize this number..." I don't know whose number it is, so I answer the call to see who's speaking.
"Aurélio-san, I found what you asked for a few days ago." I hear Kurumi's voice as I receive a photo of a girl, with the background being space.
"I see, you found her... Could you mark her location and send it to me? I'll check her out at a more convenient time. I'm a bit busy right now."
"Of course, Aurélio-san. I also have something to do, so I'll hang up," I hear the beep of the phone as the call ends.
"I didn't give my number to her... she really is good at getting information." My number isn't something that's easily obtainable, since Lars did some things to make it harder to find.
"Yoshino, I just talked to... a colleague. It was something important, but brief, so I'm free again," I say as I sit back on the couch where Yoshino is.
"Maybe it was... a girlfriend. Aurélio-kun seemed excited by the person on the line," says the puppet.
"Hahaha... sorry for laughing, but what you said is very funny." Kurumi, my girlfriend, is the craziest thing I've heard since I arrived in this world.
"Nothing that grand, just good news. So, shall we watch something on TV while we wait?" I grab the remote and pass it to Yoshino.
She puts on some kind of cartoon while we wait for dinner.
After dinner is prepared, we sit down at the table to eat.
"Itadakimasu," almost everyone says except me.
"Any problem, Aurélio-kun?"
"...Nothing, just..." After my encounter with the Goddess, my connection with her has become stronger, as if a thin line connecting us had become thicker.
I feel like I should send her thanks, not as something forced, just my feelings that could be described as gratitude for this second chance at life.
"..." Everyone at the table falls silent for a moment, waiting for me to continue what I was going to say.
"Itadakimasu," I say this phrase, which now has a real meaning to me, instead of just a formality.
Everyone starts eating as we chat, Kotori's gaze at me is always one of irritation, which was somewhat obvious after what I did.
"Shiori... do you believe in gods?" I throw this question out of nowhere; everyone except Shiori is a bit surprised by the abrupt change in topic, but Shiori, who is used to me changing subjects suddenly, responds.
"I never thought much about it, but I think they're real, like there are Spirits... I mean, hawhawa," she was going to talk about spirits but realized that I might not know about that and tries to change the subject, stumbling over her words and making a strange sound.
"...I understand what you mean, I also believe they are real," I say as I go back to eating, of course I would believe since I saw one in front of me.
We finish dinner, and everyone goes to the living room to watch something.
"Well, it was a great night, but I think I'm going to head home," I say to everyone while getting up. Kotori seems eager for me to leave soon, while Shiori seems to want me to stay longer.
"Why?" asks Yoshinon.
"Hmm?" I ask, puzzled.
"Aurélio-kun, can't you stay here tonight? There are no classes tomorrow anyway," the puppet says, looking at Kotori.
"? There are no classes tomorrow?" I didn't know that.
"Yoshinon doesn't know what he's talking about," Kotori says quickly.
"Shiori, are there classes tomorrow?" Now I'm confused, so I ask.
As Shiori was about to speak, Yoshinon looks at her and does something with its little puppet hands, which Shiori seems to understand.
"AAAAh, yes, there are no classes tomorrow," I think I understand; they're probably going to have Ratatoskr cancel tomorrow's classes.
'Isn't that abuse of power?' I think, but I don't find it bad. I look at Kotori, who gives Shiori a betrayed look; she really wanted me to leave.
"Well, if there are no classes tomorrow, then I can spend the night here if Shiori wants," I say with a smile, looking at Kotori, who has a displeased expression.
"Yeah, I want to. I mean, you can stay tonight."
"Shido…" Kotori seems like she wants to say something but can't think of anything.
"We don't have any more rooms, that's right, remember Shido, now that Tohka and Yoshino are here, we currently don't have any more rooms," Shiori says, looking discouraged but seeming to have an idea.
"He can sleep in my room… I can stay on the couch, it's no problem," Shiori says, genuinely wanting me to stay even if it means giving up her comfort for tonight.
"Shido doesn't have to…" Kotori says but doesn't know how to get out of the situation.
"Well, I could sleep with Kotori tonight," I say, and everyone looks at me, most of them confused, while Kotori trembles slightly.
"I mean, she's not very big, and since we're friends, we could sleep together. I don't know much about Tohka-san and Yoshino, and sleeping with Shiori would be a bit complicated. However, I don't want to take Shiori's bed and make her sleep on the couch, so wouldn't it make sense to sleep with Kotori?" I end my explanation with a question.
Due to etiquette, they could hardly make me sleep on the couch after inviting me, and with me speaking, they are slightly influenced, making this idea one of the best options for them to choose.
"So Kotori, what do you think?" I ask Kotori, who seems like she's going to yell at me but looks at Shiori, who looks at her expectantly.
"…Tsk" she clicks her tongue while looking at me.
"Yes… he… can… sleep in my bed," she says between clenched teeth, holding back her anger while I hold back the urge to laugh. If she hadn't mentioned not having a room, I would probably be sleeping with Shiori, but since she decided to speak up, I put the burden on her.
"So it's all settled, Aurélio-kun will sleep here tonight," Yoshinon says cheerfully. Yoshino also seems happy, Tohka doesn't mind much, and Shiori seems happy.
The only one who doesn't like this situation is Kotori, who now has to share the room with me.
Honestly, Shiori kept that aspect of a door; who in their right mind would let their sister sleep with a friend without even thinking about what might happen? Her lack of hesitation in accepting this proposal only shows that she still has a low sense of people.
Yoshino is a child, so it wouldn't be a big deal for her, and Tohka… she isn't smart enough to think about it.
We spent the rest of the time chatting while watching TV; everyone had a great time, even Kotori, despite spending most of it angry with me.
Now it's 10 PM, and Yoshino and Tohka have already gone to bed.
"Shiori, I think it's already late; we should go to sleep. It was a lot of fun, but we need to rest well, and it's important for your health, especially since you're in a complicated situation."
"Yes, you're right." Each one prepares to go to sleep, with Shiori being the first.
She goes into the bathroom while Kotori and I stay in the living room.
"YOU, WHY DID YOU MAKE THAT PROPOSAL?" she says with extreme irritation, grabbing me by the collar, to which I respond with a smile.
"Of course, it's to continue our game. Why, more serious? You interrupted it before."
"DO YOU THINK I'M GOING TO LET YOU DO WHATEVER YOU WANT?" she says. Although she's yelling at me, she's doing it in a low tone, so no one outside the room can hear.
"Yes, you will."
"And why do you think that?" She lowers her tone even further, fearing she might still be heard.
"Simple, you don't want anything to happen to Shiori. If it's not you, then it's her that I'll choose."
"Bastard." She looks at me with hatred in her eyes.
"Hm Hahaha, what could you do? Just imagine if Shiori, after what happened, were caught by me, what do you think would happen?" Kotori stops, thinks for a moment, and shudders.
It's obvious what would happen. Shiori, who is mentally weak, would collapse if I did something to her, though that's not the outcome I want, so I wouldn't do that. However, since she doesn't know everything I can do, she has no choice but to accept.
"You're going to HELL, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" she says with anger in her voice.
"HAHAHA, you think so, but you're wrong. I'm not going to hell." She looks confused, as normally I agree with her insults. But it's a fact, I'm not going to hell if I die; what will happen is the destruction of my soul, which is as bad as going to hell.
At that moment, we hear the bathroom unlocking. She lets go of me and steps back as we see Shiori coming out while Kotori heads to the bathroom.
"…Kotori seems irritated?" Shiori doesn't notice how Kotori is almost always irritated while I'm here. This indifference to people's feelings is just bizarre, or maybe I, being able to read other people's emotions more easily, find her indifference too high.
"Nothing, she's fine, just a bit in a hurry to go to sleep. After all, she's going to have a wonderful night tonight."
"?" Shiori doesn't understand the implications of the phrase, and I'm not going to explain.
"And are you feeling a bit better? I'm sure this situation is very difficult for you."
"Yes… but I'm better. You really helped a lot," she says with a smile.
"Your smile is beautiful," I say, smiling at her.
"An?" She doesn't process the phrase immediately, and when she realizes what I said, she turns red.
"Thank you…" She's unsure how to receive the compliment.
"It's nothing, so good night."
"Good night, Aurélio-kun," she says as she starts to walk towards the stairs to go to her room.
"Sweet dreams."
"Same to you," she says as she disappears around the corner of the stairs.
After a few minutes, Kotori comes out of the bathroom and heads to the living room.
"…Tsk" she clicks her tongue while looking at me. She's wearing black ribbons.
"...Take off those ribbons and put on white ones."
"…What, do you think I'm going to take orders from you?"
"I don't think so… but wouldn't it be better for you to follow my advice, don't you agree?"
She looks at me with a complicated expression while I go to the bathroom to take a shower and brush my teeth to go to bed, realizing now that I don't have any sleepwear here.
"Kotori, I don't have any sleepwear, could you find something for me?" she doesn't answer. I continue my shower, and after a few minutes, someone knocks on the bathroom door.
I open the door as I am.
Standing at the door is Kotori with a set of clothes; I notice her white ribbons on her head.
I see her expression shift from surprise to embarrassment when she realizes I'm not wearing any clothes.
"Kyaaa" She lets out a squeal when she fully realizes I'm naked.
"Thanks for the clothes." I take the clothes from her hand without caring that she continues to look at me.
"I know I'm handsome… but I thought you'd hate looking at me more… although you'll have plenty of time for that tonight," I say, closing the door to change.
My physique is generally good; I have well-defined muscles but nothing exaggerated. However, compared to my old body, which couldn't even have normal muscles, this one is a marvel.
I set the clothes aside and go back to finish my shower.
After finishing everything, I get dressed and come out to find Kotori sitting on the couch waiting for me.
"So Kotori, where is your room? Could you show me the way?" she doesn't answer but stands up and starts walking. Since her ribbons define what kind of personality she's using, I wanted to see what kind of reaction she would have if she wore them in white.
Overall, she's looking shy, but if it were the black ribbons, she'd probably be sarcastic or irritated with me.
We reach a door on the second floor; she opens it and goes in, which I follow. I look around her room; overall, it's nice with a feminine touch but nothing excessive. Her bed is large and occupied by several stuffed animals.
She has a desk, a computer, and a vanity table. Her room is well-organized, but it seems she doesn't often move most of the things.
"I didn't expect you to like stuffed animals."
"Oh, Shido gave them to me when I was younger…" she responds in a somewhat monotone tone.
"Do you know what's going to happen tonight?"
"…Yes."
"Can I know why… you'd do this for Shiori? I really don't understand," I say. Even if it weren't for Shiori, I could create something that would end up in this situation. But I don't understand why do this for someone else.
"Oh, of course, you wouldn't understand. I'm sure you've never loved anything in your life… that's why you can't understand this feeling."
"Love, huh… I've never had anything to love in my life… I've never had family or friends, so I don't know about this love you're talking about," she seems a bit surprised by what I said.
"I understand… you're a sad person."
"Hahaha I'm sad… I don't think so. I actually feel very happy with this situation," she ignores what I said while looking at me with pity.
"Never mind, shall we get started?" I say to her.
"Sure…" I create a barrier that covers the entire room and set up a territory around the room to prevent any interruptions. Tonight will be a long one.