Chapter 74: Smol BelfastAuthor: Geraint
– A few days later –
Early in the morning, Ichika—in his teenage form—was running around the park with weights strapped to his arms and legs. Behind him were three heavy tractor tires tied to his waist, dragging along like it was nothing. Sitting on top of each massive tire was a passenger.
"Run faster, Ichika! This is really fun!"
The excited voice came from a little girl with short lilac-silver hair and violet eyes, dressed in a long-skirted maid uniform. She sat on the front tire, smiling brightly.
Behind her, Roboco was perched on the next tire, her eyes glued to her tablet as she worked.
On the third tire sat Toru, wearing a pink shirt and tight blue shorts, dozing off from drowsiness.
Momo, dressed in a white shirt and blue slacks, sat on the last tire, gazing at Ichika with an amazed expression.
"No matter how I look at it, this guy is just ridiculous," she muttered. "Dragging these tires for training? That kind of stamina... As expected from the son of the No. 1 hero."
Ring! Ring!
"Huh?"
Toru jolted awake as Ichika's phone rang from his pocket. Without stopping, Ichika answered.
"Hello?"
"Ichika-kun!"
"Eh? Nejire-senpai?"
Toru immediately perked up at the sound of a girl's voice.
The little girl on the front tire narrowed her eyes. "That girl… she always calls Ichika before bed."
The girls silently stared at his back, listening intently.
"Do you have plans for summer break?"
"Work."
"You're working even from home?! At least rest a little! How about a vacation? Maybe the pool or the beach?"
"Oh, sure. I'll open a schedule for our meeting." Ichika replied professionally, as if it were a business call.
"Moo~! What kind of response is that, Mr. President? It's a vacation, not a business trip!"
"Okay, okay! How about this weekend?"
"Nope! We're going today!"
"Huh?!"
"Surprise! I'm here in front of Might Tower, Ichika-kun! The building looks amazing!"
"What?! Why didn't you tell me you were coming to Tokyo?!"
"I wanted to surprise you, Ichika-kun~"
Ichika sighed. "Fine… Wait for me. I'm jogging in the park. Heading home now."
"Okay~ Hehe!"
He ended the call and put the phone back in his pocket.
"We're heading back. We've got a guest."
"Eh?"
With a swift turn, Ichika changed direction and kept dragging the tires.
Nejire waited excitedly under a tree's shade. She wore a sleeveless orange-striped shirt that revealed her belly, black denim shorts with a red belt, and a matching pair of red rubber shoes.
"He's taking his sweet time—Huh?"
Two tall men suddenly approached her.
"Hey there, cutie! Waiting for someone?"
"You look amazing. Why not hang out with us? You're not from around here, right?"
Nejire's expression turned cold, giving them chills.
"You two have the guts to flirt right in front of that?" she pointed her thumb at Might Tower.
The men paled.
"N-No! We didn't mean any harm!"
"Y-Yeah! We just wanted to talk—"
"You guys bothering Nejire-senpai?" Ichika arrived, drenched in sweat from running.
Nejire brightened immediately. "Ah! Ichika-kun!"
The two men turned and froze. Their faces turned pale with horror.
"Isn't that—?!"
"No way! That's the Pink Demon!!"
"Hiiie! We're dead meat!"
"RUN!!"
"WAAAAH!"
The two scrambled away in terror.
"Thank you, Ichika-kun! You saved me!" Nejire jumped onto him, hugging him tightly.
"N-Nejire-senpai! I'm drenched in sweat!"
Toru, Momo, and Little Bel silently observed. Toru looked the most shocked at the affectionate display.
Momo cleared her throat loudly to interrupt the mood. "Ahem! Ichika, can you introduce us to this girl?"
Nejire turned and finally noticed them.
"Oh! Let me introduce you guys. This is Nejire-senpai. She's a friend I met in Akita."
Nejire stepped forward and smiled brightly. "Hi! I'm Hado Nejire! Nice to meet you!"
Momo was taken aback. Overwhelmed by Nejire's beauty, she became a little self-conscious.
"Yaoyorozu Momo…"
"I'll call you Momo then! You can call me Nejire-chan!"
Then Nejire turned to the invisible girl. "And this one?"
"Hagakure Toru…" Toru's voice was low, clearly a bit discouraged.
"Toru-chan! So nice to meet you!" Nejire shook her hand cheerfully.
Then her eyes landed on the smug little girl.
"Ku ku ku. Not bad, Nejire. You are beautiful…"
"Aaahh! This tiny thing is so adorable!" Nejire was captivated.
"But not as beautiful as me! For I, Venus—the goddess of beauty, love, and fertility—am without equal! Your beauty is normal at best! Nyah hahahahaha!"
Bonk!
"OW!!"
Ichika knocked her on the head.
"Sorry, this girl is one of my inventions," he explained to Nejire.
"Invention?"
"Yeah. She's an android. Someone messed with her programming, and now she's like this. Completely delusional."
"I am NOT delusional! I am a real goddess!" Little Bel huffed.
"Shut up," Ichika pinched her cheek.
Then Nejire looked at Roboco, still working.
"And her?"
"She's my first android. Kind of like a daughter to me."
"A daughter? So she calls you Dad?"
"Yeah," Ichika said with a proud smile.
Nejire walked up to Roboco and extended her hand.
"Nice to meet you, Roboco. I'm Hado Nejire."
Roboco turned to her, smiled, and shook her hand—Then her head fell off.
Nice to meet you too, Nejire~ she said creepily.
"KYAAAAAH!!!"
"Roboco! What the hell?!"
Ichika rushed to pick up her head and reattach it.
A new greeting, Roboco added.
"That's not a greeting! That's a jump scare!"
But Father does it all the time.
"Yeah, but you doing it is way worse!"
"Sorry about that, Nejire-senpai."
"It's fine," Nejire said, catching her breath.
Ichika picked up her luggage. "Let's head inside. I'll show you around the building."
"Okay~!"
As Nejire followed him into Might Tower, she noticed the other girls tagging along, sweaty and clearly just done working out. She blinked in confusion.
"Wait… where do you guys live?"
Toru and Momo pointed at the building.
"Eh?!"
"We live with him," they said in unison.
Tension sparked immediately—Ichika was oblivious.
Then Little Bel walked between them with a smug look.
"I am four parallel universes ahead of the three of you."
She strutted ahead as Roboco followed.
The three girls looked at each other, baffled.
(To be continued.)
A/N: If you love anime, Hololive, and games, please subscribe to my YouTube channel "Geraint Ch." for support! I'll fix more mistakes later.