"Next, it's my turn, hehe~"
After Yuzuru Hanyu left, Shea, who had been standing next to her, came forward with a silly smile.
As soon as Shea appeared, Eriri immediately grabbed the tall pair of rabbit ears on her head with both hands and began kneading them skillfully.
"Shea's ears still feel just as nice as always~"
"Of course, I've been taking good care of them all along."
After more than two months, once again feeling Eriri's caress, Shea's heart overflowed with happiness, and she couldn't help but wag her tail uncontrollably.
After interacting with Shea for a while, Eriri turned her gaze toward the Kocho sisters—Kanae Kocho, Shinobu Kocho, and Kanao Tsuyuri—who were the last ones waiting in the restaurant to interact with her.
The three sisters were now dressed in high school, middle school, and elementary school uniforms respectively. Compared to the Taisho-era outfits they had worn back in the Demon Slayer world, these were clearly much more stylish.
Eriri didn't immediately speak to Kanae. Instead, she placed her hands on Shinobu and Kanao's heads, gently patting them a few times.
"Little Shinobu, Kanao, how have you two been lately?"
Hearing this, Shinobu quickly nodded. "Very well, but… not being able to see Eriri-nee has been a little lonely."
As she spoke, her expression grew a little downcast.
"Don't be sad. To make up for it, I'll spend plenty of time with you over these two days."
At Eriri's words, Shinobu's sadness instantly vanished, replaced by a sweet smile.
Although Kanao didn't speak, her continuously nodding little head and her happy smile were enough to show how good her mood was.
Eriri patted Shinobu and Kanao's heads, then turned her gaze to Kanae, who was gently watching their interaction.
Meeting Eriri's gaze, Kanae could no longer hold herself back, just like Utaha Kasumigaoka earlier. She immediately pulled Eriri into her embrace.
"Eriri, welcome back."
Held tightly in Kanae's arms, Eriri not only felt the woman's proud figure but also her overwhelming joy.
"Mm, I'm back!"
Smiling, Eriri rubbed her face against Kanae's chest, once again repeating the words she had already said many times without the slightest impatience.
Just as Eriri was about to introduce Shiraori and the others to Arifureta and the rest, a childish voice suddenly called out from outside the restaurant.
"Master, Master, I missed you so much, nya!"
A white cat then sprinted toward Eriri, and when she was still three or four meters away, she leapt straight into the air with outstretched limbs, pouncing toward Eriri's arms, fully confident Eriri would catch her.
And Eriri didn't disappoint her, opening her arms to catch her directly.
"So it's Haruka. In just over two months, you've already grown this much, and you can even talk now. Not bad at all."
Looking at the beautiful white cat in her arms, Eriri lowered her head and nuzzled her adorable feline face a few times.
"Thank you, Master, nya!"
Hearing Eriri's praise, Haruka gave a silly laugh.
At that moment, a graceful figure, as pure and clear as snow, followed behind Haruka and entered the restaurant.
"Haruka learned to speak more than half a month ago."
Yukino Yukinoshita, dressed in Toyogasaki Academy's uniform, quickly approached Eriri. On her flawless, beautiful face hung a faintly excited expression.
Having been playing with Haruka in the courtyard, Yukino had immediately rushed over with her upon hearing Eriri had returned.
Although she encountered others who had received the news along the way, she had no intention of waiting for them and simply came straight to the restaurant as quickly as she could.
However, out of restraint, her steps slowed once she reached the restaurant entrance.
Haruka, on the other hand, had no such restraint. She jumped out of Yukino's arms and ran straight into the restaurant at full speed.
That was why Yukino appeared just a moment after her.
Seeing Yukino standing prettily before her, Eriri freed one hand from holding Haruka and reached out to gently caress Yukino's soft cheek.
"Yukino, after more than two months, you're still just as cute~"
Hearing Eriri's praise, Yukino tilted her head slightly upward, the corners of her lips curling up uncontrollably.
"Of course, I've always been cute."
Just as Eriri was about to continue deepening her bond with Yukino, more commotion came from outside the restaurant.
Akino entered together with Lala, Nana, and Momo, as well as the three Gorgon sisters—Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa.
"Eriri, you're finally back! I missed you so much!"
The moment she saw Eriri across from Yukino, the ever-enthusiastic Euryale broke away from the group and rushed toward her, brimming with excitement.
Seeing their younger sister acting so unreservedly, Stheno and Medusa couldn't help but shake their heads helplessly. Still, they followed closely behind and approached Eriri together.
At the same time, Akino also came up to Eriri, standing on the opposite side of Yukino.
"Yukino, didn't I tell you to wait a bit? Why did you rush over so quickly? Were you really that impatient to see Eriri before us?"
Akino's mischievous gaze was fixed squarely on her twin sister.
At her words, Yukino's face flushed slightly, betraying her embarrassment.
"Don't talk nonsense. It's just that you were too slow."
Yukino snapped back, unwilling to admit her own impatience. With her tsundere nature, there was no way she would admit such a thing so easily.
Seeing this, Akino didn't push further, only letting her grin grow even more mischievous. Then she shifted her focus entirely onto Eriri.
"Eriri, why didn't you let us know in advance that you were coming back? If not for Yue-chan posting the news in our LINE group just now, I still wouldn't know you had returned~"
Stepping forward, Akino immediately latched onto Eriri's arm and leaned her face against her shoulder.
"That's because I wanted to surprise you~"
Retracting the hand that had been on Yukino's face, Eriri placed it instead on Akino's cheek, stroking her softly just as she had done with Yukino earlier.
Seeing Akino's spoiled expression, especially that identical face smiling sweetly, Yukino, standing across from them, found it hard to watch. And when she noticed that Eriri's hand—just a moment ago on her own cheek—was now caressing Akino instead, her heart sank with a touch of gloom.
But her gloomy feelings didn't last long. Eriri soon moved her hand away from Akino's face and instead patted the little heads of the three Gorgon sisters—Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa.
By now, Yukino and the others had already taken up the space in front of Eriri. A step too late, Lala thought for a moment, then ran behind Eriri and wrapped her arms around her tightly from the back.
"Hehe, Eriri, caught you~"
Standing on tiptoe, Lala rested her chin on Eriri's head with a radiant grin.
"Nee-sama, what are you doing?"
"Elder sister, this is rude. Hurry and let go of Eriri."
Nana and Momo quickly stepped up, each grabbing one of Lala's shoulders, trying to pull her off Eriri's back.
But before they could, Eriri smiled and stopped them.
"It's alright, Nana, Momo. I don't mind."
"…Fine."
Hearing Eriri's words, the two sisters reluctantly released Lala's shoulders. Since the one involved didn't mind, they couldn't really say more.
As for Lala, the moment she heard Eriri's response, her hold on her became even tighter.
"I knew it, Eriri, you're the best, hehe~"
Their bodies pressed together, Eriri could clearly feel the extreme softness against her back.
Just as Yukino and Akino were about to continue speaking to Eriri, Haruno suddenly appeared behind them, not far from where Shiraori and the others were standing.
"Yukino-chan, Akino-chan, you two only have eyes for Eriri and don't even bother greeting your sister. That really hurts my feelings, you know~"
At her words, both Yukino and Akino turned their heads toward the voice. The moment they saw Haruno, surprise filled their eyes.
"Haruno-nee?"
The twins spoke in perfect unison, their identical tones blending together as if it were only a single voice.
Leaving Eriri's side, they both walked over to Haruno.
"Haruno-nee, what brings you here today? Yukino and I don't even have a day off." Akino asked with a puzzled expression.
Although Yukino remained silent, her face carried the same look of confusion.
"What, can't I come here to play with others unless it's your day off? And see? My timing was perfect. I had just stepped out of the World Gate when I happened to see Eriri standing there too. Isn't that quite the coincidence?"
Haruno chuckled with a mischievous grin, as if showing off the fact that she had been the first to meet Eriri.
Unfortunately for her, neither Yukino nor Akino cared much for that kind of thing and paid no mind to her little boast.
Unlike Haruno, who was already used to such scenes, Mirei Shinohara and Shiraori watched Eriri's intimate interactions with Arifureta and the others with their mouths agape. Even Meido and D couldn't help but glance sideways.
The main reason they had come with Eriri this time was because she wanted to introduce them to some people. Mirei and D probably wouldn't be staying here permanently anyway. After all, Mirei still needed to take care of her parents in their later years, and D preferred a quiet atmosphere, most likely returning to her own home before long to continue playing the role of an ordinary high school girl.
Of course, for the sake of tasting Aoi Kujou's delicious cooking, D would certainly make sure to show up here during mealtimes.
Still, none of them had expected Eriri to have so many people so intimately close to her.
For Mirei and Shiraori, the shock was even greater. After secretly using their appraisal abilities, they discovered that every single person in this restaurant, without exception, possessed at least Level 7 strength. Even the clearly under-ten lolis were no exception.
Their own power was at the very bottom here, which only made their desire to grow stronger all the more urgent.
Just then, more commotion erupted outside the restaurant—this time far louder than when Yukino and the others had arrived.
One after another, the rest of the household members who weren't already in the restaurant came pouring in.
Saeko Busujima and Esdeath, who had just been sparring, Jibril, Shinobu Oshino, Schwi, and Athena, who had been gaming together, Ophis and Akua who had been idling about, Artoria, Irisviel, Shizuka Marikawa, and Remia who had just woken up, the Bible Loli who had been cultivating all night along with Gabriel and Aisha attending to her, Eucliwood Hellscythe, and Naegleria, who was currently taking refuge here.
Even Gabriel Tenma White, who usually never left her room and just gamed, had come out.
After more than two months without seeing Eriri, she too missed her dearly.
As for Lilliana, Rory, and Evileye, the three of them had temporarily returned to their own worlds some time ago, so they weren't present in the restaurant.
By the time Eriri had greeted and interacted with everyone, half an hour had already passed.
This sort of process was something that always happened whenever Eriri returned after spending an extended period in another world.
Though it took some time, Eriri never grew tired of it. On the contrary, she enjoyed it wholeheartedly.
Naturally, no one else found it troublesome either. In fact, they wished they could repeat this every single day.
After all, it gave them a perfectly legitimate excuse to cling to Eriri. Why would they ever complain?
By then, it was already eight-thirty in the morning. Classes at Toyogasaki Academy, St. Gloriose Girls' Elementary where Illya and the others studied, as well as the middle school where Shinobu and Kanao attended had all already started.
But none of them showed any rush to head to school.
After all, Eriri was far more important to them.
And Eriri didn't urge them to go either. Missing a little time at school—or even taking a whole day off—wouldn't make much of a difference anyway.
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