Since there was nothing urgent to do today, Hikari headed straight to his appointment.
Just as he climbed the apartment stairs and reached the corridor, Hikari saw a figure already standing at his doorstep.
It was none other than Katsuragi Shouko, who, after receiving his message, had been waiting for him at the door in advance.
"Hikari-kun!", As soon as she saw Hikari, Katsuragi Shouko immediately waved with a smile, greeting him enthusiastically.
"Ms. Shouko," Hikari also nodded politely to her.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, let's talk inside," Hikari opened the door and invited Katsuragi Shouko, who had been waiting for who knows how long, into the house.
After settling Katsuragi Shouko on the sofa, Hikari made a pot of tea for her.
Perhaps because she had rushed back right after work, Katsuragi Shouko was still wearing her office OL uniform.
A blue knee-length pencil skirt, and black stockings.
The pencil skirt had a waist-cinching design, and at a glance, Shouko's slender waist seemed tiny enough to be held in one hand.
Her plump, fair thighs beneath the skirt, sheathed in black stockings, were full and round.
However, the toes encased in the black stockings were slightly curled due to nervousness, the entire arch of her foot forming a graceful curve.
Seeing that this mature widow was somewhat emotionally stirred, Hikari poured her a cup of tea and handed it over, saying, "Ms. Shouko, have some tea."
"Oh! Okay! Thank you, Hikari-kun!", Katsuragi Shouko hurriedly reached out to take the teacup.
Hikari also took a small sip of tea, then slowly asked, "Ms. Shouko, what did you need to see me about?"
Hearing Hikari's words, Katsuragi Shouko put down her teacup and asked, "Well, it's actually not a big deal. It's just, I wanted to ask you, Hikari-kun, about Kareki Ichiro. You were the last one to speak with him, right? I found it a bit strange that I never got to meet him once, and I'm wondering where he went."
"I'm not too sure about that either. Perhaps he went abroad for business?", Faced with Katsuragi Shouko's sudden question, Hikari gave a casual, noncommittal answer.
But then, Katsuragi Shouko suddenly stared intently at Hikari's face and asked in a tense voice, "Kareki Ichiro is dead! Isn't he? Hikari-kun."
"Hmm?", Hikari raised an eyebrow slightly as he looked at Katsuragi Shouko. He didn't answer, because he could tell her statement wasn't a question, but an affirmative declaration.
Suddenly, Katsuragi Shouko shifted her hips on the sofa a few times, moving to sit right beside Hikari.
She suddenly grasped Hikari's hands with both of hers and said to him in a voice trembling with emotion, "Yuki has... has already told me about that matter."
"The fact that you, Hikari-kun, for my sake... for the sake of us mother and her two daughters, killed... killed Kareki Ichiro and the others, I already know."
Looking at Katsuragi Shouko, her delicate body trembling incessantly, her eyes brimming with tears, her expression deeply moved and highly emotional, Hikari finally understood why Katsuragi Yuki had been so confident before that she could make Katsuragi Shouko come to him on her own initiative.
So she had already prepared to tell Katsuragi Shouko about the Kareki Ichiro matter.
Hikari also understood that originally, Katsuragi Shouko thought Kareki Ichiro hadn't shown up that day because things went too smoothly, but then she learned that he had actually been lying in wait to ambush her and her daughter, and that it was Hikari who intervened, killing them to resolve the danger for them. This revelation would inevitably create huge waves in Katsuragi Shouko's emotions.
Hikari held Katsuragi Shouko by her smooth, fragrant shoulders to comfort her, saying, "Ms. Shouko, regarding the matter of Kareki Ichiro, it wasn't just for you and your daughters; it was actually for myself as well."
"After all, I was involved in that incident with that guy Kareki Tsunetaka, so Ms. Shouko, you don't need to be so agitated."
Hearing Hikari's words, Katsuragi Shouko shook her head and said, "How can I not be agitated?"
"Hikari-kun has helped our family so much, even going so far as to kill because of it..."
"I really... I really couldn't repay this debt of gratitude even with my life!"
Hikari shook his head, "It's fine. I don't intend to ask you to repay me, Ms. Shouko, so..."
"No!", Katsuragi Shouko suddenly interrupted, "Hikari-kun not wanting me to repay the favor is your magnanimity. But this aunt cannot simply act as if these instances of being helped never happened. Otherwise, my heart would be tormented."
"Originally, I just wanted to help Hikari-kun more in daily life, to slowly repay your kindness."
"But, Hikari-kun, you have already killed for us, a mother and her three daughters. Moreover, that Kareki Ichiro fellow originally came to take the lives of us, a mother and her daughters. One could say Hikari-kun truly saved the lives of us, a mother and her three daughters, once again."
"So, I want to repay Hikari-kun right now!"
As she spoke, Katsuragi Shouko began unbuttoning her own pencil-skirt uniform.
Watching Shouko, whose speech was becoming more and more agitated and whose actions were getting faster and faster, Hikari finally understood what she intended to use to express her gratitude.
Hikari suddenly grabbed her hand, stopping her movement, and said, "Ms. Shouko, the relationship between me and Sayaka has already developed further..."
He thought this statement would make this widow retreat, but Katsuragi Shouko said firmly, "I know. Actually, that night, I happened to be outside and overheard it."
"Then Ms. Shouko, you still..."
"I don't mind!", Katsuragi Shouko suddenly said loudly.
"Hikari-kun has helped us, a mother and her daughters, so much, so I want to repay Hikari-kun personally, using everything I have to repay you."
"And to say something a bit selfish, actually, since that day, I have dreamed of Hikari-kun every night, and then we... do that... together."
"Anyway, I found that I seem unable to be apart from Hikari-kun."
"I also realized I can't simply hand Hikari-kun over directly to Sayaka, but I don't want Hikari to abandon Sayaka either."
"So, so I can accept being with Hikari-kun together with Sayaka!"
Hearing Katsuragi Shouko's words, Hikari looked at her with some surprise.
'Ms. Shouko's thoughts are actually so... generous.'
Should it be said, as expected of a woman from the '2D World'?
Her thought process is indeed different from ordinary people.
But since Ms. Shouko has said she doesn't mind.
Naturally, Hikari had nothing more to say.
He reached out and wrapped his arm around the slender waist that Katsuragi Shouko actively leaned towards him.
The two of them actually had some prior experience with each other.
So soon, they skillfully helped each other undo their buttons, then embraced.
———
[Ding! Katsuragi Shouko has completely given her heart to the host! Successfully promoted the spirit of pure love!]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for receiving the reward, 'Pure Love Points +300'!]
The next morning, as soon as Hikari woke up, he heard the system notification sound in his mind.
He nodded with satisfaction, then turned to look beside him at Katsuragi Shouko, who had been tossing and turning all night on the pillow, her pretty face still bearing a look of exhaustion.
Perhaps sensing Hikari's movement, or maybe because her biological clock had kicked in, Katsuragi Shouko also slowly opened her eyes and woke up.
"Ah! It's already morning! I need to get up immediately to make breakfast for you, Hikari-kun, and then go home for a bit. Otherwise, if Sayaka and Yuki find out, it would be terrible," Katsuragi Shouko hurriedly pulled on her stockings and skirt.
Only to find the stockings were already torn, and the skirt was ripped to shreds.
At that moment, Hikari's hand grabbed her arm.
He pulled her back onto the bed.
She fell back into Hikari's embrace.
Feeling that warm embrace, Katsuragi Shouko immediately felt much more at ease, but she still wanted to get up quickly.
However, her movements were immediately restrained by Hikari.
"I'm not hungry yet, you don't need to make breakfast for me."
"As for Sayaka, Yuki will help explain things to her, so you don't need to worry."
"For now, you should rest properly," Hikari said slowly to Katsuragi Shouko.
Hearing Hikari's words, Katsuragi Sayaka calmed down.
Only then did she realize her thighs and buttocks were still aching faintly, and struggling really wasn't very comfortable.
"Yuki will help me talk to Sayaka?", Katsuragi Shouko was still a bit puzzled.
But after seeing Hikari's smile, she gradually came to understand and figure it out.
"I see! Yuki knows about Sayaka and you, and about me and you!"
"No wonder she secretly told me the truth about Kareki Ichiro yesterday; that was her plan all along," Katsuragi Shouko figured it out.
Hikari also nodded, indicating he agreed with her guess.
"That girl, really...", Thinking about how Katsuragi Yuki had secretly been connecting them behind the scenes, Katsuragi Shouko couldn't help but feel amused.
"Don't blame Yuki," Hikari, worried that Katsuragi Shouko might go back and punish Katsuragi Yuki, put in a good word for her.
Katsuragi Shouko, however, shook her head with a smile and said, "Why would I blame her? She didn't lie; she just told me the truth of the matter."
"Moreover, I am too grateful to Yuki to even think of blaming her."
"After all, if it weren't for Yuki, I wouldn't have dared to take this step, and I wouldn't have been able to experience how truly happy it is to be together with Hikari-kun...", As she spoke, Katsuragi Shouko tightly hugged Hikari's neck again.
This widow, lonely for many years and long unaccustomed to intimacy, felt incomparably happy and cherished the joy before her immensely.
Driven by Katsuragi Shouko's active seeking, the two lingered affectionately and entwined once more.
Afterwards, Hikari had Katsuragi Shouko rest until noon before letting her go back.
Watching the graceful figure of Katsuragi Shouko as she left, Hikari couldn't help but think.
Among the three members of the Katsuragi family now, Katsuragi Shouko already knew about Katsuragi Sayaka's situation, and she also knew about Katsuragi Yuki's.
And Katsuragi Yuki likewise also knew about both Katsuragi Shouko and Katsuragi Sayaka.
At this point, only Katsuragi Sayaka was still kept in the dark.
For Katsuragi Sayaka, Katsuragi Yuki might be okay, since she knew that Nanami Akane could also accept it.
But Katsuragi Sayaka definitely did not know about Katsuragi Shouko's existence.
When the time comes for Katsuragi Shouko and Katsuragi Sayaka to lay their cards on the table, who knows how she will react.
Hikari pondered whether, when the time came for them to be honest with each other, the scene should be handled more smoothly.
Or perhaps he should think of a way to coordinate things in advance; that might be better.
This kind of family composition with multiple women, especially one older and two younger.
While it's enjoyable in certain aspects, there are also quite a few things to consider.
Just as Hikari was deep in thought, his phone rang.
"Miss Mira?", Hikari answered the call, asking curiously.
["Hey, Hikari-chan! Didn't you see my messages?"], Miss Mira asked in a displeased tone.
Hikari pressed his finger to the top of the screen, pulling down the notification bar, and sure enough, he saw several messages sent by Miss Mira.
She had sent them this morning, but he had been busy being intimate with Katsuragi Shouko at the time, so he hadn't noticed the message alerts.
Hikari gave an evasive laugh and then asked, "What is it, Miss Mira? Is there something urgent you need me for?"
Miss Mira said irritably, ["Just come back first, we'll talk then. Come back quickly!"]