Tatsuki halted the reins of the riding Eriri, bringing everything to a sudden stop.
Eriri, her fair neck arched prettily, glanced back with a puzzled look.
"What's wrong, Tatsuki?"
Tatsuki nodded toward the bedroom door. "Listen…"
"…"
The familiar sound from outside instantly brought Eriri to her senses. She let out a soft gasp, "Mom!"
Tatsuki gave a wry nod. He had just noticed the disturbance. With a quick use of his Observation Haki, he saw that Sayuri was indeed right there in the hallway…
"Should we keep going?"
He wanted to respect Eriri's decision.
Much to his surprise, Eriri narrowed her eyes with a mischievous glint, disengaged from Tatsuki, and leaned close to whisper in his ear.
"!"
Tatsuki's eyes went wide. It seemed like he was silently confirming Eriri's intent. Eriri nodded again, her gaze drifting downward in a teasing smile.
…
Sayuri, her cheeks still aflame, downed a glass of water. She was still leaning against the door, trying to calm her racing heart. Inside the bedroom, it had grown quiet.
"Is it… over?"
If so, it was time for her to leave. Yet just as she tried standing—
Click.
The door opened.
"!"
Tatsuki stood there!
Before Sayuri's overheated mind could process the situation, he bent down and lifted her into his arms. She didn't even have time to resist before he carried her inside and shut the door…
…
The next morning.
Tatsuki headed to school with Eriri and Yukino in tow. Sayuri was still asleep in Eriri's room. Considering how full and satisfied they had seemed last night, he wasn't too worried about them missing breakfast. Besides, he had shared the basics of the Six Powers (Rokushiki) and Haki with them; whether they could actually learn them remained to be seen.
As for Yukino, she had learned from Tatsuki about the new seven arrivals—Night Raid—and about Yukino's role as a maid. Eriri initially bristled at the idea, but after a bit of "education" from Tatsuki, she admitted it was all acceptable.
He'd actually spent more of his energy on Sayuri. And as it turned out… Sayuri hid a surprisingly intense side—far more than Eriri herself. Tatsuki had done his utmost to satisfy her.
…
On the way to school, Yukino said nothing the entire time, while Eriri clung affectionately to Tatsuki, openly demonstrating how much her personality had changed. The old tsundere Eriri she used to be was basically gone—she was starting to resemble Sayuri's temperament now.
They parted ways at school since Eriri was in a different class, and she reluctantly left Tatsuki's side. He and Yukino walked into their classroom together.
"Yahallo, Tatsuki-kun!"
Yui Yuigahama greeted him cheerfully, as always—except her cheeks and earlobes were noticeably redder than usual.
"Yahallo, Yui."
Tatsuki smiled back, sighing inwardly. Another matter he had to resolve today.
Taking a seat, Tatsuki turned around.
"Megumi, why didn't you say hi when you saw me?"
Megumi's lips curved in a soft smile. "So you did notice me, after all."
"Oho, so you were trying your presence-blocking technique on me again?"
"I wanted to see if it would work against you."
Tatsuki stroked his chin. Indeed, he could tell Megumi's presence had become incredibly faint, but he dominated presence so easily that no matter how low her presence got, he could still detect her.
"Right, Tatsuki—about that girl, Eriri, is she one of them?"
"You spotted her? Yes, she's one of them."
Making sure no one around could hear, he controlled the sound waves so only they could pick up their conversation. Then he explained his current situation in detail.
"…"
Megumi found herself shocked—both at how many people there were, and at how complicated it was. There was also the mother-daughter pair…
She gave him a cool, calm look. "Tatsuki, you sure are… extraordinary."
Tatsuki feigned ignorance. "Thank you for the compliment."
"Sigh…"
Megumi let out a soft breath. "Well, it's not like I can run away at this point. I'll make an effort to get along with them."
Such an understanding, adorable Megumi always brought Tatsuki a sense of peace.
…
During the mid-morning break, Tatsuki asked Yui to come up to the rooftop with him.
There, with the sky above them, the two stood facing each other.
"So… Tatsuki-kun, what did you want to tell me?"
She was tense and shy. After discovering Tatsuki had feelings for her, she grew especially nervous. Tatsuki decided not to drag it out. Honesty was best.
"In short, I already have a girlfriend—and I don't mean just one."
Straightforward, simple, crystal clear.
"Huh? Wh-what do you…"
Yuigahama's smile froze on her face. She lowered her head in disappointment, fighting to hold back tears.
"It's okay, Tatsuki-kun, if you wanted to turn me down, you didn't have to make excuses. I—"
She thought he'd made up a ridiculous reason just to reject her politely.
But Tatsuki placed his hands on her shoulders. "Yui, look at me."
She glanced up, tearful eyes on his. "Tatsuki-kun…"
"I'm not trying to lie to you. I told you I like you—but the truth is, I really do have multiple girlfriends. I need to let you know before I consider accepting your feelings. It wouldn't be fair otherwise."
He spoke earnestly.
"…"
Yuigahama stared blankly at him. The eyes are the windows of the soul, and she could sense no deception in his gaze. He wasn't spinning a story to reject her—so in a way, she should be happy. But the fact that he already had several girlfriends left her feeling uncertain, not knowing how to react.
"Yui, there's one more thing I need to show you. Close your eyes first."
"O-okay…"
Though her mind was overloaded, Yui complied, shutting her eyes. Tatsuki kept his hands on her shoulders; suddenly, she felt a dizzying sensation of weightlessness.
"Tatsuki-kun…my feet…they're not on the ground?"
She could no longer feel the concrete of the rooftop.
"You can open your eyes now."
Following his instruction, Yui slowly opened them.
"Wha—!"
A jolt of vertigo hit her. She was floating high in the air! Beneath her lay the distant school buildings.
"Eek!"
She clung to Tatsuki in fear, voice trembling. "W-what is this? How are we flying?"
"That's the other thing I need to tell you. I'm…an esper, with special powers."
He wore a solemn expression, and there was no way it could be fake, given they really were in midair.
"That…that…"
Yui couldn't even form a coherent sentence. After briefly hovering, Tatsuki gently guided them back down. When her feet touched the ground again, she felt immense relief—but her legs still shook, and she nearly collapsed into him.
"S-sorry."
"It's fine. I was the one who brought you up there without warning."
Because Yui was someone he both liked and who liked him back, Tatsuki had decided to be honest with her about his powers. He cared little about the apocalypse triggers that might come from revealing his identity—if one day the entire world collapsed just because he told Yui, so be it.
"So… you're really an esper?"
Yuigahama marveled, her hand covering her mouth.
"Right. And my other girlfriends, well… some are pretty unusual too."
To help Yui fully understand, Tatsuki activated his Dominator skill and transferred certain memories into her mind.
"Huh?! There's suddenly so much new stuff in my head!"
She saw stars flicker in Tatsuki's eyes, then felt a rush of images in her brain.
"Take it easy. I just sent you memories explaining who they are."
"O-okay."
Knowing Tatsuki wouldn't harm her, Yui settled herself and began processing the information. The part about the chat group was absent, as that seemed untransmittable—previous experiments with Kanae had all failed. At best, she only knew Tatsuki could cross worlds with others. As for the group's existence, she remained unaware.
After a while, Yui finished absorbing the data, her expression a jumbled mix of astonishment. People from other worlds… mother-daughter pairs… a future apocalypse… So many things threatened to shatter her worldview all at once. She felt lost.
"Yui, why don't you go think things over? You can let me know your decision anytime."
"R-right… I'll think it through."
Her mind swirling with complicated thoughts, Yui slowly walked away from the rooftop.
…
"Done watching? You can come out now."
Tatsuki called out softly.
Eriri—wearing her school uniform's short skirt and sporting her golden twin-tails—bounded out from behind the stairwell entrance. She stomped over, pouting her cheeks as she swung her twin-tails at him in a mini rage.
Tatsuki reacted quickly, grabbing both pigtails. He certainly had an appreciation for them—just last night they'd served as reins for riding her from behind.
He pulled her close against the chain-link fence, whispering teasingly in her ear, "What's got you so riled up?"
Eriri bared her tiny fangs, giving his hand a pretend bite. Though she didn't apply real pressure, there was a soft nibbling feeling. She glared furiously at him.
"Hmph! It's because you're such a shameless Casanova! I came looking for you, only to hear someone saying you were on the rooftop, and I find you flirting with yet another girl—leaving her all dazed and teary-eyed. Don't you have enough already?"
Tatsuki didn't address her complaint directly. Instead, he smiled slyly. "How many do you think it'd take to beat me? You know, last night with you and your mom, I barely even used a tenth of my strength."
"Huh?"
Eriri shot him a disbelieving look. She recalled how intense it was… A tenth? Impossible!
"Don't believe me? Should we test again?" he proposed mischievously, his hands already in motion.
"Here?! People will see us!"
"Don't worry—I've dominated our presence. Even if we're right in front of someone, they won't notice."
And so he proceeded.
…
"What's going on? The rooftop is empty… why is the door left open?"
A black-haired girl wearing snug black stockings stepped onto the rooftop. It was indeed empty, so the open door confused her a little.
But well, no one was around, which was perfect—she liked it quiet. She found a spot near the fence, sat down, and opened a book, her expression full of nostalgia.
"I wonder how that senior of mine is doing…"
Her name was Kasumigaoka Utaha—a third-year student at this same high school, but also a well-known light novel author under the pen name Kasumi Utako. She'd published five volumes of Love Metronome with Fantastic Bunko at the Undead River publishing house, selling over half a million copies. Quite a feat for someone her age.
But only Kasumigaoka Utaha herself knew that part of her success was thanks to an industry veteran she'd never even met—a person known by the pen name Mowen Hanaming. That senior was truly formidable, skilled in both light novels and manga, with numerous classic works in just a few short years before he vanished from the scene.
When she'd first started writing, her work had fallen flat—some might have called it a flop. Out of desperation, her editor, Machida Sonoko, had given her this senior's contact info. Nervously, she'd messaged him, admitting she wanted advice on why her writing was lacking. Right after sending it, she regretted it—he was a retired legend, after all; how rude was it to disturb him so abruptly?
Surprisingly, as she was about to withdraw her request, that senior actually accepted her file and read through it. Then he sent her comprehensive critiques, pinpointing each major flaw. Those suggestions turned out to be a turning point for Utaha.
She'd continued consulting him, receiving kind guidance every time. In the end, Love Metronome became her successful breakout title. Overjoyed, she told the senior of her success, and he congratulated her warmly—but also said goodbye. He explained that seeing her growth made him happy, and now that she could stand on her own, it was time for him to leave. After that, he changed his contact details, and they never spoke again…