"Um, Tohka, do you know where Miss Ellen went? Seriously, how did she just vanish early in the morning? We can't find a trace of her anywhere. Ugh, it's been so long already, and there's still no sign of her." On the returning plane, Ai Yamabuki, Mai Hazakura, and Mii Fujibakama all gathered around Tohka again. There was no helping it—Tohka was the one who had promoted—or rather, tricked them—into pestering Ellen. And now that Ellen had disappeared, they instinctively surrounded Tohka. Besides, they had a feeling Tohka definitely knew where she'd gone.
"That, uh, I have no idea either. Anyway, wasn't she someone sent by the higher-ups? You could ask our teacher, Ms. Okamine Tamae. Don't ask me—I don't know anything." What a joke—Tohka wasn't about to tell them that she'd basically blown Ellen out of reality with a cannon shot, then there had been a "suicidal" sneak attack and Ellen had long since run off. Even if she did say it, who would believe her? The whole thing was far too outrageous. Just think—Tohka had literally shot down a DEM airship. No one would buy that if she said it. So, she tossed the blame to her homeroom teacher; after all, they were the ones who set it up.
"Tohka, about Ellen..." The girls weren't exactly quiet, so Okamine Tamae, sitting in front of them, turned her head to look back. "She had some urgent business and left early. If you want photos or something, I can help you get in touch after we land."
"Alright, got it." Hearing that, Ai, Mai, and Mii didn't say anything more. They just returned to their seats. What she said made sense—since Ellen was from the 'tour company,' she didn't have to stay with them the whole time.
"Phew, finally." Watching the trio walk away, Tohka let out a relieved breath. She turned to look out the window. As for Kaguya Yamai and Yuzuru Yamai, the two of them hadn't stayed on the plane. After that day, when she'd taken them out to catch enough food from the sea, she sent them off to Ratatoskr. They'd need to get official IDs prepared, and Tohka couldn't help with that, so she left it to those damned gentlemen in the sky. As for sealing their powers, they hadn't said anything about it, so Tohka didn't bring it up again.
"Ugh, seriously, the past few days have been such a headache. Thank goodness everything's settled—I can finally go home and rest. And Miku should be back soon...it's been ages since we hung out." Satisfied, she stretched and pulled her gaze back inside. She lay back and fell asleep. For now, there was nothing urgent to worry about.
And so, while Tohka napped, the plane slowly landed at the airport. As soon as she got off, grabbed her luggage, she found a quiet corner, put on her armor, and bolted for home at top speed. As for everyone else—she didn't care one bit.
"Aah, finally home. It really is most comfortable here. I wonder if Miku's back yet." She casually opened her door and walked inside.
"Um, Tohka—would you mind explaining who this Miku is?" But the moment she closed the door, a voice sounded by her ear. She jumped so high her head smacked the ceiling.
"Ugh, ow ow ow..." Squatting on the floor, clutching her throbbing head, Tohka finally got a clear look at the two figures in front of her. In a resigned voice she said, "Kaguya, Yuzuru —what are you two doing here? Weren't you assigned rooms upstairs? Why are you in my apartment?"
"Explanation: We decided we'd rather live here. Also, just now—who is this Miku you mentioned? Yuzuru requests clarification." Yuzuru spoke calmly, though her reaction was identical to Kaguya's—both of them were asking who this Miku was.
"Oh, uh—she's a friend of mine. I think she's arriving today or tomorrow. You'll meet her soon enough. But...wait, you said you're living here? Oh God." Having finished explaining about Miku, Tohka finally processed what they'd said about living here—and she let out a wail of despair. Knowing their personalities, she could already picture her peaceful days being over. Neither of them had sealed their power, meaning they might blow her house to pieces by accident. And with Miku arriving soon, her head was spinning. She wasn't that harem protagonist guy—she couldn't guarantee the girls wouldn't fight each other.
"Hey—what's with that face? Since this princess has decided to stay here, you should be grateful. Why do you look like that?" Kaguya frowned at Tohka's expression and was the first to complain.
"Agreement. Tohka—are you really so unwelcoming to us?" As expected of twins, Yuzuru chimed in right after.
"No, no, no—of course you're welcome. Where are your things? I'll help you settle in." Seeing no way out, Tohka surrendered, hastily changing the subject. But she immediately regretted it—because she realized they didn't have anything at all.
"Um, about that—we don't have any. Tohka, maybe you could take us shopping?" Miku and Kaguya exchanged a slightly awkward glance. After all, they'd been wandering around for ages. They had nothing. Honestly, even the clothes they wore were materialized from spirit energy.
"Uh...alright. We'll go buy a few things. And you should get normal clothes—you can't just keep wearing spirit garments." Tohka sighed. But then she remembered something—she was broke. She'd eaten through all the money she brought from the other world. As for the funds Miku had once given her—there was only a little left, nowhere near enough to buy everything they'd need. But then she recalled something important, and asked: "Um, sorry to ask—but do you two get spirit subsidies?"
After all, the whole point of that organization was to help spirits live normal lives. Naturally, there had to be subsidies—you couldn't have them all starving. But Tohka herself had never collected any, partly because she just couldn't stand that crew. She'd rather eat through her reserves than go ask them for handouts. So here she was, with an empty wallet.
"Oh—that? Yeah, we have it." Kaguya nodded. She and Yuzuru pulled out bank cards. Apparently, unlike Tohka, those guys had set up their subsidies proactively.
"Damn it—those bastards..." Tohka mumbled resentfully under her breath. Then her face froze in embarrassment—because, well, they were right.
"Aah—so Tohka has moments like this too. Fine—let us treat you to a meal this time. After all, you did buy us that giant feast before." Even though Tohka had eaten most of the tuna herself, the sisters still felt it was a nice gesture. They'd heard from Shido how expensive that fish had been. So, seeing Tohka so sheepish now was funny, but they didn't mock her. They knew Tohka had never cared much about money. Otherwise, she'd have sold that fish for a fortune instead of eating it.
"Oh, no—you really don't have to—I can't let you..." Even as she protested, Tohka's body was already opening the front door. Her expression practically said: Please feed me. I'm ready to be kept.
"Um, Tohka—mind explaining what's going on? And who are these two?" But as soon as she opened the door, she found a girl with silver-lavender hair and matching eyes standing there, smiling serenely as her gaze swept over Kaguya and Yuzuru.
"Uh, uh—this isn't what it looks like—" Instantly sensing she was in mortal danger of ending up on the receiving end of a kitchen knife, Tohka frantically started explaining. After all, with Makoto Itou's tragic example, she was determined never to end up in that scenario. Besides, with her own strength, even a kitchen knife probably couldn't kill her—probably.