A night passed. Through Akuto's efforts, Sakura's already high favorability rapidly rose to the standard needed to trigger a system notification.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, host. Fortune seizure complete.]
[Fortune source: Sakura Kouzuki.]
[Blank initial ability slot +1. Current total number of blank initial ability slots: 22.]
At noon the next day, Sakura slowly woke up lying against Akuto. Seeing that Akuto was still holding her, a shy expression surfaced on her face.
However, that state did not last long.
Because aside from Akuto beside her, she soon discovered a third person.
Beside Akuto, a blonde girl was sleeping soundly. That person was none other than her good friend, Fuyuhime Renjou.
Sakura froze at once. Her eyes widened as she stared at Fuyuhime on the bed, then looked at Akuto with a sense that her entire view of reality was collapsing. A storm surged through her heart.
"Fuyuhime... why are you here?" Sakura's voice trembled as she realized something.
"Of course, because I belonged to Lord Akuto from the very beginning," Fuyuhime said, opening her eyes and smiling as she explained.
"Huh?"
The chaos in Sakura's mind exploded, and she stood there stunned.
At this moment, Akuto also woke up. Sensing Sakura's restless reaction, Akuto gave her no time to think. He pulled her into his arms, and Sakura cried out in surprise, but before she could say anything, Akuto sealed away her ability to speak with a kiss.
For the rest of the morning, Akuto and Fuyuhime explained the entire truth to Sakura. After learning what Fuyuhime had experienced in the Renjou Family since childhood, Sakura ultimately chose to forgive and accept it. After all, Akuto and Fuyuhime were both people of the supernatural world, and their values were different from hers.
Since this kind of thing was apparently normal in the supernatural world, Sakura, who had already resolved to stay with Akuto, naturally had to learn to accept the rules of that world as well.
At noon, Akuto woke amid the soft bedding.
Sakura and Fuyuhime were nestled against each other. Fuyuhime's hand rested on Sakura's waist. Sakura's white calf socks were somewhat rumpled, but she still wore them, the cuffs rolled down to her calves and revealing a bit of skin.
Afternoon sunlight slipped through the gap in the curtains and fell across the two girls' faces.
Sakura's lashes trembled. She slowly opened her eyes, and when she saw Akuto's face so close to hers, she blushed, but she did not avoid him.
"Akuto... good morning." Her voice was hoarse, carrying a note of contentment.
Fuyuhime woke as well. She stretched lazily, then slowly raised one exposed fair calf.
"Lord Akuto, compared to facing you by myself, I think being with Sakura makes you happier, doesn't it?"
Fuyuhime said it playfully, while Sakura flushed and buried her head under the blanket.
Akuto chuckled and was just about to say something when his phone suddenly rang.
Looking at the text message on his phone, Akuto turned his gaze toward the West Heaven Palace.
The stage had been prepared. The actors were in position.
It was time... for the play to begin.
...
Meanwhile, on Hikari Mariya's side.
At this moment, Hikari was staring at her older sister with exasperated disappointment. Her little fist slammed hard onto the tatami, making the nearby tea set clink and rattle.
Her round eyes were wide open, as if two little flames were burning inside them, and she stared fixedly at her sister.
"Yuri-oneesama! It's already been over a week, so why have you and Lord Akuto only held hands?"
Hikari huffed and puffed, her small chest rising and falling with each breath. Clearly, she was furious.
"I... I just don't want to disturb Akuto," Yuri Mariya replied weakly.
She did want to take the initiative, but Akuto was far too busy.
"That is not an excuse! Oneesama, didn't you see that even that new upperclassman, Sakura Kouzuki, is already getting close to Akuto-nii? You can't even compare to a new upperclassman! Oneesama, you're too weak!"
Although Hikari did not know how far Akuto and Sakura had gone, she knew Sakura's progress was definitely ahead of Yuri's.
"One month! Just one month! If Oneesama still hasn't climbed into Akuto-nii's bed by then, don't blame me for taking action myself! When that happens, don't come crying to me!"
"Huh? O-one month...? Climb into Akuto's bed?"
Yuri's cheeks instantly turned bright red, as vivid as ripe persimmons.
Her slender fingers anxiously twisted the sleeves of her miko outfit. Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, almost vanishing into the air.
...
Seeing her like this, Hikari puffed up her cheeks and was just about to begin the next round of loving education.
Just then, the phone in her pocket suddenly rang sharply, breaking the tense atmosphere in the room.
"Huh?"
Hikari impatiently took out her phone and glanced at the screen. Her expression instantly froze.
Her formerly arrogant momentum went out with a little pop, replaced by a strange expression mixing reverence and excitement.
Hikari cleared her throat, pressed the answer button, and spoke in a voice sweet enough to drip honey.
"Moshi moshi, Nii-chan! What do you need from Hikari?"
Akuto's steady voice came from the other end of the phone, carrying unquestionable authority.
"Hikari, prepare yourself. As a Disaster-Purging Hime-Miko, go to the West Heaven Palace immediately. I need you to preside over the ritual to unseal the Heretic Sun Wukong."
At those words, Hikari's eyes lit up. Her small body straightened as she answered decisively.
"Yes! Understood! Hikari guarantees she'll complete the mission!"
After hanging up, Hikari rapidly switched from "facing Akuto-nii" mode back to "educating her own sister" mode.
She spun toward Yuri, who was still confused, planted both hands on her hips, and adopted the posture of a little adult.
"Oneesama! Did you see that? Akuto-nii personally named us! What does that mean? It means he trusts the power of the Mariya Family!"
Hikari's little face was flushed with excitement, making her look adorably devoted.
"Now! Immediately! This instant! Special training begins! Before we go to the West Heaven Palace, you must master the secret technique for capturing Akuto-nii!"
Without waiting for Yuri to react, Hikari dashed into the room like a tiny cannonball and carried out a large pile of miscellaneous objects.
There were several romance guides with flashy covers, seemingly confiscated from some pink-haired upperclassman. There was a scroll covered in strange symbols, possibly a secret text from the Onmyou Agency. There was even a bottle of pink liquid with a "love potion (fake)" label stuck to it, its suspiciousness off the charts.
"First! Eye contact!"
Hikari stood on tiptoe and tried hard to imitate Erica's gaze, the kind that could make a man go weak in the bones just by looking at him.
"Like this! Three parts shyness, seven parts longing! You can't look like a startled deer! You need to look like... like a greedy cat staring at top-quality wagashi!"
She tried hard to widen her eyes and create an effect of "longing," but in the end, she looked more like she was saying, "I'm hungry."
That ridiculous display eased the originally tense atmosphere a little.
Yuri covered her mouth as she watched her sister's exaggerated performance, so embarrassed she wanted to crawl into a crack in the floor.
Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the hem of her clothes until her knuckles turned pale, revealing the struggle in the girl's heart.
"Hikari... this is too..."
She stammered, and the blush on her cheeks deepened further.
"Second! Physical contact!" Hikari completely ignored her sister's embarrassment and grabbed Yuri's hand to begin a demonstration.
"It has to be natural! It has to be delicate! You have to fall into his arms like a feather drifting down!"
"Go with the flow! Right, go with the flow, go with the flow! Then go with the flow and..."
She suddenly leaned hard against Yuri, nearly knocking her sister down onto the tatami.
"Ah!" Yuri cried out, hurriedly catching her little sister.
Her cheeks were so red they seemed about to drip with blood, and even the roots of her ears were dyed pink.
"Stop fooling around, Hikari! This is too improper!"
She frantically straightened her disheveled miko outfit, her eyes darting away.
"Improper? Oneesama, wake up!" Hikari put her hands on her waist, looking heartbroken.
"You're trying to win a man. How can you still be thinking about whether something is proper or improper? In Akuto-nii's harem, being reserved means being eliminated!"
At this point, Hikari lowered her voice and brought her little face mysteriously close to Yuri.
"When the crucial moment comes, this elixir of love..."
Hikari shook the suspicious pink liquid in her hand, her eyes flashing with mischief.
Looking at the unknown pink liquid in Hikari's hand, Yuri was so frightened she waved both hands repeatedly, shaking her head like a rattle-drum.
"No! Absolutely not! That is wicked! How could you use something like that on Akuto?"
"And besides, Hikari, why do you have something like that?"
"So old-fashioned! This is called strategy! A necessary method on the road to happiness! Oneesama, you're just too rigid! You need to learn flexibility!"
"And this isn't for Akuto-nii, of course!"
"Akuto-nii is a Campione. How could something like this affect a Campione? This elixir... is for you, Oneesama! So you won't retreat again when the time comes!"
"Th-that's what you meant..."
Yuri breathed a sigh of relief. If it was for herself, she could still summon a little courage. As for using it on Akuto... she truly could not bring herself to drug him.
"Wait! Hikari, why do you have something like this?" Yuri discovered the blind spot. The romance manuals were one thing, but why did Hikari have an elixir?
"..."
After several seconds of silence under Yuri's extremely oppressive gaze, Hikari finally spoke.
"Uh... cough, cough. I got it from Miss Kaoru Sayanomiya," Hikari said, making a tactical cough.
To be precise, Kaoru Sayanomiya had given it to her. However, to keep Yuri from going to trouble Kaoru, Hikari still took the blame herself.
...
"Listen, Oneesama. The most important thing is your feelings!"
"You need to let Akuto-nii feel your heart! Not reverence as a Hime-Miko, but the pure love and attachment of a woman!"
"The trip to the West Heaven Palace is an opportunity. I'll preside over the ritual, and Oneesama, you'll be by my side. Considering the importance and danger of presiding over the ritual, while Akuto-nii is paying attention to me, he'll definitely pay attention to you too."
"When that time comes, it'll depend on you, Oneesama!"
"In front of him, don't keep thinking about your duties as a Hime-Miko. Think more about expressing your feelings."
"Haven't you liked Akuto-nii for a very long time? The way I see it, as long as you can show him those feelings, Akuto-nii will definitely respond to you!"
After those words, Yuri stared blankly at her younger sister, her eyes complicated.
Although Hikari's methods still made her blush and her heart race, the final words about "feelings" made her previously firm thoughts waver.
It seemed... she had grasped a tiny hint of direction.
(End of Chapter)
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