When the sun rose again, the waves had already washed away all traces on the beach.
Inside the seaside villa that morning, thoroughly nourished by last night's "milk bath," all the girls slept in considerably late—nearly everyone sleeping until almost noon. They now sat gathered around the dining table eating breakfast.
"Hehe~ what wonderful vacation days. Good food, playing however we want all day, and not having to see those stuffy old council members' faces... Choosing to stay on Itogami Island as Foreign Affairs Satan really was the right call!"
Repeating this sentiment for the umpteenth time, Serafall sat at the table smiling brightly while holding a bowl of cream mushroom soup, sipping in small mouthfuls.
She turned toward her little sister beside her.
"Speaking of which, Sona-chan, doesn't your school only have two days off? Don't you have to return to classes tomorrow?"
"Yes."
The black-haired, glasses-wearing girl sitting with proper posture answered her sister's question briefly with eyes closed, then elegantly used her fork to pick up a sandwich and place it in her mouth.
"I see. What a shame."
Hearing this, Serafall clicked her tongue lightly.
"These happy days can only last two days before ending."
But immediately she changed tack, her eyes instantly sharpening.
"In that case, we absolutely can't leave any regrets today. Play hard during the day, then when evening comes..."
"Stop fantasizing. There's no evening session today, Onee-sama."
Swallowing the sandwich in her mouth, Sona opened her eyes to glance sideways through slightly reflective lenses at the Satan girl beside her, using a cool gaze to halt the bold plan about to escape her sister's lips.
"I'm returning to school this afternoon."
"Eh? Why~"
Completely unprepared for her plan to be declared dead before starting, Serafall's smile instantly froze on her face.
"Because I'm currently Saikai Academy's student council president."
Sona withdrew her gaze, answering with indisputable tone.
"According to the message Lady Venelana brought, the mythological faction gathering in the demon realm is next week. Everyone present will need to attend. Onee-sama, guess how many absence reports I need to write?"
"Ah..."
That truly was a problem.
Japanese high school student councils held considerable authority, including planning various school events. Naturally, absence matters were no exception.
At least looking at those currently present, she'd need to write at minimum over twenty absence reports.
And that didn't even count her own peerage members.
Including Shinra Tsubaki and the others, it might reach over thirty reports.
The kind of number where she couldn't possibly think up that many absence reasons.
❁❁❁❁
Just then, the black-haired, straight-haired gothic girl sitting at the table—having finished breakfast and delicately sipping black tea—suddenly spoke flatly.
"No worries. You don't need to write one for me. You all go—I'm not planning to attend. I have plenty of things keeping me busy."
"...Oh? Really?"
Her words barely finished when Tokoyogi Aya at the neighboring seat turned her gaze with seeming curiosity, smiling while tilting her head.
"But if I remember correctly, Minamiya Natsuki, you've mostly stopped managing the island's security force now. You've also stepped down from your homeroom teacher position at school—you're just a counselor now. Do you really have that much to keep you busy?"
"Tsk, Aya, shut it... Can't I just want to relax for two days? Plus I have no major interest in the demon realm anyway."
Completely unprepared to be called out at this moment, Minamiya Natsuki's mouth twitched. Her gaze reflexively landed on a certain young man currently seated beside Rias at the long table's head.
Her reasons for not wanting to visit the demon realm numbered two. First, her naturally homebody personality made running around truly unappealing.
As for the second reason—she really needed to give her palace a break.
Accurately speaking, since moving to Keystone Gate, basically every night during "bathing" Bokue would thoroughly give her special attention, claiming it would help her witch powers recover faster.
Just... though admittedly somewhat effective—at least now she could freely teleport through spatial manipulation and barrier control like before.
But being turned into a faucet every single day wasn't sustainable!
Plus most importantly, she could clearly feel that due to someone's high-intensity development recently, she'd become increasingly sensitive to his physical contact.
If this continued, eventually she'd probably... mm, no no, absolutely couldn't let such terrifying things happen.
Having finally escaped the Prison Barrier to regain her freedom, Minamiya Natsuki didn't want to discover she'd merely switched from being imprisoned in a barrier to being imprisoned in a bedroom.
At least in the Prison Barrier she'd been the warden—no one managing her while sleeping 24/7.
But if "imprisoned" in a bedroom... she'd probably become a 24/7 permanently-running faucet.
However, Bokue seemed completely oblivious to a certain gothic girl's resentful gaze, simply stuffing the last bite of steak into his mouth before rising from the table to place his plate in the sink beside the stove.
"Alright, I'm finished. Take your time eating—I'll go deliver breakfast to Gasper first."
❁❁❁❁
Scene Shift to the second floor.
Like yesterday, when Bokue reached the door, he raised his hand to knock gently.
"Gasper, are you awake?"
"..."
No response came.
But after about two or three seconds, faint rustling sounds emerged from within.
Then the doorknob pressed down. A blonde vampire girl with elf ears peeked her head through the opened crack.
"Mm... Bokue-senpai, you came?"
"Yeah, I brought breakfast... though at this hour it should probably count as lunch."
Bokue indicated the plate containing bacon and egg pasta in his hands.
"Same as yesterday—I'll wait for you to finish eating before taking it back down."
"Th-thank you. Please come in first..."
Flushing slightly while thanking him, Gasper stepped aside to allow entrance.
Perhaps because her swimsuit got dirty last night, she wasn't wearing that school swimsuit today. She'd simply thrown on a loose white shirt that hazily draped over her petite frame showing early signs of young womanhood.
Yet after Bokue delivered breakfast through the door, she didn't immediately take it. Instead, she climbed onto the large bed she normally never used for sleeping, kneeling with both knees on the mattress facing away from the young man. Her upper body prostrated forward as she turned her head, revealing half a small face flushed almost blood-red.
"P-please... come in..."
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