Ten minutes later in the real world.
The air in the restroom shimmered slightly, and the figures of Kitahara and Kita appeared out of thin air.
Pat.
Kitahara gave Kita—who was clinging to him like a koala—a gentle pat:
"Hop down. I'll summon Hana-chan to take you home first; I need to get back to being an Imposter Inspector."
"Hmph..."
Kita let out a soft, disgruntled sound as she climbed down from Kitahara's arms, her cheeks puffed out slightly:
"You're so mean, Kitahara-kun. What happened to your promise to get rid of the side effect?"
Kitahara looked down at Kita and lowered his voice:
"A side effect that boosts your combat power several times over? That's clearly a buff, you know."
Kita used to be a total weakling—much like Anon—but after acquiring the succubus markings as a side effect, her combat power had skyrocketed. She had instantly become a top-tier racer; naturally, a side effect like that was one worth keeping!
"It is not a buff." Kita's face flushed crimson. "Having that weird mark on my stomach just feels... wrong. Anyway, hurry up and get rid of it! Don't forget the vow you made, Kitahara-kun!"
Kitahara: "Woof, woof, woof."
Kita: "..."
Time was tight, so there was no chance for lingering affection. Kitahara quickly summoned Hana to send Kita home ahead of him, while he went to rendezvous with Kojima to continue the hunt for Imposters.
Time slipped away as they rushed from place to place, and before they knew it, the night had deepened.
"It's over..."
After clearing out the last confirmed location of an Imposter, Ms. Kojima let out a soft sigh. Even a strong, capable woman like her couldn't hide her exhaustion after a night of such intense, non-stop activity.
The other Bureau staff were in even worse shape; some had even abandoned all pretense of decorum and plopped right down onto the ground.
Only Kitahara remained completely composed; this level of physical exertion was nothing to him. "Kitahara-kun, thank you for your hard work today." Kojima turned to face him and bowed earnestly in gratitude. "I'll have to ask for your continued help tomorrow. The Bureau has a special device capable of recording and tracking anomalous auras, but it can only pinpoint a general direction; we need you to help identify the 'Impostors'."
The Impostors that had surfaced openly had been eliminated, but no one could guarantee that others weren't still lurking in the shadows.
These things were far more terrifying than the "Cleaners"; if even a single one slipped through the net, it wouldn't take long for the entire city of Tokyo to be destroyed by them.
With their lives and safety on the line, the wealthy and the politicians had held an emergency meeting and reached a consensus with lightning speed: Tokyo would be completely locked down for the next few days to prevent the anomalous spread of the Impostors.
As for economic losses... well, when your life is at stake, everything else naturally takes a back seat.
"I'll be heading back now, then."
Kitahara gave a slight nod and took his leave.
"I'll have a car take you back..."
"No need; I have my own way of getting home."
It was the dead of night, and the journey home was long; even with clear roads, the drive would take half an hour, so naturally, he chose to use "Fast Travel."
Politely declining Ms. Kojima's offer, Kitahara stepped into the restroom, summoned Hana, and fast-traveled home.
"Kitahara-kun, you're back?"
"Thank you for your hard work, Kitahara-sama."
"Are you hurt, Kitahara-kun?"
"..."
As Kitahara stepped out of the restroom, the voices of the girls rang out immediately.
Nijika, Ryo, Kita, Sakiko, Soyo... practically all the girls were in the living room. Seeing him return, they flocked toward him, concerned about his well-being.
"I'm fine; there's no need to worry..."
Kitahara made a calming downward gesture with his hand and explained the current situation to put their minds at ease. "The impostors out in the open have been wiped out... but are there still more lurking in the shadows?"
"Impostors that spread like a chain reaction—that's terrifying."
"It's a good thing we discovered this today; otherwise, in a few more days, the impostors might have taken over all of Tokyo, right?"
"Taking over the Earth would just be a matter of time."
"..."
The girls chimed in with their thoughts; as high schoolers of normal intelligence, they were well aware of just how terrifying these impostors were.
"Wait a moment." Soyo's gaze suddenly sharpened, fixing on the hem of Kitahara's shirt. She stepped forward, pinched the fabric to examine it closely, and bit her lower lip. "This is a bloodstain... Kitahara-kun, are you hurt?"
Kitahara shook his head in denial. "I'm not."
"Huh? Kitahara-kun is hurt?"
Nijika looked over anxiously:
"Where is it?"
Mutsumi spoke with a serious tone: "Makoto-kun, take off your clothes so we can check."
"..."
Stripping down for an inspection was obviously out of the question, but the girls—outnumbering him and acting in a flurry—quickly rummaged over him and soon discovered two crisscrossing wounds on his palms.
Thanks to his powerful regenerative abilities, the wounds had already fully closed; only the intersecting scars remained, not yet having faded away.
"You said you weren't hurt..." Sakiko bit her lip and gripped Kitahara's fingers tightly, her eyes welling up with mist. "There's blood on your clothes and wounds on your hands... what exactly happened?"
Realizing he couldn't keep up the ruse, Kitahara gave a soft cough and began to explain, mixing truth with fiction:
"I ran into the Impostor Queen at the gym. I got careless and didn't dodge in time..."
It was true that he had encountered the Impostor Queen, but the claim that she had wounded him was a lie.
Meanwhile...
Kita's face flushed bright red, and she guiltily retreated to the very back of the group.
"Kita-chan is acting so strange..."
Hitori tilted her head—the ahoge atop it swaying gently—and gazed at her friend in puzzlement. (Kitahara-kun is hurt; under normal circumstances, Kita-san would have surely rushed over in a panic by now, right?)
Hitori actually wanted to step forward too—to check closely just how serious Kitahara-kun's injury was—but with everyone else crowding around him, her social anxiety naturally held her back.
(But I'm the one with social anxiety; Kita-san definitely isn't... so why is she furtively trying to hide in the back?)
"Say, I recall Hitori keeps a dog named Jimihen at home, doesn't she?"
The voice of 'Seika' drifted over leisurely.
The person actually speaking was the 'scum-Ryo'—for Ryo and Seika still hadn't managed to swap their bodies back yet.
"Ah..." Hitori was startled when the manager suddenly chimed in, and she hurriedly stammered a reply: "Yes, that's right—his name is Jimihen."
With her arms crossed over her chest, Ryo turned to look at Kita-san, speaking in a measured, unhurried tone:
"When Hitori comes home, Jimihen probably gives you a really happy welcome, doesn't he?"
"That's certainly true..."
"What if, one day, Hitori came home and found Jimihen hiding under the table instead of wagging his tail to welcome you?"
"Jimihen only hides out of guilt when he's done something wrong..."
Hitori blinked, then quickly caught on:
"Could it be that Kitahara-kun's injury has something to do with Kita-san?"
"Ryo-senpai, don't say things like that." Kita stammered, her eyes darting away. "The wound on Kitahara-kun's hand has absolutely nothing to do with me!"
(If anyone's to blame, it's definitely that Imposter Queen. If she hadn't ambushed me, Kitahara-kun wouldn't have gotten hurt!)
"That Imposter Queen is incredibly formidable; I let my guard down for a moment and got injured..."
Back at the onsen resort, Kita had sworn Kitahara to Concealment. Naturally, he wouldn't reveal the truth now; instead, he played up the Imposter Queen's capabilities.
Soyo squeezed her right thumb and proposed seriously:
"Kitahara-kun is going out to eliminate Imposters again tomorrow, and he might face danger... Why don't we all pitch in and share the [Army-Breaking Songstress] ability to stack buffs for him?"
[Ability: Army-Breaking Songstress]
(T/N: Gabriel from Date a Live)
[Category: Active]
[Description: You are skilled with various musical instruments; the music you play boosts allies' attributes while weakening enemies'.]
[Note: Allies are determined by the user's intent.]
They had already verified that the buffs from [Army-Breaking Songstress] could be stacked. Previously, the effect lasted only thirty minutes, but now that Kitahara possessed the [Status Master] ability, he could lock the buffs in place, extending their duration to a full day.
Tomori's gaze was resolute: "I'll help."
Anon put her hands on her hips: "Let's stack them now. Since Kitahara-kun has [Status Master], there's no need to wait until tomorrow."
Nijika pursed her lips: "In that case, shall we all head to the onsen resort right now?"
Togawa
Sakiko made the final call: "...Then it's decided."
Kitahara: "..."
Wait, what do you mean, "it's decided"? You could at least ask for my opinion!
"Does Kitahara-san have any objections?"
Sakiko shifted her gaze toward him.
"...None at all."
"Then we're off to the onsen."
"..."
A short while later.
Kitahara headed to the onsen with the girls. Naturally, activating the [Army-Breaking Songstress] ability required musical instruments; he had purchased and stored them at the resort beforehand just in case, and now they would finally come in handy.
Of course, before that, he needed to share the [Army-Breaking Songstress] ability with the girls.
"Next up is sharing the ability." Kitahara spread his arms. "Who wants to go first?"
Mutsumi stepped forward without hesitation, showing not a trace of embarrassment:
"Makoto-kun, I'll go first."
"Alright, Mutsumi-chan goes first."
Sakiko crossed her arms and reminded them:
"Go to a room to share the ability."
Although she had tacitly accepted Kitahara's harem, seeing him kiss the others right in front of her would still make her a little jealous.
"Wait a second." Seika's voice suddenly rang out as she crossed her arms. "I'm just here as a guest; don't count me in."
She had no choice; Ryo had been receiving constant signals from the manager, Seika, and had to step up to "draw a line" regarding her relationship with Kitahara.
If she let that lecherous brat share the ability in front of so many people, she'd never be able to show her face in public again, right?
Kitahara looked over at her, his expression calm and giving nothing away:
"Of course. Feel free to do as you please, Manager."
"Everyone actually suspects what's going on between you two; they just haven't said anything out loud, right?"
Nijika covered her forehead with her hand, unable to stop herself from thinking this silently.
Girls are creatures with incredibly sharp sixth senses, so some things simply can't be hidden; everyone just maintains a tacit understanding and avoids saying it explicitly. Beside Tomori, a look of hesitation flickered across Taki's face. After a brief pause, she quietly clenched her small fists:
"I don't need to share the ability either."
She had sworn never to join that scumbag Kitahara's harem, no matter what. Naturally, she had to stick to her word—which meant refusing the ability-sharing.
But if she stayed silent now, she'd surely be looked down upon, right?
Hearing this, Kitahara glanced at Taki. He wasn't angry, of course; he knew she was thin-skinned and a tsundere:
"Just like the shop manager, Taki—do whatever you like."
"..."
Seeing Kitahara agree so casually, Taki breathed a quiet sigh of relief, yet an uncontrollable, tiny pang of disappointment welled up inside her.
He agreed right away... Shouldn't he have hesitated a bit?
"Mutsumi, let's go."
Kitahara led Mutsumi into the break room.
"Makoto-kun..."
Mutsumi stood on tiptoe, looking at him expectantly.
Kitahara lowered his head, planted a gentle peck on her soft, rosy lips, and initiated the ability-sharing.
"Ability sharing successful." Kitahara patted Mutsumi's head and said gently, "We can go back out now."
Everyone was waiting in line outside, so they couldn't kiss for too long; he knew when to stop.
"No."
Mutsumi—usually so well-behaved and obedient—actually refused. Her soft, delicate body pressed right into his embrace:
"I want more kisses."
Kitahara was slightly surprised; the Mutsumi before him felt distinctly different from before. "Since when did you become so assertive, Mutsumi?"
"..."
Mutsumi didn't speak; she simply stood on tiptoe and leaned in for a kiss.
A moment later.
Mutsumi wiped a silver thread of saliva from the corner of her mouth, a blush rising on her otherwise expressionless, lovely face:
"Makoto-kun, thank you for the treat."
Kitahara: "..."
Wait a minute—how come I feel like the one who got the short end of the stick? The rest goes without saying; the girls filed in one by one. Not everyone was as greedy or insatiable as Mutsumi; after simply sharing the ability, they each left in turn.
As Nijika stepped out, Kita slipped in, her face flushed pink.
"So? I managed to keep the secret, didn't I?"
Kitahara lowered his voice, fishing for a reward from Kita:
"Don't I deserve a reward, Lady Kita?"
"Go away—no reward for you." Kita wrinkled her cute nose, her face still slightly flushed. "No one suspected a thing, though the manager seemed a bit odd... like she'd noticed something."
Kitahara: "..."
In the presence of that "scum-detective" Ryo, it was impossible for an ordinary person to hide their little secrets.
"Does your palm still hurt?"
Kita looked at him with concern.
"It hurts a lot." Kitahara held out his left hand; the crisscrossing scars on his palm were still clearly visible. "Once we've wiped out all the Imitators, Kita has to help me replenish my energy again—ten times, minimum."
"T-ten times?!"
Kita's face burned hot and her heart raced; her voice was flustered:
"Wouldn't I... break?"
Kitahara lowered his voice: "Don't worry. With the 'Hero of the Kidneys' ability, I guarantee you won't break."
"Pfft!"
Kita reached out and pinched Kitahara's waist:
"I meant you would break... You really need to show some restraint!"
After a brief exchange, Kita urged him in a low voice:
"Hurry up and share the ability; I need to get going."