"Taki, the city will be under strict lockdown for the next few days. No matter what happens, don't let your family go outside. If you run low on food, just come and get some—don't be shy about it..."
Kitahara gave these instructions as he walked back.
"..."
"Taki?"
"..."
Hearing no response from behind him, Kitahara turned around to look.
He saw Taki with her head bowed; her dark hair hung down, obscuring her eyes and hiding her expression. However, the movement of her hands was clearly visible—she was silently wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
In the cool moonlight, a distinct damp mark could be seen on the back of her hand.
"Huh?"
Kitahara stopped and looked more closely.
That wet patch on the back of her hand... was she crying? Had she just been wiping away tears?
"Taki, why are you crying?"
Kitahara raised his eyebrows slightly.
"I'm not..."
Taki kept her head bowed, refusing to look up.
You say you aren't crying, but I can hear the nasal tone in your voice!
"Here, wipe your face first." Kitahara took out a handkerchief and handed it to her. "You've even got a snot bubble showing."
Taki's breathing hitched, and she hurriedly raised her hand to wipe her face. Upon realizing there was no snot bubble at all, she gritted her teeth and tried to walk past Kitahara to leave. It had to be said—Taki's personality was incredibly stubborn; if it were anyone else, they probably would have just given up on her.
But she had only taken two steps when Kitahara pulled her into an embrace.
"Let go of me!"
Taki struggled.
Instead of letting go, Kitahara held her even tighter.
If he had been dense enough to actually let Taki go, his harem would have collapsed ages ago!
Taki had been perfectly fine when they left the house, but now she was suddenly wiping away tears; without a doubt, the issue lay with him.
Of course, the root of the problem might not actually be him, but girls are emotional creatures by nature—often, logic simply doesn't apply. Kitahara applied a little pressure with his hands and lifted the "legal loli" with long, straight black hair right up into the air. Bathed in the moonlight, he could clearly see the girl's misty, slightly flushed eyes, and he mused:
"Taki, you suddenly look so aggrieved—could it be that you're jealous?"
Taki quickly turned her face away, her voice tinged with a nasal tone: "I'm not."
Kitahara nodded: "So, it really is jealousy."
Taki: "..."
The worst!
Absolutely the worst!
She'd already said she wasn't jealous; that pervert Kitahara just didn't understand a word she said!
"I like Taki."
Kitahara suddenly said in a soft voice.
"Huh?"
Taki's eyelashes fluttered instantly, and her voice betrayed a hint of panic:
"W-what on earth are you suddenly saying?!"
Kitahara's voice was gentle and warm: "I'm confessing my feelings to Taki, of course."
"..."
Seeing Taki flustered and her face rapidly turning crimson, Kitahara couldn't help but smile.
Good.
He had found the root of the problem.
It was indeed an issue of feelings.
It was highly likely that when everyone was helping him stack buffs at the onsen resort, Taki hadn't been included in the shared ability—which was why she felt so aggrieved.
As the saying goes, it is not scarcity that causes trouble, but inequality; if no one has a certain thing, it doesn't matter, but if everyone else has it and you alone don't, the stark contrast becomes hard to accept.
Kitahara leaned close to Taki's ear and whispered:
"I like Taki so much."
"Go away..."
"I love the strong-willed Taki the most."
"S-stop saying that!"
Taki glared at him, a mix of embarrassment and annoyance in her eyes. "Let's go." Kitahara settled Taki into the crook of his arm and started walking back. "We're going to the Hot Spring Realm."
"W-wait a second." Taki's voice was thick with embarrassment. "Sakiko and Mutsumi are still inside..."
"So what if they see?" Kitahara remained composed, showing not a shred of guilt or shame. "There's nothing shameful about liking Taki; I'd be fine confessing right in front of Mutsumi and Sakiko."
"...You idiot Kitahara, give it a rest already!"
Faced with Taki's vigorous struggling, Kitahara reluctantly set her down.
The two returned to the room.
"Sakiko, have some tea and give me another two minutes."
Kitahara poured a cup of tea and handed it to Sakiko.
"Okay."
Sakiko nodded gently, her gaze drifting curiously toward Taki.
"Taki... looks like she's been crying?"
"No, I haven't." Taki quickly denied it. "A bug just flew into my eye, that's all."
"Taki is lying." Mutsumi's voice chimed in. "Soyo said that whenever Taki lies, she secretly pinches her thumb."
Taki: "..."
Overwhelmed by a sudden surge of embarrassment, Taki turned to flee:
"I'm going home now..."
"Hold on." Kitahara firmly grasped the girl's slender wrist. "We're going to the Hot Spring Realm first."
"Huh?"
"To help me stack my buffs."
"..."
The light warped slightly; Kitahara and Taki vanished into thin air, entering the Hot Spring Realm.
"There's no one else here now." Kitahara looked down at the 'legal loli.' "You can help me stack those buffs now, right, Taki?"
"No."
Taki, her embarrassment still burning hot, turned her face away, refusing to look at him. "Let me put it another way, then..." Kitahara reached out and gently pulled Taki into his embrace. "I want to kiss Taki."
"Hmph, I'm not letting you."
Despite her words, Taki's body was honest; she didn't struggle or resist at all—after all, if a girl truly doesn't want intimate contact, she'll thrash about like a pig being held down for slaughter.
So, Kitahara simply lowered his head and kissed the girl's soft, rosy lips.
"Mmm..."
Taki's eyelashes fluttered shyly as she quickly closed her eyes. After a moment of hesitation, she quietly wrapped her arms around Kitahara's neck and began to respond to the kiss.
Her movements were shy and inexperienced, yet her willingness to reciprocate was, without a doubt, the ultimate love letter.
A moment later.
"Haa... haa..."
Breathing heavily, her eyes hazy and her head spinning, Taki finally voiced her true feelings:
"Don't say things like that anymore..."
"Hmm?"
Kitahara looked over curiously. "Say what?"
"N-nothing..."
Taki composed herself and quickly turned her face away.
"Tell me."
"I won't..."
"So you won't?" Kitahara's right hand slid gently beneath Taki's shirt and cupped her bosom. "If you don't tell me, then I'll just have to 'serve' Taki."
"..."
Under Kitahara's master-level massage, Taki quickly crumbled; with teary eyes, she revealed the truth behind her hurt feelings.
"I see..."
Kitahara had an epiphany.
Deep-seated feelings don't form overnight; Taki's sudden tears weren't just about the trivial matter of not sharing the ability. It was because he hadn't teased or messed with her lately, causing her to feel insecure and worry that she was being alienated or abandoned.
"It's my fault; I've been neglecting Taki lately."
Kitahara picked Taki up and walked toward the onsen pool:
"I'll 'serve' Taki to make it up to you."
"N-no, don't 'serve' me!"
Taki's voice was flustered, and her face flushed bright red.
Kitahara smiled at her. "Does Taki know what 'serving' entails?"
"I..."
Back when she had accidentally possessed Tomori during a onsen soak, she had certainly learned just how 'terrible' that kind of service was!
But just as the words reached her lips, Taki swallowed them hard:
"I don't know, but it's definitely something terrible!"
"Whether it's terrible or pleasurable is something you can only judge after experiencing it." "Mmph..."
After the apologetic act of service, Taki quickly turned into a docile kitten, shedding the prickly attitude she usually displayed.
It was a pity that Sakiko and Mutsumi were still waiting outside, and there was serious business to attend to later; he couldn't simply leave things unfinished after taking his fill. Kitahara reluctantly stopped. Once Taki had regained her strength, he had her apply the [Songstress of the Broken Army] buff to him, and then the two of them left the onsen resort together.
"...I'm going home!"
Taki kept her head bowed, not daring to look up, and sprinted straight into the restroom.
"Hana, go see Taki home."
Kitahara looked at the beast-eared girl and issued the order.
"You're done with your business now, aren't you, Kitahara-kun?"
Sakiko crossed her arms over her chest, her cheeks slightly puffed out.
A man and a woman alone at a onsen, with Taki too shy to even lift her head—it didn't take a genius to figure out they had definitely done something incredibly scandalous.
Even though she had tacitly accepted Kitahara's harem, she still felt a pang of jealousy.
"I'm done. Taki didn't share her ability earlier; she was so upset she cried..."
Kitahara gave a soft cough and quickly changed the subject:
"What did your grandfather say?"
Sakiko spoke softly:
"Everyone has been gathered; they're just waiting for you to arrive, Kitahara-kun."
Kitahara nodded: "We'll head over once Hana gets back."
Mutsumi tilted her lovely face up slightly, her expression impassive:
"Makoto-kun, I'm going too."
"Then let's go together," Kitahara agreed. "I'll need your help with something later anyway."
"Huh?"
"It's almost twelve o'clock." Kitahara glanced at the time on his phone, his gaze darkening. "The hunt is about to begin." "
"..."
While Hana was still away, Kitahara opened the ability roulette wheel, preparing to draw a new ability.
Having completed the "Moonlight Waltz," he had already secured the day's draw points; true to form, he opted to try his luck with a single pull.
Whirrr...
The ability roulette wheel began to spin rapidly.
Before long, a glowing orb of ability energy quietly dropped out.
"Finally got a hit..."
Kitahara let out a soft breath as he gazed at the glowing orb resting on his fingertip.
It had been a week since his last successful draw, so getting one today didn't come as a huge surprise—though, naturally, he had still been eagerly anticipating it.
"Let's see what ability this is."
He applied a bit of pressure with his fingertips, crushing the orb; the fine, starlike particles quickly merged into his body.
[Ability: Emotion Perception]
[Category: Passive/Active]
[Passive Effect: You can sense the emotions of others.]
[Active Effect: You can magnify and influence the emotions of others for a short time.]
[Note: The stronger your mental power, the greater the impact of the active effect.]
At first glance, the ability seemed ordinary, but Kitahara was no longer a novice; he could see past the surface. After a moment of reflection, a peculiar expression crossed his face:
"Well, well... Yuri from Red Alert, is it?"
The note made it clear: the stronger his mental power, the greater his ability to control and influence others—making it hard to imagine just where the limits of this power might lie.
"Kitahara-kun, is something wrong?"
Noticing the change in his expression, Sakiko asked with concern.
"It's nothing. I just had a sudden realization and unlocked a new ability." Kitahara closed the ability panel and looked toward Sakiko and Mutsumi.
The passive effect of "Emotion Perception" had activated, allowing him to clearly sense the "scent of emotions" radiating from them.
It was a gentle emotional blend of affection and dependency—a feeling that was incredibly comforting.
Kitahara sniffed the air, his gaze settling on Mutsumi.
The emotional scents from both girls were largely similar, but alongside the affection and dependency, there was an indefinable, strange emotion coming from Mutsumi... a hint of something dark, perhaps?
"Huh? What kind of ability is it?"
Sakiko asked curiously.
"It's Emotion Perception..."
Kitahara didn't hold back; he briefly described the ability's effects and then gave a light snap of his fingers:
"No amount of explanation beats firsthand experience. Why don't you try it out?"
There was no limit on the number of targets for the ability's range, so Kitahara simply selected both Mutsumi and Sakiko.
"Nngh..."
Sakiko's body gave a slight shudder, and her breathing suddenly quickened. A deep flush rapidly rose across her fair, doll-like face; her gaze was drawn involuntarily to Kitahara, and her pupils quickly shifted into the shape of hearts.
"Sakiko, how does it feel?"
Kitahara asked softly, inquiring about the experience.
"It feels... so strange..." Sakiko breathed heavily, her face flushed crimson, feeling as though something within her chest was bursting to spill out. "I like..."
"Like what?"
Kitahara leaned in closer.
Breathing in his scent, Sakiko's respiration grew even more rapid, her eyes becoming misty and luminous. Though a girl's reserve made her reluctant to speak, the overflowing emotions in her heart simply couldn't be suppressed:
"I like... I like you, Kitahara-kun..."
"How much do you like me?" "I like you so, so, so, so, so much..."
Sakiko, usually so reserved and composed, rarely took the initiative to confess her feelings; yet here she was, saying such things right in front of Mutsumi—clearly, her emotions had reached an uncontrollable peak.
Just as Kitahara was about to tease the girl further while she was overcome with embarrassment, someone suddenly bumped into his arms.
Thump.
Mutsumi tilted her lovely face up, her breathing slightly quickened. Her usually expressionless face was now filled with anticipation as she reached her right hand straight inside Kitahara's shirt:
"Makoto-kun... I want to do lewd things."
Kitahara: "..."
Asking for lewd things right off the bat—you're a girl, for crying out loud; show a little restraint!
"Kitahara-kun... I..."
Sakiko's face was flushed pink, her eyes glistening with emotion; though she didn't voice the rest of her thoughts, she clearly harbored the same feelings as Mutsumi.
Kitahara felt his heart stir involuntarily, but before he could make a move, the restroom door opened. Hana returned, clutching a bag of snacks—evidently the "delivery fee" Taki had given her.
"Business comes first..."
Kitahara exhaled softly and, with a resigned snap of his fingers, deactivated his ability: [Emotion Perception].
As the effect faded, Sakiko quickly regained her composure. She hurriedly covered her midriff and chest, her face burning with shame:
"This is terrible... that ability is just too terrible!"
Kitahara spread his hands innocently: "The ability only magnified your emotions; it didn't warp your consciousness. In other words, you were the ones who wanted to do lewd things..."
"Don't say it!"
Sakiko shot him an indignant, embarrassed glare.
"Right, right." Kitahara's expression quickly turned serious. "It's almost noon; we can head to the Togawa estate now. We still have important business to attend to when we get back."
"I'm going to the restroom first..."
Sakiko's face flushed pink again as she lowered her head and hurried to leave.
"Sakiko, I'm coming too." Mutsumi stepped forward to catch up, saying, "Panties..."
Before she could finish, Sakiko instantly appeared right beside her and swiftly covered Mutsumi's mouth:
"Mutsumi-chan, you really shouldn't just blurt everything out!"
"..."
A short while later.
Having changed into their panties, the two girls arrived in the living room, and the three of them set off together for the Togawa residence.
"Grandfather has everyone waiting in the living room." Sakiko's expression had returned to normal; with her hands clasped gracefully over her lower abdomen, the elegance cultivated since childhood was clearly evident. "Kitahara-kun, let's head downstairs."
"Alright."
Kitahara gave a slight nod and, together with Mutsumi, followed Sakiko into the living room.
Sakiko's grandfather, her good-for-nothing father, her aunt, and other immediate and extended family members were all present—a sizable group. However, the room was even more crowded with servants, maids, gardeners, chauffeurs, and security guards; a sweeping glance revealed dozens of people filling the vast living room.
The emotions radiating from the crowd were varied—boredom, impatience, irritability, malice... in short, there was hardly a positive sentiment to be found.
It was understandable, really; no one would be in a good mood having to dress formally and wait in the living room for a "distinguished guest" in the dead of night, unable to sleep or rest.
"Kitahara-kun, I apologize for the trouble at such a late hour."
Sakiko's grandfather hurried forward to greet him, smiling warmly; he showed no signs of resentment despite the long wait.
Kitahara responded politely, exchanged a few words with Sakiko's father and aunt, and then steered the conversation to the matter at hand:
"Is everyone confirmed to be in the main hall?"
"Yes," Sakiko's grandfather said in a steady voice. "Everyone is here; we even brought over a maid who was running a fever... Kitahara-kun, what is the situation?"
Kitahara replied calmly:
"Something has indeed slipped in among you."
Back in the second-floor hallway, Kitahara had already activated his "Health Bar Warrior" ability and detected the presence of a "doppelgänger" within the crowd.
Fortunately, doppelgängers do not go on a rampage unless their true identity is exposed—which was why Kitahara had taken his time coming downstairs.
"So, that thing really is here?"
Upon hearing Kitahara's words, the few who were privy to the situation instantly looked tense, while the maids, security guards, and others wore bewildered expressions—clearly, they were still in the dark.
"Quiet." Sakiko's grandfather wore a stern expression as he silenced the room, then gave a slight bow to Kitahara. "I leave this in your hands, Kitahara-kun." Kitahara gave a slight nod and walked toward the crowd, quickly stopping in front of a maid.
"Sir..."
A look of nervousness appeared on the maid's face.
Kitahara spoke calmly:
"Appearances can be faked, but the malice you harbor cannot be concealed."
The maid was visibly agitated:
"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about..."
Snap.
Without wasting another word, Kitahara simply snapped his fingers.
Emotion Perception... Malice Magnification!