"Um, Rei…"
The pink-haired girl Saya Takagi glanced at the piles of random junk stacked everywhere and finally couldn't hold it in anymore. She turned to Rei and asked, "Why are we killing ourselves cleaning out this storage room?"
"Well…"
Rei set down the box she was holding.
She looked at Saya and explained, "Think about it—there are so many girls living in the house now."
"Shuya's the only guy here. It has to be super inconvenient for him when it's time to sleep, right?"
"And it's not just him. I bet everyone feels a little awkward about the whole situation."
"So I figured we could clear this storage room out and turn it into a private space just for him. That way he can actually rest at night."
"After all, Shuya has way more important stuff to do. We shouldn't waste his time on little chores like this."
Total lie.
Rika's house was a two-story duplex.
The second floor had a small lounge and three bedrooms.
The first floor had the entryway, main living room, a half-open kitchen connected to it, and a massive public bathroom with a bathtub big enough for several people without feeling cramped.
Plus this storage room full of random junk.
Rei's real plan was simple: empty this room and claim it exclusively for Shuya.
That was the only way she'd have a real shot at her night raid tonight.
She couldn't exactly sneak into his room if other girls were already in there, could she?
Sure, Shuya could technically crash in the small second-floor lounge where Rika had slept that morning.
But Rei's skin wasn't thick enough to ignore everyone else.
If she tried anything out in the open lounge and someone walked out and saw them… she'd die of embarrassment.
As for there being no extra bed in the storage room?
Rei didn't see that as a problem.
First, Japanese people were used to sleeping on the floor anyway.
Second, she knew Shuya had Conjuration Nen. If he wanted, he could snap a huge bed into existence in seconds.
So she'd waited until Shuya left with Saeko and while Rika and Shizuka were out training, then dragged Saya along to clear the room.
"What's so inconvenient about it?" Saya muttered under her breath. "Everyone likes him. He can sleep wherever he wants and with whoever he wants, right?"
"What was that?"
Rei cupped a hand behind her ear like she hadn't heard clearly and leaned in.
"N-nothing…" Saya shook her head fast. No way was she repeating that out loud.
Rei kept going. "If there's nothing else, let's keep working. We need to finish before Shuya gets back and give him a nice surprise."
She had definitely heard Saya's comment.
And yeah, it was technically true.
Out of the six girls in the house, three had already been with Shuya. He really could crash in any room he felt like.
That's exactly why she had to create this private room and establish the fact ahead of time—catch him off guard.
After she and Saya worked so hard to clean it out for him, he'd feel obligated to sleep here at least one night, right?
One night was all she needed to pull off her plan.
Rei believed opportunities went to those who prepared.
She'd get Saya and Yuriko to share a room so they could keep each other in check.
Then she'd room with Saeko and figure out how to distract her.
Rika and Shizuka were a lost cause—they were too close.
If she could've paired Saeko with Rika and fooled the not-so-bright Shizuka, that would've been perfect.
But this was the best she could arrange right now.
The rest was up to luck.
There was no way Rika would actually drag Shizuka along to Shuya's room tonight… right?
"Okay… sure."
Saya nodded.
On the outside she agreed, but inside she was grumbling:
Surprise? More like a shock.
"If you're getting tired, Saya, you can go rest. I can finish this by myself."
Rei had noticed Saya's reluctance.
She wasn't trying to guilt-trip her—just being honest.
Now that she was a Nen user, cleaning for hours didn't tire her out at all.
But Saya was still a normal human.
Plus this whole storage-room idea was Rei's own plan. Saya didn't have to suffer for it.
"No, I'm not tired at all!"
Saya shook her head quickly.
Even if Rei said it was fine, she'd feel guilty leaving her to do all the work alone.
Rei could see the forced smile, so she put both hands on Saya's shoulders and looked her in the eye seriously.
"Saya, I'm not just being polite. Don't overthink it."
"I only just realized—I'm a Nen user now, so this stuff doesn't tire me out. But you're different."
"Plus this was my idea in the first place. You don't have to stay and help."
"Nen user, huh? So jealous~"
Saya looked at Rei with real envy. "I wonder when I'll get to be like you guys."
"Don't worry, it won't be long," Rei said with a gentle smile. "After all, you're a super cute girl too, Saya."
"Cute…?"
Saya scratched her head, cheeks turning pink, suddenly stammering.
"Alright, alright. I've got this. Go rest."
Rei thought for a second and added, "Actually, it's getting late. Why don't you check the kitchen? Shuya left a list on the fridge before he left."
"You can start prepping the ingredients for dinner like he wrote down. Sound good?"
"Fine."
Saya thought it over and finally accepted.
She left the storage room.
Almost immediately she ran into Yuriko, who was back carrying bags of groceries.
"Sis?"
Saya hurried over. "Are those ingredients you brought?"
"Yeah, give me a sec to put them down and we can start prepping."
Yuriko nodded, then asked curiously, "By the way, Saya, what were you doing? You look exhausted."
Hearing it from her closest person, Saya instantly spilled everything—Rei's whole "surprise for Shuya" plan to clear out the storage room.
"Oh? Is that so?" Yuriko's eyes flashed. "What an interesting little girl."
Unlike Saya, Yuriko instantly understood Rei's real motive.
But she had zero intention of stopping her.
After all, she'd already made plans with Shuya tonight.
She'd been wondering how to avoid the other girls.
Now Rei was basically handing her the perfect opening on a silver platter.
If I pull a little "cuckoo takes over the nest" move, how's a thin-skinned girl like her going to handle it?
"Surprise? More like a shock," Saya kept complaining. "I bet Rei's doing all this for nothing. Why would Shuya sleep alone in a storage room when he could be cuddling with one of us?"
Yuriko looked at her dense little sister and sighed helplessly.
This kid… how is her brain still stuck in first gear?
That slow-witted look… doesn't resemble my child at—
Oh wait. She's not.
Never mind then.
Since Saya clearly wasn't going to fight for it herself, Yuriko decided she'd just go first and lead by example.