( Arata's POV )
Sun: Arata, what are you doing?
When it seemed like I was threatening the devils, the girls were confused; they questioned me but didn't try to stop me, I appreciate that level of trust, maybe Chisaki wanted to stop me, but she was too nervous to move.
Arata: You're running because someone is chasing you, aren't you? If that someone came here looking for answers, my mother won't be able to answer because she doesn't know who you are, Which means she will be in danger; you will be coming with us or you will not be leaving this place at all.
Maria: oh wow, you're not playing around.
Arata: You were the ones who involved my mother first; anyway, this isn't a bad deal for you, we have a big house with spare rooms, you will not be uncomfortable, and there will be more people to help you when you are found again. When that matter is settled, you can go wherever you want; in any case, you have no other place to go.
Maria: Mio-sama, I think we should go with them.
Mio: Uh, are you sure about that? I don't trust them.
Maria: I don't think we have many options here, don't worry I will sacrifice my body to that insatiable wild man, if that's what it takes to save you.
Arata: Whatever you're thinking I'll do, stop thinking that.
Mio: Well... if there's no other option, where will we go?
Arata: First, we'll wait for my mom to get back. We can't disappear while she's gone.
Sakura: Guys, I'm back!
Arata: perfect timing.
It was as if my words had summoned my mother, and when she entered the room, she was surprised to see so many people there, this was the first time she had seen Ranna and she was very interested in talking to her. Ranna tried to maintain her usual serious expression, but my mother started praising how beautiful she was, and Ranna was somewhat overwhelmed.
After all that, we began our walk back home. The atmosphere between us was somewhat awkward, but besides that, I noticed that Sagiri was acting a little strange, She was walking with a slight stumble, and I approached her to see how she was, at that moment, she regained her balance and grabbed me in a tight hug, Her soft breasts were pressed against me, and she raised her head, wanting to steal a kiss.
Sagiri: ...I thought I could hold back, but I couldn't.
This was familiar to me; the same thing happened the last time I used my pact with her, I was very tempted to taste Sagiri's lips, but she would be very upset with me afterwards if I let that happen, and besides, I didn't want our first kiss to be like that.
I put up a hand to block Sagiri, and when she kissed my hand, Sagiri seemed to regain control of herself, For a second there was an expression of disappointment on her face, but that quickly faded and she stepped back from me, clearly embarrassed, the others who hadn't seen this happen before had mixed reactions.
Mio: H-hey, what do you think you're doing out of nowhere?!
Arata: That's a side effect of using the pact, don't worry, she's fine now.
Maria: Uh nani nani, what's this about a pact?
Arata: There's nothing to worry about, let's hurry, it's getting late.
Although I said this wasn't important, I saw that Maria became very interested when I mentioned my pact with Sagiri, but she didn't ask any more questions about that subject, and when we arrived at the house and opened the door, we saw Yaya casually walking around.
Arata: Hey Yaya, thanks for watching the house while we were out.
Yaya: Um, were you out?
Leaving aside how absentminded Yaya was, we entered the house. We took the two girls to the second floor and told them to choose whichever room they wanted, after that, we got together for a family meeting.
Urara: Hey Arata, we know you like to help people, but tell us the truth, is there any other reason you insisted those two girls stay with us?
Arata: Yes, there's something, Sun's mother.
Sun, um, my mother? What does she have to do with this?
Arata: She lives right next door to my mother. Mio and Maria couldn't have passed by without her noticing. Maybe she wants us to help those girls, or maybe this is a test to see how we would react, It could be anything.
Sun: Yeah, I can see her doing that.
Arata: Besides, when I see the two of them, I feel they won't survive on their own; I can just leave them alone.
Urara: ah That's our Arata, a soft-hearted delinquent.
Urara let out a playful sneer, and the rest of the girls smiled slightly; they more or less shared that opinion of me, we were all in agreement to help the two girls, and with nothing more to discuss, we went to sleep.
I thought the surprises were over for today, but before I could fall asleep, I felt a disturbance in the woods behind the house, so I went to investigate.
It wasn't that someone was trying to break into our house, but rather that someone was trying to get away from the place, I approached the sounds of movement in the forest and then I came across the redhead with pigtails, Mio.
Arata: Hey, what do you think you're doing out here?
Mio: hmph It's not obvious, I'm running away.
Arata: You're not very bright, are you? If you leave Maria behind, your chances of survival drop even further.
Mio: Shut up, I don't want to hear that from my kidnapper. Maria will be fine without me, everyone will be better off without me there.
Arata: You're wrong, that path won't help you or us. Maybe you don't believe me, but I really want to help you; you and I are similar, you know.
Mio: I don't believe you. How could we be similar?
Arata: Talk to me and you'll find out.
Mio was completely unprepared to run, and it wasn't difficult to make her reconsider her decision, she was so unprepared that she didn't even put on appropriate clothes to protect her from the cold night air.
I unzipped my hoodie and put it over Mio to cover her; she stood stiffly for a moment and then sat down on a fallen log.
Mio: Very well, if that's what you want, then let's talk.
When she accepted my offer, I gave her a small smile and sat down next to her on the fallen log.