About an hour later, the female driver who had been waiting downstairs at the hotel finally saw Shin and the others return.
However, their states were clearly very different from when they had first gone upstairs.
Kaguya Shinomiya's entire face was flushed red, as if she had just witnessed something so embarrassing she might faint. Even after sitting in the back seat, she seemed restless.
Though she appeared extremely shy, the driver also noticed that Kaguya Shinomiya didn't seem physically harmed. On the other hand, Chika Fujiwara, who had come with her, seemed to have completely passed out—she was even carried down by Shin in a princess carry.
Shin placed Chika Fujiwara in the back seat as well, while Kaguya Shinomiya watched her with a somewhat complicated gaze.
This scene left the driver rather confused—she had initially assumed that if they were going to a hotel, it would be Shin and Kaguya Shinomiya doing something. After all, it was no secret that the Shinomiya family wanted to marry Kaguya off to Shin. Even if the driver didn't know about Shin's abilities, she had heard about this matter.
But now... it seemed like Chika Fujiwara was the one who had been with Shin? And Kaguya Shinomiya didn't even react?
"Chika's already in this state, so I guess today's activities will have to end here."
After placing Chika Fujiwara in the back seat, Shin nodded to the others—today's outing was officially over.
Though Japanese high schools let out early, leaving plenty of time for club activities, their trip had already taken over two hours, and it was now dinnertime.
"Thank you for your hard work, Young Master Shin."
Hayasaka Ai nodded at Shin—of course, she was satisfied, having had a long-overdue release with him in the movie theater.
"Um... Shin."
Just as Shin watched Hayasaka take the front passenger seat and was about to tell the driver to leave, Kaguya Shinomiya suddenly leaned out from the car window and called out to him.
Shin froze, thinking she might be about to confront him. But when he approached, Kaguya Shinomiya's face suddenly turned red again:
"I... I still don't really understand those things from today, but I'll work hard in the future!"
At this point, Shin finally understood—Kaguya Shinomiya had truly been fooled by Hayasaka Ai.
He and Chika Fujiwara had already done everything there was to do, yet Kaguya Shinomiya genuinely believed it was all just for "educational purposes."
But that was fine. Since Kaguya Shinomiya had been successfully misled by Hayasaka, today's events could be considered a happy outcome for all.
Kaguya Shinomiya had received her "education," Chika Fujiwara had enjoyed the excitement—and as for the Shinomiya and Fujiwara families, they would absolutely have no objections.
Especially the Fujiwara family. With Chika Fujiwara now attached to Shin, a powerful figure, they were probably overjoyed.
Compared to some political families, Chika Fujiwara's parents were already quite open-minded and wouldn't force her into an arranged marriage.
But that didn't mean they had no interest in someone like Shin, a golden opportunity.
Now, without them even needing to persuade Chika Fujiwara, she had already formed a connection with Shin on her own. For them, this was the best of both worlds.
By now, Shin's body carried the scent of yet another woman, and he could already imagine how jealous Tohru would be when he got home.
However, when Shin returned that evening, it wasn't Tohru who greeted him—but Irisviel.
"W-Welcome back, Shin."
Irisviel looked somewhat shy—because she wasn't wearing her usual clothes, but a maid outfit.
The problem was, the maid outfit seemed a bit too small for her tall figure, leaving more skin exposed than intended. If not for the fact that everyone in Shin's household aside from him was female, she wouldn't have dared to wear something so revealing.
"Why are you the one greeting me today? Is Tohru not here?"
Shin looked at Irisviel in the maid outfit and smiled.
"It's a little revealing, but you do look quite charming in it."
"R-Really? I'm glad you like it..."
Seeing that Shin seemed pleased with her outfit, Irisviel let out a sigh of relief before explaining:
"Tohru finished making dinner earlier but noticed we were out of some daily necessities, so she went out to buy them."
"Couldn't she have just sent another maid to do that?"
Shin sighed helplessly. His household didn't just have Tohru as the only maid—there were several others assigned by the Shinomiya family.
After all, with such a large house, even though Tohru, as a dragon, could handle the cleaning alone, it would take too much time. So, the Shinomiya family's maids had been kept to assist in maintaining the house and taking care of its residents.
Yet, even with so many maids available, Tohru, as the head maid, still insisted on doing many things herself.
"Papa, since Tohru-nee isn't back yet, why don't you take a bath with Mama first?"
At that moment, Illya suddenly popped out from behind Irisviel—clearly, she had been hiding there the whole time.
"Otherwise, once Tohru-nee returns, she'll definitely drag you off to the bath again."
Seeing the sly smile on Illya's face, Shin immediately understood—Irisviel's outfit had likely been her idea.
It seemed Illya had noticed how Tohru always pulled Shin into the bath, so this time, she wanted Irisviel to get ahead of her.
Shin even suspected that the "lack of daily necessities" was Illya's doing—after all, she was a magical girl.
"You little schemer."
Shin couldn't help but laugh as he looked at Illya.
Though their "father-daughter relationship" stemmed from the "common sense" implanted by the Holy Grail system, Shin had still grown fond of this adorable daughter.
But since she had come up with such a mischievous plan, he wouldn't hold back either.
He reached out, scooped Illya up into his arms, and began walking toward the bathroom:
"In that case, let's take a bath together as a 'family of three.'"
"H-Huh?!"
Illya hadn't expected to be taken along and panicked momentarily.
Her original plan was to let Shin and Irisviel grow closer in the bath, but if she joined them, wouldn't she just become a third wheel?
However, her protests were useless. Irisviel, on the other hand, seemed quite interested in Shin's suggestion of a "family bath."
Though it meant they couldn't do anything "strange" in the bath, it still gave Irisviel a rare sense of familial warmth.
She thought that wasn't so bad either.
To be continued…
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