"Chisato, Shichen-san, everyone… I'm about ready to turn in. Good night."
Inoue Takina suddenly stood up and, without a moment's hesitation, left Shichen's room.
"Oh—night, Takina."
Chisato Nishikigi waved cheerfully at her retreating back.
"Good night!"
After Takina had gone, Shichen looked around at the rest of them and said, perfectly calmly:
"It's late for all of us—time to get some sleep."
Nobody answered; they only stared at him in silence.
The only one looking a little lost was Yoshino, who was perched on Shichen's right thigh.
She glanced from face to face, then turned toward Kanna.
"Kanna, aren't you going back to your own room?"
"I'm sleeping with Shichen tonight~," Kanna lilted in her childlike voice.
"Then I…"
"Of course we're staying too," Yoshinon declared.
Blushing, she looked up at Shichen—who was still being wordlessly stared at by everyone else—and decided not to budge.
The room fell into an odd hush. After a few seconds Shichen spoke again:
"Why are you all looking at me? Off to bed, now."
"Shichen-dono, what are you talking about? Shouldn't we all sleep together? You've only just come home."
—Tohru said this as though it were obvious.
"Wait, Tohru—you used to sleep with Shichen?"
—Yatogami Tohka asked in surprise.
"Naturally… hold on, are you saying you haven't slept with Shichen-dono before?"
"I sleep with him every single night!"
"WHAT?!"
"Hmph‑hmph~ got a problem with that?" Tohka asked smugly.
"Did you force Shichen-dono to do it?" Tohru demanded, frowning.
"As if! Shichen likes sleeping with me—and he pets me every day—"
"Enough!"
Shichen hurriedly cut off Tohka's impending self‑reveal and changed the subject:
"Anyway, this isn't the time for that conversation. The real issue is this room isn't big enough for all of us to sleep in."
"Shichen‑nii…" Chisato gave him a sidelong look; she'd easily guessed what Tohka had been about to blurt out.
(When boys and girls share a bed, a word like pet usually has a very specific implication…)
Shichen shot her a glare, then lifted his palms toward Tohru and Tohka:
"Arguing won't help. My bed's only so big. Tonight I'll sleep with Kanna and Yoshino; the rest of you head back to your rooms."
"No way! I'm sleeping with Shichen-dono!"—Tohru rejected that instantly.
"Me too—I'm sleeping with Shichen!"—Tohka chimed in.
"I want to sleep with you both, but the bed is small… and you're not kids anymore. You can't take Kanna's place, can you?"
Tohka hesitated, torn.
Tohru, on the other hand, said:
"I have a solution."
"Huh? What kind of sol—"
Before he could finish, a gigantic crimson magic circle lit up the room, bathing everything in scarlet light.
Tohru stood in the center with her eyes closed. Suddenly she opened them, flicked her tiny hand, and the array expanded across the floor and up the walls.
Something impossible happened.
It felt as though they were sliding downhill while the space itself stretched before their eyes.
In an instant, the room was several times larger.
"There, Shichen-dono—problem solved, right?" Tohru swished her tail proudly.
"…You've got magic like that?" Shichen muttered.
His gaze fell on the bed—now several times its old size—though none of the other furniture had changed.
"Heh‑heh, child's play!"
"A‑Amazing!" Tohka spun around, astonished.
Yoshino's big round eyes took in the transformed room; her little mouth formed a perfect "O."
Kanna, as usual, was unfazed.
"As expected of Tohru! Shichen‑nii, can I learn that spell?" Chisato asked, unable to hold back.
"In theory… yes." Shichen nodded.
Tohru's magic clearly manipulated spatial volume—she'd enlarged only the room's interior, not the entire building.
Shichen himself was well‑versed in space magic; using Frieren's magical theory, he could probably duplicate it.
(In fact, he'd been planning to invent teleportation magic soon so he could teach Frieren and the others.)
"Really? I must learn it!" Chisato hugged him excitedly.
"Sure—give me two days and I'll teach you." He ruffled her soft platinum bob.
"Deal!"
Turning back to Tohru:
"Tohru, could your magic also… create identity documents for Kanna and the others?"
"Absolutely."
Tohru's spells were even freer than anything in Freiren's world—pretty much anything was possible.
"Great. Sort everyone's IDs out; it's a hassle living in this world without papers."
"Leave it to me!" Tohru thumped her generous chest.
"Oh, and the room's a little too big—shrink it a bit."
"Okay!"
One more spell: the room contracted until it was roughly two‑and‑a‑half times the original size.
"Perfect," Shichen said, satisfied.
(Was this illegal construction? Whatever—magic isn't exactly regulated.)
"So, Shichen-dono… can we all sleep together now?" Tohru beamed.
"…Fine. Bed and room issues solved. We'll sleep together tonight—but you have to lie next to Tohka."
"Eh? Why?"
"Shichen, I refuse!—Tohka snapped.
"Me too!"—Tohru added.
"You promised to get along, remember?"
Both girls puffed their cheeks grudgingly.
"Tell you what—behave yourselves tonight. If you can quietly share a bed, tomorrow you can sleep however you like."
"Really?!" they chorused.
"Really."
"Ha, one night—piece of cake!" Tohru fired up.
"Hmph, then I've got no problem either!" Tohka matched her competitive spirit.
"Shichen‑nii, where do I sleep?" Chisato asked.
"Figure it out yourself," Shichen said, exasperated.
"Eeh—so cold!"
"You're the one who knows too much."
"Not my fault…"
"You really going to battle Yoshino and the others for a spot?"
"I—I can give mine to Chisato!" Yoshino blurted.
"No, no."
Chisato waved a hand with a grin. "Yoshino, I'm only whining. We've got plenty of time; it's not hard to steal a night with Shichen."
"Really?"
"Yup—so relax and snuggle up to him. I'm just letting you go first. Next time I won't be so nice."
"O‑Okay…" Yoshino nodded, embarrassed.
"Wow, Chisato, you are kind," Yoshinon praised.
"No way—Yoshino is kinder."
"All right, you're both kind. Quit making me the bad guy," Shichen sighed.
"Hmph—who told you to be such a sinner, Shichen‑nii?" Chisato pouted.
"Yes, yes, it's all my fault… It's late. Brush your teeth and let's sleep."
"Okay~"
The bed was now huge—six people only filled half of it, and all on one side.
After everyone washed up, Shichen lay in the middle: Kanna on one side, Yoshino on the other.
Next to Yoshino was Chisato; beside Kanna were Tohru and Tohka.
Surrounded by floral fragrances, Shichen felt perfectly at ease and drifted off with them.
…
When Shichen opened his eyes it was pitch‑black. A faint milky scent tickled his nose.
He tilted his head and Kanna slid off his face.
We went to sleep just fine—how did she end up on my face?
He chuckled, sat up, and surveyed the scene. Except for Kanna, everyone was still sleeping peacefully, exactly where they'd been the night before.
Without waking them, he used a space‑shift spell to leave the room.
He arrived in Utaha Kasumigaoka's room.
She hadn't moved at all. She lay exactly as she had when he left.
Crouching by the bedside, he looked fondly at her beautiful, tranquil sleeping face.
He reached out to brush back a strand of hair—then saw her eyelashes tremble.
"Awake?"
~~~
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