Chapter 99: Futari's Turn
After the school trip came summer vacation.
Ren's plans for summer break were simple: have fun, and have lots of it.
On the third day of summer vacation, Ren woke up entangled in a sea of limbs. He moved aside the leg Karen had draped over his waist and the hand resting on his shoulder. The moment he opened his eyes, Ram silently stepped forward to help him up.
"What time is it?"
"Almost ten o'clock."
Ram tried her best not to appear flustered, but having been employed for less than two weeks, she still struggled with such scenes. Ren and Karen didn't even wear pajamas, freely enjoying skin-to-skin contact with nature.
Though her face remained flushed, she still diligently performed her duties.
"Almost ten already? Did I mention any plans for today yesterday?" Ren asked Ram after stretching.
Another function of the maid was to help him remember his schedule. Sometimes his rationality and various thoughts would be poured into Karen and the others, leaving him unable to recall things the next day.
"Yes, Miss Hitori's younger sister video-called you last night, insisting on coming to play with you. You already agreed."
"Right, I almost forgot about that."
Ren nodded in understanding. He had previously promised to hang out with Futari during summer break, and as soon as vacation started, Futari began pestering him to visit, so he'd agreed.
Taking Futari out wasn't particularly troublesome—it was good to go out occasionally anyway.
Since summer vacation meant not worrying about being unable to get out of bed the next day affecting anything, and with maids at home, Hitori and the others who had enjoyed themselves thoroughly showed no desire to move or go out after waking up.
In the end, only Ren went to pick up Futari and took her to the amusement park by himself. Though there were fewer people, Futari seemed even happier.
That day, she got to experience all the rides Michiyo normally forbade her from trying. However, Ren still didn't let her ride the roller coaster, fearing the stimulation might be too intense.
But he took her on everything else. When riding the carousel, Futari insisted Ren join her.
Worried she might fall off riding alone, Ren accompanied her on the merry-go-round.
And honestly, if someone had told Ren he'd visit an amusement park with a girl, he'd never have guessed it would be with Futari.
Hitori would never voluntarily suggest going to such crowded places, even though she's less socially anxious now.
Yuno and Satou mostly focused on Ren's hobbies—for example, since his main work involved copying songs, they learned musical instruments and never slacked off. So when Ren showed no interest in amusement parks, they remained uninterested too.
Karen and Anon would probably have wanted to drag Ren to an amusement park, but they'd spent the first days of vacation on amorous collisions and were still too sore to move.
Thus, this first amusement park experience ultimately fell to Futari. Of course, Ram counted as half, since Ren no longer drove himself when going out. Rem stayed home today to care for the others and didn't accompany them.
After playing all afternoon, Futari was so tired that Ren carried her in his arms, drowsily leaning on his shoulder.
When she had energy, she even dared to challenge roller coasters, but once she wore herself out, she had no spirit left and only wanted to sleep.
Ren held her as he slowly left the amusement park. Taking care of children, especially well-behaved and adorable ones like her, brought great emotional satisfaction. Although he was just accompanying Futari, he had a genuinely happy day today.
However, happy times are always fleeting. After the fun, Ren had to take Futari home.
But surprisingly, she refused. Even though she was almost falling asleep from exhaustion, she mustered the strength to cling to Ren and whine, "Brother-in-law~ take me to your house to play! If sister can go, why can't I?"
"But your parents will worry."
It wasn't that he couldn't take Futari home to play, but Ren felt it wasn't the right time yet. After all, his entire Harem was at home right now. Futari might not understand the situation, but if she saw them and accidentally let it slip later, wouldn't that be disastrous?
"It's fine! Sister and I can call them together. Please, brother-in-law, Futari wants to sleep with you~"
Futari pleaded in a childish, slightly drowsy, and languid tone, so sweetly that Ren's heart softened.
But this wasn't something he could agree to lightly. Ren first glanced at Futari's status and noticed her affection for him had reached 89—the highest level possible without being in a romantic relationship. Any higher would mean love.
With such high affection, she'd probably help keep his secret if he coaxed her a little, right?
As he pondered, Ren glanced at Ram.
Ram's affection for him had risen to 80. It seemed that taking care of someone's daily needs, unless done impatiently, easily fostered emotional attachment.
[Ram: Although she would feel embarrassed, she has already fantasized about the host asking her to do some inappropriate things. Thus, she would reluctantly and pretend to be disgusted while agreeing to the host's various requests.]
After reading this message, Ren silently averted his gaze. Then, under Futari's persistent calls of "brother-in-law," he finally agreed. However, before taking her home, he made her promise to help him keep a secret: not to tell the Gotou couple how many people were in his house.
Futari didn't quite understand why, but at her age, she took promises very seriously. Since Ren had been so good to her, she would definitely help him keep the secret.
As for what exactly that secret was, she began to have an inkling after arriving at Ren's house.
Looking at all the beautiful sisters with pink hair—except for Rem—Futari tugged at her own hair, feeling a sense of realization that was just shy of complete understanding.
But that was no longer the most important thing. After arriving at Ren's house, she regained her energy and fell in love with the beautiful home.
Moreover, with the maid Rem and Ren guiding her around the house, she felt for a moment like a real princess. The only regret was that she wasn't wearing the princess dress Ren had given her.
That evening, she not only insisted on sleeping with Ren but also demanded to take a bath together. Since she was still young, Hitori and the others didn't object. Coincidentally, they had no intention of accompanying Ren for a while—after eating, they wanted to play guitar, practice bass, and each had their own things to attend to.
Thus, Futari got her wish, clinging to Ren all night long. Eventually, she ended up lying on top of him, using his chest as a pillow, and slept soundly through the night. It wasn't until the next day that she was reluctantly and unwillingly sent back home.
This time, Ren naturally didn't forget to give her a gift—a complete set of Hello Kitty plush toys, helping her fill her bed with stuffed animals.