Bokue Keikain's outing lasted the entire morning.
It wasn't until around noon—when the golden sun hung high over Itogami Island—that Mimori Akatsuki's luxury penthouse suite finally materialized atop Keystone Gate with a resonant hum.
The spatial connection between both locations was seamless. After running a few tests, the teleportation array showed zero issues whatsoever.
Perfect.
"Alright, now you can switch between Keystone Gate and the MAR Medical Research Facility just by flipping this switch."
The midday sunlight streamed through the glass windows into the room. Standing at the entrance to the office connected to the suite, Bokue pointed at a newly installed switch on the wall while explaining to the blushing female doctor beside him—who was nibbling on her finger with an expression that practically radiated pink hearts and floating bubbles.
"Right now it's flipped down, which means you're at Keystone Gate. Flip it up, and you'll be at the research facility. Think of it like turning on the lights before you head to work, and turning them off when you clock out..."
"Mm-hmm~ Got it, got it~"
Currently floating in a state of blissful brain-fog, Mimori wasn't paying much attention to the young man's explanation. It wasn't complicated anyway.
Besides, she was far more interested in the scenery outside the window.
So the moment Bokue finished explaining the switching mechanism, Mimori made a beeline for the living room sofa by the window. She climbed onto it with both knees, draping herself over the backrest to gaze out through the floor-to-ceiling windows that spanned the entire room.
Despite having lived on Itogami Island for years, this was actually her first time seeing the top of Keystone Gate from this angle.
Compared to when Bokue and the others first moved to Itogami Island—back when it was mostly empty space—the rooftop had become increasingly developed as more girls moved in.
There were luxury penthouses like hers, beachside villas, a vine-covered old schoolhouse with charming European vintage aesthetics, and even a Gothic mansion.
But Mimori immediately spotted her own apartment among them.
"Ah~ There's our place! And next door should be... Yukina-chan's place?"
The female doctor murmured in surprise, looking at what she remembered as just one floor of an apartment building—now seemingly pulled out like a drawer and turned into its own standalone unit.
"Yep~"
Bokue walked up behind her and gave her nicely rounded rear—still perfectly visible even through her white lab coat—a light smack.
But the moment his hand landed, he paused.
Because Bokue suddenly noticed something on the balcony of Mio Naruse's suite—located not far from Nagisa and Yukina's apartment. Hanging there were bedsheets and duvet covers that, if his memory served correctly, he'd helped hang up to dry just yesterday morning.
In fact, he'd personally helped hang up that duvet cover.
?
A question mark slowly materialized above Bokue's head.
He clearly remembered Maria insisting at the time that if they didn't dry in time, she'd just toss them in the dryer later. So why were they hanging out to dry again today?
Did it rain yesterday and they couldn't bring them in? That didn't make sense either...
Unless they washed them again today?
Washing bedsheets every single day—was there really any need to be that diligent?
But before Bokue could ponder this mystery any further, the office door suddenly swung open from outside, accompanied by a girl's energetic voice.
"Mommy! Big Brother! You're back!"
"Yeah, we're ba—"
Bokue's hand was still resting on Mimori's rear when he turned his head—only to see Nagisa Akatsuki come bounding excitedly through the living room doorway. The moment she spotted him, she leaped up and wrapped him in a bear hug, cutting off the rest of his sentence entirely.
"Hehe~ I know Big Brother left super early this morning, and you only just got back now at noon. Be honest—were you spending the whole morning with Mommy doing... hmm?"
Nagisa clung to the young man like a sloth hanging from a tree branch, tilting her face up to whisper teasingly in his ear.
Though she called it a whisper, given how close the three of them were, Mimori could hear every word crystal clear.
Being teased like this by her own daughter, the female doctor's cheeks flushed pink. But she still cleared her throat and put on a serious expression.
"Nagisa-chan, making wild assumptions about people isn't very nice, you know?"
"Hmm~"
Nagisa pouted, tilting her head slightly.
"So... did you and Mommy do it this morning?"
Ummm...
Faced with her daughter's innocent, wide-eyed gaze, Mimori instinctively placed a hand on her belly—still warm and tingly.
Then she nodded honestly.
"...We did."
"See! I knew it!"
Nagisa gave a triumphant little huff, her face practically screaming I knew it all along.
At this point, Bokue lightly patted her bottom in return, looking somewhat puzzled.
"By the way, how did you know I left early this morning?"
"Huh? Oh, that..."
Nagisa let out a small "oh."
"Actually, I didn't know at first. But around nine in the morning, Rias-neesan came by and asked if you were at my place. She said she'd searched all over Keystone Gate and couldn't find you anywhere."
"Wait, hold on—Rias was looking for me?"
Bokue raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Did she say what she needed?"
"Umm, if I remember right, it was something about the Underworld..."
Hm? Are we heading to the Underworld again?
Bokue wondered silently.
❁❁❁❁
Half a minute later, Bokue arrived at the old schoolhouse.
The first floor was filled with the gentle aroma of lunch drifting from the kitchen.
Bokue walked up to the kitchen door and slid it open. Inside, Akeno stood before the stove wearing an apron, skillfully stir-frying with a spatula in hand.
Helping her were Asia, Koneko, and several other girls.
When Bokue suddenly appeared, all the girls who'd been busy cooking turned their gazes toward him almost in unison.
Akeno kept her hands moving while turning her head with a curious expression.
"Oh? What brings you here all of a sudden, Bokue? Want to stay for lunch?"
"Uh, we can talk about lunch later..."
Bokue cleared his throat lightly.
"Where's Rias? I just got back, and Nagisa told me Rias came looking for me this morning?"
"Mm, I think so."
Akeno thought about it for a moment.
"Something about a message Lady Serafall brought regarding the Ranking Tournament. But Rias isn't here right now."
"Huh? Where'd she go?"
"Umm... if I remember correctly, Lady Venelana had to suddenly leave Itogami Island yesterday and return to the Underworld for something urgent. So Rias went to tidy up Lady Venelana's room for her."
Huh?
The moment he heard "tidy up the room," an ominous premonition flashed through Bokue's mind.
If he remembered correctly, there was something in Venelana's room that Rias absolutely could not be allowed to see.
❁❁❁❁
And just as Bokue feared—
At that very moment, on the second floor of the beachside villa.
The crimson-haired girl stood with her fists clenched tightly at her sides, staring in utter disbelief at the object placed against the wall in her mother's room.
An affair mirror.
'Why... why would something like this be in Mom's room?'
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