"Hitori, I'm here."
Stepping through the spatial rift, Kitahara descended by Hitori's side.
"Kitahara-san...!"
With tears brimming in her eyes, Hitori grabbed Kitahara's arm, her voice frantic:
"Mom and Futari, and Jimihen too, have all vanished!"
"Don't panic."
"I'm here."
Kitahara's voice was calm and steady, surveying their surroundings while reassuring Hitori.
"Futari and Auntie only just stepped out; they couldn't have gotten far, so we'll be able to find them shortly."
"Kitahara-san, please share your abilities with me!"
Teary-eyed, Hitori rose onto her tiptoes.
"Extraordinary Vision?"
"Mhm, mhm."
The fog naturally obstructed visibility, and with it being nighttime, vision was impaired even further; Hitori could at most discern things four or five meters away and was desperate to share the ability.
Their lips met.
Ability shared successfully.
"I can finally see clearly..."
Looking all around, Hitori couldn't help exhaling a sigh of relief.
After sharing [Extraordinary Vision], the dense fog and night darkness could no longer hinder her sight, yet there was still no sign of Futari or Mrs. Gotoh.
"Kitahara-san, let's split up to search..."
Biting her lower lip, Hitori suggested anxiously.
"No need to go through all that trouble," Kitahara shook his head, scooped Hitori up into his arms, and leaped into the air, taking flight directly into the sky. "We'll search from above."
"Ah..."
Letting out a soft gasp, Hitori hurriedly wrapped her arms tightly around Kitahara's neck.
"First, let's circle the house to check."
Kitahara decisively flew in a loop around the residence.
Both Futari and Mrs. Gotoh were ordinary people and couldn't have wandered far, making searching the immediate perimeter of the house the top priority.
As it turned out, Kitahara's deduction was right on the mark.
In less than half a minute, Kitahara spotted traces of Futari and Mrs. Gotoh.
"Futari and mom are over there!"
Hitori's eyes widened as she hastily pointed toward a small nearby park, her face filled with anxiety and alarm:
"T-There's a monster too...!"
"I see it."
Wasting no words, Kitahara dove straight down.
Meanwhile.
In the clearing of the small park.
"Futari, close your eyes, don't look..."
Kneeling on the ground with a trembling voice, Mrs. Gotoh held Futari tightly in her embrace; their canine friend Jimihen tucked his tail between his legs, shivering violently with pathetic whimpers, looking as though he had been terrified to the point of wetting himself.
Opposite the two stood a repulsive monster: at first glance it resembled a hound, yet its head was that of an untidy, black-haired human, its mouth split wide all the way to its ears and lined entirely with razor-sharp teeth... looking every bit like a fiend straight out of a nightmare.
Stepping forward with blood-red eyes brimming with malice, the Nightmare Hound was evidently a highly aggressive anomaly.
Just as Mrs. Gotoh was engulfed in despair, Futari's childish voice suddenly rang out:
"Mommy, sister is in the sky!"
"Eh?"
Subconsciously looking up, Mrs. Gotoh saw a dark figure descending at breakneck speed from the heavens, landing forcefully right before her.
Boom!
Dust and debris scattered.
Flexing his knees slightly to absorb the landing impact, Kitahara set Hitori down from his embrace.
"Mom, Futari! I finally found you!"
Hitori cried out joyfully.
"It really is Hitori..." Mrs. Gotoh opened her eyes wide, staring dumbfounded at the youth beside her daughter. "Is that Makoto? But how can Makoto fly?"
"I'll explain to Auntie in a bit," Kitahara turned around, striding toward the Nightmare Hound. "Let me take care of this disgusting stray dog first."
"Wait, Makoto, don't be reckless, it's too dangerous..."
Mrs. Gotoh called out in alarm.
"Don't worry, mom," Hitori persuaded softly. "Kitahara-san is super strong."
"No matter how strong, he can't beat a monster... Huh?"
Before she could finish her sentence, Mrs. Gotoh's eyes went wide in utter bewilderment.
Who am I?
Where am I?
How did such an enormous monster explode in the blink of an eye?
Her vision had merely blurred for an instant, preventing her from catching Kitahara's movements at all; she only saw Kitahara appear beside the Nightmare Hound as if teleporting, and then that hideous monster that had inspired sheer despair detonated on the spot.
"Handled."
Clapping his hands, Kitahara walked back with an easygoing look.
Though this Nightmare Hound looked menacing, it was actually just small fry, basically equivalent to cannon fodder in Otherworld.
"Onii-chan is so cool!"
Futari cheered in delight, her little face completely packed with adoration.
"Long time no see, Futari has become even cuter."
Scooping Futari up into his arms, Kitahara spoke warmly:
"Auntie, it's unsafe outside. Shall we head back inside first?"
Coming to her senses, Mrs. Gotoh scrambled up, scooped up the trembling Jimihen, and gave him two swift slaps on the backside:
"Back home, back home!"
"..."
The group swiftly returned inside the house.
Kitahara exchanged a few snacks using equivalent exchange and kept Futari company, while Hitori softly explained the situation to her parents.
"Makoto was actually this capable?"
After her initial shock passed, Mrs. Gotoh rested her hands on her hips, her expression full of smug pride:
"Looks like our Hitori-chan found herself a super impressive boyfriend-kun."
Hitori's face flushed crimson instantly, her voice bashful:
"Mom, hurry up and pack your bags; we're going to Kagoshima!"
"Packing right now!"
Rolling up her sleeves, Mrs. Gotoh bustled into action immediately.
"Just prepare a few changes of clothes," Kitahara chimed in gently from the side. "There's no need to take anything else; everything is already prepared over there."
A short while later.
With Hitori's family finished packing, Kitahara packed them into the Onsen Dimension, then fast traveled back to the hotel in Kagoshima.
"Kitahara-san, you're back?"
A crisp, melodious voice rang out—it was Nijika:
"Where's Hitori?"
"Inside the Onsen Dimension..."
Releasing them as he spoke, Kitahara brought them out.
"Hitori, you're not hurt, are you?"
Nijika inquired with concern.
"No," Hitori shook her head hastily, lingering fear still evident on her face. "Fortunately Kitahara-san arrived in time, otherwise it would have been really dangerous."
"Nijika-oneechan~"
Looking up with her small face, Futari called out happily.
Nijika, Kita, and Ryo had all visited Hitori's home before, so they were naturally well-acquainted.
"Futari, long time no see."
Nijika smiled warmly, bending down to pick Futari up, her golden side-ponytail glowing brilliantly under the lighting.
"Let's go, I'll take you all to pick your rooms first, and it'll be just in time to head down to eat afterwards..." Holding Futari, Nijika walked out. "Kitahara-san, go attend to whatever you need to handle; leave the rest to me."
"..."
Following them out of the room, Kitahara spotted Uika Misumi in the hotel corridor speaking with a familiar girl—Umiri Yahata.
"Makoto-kun, you're back?"
Seeing Kitahara appear, Uika Misumi's eyes lit up, a radiant smile blossoming across her delicate face:
"The food at Umiri's place had run out completely. Fortunately, I showed up in the nick of time; otherwise, Umiri would have had to venture outside on her own to search for food."
"Umiri-san, long time no see."
Kitahara nodded slightly, chatting briefly, and then headed to Kamakura to bring Mai and her family along as well; Kamakura was a small area that had not suffered from the mist's incursion, but having them by his side was naturally the most reassuring.
"Calling him Makoto-kun already..."
With her arms crossed over her chest, Umiri Yahata cast a subtle glance at her good friend, lowering her voice:
"I remember back at the school festival, Uika still called him Kitahara-san; how has it turned into Makoto-kun now? And Uika was smiling so happily just now... Back when we were at school, you never once smiled at boys like that."
Uika Misumi's face flushed red as she retorted in a whisper:
"We attend an all-girls school; there aren't any boys to begin with, alright!"
"Even though it's an all-girls school, boys from other schools often hang around near the school gate." Umiri Yahata was not swayed from the point. "Whenever those boys tried hitting on you, Uika never smiled at them."
"Those boys are super childish; naturally, they can't compare to Makoto-kun."
Uika Misumi blurted out.
Staaaare—
Umiri Yahata said nothing, merely tilting her head as she gazed at her friend.
"Ahem..."
Uika Misumi cleared her throat twice, shifting her gaze away guiltily:
"Umiri must be starving by now; let's go find Taki and head down to the hotel restaurant to eat together."
"Kitahara-san is indeed formidable, and being able to help me and my family escape Tokyo makes me very grateful to him... but Uika, please don't forget."
Sighing helplessly, Umiri Yahata lowered her voice:
"The number of girls Kitahara-san dates cannot even be counted on both hands; he is an absolute scumbag."
"Only someone who deceives girls' feelings is a scumbag," Uika Misumi countered subconsciously. "Makoto-kun has never lied to me; at most, he's just promiscuous."
Umiri Yahata's lips twitched slightly as she looked over in shock:
"Could it be that Uika has already..."
"That's right, it's just as Umiri thinks." Uika Misumi cast her eyes downward, her face burning crimson. "To Umiri, we merely haven't seen each other for a dozen days or so, but in Otherworld, Makoto-kun and I shared adventures across countless worlds together..."
"..."
The evacuation of all key personnel was fully complete.
After arranging their respective rooms, everyone soon gathered in the restaurant to begin their meal.
The time was already nine o'clock in the evening, but no one paid any heed to indigestion from late-night eating, wolfing down the food at rapid speed; Mutsumi's parents in particular had zero surplus food left at home and hadn't dared to venture out to take risks, having long since starved until their stomachs were sticking to their backs.
Mrs. Gotoh, being naturally familiar and extroverted by nature, chatted with others while eating, finally realizing that something was exceedingly amiss.
She had originally assumed the other people in the hotel were all Kitahara's relatives and friends, but only after conversing did she realize: why were they all the parents and relatives of young girls?
Until someone accidentally slipped up, mentioning that their daughter was currently dating Kitahara, whereupon the smile on Mrs. Gotoh's face gradually faded away...
"Mom, what's wrong?"
Acutely sensing the shift in her mother's mood, Hitori couldn't help asking in a small voice.
Mrs. Gotoh remained silent, merely reaching out her right hand to gently pat Hitori's little head:
"Hitori, I'm sorry..."
"Ah... Mom, why are you suddenly apologizing?"
"..."
Mrs. Gotoh did not answer; she simply sought out Kitahara after the meal concluded.
"Makoto." Mrs. Gotoh's expression was uncharacteristically stern. "Are you dating other girls while dating Hitori at the same time?"
Kitahara had dared to come clean even when he had just met everyone, so he certainly wouldn't lie now:
"Yes, I am indeed dating everyone together."
Mrs. Gotoh fell silent for two seconds, took a deep breath, and bowed:
"Please, Makoto, send us back to Tokyo."
Kitahara was puzzled: "Auntie, what would you go back to Tokyo for?"
"I don't want Hitori-chan to sacrifice her own happiness in exchange for being taken care of," Mrs. Gotoh said with a solemn expression. "So, please send us back, Makoto."
"..."
It had to be said that while Mrs. Gotoh appeared gentle and accommodating on the surface, her temperament was actually rather obstinate.
Even having witnessed Kitahara's terrifying power with her own eyes, she still stood her ground at this moment rather than quietly keeping her mouth shut and letting her daughter 'sacrifice herself' in exchange for special treatment.
"Mom, it's not like what you're thinking at all!"
Before Kitahara could speak, Hitori—who had been eavesdropping from around the corner—could no longer hold back, rushing out in a flash with a crimson face to shield Kitahara:
"Kitahara-san didn't force anyone; everyone dates Kitahara-san voluntarily!"
Mrs. Gotoh frowned slightly: "Hitori, don't lie."
"I'm not lying to mom!"
Hitori's cheeks were scorching hot, blushing almost to the point of bleeding; revealing that they were dating together right in front of her mother was extraordinarily embarrassing, yet she had to make it clear:
"It's because we like Kitahara-san that we're together..."
"All of you like Makoto?"
"Yes."
"Dating is supposed to be a matter between two people. Even if you all like Makoto, it shouldn't be possible to agree to date together, right? And even if Hitori-chan agreed, why would the others agree as well?"
"Um..."
Hitori stammered, caught between anxiousness and embarrassment, momentarily rendered speechless.
Overhearing the gossip from around the corner, Nijika and the others exchanged looks.
"Should we go out?"
"Let's go out."
"Hitori-chan is about to cry from panic..."
"..."
Having finished their silent eye contact, Nijika, Kita, and Ryo stepped out together.
Kita spoke crisply: "Auntie, Kitahara-san truly didn't coerce anyone; we date together of our own free will."
"That's right," Nijika's face blushed faintly. "What Hitori-chan said is the truth."
"And the reason?" Mrs. Gotoh looked over in confusion. "Why on earth would you agree to something like this?"
Ryo raised a hand to the side of her mouth, nonchalantly dropping a bombshell:
"Because Kitahara is super capable."
"Eh?"
"Auntie must have seen it with your own eyes just now, right? Kitahara's physical conditioning is absurdly strong, having reached superhuman levels, and his prowess in that area is just as outrageous. If any one of us were to date Kitahara-kun alone, our bodies would quickly be completely worn out and ruined."
Kitahara: "..."
No, seriously—how can you say such a terrible excuse with a straight face?!
"Ah...?"
Mrs. Gotoh subconsciously glanced toward Kitahara; as an adult who had been through it all, she naturally understood what Ryo meant by 'that area.'
Their eyes met.
Mrs. Gotoh's face flushed bright red in an instant, and she turned away in flustered haste.
"I-I'm going back to my room first!"
"..."
With Mrs. Gotoh's departure, the girls let out a collective sigh of relief.
"Ryo-senpai could have clearly found a more decent excuse, couldn't you?"
Kita couldn't resist muttering a complaint.
"An excuse?" Ryo crossed her arms, tilting her head toward Kita. "What I said is plainly a fact; Kita knows it very well."
Kita's gaze drifted as her small face reddened, stammering:
"H-How could I possibly know..."
"Then let's play a game together tonight," Ryo said airily. "To let Kita witness Kitahara's prowess firsthand."
"I don't want to at all!"
Kita refused in bashful indignation.
There was no way she would queue up as a duo with a chaotic troll like Ryo; no matter how she thought about it, it was far too shameless!
"Ahem, Ryo, stop saying weird things," Nijika cleared her throat twice, redirecting the topic with a blushing face. "This subject ends right here!"
Kitahara wiped away imaginary cold sweat from his forehead:
"I didn't expect Auntie Gotoh to be so terrifying when she gets angry, considering how gentle and amiable she usually is."
"Hmph~"
Kita let out a soft snort, her tone resentful:
"Auntie wasn't wrong at all; it's all because Kitahara-san is too greedy... The way Uika-san was looking at you just now was very suspicious!"
"Well, that sort of thing isn't important," Ryo crossed her arms, her eyes glittering. "I'm more curious about what Kitahara went through in Otherworld."
"That's way too much to tell..." Kitahara stretched his arms. "How about everyone heads back to their rooms first, and then we all soak in the hot springs in the Onsen Dimension together and talk while bathing?"
The suggestion was met with unanimous approval from the girls.
Kitahara returned to his room first, pulling out his phone to send messages to the girls.
Before long, everyone began arriving one after another.
Once everyone was present, Kitahara decisively waved his hand, bringing the girls into the Onsen Dimension.
"Phew..."
"The onsen feels so nice."
"We can finally soak in a onsen again."
"Only half a month has passed, yet it strangely feels like a lifetime ago."
"..."
Wrapped in bath towels, the girls sat in the onsen water chatting away, as if time had wound back to the past.
"Sakiko, Sakiko, what did you all go through in Otherworld?"
Anon asked inquisitively.
"We experienced many, many worlds..."
Sakiko pursed her delicate lips and began to narrate softly, with Taki and Mutsumi adding details from the side; as for Hitori, she was completely submerged in the onsen water at the moment, blowing bubbling water vapor.
Compared to the placid real world, their adventures in Otherworld were thrilling and perilous, making the girls gasp in astonishment from time to time.
It took a full two hours to barely finish recounting the adventures of Otherworld, completely altering the gazes Nijika, Kita, Soyo, and the others directed toward Kitahara.
When Kitahara returned, he wore an immaculate white shirt as if returning from a casual outing, yet only after hearing the account did they learn just how many dangers and hardships Kitahara had endured in Otherworld.
"Kitahara-san went through so much..."
Anon was teary-eyed; had there not been so many people around, she would have pounced straight into his arms by now.
"Clearing Otherworld was indeed hard work," Kitahara's gaze swept across the girls, his tone laden with meaning. "So prepare your 'rewards' in advance; when the time comes, I'll claim them myself."
"Bah~"
"Vulgar."
"Stop filling your head with lewd thoughts!"
"..."
While the girls condemned Kitahara verbally, their eyes averted with blushing cheeks after exchanging glances, and some were even already considering who to team up with later.
"Kitahara-san, is it possible to disperse Tokyo's fog just like back in Kamakura?"
Nijika asked gently about serious business.
The girls pricked up their ears, looking over in anticipation.
Although they had successfully evacuated, their friends and relatives remained in Tokyo; if possible, they naturally wanted everyone they cared about to be safe and sound.
"..."
Kitahara fell silent for two seconds, his tone quietly sinking:
"It's too late."
"Eh, why?"
"Because... I have already seen the future."