The room went from "blushing chaos" to "mathematical horror" in less than three seconds. Agung leaned against the counter, rubbing his temples as he whispered the names like a mantra, his voice trailing off into a low murmur that everyone could still hear.
"Actually, it's more than that," Agung muttered, his eyes unfocused as he did the mental roll call. "The list... it actually expands into Karin, Shizuku, Setsuna, Emma, and Rina too. Let's see... from *u's*, I have Umi, Kotori, Maki, Nico, Nozomi, Eli. From **Aqours**, I have Mari, Dia, Kanan, Riko, Ruby, Yoshiko. And from **Nijigasaki**, there's Ai, Kanata, Lanzhu, Shioriko, and Mia who are already here..."
He paused, his gaze sharpening as he looked toward Ai and Kanata.
"Then there's Karin, Setsuna, Emma, Rina, and Shizuku," Agung said, his voice firming up. "But they didn't try to ask you or Kanata to follow them, right? When I gave them the choice back on the rooftop—when I told all of Nijigasaki and Maki that I was coming here to Numazu—they stayed behind. So, they are officially excluded. I'm a man of my word. I gave them the option to walk away, and they took it."
The kitchen grew heavy with a different kind of silence. Umi, Maki, and Dia exchanged looks of pure, unadulterated shock.
"Twenty-two..." Maki whispered, her face pale as she did the math. "You were dealing with twenty-two of us across three cities? Agung, your 'other self' wasn't just a ghost, he was a statistical anomaly!"
Nico, who had been uncharacteristically quiet while helping Hime with her tea, suddenly slammed her hand on the table.
"Wait! So you're saying those five *quit*? They just... gave up their spot in the 'Dynasty' because they didn't want to come to Numazu?"
Agung nodded solemnly. "The choice was theirs. I'm here for the ones who want to be here. I'm here for the mothers who stayed, the ones who struggled, and the ones who still have a piece of that 'deadbeat' in their hearts—my children."
He looked at Ai and Kanata. "They didn't try to stop you? They didn't try to pull you back?"
Ai shook her head, her usual "Diva" energy replaced by a quiet, fierce loyalty. "Nah, Agung-chi. They knew where our hearts were. If you're here, we're here. No questions asked."
Kanata hugged her purple pillow, her eyes half-lidded but serious. "Emma and the others... they have their own paths. But Kureha-chan needs her Marshmallow-Papa. That's all that matters to me."
Agung let out a long, heavy breath, the weight of the "excluded" five lifting off his shoulders. He felt lighter, more focused. He wasn't a man being pulled in twenty-two directions anymore; he was a man with a clear, singular purpose for the fourteen women and fourteen children who remained.
"Good," Agung said, his "Panda" smile returning with a newfound edge of determination. "Then the circle is closed. No more ghosts, no more 'others.' Just us."
He clapped his hands, the sound echoing through the ryokan. "Now, I believe we have seven more takeaway boxes to deliver and a whole lot of Numazu kids about to wake up. Mari, Dia, Yohane—take your 'Bubu-Ayam' and go feed the troops. I'll stay here and finish feeding the 'Kanda-Odaiba' alliance."
He turned back to the stove, his "infinite stamina" humming under his skin. "And after that? We're going to find a house big enough to fit all fourteen of you. And it's going to have a playground. A **big** one."
Dia picked up her red *furoshiki* bundle, her expression softening into one of rare, genuine respect. "Very well. We shall return shortly with the rest of your... 'demons' and 'gems.' Prepare yourself, Agung. Shinju and Sango have missed you dearly."
As the Numazu trio exited the kitchen, Agung turned to Maki and Umi, a mischievous glint in his eye. "So, while they're gone... who wants to see me manifest a life-sized chocolate sculpture of a panda for the kids?"