"Lazy bugs, time to get up. Nia-chan is waiting for you in the dining room."
Nagisa Himekawa walked to the bedside and sat down, smiling at the three girls on the bed.
Hearing her voice, Eriri slowly opened her eyes, her expression still carrying the languid softness of someone who had just woken up.
"Good morning, Auntie Nagisa~"
Eriri gave her a sweet smile, one that made Nagisa's heartbeat seem to skip, forcing her to cough lightly in an attempt to cover her reaction.
"Ahem… good morning."
The other two on the bed had naturally heard Nagisa's voice as well. However, unlike Eriri, they did not rush to greet her. Instead, they continued clinging to Eriri.
Yoshino burrowed into Eriri's arms like a kitten, while Mio continued holding Eriri's waist without letting go, her face buried at the nape of Eriri's neck, breathing in the faint fragrance from her skin.
Seeing this, Nagisa could not help but lightly smack Yoshino's little bottom.
"Yoshino, stop clinging to your Eriri-nee and acting spoiled."
"I know, Mom… I'm getting up."
Urged again by her mother, Yoshino had no choice but to stop lazing in bed. She soon sat up sleepily and stretched with both arms raised.
Mio also released Eriri naturally, sat up, and greeted Nagisa.
Once all three were awake, Nagisa did not linger in the room. Instead, she went next door to wake Tohka and the Yamai sisters.
...
After finishing her wake-up rounds, Nagisa returned to the dining room. Seeing Nia Honjou sitting there in a daze, her breakfast untouched, she could not help but step forward and gently rub her head again.
"Nia-chan, go ahead and eat first. Eriri and the others are already up. They'll be here soon."
Feeling the warmth on her head and hearing the gentle voice beside her, Nia turned to glance at Nagisa. The dullness in her eyes brightened slightly.
"It's fine. I'll wait and eat with them."
She shook her head, still making no move to pick up her chopsticks.
"All right then. I'll bring out the others' breakfasts first."
Seeing that she would not be persuaded, Nagisa gave her head one last gentle rub before heading into the kitchen.
Nia stopped spacing out and quickly stood up to follow her.
"Auntie Nagisa, I'll help carry them."
"Mm, thank you."
After several trips between the kitchen and dining room, eight identical breakfasts were arranged neatly on the table.
Fortunately, the dining table was large enough that even with nine people eating together, there was more than enough space. The extra portion had been specially prepared for Yamai Kazamachi.
Nagisa did not know when Nia Honjou and Yamai Kazamachi would arrive, but it was always better to prepare an extra serving in advance.
Now, it seemed her preparation had not been in vain.
Just as they finished setting everything out, the doorbell rang again.
Sensing who was outside the gate, Nagisa's lips curved into a smile.
"Yamai is here. Nia-chan, wait a moment. I'll go welcome her."
Although Yamai Kazamachi had a key to the villa gate, since she had chosen to ring the bell instead of using it, Nagisa felt it was only proper to greet her.
Nia did not say anything, but her ears were clearly paying attention to the movement outside. Soon, she heard Yamai Kazamachi's lively voice.
Moments later, accompanied by light and cheerful footsteps, Yamai Kazamachi entered the dining room first.
The moment she saw Nia, her face lit up with a bright smile.
"Good morning, Nia! I didn't expect you to get here before me."
Without waiting for Nia's response, her gaze immediately fell on the exquisite breakfast laid out on the table.
"Looks like I came at the perfect time—just in time for breakfast. Yay!"
"Oh right, Auntie Nagisa, where are Eriri and the others? Still not up?"
She turned to look at Nagisa behind her, curiosity written all over her face.
"Mm, I just woke them up not long ago. Do you want to start eating first?"
"No, no. I'll wait and eat with Eriri and the others."
Yamai Kazamachi waved her hands repeatedly in refusal.
"All right. Then sit for a bit. They should be here soon."
Hearing that, Yamai Kazamachi immediately gave up the idea of heading to the bedroom to look for Eriri and obediently sat down beside Nia.
"Nia, your complexion doesn't look great. Didn't sleep well?"
She had not noticed earlier, but now that she was sitting next to her, Yamai Kazamachi immediately sensed something off about Nia.
"Mm… something happened…"
Perhaps influenced by Yamai Kazamachi's lively presence, Nia's mood improved slightly, no longer as dispirited as when she first arrived.
Hearing this, Yamai Kazamachi looked at her with concern.
"What happened? Want to tell me?"
"Mm… let's wait until Eriri and the others come out."
"All right…"
...
A few minutes later, Eriri and the other two, having finished washing up, arrived at the dining room together with Tohka and the Yamai sisters from next door.
The moment Eriri appeared, the people in the dining room immediately stopped chatting. Nia's expression brightened noticeably.
"Good morning, Eriri."
Nia Honjou and Yamai Kazamachi greeted her in unison, while Nagisa looked at Eriri with a gentle smile.
"You finally came out. Nia-chan and Yamai have been waiting to eat breakfast with you."
"Hehe, good morning! Sorry to keep you waiting. You could've started without us."
Eriri cheerfully greeted Nia and Yamai Kazamachi, then took Yoshino's little hand and walked toward the table.
"That's what I said too, but they insisted on waiting for you."
Nagisa cast a teasing glance at Nia and Yamai Kazamachi. The meaning in her eyes was unmistakable.
The two of them immediately blushed but did not argue.
"All right, don't just stand there. Let's sit down and eat."
Eriri did not continue teasing them and instead invited Tohka and the others to take their seats.
Although Nagisa's cooking could not compare to Aoi Kujou's, it was still leagues above the average breakfast shop.
As a single mother who had raised Yoshino on her own for years, she had long since honed her culinary skills to a high level.
Now, with the addition of her powerful strength, her cooking had advanced by leaps and bounds, long since transcending the ordinary.
Eriri and the others, already accustomed to Aoi Kujou's cooking, did not react much. But for Nia Honjou and the others, tasting cuisine of this level for the first time was nothing short of a revelation.
Even though it was just a simple breakfast, its flavor far surpassed the delicacies they had eaten at that restaurant the night before.
More than ten minutes quickly passed, and everyone finished their meal. Yet Nia and the others still looked unsatisfied.
If there had been more prepared, they would have gladly eaten several extra servings.
The most gluttonous among them was undoubtedly Tohka. At that moment, she stared at Nagisa Himekawa with pleading eyes, hoping she would prepare more delicious food.
Unable to withstand Tohka's persistence, Nagisa had no choice but to head back into the kitchen.
This time, however, she was not making more breakfast, but planning to prepare some tasty desserts instead.
"All right, Nia. Whatever you wanted to ask me, you can say it now."
Nia, who had just been delighted at the thought of more sweets, immediately dimmed at Eriri's words.
Yamai Kazamachi also perked up. If Eriri had not brought it up, she might have forgotten about it.
She quickly turned to Nia again, concern returning to her face. The others likewise shifted their gazes toward Nia.
"I…"
Nia glanced at Eriri, then at Kaguya and the others, momentarily unsure how to begin.
Eriri did not rush her and simply watched with a faint smile.
After several seconds, Nia swallowed and finally voiced what weighed on her heart.
"I suddenly feel… that humans are truly vile and unbearable creatures."
"Huh? You don't have a fever, do you? Why are you suddenly talking nonsense?"
Yamai Kazamachi pressed the back of her hand against Nia's forehead, looking astonished.
Kaguya Yamai, Yamai Yuzuru, and Tohka also looked at Nia with surprise, though none were as exaggerated as Yamai Kazamachi.
However, what surprised them was not that Nia found humanity vile, but the drastic change in her compared to yesterday.
After all, none of the three of them had once been human before becoming Spirits, so they could not fully empathize with her feelings toward humanity.
Yamai Kazamachi, on the other hand, had still been an ordinary human just yesterday. That was why Nia's words struck her as particularly shocking.
Eriri and Mio remained calm, their expressions unchanged. Yoshino had shown a hint of surprise at first but quickly regained her composure.
There was no need to mention Eriri—she knew everything about Nia.
As for Mio and Yoshino, through the memory footage in the chat group, they were already quite familiar with Nia. Hearing her say such things was hardly unexpected.
"I'm not talking nonsense."
Nia pushed Yamai Kazamachi's hand away, her expression extremely serious.
"Last night, I used my Angel 'Rasiel' to look up information on many people. I found that those who appear so upright and positive in daily life are actually filthy behind the scenes. Almost everyone wears a fabricated mask…"
As she spoke, her expression grew increasingly dispirited, as if all her vitality had drained away.
After finishing, she looked at Eriri with pleading eyes.
"Eriri, can you tell me how I'm supposed to face such disgraceful humanity?"
"Hmm… this matter? You're simply overthinking it."
Nia froze.
"Overthinking?"
"That's right. Overthinking. Why do you need to care about what someone's true nature is?"
"If their true nature is disgusting and makes you uncomfortable, then just don't associate with them."
"Birds of a feather flock together. If you get along, stay together. If you don't, keep your distance. There's no need to force yourself to interact with people you dislike."
"Th-that…"
Eriri's words left Nia stunned once more.
"Isn't that a bit too arbitrary?"
"Not at all. Let me ask you, Nia—do you know what kind of person I am?"
Eriri looked directly at her. The smile on her face faded, replaced by seriousness.
"I don't know. My Angel can't retrieve any information about you. Not just you—Mio, Yoshino, and even Auntie Nagisa. I can't find anything about any of you."
Nia shook her head.
"What if I told you that I once wiped out ninety-nine percent of humanity in a world? That I've destroyed countless life-bearing planets like Earth on a whim? That the number of humans who have died directly or indirectly because of me reaches into the billions?"
"To me, humans are no different from ants. Aside from those I like, everyone else is irrelevant."
"Would you then find me hateful? Would you think I'm a blood-soaked demon? Would you want to distance yourself from me?"
"Th-that… Is that true?"
Nia's lips parted slightly, disbelief written all over her face.
Not only her—even the three Yamai sisters wore similar expressions.
However, Kaguya and Yuzuru were not thinking as deeply as Nia and Yamai Kazamachi.
After all, they had been created by Eriri. In principle, they would unconditionally side with her.
"Of course it's true. You can confirm it with Mio."
Eriri spoke indifferently, as though the staggering numbers she mentioned were nothing worth noting.
Hearing this, Nia turned her gaze to Mio, who sat beside Eriri.
Mio did not say much. She simply smiled and nodded, confirming that Eriri's words were true.
Those who had lived with Eriri for so long all understood her personality clearly. They had accepted it calmly. Some had even been influenced by her way of thinking and gradually aligned with her approach to life.
With Mio's confirmation, Nia swallowed.
Yet surprisingly, she felt no rejection toward Eriri in her heart.
"So?"
Eriri stared straight at her, waiting for her answer—and forcing her heart to make a choice.
Would she cling to her previous mindset and continue avoiding reality?
Or would she face reality and step into a new life?