As evening surrendered to nightfall and dinner concluded, Keystone Gate—Itogami Island's largest indoor commercial plaza—welcomed its "evening rush hour" surge.
Bokue arrived at the maid café entrance where they'd encountered Rossweisse that morning.
He withdrew his phone for final confirmation. The message displayed clear temporal and spatial coordinates.
[After dinner, meet me where we found Rossweisse-san this morning. There's something I'd like to discuss. Remember—don't tell anyone else. xx]
Though the sender hadn't explicitly identified themselves within the message content, the phone's messaging interface revealed the contact label automatically.
La Folia had sent it.
While Bokue could have teleported directly to her location the instant he'd received notification, the message's explicit "don't tell anyone else" clause suggested private matters requiring discretion—topics unsuitable for public discussion.
Consequently, post-dinner arrival seemed appropriate.
Keystone Gate's evening atmosphere radiated considerable vitality. Though daytime foot traffic had been substantial, nighttime crowds doubled, then doubled again. The second-floor corridors teemed with shopping pedestrians moving in constant circulation.
Bokue stood like a reef amid torrential currents—positioned within the human river's center while surveying surroundings comprehensively. His gaze rapidly captured that intimately familiar white coloring, plus those three-dimensional, aesthetically refined facial profile lines.
She stood with her back against the corridor's interior wall, waiting patiently. Adjacent to her position: a square pillar protruding from the wall structure. Passing pedestrians required outward deviation to navigate around this architectural obstacle—gradually forming a small vacuum zone surrounding the girl's vicinity.
Bokue raised one eyebrow while approaching, simultaneously vocalizing.
"La Fo—"
Apparently hearing the young man's voice triggered immediate reaction. The white-haired girl turned, subsequently smiling gently.
Except Bokue's vocalization terminated abruptly.
"Wait. Kanon... no, Lady Polyphonia?"
Bokue rarely experienced such consecutive misidentifications. However, unavoidable circumstances existed—these three individuals resembled each other excessively.
Particularly during distant observation, distinguishing features were limited to hairstyle, hair color, and profile angles. Combined with La Folia being the message sender, Bokue had naturally assumed she'd be waiting at the designated location.
When Polyphonia's face rotated forward—having preemptively removed her lipstick—ignoring that brilliant silver-length hair meant facial features became virtually identical to Kanon Kanase's. This triggered Bokue's second misidentification.
Only after recognizing Kanon possessed short hair rather than long styling did comprehension finally arrive—damn it, Polyphonia had summoned him.
"No need for such formality. I mentioned this previously."
The silver-haired queen—having exchanged morning's royal ceremonial dress for casual clothing borrowed from her daughter's wardrobe—clasped both hands before herself. She approached the still-bewildered young man with graceful steps before proactively grasping his hand. Standing on tiptoes, she leaned toward his ear.
"You can call me Mom directly,"
Mom...
Hearing that particular address triggered involuntary mouth-twitching from Bokue.
Though his relationship with La Folia technically justified addressing Polyphonia as "Mom," previously—having engaged in excessive unconventional activities with Yakumo-neesan and Hagoromo-Gitsune-neesan—those two syllables now generated peculiar sensations.
"Mm, Perhaps progression is slightly premature?"
Observing the young man's descent into silent contemplation, Polyphonia tilted her head with minor angular adjustment.
"How about starting with 'Auntie' instead?"
"..."
Honestly, "Auntie" equally facilitated strange associative pathways.
At minimum, definitely preferable to "Mom" though...
Dismissing tangential thoughts, the young man cleared his throat lightly.
"So Auntie used La Folia's phone for this summons because...?"
"Mm... explaining this requires considerable elaboration. Plus, no need rushing immediately."
Polyphonia touched her mouth corner with thoughtful consideration.
"Since I specifically arranged this meeting, naturally important matters require discussion. Partially, I wish discussing La Folia-chan and Kanon-chan's future arrangements with Bokue-kun privately. Additionally, I personally desire exploring external pedestrian streets—conveniently recruiting Bokue-kun as temporary bodyguard."
"So I've combined both objectives. We can converse while shopping together."
❁❁❁❁
Scene Shift—Keystone Gate exterior.
As Itogami Island's absolute core, Keystone Gate's interior had reached daily evening peak hours. Naturally, external pedestrian streets equally teemed with bustling crowds.
Moreover, autumn had deepened considerably. Though afternoon sunlight maintained oppressive temperatures, evening arrivals triggered dramatic cooling—even carrying faint chill undertones.
Whoooosh—
A night breeze swept across the pedestrian boulevard precisely then. The silver-haired queen—having just exited the indoor plaza—reflexively retracted her neck. Both arms crossed before her chest, rubbing vigorously while attempting to smooth the goosebumps rising across her skin.
"Hisss... Didn't expect evening temperatures dropping this significantly."
Polyphonia muttered softly.
Bokue observed her sideways.
"Want returning for a jacket? Or wait here momentarily—I'll retrieve one quickly..."
His statement remained incomplete. He'd suddenly discovered a certain silver-haired queen glaring at him with considerable dissatisfaction.
"Mo, Bokue-kun's earlier response demonstrated zero smoothness!"
Smooth?
A massive question mark materialized above Bokue's head.
He couldn't comprehend how "smoothness" connected to offering jacket retrieval assistance. Wasn't that sufficiently considerate already?
"Sigh. I'd assumed someone with so many girlfriends would demonstrate more proactive tendencies."
Polyphonia released what seemed like helpless exhalation.
"Listen carefully! When girls mention feeling cold, the correct response is—this!"
Declaration concluded. She immediately spread both arms, embracing the adjacent young man's limb with lightning speed exceeding perception thresholds. Then—like clutching an exceptionally beloved body pillow—she narrowed both eyes while nuzzling against Bokue's shoulder contentedly.
"Mm-hm! Exactly as anticipated—Bokue-kun's body radiates pleasant warmth! This eliminates cold sensations completely!"
Completing this statement, Polyphonia lifted her head. She smiled toward the adjacent young man—whose features registered slight surprise.
"There! Perfect solution. Let's proceed,"
<><><><><>
~ 70 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon
https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)