[Aren't these girls going to let you go?]
'Let them enjoy it.'
[But this is already too much.]
It had been thirty minutes since the battle ended, and the three girls hugging him still wouldn't let go. They had silly smiles on their faces; even with one of them wearing a mask, it was still obvious how happy she was. Enrico saw someone running in the distance and narrowed his eyes.
"Girls, could you let me go?"
"Why, Master? Do you not like us, is that it?"
"No, I just want you to get away from the truck that's coming."
"Ketsumei, what's a truck?"
While Rina looked curiously at Enrico, the other two lifted their heads and looked behind them, seeing a cloud of firmness approaching at absurd speed. At its center, Valença had a dark expression, using her fire magic to increase her speed.
"Shit, she's gone crazy."
"Sister, Rina, duck!"
Yumeha and Aoi pulled Rina down in time to dodge Valença's body, which rammed into Enrico with a deadly hug that nearly broke the ribs of a body tough enough to resist magic. With a tense smile, Enrico fell backwards to the ground with Valença on top of him.
"You almost gave me a heart attack, husband."
'Actually, you almost killed me.'
Valença wasn't crying like the other three because she believed she should remain strong, just as Enrico had told her years ago. Even so, she pressed her face against his chest, trying to hold back tears.
'She really took my words seriously.'
'Of course she did. Don't you remember that in the original story she became that annoying, clingy girl after the protagonist talked about his ideal type?'
'Heh, looks like she annoyed you too. Let me guess—it was in the elven forest arc.'
[Exactly. She ruined the whole plan with her jealousy of Elaris.]
In that part of the story, Valença really was annoying, causing some disasters, and even though she apologized in the end, that was one of the reasons fans didn't like her that much.
'I mean, some people even dropped the story. Literally only I kept following it after it lost popularity in the third-to-last arc.'
[Now that I think about it, if they had continued reading, some would've even celebrated her death—just like I did.]
'If you say that, I'll kill you myself.'
As if protecting something precious, Enrico pulled Valença even closer, a cat guarding what was his.
[Relax, I celebrated the original Valença's death, not this one. She's very different.]
[Even so, I was sad despite her being annoying, so shut—]
"Hehehehehe."
Feeling Enrico hug her tightly, Valença laughed foolishly like the three before she arrived, which made the three girls jealous while she herself felt happy with a single thought.
'He must have really missed me.'
She lifted her head quickly; her eyes sparkled, and she appeared behind him, running her fingers through his hair.
"You let your hair grow for me, didn't you?"
"I didn't—"
"Thank you for that, husband."
"I want to touch it too."
Rina approached to touch Enrico's hair but got her hand slapped away hard, making her grab it in pain. While Enrico had a catlike expression, Valença looked like she had turned into a guard dog.
"Why?"
"Calm down, sister. It's just that this is their special way of relaxing. My way is giving Master a massage."
"Then I can—"
"You should find your own way. There was already that maid getting in the way of my moments before."
Seeing her sister's serious face, Rina pouted. Those two had special moments with their Ketsumei and never let her join, which was unfair. Feeling a touch on her shoulder, she saw Aoi behind her with sparkling eyes beneath the mask.
"Calm down, Rina. I have a special moment planned for me and him. If you want, you can join me."
"Aoi, you're the best—not like these meanies."
While hugging her true sister—even if not by blood—she stuck her tongue out at the other two, who did not back down.
"Subordinate."
Suddenly the four were lifted into the air by Serenya's magic, who walked with her hair covering her eyes. Valença crossed her arms and turned her face away, letting the two talk. Enrico prepared for a scolding with a sigh as he sat up, but seeing her trembling shoulders, he simply opened his arms, inviting her for a hug.
"Idiot subordinate."
With a face full of happiness, she hugged him tightly. He had forgotten for a moment that Serenya wasn't the type to scold when protecting her friends.
"Later we're going to talk about your attempt to kill yourself."
'Looks like I was wrong; she just wanted to enjoy the first moment happily.'
"That wasn't an attempt to kill myself."
"To me, it was."
It looked like he would get a nice scolding today, but at least that would help calm the girls down, because just like Serenya, the four floating in the air were also angry about his decision.
'Especially the selfish one behind me.'
[Selfish one behind—oh.]
Seraphina was behind him, waiting patiently for her turn. Among all six, she was definitely the angriest about his decision because he had been away from her for two whole years.
'I can't take this anymore.'
Unable to wait any longer—she had been one of the first to arrive but was always overtaken by the girls who either rammed into Enrico or made a flashy entrance—Seraphina grabbed Serenya's arm and tossed her into the air with the others. Using her control magic, Serenya stopped mid-air beside the four, who were smiling at what had happened to her.
"Stop laughing!"
"In your dreams, snob."
Enrico looked up, following Seraphina's movements as she placed herself in front of him and crouched to eye level.
"If I give you the first kiss in two years, will you forgive me?"
"Immediately."
She kissed Enrico right away, pushing him to the ground, shocking the five girls whose minds exploded with fury, each with her own characteristic expression. They realized Seraphina had pretended to be angrier than she was to win something from him.
"You damn opportunist."
"Get off, the Master's firsts are always mine."
"How dare you deceive the Subordinate? I thought you were better than this, Seraphina."
She pulled away from Enrico, looking at them while he observed with curiosity how they had so quickly figured out her plan—just as he had the moment he saw her.
"Deceive? I'm simply taking what's mine first."
Seraphina lifted her chin arrogantly and licked her lips, enjoying the taste as much as she could. The five immediately jumped on the two, trying to pull the deceitful Seraphina away.
"Enrico, you're back."
When the six heard Elian's voice, they saw him approach, joy in their eyes. As always, his beauty was radiant, making them feel immediately threatened. They all turned to where Enrico was, but he had already disappeared.
"Where—"
"It's been a while, Elian. Your beauty has grown. I think it's time I give you our first kiss, don't you think, seventh?"
"Enrico, what are you doing? Why does your first interaction with me have to be like this?"
The six saw Enrico holding Elian's hand as if he were a lady, while Elian blushed with a girlish expression. It seemed he had learned to ignore others' teasing—except for Enrico's. Seeing that interaction, the girls gritted their teeth in jealousy.
"Damn you, Elian."
"Why are you all looking at me like that? It's not my fault."