"Kaen, Shion, and Ella will be left under your care for the time being. There are no adventurers in the second level right now, so keep watch over the first floor as well."
With that, they left the dungeon without another word.
Kaen and Shion teleported into the bedroom.
On the large bed, Ella slept soundly, a faint line of drool glistening at the corner of her lips.
Kaen's eyes lingered. She leaned in, brushed her finger along the edge of Ella's mouth, and then, without hesitation, licked it clean.
"Eh!? S-Sis, what are you doing!?"
Shion's ears twitched. Her cheeks turned red as she realized what it was. Could that… really be eaten?
"What's wrong?" Kaen asked innocently. She spoke with a straight face:
"This belongs to the Master. It shouldn't go to waste, right?"
"Ah…?"
Shion froze. How could her sister say something like that so casually?
But curiosity gnawed at her, and she whispered, almost embarrassed, "S-Sister… then, what does it taste like?"
Kaen tilted her head, as if considering it seriously, before giving a faint smile.
"I'd say… sweet. Almost like love."
"L-Love!? In love!?"
Shion stiffened as if struck by lightning. Her imagination immediately ran wild—daydreams of holding hands with their Master, of walking together, of whispers and warmth.
Neither of them realized that Yami Tsukishiro, of course, was completely unaware of his guardians' strange behavior.
LycoReco Café
Meanwhile, Yami had returned to reality, stepping into the familiar LycoReco Café.
Inside, Chisato sat at the counter, stirring her coffee lazily.
"Ahh… it's so boring. No missions, no customers, not even a proper open day for the shop."
"Nothing we can do about it," Mizuki replied, lounging on a stool. Dressed in cool summer clothes, she was fanning herself with one hand while eating a smoothie with the other.
"Public opinion's a mess right now, and the higher-ups are probably drowning in work."
Takina, in contrast, was still wearing her crisp uniform—even while technically on break.
"By the way," Chisato perked up, "didn't Yami Tsukishiro say he'd come see us? It's been a whole week, and not a single message."
Her lips curved into a mischievous grin. "Could it be… he missed me so much that he doesn't want to talk on phone but wants to come and meet me in person?"
"Do you miss me that much after only a week?"
The voice came from behind. Yami Tsukishiro strolled in, already sipping her coffee as if it were his own.
"Hey, hey, hey! Am I your summoner or something!?" Chisato jumped up dramatically, raising her hand as if casting a spell. Her golden eyes gleamed.
"The power of darkness… heed my call! Ha!"
A crow cawed outside the window. Nothing else happened.
"Idiot," Takina muttered, stepping forward to flick Chisato's forehead with a sharp thunk.
"Ow! That hurt!" Chisato pouted, rubbing her head. "Anyway, Mr. Tsukishiro, what's the real reason you're here? Got work for us?"
Takina, ever reliable, asked more directly:
"Mr. Yami Tsukishiro, is there something you need us to do?"
Yami set the empty cup down.
"…Ah! My coffee!" Chisato finally realized her drink had been stolen.
"There's no job for you this time," Yami said calmly. "I'm here for the benefits I promised you. Show me the reward you received in the virtual world."
"Benefits!?" Chisato's eyes lit up instantly. She fished around in her pocket, then held out a small golden stone resting in her palm.
"This one?"
"Yes. Hold still."
Yami reached out and touched the stone. A system prompt appeared before his eyes.
[Ding. You have come into contact with a memetic object. Do you want to meme it immediately?]
"Yes."
[Ding. You have obtained the B-rank meme [Perfect Function]. Do you wish to fuse it now?]
He raised an eyebrow. So Chisato's second-place prize was… only a B-rank meme.
Yami had thought Chisato's prize would be an S-rank meme at least.
But as he examined it more carefully, he realized the B-rank [Perfect Function] might actually evolve into something far greater. With her performance score being so absurdly high, it could very well be transformed into an SS-rank meme.
Without wasting time, he selected Chisato as the fusion target.
The moment the meme activated—
"I'm glowing!" Chisato yelped, her entire body shining with golden light.
"Wah! Something just went into my head!"
She clutched her temples, collapsing onto the chair with wide, frightened eyes before going limp. Her head lolled to the side, and she seemed unconscious.
"Chisato!" Takina's heart jumped. She reached out instinctively, ready to check her pulse—
But then Chisato's eyes shot open.
With a fluid, impossible grace, she leapt several meters into the air, twisting lightly as though weightless. She landed behind Takina without a sound, wrapped her arms around Takina's waist, and easily lifted her up off the ground.
"Wha—what the heck!?"
Takina's feet dangled in the air, her usually calm expression replaced by sheer panic.
"Chisato, you just…" Mizuki's jaw dropped. From her vantage point, she had seen everything clearly—Chisato's movements defied human limits. She had sprung upward without any visible exertion, as if her body had been perfectly rewired.
Chisato tilted her head, speaking casually as if nothing unusual had happened.
"I don't really know. I just… feel so strong all of a sudden. My body moves perfectly, and all these skills just popped into my head."
[Meme]: Perfect Function
[Grade]: B
[Abilities]:
Perfect Control – Complete control over every muscle in the body.
Functional Transition – The body's capabilities undergo a flawless transformation.
"Put me down, Chisato!" Takina struggled, trying to pry herself free, but Chisato's grip was absolute.
Her legs kicked in protest, and from Yami Tsukishiro's angle, the whole scene looked… questionable.
"U-uh…"
Takina's face turned red as she realized how embarrassing her posture must have looked.
"Hehe, sorry, sorry." Chisato laughed awkwardly and quickly set her back down before Takina actually exploded.
Mizuki, on the other hand, walked over nonchalantly, giving Yami a sly grin as she nudged his shoulder.
"So, Yami Tsukishiro-kun… what color was it?"
"White. With a little cat pattern," Yami replied bluntly.
"What?" Chisato blinked, confused.
But Takina froze. Her hands shot down to grip the hem of her skirt, her face burning bright red.
That… that was her underwear! She'd been seen—by everyone!
She wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and disappear. Takina wasn't good at handling this kind of stimulation at all—her shy, easily flustered nature left her utterly defenseless in moments like this.
After things calmed down, Yami gestured for the others to also hand over their stones.
Mizuki's stone turned out to be the same dull color as Eriri's and Utaha's. Her reward was identical too: a basic D-rank meme.
[Meme]: Hypnosis
[Grade]: D
[Ability]:
Hypnosis – Use sound to instill suggestions into a target's mind.
"Ugh, a hypnosis meme? Guess it suits me." Mizuki smirked, twirling her hair.
Next was Takina. Her stone glowed with a deep blue light, and the result surprised even Yami.
[Meme]: Condor Eyes
[Grade]: C
[Abilities]:
Eagle Eye – See clearly over extreme distances.
Divine Perspective – See through physical obstacles.
Yami's brows lifted.
"Super long-distance vision combined with x-ray sight… basically sniper god-tier."
"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!"
Takina suddenly shrieked and bolted straight back into the kitchen.
"…What's up with her?" Chisato tilted her head, baffled.
Mizuki just shrugged, still too busy admiring her new powers to care.
But Yami Tsukishiro already had a guess.
Just after merging her meme, Takina's eyes had started to itch. She rubbed them—only to look up and find that Yami Tsukishiro's clothes appeared completely transparent to her new vision. Mortified, she had run away without another word.
Yami calmly explained the concept of each meme. To the others, it was simpler to just think of them as "superpowers."
"Hoho! We've got superpowers too now!" Chisato cheered, already testing her balance and control like a child with a new toy.
"What about Kurumi?" Yami asked, realizing one member of the foursome was missing.
"She's still sleeping. I'll give her a call."
Mizuki pulled out her phone and dialed.
"Jingle—" The ringtone echoed loudly through the next room.
"Ugh… don't you know I'm sleeping? Why call me now…?"
Kurumi stumbled out of her room, rubbing her eyes. She was wearing nothing but underwear and looked thoroughly annoyed at being woken up.
"Kurumi, seriously—put on some clothes first. And don't forget to bring your stone." Mizuki sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Oh. Yami Tsukishiro's here." Kurumi blinked, gave a calm greeting as if nothing were strange, then hurried back to throw something on.
When she returned, she held her own stone. Yami touched it, and sure enough, her reward was revealed.
[Meme]: Super Computing Power
[Grade]: D
[Ability]:
Super Computing Power – Process information and calculations at incredible speeds.
"Hohoho! I'm amazing now! With this, I can crack into the Alliance's network with ease!" Kurumi's eyes lit up as she opened her laptop. Her fingers blurred across the keyboard, her energy instantly skyrocketing.
"…Of course you'd use it for hacking first," Mizuki muttered, exasperated.
Then she turned toward Yami with a small smile.
"Yami Tsukishiro-kun, your ability really is something. The rewards from the virtual world are supposed to stay there, right? Yet you can transform them into powers here in reality and share them with us."
She even made him a cup of coffee, setting it down gently before leaning back for conversation.
Yami, however, seemed less interested in the "magical" side of things and more in the bigger picture.
"How's the state of society lately?" he asked.
Mizuki sighed, gazing out the café window.
"…Chaotic. Monsters are appearing, people are suddenly awakening superpowers, and your own identity is under constant speculation. None of these things can be explained away easily."
She tapped her spoon against her glass.
"There are even groups online claiming it's the end of the world. Two new cult organizations already formed around this mess… and both were wiped out within days."
Yami exhaled softly. As expected of human nature—and the internet.
"Yami Tsukishiro-kun… are you planning your next move? Because at this point, I don't think you'll be able to keep your identity hidden anymore."
Without replying, Yami pulled out his phone, opened the class group chat, and handed it to her. The screen was full of mentions—classmates endlessly tagging him with questions about superpowers and strange phenomena.
It was obvious things were already spiraling further outside.
"…You've got it rough too, huh?" Mizuki gave a small, bitter smile.
"By the way, there's more," she added after a pause. "I heard there's been some progress in research on the monsters' corpses. Something about… biological armor."
"Hey, do you even have clearance for this kind of information?"
Yami Tsukishiro raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised at how much Mizuki seemed to know.
Mizuki only smiled, bright and carefree.
"It's not just thanks to your favor, you know. The higher-ups are basically wrapped around your finger now. Honestly, if you declared you wanted a harem tomorrow, I think they'd pass a law to make it legal just for you."
"…Tsk, tsk." Yami clicked his tongue, half amused, half exasperated.
Still, the research she mentioned was intriguing. Biological armor from monster corpses? That had serious potential. But it was also dangerous.
He leaned back, voice turning casual but firm.
"Better warn them not to mess with monster brains. Trust me."
"Hmm? Why's that?" Mizuki tilted her head.
Yami didn't elaborate. "Let's just say… think Pacific Rim. Hive-mind brains are bad news for humanity."
Mizuki blinked, then gave a small nod.
"I see. I'll report it exactly like that." She didn't press him further—she trusted him enough not to need every detail.
Yami rose from his seat, dusting himself off.
"Well, that's that. Focus on developing your own abilities. I've got nothing more for you right now."
He turned to leave.
But just as he did, Mizuki suddenly leaned forward, brushing a quick kiss against his cheek.
It was fleeting, but her playful smile lingered.
"Consider it a thank-you gift."
Yami smirked.
"Thank you? That's not nearly enough."
Before she could react, he closed the distance, capturing her lips in a firm kiss—stealing her very first. When he pulled away, his smile was one of pure satisfaction.
Without another word, he walked out.
Mizuki remained by the window, fingertips brushing her lips, her cheeks warm and her heart pounding. She stared blankly at her reflection in the glass, lost in thought.
"Mizuki, what's with you? You didn't even notice him leave."
Chisato's voice broke through, but Mizuki didn't answer. Her mind was stuck on just two overwhelming words:
"Get married!!!"
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