"Good morning~"
With deliberately exaggerated gruffness, Nia cheerfully swung the door open to reveal three slightly startled faces.
Kisara, in particular, whose hand was still on the doorbell, looked especially awkward at the sudden opening and bizarre greeting.
"Got you good, didn't I?"
Nia grinned at Luo Shu, Kisara and Megumi Kato standing at the doorstep:
"Hmph, I totally predicted you'd be at the door right now and prepared this special surprise~"
"More like a scare," Luo Shu said dryly as he flicked Nia's forehead with his finger before adding helplessly:
"And it's practically evening now."
He pointed behind him at the dusky sky still visible between buildings:
"The sun's nearly set. What 'good morning'?"
"Details, details," Nia giggled before rushing out to push both Luo Shu and Kisara forward:
"Alright, alright, didn't you come to help me move? Luo Shu and little Kisara, hurry up and come inside already?"
"Eh? Eh eh?!"
Kisara blinked at Nia in genuine confusion.
'Wait... I don't think I ever told her my name?'
At that moment, Nia Honjo said with a grin, "No need to be so surprised. Look, Megumi's already changing her shoes~"
Megumi Kato, who was in the midst of removing her shoes, glanced over in slight surprise at Nia's words.
In response, Nia grinned and explained:
"As a Spirit, it's perfectly normal for me to know a little about Megumi, right?"
Hearing this, Megumi nodded thoughtfully, changed into the women's slippers prepared in the entryway, and entered the room.
"Why do I have to come here to help with moving during dinner time..." Kisara muttered while changing her shoes.
Luo Shu, who had already changed his shoes, turned around and asked curiously:
"I'm also surprised you came along, Kisara. Was this arranged by Yukino?"
He had picked up Megumi Kato from the garrison after leaving the Sawamura Family residence and only encountered Kisara when arriving at Nia Honjo's apartment, hence his confusion.
Hearing this, Kisara blushed and explained softly:
"Yukino said you'd be very busy tonight and might miss dinner, so I thought I'd come to help..."
But helping a beautiful woman living alone move house? Kisara couldn't help feeling there might be something odd about this situation.
"Yukino said that? I thought she only arranged for Kato..."
Luo Shu turned and walked through the entryway into the living room.
Looking at the boxes piled everywhere, the furniture and sofa covered in dust sheets, and the barely tidied bedroom visible in the distance, Luo Shu shrugged:
"Let's try to clear this out within half an hour."
"I'll move the appliances first."
As he spoke, Luo Shu stepped forward and raised his right hand, attempting to store the refrigerator before him into his ring's dimensional space.
"Please wait a moment."
Just then, a woman's voice came from the kitchen, and Miku Izayoi hurried out with a flushed face:
"I forgot to take the tea leaves."
Approaching the refrigerator, Miku opened it and immediately looked exasperated at the sight of numerous bottles inside:
"As expected, it's all alcohol... Isn't there any tea at all?"
"There should be some bottled black tea and oolong tea at the bottom..." Nia said calmly before adding, "Oh, Miku, grab me a beer while you're at it. I'm thirsty."
"So everything's chilled..."
Miku quickly found the tea drinks and complained with a wry face before turning to Luo Shu and the others:
"Sorry, is chilled bottled tea acceptable?"
"Oolong tea," Luo Shu replied, then gave Miku a strange look, clearly recognising her.
Before coming, Luo Shu hadn't expected to encounter Miku Izayoi directly here.
'Come to think of it, do these two lesbians live together?'
"Oolong tea for me, too. What about you, Megumi?" Kisara answered before turning to Megumi Kato.
"Oolong tea as well," Megumi replied while glancing towards the open kitchen, where her sharp eyes immediately spotted the washed cups.
'Were they preparing cups just now?' Megumi thought as she observed Miku thoughtfully.
"All oolong tea? Understood, please wait a moment."
Miku looked somewhat uncomfortable as she carried a large bottle of oolong tea into the kitchen, glancing back at Nia before leaving.
'There wasn't even any tea in the house, just chilled drinks everywhere. How slovenly can you get?!'
Nia Honjo seemed oblivious to Miku Izayoi's glare as she sauntered over, cheerfully slinging an arm around Luo Shu's shoulders:
"So, isn't Miku adorable?"
"I specially added a concealment technique to her, just waiting to see your shocked expression~"
"Well? Were you completely startled?"
"So it was your doing all along..."
'So that's why I didn't notice anyone in the kitchen...' Luo Shu thought to himself as he raised his hand to swat away Nia Honjo's hand from his shoulder, muttering:
"Seems like I actually brought too many people..."
Moving house was simple for Luo Shu. Whether it was the Mist Ring or the newly produced spatial rings, they all had storage space sealed by Mukuro Hoshimiya.
So for him, moving just required bringing a few rings along.
He'd brought Megumi Kato, thinking she could help Nia pack personal belongings to speed things up, while also letting them get acquainted before living together at the garrison.
But now with Kisara and Miku Izayoi added to the mix, they indeed had plenty of manpower to spare.
"What's wrong with more people? Perfect for hotpot tonight! Kisara prepared one at home, right? Might as well bring me and Miku along~"
Nia cheerfully patted Luo Shu's shoulder again with her usual familiarity, grinning at Kisara.
"I did prepare hotpot..." Kisara looked puzzled at Nia. She didn't recall mentioning tonight's hotpot plans?
"Since it's ready, let's all eat together."
Nia cut Kisara off with a smile:
"Perfect chance to discuss things over dinner. Didn't you come here about Eriri's ability development direction, Luo Shu?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu turned to glance at Nia, his lips twitching:
"Seems you've been using Raziel to track my movements quite often!"
"This isn't tracking, it's loving attention~" Nia playfully formed a heart shape with her hands.
Kisara's eyes widened at the sight, but before she could react, Nia turned and blew her a kiss:
"Though of course, my main attention is on adorable little Kisara~ Ah, truly an angel!!"
Kisara's expression changed to horror:
"Don't cling to me!!"
Just then, Miku Izayoi emerged from behind the kitchen counter carrying a drink tray. Watching Nia trying to kiss Kisara, she sighed:
"Here we go again. This old lesbian just wants to kiss every pretty girl she sees, huh?"
Luo Shu thought for a moment and added, "Correction - seems the same applies to men, too."
Miku blinked, then looked at Luo Shu with growing pity:
"I see... so you're a victim too..."
Luo Shu opened his mouth to explain, then realised there was no good explanation. In the end, he could only sigh quietly.
"Ah..."