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After thoroughly soothing a certain blonde girl, Bokue Keikain teleported directly to an apartment building on the other side of Itogami Island, farther from the city center.

Specifically, to Nagisa Akatsuki's place—right next door to the single apartment the Lion King Organization had sponsored as a temporary base for him and Yukina Himeragi on Itogami Island.

It was nearly noon, the time when every household began preparing lunch.

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The moment Bokue appeared in the apartment's living room, even before opening his eyes, he caught the enticing aroma of food in the air.

And in the next second, a soft, petite body rushed toward him with a wave of fragrance, embracing him tightly.

"It's been so long, Big Brother~"

Along with the familiar voice came warm breath tickling his ear.

"It hasn't been that long..."

Bokue slowly opened his eyes to find Nagisa's eternally bright and cheerful smile.

"It hasn't even been a full week—maybe four or five days?"

"Four or five days is already a long time for Nagisa~"

Nagisa put on a mature act, wrapping her legs around the youth's waist to secure herself, freeing one hand to wag her index finger seriously at Bokue.

"Well, it depends on the situation. If I could be with Big Brother every day, then four or five days would pass in the blink of an eye. But if I can't see Big Brother at all, then four or five days feel like four or five years."

"..."

She'd actually brought up relativity.

Bokue thought to himself.

"Hmm?"

Seeing no response after her speech, Nagisa narrowed her eyes slightly, pouting as she leaned in to nuzzle against the youth's neck.

"Say something! Don't tell me Big Brother hasn't seen Nagisa for so many days and doesn't have a single thing to say?"

"Oh, that's not it. I was just thinking about something."

Bokue snapped back to attention.

"By the way, I've temporarily finished my business in the demon realm. Barring anything unexpected, I should be pretty free for the next few days."

"Really?"

Nagisa's eyes immediately lit up.

"Does that include tonight?"

"Uh... tonight's the one exception."

A drop of cold sweat rolled down Bokue's forehead.

There was definitely an awkward atmosphere—he'd just said he'd be free for the next few days, only to immediately announce he wasn't free tonight.

As expected, hearing about tonight's unavailability, the True Ancestor girl narrowed her eyes again.

"But Big Brother just said you'd be free for the next few days. Why are you already busy tonight? Oh... don't tell me Big Brother is actually going to spend time with Asagi tonight?"

Bokue: "..."

She'd hit the nail on the head.

The two embraced in the living room, silently staring at each other. After about two or three seconds, Nagisa suddenly burst out laughing.

"Okay, okay, I was just teasing! Nagisa already knew~"

She knew?

Bokue raised a mental question mark.

"Nagisa can sense it~"

The girl in his arms hummed proudly, swaying her head.

"Big Brother was actually on Itogami Island half an hour ago, right? Since you didn't come here first, you obviously went to see Asagi first. And most importantly..."

Nagisa paused here, her smile fading as she narrowed her eyes again.

"You just finished being intimate with Asagi at her place and didn't even bother covering up her scent. Really, Big Brother—when you hugged me just now, I could already smell Asagi's shampoo on you."

Damn, so that was it.

Bokue mentally facepalmed.

But before he could speak, Nagisa—clinging to him like a little raccoon—climbed even higher, this time lifting her slender neck to kiss him directly on the lips.

"..."

When Nagisa pulled back, the girl's wine-red eyes had turned blood crimson, her breath carrying wisps of heated white mist.

"Really, after so many days apart, just holding Big Brother like this is already making Nagisa lose control, hehehe~"

"But this works out perfectly. Lunch is almost ready, and all the dishes are basically prepared. Why don't we start now, Big Brother? When Yukina comes over later, we can give her a big surprise. How about it?"

Nagisa finished with a playful wink.

Bokue had already guessed her intentions from the beginning.

"Since you've put it that way, Nagisa..."

The youth nodded slightly, then looked around the living room curiously, empty except for the two of them.

"But where's Yukina? Did she go out?"

After all, according to their usual routine, whenever Nagisa cooked lunch, Yukina would definitely come help. But she hadn't appeared yet today—was she busy with something else?

"She didn't go out. Yukina's right next door, but her teacher seems to have something to discuss with her. Probably just work reports and new assignments."

Nagisa shook her head.

Then she smiled again, embracing and kissing the youth once more, the blood color in her eyes growing more vivid.

"Alright, stop worrying about that. Big Brother, hurry up."

"But remember to keep it quiet. We don't want Yukina next door to hear directly—that would ruin the surprise."

Without further words, a soundproof barrier deployed.

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Meanwhile, in the bedroom of the apartment next door—

The Sword Shaman sat at her desk, holding her phone in one hand while taking notes with a pen in the other.

"Yes, I understand, Sensei. Regarding the Aldegyr Kingdom's eldest princess's visit to Itogami Island, Sayaka and I will handle it properly. Please don't worry... yes... Alright then, goodbye, Sensei."

After finishing, Yukina Himeragi put down her phone, looking at the call duration of one hour and six minutes with a light sigh of relief.

Good thing she had a special communication plan with her Teacher Endou, or the call charges alone would be unbearable.

She'd never talked with her for this long before. Normally, work reports would wrap up in about ten minutes.

But this was about the Warlord's Domain. That Dimitrie Vatler had been taken out by Bokue-senpai, yet after all these days, the First Primogenitor hadn't made a single sound—not even a peep. It definitely felt strange.

But... whatever. Worrying wouldn't help. Better to go eat lunch first.

With that thought, Yukina closed her notebook and left the room.

Seconds later, when she arrived at the neighboring apartment's door as usual and pressed the handle to open it, she suddenly felt a slight resistance.

But it was only for an instant. Before Yukina could look down to investigate, the resistance vanished, and sounds from the living room reached the Sword Shaman's ears.

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