Seeing the scene, Ichin and Utaha hurried inside.

Coming to Yukino's side, Utaha asked nervously,

"Yukino, how is she now?"

Shaking her head, Yukino glanced at Sesame lying in the nesting box and whispered,

"It seems okay for now. But after eating at noon, she just lay there and didn't move anymore. Even when I came back, she stayed still, only meowed at me a little. I called the vet, and they said it should be today. They told me to keep a close watch."

"I see."

Ichin leaned closer, reaching into the box to gently stroke Sesame's head, then lightly touched her belly.

"For now, things look fine… but tonight, I doubt any of us will get much rest."

As soon as he said that, the doorbell rang.

Yukino glanced at the entrance.

"That must be Eriri."

"I'll get it."

Ichin walked to the entryway and opened the apartment door. Sure enough, Eriri was standing there, out of breath in her casual clothes.

"How's the cat?!"

Letting her inside, Ichin said,

"Don't worry, she hasn't started yet. Everything looks alright. It should be later this afternoon or evening. Did you come straight from home?"

"Yeah, I asked Mom to drop me off."

Eriri slipped on indoor slippers and carried her schoolbag plus a bag of clothes into the living room.

"I had just gotten home when Yukino sent me the message. I changed clothes and rushed right over. I'm staying here tonight too!"

With the kittens about to arrive, Eriri was eager to help, insisting on staying over without hesitation.

Yukino didn't object. With Ichin and Utaha already here, having Eriri join wasn't an issue.

Checking the time, Ichin said to the three girls,

"It's not early anymore. I'll go buy ingredients for dinner and also swing by to pick up Mochi. You three watch over things here. Oh, and if Sesame doesn't give birth until tonight, we'll be busy then. To avoid chaos later, Eriri, you'd better finish your homework now."

"Got it, got it!" Eriri waved him off.

"I brought my bag, of course I'll do my homework!"

But the moment she said that, Utaha reached over, unzipped Eriri's bag, and pulled out a Nintendo Switch, two cartridge cases, a gaming laptop, and even an Xbox controller!

"Are you sure you came here to study?"

"Waaah! No, put that back!!"

The living room filled with noise, and Ichin could only shake his head helplessly, hoping Yukino could keep things under control.

---

Leaving the apartment, Ichin drove to the supermarket, stocking up on food, including fish and chicken to supplement Sesame's nutrition.

Afterward, he headed back to his own place to pick up Mochi from Yagami and the others.

Carrying the cat carrier to the door, Rin asked worriedly,

"Ichin-kun, everything's okay at Yukino's place, right?"

"Yeah, don't worry. It's nothing serious. We'll keep an eye on her."

Yagami quickly added,

"That's right! Actually, maybe I should come too?"

Ichin shook his head firmly.

"No need, Ko. Yukino's apartment only has two bedrooms and a living room. With four people already, there's no space for you. Leave it to us. I don't have class tomorrow morning, so I can stay up late. But you, remember—you have work tomorrow. Don't forget."

"Ah… right."

Being reminded by her own boss made Yagami scratch her cheek awkwardly. She sighed regretfully.

"Too bad. I really wanted to see the kittens being born."

"We'll record it for you when it happens. You can watch the video later."

"Okay! You'd better keep that promise!!"

After saying goodbye to them, Ichin drove back to Yukino's apartment.

The moment he stepped in, he saw an extra person there.

"Haruno-san, you came too?"

"Good afternoon, Ichin-kun~~~~"

Haruno greeted him with a grin.

"I was originally planning to take Yukino out for dinner, but looks like that's impossible now."

Ichin nodded, setting down Mochi's carrier so she could go check on her daughter.

"Mm, looks like it'll happen tonight. As for dinner, Haruno-san, eat here with us. I'll cook. The supermarket had lots of good ingredients today—I bought plenty."

"Oh! Ichin-kun cooking? Then I'll look forward to freeloading!"

Dinner was prepared by Ichin and Utaha. Yukino had wanted to help, but with her sister present, she had to stay in the living room to keep Haruno from messing with Sesame's rest.

After more than half an hour, the kitchen began to fill the air with fragrance.

Eriri, bent over her homework at the coffee table, twitched her nose and glanced toward the kitchen—then at the two sisters staring each other down in silence.

Scratching her head, she decided not to say anything. Better to finish her homework now. Otherwise, once night came, between looking after the cat and playing games, there'd be no time left.

Dinner was, of course, lavish. Since they were staying over at Yukino's, Ichin and Utaha made sure to show some sincerity.

Taking a bite of braised chicken, Haruno smiled in satisfaction.

"Delicious! Ichin-kun, your cooking's gotten even better. You're practically on par with restaurant chefs now!"

Ichin chuckled and shook his head.

"Not as exaggerated as you say. Just homestyle cooking. As long as you like it, that's enough."

"Of course I like it. Homestyle food is way better than fancy dishes. Right, Yukino?"

Quietly eating, Yukino gave a small nod.

"Mm. So-called fine dining is more about appearance and gimmicks. I've never been fond of it. These days, if you want premium ingredients, you can just buy them yourself. Cooking them at home makes for the best flavor."

"Exactly," Utaha agreed.

"Ichin and I have been to plenty of high-end Tokyo restaurants these past two years—even tried multiple kaiseki places. But honestly, some of those dishes don't taste half as good as what we make ourselves."

Eriri stayed silent, just quietly picking more chicken into her bowl before ladling herself a full bowl of fish soup.

That guy Ichin… his cooking really had leveled up again. Better eat more now—tonight might be a long night.

*

After dinner, Haruno didn't stay long—she drove back to campus.

The moment she left, Yukino let out a sigh of relief.

Sitting beside her, Utaha chuckled.

"What's this? Worried your sister would stir up trouble?"

Yukino nodded without hesitation.

"Exactly. You know my sister's personality too, senpai. If I'm not careful, I might walk right into one of her traps. Normally it doesn't matter, but tonight is too important. I can't let her cause a mess."

Haruno's personality, huh…

On the side, Ichin—typing away at his laptop while working on a project plan—thought Yukino was worrying too much. Haruno wasn't the same as before. She wouldn't do something to genuinely upset Yukino, especially not at a time like this.

By nine o'clock, Sesame still showed no signs of giving birth. But Ichin could tell the little cat was uneasy—likely, it wouldn't be much longer.

Since everyone had already bathed, he looked at them and said,

"Let's not keep crowding around her. We might just be making Sesame nervous. We've got the camera anyway—let's go back to the bedrooms and watch from there."

Yukino nodded.

"You're right. Come on, Eriri, let's go to the bedroom. You can play games there too."

"No problem." Eriri packed up her Switch and followed Yukino. Ichin and Utaha dimmed the living room lights, then headed to the guest room.

In the guest room, Ichin set his laptop on the desk to keep working, while Utaha connected her tablet to Yukino's security cameras. She sat on the bed, the tablet beside her, idly scrolling her phone.

"Ichin-kun, when do you think Sesame will give birth?"

"Probably soon. If it didn't happen during the day, it'll usually be at night." Ichin kept typing as he spoke. "If you get sleepy, just go to bed. I don't have class tomorrow morning, so I can stay up."

"Mm, I know." Utaha nodded, then pulled up a comedy video with her headphones. "But if I fall asleep and Sesame starts, you'd better wake me up!"

Ichin gave her an OK gesture and returned to his work.

The room gradually grew quiet.

By past eleven, sleepiness overtook Utaha. She washed up, slipped into bed, and soon drifted off.

Ichin, still full of energy, pulled the tablet closer and kept writing.

The Dark Souls project plan was no small task—worldbuilding, combat system, map design, plus his own ideas—all needed to be laid out.

Since Dark Souls had three main entries, Ichin planned to start by remaking the third. The DLCs, Painted World and Ringed City, he would still release as expansions.

If sales went well, he'd continue with Dark Souls I next—though adjusted for modern standards, fixing design flaws like those absurdly long run-backs. Dying once shouldn't mean running "three thousand six hundred li."

Eventually, he turned off the ceiling light, leaving only the desk lamp on, working until past 1 a.m.

Finishing part of the system design, he finally leaned back, massaging his temples. His eyes drifted toward the tablet—

And froze.

They were here.

Even though the lighting was dim, he could clearly see—inside the big nesting box, along with Sesame, were several tiny squirming shapes.

Without hesitation, Ichin grabbed his phone and called Yukino's room, flicking on the light to wake Utaha.

The call connected instantly. Yukino's anxious voice came through:

"Senpai, I saw it—she's giving birth!"

"Mm, stay calm." Ichin soothed her quickly.

"Everything looks stable so far. Don't rush in and scare her. Is Eriri still awake?"

"I'm awake!" Eriri's voice chimed in. "I never even slept—I've been gaming. But Yukino fell asleep, and your call woke her up."

By then, Utaha had sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Ichin… gave birth?"

"Yeah, the cat gave birth—not me. You're still half-asleep."

He pinched her cheek lightly with a grin.

"Come on, let's go check."

Utaha blinked, finally fully awake, and hurried after him as they left the guest room.

Opening the door, they met Yukino and Eriri coming out of the master bedroom at the same time.

Ichin motioned for silence, then whispered to Yukino,

"Get the iodine I told you to prepare earlier. And towels and cotton swabs."

She nodded, heading to the storage room to fetch a small bottle of iodine, then the bathroom for a clean towel, cotton swabs, and a pack of medical gloves.

The four of them quietly moved to the living room.

Peppa and Mochi were both awake now. Seeing their humans, they leapt down from the cat tree, meowing loudly—not in protest, but almost as if urging them to help.

Ichin handed the two cats to Eriri, then switched on the living room light and told Utaha to start recording with her phone.

"Let's go."

He drew back the curtain on the nesting box. Inside, nestled against Sesame's belly, were four tiny kittens wriggling restlessly.

Four little ones—one snow-white like their mother, one orange like their father, and two mostly white but marked with orange and black on their heads and tails.

"Mm, good mix of colors."

Nodding, Ichin pulled on gloves, then guided Yukino in drying the kittens. He gently stroked Sesame's head, confirming the new mother was calm, then pressed lightly on her belly to make sure no more kittens remained inside. Only then did he help Yukino cut and clean the umbilical cords.

After ten minutes of careful work, the four kittens were cleaned and returned to their mother's belly.

They were newborns—far too fragile to be held or played with.

Holding Peppa and Mochi in her arms, Eriri's eyes went wide with excitement as she stared at the tiny creatures.

"So these are newborn kittens… they're adorable!"

Utaha smiled as she filmed, capturing the precious moment.

*

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