Half an hour earlier.
In the living room of the five sisters' house.
Hakuto sat on the sofa, speaking to Itsuki in front of him.
"That's all I can tell you. If you want more details, go ask Nino."
"Alright then, Sensei Shiratori, please rest early..." Itsuki nodded, then took her leave.
Naturally, Itsuki had come to ask about the conversation between Hakuto and Nino earlier that afternoon.
But for the sake of his plan, Hakuto didn't reveal much. Instead, he chose to toss the tricky part to Nino and let her handle it.
What kind of move was this? Leaving the difficulties of building a harem to his own girlfriend... isn't that just absurd?
"What a mess..."
Hakuto shook his head. But just as he was about to use the bathroom before heading upstairs to sleep, a phone call suddenly came through to his mobile.
Seeing the caller ID, Hakuto frowned, then walked into the bathroom, gently closed the door, and answered the call.
He had bought a new phone after the last one was crushed. After all, a phone is a necessity.
"Good evening, Madam President!"
"I thought you wouldn't pick up..."
The caller was none other than Nao, home alone.
"Why do you say that?"
"Huh? Based on the time, shouldn't you be... doing something proper right now?"
"Looks like the president is quite eager for me to do that kind of thing, huh..."
"I wouldn't say eager, exactly..."
If Nao truly wanted Hakuto to be doing those things, she wouldn't have called at this hour.
In the end, even though she had accepted the fact that Hakuto was forming a harem, the lonely Nao still felt uncomfortable inside...
Acceptance is one thing, discomfort is another — they're not mutually exclusive...
"What? I've only been gone a day, and Madam President already misses me?"
"Idiot, don't flatter yourself..." Nao snapped back without hesitation.
"Relax, I'll be back tomorrow..."
"Who cares... It's actually quieter when you're not around..."
"Really? Then I guess I'll just stay over with Nino and the others for the next few days?"
"You bastard... go ahead and try it if you've got the guts!"
"Alright, alright, I'm just kidding. Just don't kick me out of the room when I get back."
Of course, Nao knew he was joking — but that kind of joke wasn't funny.
"By the way, that chuunibyou girl from upstairs came down today..."
"Rikka? What about her?"
"Not much. When she saw me, she was shocked. She covered her eye and said, 'Wicked white-haired ghost, why are you in the hero's room?'"
"Then I replied in her tone, 'I am the lover of the weakest undefeated hero — naturally, I have the right to stand here!'"
"Then she mumbled, 'Impossible, absolutely impossible,' while climbing the rope back upstairs..."
As he listened to her recount, Hakuto subconsciously raised an eyebrow.
"You really shattered Rikka's resolve, huh..."
"So what? You're building a harem anyway. If that chuunibyou girl can't even handle this, she should just back out early."
"Yeah, yeah, Madam President is always right..."
Hakuto went along with her. Right now, his focus was on the five sisters. As for Rikka, he'd have to see about that later.
Speaking of which, hopefully Touka wouldn't come to beat him up, right?
"Alright, I'm going to bed."
"Huh? Madam President, is this a spot-check?"
"Who said I'm checking on you? I just wanted to interrupt your fun. Bye."
Nao hung up without hesitation — perhaps this call had already served its intended purpose.
Hakuto shook his head and returned to his room. But just as he stepped in, he suddenly remembered something.
"Got so caught up with the call, I forgot to use the bathroom..."
So Hakuto went back downstairs to the bathroom. But this time, just as he stepped out, he saw Nino sneaking into Miku's room.
(눈_눈)?!
Because of his enhanced body, Hakuto could see clearly even at night. The lack of light didn't affect him at all.
So he saw Nino's movements clearly.
"She really dared to come..." Hakuto raised an eyebrow. He naturally understood what Nino was up to.
Still, he hadn't expected that even with someone staying in the adjacent room, she would still dare to sneak in.
But it seemed like Nino had been startled by Hakuto's sudden movement just now.
Hakuto admired Nino's courage — and at the same time, a mischievous streak rose in him.
He quietly crept upstairs, then deliberately opened the door to his room, creating some noise to make it seem like he went inside.
In reality, he stealthily snuck back downstairs.
Just like that, Hakuto hid in a moonlit corner, completely blending into the shadows, ready to observe what Nino would do next.
And that's how the current scene happened — the five sisters standing in the hallway upstairs, trying to figure out Hakuto's whereabouts.
Sometimes Hakuto really admired women's intuition. At least, Itsuki had pretty much guessed what he was up to without realizing it.
Looking up at the scene from his hiding spot, Hakuto had only intended to tease Nino — he didn't expect to get such an amusing show out of it.
Hidden in the darkness, Hakuto shrugged. He wasn't planning to reveal himself — otherwise, they'd definitely bombard him with questions.
"By the way, Miku, do you think Sensei Shiratori will come back tonight?"
"Why?"
"I was thinking... if he's not coming back, I'd rather sleep in my own room. I can't stand the perfume in Nino's room."
"Huh? Can't stand it? The perfume in my room is already super faint, okay?"
"And if he suddenly..." Nino paused, the rest of her words caught in her throat.
Itsuki said, "Yotsuba, just squeeze in with Nino—mmph!"
Before she could finish, Nino swiftly covered her mouth.
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