Takina wanted to give Chisato a stern lecture.
Last night, before she could even react, Chisato had overpowered her. For some reason, Chisato's strength had become unusually strong, making it impossible for Takina to resist at the time. Before she knew it, she had gotten carried away—no, she had been forced into making a mistake.
She was fuming inside, determined to give Chisato a thorough scolding!
"Takina, Takina, come here quick!"
But before she could seek out Chisato, Chisato came looking for her first.
In an empty room adjacent to the main house's corridor, Chisato sat upright like a model student. When she spotted Takina passing by outside the window, she enthusiastically waved her over.
"You there, quiet down!"
Standing at the lectern, Illya shot her a displeased glare.
"Yes, sorry, Teacher Illya!"
Chisato scratched the back of her head sheepishly, then mimed zipping her lips shut with her fingers.
"Chisato!... What's going on here?"
Takina stormed into the room with an intimidating aura the moment she saw Chisato, ready to grab her and complain for at least an hour or two. But then she noticed the unusual scene inside.
Ichika and Miku, who had arrived earlier, as well as Nino and Itsuki, who had just come yesterday, were all present. Even that long-haired literary girl, Utaha, was sitting attentively, diligently taking notes.
Takina couldn't help but let her mind wander for a second.
How could Utaha wake up so early this morning after staying up so late last night?
She vaguely remembered that even after she and Chisato had fallen asleep, the sounds from the master bedroom hadn't stopped.
"One after another, all so annoying. If you're this energetic, why not go do some hard labor? If you don't want to learn magecraft, get out now!"
Illya, interrupted twice in a row, twitched her eyebrows in irritation. She gripped the chalk tightly, banging it against the blackboard with loud thuds, her small face darkening as she glared at the two.
"This is a magecraft lesson... Sorry!"
Takina snapped back to reality and quickly bowed in apology to Illya.
Chisato scooted over, making space at her desk, and Takina naturally sat down beside her.
"Wait a minute, aren't we all refugees here? Even if we learn magecraft, what can we actually do with it?"
Takina glanced around the room and suddenly realized something.
She looked at everyone in the room with astonishment—whether it was the Nakano sisters, Utaha, Hayasaka, or the two of them—based on yesterday's conversation, they were all refugees who had crossed over from other worlds.
And it was common knowledge among magi that refugees had no aptitude for magecraft.
"Sigh..."
Illya massaged her temples as if suffering from a headache.
"Teaching ordinary people who know nothing about magecraft is already troublesome enough, but now I have to start from this stage... Do the new Nakano sisters not know either?"
"Yes, sorry..."
Nino and Itsuki exchanged glances, looking somewhat embarrassed.
They, too, had the same doubts as Inoue Takina.
"Didn't Ichika and Miku tell you?"
Upon hearing this, Illya glanced at Ichika and Miku beside her, her expression indifferent.
Seeing this, Nino and Itsuki couldn't help but cast surprised looks at Ichika and Miku.
So they knew all along?
Then why didn't they say anything last night?
Miku bore the weight of her sisters' gazes as if they carried an unbearable pressure, bending her posture like an ostrich trying to hide—a pitiful attempt at self-deception.
"We were actually planning to tell you in a few days..."
Ichika, meanwhile, averted her eyes guiltily, her expression full of awkwardness.
Because they had offered themselves to Roy to gain magical talent—how could they possibly explain that?!
If it were just her offering herself to Roy, even if Nino and the others wanted to say something, they'd probably just let it slide given how difficult survival was in this world.
But dragging Miku into it was another matter entirely.
Especially since it had been Ichika's idea to involve Miku in the first place.
For the sake of their future, she had convinced Miku to cling to Roy—this pillar of support—alongside her. There was nothing inherently wrong with that. Anyone living in this mansion could see that Roy was destined for greatness. In the future, countless people would want to latch onto him, and if they didn't act now, they might never get another chance.
But who could have predicted that Nino and Itsuki would also cross over into this world? That was completely beyond her expectations. This kind of thing wasn't something you could just casually explain to family—no matter how she spun it, it wouldn't help.
So what else could she do? Stall for time, of course.
Or perhaps... go all the way.
Why not drag Nino and Itsuki onto this "pirate ship" too?
A dark aura flickered around Ichika for a brief moment.
In the future, Roy would undoubtedly be surrounded by all sorts of women. Without combat talent or administrative skills, she and her sisters would inevitably be stuck in mediocrity, unable to stand out among the crowd.
But being quadruplets was a huge advantage!
What man could resist such temptation?
"I see. It seems that before teaching you magic, I must first enlighten you about the greatness of my little brother—Roy!"
Illya nodded noncommittally, then immediately wore an expression of immense pride.
"When it comes to my little brother Roy, words like 'incredible' don't even begin to describe him...!"
She showed no signs of stopping until she had praised Roy to the heavens.
Utaha held her head in exasperation.
Here we go again.
She had already heard this introduction at least five times recently.
Lady Illya had somehow turned into a "brother-praising demon" at some point.
Utaha yawned and decided to rest her head on the desk for a quick nap. She was exhausted from last night and severely sleep-deprived—might as well recharge now.
If Ichika and Miku withdrew tonight out of consideration for their sisters, then the burden would likely fall on her and Hayasaka again.
Touko wasn't particularly interested in such matters, and Rin was busy with administrative duties. Roy's current endurence was too much for one person to handle alone.
But that was just fine.
Last night, she had lost.
Tonight, she would make sure Hayasaka cried first!
...
"You're all here?"
When Roy arrived at the door of Illya's classroom, he immediately sensed an indescribable atmosphere hanging over the room.
"What's going on here? Why do you all look so shocked?"
Under his puzzled inquiry.
Utaha lay motionless on the table, fast asleep.
Ichika wore a bitter smile, while Miku hid behind her.
Nino, Itsuki, Takina, and Chisato—four beautiful girls—all turned to him in unison with shocked and peculiar expressions the moment he appeared.
"It's nothing, Roy. Just some trivial matter, no need to worry about it."
Illya, with a thoroughly satisfied expression as if her desires had been fully sated, walked over with her hands behind her back and a triumphant stride.
"Did you come here for something?"
"Yes, actually, there is something."
Roy glanced at the four girls—Takina and the others—who were behaving extremely oddly, noticing how their eyes subtly avoided his and their faces were flushed to varying degrees. He tilted his head in confusion.
But since Illya said it was nothing, he didn't need to dwell on it.
Illya had been very enthusiastic about her role as the chief stewardess of his harem lately, and he trusted she could handle it well.
"I'll be going on a business trip in a couple of days, so I came to let you all know in advance."
"A business trip? To another city again?"
Hearing this, Roy chuckled and shook his head.
"No, this time I'm going to another world."