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"Nagisa?!"
Bokue Keikain truly hadn't expected Nagisa Akatsuki to suddenly appear at this moment.
Mainly because he was still holding Rias in his arms and had to free up one hand, turning sideways to catch the falling Nagisa.
He caught her alright, but this created a new problem—he was now in a state of embracing both girls, one on each side.
Sure enough, the second after Bokue caught Nagisa, the red-haired girl beside him spoke in a seemingly calm voice:
"Bokue, who exactly is this girl calling you 'Big Brother'?"
Uh...
While Bokue was still thinking about how to explain, Nagisa had already taken the initiative to speak up first.
"Oh, hello, red-haired big sister! I'm Nagisa Akatsuki, and I'm Big Brother's... hmm..."
Nagisa paused here, pondering for a moment before tilting her head tentatively:
"Would 'ward' be more appropriate?"
"Ward?"
Rias raised an eyebrow slightly.
Generally, guardian and ward relationships usually existed between parents and children, but this girl definitely couldn't be Bokue's daughter.
As for a sister, that was also unlikely. Bokue had mentioned before that his sister still lived in Kyoto, and he'd described her personality as "cool and distant"—she definitely wouldn't be this familiar and casual.
That left only one possibility.
"After all, I am the Fourth Progenitor."
Under the red-haired girl's already perceptive gaze, Nagisa tilted her head with a smile, stating the identity she'd never actively admitted to outsiders before.
"...I see."
Rias nodded slightly to show she understood.
So this girl was the legendary vampire Progenitor. But looking at this energetic girl's appearance and her still-underdeveloped figure, hmm... she probably wasn't Bokue's type, right?
After all, this child looked even younger than Koneko.
Rias's gaze quickly swept across her own, Akeno's, Mio's, and the others' chests, then relaxed her guard somewhat, switching to a more friendly tone:
"Nagisa... may I call you that? Big Sister and the others need to go out with Big Brother to handle some matters. We might have to leave Itogami Island for a bit..."
"Then I'm coming too!"
Nagisa immediately wrapped her arms tightly around the youth's neck.
Rias: "..."
So she'd relaxed her guard a bit too early, huh? While Bokue was unlikely to be interested in such a young girl, it now seemed it wasn't the pig going after the cabbage, but the cabbage charging at the pig!
Wait, that seemed a bit harsh talking about her boyfriend that way.
But...
"Alright then."
After a moment's thought, Rias surprisingly agreed immediately.
She didn't explain why, just turned her gaze to the youth beside her.
"Then you take Nagisa with you, Bokue. We'll wait at the school's old building. Come meet up with us after you're done."
"Got it."
❁❁❁❁
Scene shift, about ten minutes later.
Tokyo, Japan, at Kuoh Academy still on summer vacation.
Under the morning sunlight, with a flash of golden light in the air, Bokue and Nagisa appeared in front of the old school building.
"Alright, we're here."
As the solid feeling came from underfoot, Bokue spoke.
Beside him, Nagisa—who'd been counting seconds with her eyes closed while he held her shoulder—hummed and slowly opened her eyes to see a standalone two-story wooden villa that looked somewhat similar to Sakurasou from light novels, similarly old but quite elegant in style.
"Oh~ So this is where Big Brother goes to school! I didn't expect to arrive so quickly."
"Not really, just where club activities happen."
Bokue explained.
"Alright, Rias and the others should be inside already. Let's go in—"
Swoosh—
Before he could finish, the previously closed front door of the old building was suddenly pulled open from inside. Akeno appeared at the door wearing an apron, holding a broom and dustpan in one hand.
She looked up and was slightly surprised to see Bokue and Nagisa outside.
"Ara, you're here so quickly, Bokue? Is the Itogami Island ownership issue already resolved?"
"Of course. I said leave it to me—it wasn't that troublesome."
Bokue shrugged.
"The timing was also convenient today. When Nagisa and I went to the National Diet Building, they happened to be in session, so I had them add an emergency item to their morning agenda. They voted unanimously and passed it directly."
"Under the witness of Mount Fuji's crater."
Nagisa added helpfully beside him.
Akeno imagined that scene for a moment and couldn't help letting out an "aha," raising the broom and dustpan in her hand:
"Wait a moment, Bokue. I'll be right back after dumping this trash."
"Oh... wait, Akeno, are you cleaning?"
Bokue nodded reflexively, then asked curiously.
Akeno had already gone to the public trash bin by the roadside outside the old building. After dumping all the trash from the dustpan, as if afraid she hadn't gotten it all, she tapped it against the edge a couple more times before turning back with an "mm"
"Rias said she's grown attached to the old building after living here so long. She plans to pack up and take the old building with us when we move, so we're cleaning now. We'll need to mop the floors later too."
??
Bokue displayed two question marks.
He vaguely remembered Venelana had said something similar before—about taking his Tokyo apartment along too, assembling it like building blocks as part of the new house.
So the new house would not only have the apartment but also the old school building...
Could these things really be connected together?
Whatever, they'd find out when the time came.
Without dwelling on this issue, after Akeno finished with the trash, Bokue brought Nagisa into the old building.
When they walked down the hallway to the legendary "sealed storage room" at the end of the first-floor corridor, Rias had already removed the seals from the door. Sounds of Kuroka and Shirone cleaning came from the second floor above.
The red-haired girl turned to see Bokue and the others arrive, a smile crossing her face.
"You're here, Bokue. This is it."
"...So what's the issue here?"
Bokue looked up and down at this once-sealed storage room.
Honestly, he didn't know much about the old building. Unlike Rias and the others who'd been living directly in it, he'd barely even been to the second floor.
As for this sealed storage room, though Rias had mentioned it before, he'd never been one to dig into things. If Rias said not to go in, he wouldn't—at worst, it could just remain an urban legend mystery.
"Inside here..."
Rias hesitated, holding her chin.
"Honestly, it's hard to explain in words. When you go in, Bokue, you might encounter something like time displacement, and you'll find some things have suddenly moved position. It's not really dangerous though..."
"Then I'm going in."
Unable to picture it from the description, Bokue simply pushed the door open and entered.
The storage room door opened and closed, leaving Rias and Akeno outside exchanging glances.
"I wonder how long it'll take Bokue to come out..."
Rias sighed softly.
Akeno also shook her head with some concern: "Well, that child's ability is indeed quite troublesome..."
Creak—
Before she could finish, the storage room door opened again.
Bokue, who'd entered just two seconds ago, walked out carrying a very cute golden-haired, elf-eared girl like holding a cat.
"Is this the child you were talking about?"
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