"So... I hope it isn't rude to ask, but are those other two women going to be your wives as well in the future? Also, how do you plan to have a marriage if polygamy isn't legal in Japan? And what are your plans for that shitty goddess?"
Makoto fired off the questions that were burning in his mind as he just stepped out of David's penthouse.
David just chuckled and shook his head, "Haha... It's not rude to ask, don't worry. I don't know what the future has in store for me and those two women, but I won't force anything on them; I'll just see where things go naturally. In regards to marriage, I can find a way, but I don't need some stupid piece of paper to tell me who I can and can't take as a wife. If someone has a problem with it, they'll just have to learn to mind their own business. That being said, I would like to make things official since it just feels right."
He took on a more serious tone as he said, "As for that shitty goddess, I'll check on her after a while and see how she's faring. If she seems to be feeling better, I'll just increase her suffering and make sure she's fixing that damned broken world..."
Makoto nodded and gave a sigh of relief.
While he didn't spend much time in the other world, he didn't like the idea of a goddess that only used the inhabitants of a world as her playthings. It made him boil over with rage, especially when he thought back to when she completely disregarded him due to his looks and dropped him from the sky at the edge of the world with a curse.
They entered the elevator and hit the button for the 1st floor.
David stood with his arms crossed as Makoto looked over and attempted to mimic his pose awkwardly, ultimately deciding to stick his hands in his coat pocket and stare at the ceiling in contemplation.
⟪ Hmm, I just noticed that Makoto is wearing that reversible mana-absorbing coat he had in the original work. Looks pretty good in person, I'm glad he was able to get it. Seems like the dwarves still do their job well as master craftsmen. ⟫
As David was appraising Makoto's outfit that looked more like cosplay in this world, the elevator stopped on the 22nd floor.
Makoto stood closer to David as he made way for two women to enter the elevator.
The younger looking woman seemed to be about 15 years old, 168 cm tall, had long dark purple hair, and had dark purple eyes that were as cold as the rest of her face.
The older looking woman seemed to be... Well, she looked incredibly good for however old she was, but if anyone asked, she would say she's "Forever 17!" She had identical looks to the younger woman, but her hair was cut much shorter and instead of a kuudere expression, she had a rather bubbly one instead.
David noticed them and seared their appearances into his mind immediately.
"Good morning~!" The older woman said, smiling and waving at Makoto and David.
Makoto bowed his head slightly in greeting while David just stared at them.
⟪ ...You know when you have a word on the tip of your tongue, but you just can't think of it or say it? That's how I feel with these two women. I feel like they're extremely familiar, but I can't quite think of it... ⟫
Not wanting to be rude, David smiled at the older woman and said, "Good morning. I just moved in recently so I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is David Star and I live on the 30th floor in suite number 1. Please call me David."
The younger woman maintained her cold expression as she looked to the side and started shaking non-stop.
The older woman, on the other hand, smiled even brighter and said, "Oh wow~! Such a young man living in a penthouse, that's impressive! How old are you, David? Are you living with your parents?"
David smiled wryly and shook his head. "I'm 15 years old, presumably around you and your sister's age. As for my parents, I live alone."
⟪ Let's not drop the fact that I have no parents on strangers, that's definitely a no-no. ⟫
The older woman laughed out loud, "Hahaha~! Yes, you are indeed around me and my younger sister's age! My name is Shuuko Komi and my younger sister here is Shouko Komi. You can just call me Shuuko or Shouko's Big Sis, haha~! Oh yeah, we live on the 22nd floor in unit number 1!"
David's eyes widened as he felt great relief in his brain.
⟪ THAT'S WHERE THEY'RE FROM! ⟫
Calming himself down slightly, David just gave his normal charming smile. "I see. It was a pleasure meeting you and your younger sister, Shuuko."
He then looked toward the still-trembling Shouko and asked, "Have I said anything to upset your sister?"
Shuuko turned around to see that Shouko had walked into the corner of the elevator and was trying her best to hide herself, something not that easy with her beautiful and graceful appearance.
"Haha, no, she just has a little trouble communicating is all!" Shuuko said.
David smiled and nodded, paying no mind to it as he didn't want to push Shouko out of her comfort zone on their first meeting.
⟪ I mean, Shouko Komi is the heroine of the franchise 'Komi-san Can't Communicate' so I figured she would act like this. But wow, this mother and daughter pair are incredibly beautiful in person. They could easily topple countries with their beauty! ⟫
Shouko's eyes widened and she slowly turned her head around like a robot, adopting her cold expression once more as she looked at David with her thoughts running at full-speed, though her body was shaking even more violently.
[Shouko] 'I'm another one of the characters I've been hearing about! Is that good? Or is it bad? Since he talked about me like the others, surely he knows about me like them, too, right? I want to talk to him. But mom is here, and there's another boy here. Why didn't the other boy introduce himself? I know I'm going to the same school as David, but what are the odds that we'd live next to each other or that we'd meet today? Would he want to be my friend? Our school is really big after all. How did I not know about him in past years? Did he not go to Hoshinoumi Academy before we started high school? He probably knows about me, but I don't know about him. That's not fair, is it? And mom totally fell into his rhythm about being my older sister. David probably knew she wanted to hear that, right? But wait, he didn't recognize us until after mom introduced us...'
While Shouko may not be very vocal, her thoughts don't share the same problem.
⟪ Hmm... I can't tell what Shouko's thinking. I can see her staring daggers at me, but I'm not sure if she wants to talk to me or if she's waiting for someone else to talk to her? Shuuko seems to be used to it since she's just looking at her daughter, waiting for her to make a move. Haha, Shouko's little shaking is a lot cuter in real life rather than in the anime or manga. She should still have a goal of making 100 friends, right? If she's fine with female friends, I could introduce her to at least a few, I'm sure... ⟫
[Shouko] 'He does know about me! Can he really help me make friends, even though I can't talk?'
The elevator finally stopped on the 1st floor without any other residents entering.
David secretly conjured up a pencil and paper before he wrote down his contact information and stored the pencil back in his inventory.
"Here you are, Shouko," he said, walking up to Shouko and handing her the piece of paper.
"Communication problems are hard to overcome, but you seem like you have a lot on your mind. This is my phone number and LINE ID, you can contact me if you ever feel like talking to someone. I'll be home until school starts so if you or your older sister ever need anything, feel free to reach out. I won't hesitate to help out kind neighbors such as yourselves."
Shuuko wanted to say something teasing, but David just smiled and waved before she could.
Makoto, feeling somewhat like a third wheel, awkwardly nodded at the mother and daughter pair as he ran after David, quickly leaving Roselia Heights with him on their way to Jinbocho.
Back in the elevator, Shouko held the paper in her hands and looked at it, her eyes still cold, yet with a slight twinkle in them now.
"Ohhh~, does my lovely 'little sister' have a crush on our new neighbor?" Shuuko said with a cheerful and teasing smile.
Shouko quickly shook her head back and forth as she carefully put the piece of paper in her pocket.
"Alright, well if we're going to be living on our own from now on, we should rely on kind neighbors to help when we need it. Just by the few meetings we've had with David and some of our other neighbors, I think you'll do just fine here. Especially that Shikimori family next door, they seem to be going through the same things as we are. I quite like the atmosphere in this place, too. We were lucky to get accepted here, honestly. It's like we hit the lottery!"
After that, Shuuko didn't say anything else and just smiled as they walked out of the elevator and went about their day.
...
"How'd you do that?" Makoto asked.
David tilted his head as he glanced at Makoto while they walked on the sidewalk.
Makoto, seeing his reaction, elaborated, "You know, the way you just flawlessly flirted with those two."
"Hahaha! Brother, I can only attribute it to my charms."
⟪ My charms and the fact that I know about them from their original works, though I'd never say that. ⟫
Makoto's face darkened as he playfully hit David in the shoulder. "Yeah, charms that I don't have."
David just waved his hand. "Meh, you know I'm just messin' with you. You're not a bad looking dude, alright? Besides, you don't have to worry about flirting with girls, you've got that one girl who was head-over-heels for you. I'm tellin' you, just give her a heartfelt apology and tell her your reasons for declining her. While it was selfish and whiny on your part at first, I'm sure you can word it properly to get the message across."
"Selfish and whiny?" Makoto asked, feeling both offended and confused.
"I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, bro. You declined her confession because you thought she didn't actually have feelings for you or that she was making fun of you, something along those lines, right? Self-esteem issues, yeah?"
"I mean yeah, I guess it does all boil down to that in the end..."
"Exactly. That's selfish because you're only focused on your own feelings and insecurities while you just throw her own feelings in the trash. That's whiny because you're playing the victim card and being all 'woe is me' about shit."
After hitting Makoto with the cold, hard truth, David let him simmer in it for a little bit before patting him on the shoulder and offering his advice.
"Every relationship I was in before Marin ended extremely poorly. Even normal interpersonal relationships didn't work out well. My previous life was dogshit and I don't like to compare, but I'm telling you that it was absolute hell compared to yours. Again, I'm not putting down what you've gone through, just letting you know about me. Insecurities and traumas are incredibly difficult to deal with, but you never know unless you try. Hiding behind the fear that things won't go well just means that things will never have the opportunity to actually work out."
Makoto stopped walking and looked at David. "I don't mean to derail the conversation and I genuinely took what you said to heart, but... What do you mean 'your previous life?' I thought when we talked after our first meeting and you told me about your past, that was just a few years ago?"
David thought back to the conversation he had with Makoto a few weeks prior and bit his lip.
'Ah... Oops...'
He shook his head and shrugged. "Eh, whatever. Don't tell anyone else, but this is my second life. I used to live in America, New York to be exact, and it was not great. I dunno what happened, but now I'm in Japan. The takeaway of it all is that I have experience and I know that while you went through shit, it shouldn't be enough to make you afraid of living your life. If it makes things easier, just stop caring about things and do whatever you want to do. Hell, that's what I'm doing now."
Makoto was taken aback by the admission, but after thinking about it, he just became kind of numb to all of the supernatural things that happen in the world.
"You don't need to worry, I won't tell anyone. Thanks for trusting me with that, David."
"Haha, it's all good. I was always curious as to why the main characters in those novels never talked about being reincarnated, but I kinda understand it now. If someone knew I was a washed-up 30 year old garbage human being with nothing to my name, people would probably look at me differently."
"YOU WERE 30?!" Makoto shouted, jerking his head to look at David with wide eyes.
David gave Makoto a deadpan look before turning his head back.
"Heheh, just kidding. I won't treat you any differently, I owe too much to you to even think about doing that."
The two continued walking, chatting, and laughing with each other until they finally reached a small house next to a bookstore.
"..."
Makoto stood outside of his house with a conflicted feeling.
He was taken from his world, but with David's Dimensional Quest freezing the time in the world, he hadn't been gone for more than a night. Aside from experiencing months away in a completely foreign environment, he also found out that his parents weren't from this world--though he hadn't found out anything other than that as he didn't follow the original storyline.
David gave a reassuring nudge on Makoto's back. "Just talk to them and tell them everything. Then, I suggest you ask them everything as well. After all, they owe you at least that much."
Makoto nodded and took a deep breath.
"Thanks again, David. I'll contact you once I get everything settled and let you know how things went."
"Mm, don't mention it. If you ever need help or just wanna hang, let me know. I gave you my contact information on the way here for a reason. Plus, you know where I live anyway. While I'll most likely be spending all of my time with my wives, I can easily make room for a brother."
David gave Makoto a quick hug before shoving him toward his house and disappearing on the spot with a smile on his face, teleporting directly back to his penthouse suite.
After seeing David leave, Makoto chuckled a little before he decided to enter his house.
...
"Welcome back, husband~!" Mio said as she jumped out of David's bed, surprised yet happy to see David teleport back.
She had apparently covered herself in his blanket when she found his bedroom earlier and hadn't left since, allowing the other girls to talk amongst themselves while she basked in her husband's scent.
David looked over at Mio with a smile on his face and opened his arms wide, welcoming the excited woman as she launched herself at him.
"Mmm, I wasn't gone for that long, what's up with you?"
"A single second without you is too long, husband!"
David just chuckled and enjoyed Mio's hug.
"Alright, let's go see the others. Marin told me she'll go out with them later today so I'll make breakfast for everyone before they leave."
Mio let go of David and smiled as she hopped back and followed him out of his bedroom.
When they came back downstairs, they could see Rangiku and Isane sitting together on a couch and were talking to Marin who was sitting in a chair holding and playing with Komoe.
Tomoe was sitting in front of the TV, watching her period dramas and ignoring everything going on around her while Yoruichi was just hanging out on Marin's couch in her cat form.
"Who wants breakfast?" David called out, attracting the attention from all of the girls.
Komoe jumped up from Marin's lap and ran to David with her arms up. "Papa! Are you making breakfast?!"
David knelt down and picked up Komoe before standing up and spinning her around.
"Wahhh! Hahaha!" Komoe held on to David neck as she enjoyed her papa's affection, having fun getting spun around.
"Ooo, my daughter is too cute! What does my Komoe-chan want for breakfast?" David asked as he stopped spinning Komoe.
"Hmm... Pancakes!"
"Pancakes? You got it! I'll buy some ingredients later for more flavors of pancakes if you like the normal ones I make, okay?"
Komoe nodded with a smile on her face. "Okay!"
David laughed as he set Komoe down and patted her on the head. He then looked at the other girls and saw Marin giving him a bright smile, loving the way he was treating Komoe.
"You girls want pancakes, too?"
"Sure!"
They all responded casually, the others also admiring David's fatherly affection.
[Rangiku] 'He's only 15, but he's acting like a better father than some of the centuries-old fossils in Soul Society.'
Rangiku had a softer look in her eyes as she looked at David, though it wasn't anything romantic.
"Alrighty, a whole table full of pancakes, comin' right up!"
David sauntered off to the kitchen with a pep in his step, ready to make pancakes from scratch for everyone in the penthouse.
Once he started preparing, he felt his smartphone ring.
With a raised eyebrow, he pulled out his phone and looked down to see who was calling him.
'Is it Shouko? Or maybe Makoto chickened out? Hmmm... Does anyone else have my number?'
On the screen, it showed an unregistered number so even if it were someone he knew, he realized that he doesn't have anyone in his contacts list other than Marin.
Shrugging it off, he raised the phone to his ear before holding it up with his shoulder while he continued preparing breakfast.
"Hello, this is David."
A woman's voice came through, making David feel like an idiot for not expecting her to call him.
"Good morning, David. This is Sonoko Machida from Fujikawa Shoten. I'm calling you back because I finished reading the first volume of the light novel you submitted and I have to say, I think it'll be a massive hit! Would you like to come into the office and have a chat with me to discuss the specifics of a business cooperation?"
⟪ Ah, I forgot I even submitted the light novel to be honest... Oh well, I'd love to meet Sonoko in person. ⟫
"Sure, I wouldn't mind. I'm cooking breakfast for my family and some guests right now, but I'll be available around 11:00 AM if that works for you?"
[Sonoko] 'Tch, you just mean you're cooking for your harem. I know the truth!'
"Sure, that sounds wonderful. I'll send the office's address to you via text and will wait for you later this morning."
"Great! I'll see you then, Miss Machida," David said charmingly.
"...See you then, David-kun."
David smiled to himself and continued making breakfast.
Meanwhile, on the couch...
Mio sat down next to Marin and was staring at David the entire time.
"Tch... Yet another woman that'll fall for my husband's charm...," Mio said, a little disgruntled.
"Heheh~, it just means a bigger family! Isn't that right, Komoe-chan~?" Marin asked.
Komoe leaned back in Marin's lap and subtly bounced up and down in happiness. "Yep! More mamas for me!"
Marin squealed and patted Komoe on the head, enjoying the maternal feeling she got when she was around Komoe.
The girls were all spirited and enjoyed their conversations, occasionally trying to drag Tomoe into it, but she was too focused on watching TV.
It didn't take but 20 minutes for David to have the table filled with empty plates on the edges and pancakes stacked high in the center.
"Breakfast is ready, girls!"
The girls all got up and walked slowly to the table while Komoe shot up and nearly teleported to the chair right next to David.
"Haha, calm down, Komoe-chan. I made plenty and they're not going anywhere, okay? With your strength, you might just smash the chair into pieces if you're too excited," David said as he smiled and rubbed Komoe's head.
He then loaded up Komoe's plate high with cat-shaped pancakes, layered butter in-between the stack, and drizzled a bunch of syrup on top.
Komoe's eyes were sparkling and her mouth was drooling, excited to eat breakfast made by her papa.
Marin took the seat on the other side of David, followed by Tomoe, Mio, Rangiku, and Isane.
David made a small plate similar in construction to Komoe's for Yoruichi and set it on the ground before calling out, "C'mere, kitty! I got a plate just for you!"
Yoruichi jumped up off the couch and skipped over to the plate next to David before giving it a sniff and digging in, not waiting for anyone else.
"Hey! Yoruichi is eating before us!" Komoe called out.
Everyone's eyes went wide as they subtly shifted their heads to look at Komoe, Yoruichi included.
⟪ Eh? Why does Komoe know Yoruichi's name? Did she reveal herself earlier? ⟫
"Komoe-chan, did you already give the cat a name?"
Komoe, no longer linked to Tomoe like before, didn't see what the problem was and said, "No? Her name is Yoruichi, she said so when you were gone!"
[Yoruichi] 'Komoe-chan, you weren't supposed to say anything!'
Yoruichi began panicking slightly.
Although she knew that David knew who she was, she didn't think now was a good time to reveal herself to him.
David just chuckled, "Haha, you sure are a cutie, Komoe-chan. It's alright, Yoruichi is a cat so she can eat ahead of us."
Komoe started to say something, but Tomoe was seated right next to her and quickly shoved a pancake in Komoe's mouth.
"Komoe, just eat the pancakes, okay? The young master isn't worried about the cat, so why should you be?" She said.
[Yoruichi] 'Nice save, Tomoe! Hahaha, my reveal to David should be more dramatic! Not something that's done in the middle of breakfast!'
⟪ I would like to speak with Yoruichi, but it's fun having this little secret game going on, heheh. Komoe-chan probably doesn't know any better, but I'm glad that Tomoe could read the room. Though, if Yoruichi knew that I knew who she was, I'm sure she wouldn't be hiding in her cat form. Hmm... Am I a scumbag for wishing that I'd wake up with her naked in my bed one morning? Meh, who cares... ⟫
[Yoruichi] '...'
[Literally all of the girls] '...'
The girls were all speechless, but instead of thinking about it, they just decided to load up their plates and eat their pancakes.
The rest of breakfast was peaceful and filled with lively conversation and lots of laughs.
⟪ This is what a real home should feel like... I'll forever be grateful for whoever or whatever brought me into this world... ⟫
...
In a shopping mall that opened early, K.T. was walking around with two of her friends when she heard what David said.
Her steps faltered as she had a bright smile on her face, her eyes starting to tear up.
"Kurumi? What's wrong?"
K.T., or Kurumi Tokisaki, just shook her head and wiped her eyes. "Nothing, Sawa-chan. David's gratitude just means a lot to me."
Her best friend that was walking beside her, Sawa Yamauchi, nodded her head with a crazed smile on her face. "Ah... I know what you mean, heheh~. I'm sure Shiro feels the same way."
Kurumi and Sawa looked ahead at their other friend who looked like an albino wearing a beautiful red dress and chuckled as they saw her jumping up and down excitedly as she also heard what David had said.
"I can't wait to meet him again, but I'm a little worried about how Shiro will react," Kurumi said.
Sawa shrugged, "It'll be fine, I'm sure. If David remembers who she is, all the better. If not, I don't think she'd be too upset about it."
She then twirled her hair as she stared off into the distance with that same crazed smile. "I just want one day to have him all to myself..."
Kurumi, seeing her friend falling into her bad habits, just laughed and dragged her along with her to catch up to Shiro.
"Kihihihi~! I want a week with him! I put in the most amount of work, so it's only fair."
Sawa didn't say anything in response as she was lost in her own fantasies.
[Kurumi] 'I just can't wait~! I don't care what else happens, as long my darling is happy and I can eventually spend the rest of my life with him!'
The three girls all had various thoughts and emotions, but they were all geared toward the same thing.
[The girls] 'It's almost time to meet our savior!'