In a room on the second floor of the villa, Sairenji Akiho, freshly out of the bath and dressed in a light pink camisole nightgown, was sitting at the vanity combing her damp long hair.
Because she knew Eriri liked long hair, she had deliberately grown it out over the past ten years.
Though it hadn't reached the floor like Eriri's, her hair still flowed all the way down to her waist.
Through the vanity mirror, her delicate, flawless face could be seen clearly. Due to the hot bath, a faint blush graced both of her cheeks.
Even now, the excitement in Akiho's heart had not yet completely calmed.
At the same time, she was feeling deeply conflicted—wondering whether she should go to Eriri's room right now to confess the love she had accumulated over the past ten years.
Though she had already resolved to confess her feelings the moment she saw Eriri again, when the moment finally came, she found herself hesitating.
She was terrified of being rejected. That was the one outcome she absolutely didn't want to face.
Even though today's interactions made it clear that Eriri didn't shy away from close contact with her, Haruna, or Yui, she still couldn't be certain whether Eriri still saw them as the children from ten years ago.
After all, those ten years were only meaningful to the three of them. For Eriri, they passed in the blink of an eye.
Still, abandoning her resolve to confess was absolutely out of the question. After seeing Eriri again, the emotions in her heart were about to overflow.
And so she found herself wavering between "go now" and "wait a few more days."
Time quickly slipped by as Akiho struggled with her thoughts. By the time her hair had half-air-dried, she finally made her decision.
She would go now!
No sooner had she made up her mind than she acted. Without further hesitation, she set the comb down on the vanity, activated her energy to instantly evaporate the remaining moisture in her hair, and gently slapped her cheeks with both hands for encouragement.
Then, she turned and left the room, walking with firm steps toward Eriri's room.
...
While Sairenji Akiho was on her way to Eriri's room in a midnight visit, something small was also happening with Yui Kotegawa and Haruna Sairenji, who likewise hadn't fully calmed down emotionally.
Their rooms were also on the second floor of the villa—one right next to Akiho's, the other directly across from it.
Also freshly bathed, both Yui Kotegawa and Haruna Sairenji were holding their phones, staring at the LINE group chat interface. Their chat partners were their classmates—Risa Momioka and Mio Sawada.
The four of them had agreed after school to discuss tomorrow's shopping trip plans over chat that evening. However, the return of Eriri and the others had completely driven that promise from Yui and Haruna's minds, and they hadn't even taken their phones out of their bags.
As a result, the messages sent by Risa Momioka and Mio Sawada more than two hours earlier had gone unread until Yui and Haruna, reluctantly parting from Eriri, returned to their rooms, bathed, and finally opened their phones while lying in bed.
As the saying goes, plans can't keep up with change. Now that they'd reunited with Eriri after ten long years, Yui Kotegawa and Haruna Sairenji wished they could even sleep beside her. How could they possibly bear to spend a whole day away from her just to go shopping with someone else?
So the two of them responded in the LINE group, canceling the shopping plans for tomorrow and apologizing to Risa Momioka and Mio Sawada.
Though Risa and Mio were a bit disappointed, they didn't press the issue.
But once they found out the reason Yui Kotegawa and Haruna Sairenji had backed out last minute, a new idea immediately sprang to mind.
[Risa Momioka: Yui, Haruna, how about we just go ahead with the shopping plan as usual tomorrow?]
[Haruna Sairenji: Sorry, Risa, tomorrow really won't work. Let's go another day, okay?]
[Risa Momioka: Wait, I'm not done yet. What I mean is—why don't you bring that mysterious older sister of yours along?]
[Risa Momioka: I've been curious about the sister you two keep mentioning all this time. This is the perfect chance to finally meet her.]
[Mio Sawada: That's a great idea! Totally agree!]
Reading the chat messages, Haruna, lying on the bed, froze for a moment. The smooth legs that had been swinging back and forth stopped moving.
Her mind had been entirely focused on how to spend the next few days with Eriri, thinking about places to go and things to do—she hadn't considered bringing anyone else into the mix.
Now hearing Risa's suggestion, she found herself a little tempted.
Yui Kotegawa felt more or less the same.
Although they had never gone into detail with Risa and Mio about Eriri, they'd been friends since junior high, with years of friendship between them.
So maybe this was a good opportunity to formally introduce the most important person in their lives.
Still, neither of them gave an immediate answer. After all, this needed Eriri's approval first.
[Haruna Sairenji: Mm, I think that's a nice idea, but I need to ask Eriri-nee first.]
[Yui Kotegawa: Exactly. If Eriri-nee doesn't agree, then we'll have to save the shopping plan for another time.]
[Risa Momioka: That's fine, of course you need to check with the person herself.]
[Mio Sawada: Totally, totally. But hey—we finally got a name out of you. So your mysterious older sister's name is Eriri, huh? Hehe.]
[Risa Momioka: Wow~ What a beautiful name! Just hearing it makes her sound like a total beauty. I'm really looking forward to meeting her tomorrow. expectation.jpg]
[Yui Kotegawa: It's not decided yet, so don't get your hopes up just yet. helpless shrug.jpg]
[Risa Momioka: No worries. Whether we get to go shopping together tomorrow or not, I'm excited anyway~ no problem.jpg]
[Haruna Sairenji: Don't worry. Knowing Eriri-nee, she probably won't say no. smile.jpg]
[Haruna Sairenji: Yui, should we go talk to Eriri-nee about this now?]
Naturally, Yui Kotegawa had no reason to refuse Haruna's suggestion.
If anything, this was exactly what she had hoped for—an excuse to spend a bit more time by Eriri's side.
In fact, if possible, she was already planning to stay the night in Eriri's room after they went over.
Just imagining herself sleeping in Eriri's embrace brought a blush of excitement to Yui's face. Then she sent a confirming sticker in the group chat.
[Yui Kotegawa: OK.jpg]
After sending the sticker, Yui immediately set her phone down, grabbed a pillow, and got out of bed.
Straightening out her pajamas a little, she then headed out of the room at top speed.
Meanwhile, after seeing the sticker Yui Kotegawa sent, Haruna Sairenji also immediately put her phone down, grabbed a pillow, and darted out of her room at top speed.
When she saw a silhouette standing in the half-open doorway of the room diagonally across from hers—one hand holding the doorknob, the other hugging a pillow—Yui and Haruna both wore matching awkward expressions.
But then, they both smiled at the same time. They instantly understood—they were thinking the exact same thing.
"Haruna, you're fast. I just finished messaging and you're already out."
"Look who's talking. You're just as fast."
While they chatted, Haruna stepped out and gently closed her door, then walked over to Yui's door.
"Haha, I just really wanted to see Eriri-nee as soon as possible\~" Yui said with a smile as she stepped out too.
"Say, Haruna, why don't we just find some excuse to stay in Eriri-nee's room tonight? Her bed's huge anyway—two more people wouldn't be a problem."
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing."
...
Backtracking to a little over ten minutes ago, in Eriri's room—Sairenji Akiho stood nervously before her, so tense her body looked stiff.
Eriri, sitting on the bed, watched the girl's flushed face with a curious smile.
"Akiho, did you come to see me for something?"
Even without peering into her thoughts, Akiho's bashful demeanor made it obvious why she was here.
Eriri wasn't some clueless innocent. As the central figure of a harem full of beautiful girls, she could certainly sense Akiho's feelings from their interactions earlier.
She only pretended not to notice because she wanted to hear the confession directly from Akiho's own lips.
Of course, if Akiho backed down, Eriri would take the initiative herself—there was no way she'd let Akiho walk away heartbroken.
"E-Eriri-nee, I... I have something I want to tell you..."
Looking at Eriri, who wore the same camisole nightgown as herself, Akiho felt her heart pounding so fast it seemed ready to burst. Even her words came out stammered.
"It's okay, don't rush. Sit down and tell me slowly. I'll listen carefully."
Eriri gently took Akiho's hand, which had been nervously clutching her nightgown, and pulled her to sit beside her.
Perhaps because of Eriri's soft voice and gentle touch, Akiho gradually relaxed from her intense anxiety.
She wasn't completely calm yet, but at least she could speak without stuttering.
Breathing in the intoxicating fragrance that lingered near her nose, Akiho gathered her courage and looked at Eriri.
"Eriri-nee, I like you!"
Her voice wasn't loud, but her tone was firm—just like the feelings she held for Eriri.
Without waiting for a response, she continued pouring out ten years' worth of feelings all at once.
"Eriri-nee, it's been 3,567 days since you left our world and went to the future. Every one of those days, I've missed you."
"I thought of you while eating, while walking, while sleeping. Even when studying or training, your image would appear in my mind."
"More than once, I regretted not going with you to the future back then. I know thinking that way is unfair to my parents, but I just couldn't help it."
"Eriri-nee, did you know? The moment I first saw you, I was stunned by your beauty. I remember thinking, how could someone this beautiful even exist in the world?"
At that, recalling their first meeting at the aquarium, Akiho smiled unconsciously.
But she didn't stop there.
Eriri didn't interrupt her. In fact, the more Akiho spoke, the softer Eriri's smile became. Her right hand gently stroked Akiho's head.
Though Eriri already knew how deeply Akiho felt for her, she hadn't expected it to run quite this deep.
It wasn't until over ten minutes later that Akiho finally finished her emotional outpouring of ten years.
"Eriri-nee, I love you the most—the absolute most. Will you accept my feelings?"
Looking at Akiho's hopeful eyes, Eriri said nothing.
Instead, she extended both arms and embraced her tightly.
"Akiho, just like I told you all before—from today onward, we can be together forever."
She raised her head and gently touched her forehead to Akiho's.
"Which means... I already saw you as mine ten years ago."
With those words, Eriri slowly lowered her head, meeting Akiho's joyful gaze…
...
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