Chapter 216: Nao Yorihime ; Friends ; Thoughts

Nao Yorihime - my childhood friend and companion during our visits to Okukozome-chō during summer vacations.

I hadn't given it much thought before, but now that the opportunity has risen once more, I think of the events ere my awakening.

Haruka Kasugano was walking to a grocery store on the first day that 'he' and Sora had moved to Okukozome-chō.

Minutes later, as he was walking back, a bicycle appeared out of nowhere and struck him.

That's all I could remember. My memories are somewhat hazy, but I reckon that the one who hit me was Yorihime because of what Sora said after my awakening.

Either way, that seemed to have what 'awakened' me.

"It's you, isn't it?" Yorihime continues to say, "Why have you changed so much?"

Hearing the concern in her voice, and seeing her actions, I can tell that she is filled with guilt at the moment. Perhaps she thinks I'm like this because of her? That we moved away because of her?

Well, it doesn't matter. I will just introduce myself as Victor Origo and be done with it.

"Go away," I suddenly hear Sora's voice before I can say anything, "Leave us alone."

Sensing the cold aura exuding from Sora, I realize that this situation might be more serious than I thought.

Speaking of which, why is Yorihime here anyway? Okukozome-chō is quite far away from here, after all.

"Yorihime," I utter, causing her eyes to widen in shock, "Why are you here?"

It takes a dozen or so seconds to recollect herself before she responds in a saddened tone, "I came here to buy a manga recommended to me by a friend."

Hearing this, I just nod my head while Rias' eyes shimmer as she asks, "What manga?"

A little overwhelmed by her curiosity, Yorihime's eyes widen for a moment before she awkwardly replies with the manga's name.

Unexpectedly, Rias' expression turns to intrigue as she asks, "Is your friend an online friend or one that you know in real life?"

What's with Rias? She is a little overexcited. The only reason I can think of for her to act like this is that she knows Yorihime. But, is such a coincidence even possible?

"Online," Yorihime responds, a little perplexed.

The shimmering in Rias' eyes grow as she continues to ask, "Does your friend have a strange username?"

It takes her a moment, but Yorihime nods her head as confirmation.

"Blue orchid?" Rias mutters in an expectant tone.

The next moment, Yorihime's eyes widen as she responds, "God is a bully?"

What the heck is with that username.

Assuming that they each called out the other's username, I turn my head to gaze at Rias with a deadpan expression on my face.

As if just realizing something, cold sweat begins to form on Rias' forehead as she meets my gaze with a frightened look on her face.

"God is a bully, huh?" I say while beaming a smile.

"Please find it within your benevolent heart to forgive my impudence, Your Holiness," she instantly says somewhat loudly while bowing.

I use telekinesis to straighten her posture before saying, "I'll be seeing you in the academy tomorrow."

"What?" Yorihime mutters with a dumbfounded expression.

"Well then," I say while pulling out my phone and pretending to check the time, "It's getting late, so Sora and I will be leaving now."

"Understood," Rias immediately responds in a respectful tone, while Yorihime just stares at me with a baffled expression.

Not waiting for a response, I grab Sora's hand and begin walking away without looking back. There is no point in doing so, anyway.

---

"We're back," I say upon entering the mansion with Sora.

"Brother Yu!" I hear a cheerful voice exclaim as Ayumi runs appears in my sight and rushes into my embrace.

I respond to her affectionate antics by hugging her tightly.

This goes on for a few seconds before I sense two more bodies cling to my legs.

Shifting Ayumi away a little, I met with the sight of Ophis and Gula both hugging my legs with curious glints in their eyes.

"Hello, Ophis, Gula."

"Hello," Ophis while beaming a nigh-imperceptible smile.

As for Gula, she just rubs her forehead against my thigh while humming lightly.

"Ti!" a somewhat sharp voice suddenly reaches my ears.

"What was that?" I subconsciously ask.

The next moment, a certain fairy appears from behind Ayumi's head with a wide smile on her lips.

Issuing a chuckle, I hold Ayumi with my left arm while reaching my right arm out to gently rub Eri's head with my finger.

All of a sudden, I hear several coughing noises ahead of me.

Looking over, I find Misa and Nao with strange looks on their faces as they gawk at us.

Behind me, Sora has covered her mouth and is giggling.

I let out a sigh before letting Ayumi down and asking, "Let's go to the living room."

--

Having taken a seat on one of the sofas, I turn my head to glance at Sora who's fidgeting with her phone beside me.

"You should charge it up first, remember?" I say in a slightly reproachful tone.

Sora looks back at me for a few seconds before nodding her head and getting up from the sofa.

She then extends her arm out and says, "Your phone."

"Right," I say before pulling it out of my pocket and handing it to her.

The moment Sora leaves the room, six pairs of eyes fall on me.

Opposite the sofa I'm on, Nao and Misa are sitting with an odd look on their face. Near them are Kuroka and Koneko who were playing with a Nintendo Switch when I got here.

Finally, there is Ayumi who is sitting to my left with Eri sitting atop her head.

[Father.]

"Gabriel?" I murmur, "Is something wrong?"

[I would like to be granted permission to train all of Father's direct angels in heaven.]

Huh? Where did this come from? Did our little trip to Sorcerers' Lair make her realize something?

Well, if Gabriel is going to be the one training the angels, then there is no issue.

"Go ahead."

[Yes, Father.]

"So," Misa's voice reaches my ears, "What are you going to do be doing now?"

"What, you ask?" I respond, a little confused about what she's asking of me, "Living normally."

The moment those words leave my mouth, an extremely doubtful expression appears on Misa's face, while Nao straight-up laughs.

After a while, Nao finally stops laughing and says while wiping a tear in her right eye, "Sorry, but I can't believe you just said that."

My expression turns neutral as I ask, "What's wrong with what I just said?"

"You, living normally?" Nao says teasingly, "Impossible. Don't even think about it."

Hearing this, I let out a sigh and say, "Yeah, who am I kidding? Some problems will probably arise soon."

As a response to my words, Koneko slowly nods her head, while Ayumi pats my back.

Eri mimics Ayumi's actions as she floats toward my head and 'pats' it.

As for the rest of the girls, they all have a "that's right" expression on their face while staring at me.

At this moment, Kristina appears in the room while carrying a tray.

On the tray, there are seven glasses filled with what seems to be banana juice.

Kristina proceeds to walk around and present everyone, apart from Eri, a glass before sitting beside me with the only glass of juice left in her hand.

As such, we begin drinking the refreshing juice while conversing about simple matters related to Sorcerers' Lair.

Due to not being aware of the existence of the Playground, Kristina, Kuroka, and Koneko were quite confused in the beginning before they caught on a short while later.

"So, are you going to be going to that robot's world?" Misa questions after the conversation shifted to Saturnus and Platform: Higgins.

"That's right," I say while nodding my head.

The moment the words leave my mouth, three girls enter the living room - Yuno, Krul, and, Akame.

"What about her?" Misa says while pointing at Akame.

Sensing this, Akame turns her head to gaze at Misa with a questioning look in her eyes.

"I'm not sure yet," I respond, "Currently, I have no method to get to the world she is from."

Upon hearing this, Yuno immediately says, "I can get you there!"

Startled, I look over at her and ask, "How?"

"When I summoned her," Yuno explains while pointing at Akame, "I pinpointed the Platform she is from."

"Oh, that's great," I say as a smile forms on my lips.

Akame seems to have realized what's going on as a hopeful look has appeared on her face while she gawks at Yuno.

"I can send you there with proper preparation," Yuno says while smiling.

"Hold on," Krul says while frowning, "I was with Victor when we fought against you at that time. You seemed to take quite some damage during her summoning."

Crap. I had forgotten about that. Krul is right, as Yuno didn't seem fine after the summoning.

"That's… uh…" Yuno mutters, seemingly not knowing how to respond properly.

I take this chance to place my hand on Ayumi's head and rub it slowly before asking, "You were planning to send us at the expense of your safety, weren't you, Yuno?"

"Yes," she meekly responds.

Letting out a deep sigh, I say in a firm tone, "I don't want to see a repeat of this ever again. Understood?"

"Understood," Yuno responds with a small smile on her lips.

{Father. Data extraction is possible.}

Oh, you can do that?

{According to the data available to me, Father could do that through the Network.}

Huh? It seems like there is more to the Network than what I had assumed after all.

Still, why isn't there a Network for Krul? She is a Code, and the two of us did it back in Sorcerers' Lair.

Is there some other condition that I'm not aware of?

The only difference I can think of would be the location. Yuno and I had sex in the Rift, while Krul and I performed the deed in a Platform.

Speaking of which, I'm curious about what location will appear in Krul's Network if it gets formed.

"Brother Yu," Ayumi's voice interrupts my train of thoughts.

Looking over at her, I say in a soothing voice, "What is it, Ayu?"

"Follow Ayu!" she cheerfully says before jumping off the sofa.

I issue a light chuckle before getting off the sofa and following her as she leads me to the room Ophis and Gula are in.