"... I didn't expect this, but I guess it's fine."
"S-sorry, for coming suddenly like this."
"I said it's fine. I don't mind and the story you all told me is interesting if nothing else."
Basara was apologizing to Chisato. After she had send him her message, he went to her apartment and explained what happened to his house and asked Chisato if he and the girls could stay there, she agreed, so he went to get everyone.
Once everyone gathered at Chisato's apartment, they first properly introduced themselves and then everyone helped give a detailed report on what had happened and what little they knew about the twins.
After she listened to everyone, Chisato nodded. It seemed she had something in mind.
"I see. I have an idea, but I'll do some research first, since those twins don't ring a bell about that group. Also, Basara."
Chisato called Basara over and whispered something in his ear. She was just asking if it was fine for her to talk about something in front of everyone.
"Sure, you can say it here."
"Alright. In that case, let me just confirm something. Everyone here knows about the condition of Basara's mother, right? The goddess one I mean."
Most of the girls had already learned about Basara's mothers, but Celis seemed confused, so they quickly explained everything to her and then Chisato said what she was going to say.
"As we just reviewed, Raphaeline, one of Basara's mothers, had her spirit frozen. Because of that, she shouldn't be active anymore, but… a few days ago, I called Basara over and took a sample of his aura so I could look into something and, although I can't say for sure yet, it looks like Raphaeline is active again."
Although that was quite a shock for everyone there, Chisato reinforced her words by saying "like I said, I can't confirm it and I might just be mistaken, but… the possibility does exist, though I can't explain how."
After a little bit, everyone calmed down. But deep down, everyone, especially Basara, hoped that it was true.
"Anyway, you guys went through a lot today, so rest up and make yourselves at home. It might be a bit cramped with everyone here, but there's really no way around it."
Everyone got to work. Some of them left to buy a few stuff they'd need while the ones who stayed helped Chisato put things in order for everyone to stay. Although they felt bad by intruding so much, there was nothing they could do about it.
But it wasn't as bad as it could have been. At least they knew Chisato and knew she wasn't a bad person. Maria got close to Chisato really quick, but likely the other girls would also grow close to her soon as well.
Once they had everything they needed, they started working out where everyone would sleep. Luckily, even Chisato's couch was comfortable, so there wasn't much worry about that and even Chisato herself said she didn't mind lending her room.
After that was done and Maria and Zest prepared dinner, as that was the least they could do. Everyone took some time to finally relax after everything that happened. They took turns in the bath and soon it was Basara's turn.
While he did think for a bit that he would take his bath alone, he was soon proved wrong and his company soon arrived.
"Hi, Basara."
Chisato, obviously naked, entered the bath with Basara, who was obviously also naked. Although this wasn't the first time, the girls being just outside did make Basara nervous. Still, he tried to act like he always did.
"Again, sorry for coming in lime this."
"I already said it was fine. I'd rather you rely on me in such cases anyway. And, depending how you see this, it could also work as a good chance to come clean with the girls."
That's true, Basara thought. Since they would spend some time together, maybe this would make for a good chance to tell them about his relationship with Chisato.
"But, since we won't be able to be alone for some time, I'll use this chance to get my fill of you. That way, I just might last long enough."
Chisato placed her lips on top of Basara's and they engaged in a kiss. Chisato's hand reached for Basara's member while he reached for her breasts. They started moving their hands to please the other.
They lost themselves like this for a while, however, something brought them back to reality. There was someone standing behind them, and that person had a shocked expression on her face.
"W-what?"
Basara turned around and saw who it was, and he realized he had made a mistake he'd never be able to undo.
"Mio, I…"
Mio was the one standing there. She was naked, so she likely had planned to enter with Basara. Not long after, the other girls, except Celis, also arrived and they all shared Mio's shocked face, except for Maria for some reason.
It was then that Basara knew there was no going back, so he figured he shouldn't delay thing any longer.
"… Everyone, I have something important to say."
Basara somehow convinced the girls to move to the living room so they could talk. Since she was already there, Celis also joined in, though she didn't expect what came out of the conversation.
Knowing that lying any further would only worsen the situation, Basara and Chisato told everyone about their relationship. They explained how they started out and how things got a bit out of hand before Basara could tell the girls about it. They also said that they planned on telling, but Basara admitted that he kept losing his courage to say it and missed what opportunities they had before now.
And, since this was finally the time to tell them everything, Basara even told they he had already had sex with Chisato. He figured hiding anything now would only be worst for the future. That was by far what hit everyone the hardest, and Basara knew better than to make any excuses.
"…"
What followed was just silence from everyone. They spend a lot of time like that, and then the girls started retreating to the bedroom one by one. They couldn't do anything about spending the night here, but it wasn't hard to see that it wasn't what they would have liked.
For that night, Basara and Chisato decided it would be best to leave them alone and sleep far from them.
"Sorry, Basara. Because I decided to enter, this…"
"No, it's not your fault. I should have told them everything long ago, but I kept making excuses. … The only thing I can hope for now is that they eventually forgive me…"
If they didn't forgive him… Basara's feelings towards them weren't lies, so he didn't want their relationship to end like this, but… if it was what they wanted, if they thought it was for the best, should Basara let them go? Although he knew he should, he preferred to not think about it and just hoped everything would be fine.
And so the night passed and morning arrived. Basara wasn't able to get any good sleep, so he woke up as soon as he noticed some sign of movement. Chisato was still sleeping, so that was… Maria.
Although he was scared that the girls might reject him now, Basara somehow worked up the courage to talk to Maria. If he was going to ask for forgiveness, he would have to start somewhere.
"Maria, I…"
"Basara-san…"
Maria seemed a bit awkward. Even Basara felt like that, but he couldn't let any chance of asking for forgiveness pass.
But then, Maria said something that surprised him.
"I'm not mad. I've actually known for a while. About you and Chisato I mean."
"… Eh?"
Basara's shocked face didn't lose to what the girls had yesterday. Maria called him over so that she could properly explain herself.
"I actually found out when I was looking through Basara-san's dreams to find some 'material' for reference. At first, I thought it was just a dream you were having, but then I learned it was true. I was shocked and sad at first, but I decided to keep looking so I could find something to prove to myself that I was wrong and that it was just something your mind made up. I didn't find anything like that, but I found something else."
"Something else?"
"I discovered that Basara-san's feelings for the nurse, Chisato, were real, but so were your feelings towards Mio-sama, Yuki, Kurumi, Zest and me. After that, I decided to try to properly understand how things became what they were, so I looked through all your memories, that's when I discovered that Basara-san didn't have any ill intentions and that you were trying to tell us, so I thought I'd try to help out. I even tried helping out by teasing everyone about Basara-san maybe having a relationship with Chisato so that it might soften the impact whenever it came, but I guess it didn't work, maybe it even made things worst."
Maria basically just said that she already knew everything Basara had told them yesterday. Though the idea of having his memories being looked at without his knowledge wasn't pleasing, Basara was happy that at least Maria wasn't mad at him. But there was one thing Basara was curious about.
"I didn't know you had that kind of power. I thought you could only make people see erotic dreams or something."
"That's more like an area of expertise. Succubi can also detect feelings other than lust, but we're pretty limited to basically knowing if these feelings are present or not. Not a lot of succubi use those abilities and even I only used them once or twice before."
That explained how Maria could know how Basara felt. She also explained that even the part about looking through someone's memories wasn't perfect and it was more like she could make someone have a dream based on those memories rather than seeing them directly. Although Basara was surprised, to say the least, he wasn't about to go questioning the logic of the powers of a species that were known as sex demons. Maria then continued saying.
"Also, I looked through everyone's feelings while they slept last night. As expected, everyone's in a middle of a storm of emotions, but I think that, if they get to see Basara-san's feelings like I did, maybe there is a way to repair the trust that was broken."
It was like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. So there really was a chance that Basara would be able to make up for his mistakes, at least a little. That was already good enough for Basara. A chance was all he needed, all he could ask for.
Then, as if on cue, Mio came out of the bedroom. She avoided contact with Basara while she took her bath and ate breakfast. Basara also didn't want to be forceful, so he let her do her things as he also took care of himself.
Finally, once she was done, Basara tried talking to her.
"Mio, I-"
"… Don't."
Mio cut him off, but Basara wouldn't give up just yet.
"But, there's something I have to say."
"I don't want to talk now."
Mio went out of the apartment. It looked like she wanted some time alone to think. Basara was going to give her that time, but then Maria urged him to act.
"Basara-san, it's dangerous to leave Mio-sama like that because of her Master-Slave contract. Please go after her and try talking to her. If you need my help, call me and I'll go to where you are."
"… Alright."
Basara couldn't deny Maria's words. It would be dangerous if the Master-Servant contract activated and thought Mio was turning against Basara, so he went out to look for her. All he wanted was one chance to show her his feelings and ask her to forgive him. He had made a big mistake, but he was going to try everything in his power to make up for it.
