Chapter 44: Surprising Hits

Neighboring World—

An endless void space full of darkness, resembling the shadow of the real world.

No time, no distance, and a thousand years of tranquility flows through in one day.

But with a flash of dim light, a young silver-haired girl cladded in a pure white wedding flower dress emerged in this place.

The girl had a breathtaking beauty, as if she was the most delicate creation by God. But at the next moment, the end of her body started fracturing like a porcelain—the part of "being" was being dissolved. Given a short period of time, the girl named "Mio Takamiya" would disappear, leaving only the "Kabbalah Tree of Life".

The girl raised her hands and stared at them intently. At the moment, the palms of her hands were completely gone, making them look like tree branches. Sighing in remorse, the girl quickly raised her head and smiled in relief.

"—Are you sure about this, mother?"

A pleasant voice sounded off from the distance.

Mio turned her head and saw a pink-haired girl with a gentle expression.

"Of course, it's been 30 years, much longer than I deserved."

She replied softly.

"Why didn't you stay in the real world? I know that, if you wanted, nothing could destroy you. You voluntarily gave up your life and your body so that you could disappear."

A girl with blonde hair sighed softly, her eyes full of sadness.

"Because Shinji is dead, and the one alive is Shido—This is what I realized in [Ein Sof]."

Mio replied calmly.

"We don't mind disappearing with you, but what about Tohka? When the time comes, how do you think Shido will react?"

A girl with purple hair asked with a disgruntled tone.

"I will bring her here and let her be with me, just like the three of you."

Mio said with a smile.

"...Mama, Rio is being ignored…"

A little girl, out of nowhere, was clinging to the pink-haired girl.

"Of course I see you too, my adorable daughter….'s daughter."

After responding, Mio felt relieved as her entire body developed fractures, before collapsing completely, leaving her original appearance—

The Kabbalah Tree of Life.

.

"—A dream?"

In the living room of Itsuka Household, Shido woke up with tears streaming down his cheeks.

He felt like an eternity during his sleep, yet it went by so fast.

"Shido!"

A pleasant voice sounded in the kitchen.

"What a sleepy head!"

Another cute voice sounded off.

Shido turned his head, only to see two girls preparing dinner together in the kitchen. Of course, they were both cladded in appropriate clothes along with an apron around their bodies, diminishing his hope of seeing the naked apron again.

Shaking off his slight disappointment, he got up from the couch and started walking to them, but surprisingly, his legs were shaking!

"Aww!"

Shido groaned as he struggled to keep standing.

"Don't force yourself, we will take care of it."

Rinne smiled as she walked toward him, sitting him down on the couch again.

"Rinne, I wanna ask you—"

"—I know, I know. Let's talk about it later, okay?"

Quickly shushing her lover like an inquisitive child, Rinne patted his head gently.

"What? Are you feeling the heat again?"

Marina grabbed an unsliced cucumber and walked in front of Shido, presenting it in his face, and—

Snapping it in half!

"No, no, no, Marina-sama!"

Shido felt his butt tightening up on instinct, and quickly held up his hands in defense.

"Hmm, what a juicy one we have here~"

Marina walked back to the kitchen and started slicing it.

Shido had a nervous laughter while Rinne giggled.

"Itadakimasu!" X7

Everyone clapped their hands before digging in.

Of course, the meal was ready thanks to Rinne and Marina. The others didn't need to wait long to enjoy another heartwarming dinner from them.

To Shido's surprise, Marina was a marvelous cook as well. The cucumber she prepared with beef tasted just right with a decent amount of salt and soy sauce, along with a bit of garlic fried beforehand. Of course, he had an uneasy feeling eating it at first, but its delicacy quickly overshadowed any misgivings.

After dinner, the Yamai Sisters raced themselves washing the dishes. To avoid having broken plates, Rinne made them compete for cleanness instead of speed, to which they reluctantly agreed. In the end, all bowls and plates were shining like diamonds.

With their bellies taken care of, Rinne suggested that all of them play some card games. Of course, the ones that Rio could participate in too.

The poker games were really fun, and everyone had a great time, especially Rio. For a child as young as she, playing with friends and families was the best thing for her.

OF course, they played a little punishment rule: The loser will get a sticker on the face.

After a while, Kaguya was the one with the most stickers, followed by Shido.

Kaguya lost the majority of the time due to her easily-read facial expressions, and felt that all hope was lost. It was thanks to Yuzuru going easy on her that she managed to win a few times.

As for Shido, he was just either unlucky, or his head wasn't in the head, depending on who you ask.

By the time it was 9 o'clock, Rio started feeling sleepy, so Rinne took her to take a bath. Before going into the bathroom, Rinne whispered something to Mayuri, to which she nodded.

"Clap clap!"

Now that the mother and daughter of the room were absent, Mayuri clapped her hands to gather everyone's attention.

"Fufu, what part of middle earth are we gonna conquer now?"

"Ridicule. Kaguya's face is conquered by stickers."

Yuzuru pulled the stickers, which formed a circle around Kaguya's cheeks, one by one with her hands.

"Regarding your question about staying in this world~" Mayuri smiled and pulled Marina by her side. "Marina has the answer for you~"

Kaguya and Yuzuru were surprised to hear this, but they remained silent.

Marina turned around and exposed the back of her head to Mayuri.

"Go ahead, I'm ready."

She closed her eyes like she was about to be sacrificed.

"Forgive me."

Mayuri closed her eyes and raised her hand.

"—Judgment!"

Whack!

"Aww~"

Shido's eyes widened in shock, not understanding the meaning of the sudden hit, or the cute moan coming out of Marina's lips.

In the next moment, a flash of light covered Marina, engulfing her body completely, and everyone closed their eyes in reflexes.

"Where am I…? What is this place…?"

When they opened their eyes, they saw a girl with long silvery-white hair, cladded in a white dress with a black cross-like symbol in the middle, resembling the fresh look of a young western nun.

"..Wait, Shido—"

"—Judgment!"

"Aww~"

When she saw Shido in the room, she exclaimed in surprise, but in the next moment, she got whacked by Mayuri from behind again!

With that, a wave of memories flushed into her head.

At this moment, Shido, Kaguya, and Yuzuru rubbed their heads on instinct, fearing who knows when Mayuri would strike them again.

"Sorry to hit you twice like that."

Mayuri rubbed her hand with an apologetic look.

"But welcome to the family, Maria-chan."

A/N:

Poor girl, getting hit by Mayuri is the only way to switch bodies.