"We're back."

Shinji says a greeting while entering Tohka's house with Mio.

He had chosen to hold Tohka's grocery bag while Mio held on to the bag which had her new swimsuit and stuffed bear.

However before the two had even entered the house, something had already seemed strange.

The lights were off.

"...Did everyone go out?"

Shinji asked the question out loud but it was aimed at no one in particular.

He did not even expect a response.

However...

"Welcome..."

Just when he thought he and Mio would have to do some house sitting, the lights turned on before either of them could flip the switch.

And the person who greeted them in the middle of the living room was a girl who was part of their family.

"To the new Ratatoskr headquarters!"

Sawa greeted her brother and sister with a hair style that neither of them had ever seen her wear before.

It was a style that was the same as her red-haired aunt.

One side of the twin tail was tied with a white ribbon.

And the other was tied with a black one.

"...What are you doing, Sawa?"

The little sister had her arms crossed and was striking a dramatic pose.

"Be more polite when speaking to your commander, Shinji."

The pose immediately changed to one where she was pointing at her older brother.

"Shinji!?"

It was the first time Sawa had called him by his first name.

"There's no time to act surprised. Status report!"

"Huh?"

Just like his father, Shinji was thrust into a world he knew nothing about at first.

Sawa's stance crumbles a little at her brother's weak reply.

"Ugh. I'm asking you how the date went, Onii-chan! Get in character!"

"Oh, uh. It was great."

Shinji did not really know what his character was supposed to be.

"But why are you talking like that?"

"Because I'm the commander, obviously!"

"Okay...well, commander, do you think you could tell me why you suddenly need a report?"

"Hm, well, for the sake of the world, I suppose I could tell you...Maria!"

Sawa had been holding a tv remote in her hands and pressed the power button.

The living room tv brightens, and displayed inside it was a silvery white-haired girl doing a polite bow as if she was about to give a weather forecast.

"Yes. As you know, the world is inhabited by what we call spirits. Many of the girls your father has met have turned into one before, Shinji."

"Maria!?"

Maria Arusu was an AI that was developed by the original Ratatoskr, and after its disbanding she spent her time looking after Tohka and the others.

She also checked up on the Itsuka and Woodman households, as she had no limitations on where she could go.

Without even greeting anyone, she went on.

"When dealing with spirits, there are two options that serve as countermeasures. The first option is to fight them. And the second..."

"Is to date them!"

With her arms crossed again, Sawa grinned.

"But we all know what option you've already chosen. So your job is already half done! Now there's only one thing left for you to do!"

Maria nods and adds to the explanation.

A complicated looking graph had been plotted behind her in the tv.

"To seal a spirit, you are required to raise their affection levels. This chart indicates that Mio's affection levels have been maxed out for a long time. Once the condition has been met, the next course of action is..."

"To kiss!"

Sawa's excitement could not be contained.

"So complete your mission, Shinji!"

Sawa points at the girl who had been quietly standing next to him and was feeling as lost as he was.

But the sudden development of being kissed by Shinji was one she did not have a problem with, so her expression leaked excitement that she had trouble containing.

"Your target is the one standing right next to you! The codename we've given her is...Deus!"

"..."

At some point Shinji had started looking tired.

"Hurry! Or she might wreak havoc on the rest of the world!"

Shinji had finally decided to look around.

And at the dining table he saw a bunch of older girls trying to contain their laughter.

One girl in particular seemed more amused than the others.

She was no longer wearing her ribbons, so her long hair was now hanging down past her shoulders.

"Kotori-san, was this your idea?"

Out of all the people currently in the house, Kotori was the one who had access to Ratatoskr's top secret information.

When it came to Shido Itsuka's history, she was the one who told the bits and pieces of it to his children.

Thus she was the most suspicious of the group.

"Pretend we're not here right now, Shinji."

"Sorry, Shinji. I didn't have anything to do with this, okay?"

Mana had been sitting next to Kotori and was smiling nervously.

"You better hurry up and save your girl, young man."

Nia gave him a wink.

Apparently she had not gone home yet since she arrived.

"She's right, Shin."

Shinji turns to look at Mio.

She was giving a playful smile.

"If you don't kiss me, I might do something bad to you."

"..."

Shinji had no words.

"The operation won't be considered a success until we confirm it with our own eyes!"

For some reason Sawa was making no compromise.

"Tohka-san!"

Shinji held up the bag he was holding and looked back to where the girls were sitting.

But Tohka was eating a bowl of popcorn.

"Don't worry, I'm ready."

She had already made preparations and was trying not to talk with her mouth full.

"Hey Tohka, let me have some."

Kaguya was sitting next to Tohka and reached into her bowl.

"Request. Kaguya, make sure to grab some for me too."

Yuzuru was passed over a handful of her own.

"Ugh, fine. Hold still for me, Mio."

And as quickly as he surrendered, Shinji moved in close and lightly pecked Mio on the lips.

He looks back at Sawa.

"Happy now?"

"What? That's it? At least make it a real one."

"Should you even be interested in this stuff at your age!?"

At some point Sawa had grown more interested in romance than Shinji had.

But before she could answer her brother, a pair of hands had turned his face back to Mio who had gone in for her own kiss.

"..."

Everyone had gone quiet for a moment.

Kaguya was the first to break the silence.

"I mean, I kind of knew how this would turn out, but whoa."

"Pride. Mio will make a wonderful bride."

Mio slowly moves her face away from Shinji's.

"How was that, Sawa?"

"Um...uh, yeah. Er, well done! Mission accomplished! The world has been saved!"

Sawa nods in approval with a bead of sweat rolling down her reddened face.

Growing up still seemed very far away to her.

"I'm resigning from Ratatoskr as of today."

Shinji had walked past her with a crimson face of his own to put away the groceries.

Mio had walked up to Sawa, thinking that the mood had already returned to normal.

"Here Sawa, we ran into Ellen-sensei and she gave this to us. You can have it."

She brought out the stuffed bear from her bag and handed it over.

"Ohh, this looks like the one you have, Onee-chan!"

Sawa's eyes sparkle at the gift.

"Thanks!"

"I should be thanking you. That was a fun game."

Though to Mio it seemed she was the only one who won.

Tohka and the others were still at the dining table.

"That sure brought up some nice memories."

Kotori had enjoyed the nostalgia of it all.

"Maybe for you. I nearly died before I got kissed."

Nia had sprawled herself on the table, acting as if just remembering the moment made her tired.

"Yuzuru and I probably would have killed each other if Shido hadn't kissed us though."

"Confirm. There are no regrets."

"Well I wouldn't say no regrets. He saw me without clothes because of it."

"I've never been kissed by Nii-sama..."

Mana pouts, feeling a little left out.

"Considering what we all had to go through, maybe that's a good thing."

Kotori recalled her hard to control urge for battle.

There were times when it had saved her, but there were also times when it was an issue instead.

"Speaking of which, weren't your affection levels maxed out from the start too, Kotori?"

"Wh-Who told you!?"

"Nii-sama of course."

"Sh-Shidooooo..."

Kotori clenched her fists, making a mental note to give her brother hell the next time she saw him.

Enjoying the fun mood in the house, Tohka looks out into the sky through the window near her.

It had turned into night.

She was hoping that the people she was thinking about now were having as much fun as she was.