In the Neighboring World, Tenka was swinging Nahemah around, still in its Paverschlev form.

Everything in her way was being destroyed, be it the things in the ambient, the monsters or even the Nibelcoles that were out and about.

That was like a small act of protest against having been taken away just as she was about to deal the finishing blow. If she had killed Tohka then, she was sure that this tingling sensation in her head would have been gone.

… But there was also part of her that, for some reason, felt glad that she had been stopped. She didn't want to kill Tohka. In fact, it was that same part that almost took Ellen's offer earlier.

"Aaaah! Annoying!"

Tenka swung her sword again. Destroying a few more things in the Neighboring World.

Maybe her little rampage had gotten a certain someone mad. Tree roots started to move. By the time Tenka noticed, they were already on top of her and were soon binding her legs and arms.

"Ugh! Release me!"

But obviously, the roots didn't listen to nor obey her. Yet, they were clearly following someone's will, as they were taking Tenka in a certain direction, passing her from one root to another.

It wasn't long before Tenka recognized where she was being taken. She couldn't do much more than click her tongue and accept her fate.

As she moved, the scenery around her changed. But it wasn't the usual thing with the Neighboring World. No, the closer Tenka got to wherever she was going, the more corrupted everything around her felt.

It wasn't a good way to describe it, but it was probably the most accurate. The air felt like poison, the ground looked cracked, and one had to wonder if it was even possible to live here for any amount of time.

In reality, this corruption was spreading throughout the Neighboring World, and it was the true source of the monsters that spawned here. It was just harder to detect the further away from the source one was.

Soon, she was in front of the largest tree in the Neighboring World, which also happened to be at the center of that world. The tree was really big, easily bigger than the biggest building on Earth. One might even be tempted to call it a world tree upon seeing it.

She was taken to the base of the tree, where a single corpse lay.

"So you have returned, Nahemah. I apologize for having to pick you up in this way, but it didn't seem like you were going to come here."

The corpse spoke. No, upon closer inspection, it wasn't a corpse, it just really looked like one. Some of the parts that hadn't been assimilated by the tree were even decomposing.

The corpse was that of a man. It was hard to tell any characteristics from when he was still alive other than that. Or is he still alive? It was honestly hard to tell.

What Tenka knew for sure is that this man is the man who created the Demon Kings, or so they believed, and he's also the man the Nibelcoles call "father." But more than that, he's the cause of the corruption that's spreading across the Neighboring World.

"... What? You're just going to tell me I did a good job?"

"No, not quite. You see, the Nibelcoles have told me a lot, but I would like to see with my own eyes, so please excuse me."

As soon as the corpse finished speaking, one of the roots attached itself to the back of Tenka's head. Her memories were being read.

It only lasted for a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity for Tenka. If her head was hurting before, then she felt she could die now with how much pain she was feeling.

After he was done, the corpse ordered the roots to let Tenka go. She fell on the ground with a thud.

"Hmm, I see. Was that Ellen? Very interesting. It seems that that woman has also begun to make her moves."

Tenka couldn't understand what the corpse was talking about. Not that she was really listening with how much her head hurt now.

It took all her strength to try and stand up, but she couldn't. She could barely lift her upper body with her arms.

"Also, it seems that you have been having some problems with your memory, Nahemah. Allow me to help you."

As soon as he said that, the ground beneath Tenka opened up and swallowed her. She didn't even have time to react. Tenka felt the power and her consciousness leaving her body.

Then, as if she was nutrients absorbed from the ground, her body moved through the tree's roots until it entered the tree. Tenka joined the number of others who were being kept there, the reason for that was something only known to the corpse attached to said tree.

"Father, are you finally getting rid of her?"

"About time! I never liked this one. Make a new Nahemah."

Two Nibelcoles showed up from somewhere. They talked as if the man they called father was not a literal decomposing corpse.

"No, she still has her uses. Besides, you know how hard it is to find someone who is this compatible with a Qlipha. Going to sleep for a while might help her put her head back where it should be."

Yes, Tenka was just being temporarily put out of action. The corpse had other means of dealing with this matter, such as applying another seal to her memories, but he decided against it.

In fact, he thought of something that, should the opportunity arise, would make for quite the fun present to give. But that was a matter for another time.

For now, he focused on the information he had just learned. Angels, Spirits, and what's more important, the Sephiras. He had to wonder why "that woman," aka Mio, had only just decided to create them, and why she was not implanting them in those girls' bodies, as he knew was possible. After all, it's what he himself had done with the Demon Kings.

Most of the skin of the corpse's face had already decomposed. But what little was left of it twisted. It seemed he had begun to smile. The Nibelcoles were more surprised at the smile than at the fact that it was a corpse doing it.

If what the corpse thought was correct, then things would begin to get very interesting.

"First of all, congratulations. While it wasn't the perfect outcome we hoped for, I don't think the situation could have been handled any better."

It had been about an hour since Shido and the others returned to the Neighboring World Exploration Team's headquarters. After they had gotten a quick checkup, they changed back into their normal clothes and are now in Mio's room.

Although they weren't able to rescue Tenka, the operation could have hardly been called a failure. They were able to learn a few things about their opponents, and, although she was quite forced by the situation, Tohka had also gotten her Spirit CR-Unit.

"First, about your Pendragon, Ellen. It's a shame that it was so damaged, but I'll make you a new CR-Unit. Hey, this is even a good chance for a little vacation, isn't it?"

"Eh? Seriously? I'd love that."

Miku and Maya also had their CR-Units greatly damaged, but theirs were just standard models. There were more than a few hundred just waiting for someone to use them.

On the other hand, Pendragon was Ellen's personal CR-Unit, and Ellen was considered humanity's strongest fighter. That it was so easily destroyed by a Demon King… it was symbolic if nothing else. And it also highlighted how much more powerful the Spirit CR-Units were.

Well, Ellen didn't seem too sad about it. Rather, she seemed to be enjoying her newly gained vacation.

"As for everyone else… hm, well, I think the captain of the team should be the one to give the speech. So Shin, take it away."

"M-me? A-alright… well, I don't really know what to say. First, I'm glad that everyone is well. It's a shame we weren't able to save Tenka, but we'll try again and again until we do. … We will be stronger and better next time."

For a second, Shido considered addressing the elephant in the room, the fact that they were helpless against the Nibelcoles until he arrived. But he decided against it. Not only would it sour the mood, he was afraid it would sound like he was pushing them. He trusted that they understood their shortcomings, and what would need to be done in order to overcome it.

The girls nodded at Shido's words. That was enough for now. They could think about things on their own later. For now, it would be fine to simply be happy that they had survived this sudden attack.

"Well, I'm sure everyone's tired after this. You can all go home and rest."

And just like that, Mio dismissed them. It wasn't long before she was alone, and once that happened, Mio got up from her chair and looked out her window.

"Nibelcoles… Nahemah... Demon Kings… how do they exist in this world?"

Mio knew more than she let on, and had worries she did not share with anyone else.

No matter how much she thought about it, she could only arrive at one conclusion, but that was impossible. She herself had made sure that "that man" would no longer be able to hurt anyone. After a while, she decided that her best course of action was to try her best to not worry about it until she learned more.

However, something told her that she would be losing her sleep for a while.

In the meantime, in the apartment Shido and Mio lived.

"W-welcome."

"Thanks for receiving me."

Shido had just welcomed Origami into his home. The reason for that was simple.

After he and the girls parted ways, when he was almost arriving home, Shido got a message from Origami. She said that the effects of his ability had passed, so she would like to renew them as soon as possible. Shido agreed and ended up picking her up and bringing her to his home.

Shido told Origami to sit on the sofa and served her a cup of water. After he hydrated and rested himself, he turned to look at Origami.

Origami put down her cup of water, turned her head to face Shido and then closed her eyes. A second later, Shido was kissing her.

They both knew why they were there, and they both knew they wanted it, so there was no need to beat around the bush. Shido and Origami enjoyed a passionate kiss where their tongues danced together for about a minute before they broke it off.

Of course, they weren't done. It was just that Origami wanted to get on top of Shido and embrace him before they continued.

"Nn, mmh."

"Nm, mmmmh."

Origami's tight embrace ensured that Shido could get his fill of her smell and of the soft feel of her body. And of course, the mere fact that Origami was on top of him was already making him even more excited.

Shido was going to grab Origami's waist, but his hands ended up going lower than expected. He ended up grabbing her butt, he was going to take his hands off, but… she didn't seem to mind it. In that case, his hands were fine where they were.

Shido and Origami were so focused on each other that they didn't hear the door open. As she had lived with them for a while, Tohka still had the key to Shido and Mio's apartment. She thought she would take advantage of Mio being out and pay Shido a visit… maybe continue from before.

"Ah!"

She was obviously surprised by the sight of Shido and Origami passionately making out. But, maybe because of her earlier experience, rather than embarrassment, she felt that Origami had cut ahead of her.

"What are you doing, Origami?! Let go of Shido!"

Tohka got in between Shido and Origami, breaking out their kiss and nearly throwing her to the ground. Luckily, Origami did a backflip and landed on her feet.

"That's what I should be asking. You knew I planned to get together with Shido. Don't get in my way."

"I-I know! But I have something important to talk with him!"

"Leave it for tomorrow. You already got your turn today."

"G-girls…"

Shido was stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, he knew that using his ability with Origami again as soon as possible was important. On the other, he could take a good guess as to what Tohka's important thing to talk with him was.

He couldn't really ask either to wait. What could he do to solve this? Before he had time to come up with a solution, the door opened again.

Mio had come home. She hadn't stayed much longer after everyone left her alone, and she was surprised when she saw Tohka and Origami there.

"Oh, Shin has gotten quite bold. I won't tell you to not bring two, or more, girls over, but at least go to your room with them."

"N-no, that's…"

"I'm kidding. Let me guess. Origami came here because the effects wore off. Tohka came here because she confessed to you while you two were getting all lovey-dovey, right?"

For a guess, it was incredibly accurate. It was almost like Mio could read their minds.

"Mind if I give some advice? Since it's the simplest matter, and also of Origami's interest, why don't you talk about your feelings first? After that, you can enjoy the sexy part."

"S-simplest you say…"

"But isn't it? Tohka likes Shin, Origami likes Shin, you might have forgotten but, according to the report I was given, Kotori also confessed to you, and I'm willing to bet there will be more sooner rather than later. But Shin doesn't know what to do, since he can't reply to anyone's feelings because of the Spirit Team and his ability."

Mio put it very simply, but that was basically it. Regardless of who confessed to him, Shido knew he wouldn't be able to promise to love only them. These recent events made it very clear how important the Spirit CR-Units will be.

"But is there any need to worry about it? You girls know the reality of the situation just as well as Shin. Knowing he can't promise to be yours alone, do you not want to go out with him anymore?"

"... I do."

"... O-of course! This doesn't change how much I like Shido."

"Good. Then you Shin, would you rather go out with one pretty girl, or two pretty girls?"

"T-two… obviously."

Shido was still a teenage boy. The idea was very appealing to him, but he didn't think it'd be this easy to put into practice.

"Then it's settled, you two are now Shin's girlfriends. And… well, it's not much of a jump from 2 to 10. There are all kinds of relationships nowadays, why can't the son of the woman with the biggest company in the world have a harem? That's even why I made the Sephira rings to be worn like wedding rings. Shin will be taking responsibility for everything he does."

"... Ah."

Shido just realized that. Thinking back to when he gave Origami her Sephira ring, he understood why the girls got all excited. … He felt a bit dumb for having let it slip his mind until now.

In any case, it seemed that no one had any complaints about the arrangements. Part of Shido felt like jumping in joy, but he contained himself. It would be embarrassing if he was seen like that.

"Now that that's settled, why don't you girls sleep here for tonight? Of course, in Shin's room, it'll give you plenty of time to do whatever you feel like doing. For now, I want you two to come make me company in the bath."

Mio took Tohka and Origami into the bath with her. Mio usually took long baths, but this one was much longer than usual, probably because she was having a good talk with his son's now girlfriends.

Well, Shido didn't mind, it gave him plenty of time to let out his happiness, and then fix his room for when the girls went to sleep there. After they came out, they all had dinner together, and then, after Shido took his own bath, it was time to go to sleep.

"!"

What was waiting for him in his room were two beautiful girls in sleepwear. Tohka got one of her nightgowns that were kept here. Origami didn't have any of her clothing here, so she seemed to have borrowed one of Shido's shirts… did she have anything underneath that?

"T-then, let's go to the bed."

Shido laid down, and then Tohka and Origami did the same next to him. They were both sticking quite close to him, or rather, they were holding him. The thin pieces of clothing didn't really hinder the feel of the other's body much.

It seemed that the night would be fun… but luck was not on Shido's side this time.

Origami's presence stopped Tohka from trying anything. And Tohka's presence made Origami not be as bold as she would have otherwise been.

That's not to say nothing happened. Between kissing them goodnight, obviously with a kiss on the lips and multiple times each, the girls trying to find comfortable positions to sleep, which strangely seemed to involve pressing their bodies on Shido as much as possible, and accidents where hands were apparently moving on their own, one could say the night was quite eventful.

But not necessarily fruitful, as Mio's disappointed gaze told them the next day.