[Maya’s POV]

“Maya-sama.”

Maya stirred from her slumber, and her eyes shot open.

I slept!

Maya kicked the blanket and sprang off the bed. It was already ten. She slept an hour after Asahi’s call. Holding her head in her arms, she sighed.

Onii-sama, please be late.

She stretched, feeling boundless energy pulsing in every muscle. She skipped through the door.

“Maya-sama,” a maid greeted her with a sunny smile. “Good Morning.”

“Morning, Clara.”

Clara White. She was one of the victims of the incident. She volunteered to be her attendant. Maya denied first, but the way this girl breezed through the Japanese classes left no choice for her.

Clara bowed her head, letting her blonde braids dangle before her adorable face.

“Let’s go. We have a lot to do—”

“Maya, I am at the railway station.”

Maya’s nerves froze. The image of a massive party in her room shattered in her eyes. Clara waved her hand before Maya’s eyes, failing to pull Maya out of her daze.

“Everything okay there?”

She gulped and sent mana into the ring.

‘Onii-sama… I’ll send someone to fetch you.’

“Why do you sound gloomy?”

‘It’s nothing.’

She quickly severed the connection and mulled over her options. A warm party will help her in getting to know Onii-sama’s girlfriends. At the same time, it will serve as a surprise. Even if she cheated by telling the fetcher to take their time to return, the max time gained would be somewhere between one to two hours.

I will need to reduce the scale of the party.

Maya told everything to Clara with a dead serious face.

Clara revealed a toothy grin. “I’ll gather everyone!”

—x—x—x—

Maya and her helpers lit up the house. Literally. A plethora of colorful lights shone on the ceiling. The youthful girls ran everywhere; a group dragged the table out; another group returned with a bigger table and decorated it. The third group brought and set up the chairs around the table.

Maya nodded at their teamwork and checked the delivery status on her phone. “I hope the food doesn’t embarrass me.”

Miya stepped inside the living room and froze. Maya pulled Miya to the center of the room.

“Maya… what is going on?”

“Onee-sama, does this pass as a welcome party?”

“It gets a B plus from me… Why is this—” Miya slapped her forehead. “Is Marikawa-san returning?”

“Yes, he and… his girlfriends.”

Miya patted her shoulders. “Good luck. You’ll need it.”

Miya’s words evoked a series of questions. What would happen if Onii-sama’s girlfriends rejected her? The line of thought dizzied her mind.

‘Stay positive. Onii-sama loves me. He won’t leave me like that…’

She pushed the dark thoughts aside and scuttled to her bathroom. After a quick bath, she slapped on some makeup and a revealing dress to appear older. Miya looked at her breasts with a wide-open jaw.

Maya blinked coquettishly. “Onee-sama, Maya is bigger.”

Miya rolled her eyes. “You can take mine too. I don’t need them.”

Maya’s phone buzzed. It was a message from her father asking if he should return.

Maya turned to Clara, who nodded her head. “The food is delivered.”

Maya gave the go-to to her father and slapped her cheeks. She stumbled to her feet and dashed out of the room. Standing before the door, she waited, and figures showed up in the distance. Her Otou-sama was walking at the front with her Onii-sama leading a group of girls glancing everywhere.

Her heart clenched as Otou-sama stopped to pat her head and walked away to his house. She bowed her head before the guests.

“Welcome back, Onii-sama.”

The combined gazes of the girls pricked her skin, digging deeper.

“Please don't bow… she is Aa-kun’s new imouto?”

Maya raised herself with a smile.

This mature lady is Onii-sama’s Nee-san. His blood sibling couldn’t resist Onii-sama’s charm.

“Looks like it. She is kinda cute for being this polite. I like her already.”

Maya sneaked a glance at the one complimenting her. Healthy tanned skin, sunglasses, a dark leather jacket, and pants. She looked like one of those old bikers.

Rika-san.

A blue-haired maid stepped forward and bowed. “Rini Histugi, Asahi Onii-san’s imouto.”

This maid’s smile was too cute and sugary; even Clara couldn’t beat her. She could be about fifteen or above with boobs bigger than Maya.

“Let’s talk inside,” Onii-sama ordered.

Maya led everyone inside and pushed the door of the living room. A purple-haired girl rubbed her shoulder, a kind smile blooming on her face.

“Saeko Onee-san.”

Saeko hummed and pointed to the room. “Quite the welcome you set up for us.”

“She is a sneaky one, okay,” Saeko’s glasses twin grinned. “Buttering us up on the first meeting.”

Maya’s cheeks flushed, and she looked away to her Onii-sama. He nodded with a smile.

“I am hungry.”

He strolled inside the room and pulled back a seat. “Come on. Don't be a stranger.”

That's my line… Onii-sama.

Maya gestured, and the girlfriends headed for the table. She found Clara lurking in the hallway and requested to bring the food. She joined the others, taking the seat before Onii-sama. A silence arrived, making everything awkward.

“Well,” Onii-sama spoke. “It’s nice to meet you all.”

“Us too,” Rika said with a toothy grin. “I don’t suppose we’ll be eating the forks here, are we?”

Maya looked at the door from the corner of her eyes. Clara and others pushed the food trolley through the door and set everything on the table.

Then they stood, staring at Onii-sama.

Maya smiled, knowing what was coming.

They all bowed together. “Marikawa-sama, thank you for saving us.”

Onii-sama wordlessly stared at the twenty girls sincerely expressing their gratitude. The bespectacled woman with brown hair nudged him. He shook his head with a soft smile.

“I accept your gratitude.”

The former broken girls raised their heads, smiling as they did. Clara stepped forward as their leader and bowed. “We will never forget your grace.”

“Now that’s too much.”

Clara smiled and led everyone out.

Onii-sama and Shiori turned to each other. The latter had a massive grin while the former smiled wryly.

Maya tilted her head.

What’s going on here?