Dad chuckled and said, "Looks like you've been having some fun while I'm out, Kid."

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. "It's been a mess."

'You can make me a mess!'

STOP WITH THE HORNY!

'Uwu...'

I felt my eye twitching but did my best to ignore it.

After Cici's antics, she had been dragged out by Celes and Yui for a proper talk.

Wasn't sure what they were talking about exactly, but I could guess.

Akane nee-chan left a bit ago since she confirmed that I was whole and healthy.

...Considering she was the one who knocked me out, I thought that was a bit hypocritical. But then again, she did drag us out of that mess.

Probably.

Still needed to hear the story from Celes and Yui, but it looks like things got cleared up.

Somehow.

But anyway, at the moment, it was just me and Dad in my room.

Dad swiped away a notification on his phone before slipping it into his pocket. After that, he walked over and plopped himself next to me on my bed. Fixing up the hair that I had messed up, Dad smiled and said, "Don't worry, Kid. I'll stick around a bit and help out with the expenses, so you just have fun with your friends and my daughter-in-law."

I flinched and then quickly scooted away from Dad. "Who are you and what the heck have you done with my dad?"

Dad raised his hands and said, "What? You make it seem like I'm a terrible Dad. I get you food and pay for rent, don't I?"

"That's the baseline for a parent, Dad. And did you forget the number of times you said you were going to grab milk and came back a month later?"

Dad shrugged and said, "Being a freelancer's tough work."

"...Weren't you a businessman?"

"Same thing." Dad reached out to ruffle my hair and said, "Just like how you're totally not a cam girl when you stream as that Anime chick."

I felt my face heat up and said, "I-I'm NOT a cam girl! I'm a VTuber! And an idol!"

Dad laughed and pulled his hand back. "Sure, sure. If that's what you want to be, I won't judge." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a protein bar. "I can visit your mom and proudly say we'll be expecting grandchildren in a few years now, so do whatever floats your boat." He paused and said, "Except multiple women. A harem is bad civ."

I rolled my eyes and said, "I'm not you, Dad. One girlfriend is perfectly fine with me."

'That's fine! I can be your onaho-'

YAMERO.

'aw...'

"Good. Try not to break the princess's heart then. Her big brother might decide to rip yours out in exchange."

"What?"

Dad laughed and said, "Just kidding. But seriously." He put on a serious face and said, "My daughter-in-law is great, so don't make her cry unless you want me to kick your ass."

"...Why are you the one saying that? Sheesh."

Dad unwrapped his protein bar and then took a bite. After that, he said, "Anyway... You and the girls can go back to school without worrying. I'll have my guys sort out the situation, so things will go back to normal as if nothing happened. All you need to do is worry about living an ordinary high school life. Go to class, hang out after school, the works."

"...I have a lot of questions, Dad."

He ruffled my hair and said, "And I've got nothing for ya. Now." Dad finished the rest of his protein bar and said, "Daddy's got some work to do, so make sure not to get stabbed by a yandere. Or if you do, make sure it's in public so I can do a lawsuit and claim damages."

"What kind of father is more worried about money than his kid!?"

"The kind that turns his kid into a protagonist, duh."

*I'll reveal your true form!*

A voice line followed by the sound of shattering glass.

I blinked, wondering where it was coming from. And then Dad pulled out his phone.

I gave him a blank stare.

"What?"

"...Why are you simultaneously a mega otaku and a mega riajuu, Dad?"

"Because I'm a returnee, duh."

I rolled my eyes.

He chuckled and then got up to leave. "Lock the doors when you get out. Oh, and tell Ayumi-chan I said hi and that I've wired her an advance on private tutoring sessions."

"Yeah, yeah." I shooed him off and said, "Just go do some actual work for once, Dad."

"That's the plan, Kiddo. Now, I'm off for real." Dad waved and said, "I've called the school and everything, so take it easy today with your galpals and shop around at the mall or something."

I took a deep breath.

Don't talk back to Dad. It'll only make your blood pressure higher.

Dad grinned and then left.

And then I was alone in the room.

A little while later, the sound of a car starting echoed and I saw him drive off.

After that, it was quiet.

...Which was weird, since I was definitely sure that there were three girls still in the house somewhere who had been swept up by their emotions because of my situation.

Now, I *could* go check in on them and see if something was going wrong.

...Or I could start taking inventory of my gacha pulls and plan a group outing to get everyone's mind off things.

Yeah, let's do that.

-VI|IV-

Celes's room. Although originally a guest bedroom, after Hajime welcomed her in as part of the family, she was officially given a place to call her own.

Most of her time was still spent in Sen's room, however. There wasn't a reason to stay separately when they were so close. After all, she and Sen were...

...Ahem.

In any case, she was in her room. She was also in her room along with a pair of guests.

The first was someone that had annoyed Celes.

Light brown hair, a sharp school uniform and a somewhat arrogant atmosphere. Yui Lovelace, the overly affectionate young woman who had been in the delusion that Sen was a young woman.

...Though considering that Sen could turn into a true goddess, perhaps it wasn't a complete delusion.

However, the fact that she thought she stood a chance with Sen was a delusion.

But that didn't matter too much. No matter how affectionate that young woman was or thought she could be with Sen, in the end it was just a farce.

However.

However...

Celes glanced over at the other guest in her room.

A beautiful young woman with silky black hair and iridescent eyes. Someone who stole a kiss from Sen without hesitation the moment he woke up. And also someone who he didn't instinctively reject.

Celes had been watching Sen closely since the day he declared her as his lover. Both to keep away troublesome women, and also because she wanted to know more about the man who saved her life and that she so adored.

And in that time, she was aware that Sen had a phobia around women.

Well, perhaps calling it a phobia was a bit much, but he at least was reserved around women and held himself back. A small bit of a gap around his heart and mannerisms.

One that didn't exist around this mystery girl that appeared out of nowhere.

So it was decided that they would have a chat. A brief and informal introduction to draw the boundaries.

At least, that was the plan. But...

The mystery girl, 'Cici', looked around the room with bright eyes before focusing on Celes. Smiling, she said, "You're just as neat and tidy as I imagined! And you're a lot prettier in person too!" She nodded and said, "Definitely main love interest material- No, Main lead material! Compared to you, Sennie-poo is just a side character. Oh!" She turned to Yui and said, "No offense, loveydovey-chan!"

Yui flinched, caught off guard at suddenly being addressed. After that, she let out an awkward laugh and said, "N-None taken...?"

"Good! But don't feel too bad. You're pretty good waifu material too, but princess-chan here already won Sennie-poo over. They've got a bit of a history together, you know? And if you want to NTR him, you'll have to go through me! Because I call dibs on that route!"

"W-What?"

Celes felt her eye twitching and took a deep breath to calm herself.

...Why did all these strange women seem to gather around her beloved Sen?