"Mother, you go ahead and be busy, we're going back to the room to read."
Kita Ikuyo quickly stood up and led Kitahara Makoto upstairs to her room.
Kita's room perfectly matched her sunny personality.
The room was brightly lit, clean and tidy, with a pink and white color scheme. The quilt was neatly folded, and there were many dolls of various sizes, as well as an oversized white swan pillow.
Bookshelves and a desk were all present, and the walls were adorned with various celebrity and Kessoku Band posters.
In addition, there was a pleasant fragrance in the air.
Kitahara Makoto sniffed his nose: "It's Kita's scent."
"Don't sniff around." Kita Ikuyo's small face was slightly red, and she looked up, chiding, "I don't have a scent."
Kitahara Makoto sat on the chair in front of the desk, reached out, and directly pulled Kita onto his lap, sniffing here and there: "Who said you don't? You smell super good."
"Get off me." Kita Ikuyo's small face was crimson, and she pushed against Kitahara Makoto's chest with both hands, dodging left and right, "My neck is so ticklish."
"Eh?"
Kitahara Makoto's gaze shifted to the photo frames on the corner of the desk.
One of the frames contained a Kessoku Band photo of Nijika, Ryo, Kita, and Hitori. The four girls jumped together under the setting sun, their hair and skirts flying, exuding an aura of youth and vitality... Of course, Hitori had no youthful aura whatsoever.
And next to the Kessoku Band photo frame, there was surprisingly a sticker photo of Kitahara Makoto and Kita together, specially framed.
"Ahhh, I forgot to put it away."
Following Kitahara Makoto's gaze, Kita Ikuyo's small face quickly flushed red, and she hastily put away the photo frame, saying: "It was when I was developing photos before, I accidentally printed an extra one, so I put it in the frame."
Kitahara Makoto looked over meaningfully: "Tsundere has already gone out of style."
"What do you mean!"
Kita Ikuyo couldn't help but puff out her cheeks: "I'm not tsundere!"
"That's true." Kitahara Makoto pressed his forehead against Kita's, rubbing gently, "Compared to being haughty, Kita actually prefers to act spoiled."
"I'm not acting spoiled." Kita Ikuyo's small face was crimson, and her gaze drifted away, "Quickly let me go, it's hot holding me, and summon Hana."
Kitahara Makoto's gaze was burning: "I haven't kissed Kita in a long time, let me finish kissing you first."
Kita Ikuyo's small face was burning hot, and her voice was sweet and charming: "No kissing... Didn't we just kiss the night before last?"
It had only been two days, yet he said it had been a long time. He was clearly trying to take advantage of her!
"To Kita, it's two days, but to me, it's much longer, after all, I spent quite some time in the Otherworld last night." Kitahara Makoto's gaze was fervent, "Anyway, let me kiss you quickly, and I'll summon Hana after I'm done."
Their eyes met.
Their breaths mingled.
Kita Ikuyo's small face was already fiery red, her slender eyelashes trembled shyly, and her eyes darted away: "No... Mom will have the food ready soon..."
Though she said no, Kita Ikuyo's body was quite honest, showing no intention of struggling at all.
Kitahara Makoto effortlessly captured the girl's pink, moist, and sweet lips.
"Bullying me..."
Kita Ikuyo had no choice but to 'reluctantly' close her eyes and let herself be taken advantage of.
Ten minutes later.
Pop~
With a soft sound, Kitahara Makoto temporarily released the breathless Kita, raised his hand to wipe the silver thread from the corner of his lips, and smiled contentedly: "Thank you, Kita, for your hospitality."
"Hoo… hoo…"
Kita Ikuyo's breathing was rapid, her small head was dizzy, and she lay softly and weakly in Kitahara Makoto's arms: "It's… it's a good thing Kita's mother didn't suddenly knock on the door…"
"What a pity," Kitahara Makoto said with regret. "If Kita's mother had suddenly knocked, Kita would have felt very excited."
Thump!
Kita Ikuyo raised her head and headbutted Kitahara Makoto's chest: "Stupid Kitahara! I don't want that kind of excitement!"
"…"
After a moment of continued tenderness, Kitahara Makoto got up and went to the mirror on the desk, summoning Hana.
As Hana completely mastered the ability of the mirror world, the size of the mirror no longer mattered; as long as it was a mirror, she could freely enter and exit.
"Hana, good evening." Kita Ikuyo's eyes sparkled, and she took out a bag of snacks from the corner, her voice clear and her smile bright. "Here, these are cupcakes bought especially for Hana. Hana, you worked hard today."
Seeing the cupcakes, Hana immediately looked up with her small face:
"Good person~"
"Here you go, all for you." Kita Ikuyo's smile was brilliant, clearly comparable to the daytime sun. "But you have to let me hug you for a while first, okay?"
With snacks in hand, let alone just hugging Hana for a while, kissing, hugging, and lifting her high were all fine.
"Hana, activate the Sanctuary first."
Kitahara Makoto reminded her from the side.
"Okay."
Hana held the cupcakes with both hands, eating the cake while activating the Sanctuary.
"It's done." Kitahara Makoto pointed to the panda pen holder on the desk, where a small white flower was swaying without wind. He whispered, "This is Hana's clone. As long as this flower exists, no strange stories from the Otherworld will invade."
"Meow~ Thank you, Hana."
Kita Ikuyo thanked her happily, leaning her small face against Hana's face and rubbing against Hana's face.
Kitahara Makoto said speechlessly: "You should be thanking me, right?"
"Go away." Kita Ikuyo glared at him with her bright eyes. "It's clearly all Hana's credit."
As they spoke, a knock on the door finally sounded.
Immediately after, Kita's mother's voice came from outside: "Makoto-kun, Ikuyo-chan, dinner is ready. You can come down to eat now."
"We're coming!"
Kita Ikuyo turned to respond, reluctantly putting Hana down, and whispered: "Hana, stay in the room, and wait for us to come back, okay?"
Kitahara Makoto, meanwhile, walked to the window and looked out at the sky: "The stars have already appeared…"
Only the last faint dark red glow, like embers, remained on the horizon.
At the same time.
A crescent moon had quietly risen in the east, and faint stars appeared in the sky.
So Kitahara Makoto opened his backpack, took out the star moon cup, then opened the window and placed the cup on the outside windowsill.
One could see wisps of moonlight, like clouds, drifting down and disappearing into the cup, looking quite dreamy.
"Eh?" Kita Ikuyo looked over curiously. "Kitahara-kun, what is that?"
"An item I got from opening a blind box in the Otherworld before…"
Kitahara Makoto closed the window and briefly explained its origin and function:
"Let's go, let's go downstairs for dinner first, and then we'll see the cup's effect when we come back."
"…"
Dinner time needs no further elaboration.
Kita's father was still on a business trip and had not returned. There were only Kitahara Makoto, Kita Ikuyo, and Kita's mother at the dining table.
During the casual chat after dinner, Kita's mother finally asked about what happened in the subway.
Kitahara Makoto, according to the agreement he had with Kita, told half and kept half, concealing the existence of the Otherworld, and then revealed his identity as an 'Exorcist' and the existence of Mind Demon and strange stories.
"Unbelievable…"
Kita's mother's eyes widened in confusion. She was just an ordinary person and clearly couldn't easily accept the facts for a while. If she hadn't personally experienced the subway incident, she would have dismissed Kitahara Makoto's words as a fantasy.
"Makoto-kun, you and Ikuyo-chan go back to your room to read." Kita's mother shook her head and took out her phone. "I need to call Dad… Is it okay to tell Dad about this?"
Kitahara Makoto nodded: "Of course, there's no problem."
'Dad' here did not refer to Kita's mother's own father, but Kita Ikuyo's father. Many couples in Japan refer to each other as 'Mama' and 'Papa'.
"Mama, then we'll go upstairs first."
Kita Ikuyo softly agreed, and went upstairs with Kitahara Makoto, returning to her room.
"Although the Sanctuary has been activated at home, Dad and Kita's mother both go to work normally. What if they encounter danger while at work?"
Kita Ikuyo looked up, her eyes filled with worry.
Whether the end of the world would come was too distant; Kita Ikuyo only wanted her parents and relatives to be safe and sound.
Kitahara Makoto opened his backpack, pulled out the answer book, and handed it over: "When in doubt, the answer book."
Kita Ikuyo: "…"
Taking the answer book, Kita Ikuyo placed her hand on the book and then quietly asked a question.
People cannot stay at home twenty-four hours a day; there are always times when they go out for work or school, so personal safety after going out is also very important.
Rustle.
The answer book flipped pages rapidly on its own, without wind.
After the 'cutscene' ended, a line of text quickly and quietly appeared:
[Help Hana continue to evolve]
"It seems we still need the help of Hana-sama," Kita Ikuyo exclaimed softly, covering her skirt with both hands and squatting down, then leaning her small face over and happily rubbing against Hana.
"As expected, she can still evolve…"
Kitahara Makoto turned to look at Hana quietly eating snacks, and said: "Don't get too happy too soon."
"Eh?"
"From a universal rational perspective, the difficulty of evolution will definitely be higher than before, and it's impossible to succeed in a short time."
"It's okay," Kita Ikuyo hummed, continuing to rub against Hana's small face, her face full of happiness. "It's a good thing to have hope… Ah, Hana's face is so soft, it's nice to rub~"
Kitahara Makoto got up and walked towards the window: "I'll check on the cup."
He opened the window and brought in the star moon cup. Inside, there was already about half a cup of liquid. The liquid's color was quite dreamy, a magnificent blue, with tiny, scattered starlight floating within it, sinking and rising.
"How is it?"
Kita Ikuyo curiously poked her small head out, her eyes suddenly brightening: "Eh, it's so beautiful!"
"It certainly looks pretty good." Kitahara Makoto brought his nose closer and gently shook the cup.
"But there's no smell at all… Kita, do you want to try some?"
"No, Kitahara-kun, you try it first." Kita Ikuyo instinctively looked up and acted spoiled, her voice sweet. "If it tastes too bad, then forget it."
"Okay."
Kitahara Makoto nodded and took a small sip.
Smooth on the entry, down in a single line.
As for the taste… there really wasn't any taste, just like ordinary Shimizu. The only special thing was probably the comfortable coolness that appeared in his mind after drinking it, as if some of the dust in his heart had been swept away.
"Don't expect anything," Kitahara Makoto said, shaking his head at Kita's expectant gaze. "It has no taste, just like Shimizu."
"Let me try a sip."
Kita Ikuyo curiously took the cup, tilted her small head back, and drank the remaining liquid in the cup in one gulp.
"Mmm…"
Kita Ikuyo pursed her lips, a little disappointed: "It looks so dreamy, but it really has no taste, just like Shimizu."
Kitahara Makoto put the cup back outside on the windowsill: "Look on the bright side, at least it's not bad-tasting."
"That's true." Kita Ikuyo nodded in agreement. "Oh, right, Kitahara-kun said there would be side effects earlier. What kind of side effects are there?"
"Not clear yet," Kitahara Makoto said casually. "We two are the first guinea pigs."
Kita Ikuyo: "…"
The guinea pig analogy is too terrible!
Kita Ikuyo quickly lowered her head to check her body, and after confirming there was nothing abnormal, she let out a sigh of relief: "Kitahara-kun, you can pretty much go back now."
"I'm not going back," Kitahara Makoto said self-righteously. "I promised Kita's mother I would help Kita get into Tokyo University, and then get married right after high school graduation."
"Pfft~"
Kita Ikuyo's face flushed, and she glared at him shyly: "I never agreed to that!"
Marriage, at least, should wait until after university graduation!
"In any case, I'm not going back." Kitahara Makoto sat down at the desk, his expression serious. "Come over quickly, it's study time now."
"What do you mean?" Kita Ikuyo puffed out her cheeks. "You didn't even bring your textbooks."
Kitahara Makoto reached out and pulled Kita onto his lap: "Looking at Kita's textbooks is enough."
Seeing Kitahara Makoto about to kiss her again, Kita Ikuyo quickly covered her lips, her small face crimson: "Just study, don't do anything strange!"
Kitahara Makoto humbly asked, "What do you mean by 'strange things'?"
Kita Ikuyo: "You know yourself!"
"Kissing?"
"No."
"Hugging?"
"Also no!"
"What about lifting her up?"
"None of that! Hana is still here!"
"..."
Kita Ikuyo was a bit shy at first, but as time passed, her body quietly relaxed, and she leaned back into Kitahara Makoto's embrace, reading and studying together.
(Although the posture was embarrassing, still…)
Kita Ikuyo's small face was flushed, and she quietly leaned back a bit more.
(But being held like this, I feel so safe… It's just a subtle familiarity, as if I've experienced it before…)
Looking at the math textbook on the desk, Kita Ikuyo's thoughts wandered, searching for the source of the subtle déjà vu.
"...I remember now!"
A flash of lightning crossed her mind, Kita Ikuyo's eyes suddenly widened, and then her small face rapidly turned red at a visible speed.
(Today, when I secretly went online to share, Stupid Kitahara used a similar posture to take advantage of Ryo-senpai in front of the mirror, and even forced Ryo-senpai to keep her eyes open…)
(Lewd!)
(Super lewd!)
"Kita, what's wrong?" Kitahara Makoto asked, puzzled.
"N-nothing…"
Kita Ikuyo's small face was burning, and she quickly shook her head.
(Ryo-senpai secretly forming a shared car team is something Kitahara-kun must never know, I absolutely cannot reveal the secret!)
To avoid being exposed, Kita Ikuyo quickly looked for an excuse to leave: "My, my stomach hurts a bit, I need to go to the bathroom."
Kitahara Makoto nodded, and put Kita down beside him.
"Phew…"
Kita quietly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly tried to slip away, but after just two steps, a strange sound suddenly entered her ears.
Puyo puyo~
(Strange, what is that sound?)
(The source of the sound… seems to be me?)
(My chest feels so stuffy…)
(And my shoulders are so heavy…)
"Kita, wait a moment."
Kitahara Makoto's voice suddenly rang out.
"What's wrong?"
Kita Ikuyo nervously stopped.
Kitahara Makoto said with a subtle tone: "Kita, look down at your toes."
"Eh?"
Kita Ikuyo blinked in confusion, then looked down at her toes.
However… she couldn't see them.
The towering peaks directly blocked her view; her toes, which she could normally see with a simple glance down, were now completely out of sight.
"Eh eh eh?!"
Kita Ikuyo was stunned for two seconds, finally realizing what was happening.
"How could it suddenly get so much bigger…"
Kita Ikuyo quickly raised her hand to cover her chest, the undeniable heavy sensation in her palm making her clearly realize that the breasts in front of her were not an illusion.
"Ki-Kitahara-kun, what's going on?"
Kita Ikuyo looked over in a panic.
"Steady, don't panic." Kitahara Makoto pondered, "It should be the side effect of the star moon flower appearing."
"A side effect that makes people's breasts bigger?" Kita Ikuyo couldn't help but complain, "This kind of side effect is too terrible!"
Kitahara Makoto took out his phone and said enthusiastically: "You're finally not a flat-chested alien anymore, Kita should be happy."
"I won't be happy!" Kita Ikuyo covered her chest in shame and anger, "Why didn't your breasts get bigger?"
Kitahara Makoto's expression was calm: "As I said before, everyone's side effects vary from person to person."
Kita Ikuyo bit her lower lip: "So what's your side effect?"
Kitahara Makoto: "I don't know, maybe I drank less, so there was no side effect."
Kita Ikuyo: "...That's not fair!"
Click, click.
The sound of a phone taking pictures rang out.
Kita Ikuyo's eyes widened, her small face flushed like fire, almost dripping blood:
"You, you actually took pictures?!"
"Of course." Kitahara Makoto said righteously, "This is the one-of-a-kind Kita right now, you might only see her once in your life, so you must take pictures and collect them, otherwise you'll regret it for a lifetime."
The Kita in front of him could be said to be a super plus version of Kita, she could even compete with Hitori, and was even better than Kita's mother, so he had to take pictures and save them.
"Stupid Kitahara, hurry up and find a way to remove the side effect!"
Kita Ikuyo was both ashamed and angry.
The joys and sorrows of humanity are indeed not interconnected.
Her chest was stuffy, her shoulders ached, yet he only cared about happily taking pictures… It made her teeth itch!
Kitahara Makoto put away his phone, then said: "There are two methods currently."
"What methods?" Kita Ikuyo quickly urged, "Tell me, tell me."
"One is to wait." Kitahara Makoto held up a finger, "As I said just now, the side effect of drinking star moon flower is not permanent. In other words, it will disappear on its own after a period of time, but it's not clear how long the side effect will last."
Kita Ikuyo covered her chest with both hands:
"What's the second method?"
"Hand of Deprivation." Kitahara Makoto stated his idea, "The side effect should be similar to a curse, and Hand of Deprivation can Stripping curses, so it should also be able to Stripping the side effect."
He paused, then Kitahara Makoto said leisurely: "Kita, how do you choose?"
Kita Ikuyo: "..."
Although he said there were two choices, there was actually no choice at all.
If she chose to endure it alone, putting aside the physical discomfort, not knowing how long the side effect would last was the most unbearable part.
She still had to go out tomorrow to film a short movie, and if the side effect didn't subside for twenty-four hours, she wouldn't be able to go out at all!
"I can only choose the second method…"
After making her decision, Kita Ikuyo's small face was burning, and she covered her chest in shame:
"Kitahara-kun… please let Hana go back through the mirror first."
No matter what, she couldn't undress in front of an elementary school student.
"Understood."
Kitahara Makoto nodded lightly and gave the instruction to Hana.
Hana was super obedient and quietly drilled into the mirror, and soon only Kitahara Makoto and Kita were left in the room.
"Kita, you can take off your clothes now."
Kitahara Makoto did not hide his expectant gaze.
"Wahhh—"
Kita Ikuyo's cheeks puffed up high, her small face flushed:
"Turn around!"
Kitahara Makoto's expression was innocent: "Even if I turn around now, I'll still have to look later."
"We'll talk about later things later." Kita Ikuyo puffed out her cheeks, her small face full of shame, "Hurry up and turn around, and close your eyes, no peeking!"
"Yes, yes, Kita-sama is in charge."
Kitahara Makoto regretfully turned his body.
Rustling sounds came from behind him, clearly Kita was taking off her clothes.
A moment later.
The girl's shy voice quietly rang out: "You can turn around now…"
Kitahara Makoto turned around and looked at Kita.
This Kita was sitting on the edge of the bed, one hand covering her chest, the other covering her lower abdomen. Her creamy white skin was dazzlingly white under the light, and her small face, due to shyness, was turned to the side. Her cheeks, neck, and earlobes were all already tinged with crimson.
"If only it wasn't a side effect, but permanently solidified." Kitahara Makoto sighed sincerely.
The previous Kita could only sit at the children's table, but now Kita was completely a breast-person, finally able to sit at the adult table.
Thump, thump, thump.
A knock on the door suddenly rang out.
Kita Ikuyo was startled and extremely nervous: "It must be Kita's mother!"
Kitahara Makoto lowered his voice and said: "What do we do now?"
Thump, thump, thump.
The knocking continued.
Kita Ikuyo's small face was flushed, and she nervously hid under the covers, whispering: "Kitahara-kun, go open the door and see what Kita's mother wants to do."
"Okay."
Kitahara Makoto nodded lightly and went to obey the order.
"Makoto-kun, I washed some fruit, I'll bring it up for you two to eat."
The door opened, and Kita's mother smiled brightly outside the room, but after her gaze swept across the room, a look of confusion appeared on her face: "Eh? Where did Ikuyo-chan go?"