She wanted Sakiko to see that they could be happy even after she left.
Tomori Takamatsu's words could be interpreted in two ways.
One was a wish for Sakiko to see them and feel at peace; the other was a desire to flaunt their joy in her face, hoping to spark jealousy.
Under normal circumstances, Taki would have assumed the former. But with Tomori actively taking the lead to form a new band, Taki's mind was in a state of high-speed brainstorming... Is it possible that Tomori is actually getting angrier the more she thinks about the breakup?
Taki didn't know, but she was going to stand by Tomori regardless.
Besides, it wouldn't hurt to ruffle Sakiko's feathers a bit. Sakiko was the one who broke Crychic into pieces, after all.
But... what was the deal with Mutsumi? She was Sakiko's childhood friend, so it made sense for her to take Sakiko's side, but what was this about her leaving with a man after school?
While Taki was lost in confusion, the expressionless "doll girl" across from Rin Ito was currently holding a glass covered in condensation. She pulled a thick, sweet mango juice through her straw, while Rin sat opposite her, observing her with curiosity.
It wasn't Rin who had called her out today; it was Mutsumi who had invited him.
To be honest, Rin was quite surprised by the invitation.
Even though she belonged to the "easy to trick" category, the "human-machine" Mutsumi was so robotic and cold that Rin never expected her to proactively ask for a meeting.
"Did you need something specific?" Rin asked curiously.
After swallowing a mouthful of mango juice, Mutsumi spoke slowly.
"I feel... quiet when I am near you."
"...?" Rin paused. Quiet?
"The voices in my head disappear."
Hiss...
Rin leaned back slightly. Although she just looked a bit dazed, she was clearly quite mentally ill.
"Voices? What kind of voices?" Rin asked, feigning ignorance.
"Many voices. They tell me to stay away from you. They are very loud. Now, their voices have become much smaller." Mutsumi finished speaking and went back to her juice.
"I see..." Rin's lip twitched.
In his memory, Mutsumi Wakaba dealt with pressure by switching her persona to "Metis," the one who couldn't play the guitar. He didn't remember anything about a painful head full of multiple voices.
Did I actually make her condition worse?
But on second thought, this might be a sign of improvement.
The root of Mutsumi's illness was the pressure of being "The Daughter of Takafumi Wakaba and Minami Mori." This pressure blurred her sense of "self," and her sub-personalities were created to protect that core.
Rin's validation of her "self" yesterday had likely made the "protector" personalities feel obsolete. To survive, they were likely screaming at Mutsumi to push him away.
The personalities born to protect her were now hurting her just to maintain their own existence... As a sane man, that was as far as Rin's understanding of her logic could go.
After finishing her mango juice, Mutsumi stood up and walked around the table to sit directly next to Rin. She didn't say anything or do anything; she just sat there in silence.
"Is it quieter here?"
"Mmm. It's like playing the guitar. Very quiet."
"...You might as well try sitting on my lap. It might be even quieter."
Hearing Rin's dry remark, Mutsumi braced her hands on the table and actually prepared to climb over. Rin quickly held her down. The fact that she was the daughter of two superstars was an objective reality. Sitting together was fine, but if a photo of her on his lap leaked online, it would be a PR disaster.
If she wanted to sit on his lap, they needed a private place. Given her status, a change of scenery would likely lower her stress levels anyway.
After stopping at a shop to buy Mutsumi a baseball cap to hide her face, Rin took her to a nearby KTV. The moment the door clicked shut, Rin let out a sigh of relief. Being recognized near Tsukinomori would have been a massive headache.
Sitting on the sofa, Rin patted his thighs.
"This is a safe zone. If you want to sit, give it a try."
Mutsumi looked at his lap, leaned down slightly to tuck her skirt against her thighs, and then sat down on Rin's lap.
"The voices... are gone."
After a bit of shifting to find a comfortable spot, she leaned her back against Rin's chest.
Mutsumi was tiny. At five feet tall, she was about the same size as Nijika. Her limbs were slender like a doll's, but her rear was surprisingly pert and firm. Even through his trousers and her skirt, Rin could feel the warmth of her petite ass.
Once she settled into his embrace, Rin instinctively rested his hands on her waist. However, he wasn't in the mood to appreciate the physical sensation just yet.
"Good." Rin smiled and discreetly pulled out his phone to open the System Daughter's app.
Rin: [HELP!!!]
Rin: [Is there a way to stabilize her mental state or a permanent cure?]
He had assumed Mutsumi's mental state was similar to the old Kaguya's—cold but functional. But after this brief contact, he realized it was much worse. Internal auditory hallucinations were next-level territory.
[There is no such tool. The system does not have items that can directly rewrite the human mind.]
[From current data, her mind is stable as long as she is near Daddy or holding a guitar.]
[Good luck, Daddy! ヾ(°∇°)ノ]*
Rin: [....]
If even the system was useless, he'd just have to wing it. Since they were stuck here...
Time to play on my phone!
Mutsumi seemed to have fallen asleep in his arms. With nothing else to do, he checked his messages. He was immediately greeted by "training reports" from Juju and Shinju.
Photos of Juju's petite rear and Shinju's larger one.
Both had "little tails" peeking out from between their cheeks.
The skin around their inner thighs was glistening and wet—absolutely adorable.
Rin had ordered them to send a daily photo to track their progress. He checked their status on the system.
Their "Arousal" state had stayed at "Mild" all day. Not just today, but for the two weeks they had been under his "care."
Their sensitivity had been tuned quite high.
As for the "frequency" of their orgies... Juju had reached her limit four times today. Once in the early morning, twice during school hours (based on the timestamps, it was during class), and once just now at home.
For the morning and the recent session, Juju seemed to have intentionally failed the "clench" requirement just to be shocked to a climax... She had clearly awakened a dangerous new interest.
As for Shinju... Rin's settings for her were gentler. She had only gone once today, right before sending the photo.
Rin saved the photos, set their "tails" to vibrate for ten minutes as a reward, and then closed the group chat. If he kept looking at those photos, he'd get an erection and wake the girl in his lap.