Chapter 151: Kobeni-nee is Eloping (Bonus Chapter)
At the Higashiyama residence.
Ever since they were given a stern "re-education" by the police officers brought along by Otonashi Chiya last time, the Higashiyama parents had become much more behaved. While they still favored their son, Yuta, at least they no longer dared to show such blatant favoritism, nor did they dare to treat their daughters as poorly as before.
Kobeni Higashiyama, for her part, had been living at Chiya's place for a while now and no longer needed to rely on her parents. Overall, the situation was much better; the older sisters who had already graduated no longer had to surrender their entire wages, and the sisters could support each other, allowing them to live more comfortably.
By this time, Chiya and Kobeni had reached the Higashiyama family doorstep. Chiya rang the doorbell, and soon, one of the younger sisters came to open it—the very same one who had opened the door for Chiya on his first visit.
"I'm home," Kobeni said.
"Eh? Kobeni-nee? Aren't you supposed to be in class right now?" the sister asked in surprise.
Usually, Kobeni would come home to visit them once a week—typically on weekends—and would always bring plenty of treats. They hadn't expected her to show up suddenly during school hours.
"There's a reason for it. Let's head inside and talk," Kobeni replied.
Kobeni sat in the living room. Aside from the three sisters currently at school and Yuta, the rest of the siblings had been called to gather in the living area. Chiya placed several bags on the table before taking a seat nearby. On the way over, he had specifically bought plenty of goodies—fruits, cookies, bread, and various snacks—as gifts for Kobeni's sisters and her younger brother.
"Kobeni-chan, what's up all of a sudden? Why call us all down?"
"It must be something important, right? Otherwise, our workaholic Kobeni-nee wouldn't just skip class and come running home out of the blue."
"And the boyfriend is here, too! Don't tell me Kobeni-chan is about to fly the coop with her boyfriend and came back specifically to say goodbye?"
"Big sis, stop joking around. Kobeni-chan..." The second sister trailed off, suddenly noticing that Kobeni's cheeks were flushed even more than usual, her eyes filled with a hint of apology. The second sister exclaimed, "Wait, you actually hit the nail on the head, Big Sis?!"
"Eh?! I was just kidding! Is Kobeni-chan really eloping with her boyfriend?!" The eldest sister looked even more shocked than the second.
"Eloping~ Eloping~ Kobeni-nee is eloping!"
"I never would have guessed! Kobeni-nee has become so bold—first moving in with a guy, and now she's just going to fly away!"
Instead of being sad, the sisters started teasing her relentlessly. They had long ago tacitly accepted Chiya as Kobeni's boyfriend; after everything that had happened, and given how Kobeni mentioned "Otonashi-kun" every time she visited, it was a foregone conclusion in their minds.
"Ugh... um..." Kobeni became even more embarrassed.
Since she would be living in China with Chiya-kun from now on, it really was quite similar to "flying the coop" (eloping). Chiya, meanwhile, sat quietly to the side sipping tea, choosing to remain silent as he felt it wasn't his place to interrupt their conversation.
Finally, the eldest sister spoke up: "Alright, alright, you two are practically an old married couple already, why is Kobeni-chan still so shy? Come on, tell us exactly what's going on!"
Kobeni took a deep breath, calmed her bashful nerves, and explained, "Actually, it's because Otonashi-kun will be working as a Devil Hunter in China from now on. I withdrew from my school today, and I plan to continue my education there."
"Oh, I see. So you're leaving right away?" the eldest sister asked.
Kobeni nodded slightly. "Yes, we're departing this afternoon, so I came back to let you all know."
"That's perfectly fine. The old man and the old woman certainly wouldn't dare say anything, and I am genuinely happy that you've found a life where you can be happy, Kobeni-chan." The "old man" and "old woman" she referred to were, of course, their parents.
"We're all happy for you, Kobeni-nee, we really are."
"That's right! Don't worry about us, Kobeni-nee. We have phones, don't we? Just give us a call once in a while. And it would be even better if you could come back to visit during long holidays."
Hearing her sisters' words, the sadness that had been weighing on Kobeni's heart lifted significantly. It was true—this wasn't a final goodbye. She could call them anytime, and she could always come back to visit when she had time off.
"Oh, and these are gifts Otonashi-kun bought for all of you. They're all delicious snacks," Kobeni added, suddenly remembering the bags on the table.
"We noticed those earlier! So many tasty things—thank you so much, Otonashi-kun!" the eldest sister said to Chiya with a bright smile.
"I wasn't sure if you'd all like them, so if anything doesn't taste good, be sure to let me know next time," Chiya said with a smile.
"I'm sure it's all delicious. You're so thoughtful, Otonashi-kun. It's a real shame Kobeni-chan got to you first, otherwise, I might have started to fall for you, too!" the eldest sister teased.
"S-Sis... please, stop teasing me..." Kobeni's face turned even redder. If her sister had been serious, she definitely would have panicked.
After chatting with her sisters and younger brother for a while longer, Kobeni finally finished her goodbyes, and Chiya offered a simple farewell as well.
Back home, Reze and Denji had already packed their luggage. Reze had mostly packed her cosmetics and beautiful clothes, while Denji had focused on Pochita and various video games. Once Kobeni finished packing, they headed to the airport for their flight.
Chiya didn't board the plane with them; instead, he teleported directly to China using the Kamui space. The reason he didn't bring Reze and the others along was that he wanted them to arrive through official channels and get their landing visas processed properly—otherwise, it would be no different from smuggling. It was only a few hours of flying, so there was no need to save time at the expense of proper documentation.
By this time, Chiya was at the hotel, planning to rent two additional luxury suites, which were usually around 100 square meters or more. With more people joining him, single and double rooms were no longer sufficient and were becoming a hassle to manage. He would stay in the hotel until the contract results were finalized, and then he would move out to a proper house.
Just as Chiya finished renting the suites at the front desk, President Jiang suddenly called.
"Considering that you might be a bit bored over these next few days, why not come visit our Devil Hunter Association tomorrow? I'll have Pingtsi oversee your tour. Though she is a fiend, she is quite docile, and her abilities are well-suited for the task."