Chat Group: Anime Girls are Moist

Moments later, Mrs. Sakurajima emerged from the bathroom, now dressed in some of Mai's clothes.

"…"

The outfit was slightly small for her, making her feel as though something was always either too tight or too revealing. Still, she had no choice but to brace herself and walk out in front of the three people waiting.

Before she could speak, Tohru apologized.

"Sorry, your… strange behavior earlier was my fault."

"Huh?"

Mrs. Sakurajima's face filled with confusion.

"Strange behavior…" She immediately thought back to her earlier self-soothing episode.

"What do you mean it's because of you? Shouldn't it be because of that… 'scene' I overheard?"

Rei Ao clarified. "Actually, Tohru added something akin to an aphrodisiac to the food, and it just so happened that you ate some."

"!!!"

Mrs. Sakurajima recalled eating a piece of meat earlier.

"Aphrodisiac? Why would she add something like that to the food?"

Her expression twisted with disbelief as she stared at Tohru in her maid outfit. But soon, her sharp gaze turned to Rei Ao.

As the head of the household, she suspected he might have ordered such a thing. If true, she'd have to reassess whether this man was even remotely trustworthy.

"Of course, it was to get Rei Ao to finally pounce on me for some… intimate activities, hehe."

Tohru let out a laugh that could only be described as lecherous.

"???"

Mrs. Sakurajima's eye twitched uncontrollably.

What kind of ridiculous statement was that?

Rei Ao sighed, shrugging. "As you can see, my maid has a… peculiar fixation on me."

"So, a pervert," Mrs. Sakurajima concluded, her headache worsening.

"Fine. I won't pursue the matter further. But please… forget everything you just saw earlier."

Knowing her behavior was due to the aphrodisiac rather than her own lack of self-control gave her some relief.

Still, there was no denying the embarrassing truth—she had fantasized about Rei Ao and utterly exposed her shameful side.

She could only hope Rei Ao would have the decency to forget it.

Her gaze lingered on Rei Ao with a mix of frustration and embarrassment as she spoke.

"I didn't think the two of you had taken things this far."

Her eyes landed on Mai, whose head was bowed in embarrassment, her face bright red.

"I mean, Mai, the same girl who used to fight me tooth and nail over doing swimsuit photo shoots… and now, she's doing that right in front of me?"

"Uh…"

Mai muttered incoherently, her face buried in her hands.

Rei Ao, however, calmly addressed Mrs. Sakurajima.

"So, given how far things have progressed, surely you're not still thinking about making Mai a star, are you?"

He leaned back slightly, his tone light yet pointed.

"Imagine what would happen if the tabloids got wind of our relationship. Things could spiral out of control in no time."

His words weren't so much a warning as they were a nudge. In truth, there were no paparazzi he couldn't handle—anyone snooping around his private life would simply disappear.

"…"

Mrs. Sakurajima remained silent for a long moment, deep in thought.

Finally, she spoke. "Before I respond, I have a question for you."

"Go ahead."

As her prospective son-in-law, Rei Ao was willing to humor her.

"Have you ever lied to me, from the beginning until now?"

"No."

Rei Ao's response was immediate, his tone casual but firm.

"First: I don't need money and can give Mai anything she wants.

"Second: Mai isn't leaving me—ever."

He pulled Mai closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. The possessiveness in his voice left Mrs. Sakurajima momentarily speechless.

She had never encountered a young man—or rather, a man—quite like him before.

"You…"

She began to speak but was interrupted by an unexpected disturbance.

Rei Ao suddenly stood, his eyes darting toward the balcony. Tohru's gaze followed.

"Ahhhh!!!"

A scream echoed from outside.

Or rather, it was a person being carried by a flying sword.

Rei Ao walked to the balcony and opened the glass door just as the figure and sword burst inside.

"Ahhhhhh!"

Rei Ao reached out and caught the terrified Kobayashi in his arms.

The sword, meanwhile, stopped midair and immediately pointed its tip at Tohru.

"Dragon!!!"

The blade radiated a deadly aura, its edges gleaming menacingly.

"God Sword?"

Tohru's pupils contracted into slits as she locked eyes with the weapon, the air between them thick with animosity.

The atmosphere grew heavy, suffocating even, leaving Mrs. Sakurajima feeling an inexplicable sense of dread.

"Stop!"

Rei Ao's commanding voice broke the tension, his aura suppressing both parties.

The God Sword quivered midair before speaking in a voice tinged with childish determination.

"Daddy, she's a dragon! I can help you kill her!"

"???"

Rei Ao froze, his mind blank.

"Daddy?"

Mai and Mrs. Sakurajima were equally dumbfounded.

"Mommy, hurry and use my power! Together, we can defeat the evil dragon!"

The sword flew back toward Kobayashi, who was still clinging to Rei Ao in fear.

Three sharp gazes immediately turned to her, making Kobayashi break out into a cold sweat.

"I… I can explain…"

Kobayashi stammered, her forehead drenched as she felt the weight of three women's hostile glares.

…

Moments later, the room had five people.

Kobayashi sat awkwardly beside Rei Ao, and between them was the sword-turned-girl, who clung tightly to both of their arms.

Mai looked increasingly uncomfortable, her irritation evident in the way she tapped her fingers against the armrest.

Tohru was even less subtle, her tail swinging in visible frustration.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Sakurajima's emotions were in complete turmoil.

She had just witnessed Kobayashi being flown in by a sword—a talking sword that somehow transformed into a person!

"What kind of absurd situation is this?" she thought to herself, half-wondering if the "aphrodisiac" she had accidentally consumed earlier also included hallucinogens.

Unable to hold back any longer, Tohru voiced her frustration.

"Rei Ao, I remember you taking that God Sword away back then. What's with this one?"

Tohru distinctly remembered the sword but not any of this strange behavior.

Rei Ao, however, had already been observing the girl and seemed amused by his findings.

"She looks identical to the original God Sword, but she's not the same one," Rei Ao explained. "The sword I took from you was absorbed by me."

Mai's confusion only deepened. "Then how did she come to be? And why is she calling you… dad?"

Her possessiveness flared. She didn't even have children with Rei Ao yet, so how could someone else's "child" suddenly appear and call him father?

Rei Ao shook his head calmly. "I'm not her father."

"She's the result of a fragment of divine faith that dissipated when I absorbed the original God Sword," he explained further.

"Exactly!" The sword-girl puffed out her chest with pride. "That energy combined with Mommy's consciousness and created me!"

Clinging tightly to Rei Ao's arm, she cast a smug glance at Tohru. "So technically, you and Mommy are my parents!"

Kobayashi scratched her head awkwardly. "To be honest, I didn't know anything about this. She just dragged me here, saying we needed to find… um, her dad."

Kobayashi's expression was apologetic, the situation clearly as surreal to her as to everyone else.

"Ah, so she's just some little mutt," Tohru said disdainfully, flexing her claws. "Rei Ao, let me take her out for you."

"Daddy! Look at her! She's a dragon! She wants to hurt me!"

The sword-girl clung to Rei Ao's arm even tighter, glaring at Tohru with pure hostility.

The tension between them quickly escalated.

Rei Ao sighed and rapped both of them on the head with the same swift motion.

"Ah!"

"Hey, that hurt!"

"I've pieced together what happened," Rei Ao said calmly, addressing Tohru first. "She isn't the original God Sword, so there's no need to treat her as an enemy."

He glanced at Kobayashi. "Besides, her existence is tied to Kobayashi's consciousness. Hurting her would harm Kobayashi as well."

"Uh… what do you mean by harm?" Kobayashi raised her hand hesitantly.

Rei Ao's tone was casual but firm. "You'd probably end up… brain-dead."

"???"

Kobayashi's face turned pale. She definitely didn't want to become brain-dead.

"Hmph, fine. You got lucky this time," Tohru grumbled, though she still looked at the sword-girl with distaste.

Rei Ao then turned his attention to the girl.

"And you—let me make this clear. I am not your father."

"…"

The girl's body trembled, and tears began welling up in her large, shimmering eyes.

"Daddy… are you saying you don't want me?"

Her voice cracked as tears rolled down her cheeks, making her look heartbreakingly pitiful.

For a moment, the room was silent.

"Rei Ao…"

Mai tugged on Rei Ao's sleeve, her tone pleading.

After learning that the girl wasn't actually his daughter, Mai no longer felt the irritation she initially had toward her. Now, seeing the girl on the verge of tears, Mai couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy.

"I didn't say I don't want you," Rei Ao reassured, gently pinching the girl's nose. "But you can't call me Dad. Call me 'Oniichan' instead."

"Eh?!"

The girl's mood did a complete 180. Upon hearing Rei Ao acknowledge her, her joy seemed to blossom like flowers.

"Oniichan!" she shouted gleefully.

Kobayashi's face twitched. "Then… call me Oneechan too."

She didn't want to be stuck in the awkward role of a single mother.

Unfortunately, the girl tilted her head, then resolutely called her, "Mommy."

"???"

Kobayashi was dumbfounded. "Why are you calling him 'Oniichan' and me 'Mommy'? Do I look that old to you?"

Rei Ao rubbed his chin and studied her closely. "You're probably around 25 or 26, right?"

"…"

Kobayashi froze in place.

He was right—she wasn't exactly young anymore.

Her mind flooded with black-and-white images of desolation. The realization hit her hard.

Suddenly, she swayed and collapsed sideways.

"Mommy!"

The sword-girl panicked, while Mai frowned. "What happened? Why did she suddenly faint?"

Rei Ao caught Kobayashi's limp body and, after a quick check, calmly said, "She didn't faint; she just fell asleep from sheer exhaustion."

The harsh reality of being a corporate worker, he thought wryly.

After moving Kobayashi to a bedroom so she could rest, Rei Ao turned his attention to Mrs. Sakurajima, who had been silently observing the entire exchange.

"I guess I'm not dreaming, am I?" Mrs. Sakurajima finally broke her silence, her voice tinged with disbelief.

In truth, she wanted to hear that all of this was just a dream.

But reality, as it often is, was unforgiving.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Sakurajima, but no—you're not dreaming," Rei Ao said matter-of-factly.

He turned to Mai and gestured toward her. "Mai, why don't you show your mom the last resort you prepared?"

Mai nodded.

One second, she was sitting across from her mother.

The next, Mrs. Sakurajima blinked—and Mai was suddenly standing behind her.

"Mom, would you like some water?" Mai asked sweetly, holding out a glass of water from behind.

"…"

Mrs. Sakurajima hesitated but took the glass.

Before she could even process what had happened, Mai had returned to her seat beside Rei Ao—now wearing a white dress that she had changed into in the blink of an eye.

Mrs. Sakurajima's hand trembled, her mind reeling as she tried to comprehend what she had just witnessed.

"What… what's going on here?" she rasped, her throat dry and her voice hoarse.

Rei Ao explained calmly, "It's simple—Mai has a superpower. She can erase people's perception of her, like a combination of invisibility and memory loss."

Mrs. Sakurajima was anything but calm.

She stared at Mai in disbelief. "But how? How could she have such an ability? I raised her from birth and never saw anything like this!"

"That's because her ability is something she developed later in life," Rei Ao said patiently.

"Do you remember the event that caused Mai the greatest psychological trauma?"

"…"

Mrs. Sakurajima froze.

"The time when she first threatened to end her life…?"

"That wasn't the specific event, but it planted the seed," Rei Ao explained.

He then detailed the events surrounding Mai's disappearance, their fateful meeting, and how he helped her overcome her struggles—carefully omitting the existence of the chat group.

When he finished, Mrs. Sakurajima stared at her daughter in silence.

Seeing the calm but resolute expression on Mai's face made her chest tighten painfully.

She had never imagined that she had hurt her daughter so deeply.

She hadn't even known that Mai had vanished for a period of time. And now that she thought about it, her memory of that time was indeed hazy—an indication of the very ability Mai was using.

"I had no idea… Mai went through so much," she murmured.

"And you…" Her gaze shifted to Rei Ao. "You helped her, didn't you?"

Mai nodded firmly.

"Yes. Rei Ao pulled me out of the darkness. He taught me to control my abilities and opened my eyes to a whole new world."

A world of dragons, angels, demons, and endless wonders.

Mrs. Sakurajima finally understood why Mai clung to Rei Ao so steadfastly.

He had been her lifeline in her darkest hour.

She clenched her fists, grappling with an overwhelming mix of guilt, regret, and helplessness.

Mai, sensing her mother's struggle, didn't flinch.

Instead, she took Rei Ao's hand in hers, holding it tightly as she looked her mother straight in the eye.

"I will never leave Rei Ao," she said firmly.

"If you still intend to separate us, Mom… then please leave. I don't want to see you anymore."

Her voice was steady, but the pain behind it was unmistakable.

~~~

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