Chapter 77 ~ Budding Feelings

Yotsuba surprisingly asked Yuuji if he could come again to her home for tutoring the next day.

Apparently, the Nakano sisters were also in agreement for having another study session with him the very next day. His goal to inspire confidence in their ability to study and improve seemed to have given them motivation to study like never before. So, Yuuji readily agreed to her request and stoke the flames once again before it extinguished.

The Nakano sisters were now studying more seriously than yesterday.

Ichika was… still flirting with him from time to time, but all of them had become even more enthusiastic in asking him questions and asking him to teach and explain to them things they didn't understand.

And as a reward, Yuuji made them dinner using the ingredients they had in their home as a reward of some kind for their hard work.

The girls all ate with gusto and thanked him for everything he did for them. And when it came the time for him to go, Yotsuba enthusiastically offered to walk him out of their apartment condo building.

"T-Thank you very much for today, Yuuji-kun… You even made us such a delicious dinner…!"

Yuuji smiled softly at the uncharacteristically shy and timid Yotsuba as she bowed primly towards him.

"I've received your and your sisters' gratitude plenty of times, Yotsuba. It's fine. I'm also happy to see you girls studying so enthusiastically today."

"Hehe~ It's because you're so good at teaching~ It feels like I'm learning much more from you than all the time I've spent in school up until now."

She pumped her fist up with energy, this time actinging more cheerfully as she usually does, before she became timid and shy once more.

"Uhm… I-I know I've conveyed my gratitude to you… But please let me convey it to you one more time."

"Hm? Wh-"

Yuuji looked at her in confusion, when suddenly, the soft, warm, fragrant body of the cheerful beauty pressed onto him. Her arms were wrapped around his chest, embracing him as strongly as she could as she buried her redly blushing face in his chest in an attempt to hide it.

"Y-Yotsuba-"

"Don't say anything!!! P-Please… I-I'm embarrassed enough as it is…! So… J-Just shush!"

"..."

Yuuji stayed in place and waited patiently until Yotsuba was satisfied.

If it was him before he got into a relationship with Aika, he would've spent these few minutes frozen and unable to comprehend the situation.

But now… He understood all too well. The meaning behind her actions…

Yotsuba was a very good friend to him. She was beautiful, cheerful, uplifting, honest, and extremely kind. For the longest time, he considered her a close friend. And perhaps, to her, he was the same.

But after the recent changes in his appearance and personality, they both realized changes in their own feelings that would change their relationship as a whole.

May it be intentionally or unintentionally, Yotsuba has given him a peek into her true feelings for him by hugging him like this.

And in all honesty, Yuuji also held a special feeling for her in his heart.

The urge to return her embrace filled his mind for a moment. But in the end, he didn't.

His desire to love multiple women and be in a relationship with them… While already deemed legal, and in some parts of Japan, even encouraged by the government, people still needed time to adjust to it and accept the notion of what such a policy would mean for relationships between men and women going forward.

And Yuuji didn't know if Yotsuba would accept his relationship with Mira, or Yuna, Nina, and Aika that he would definitely pursue in the near future.

So, he couldn't return her embrace, in fear of giving her false hope.

Yotsuba didn't seem to notice it, and when she let him go, she lowered her head in embarrassment.

"I-I-I'll be going back now! T-Thanks again for teaching us!!! Uhm, s-s-see you tomorrow!!!"

She bowed in a hurry and immediately run back into her apartment and entered the elevator, leaving Yuuji stunned in front of the building, alone.

"Hah…"

He held up a hand, pressed it to his chest, and felt his heart thumping faster than normal.

No matter how experienced he was in dating and engaging in various sexual activities with his girlfriends, there was no way for him to stay calm after such a thing.

As if sensing his… shock, the necklace he wore around his neck began to move. The chains rattled slightly as it jumped up and down along with the obsidian jewel, as if trying to calm him down.

"Aria, Alice… Thank you. I've calmed down now."

The necklace moved in response , before they rested on his neck unmoving once again.

Yuuji looked up to the apartment condo building for a moment, his eyes gazing up at the floor in which the Nakano Sisters live, and made a promise.

A promise to respond to the feeling of the innocent sunflower.

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The memory of Yotsuba's hug, the sensation and warmth of her body pressing onto his, and the weight of her feelings didn't leave Yuuji even until he almost reached his home.

And in the end, he decided to simply send a message to her. A completely normal message.

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "Good work today. Keep up the good work! See you again tomorrow."

His message was read almost immediately. But no reply came until several minutes passed.

Nakano Yotsuba: "Uhn~! Thank you very much for teaching us~!!! See you tomorrow!!!"

Nakano Yotsuba: "〵(＾０＾)〴"

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "〵(＾０＾)〴"

His lips curled into a smile as he read the message. For now… This would be enough.

Yuuji reached his home and was immediately welcomed by Mira, who came out to the foyer to welcome him home.

And with Yuna and Nina in their rooms while Aika still hadn't returned from the cafe, the two shared a deep, passionate kiss and a tight embrace.

"Welcome home, dear~"

"I'm home, Mira. I smell something delicious from the kitchen. Do you still need any help?"

"No, thank you. It's nearly ready. You should go to your room and get changed. Oh, and also call on Yuna and Nina to go down for dinner, okay?"

Mira caressed his cheeks softly with her lithe fingers, tracing his otherworldly countenance ever so softly and lovingly.

"Alright. Is Aunt Aika coming home late tonight?"

"No. I've just received a text from her that she's coming home right now."

"I see. Then, I'll go to my room first."

"Alright~ Off you go~"

Yuuji gave her one lasting peck, and left for his room.

He changed into a more comfortable clothing as Alice and Aria returned to their original form and made themselves at home on his head and shoulder, and called Yuna and Nina for dinner.

The three went down together and sat in the dining room. And once Aika returned, they ate dinner together.

Alice and Aria were also given their share of food; a kid's size meal that Mira specially prepared for them. And though they could get their sustenance from Yuuji's nigh endless magic, they still enjoyed it greatly and gave their "mother" a peck on either cheek.

After finishing dinner, Yuuji returned to his room along with the slimes and sat down on his desk.

He then selected the MCGX SuperComputer from his inventory, and pressed "use".

In an instant, a black, beautiful, and intricately designed earring appeared, clipped to his left ear.

Then from it, holographic screens and a keyboard, which he could completely control with his mind and gesture alone, appeared before him in mid air. They appeared to be floating, but it wouldn't be an apt way to describe their behavior.

They were weightless projections of light, not an object with mass floating in mid air. But at the same time, every time Yuuji touched the keypad to his keyboard or the screen, he could feel some sort of repulsion, giving him the sensation of actually touching a glass object.

This was the form of the MCGX SuperComputer he luckily obtained from the gacha which he had been using ever since to complete Mira's stock market analytics software as well as work on the Multiverse Messaging App.

The stock market analytics software shocked and dumbfounded Mira for quite a while. And even after using it and seeing the $100,000 profit in her bank account she received after believing in the software and making an extremely reckless, short-term investment, she still couldn't believe how accurate she was.

And with the success of his first project, he immediately began working on the Multiverse Messaging App.

And now, it is nearly completed.

His fingers moved at blinding speed, forming lines after lines of code and progressing his project at inhuman speed.

Meanwhile, the cheery white slime with traces of rainbow within her, Alice, rested on his head, lazily rolling around. While Aria, the black, starry slime sat on his shoulder and stared at the screens, seemingly focused on watching and learning.

Hours passed, and before he knew it, it was past midnight.

But it was done.

The days he spent working on it until past midnight had finally been rewarded.

"I finally did it…"

A wave of relief and happiness surged within his heart.

This was one of the most difficult projects he had tried doing, and the other was making an impossibly accurate Stock Market Analyzing tool for Mira.

To create an app that could send messages through different worlds and universes… While the MCGX Supercomputer was capable of handling most of its intricacies and impossible processes, he still needed to be able to comprehend the quantum entanglement theories and apply it to his program.

And thus, he needed to learn of it first, ask Tatsuya for his advice, and took a bit longer than he expected at first.

But now… he could finally give it to Mayumi and talk to her…

"Let's share it with the group right away."

He hopped on the group chat, sent the app, and @ everyone.

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "Everyone! I've finally finished the Multiverse Messaging App!!! With this, people who weren't in the group chat would be able to talk with us!!!"

Shiba Tatsuya: "So you've finally finished it. Congratulations."

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "Thank you for helping me with this too, Tatsuya. I can finish this faster thanks to you."

Satoru Suzuki: "Y-You've made a messaging app that can be used to send messages to people in different worlds…?!"

Lelouch Lamperouge: "It's truly impressive… I can't even begin to comprehend how impossible of a task you've accomplished."

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "It's all thanks to my enhanced learning speed, Programming proficiency, and the MCGX Supercomputer. If I didn't have even one of them, it would've been impossible for me."

Kiryuu Aika: "You need to add the power of love to that too!!! You made this because you miss Mayumi-chan, right~?"

Kiryuu Aika: "Congrats, darling~! I know you can do it~"

Chiba Erika: "...You did something ridiculous again. I can't believe you manage to make that kind of thing…"

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "Thank you for the congratulations, everyone. But before we can start sharing this with our friends, please let me explain how it works."

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "Just like Satoru-san said, this is kind of like a lite version of the Group Chat. It lets people not in the Group Chat to talk with everyone with the app, even if they're separated by worlds. For example, it's possible for your sister, Tatsuya, to talk with my sisters as long as they've added each other with our help. And we can also make groups with it."

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "Of course, as a form of security, only members of the group chat could share it with others outside of the group chat. And I hope you won't share it with just everyone. After all, while we've agreed to let this secret be known only by people we are closest with, we still wanted to keep the existence of this group a secret."

Shiba Tatsuya: "Yes. I will only be sharing this with Miyuki. I have no intention of sharing it with anyone else."

Chiba Erika: "I've got no one to share it with, so don't worry. I'm content if I can just talk with your family members so I can introduce myself to them."

Kiryuu Aika: "Same~ If I share this to anyone, then your phone's going to blow up with thousands of text, Yuuji~ Almost all the girls in my school has fallen in love with you~"

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "... Just what have you done?"

Suzuki Satoru: "I-I have no one to share it with as well, so you don't have to worry, Yuuji-kun."

Lelouch Lamperouge: "I have no one I would share it with. Though I would love for my sister to meet all of you, she's unfortunately blind. So she won't be able to use it."

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "...Have you tried to find a cure for your sister's blindness from the shop? If you need points, you can just tell me. I can lend you some."

Lelouch Lamperouge: "Thank you… I will think about it. For now… I'll accept your feelings alone."

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "No worries. Just let me know."

Shiba Tatsuya: "Let me know if you need help as well, Lelouch. Don't hesitate to ask."

Suzuki Satoru: "+1"

Kiryuu Aika: "+1"

Chiba Erika: "+1"

Lelouch Lamperouge: "Thank you, everyone."

Lelouch Lamperouge: "Well, then. Shall we start putting Yuuji's app to the test?"

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "Yes, of course. I will share it with my family. Erika, can you share it with Mayumi? "

Chiba Erika: "Sure thing. I'll ask to meet with her privately and give it to her tomorrow."

Shiba Tatsuya: "I will give it to my sister as well. She will be very happy to be able to talk with Aika and Yuuji once again."

Yuuji, Tatsuya, and Erika were about to excuse themselves from the group chat conversation to share the multiverse messaging app to Mayumi, Miyuki, and Yuuji's family.

But before they could, a notification suddenly alerted all members of the group chat.

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A new quest has arrived!

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