205: Life is Hard

It would be great if everyone could be as well-behaved as Hitori.

This is a thought that Chisato sincerely hopes for.

He now has four girls by his side, all of whom are his true loves and whom he has chosen as partners to live with and hold hands with until the end of their lives, happily.

The most pressing issue before him now is the compatibility among the four of them.

Hitori is quite easy to coax. A few honest words and some close physical contact will reassure her that she will never be absent from his side in the future. 

She quickly transitions from sadness to happiness and becomes more energetic.

She resembles the most traditional gentle housewife from the early days of Japan.

No matter how much her husband spends time drinking and socializing outside, as long as he remembers her and is willing to come home to see her occasionally, she is very satisfied. 

Divorce is absolutely out of the question.

However, Chisato cannot use the same approach with the others.

He imagined a scenario where he said similar words to Kazusa. He would probably receive a slap in the face, followed by her running away in hysterics, heartbroken.

While Eriri and Kasumigaoka are not quite like that, they definitely would not accept such things so calmly.

He had previously attempted to disrupt their private alliance to some extent, but it hadn't gone well.

Whether it was an unspoken agreement or mutual understanding, whenever one of them came to visit or had a video call at night, the other would invariably be present.

Chisato couldn't determine if this was a good thing, but he couldn't change it for the time being and had to let it be.

"What's wrong? The new song is so popular. Why are you sighing?"

Seika was sitting at the bar. With some time before the store became lively, she spoke to her employees out of boredom.

"I always feel a little tired. It's not easy to achieve the life I want."

Chisato sighed sadly again.

The melancholy expression of the handsome young man inexplicably touched the older single woman, causing her to look away in panic.

"You brat, how old are you? Just settle down, fall in love, and focus on your studies."

The girl's heart was beginning to recover after being dormant for so long. Fearing she might make a mistake, she left in a hurry.

Chisato watched her leave in confusion, lamenting that the store manager had become increasingly lazy. 

Initially, she would occasionally help out behind the bar, but now she had completely left it to him to operate alone.

There were no cameras at the bar, and there was no bill book that needed daily recording. 

In such circumstances, even if he took some money from the cash register and stuffed it into his wallet, no one would notice. 

That would be too shameless. He felt defensive.

If she was no longer working there, he should remind her.

Returning home after his part-time job, Chisato took stock of the money the crows had brought him that day.

Today's harvest was substantial, totaling more than five thousand.

After taking a shower, he sat down to study at the table. 

During this time, Kazusa sent intermittent messages, asking what he was doing, sending a countdown to the next day's school time, and then quickly retracting it. 

She even sent him a photo showing how she had finished her homework.

She vividly displayed the mentality of a girl in love.

Before going to bed, Chisato called her and talked about interesting things he encountered while working. 

Kazusa mostly played the role of a listener, smiling subtly and cutely.

Before hanging up, he broached the topic of her mother.

Kazusa suddenly fell silent and then suppressed the unpleasant emotions in her heart before replying,

"...What did she suddenly say?"

"After all, she is your mother. If there's any estrangement between you two, it would be better to communicate and resolve it sooner rather than later. I suspect you actually want to mend things with her."

"..."

Kazusa didn't respond; only her faint breathing could be heard.

Well, it seems that the conflict between mother and daughter cannot be successfully mediated overnight. They'll have to work hard in the future.

"Forget it; let's not talk about this anymore. It's getting late. Let's go to bed early."

"Okay, you too."

"Kiss me."

"Who wants to kiss you, idiot~"

Kazusa's tone rose lazily, sounding quite delightful.

Chisato could even picture her lying on the bed, her fair, slender legs gently swaying back and forth.

"Huh? I'm talking to my pet. Who are you talking to?"

"!"

"Are you still there, sentimental Kazusa-san?"

"What a mouthful! Idiot! Idiot!"

With an angry retort, she hung up the call.

Chisato smiled as he put his phone on silent mode, connected the charging cable, and set it on the desk.

During this process, Dark Wings, who was standing on the desk, silently jumped back a few steps, staring at his master.

"Who really asked you to kiss me?"

Chisato couldn't help but complain, so he stood up and playfully slapped the bird's head a few times. After using the bathroom, he turned off the light and lay down on the bed.

He clicked on the evil path simulator but did not choose to simulate; instead, he entered the recall mode with ease.

As the version updated, he became increasingly aware of the convenience and usefulness of this mode.

If he chooses to sleep at night, he merely gets adequate rest.

But if he selects recall, his consciousness travels to another space while his body falls into slumber. 

In this state, he can experience wonderful things and repeatedly connect with the object of his memories.

During the recall, the person he is remembering can also experience the time spent with him simultaneously. 

After the event concludes, he can still find time to study or reflect on other matters.

This way, he wakes up in reality still full of energy.

It is not an exaggeration to say that he has an extra eight hours of time at his disposal every day, with his consciousness never absent from his life. 

It would be fair to say he has lived decades longer than others for no reason.

———

When he woke up the next morning, it felt like a matter of seconds.

Chisato received messages from Utaha and Eriri, respectively.

The messages from both were roughly the same, each asking if he had a dream last night.

It had indeed lasted for several days, and Chisato anticipated that sooner or later, they would be unable to help but inquire about the situation on his side.

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