Reconciliation

"Welcome back, Shino." I smile at the slightly uncertain girl, understanding where that hesitation comes from.

She blushes a little but nods. "I'm back, Sensei."

"We are still having breakfast if you would like to join."

"It's alright, Sensei. We already ate back at the castle. Thank you for the offer."

"Well then. What do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit? Do you perhaps need anything from me?" I glance over all of them again.

They step to the sides a bit and Kamil walks to the front. He starts rubbing the back of his neck while still awkwardly avoiding making eye contact with me, looking somewhere to the side not that far from my face.

"You see… I've been thinking recently… And I guess you might still be angry about that duel… I went a bit too far at that time… It wasn't really my intention… Well, it kind of was but it all happened at the moment and—"

A sudden slap on the back of his head interrupts him and Kamil peeks over his shoulder. I catch Marcia giving him a quite beckoning look. He turns to me again and coughs awkwardly. His eyes finally meet mine.

"The thing is, I clearly overreacted and almost fucked up a big time. I think this is slowly getting out of hand so I just wanted to say that… It was quite bad of me… And well… I guess the other stuff too…"

I raise a brow at him. Something I didn't really expect anytime soon has just possibly happened. I'm not sure what exactly led to this, but I can tell that a certain redhead had some influence over the whole matter.

"I might have gone a little overboard after that happened too so I guess we are even. But, let's not talk about such topics in the doorway. Come inside."

Everyone walks into the lobby after I hold the door for them. Shino smiles at me sweetly while she passes me as the last one and I sneak a quick brush through her black hair when nobody is looking.

We notice Cornelia standing in the middle of the hall with her arms crossed and a curious gaze. I turn to my petite samurai lady.

"Can you lead them to the new meeting room? I'll join you in a moment."

"Of course, Sensei. Don't worry about us and finish what you've been doing. We'll wait for you."

She then nods and asks the others to follow her, heading for the stairs. They soon disappear on the top floor with Kamil gawking around as they make it through the lobby and the recreational area. It is his first time here so that's nothing unexpected. He most likely couldn't believe what he had been told.

I walk closer to my charming magician and wrap my arm around her waist.

"So, he's finally here," she says, reciprocating my actions with the same.

"Seems like it."

"I was almost sure he would only get more angsty and annoyed after getting thrown around like a wet rag."

"Even the best psychologists can't perfectly predict how a big loss like this may affect people. But, I don't think he has arrived at whatever conclusion he came up with alone. This might be interesting. And possibly get rid of some of my worries."

Cornelia moves to my front and joins our lips in a soft and gentle kiss.

"Let me gather the girls."

I furrow my brows at her for a brief moment and then raise them in mild surprise.

"Cornelia, we are not doing that. That's completely unnecessary. There's no need to make this whole thing even more awkwa—"

She seals my mouth with hers again, diving with her tongue a little deeper this time. I can't very well ignore such actions and wrap my arms around her back, grazing it with my fingers as we affectionately make out for around a minute.

After we break off, I sigh in defeat. Cornelia chuckles at me softly and I let her go. We split and I head after our guests while she returns to the other women having breakfast.

I wait in front of the new meeting room we have prepared in one of the unused VIP chambers specifically for situations like these. I can't keep taking guests in the dining room or the main lobby. While I am now able to make use of Hall of Serenity to give us some privacy when it comes to sounds, nothing changes the fact that those are still open areas with good visibility.

Two minutes later, all of the girls that have decided to become my wives, or mates, or other equivalents per their customs, arrive together. It seems that Cornelia has already filled them in as everyone seems quite determined to do this.

It's pointless to argue so I enter the fancy meeting room with five women by my side. They instantly catch the attention of a certain blondie, not so much of others. Well, he is the only one who hasn't seen them around me yet. And judging by all of my lovers' emotions, he is in for a show.

I notice that Shino has sat down alone on the sofa opposite to them. She glances at me with slightly rosy cheeks. This little rascal. You have barely been able to hold hands with me in the open just recently and now you are literally showing off that you belong here more than there?

Smiling at her, I move to the sofa with the whole entourage and we sit down. Shino ends up on my left, Cornelia on my right and Sirgia obviously on her favourite spot, which is my lap. Elea and Neira take the edges while the slightly expressionless catgirl hops onto the backrest and gets seated on the top part behind me, with her legs hanging down by my shoulders and her chin resting on the top of my head.

I can only imagine how this whole thing must look to the others. They are just four while I'm now literally surrounded from all the sides and angles by six people in total. It's not hard to spot some confusion in Kamil's eyes.

Additionally, with my permission and per my request, Ailish materializes herself behind the sofa after flying out of my chest as a black mist, surprising everyone with her appearance. Instead of the maid uniform, she wears the demonic material she loves so much that I have thoroughly investigated during our battle in the cave. No surprise she catches the attention of the boys very quickly.

I reach up to scratch behind Astrea's ear, invoking some quiet purrs that cause weak and pleasant vibrations to travel through the top of my head. After noticing it, Sirgia grabs my other arm and wraps it around herself, making me smile with her cute show of affection.

"So, how are you guys doing?" I ask, turning my attention to our guests.

Marcia lightly elbows Kamil in his side and he stops staring at Ailish, moving his gaze to me. And it starts again.

"Well… I don't know what you think, but… I think that this whole thing between us has gone a bit too far as I've said before…"

"That much is obvious," Elea suddenly says.

"And whose fault do you think it is?" Cornelia joins after her, crossing her arms under her ample chest.

Damn. I thought they only wanted to intimidate him a little with their presence and show off which one of us is clearly doing better but it seems that I've been mistaken. This can actually get a little dangerous knowing his—

"They are right. Who is the one to drag it out to this extent?" Marcia unexpectedly follows, looking straight at Kamil, making him groan to the side.

This is very surprising. I don't think I know where this is heading anymore. It's not even close to what I have imagined Kamil's reactions would be to such words. I guess I'll just leave it to them for now?

"I mean…" He glances back at her and rolls his eyes after meeting Marcia's gaze. "Ugh… Fine, it's all on me. Fuck. I started this after that idio—ermm… that security person reported us fucking in the classroom. I was mad. I knew you had the final say in what to do with it. I got so much shit from my parents after they learned that I had railed a girl on a teacher's desk back then. Fucking twats. Like they even cared. They only looked at it because of the call from the principal, else they wouldn't even bat—"

Marcia hits him again after Kamil starts sidetracking a little by clearly beginning a rant on his parents. He rubs his side while attempting an awkward smile, which ends up just awful.

"Anyway, I was fucking annoyed. Like fucking hell. Every time I saw you, I was reminded of that whole fucking thing and I would get irritated. And it went on and on and on. It was especially annoying because you barely reacted to anything."

He makes a heavy sigh and groans while swiping down his face.

"So, you have been harassing Alastair just because it made you irritated when you looked at him?" Neira asks in her usual calm tone.

"I don't fucking know how to say it… Looking back, it does seem stupid, but…"

Ailish shakes her head in dissatisfaction. "You were clearly taking it out on him because that was the easiest choice. We all know Alastair pretty well. Anyone else in his position would most likely not deal with all of that and take proper steps to remove such a student from the institution."

"I'm still surprised you weren't straight-out expelled for that transgression. If I'm not mistaken, it was even recorded, right? And something quite serious in your world," Cornelia joins in.

"Well, it's not surprising for you to think that since it's the most obvious action to take in such a situation. And one that was being pushed as the only option," I butt in, causing everyone to focus on me.

Marcia furrows her brows. "Then why did we only get reprimanded instead of getting completely booted?"

"The higher-ups were really furious. They insisted on doing that and also reporting the whole thing to the police because you didn't only have sex in a public space but also had stolen the access card to even get there. If I remember correctly, they wanted to charge you for property damage too, which was laughable to me because all you have done was leave some stains here and there and perhaps slightly crumpled a notebook or two."

All of them show shocked and surprised expressions, depending on the person. Even Shino glances at me with wide eyes, but it's obviously Marcia and Kamil who look the most distressed. It might not mean anything in the current day, but the knowledge of what could have happened still does have some effect on their imaginations.

"But, personally, I didn't really like it. Yeah, you had done wrong, but the punishment they were requesting was just too severe for the gravity of the misconduct. It would definitely leave a stain on your reputation if everything about it was made public. I'm a firm believer of the ideology that the punishment should correspond with the severity of the crime."

"Ah." Cornelia cocks her head back with a quiet gasp. "I should have figured out you were the case. I've known you for this long already and I still can't notice such simple things before I ask."

Almost all of my girls nod their heads to her words, excluding Astrea, who is still lazily resting her chin on my hair, and Shino, who is tilting her head at me, most likely not coming to the same understanding as the others. And well, she isn't the only one.

"What?" Kamil seems quite perplexed too.

"I just did what I thought was right. It wasn't easy, but I managed to somehow make them drop the break-in charge and not call the police. Took me a few days of convincing the other teachers that had taught you guys to back me up. I was pestering the principal with my little petition with some big signatures on every break."

"That happened?" Natalie stares at me with slightly wide eyes.

I sigh and shrug. "In the end, he agreed to the version that I had lost my access card and you two found it, wanted to leave it in our classroom, but as it sometimes happens to young adults with a quite attractive appearance and healthy lifestyle, got a little bit too horny when alone in such a place and gave in to the urges. Everyone at some point in life has fantasized about fucking in a real classroom and that's a fact, either due to seeing it in porn or just having a really sexy teacher bend over in front of them."

"No way…" Shino mutters quietly by my side.

With a tame chuckle, I glance at her. "You should have seen his face when I told him that I have such thoughts too when I'm alone with one of the female teachers. Damn, Ms Heart had such a thick ass. You could hear those cheeks clapping in your head as she walked the corridors."

Most of my girls giggle at the slightly sexual comment while my students are still partially in a daze. I have managed to bring Shino out of it, judging by the knowing smirk and some rosiness adorning her adorable face. Oh, she knows exactly what I'm talking about. This closet pervert must have thought the same. I bet she even has some material inspired by Ms Heart.

"Was she thicker than me?" Elea asks out of the blue, with a mischievous smile on her lips.

I wave my hand at her. "She has nothing on you. Not even worth comparing."

"Fufufu~ I'm glad to hear that. My butt is always ready to clap for you, Alastair. Audibly." She winks at me. "But, I think it sounds much better when you help with it~"

Elea seductively licks her lips as we look at each other. A quiet whimper catches our attention and we glance towards the other group, spotting Marcia biting on her lip as she squeezes her thighs together.

I clear my throat. "Anyway, we somehow avoided escalating things with that. And since I was already pushing it, I went further and asked for you to be pardoned with minimal consequences. Letting your parents know and show up to speak with the involved parties was a much better prospect than getting booted. I had to keep an eye on the two of you for some time after that though, making daily reports and such, but you, fortunately, didn't cause any mischief. Well, maybe except for your occasional teases, Marcia, but I chose to ignore that, knowing your character well."

"Then… Marcia-san and Kamil-san didn't get in trouble thanks to you, Sensei?" Shino glances at me and I can tell that she's glad. They were already pretty good friends back then.

"Well, more or less."

"Master is so kind…" Sirgia leans into me a bit more and I rub her side with my hand.

"Of course. Alastair is the kindest Human," Astrea comments too.

"I got an idea for a new painting," Neira suddenly announces.

"Really? What kind?" Shino quickly catches onto her, almost sparkling with curiosity.

My talented artist starts gesturing in the air. "On one side, a group of monsters. On the other, a group of Humans. The monsters try to get to them but are stopped by Alastair, who uses his own body to shield them from danger. At the same time, one of the Humans also keeps hurting him, but he just smiles back, making nothing of that fact."

A groan reaches our ears, coming from Kamil, of course. I think everyone has easily caught the reference and the resemblance of some events. Fortunately, he doesn't look like he is going to explode in anger. Quite the opposite. Kamil keeps rubbing his face with both hands now while releasing some faint grunts.

Completely unexpected, Marcia stands up, joins her hands in front of her and makes a very light bow, causing her bountiful wavy red hair to swing forward a bit and hang down.

"I'm very sorry for causing you so much trouble. And thank you. I didn't know it was like that. I thought they just swept it under the rug to avoid rumours about the school. If only I had known, I would have acted a bit more proper after the incident."

"It's fine, really. Besides, it's all in the past now. There's no reason to wonder about what-ifs. And your words are enough, please stop with that."

She raises her head and shows the sweetest smile I have ever seen on her slightly freckled face. There's no playfulness or mischief present in it, just pure gratitude and happiness. It almost feels completely mismatched with Marcia's personality and beauty after being used to her almost never dropping that lighthearted way of being.

"I regret giving up on getting your cock in my pussy back then even more now."

And we are back to normal. I chuckle while shaking my head and smile at her.

"We can fix that later."

Marcia's eyes instantly widen and I can tell that she has held another whimper back with all she has. She quickly sits down without breaking eye contact with me and slugs Kamil into his side with so much force that he winces with another, much louder groan.

"Come-fucking-on, man! Do it!" she says to him, still not moving her eyes off me.

Kamil mumbles something under his nose and makes a heavy sigh.

"Fuck me…" He stops rubbing his face and drops his hands down. "Why… didn't you tell us anything?"

I raise a brow at him. "Would you believe it?"

"Fuck... " He groans again while scrunching his face and looking to the side. "This is so fucking… Fuck…"

Marcia draws her fist back one more time and he starts waving at her while aiming to block it.

"Alright, alright, enough, I get it! Ughhh… I was an ass back then, I know. And not just back then. I didn't know it was like that, man. I mean… Fuck… It's so much worse knowing this… Marcia was right… This is so fucking stupid… I… I'm sorry, alright? I was angry and annoyed but… I'm sorry… I was a twat… Fuck, this is so fucking cringe, but… Yeah... Sorry..."

Anyone can easily tell that he doesn't have much experience in apologizing, besides doing it sarcastically perhaps. But, it's also easy to discern that he is as honest as possible. That awkward mannerism of his, trying to actually apologize while part of him still fights against it, shows it pretty clearly. And it's already way more than I would have ever expected. Something must have really happened for us to arrive at this point.

Marcia throws her arm over Kamil's neck and uses the other hand to pat him on the shoulder.

"There, there. Wasn't so hard, was it?" She then glances at me. "I know he was a fucking jerk with all of that, but would it be possible for you to forgive him, Alastair? I think all of us changed a little after spending some time in this world."

Before I can answer, Cornelia speaks first.

"I don't know. After everything he has done to Alastair, such a weak apology just doesn't seem to cut it. You can barely tell he means anything."

"I agree. There's almost no sincerity to be felt from it. Something this forced in relation to so many serious offences in the past is unacceptable," Elea follows after her.

"That's no way to plead to an alpha." Even Astrea throws her three cents from above me.

"In my circles, something like this would—"

"Stop." I interrupt Ailish and raise my hand. They all fall silent as I glance over my close partners. "I understand your point but every apology should be judged by the involved parties, or those at least somewhat related to them. I appreciate your concern, but as someone who doesn't know Kamil, it will be hard for you to accurately assess his attempt. No offence."

I wait for a moment but no one responds with anything. It was not my intention, but I can feel some of them feel slightly bad or guilty. They want the best for me, I know that, but I can't very well allow them to persecute Kamil while he is trying to reconcile. They most likely didn't intend to take it too far, but this is quite an emotional situation so no one can be blamed.

Turning back to face the others, including Kamil, I bring my arm down and move both of them to hold onto Sirgia's petite hands laid on her thighs.

"So. Are we good now?" I ask.

Kamil blinks a few times while furrowing his brows. "Erm… Just like that?"

"I know you meant it. Yes, I can tell. Do you want a sermon on how much of an ass you were and a long monologue on how honoured you should feel to earn my forgiveness? I don't think anyone here actually thinks that shit works like intended anywhere else than in the movies. No offence to professional psychologists and therapists though. That's a different thing."

Everyone on his side chuckles a little, including Paul and Natalie, but Kamil still looks at me with traces of confusion on his face.

"If you really feel like this is too easy, then I guess there's one thing I have to ask of you."

"Uhhh… Yeah?"

"Simply apologize to Shino. I'm pretty sure you've said at least a few mean things to her just because of me whenever I wasn't around. You already know that I didn't really care what you thought of me or acted towards me, but she has done nothing to earn your scorn, either. It seems like a quite fitting condition, right?"

The person in question blushes slightly while fiddling with her hands. Kamil stares at me for a moment longer and moves his gaze to the black-haired samurai girl. I can see his brain trying to come up with some words correct for the situation. It shows all over his face.

"Erm… Shino?"

She raises her gaze from her knees and glances at him. "Yes, Kamil-san?"

"That… You know… Sorry for jumping on you whenever you mentioned that fuc—uhhh, I mean… Alastair… Yeah… I might have done that because of how you always reacted… I was kind of pissed how you always defended him and made him look so great… So… Uhhh… Sorry…"

Shino's cheeks grow a shade redder when he mentions me, and she sneaks a few shy glances my way, but she quickly recollects herself and smiles charmingly at Kamil.

"It's okay. Thank you. I'm really glad to hear that, Kamil-san. I really wanted all of us to stay close."

He nods with a slightly awkward smile and then looks back at me.

"Well then. Let's not drag it out pointlessly any longer. It's been years. I'm sure everyone just wants to forget about it already. We are even now. More or less. I hope it can stay like that. But, don't worry. I know it can be a little tough to change from the usual. From experience. I won't take occasional slip-ups to heart."

Marcia lightly pumps her fist on the side while Shino beams a cute smile at me. Paul nods with the corners of his mouth raised a bit and Kamil keeps his slightly awkward expression. Natalie stays calm as usual but I think I've already learned how to tell that she's happy too. And this is one of those moments.

Suddenly, all the girls on my side begin to squeeze closer to me, except for Shino, who pretty much gets swept up in the motion of the other ladies. I end up in the middle of a giant group hug, with the samurai girl squeezed into my side by the chocolate beauty that is Elea.

Almost on one accord, they all peck whatever part of my face they can get for themselves. Cornelia and Elea go for my cheeks. Neira sneaks a kiss on one side of my forehead while Ailish takes the other. Astrea hangs down from above and steals the middle of it. My adorable dwarf lover turns around, stands up on her knees and places a gentle kiss on my lips.

And, amongst all of this, I'm fairly sure Shino leaves one on my neck after seeing everyone take action and ending up in front of it due to the squeeze. Her embarrassment flows clearly into me through the bond.

Afterwards, we stay in that hug for a while. Marcia keeps smiling at me impishly while the other three seem to realize the slight awkwardness of the atmosphere that has just been created by the display brought forth by my lovers.

Fortunately, I'm released from their clutches before Shino runs out of air in her lungs and she gasps loudly to catch a mouthful or two at the first chance, causing everyone on my side to chuckle. Which, in turn, makes her even redder.

"Well… That was that… So, anything else you would like to talk about? Not that I don't want to spend some idle time with you but I'm a little short on it recently. It's a working night today and I also have to prepare for a journey."

Shino turns to me, slightly anxious. "You are already leaving again, Sensei? For how long?"

"Honestly, I don't really know. I'm not sure about the destination. I was going to visit the King today to get some maps from him so that the person I'll be escorting can more or less pinpoint the location we'll be heading to."

"That sounds like a few weeks," Natalie comments.

"Possibly. But I promised to help and I'm not someone to leave things half done."

"Plus, you need to move your ass from home now and then or you'll get fat. We can handle things here in your absence," Cornelia jabs me with her elbow as a faint smirk paints her lips.

"I'm pretty sure his ass gets enough movement as is," Ailish says, wiggling her brows at my lovely magician, causing Cornelia to avert her gaze with rosy cheeks as the other women giggle.

I roll my eyes at their constant innuendos, spotting Shino thinking about something quite deeply during the movement.

"What's gotten you pondering so much?"

She looks up at me. "Nothing."

"Come on, it clearly isn't nothing. Out with it."

"Ummm… I know it might be a bit fast but… I thought that maybe we could like… go together… with everyone? Of course, if no one disagrees and we wouldn't inconvenience you, Sensei. I just thought that… it would be nice..."

I rub my chin while staring at her fidgeting under my gaze. It's not that bad of an idea, I guess. They would have been sent out by Ross sometime soon anyway. Shino would surely love to go on a quest with me, perhaps even more with us as a whole group.

"Hmmm… As long as the King doesn't have any important plans for you, and everyone is okay with this, then I guess it should be fine? But, one thing I need to mention is that we'll be travelling with a Wood Elf who was an unlawfully captured slave until recently and a Dragonewt friend of mine. I don't want to inconvenience either of them so we would most likely need to split for a moment shortly before our destination."

Shino nods eagerly and looks at the others with hopeful eyes, especially at Kamil and Paul. The latter speaks first.

"I don't see any problems with that. And I've seen the strength and skill of some of the women that follow you so it's actually possible that we would be the ones dragging you down in this situation. There could be a lot to learn for us from it too."

Kamil makes a few weird and funny faces while thinking and stops at an uncertain one. "I guess it would be fine? I mean, if Shino wants it, we can go with it."

"It could be fun. I always wondered how it would look with all of us present like it was intended," Natalie adds.

"I think you are forgetting about the fact that I wasn't supposed to be caught by that spell." I chuckle at her.

"What? You weren't?" She shows a rare sign of surprise on her face.

"Ah. I kind of forgot you guys don't know. Hmmmm…" I glance over them, stopping at the confused Kamil for a brief moment, and move on to Shino, who nods at me. "Alright, fine. I spoke with the Goddess. Even met her a few times. That's how I learned about the world and the fact that I wasn't supposed to get summoned with all of you."

Pretty much everyone except for Shino shows a great deal of surprise. The two of us have obviously talked about it already. We have shared everything that happened to the both of us with each other while catching up after our first night.

"No fucking way…" Kamil is the first to say anything.

"See? I told you! A fucking Goddess!" Marcia laughs almost maniacally while repeatedly nudging him as I raise a brow at her.

"Unbelievable…" Natalie quietly mutters to herself.

I shrug my shoulders. "There's quite a lot of details to that, but let's not dive into all of this today. It would take too much time. If we want to go out together, both you and I need to start preparing. We can start by paying the King a visit and asking for permission."

"Damn, just my luck… I'm never getting those toys…" Marcia speaks under her breath.

"Ah, that's right. We forgot about those last time you were here."

Her head snaps to me and her eyes widen in shock after she realizes that I've heard her clearly.

"You should have just asked someone to take you to the storage and picked whatever you liked. As much as your ring could take."

"Uhhh… I just didn't want to barge in like that. I would rather have you know what I took. Maybe listen to some recommendations or something. I thought about a few but they would take up a lot of space so someone else a little knowledgeable about them could be of great help to decide."

I ponder for a moment and glance back at Ailish. She immediately understands my intentions without me uttering even a single word or contacting her through any of my telepathic ways.

"They are yours now. Just like everything else that I own or am myself. It's ALL your property now." She gives me a tempting smile, emphasizing the message with her tone and the beguiling squish of her breasts, pushed into each other by her arms.

I nod at her with a smile on my own. "Could you then, please?"

With a bit of black mist gathering in her palm, Ailish materializes a black ring and hands it to me. I examine it for a moment in front of me so that the girls can check it out too and then turn to Shino.

"Can I borrow your right hand for a moment?"

She tilts her head adorably and brings the requested hand forth, with the palm facing up. I first rotate it and take it into mine from below. That's when she finally realizes what's going to happen and her face explodes in crimson.

I gently slide the black band onto her ring finger and the hidden runes glow in purple as it resizes itself to fit my cute student's hand perfectly. They disappear again and I graze it with my thumb.

"Would you mind holding onto it for me?"

"I do… Ah! I mean, I would! No, wait! I wouldn't! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"

I chuckle and pat her head until Shino calms down a little bit, raising her gaze to meet mine. She's so red it's a miracle she hasn't fainted yet. With a smile, I lean towards her and arrive at her ear, whispering to it with an affectionate tone.

"I will get a much better one for the left hand."

She's almost steaming now while her small frame trembles very slightly so I deploy some more headpats to help Shino contain her emotions. While taking care of my adorable protegee, I glance at the others.

"This ring has enough space to fit a three-story building inside. You shouldn't have to worry about running out of space even if you shoved every single toy and contraption we currently have on us in there. I hope it's okay with all of you for Shino to be the one to receive it."

I can see Marcia wriggling in her seat while looking straight at Paul. He smiles awkwardly and shakes his head.

"Of course it is. If what you are saying is true then just a single magical storage like this will be invaluable to us. Thank you very much. I can already tell how much easier it will be to travel while storing all the equipment inside."

I nod and move my eyes to Shino. With her face still covered by quite a bit of rosiness, she stares back at me. She then suddenly pulls herself closer and pecks my cheek in a quick motion, returning to her starting position in a flash and lowering her gaze. Oh, my heart.

"Alright. Let's go and meet up with the King first and then Mafaris can give you another tour of our facilities whenever you would like, Marcia. Whatever won't fit into your personal ring, we'll throw it into the big one after she marks it. Are you fine with that, Shino?"

"Eh?" Shino breaks out of her absent state of brushing over the black band and looks between us for a moment. "Ah, yes, of course, Sensei. I don't mind carrying all of our things. Including yours, Marcia-san."

"Thank you so much, shortie! I love you!"

Shino giggles quietly at Marcia's very excited confession and then looks at me. I nod at her. It's obvious what she's thinking about. This precious little thing values her friends a lot. I can't betray her trust, can I?