Chapter 7

Walking down the stairs with the beautiful, glimmering golden scepter in his hand and his smartphone in his pants' pocket, Yuuji headed to the dining table through the living room where he saw his sisters and his aunt, who seemed to had just returned home judging by her clothing.

Textbooks, papers, notebooks, and pencils were laid upon the sizeable white coffee table as his sisters sat upon the beautiful, pure white couch, doing their assignments, while her aunt had a can of beer in her hand.

Their attention moved momentarily from their assignment and drink to the sound of his footsteps and they turn their heads towards it, only to see their brother/nephew with a scepter of gold and sapphire in his hand.

"Ah, Aika-nee. Welcome back."

"Oh, I'm ho-... Wait. What the hell is that…?"

"Ah, Yuu-kun! Did you finished… Eh? Y-Yuu-kun, what are you holding…?"

"Y-Yuuji…?"

A helpless and wry smile appeared on his face as he lifted up the scepter in his hands to his chest. He had been thinking about this moment for a few hours ever since he made the decision. But as expected, it was still difficult to say such an unbelievable excuse.

"Everyone~ Dinner is rea- Eh…? Yuuji... what is that?"

Mira froze as well as she just leaned her head into the living room to call her daughters and little sister, and saw the golden scepter.

"It seems… My friend just sent me an over-realistic magical girl's stick…"

Their eyes widened into saucers, staring at him in disbelief, speechless.

"I-I will explain…"

Everyone sat around on the couch. Yuna and Nina's textbooks, assignments, and stationeries were put away, and on the coffee table laid the 50cm long scepter of gold with a beautiful diamond-shaped sapphire affixed by golden vines on its end that continued to entwine the entire length of the rod.

Their eyes all glanced in between the beautiful artifact and Yuuji with a mix of confusion, surprise, and disbelief, especially Mira.

Having been taught how to determine the genuineness of a jewel by her successful jeweler friend, Mira could see that this was a genuine, royal sapphire. Such a beautiful piece of jewel of this size and purity would cost at least two million yen, most likely even more, and this did not include the beautiful rod of gold.

"I actually received this from a friend… An online friend. She's an extremely wealthy girl with a peculiar hobby… She loves making magical girl sticks and often went too far. This was one of her creations… and she seemed to have sent it to me as a gift to decorate our home."

"A-Are you serious… This is unbelievable…"

"Y-Yuu-kun, are you sure she sent it to you? W-What if this is somehow a stolen item and she just dump it on you to erase evidence on her?!"

"That's right. I simply can't believe she sent you a clearly exorbitant and precious… artifact as a hobby."

"It's not, Yuna, Nina! I-I can assure you… She's just stupidly rich and quite the strange one…"

Mira scrutinized her son and his words carefully. He seemed to be uneasy and bewildered to a certain extent, and while his words were very unbelievable, she didn't sense any guilt that he would have if he get this through illegal means.

Moreover, she knew that his son was a great judge of character who wouldn't make friends with nefarious individuals.

Still, she couldn't be careful enough when it comes to her son's well-being.

"Who is this friend you're talking about, Yuuji?"

"Her name is Kiryuu Aika. It seems like she's an extremely rich lady from an ancient house I've never heard about…"

"Kiryuu… Unfortunately, I haven't heard of the name before as well."

"Mm. She said her family is just living comfortably without anyone knowing about them. This is… one of her ways of dealing with her boring days."

"I see…"

Mira glanced down from Yuuji and towards the golden scepter again.

There are indeed a number of extremely rich ancient families who have decided to live in secrecy while still holding influence throughout the world from the shadows. While they were not actively in control of operations, they still hold the reigns for many enormous corporations throughout the world and receive the benefits of the work their ancestors did. They lived their lives lavishly and peacefully, enjoying their nigh-unlimited wealth without having to worry about the "outside" world.

She couldn't believe that her son could be friends with a young lady from such a family. However, she had undeniable proof before her. A young lady who can gift such a thing to an online friend whose family name is unknown to her would only be someone from those kinds of family.

"Y-Yuu-kun, you said your friend is a girl, right…? A super-rich… young lady."

"Mm. She's a bit strange so it's difficult to consider her a young lady, but the moment she sent this to me, I had no other choice but to believe it…"

"I see… Do you have a picture…?

Mira glanced towards Yuuji when Yuna asked him this, and a look of exhaustion immediately appeared on his face.

"...Yes. She sent me… a lot of pictures… of herself…"

"Can we see it?"

Yuna and Nina looked at him with an intensity he didn't expect. With a heavy sigh, Yuuji relented to his sisters' request and took out his smartphone to show the picture.

"Eh? Yuu-kun, where did you get that phone?"

"Ah, this was also sent by her… My contact is still the same, so you don't need to worry."

"I see…"

Mira was also caught by surprise when she saw her son's new phone. She had never seen this brand or version of a smartphone. Not even her friend had mentioned anything like this.

It seems I was right...

"Anyway, here is her photo…"

Yuuji flipped his smartphone away from him and showed the picture of Aika in a revealing magical girl's outfit she somehow had with her and the Scepter of Divine Protection he lent to her by sending it as a gift to her through the Multiverse group Chat.

Mira, Yuna, Nina, and Aika were stunned in shock the moment they saw the picture.

In the selfie that was taken slightly from an angle, she was posing seductively with her hair tied into a twin tail, revealing her beautiful white nape, while holding a peace sign over her winking eye with her right hand and displaying her pale and smooth armpit along with the side of her massive breasts. Her slim waist was hugged tightly by her fighting magical girl's outfit and her milky white thighs were completely visible from her slightly lifted mini-skirt.

It was a very seductive and revealing photo. However, this was actually one of the "safer" ones compared to the many other photos she sent him. At least in this one, there were no panty shots or a shot of her licking his scepter seductively while holding it between her massive breasts.

When she gifted the scepter back to him, Yuuji had to wipe his scepter clean with a wet cloth. She's enjoying and admiring her new appearance very much. Maybe even too much…

"S-She's very beautiful…"

"Yes… She is beautiful. But she's a bit strange on the head, as I've mentioned. I mean… Who would send such a picture to a guy she hadn't even met in real life…"

"T-That's true..."

A few moments of silence passed as the girls all glanced between Yuuji and Aika's picture back and forth.

Such a beautiful girl… No, it can't be, right? I-Is she in love with Yuu-kun…? K-Kuuh… I-I need to work harder!!!

This girl… I never thought Yuuji would have such a beautiful rich girl I didn't know as a friend. I need to do my best so he won't be stolen by her.

A look of determination emerged in Yuna and Nina's eyes as they looked at their "rival" with a fiery gaze.

The silence lasted for a moment, and Yuuji certainly felt the strange tense atmosphere that had formed since he came with the scepter thicken and decided to break the silence.

"A-Anyway, she wants me to display it somewhere. So… Would it be fine if I display it in my room?"

Mira pondered for a moment before nodding.

"...Alright. But, make sure to hide it if your friend comes over, okay?"

"Yes, mom. I'll make sure of it. Thank you."

"Good. Now, let's go eat dinner~ I've made karaage, salt pan-grilled salmon, and shrimp miso soup~"

""Y-Yes…""

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"Haaahhhh… That is gotta be the most awkward dinner I've ever had…"

Yuuji entered his room with the scepter in hand and plopped down to his bed. His eyes, staring at the ceiling for a moment, before raising the scepter in front of him.

"At least, now I can be assured of their safety…"

He sprung back up from his bed and sat on his desk, tidying up and making space for the scepter.

"...Guess I should go buy something to hold this later on. But for now, I'll just put it on my desk."

He placed the golden scepter in front of the framed picture of him and his family, taken on the first day he became Tsubakihara Yuuji, and activated it through the Multiverse Group Chat.

Immediately, the sapphire gem at its top shined with glimmering particles of light, and the entire length of the rod glowed in brilliant golden light. A golden wave emanates from it, spreading throughout his entire room and then the entire house, causing everything around him to glow for a moment before returning to normal.

The light was magical, both figuratively and literally. If it wasn't for his Divine Sense, the phenomenon wouldn't be perceivable to him.

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Congratulations!

You have activated [Scepter of Divine Protection]! The [Tsubakihara Household's Residence] is now protected by the effects of the [Scepter of Divine Protection]!

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"Good… Now then, let's go to mother's office."

He stood up from his desk, headed to his mother's office, and stopped right in front of the door. A mix of excitement, nervousness, and anxiousness filled his heart.

This would be his first step. The first step he'd take for his dream to come true.

He took a deep breath, knocked on the door, and entered once he heard his mother's beautiful voice from within the room telling him to come in.

In the room, he saw the amazing computer setup with four monitors on her desk, a framed picture identical to the one he had on his desk, and the dazzling sight of his ever-beautiful mother smiling at him.

"Ufufufu~ It has been some time since you entered my office, hasn't it? Not since you stopped begging me to let you watch anime on my computer when you were young, all the while sitting on my lap. You were so cute back then~"

"M-Mom…!"

His cheeks turned crimson as his mother teased him.

He was… so shameful back then, begging his mother to let him watch anime while on her lap only so he could enjoy the feeling of her heavenly breasts behind his head.

It was such a heavenly experience… The only reason he stopped was that the obvious tent in his pants had become too difficult to conceal as he grew up.

"Fufufufu~ You've grown into such a handsome and fine young man~ I'm feeling proud and happy, but sad at the same time~"

"I-I'm still your son, mom… I-I still love you all the same…"

Mira's eyes widened for a moment as her cheeks turned even redder. She, who had been trying her best to keep her excitement to herself, felt her heart skip a beat. The urge to bring her beloved son into her embrace almost overcame her.

"O-Oh my~ I'm so happy to hear that. S-So? What did you want to talk about?"

Yuuji took a deep breath, calmed his heart, and looked at his mother.

"Mom… I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Hm? What could that be?"

"I would like to learn about stock trading and everything around investments from you…"

Her eyes widened for a moment before a look of confusion began to surface.

"Why are you suddenly interested in this…?"

"Because I would like to try and follow in your footsteps and perhaps… lighten and take over your burden in the future. I want to give you, Yuna, Nina, and Aika-nee a life without worry. That is… my dream."

Her eyes, still staring right into his, glazed over as tears began accumulating. Her slightly opened lips trembled slightly before she took a deep breath, calming herself.

"...I'm very happy, Yuuji-kun. If you wish to learn about investments, then I would gladly teach you. But, I want you to know that doing this and giving you, Yuna, Nina, and Aika a life without worry is also my dream, okay…? Don't think that it is a burden for me."

"...Yes. Thank you, mom."

Her lips curled into a beautiful smile before she slid her office chair slightly to her side, towards the drawer of her enormous desk.

She opened the third and lowest drawer and took out a laptop along with its charger. She placed it on her desk and looked at him.

"This is a laptop given to me by a friend, and I used it briefly for my work."

Mira glanced at her computer and back to her beloved son.

"As you can see, I have no use for it now. So, I will give this to you. In it, all the technical analysis software and stock software you can use for trading are already installed."

Yuuji's eyes widened as he looked at it in surprise.

"I… I didn't expect you to give me a laptop immediately…"

"Ufufufu~ Of course, I won't let you use it immediately. Let's start by opening your account while I explain to you the basics of investment and a rundown of the application."

"I understand. Please take care of me."

Mira then spent the rest of the night teaching his son her field of expertise, still unbeknownst to her that a surprising revelation was awaiting her.