Translator: imperfectluck Editor: Kurisu

  After resting for a while, Seiji called Shika to tell her that he was alright.

  Shika wanted to immediately come visit him upon learning that he was in the hospital.

  Seiji managed to somehow convince her to wait until tomorrow before coming over.

  He then called Mika and told her as well about him being in the hospital.

  Then, he went to go find Natsuya and informed her about Shinobu's return.

  The student council president was quite happy to learn about the weak demon still being alive.

  "Shinobu Miaki's body belongs to us now. However, the Mitarai Family is requesting it to be returned so that they can investigate the human puppet's body and determine the reason for Akatsuki Mitarai's death." Natsuya paused for a moment. "I might be unable to refuse them in the end… I'll send someone to oversee the entire process of their investigation so that they can't destroy or entrap anything."

  "How's the human puppet's body's current condition?"

  "After you exorcised the demon, we returned to reality with the human puppet simply collapsed on the ground. It didn't seem to be particularly damaged."

  "Will Akatsuki Mitarai's death create a lot of trouble for you?" Seiji looked at her.

  "I'm sure there will be some trouble. After all, he was a talent viewed as highly important by his family. Yet he was devoured by his own human puppet Spirit-branded Retainer, not slain by any of us, so… there shouldn't be any huge trouble."

  "That's good, then."

  Several seconds of silence fell between them.

  "Seiji…"

  "Natsuya…"

  They spoke up simultaneously, causing both to pause.

  "You first."

  "You first."

  Once again, they spoke in unison.

  They exchanged glances and both chuckled.

  "It's our victory."

  For the third time, they spoke identical content simultaneously.

  They won… the duel was their victory!

  Although the conclusion was somewhat of a surprise, with Akatsuki basically causing his own death with his actions, a win was a win.

  They wanted to enjoy the joyous feeling of victory.

  "I'd like to ask you what you would like as your payment for assisting me this time." Something flashed in Natsuya's eyes. "This is in addition to the human puppet's body that I promised you."

  "I don't have anything I want… for the time being."

  "The time being?"

  "I might want something later in the future." Seiji thought of what he still wanted to do—duel against his sister, Yui Harua.

  Natsuya thought of something when she saw his serious expression. Her heart started beating at a rapider pace.

  'The only thing I want is you…' What should she do if he told her such a thing?

  The student council president's face instantly started flushing red.

  Although reason told her that this was highly unlikely, her emotions weren't swayed by logic and caused her to imagine various scenes…


  'No, no, no, I have to stop this!'

  Natsuya forcefully stopped her imagination from going wild. She averted her gaze in an effort to conceal her embarrassment.

  "It's snowing." Seiji suddenly noticed the weather outside.

  Specks of white snow were falling outside the window. Soon, the snowfall grew larger and larger, leaving everything covered in a white dust.

  "That's quite a lot of snow."

  Seiji recalled the emotions he experienced while exorcising the demon… giving his expression a tinge of sadness.

  "That bastard got what he deserved. I hope that his victims can all rest in peace."

  Natsuya paused in surprise for a moment upon hearing this sudden change in topic before a sad expression appeared on her face as well.

  "I hope so."

  The two of them quietly watched the snow together.

  The faint sound of wind and snow outside sounded like crying.

  The next morning, Shika, Reo, Mika, Chiaki, and Kaede, five beauties of varying ages, all came to visit him together at the hospital.

  "Ha, I knew that you would never die until I get to defeat you!"

  "Why are you saying something that sounds like you're my mortal enemy?"

  "Because I just wanted to try saying such a line." Chiaki chuckled as she glanced all around Seiji's hospital room. "This is such a luxurious room. You're really getting the VIP treatment here. Are there beautiful nurses that even provide special services?"

  Seiji was rendered speechless.

  "I can see that there are indeed such nurses upon seeing your expression. Have you tried their services out?" Something flashed in Chiaki's eyes as if she was seizing upon some truth.

  "No such thing!"

  If he really did do such a thing anyways, things would be terrible in all sorts of ways.

  "Chiaki, rather than joking around, shouldn't you first be more concerned about how Seiji is doing?" Mika sighed.

  "Just take a look at him and you'll understand that he's fine. He doesn't have a broken hand or foot, nor is he missing an eyeball or scarred anywhere visible. He's capable of sitting down here and chatting just fine, which means there's no need to worry at all." Chiaki shrugged.

  "Although that's true, I'd still prefer that you worry normally about me a little…" Seiji commented.

  "My worrying only gets started at 9:00 in the morning."

  "Don't talk about your own emotions like they work at a nine-to-five job!"

  "How troublesome. In that case, I'll withdraw ten thousand sakuras' worth of worrying just for you."

  "Don't talk about this like emotions are something that can be deposited! Besides, what's with the amount of worrying that you're allowing for me?"

  "How about giving you twenty thousand sakuras worth of worrying instead, then?"

  "The important part isn't about the monetary worth of worrying about someone else!"

  Seiji smiled after this perfectly ordinary exchange of retorts between them.

  He recalled back to when Chiaki received a phone call from her ex-girlfriend, Haruka Shimizu. Back at that time, Chiaki became a melancholic girl. This conversation was similar to the one from that time. Only, their roles were now reversed.

  "Honestly, you've ruined the hospital atmosphere, Chiaki."

  "I feel like I've livened things up."

  "Hmph, you're quite proud of yourself."

  Seiji turned to look at the others.

  "Brother…" Shika was looking at him.

  "I'm really alright. I just need to rest here for a few days." Seiji smiled gently.

  "You're hospitalized and still insist on claiming to be alright?" Mika asked in disbelief.

  "Although I'm hospitalized, I personally feel more like I'm taking a vacation."

  "Indeed, this place seems more like a five-star hotel room. It does look like a comfortable place to live in for a few days." Kaede smiled. "How about I come take care of you, Seiji…? I'd definitely do a better job than any nurse, including any special services you may need."

  The blonde teacher intentionally revealed a seductive expression for the latter half of her last sentence.

  "Juumonji-sensei, please be more proper!" Mika commented forcefully.

  "What does special services refer to?" Reo blinked curiously.

  "Special services refers to additional services that can make a patient incredibly comfortable, such as—"

  "Chiaki!"

  Everyone soon became lively and noisy.

  Seiji was quite happy with such a scene. It made him feel like the incident from last night was long past him.

  This lively visit lasted for quite a while.

  Some time later, everyone except Shika left.

  Shika stayed behind in the hospital room that was now quiet again. The only sound was that of her peeling an apple.

  Seiji watched his adopted younger sister and enjoyed the beautiful scene of her simply peeling an apple.

  After peeling the apple, Shika then diced it into tiny pieces, skewered one piece, and brought it to his mouth.

  Seiji opened his mouth and ate the apple piece. Nice, it was pretty sweet.

  Something flashed in Shika's eyes upon seeing her adopted older brother's look of satisfaction. She continued feeding him the apple.

  Seiji became drowsy after he finished the entire apple.

  He told Shika that he was going to go back to sleep and pushed a button that lowered his hospital bed back to horizontal position.

  Shika sat there quietly and observed him going to sleep.

  After Seiji's breathing became steady and it was obvious that he had fallen asleep, she slowly reached out her hand and gently caressed his handsome face.

  At this moment, if only someone was here to see her expression, they would surely be left with a deep impression. It was a pity that nobody could see it.

  A moment later, Shika retracted her hand. Instead, she slowly edged her face towards Seiji's…


  Outside the window, the snow was finally stopping after having fallen for an entire night.

  The snow was soundless. It seemed as gentle as a lover's gaze.

  Winter hadn't ended, and spring was still yet to make an appearance. However, this room… suddenly felt rather spring-like.

  Seiji slept peacefully and had a dream.

  In his dream, he went to enjoy cherry blossom viewing together with all his friends. The cherry blossoms falling down were incredibly beautiful, and fell on his head and face just like the snow. He could sense a gentle and fragrant sensation on his forehead.