“Huh? You haven’t been told anything?”

For a moment, I wondered, “Is this about the engagement thing?” but that didn’t really connect to why Shirayuki-san wouldn’t be going home.

Which means the only other possibility is… no, that can’t be it…

Even Maria-san wouldn’t go that far… or so I thought.

And right at that moment—

Ding-dong. The intercom chimed.

“Ah, it seems she’s arrived.”

Shirayuki-san had just started to open her mouth to explain, but as if thinking her job had just been made easier, she walked past me and reached out to unlock the door.

I gently took her hand before she could, making sure not to hurt her.

“I-it’s embarrassing when you suddenly grab my hand like that…”

Just like Emera and Furei, Shirayuki-san probably hasn’t had much contact with boys, because she looked up at me with faintly flushed cheeks as she protested.

But I ignored that and stared back at her with strong resolve in my eyes, shaking my head.

“Don’t open it…”

“Onii-chan…?”

Hina, who was the only one not following what was going on, looked at me in bewilderment.

She might have thought that Shirayuki-san’s ride had arrived and that I was the one stopping her from leaving.

But that wasn’t it.

This door mustn’t be opened under any circumstances.

If we consider how things have been going, the person behind this door is…

“No, I can’t. Maria-sama will end up getting angry at me too.”

“Ah, stop…!”

Using the hand I wasn’t holding, Shirayuki-san took advantage of her natural quickness and unlocked the door in an instant.

I immediately grabbed the doorknob and pulled it inward as hard as possible so that it couldn’t be opened.

“Th-That’s unfair…! You know I can’t win in a contest of strength…!”

“That’s exactly why I’m stopping you by force…!”

Shirayuki-san pouted, but I wouldn’t give up. I knew opening this door would lead to trouble.

Since my right hand was busy holding the door shut, I tried to lock it with my free left hand—only for Shirayuki-san to knock it away with a hand chop.

“Don’t get in my way…!”

“That’s my line…! You know resisting is pointless, don’t you…!?”

“No, if I don’t open it, she’ll give up and go ho—”

“—Eito-kun~? If you don’t open this within five seconds… you know what’ll happen, right~?”

The sudden voice of the devil herself, Maria-san, came from outside.

Apparently, the voices of me and Shirayuki-san struggling at the entrance had been audible from outside.

I immediately opened the door.

“You changed your mind pretty quickly…!”

“You fool, there’s no way I can go against that woman…!”

Honestly, I didn’t expect Maria-san herself to show up…!

In that case, it would’ve been way better to just let Shirayuki-san open the door without resisting…!

“Fufu, I figured you’d try to resist anyway, so I came too.”

When I opened the door, Maria-san was standing there with an extremely cheerful smile on her face.

Behind her were Furei, looking a little pleased, and Emera, who for some reason still had a red face and kept glancing downward.

Those two were expected, but Maria-san being here was completely outside my predictions.
Well, it seems she came because she had already anticipated exactly what I would do…

Damn it, this woman really is troublesome…

“Come on, you two, get inside.”

“Yes…”

“Y-Yes…”

At Maria-san’s instruction, Furei walked in normally, but Emera entered while trembling slightly, moving as if it was hard for her to walk.

Maybe she felt uncomfortable from the guilt she had toward Hina… or maybe she was embarrassed because I’d seen her like that back in the bath.

—No, this doesn’t feel like it’s either of those…

Just as that doubt crossed my mind—

“Oh, are you wondering about her? That medicine doesn’t just affect the spot it’s applied to—the skin absorbs it, so as time passes, the effect spreads through your whole body.”

“You really gave her something like that…”

Maria-san explained with a very nice smile while I put my hand to my forehead.

That’s why Emera was walking so awkwardly. She should have been left at home to rest…

“Putting that aside, if you were coming all the way here, you could’ve brought me along too…”

I had taken the bus and train back after that.

I’d ended up wasting both time and money.

“But you see, after you saw Emera in that state, I thought Eito-kun might need a little time alone. Just in case, we timed things so we’d arrive before you if you took your time… but since we ended up getting here after you, that means you came straight home, right? Good boy, good boy.”

Yeah, she’s definitely the devil.

If they had arrived before me, she would’ve teased me or punished me for sure.

Good thing I came straight home…

“I didn’t feel anything from seeing that, you know…”

I said that while putting on a brave front in front of my adorable little sister.

That same adorable little sister, however, had hidden behind my back the moment Emera and Furei appeared.

Peeking her face out from behind me and nervously watching Maria-san’s expression… she really was cute.

“So why did you come here?”

“Right, I’ve decided these two will be living here starting today. It’d be boring if things stayed the same after becoming fiancées, don’t you think? Oh, and when you sleep, make sure to take turns every night, okay? It wouldn’t be fair otherwise, because one of them would feel left out.”

“No way…”

As I thought, it seems Emera and the others really will be living with me starting today.

So that was the reason Shirayuki-san wasn’t going back to the mansion.

I had a feeling that was it.

Which is exactly why I didn’t want to open the door…

Also, what does she mean by sleeping together?

Furei is one thing, but with Emera?

Uh… am I not going to get killed in my sleep?

Just when I thought one problem had been solved, an even bigger headache got dumped on me, and all I could do was sincerely wish for a break already.