Multi-Anime, Kira Yoshikage Desires a Peaceful Life

The girl with short gold-white hair, wearing a kimono, slid open the shoji door, her expression somewhat impatient:

"Did you find him? Kurumi?"

"Of course!"

Sitting on the tatami, with a laptop open in front of her, the petite blonde loli puffed out her chest with pride:

"Who do you think you're talking to?"

"Let me see!"

The girl with short gold-white hair excitedly stepped forward, staring intently at the photo displayed on the laptop screen, breaking into a happy smile:

"He really is there."

The girl with black hair tied into twin tails, her appearance cool, also leaned in, murmuring softly:

"Kira-kun..."

Kurumi stretched lazily and asked curiously:

"Hey, are you two going to go see him?"

The girl with short platinum hair answered without hesitation:

"No!"

The girl with black hair lowered her head, her eyes dimming a little:

"Kira-kun wouldn't want to be involved with us anymore. We've already caused him enough trouble."

Kurumi rolled her eyes. Didn't he solve all the trouble you caused him anyway?

If you want to see him that badly, just go find him. What's the big deal?

The self-proclaimed thirty-year-old blonde loli picked up the cup beside her and took a hard sip, only to get nothing but air.

Looking down, she saw that only ice cubes remained in the cup.

Kurumi shouted without hesitation:

"Nanami! Get me another cola!"

From outside the room came a young girl's voice:

"Okay, Kurumi-senpai."

Chapter 43: The Quintessential Birthday

"Angel Ladder"

Ding-dong~!

Yukinoshita Haruno stepped out of the elevator and looked at Kira Yoshikage behind the counter:

"Kira-kun, come to my office for a moment."

"Okay."

Kira Yoshikage looked up, set down his work, and followed Yukinoshita Haruno straight into the office.

Yukinoshita Haruno sat down on the sofa, crossing her right leg:

"Kira-kun, close the door~"

"Snap!" Kira Yoshikage complied and shut the door.

"Come sit here."

Yukinoshita Haruno patted the spot beside her, speaking with a playful smile.

Kira Yoshikage felt no burden and sat down next to the girl with a calm expression.

The girl leaned in slightly, a hint of slyness in her voice:

"Do you know why I called you here?"

Kira Yoshikage answered seriously:

"It's payday."

Today was payday—he knew that much.

Though he didn't understand why Yukinoshita Haruno was handling the accountant's work, he didn't care.

As long as he got paid.

"Ehh~ What a boring man."

Yukinoshita Haruno pouted, pulled her face back, and her tone turned a bit colder:

"Kira-kun, you worked a total of eighteen days last month, four hours each day, so that's 144,000 yen."

Eighteen days, 8,000 yen per day. If he kept working year-round without breaks, that would be nearly three million yen annually! That was way more than his previous part-time jobs!

And after deducting food, clothing, and living expenses from that three million, he could save about one million yen—

Not a lot, and still a bit short of paying Shuchiin Academy's tuition, but the gap could be covered with other part-time jobs.

That was precisely why Kira Yoshikage would never give up this job!

Moreover, since it was a "part-time gig" without a formal employment contract, he didn't have to pay taxes either.

The upside was that whatever he earned was his to keep; the downside was that without a formal contract, there were no four insurances—health insurance, pension, employment insurance, and long-term care insurance.

But Kira Yoshikage was a student; he couldn't have signed a formal contract anyway.

This kind of "part-time" arrangement was actually the best option.

Yukinoshita Haruno revealed a somewhat amused smile:

"Kira-kun, aren't you going to say something?"

Kira Yoshikage thought for a moment, then said seriously:

"I'll go back to work right now!"

Work hard, repay the boss!

Kira Yoshikage left the office without looking back, leaving Yukinoshita Haruno with a slightly stiff expression.

Yukinoshita Haruno crossed her arms, uncrossed her right leg, and replaced it with her left leg on top, muttering with some dissatisfaction:

"Tch, really can't get through to him, can you."

"If it weren't for the fact that you saved Yukino, I'd have fired you long ago."

"But speaking of Yukino, she doesn't know Kira-kun is here with me, does she?"

Yukinoshita Haruno's smile was radiant as she eagerly anticipated what expression Yukino would make.

Ding-dong~!

With a crisp chime, the elevator doors slowly opened.

Five young women with similar faces but subtle differences in hair color and style stepped out of the elevator.

"Hey, Nino, cheer up a little~!"

A girl with short pink hair tugged at another girl who had the same long pink hair, styled in a hime cut with a purple butterfly hair ornament, looking somewhat troubled:

"Wasn't it your idea to come here?"

"I..."

Nakano Nino was about to answer when the deathly whispers returned to her ears:

"Hey, can you see it?"

"Hey hey, can you see it?"

The girl's face turned pale, her eyes filled with terror as she watched the two-meter-tall Slender Ghost pass by her, bringing its featureless, terrifying face close to the five sisters, repeating itself over and over like a broken record.

The Slender Ghost leaned its face close to Nakano Nino, its faceless visage splitting open into a gaping maw, its voice turning eerily sinister:

"Hey hey hey, you can see it, can't you?!"

Tears welled up in the girl's eyes, but her instincts kept warning her:

Don't answer, don't answer!

Aside from herself, neither Ichika nor the passersby they encountered along the way could see this ghostly figure.

Yet Nakano Nino was acutely aware that this Slender Ghost was not a figment of her imagination, but a real monster!

She had left home precisely to shake off this monster, but it kept following them, asking the same question over and over.

Her intuition told her that once she answered its question, something terrifying would happen!

Perhaps drawn by the girl's fear, the Slender Ghost let out an excited cry:

"So you can see it after all!"

"I'm going to eat you!"

The girl's hands and feet went cold; fear robbed her of any voice, even her breath stopped.

As if hoping that ceasing to breathe would make the monster in front of her unable to see her.

But it was futile; she could only watch helplessly as that gaping maw full of jagged teeth drew closer and closer.

Just then, the girl with short pink hair tugged at her:

"Nino, this way!"

Nakano Nino stumbled, pulled by Nakano Ichika toward the counter.

The other three sisters found it strange, not understanding why Nino looked so terrified.

Nakano Mayu looked back in confusion; the Slender Ghost, having missed its target, bent down and brought its featureless face close to her.

"You, can you see it?"

"There's nothing there."

Nakano Mayu muttered softly, then turned and ran to catch up with the other sisters.

Ding-dong~!

Another elevator opened at that moment, and a girl with long black hair and a white hairband walked gracefully toward the bar.

But when she spotted the Nakano Quintuplets heading the same way, she instinctively paused.

After a moment of silence, she shifted course and moved toward a nearby sofa.

Meanwhile, back at his post, Kira Yoshikage faithfully carried out his duties, politely asking the guest seated at the bar:

"What would you like to drink?"

"I... I'd like a Long Island Iced Tea."

The girl's face was pale, her voice trembling slightly.

A Long Island Iced Tea isn't actually tea—it's a cocktail that just looks like black tea.

It sounds harmless, and it even tastes sweet and sour.

But in reality, its alcohol content is as high as 40%, and one glass is often enough to knock out someone who isn't used to drinking.

That's why this cocktail is often called a "date-rape drink."

So guests who order a Long Island Iced Tea are usually looking to get drunk.

And right now, Nakano Nino was exactly that—she just wanted to get drunk as quickly as possible.