High Compatibility
Higashino Makoto lay on Mio Takamiya's bed for three days.
It wasn't that he wanted to lie down, it was that Mio wouldn't let him get up.
When he tried to get out of bed in the morning, she reached out and pulled him back.
He was hungry at noon, so she used her spiritual power to bring food from the kitchen to his bedside.
That evening, he wanted to go to the balcony for some fresh air, but she gripped his arm tightly, preventing him from escaping.
"You made me wait thirty years, it's not too much to ask you to spend three days with me, is it?"
She looked at him with her light blue eyes as she said this.
Higashino Makoto opened his mouth, but swallowed back the words that were about to come out.
Not excessive at all, absolutely not excessive.
Although he never intended to run away.
Why is this gentle, lovely goddess who just wants to be with you and be attached to you running away?
On the first day, Mio told him about everything that had happened over the past thirty years, from how she adapted to this era, how she hid her spiritual power, and how she survived for thirty years without anyone noticing.
She spoke very calmly, but Higashino Makoto could hear the long years she had lived alone in those simple words.
Sometimes I stand on the rooftop, looking at the city. I imagine you walking down a street, pushing open the door of this building, walking up the stairs, and standing in front of me.
She paused.
I've been thinking about this for thirty years.
Higashino Makoto reached out and pulled her into his arms.
She didn't cry; she just leaned against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
The next day, she began to talk about the Elf Kingdom.
"After you left, I found them through the Rasiel."
She took a thick notebook from the bedside table, opened it, and found it filled with names and dates.
Yoshino, Tokisaki Kurumi, Origami Tobiichi Itsuka Kotori, Nia Honjo, Hoshimiya Mukuro, Kyouno Natsumi, Kazamachi Yamai, Izayoi Miku.
Higashino Makoto looked at those names, images flashed through his mind.
Kazamachi Yamai is the one who split into the Yamai Sisters.
"You found them all?"
"I found them. But they were still very young then, some weren't even born yet. It took me a long time to find them one by one and give them the Spirit Crystal."
"That must have been very hard on you."
Higashino Makoto didn't know what to say; he felt that Mio Takamiya was trying too hard.
And...
Higashino Makoto, after a long absence, opened his divine vision and looked up at the sky above him.
Sure enough, because of his mission to save the world, he became the protagonist of this world.
Is Mio Takamiya the heroine the world has chosen for her, while Kurumi and the others are just supporting characters?
So it seems that saving the world this time was actually a worthwhile deal.
Not only did he acquire three Demon King items, thus completing the power of the Inverted God, but he also gained more than ten beautiful Elf Kingdom girls.
"It's not hard work. I'm willing to do anything for my love."
Mio closed her notebook and looked at him, like a cat waiting to be patted on the head and praised.
"Because they possess my Spirit Crystal, they are naturally drawn to you, and through the power of time, I have conveyed their future of marrying you to them in the form of dreams."
"By the way, to prevent them from causing a spatial quake, I sealed a portion of their Spirit Crystal; you'll need to unlock them."
Yes, that means the Elf Kingdom's spiritual power is sealed. No wonder I've never heard of anything like a spacequake.
After a moment of silence, Higashino Makoto thought about it and realized that after that whole combination of punches, he really had no reason to fail.
After all, Mio Takamiya had already maxed out their favorability rating.
"And what about them now?"
Everyone's waiting for you.
Higashino Makoto opened his mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out.
On the third day, Mio mentioned Mana Takamiya and Mana Takamiya.
She leaned on his shoulder, tracing circles on his chest with her finger, her tone casual, as if she were talking about something insignificant.
"There's one more thing. The year after you left, Maori was in a car accident."
Higashino Makoto's fingers paused for a moment.
"Dead?"
"Yes. I sealed her soul with my spiritual power and then created a new baby's body."
"You turned her into a baby?"
This familiar feeling, is it the corrective force of history?
"Yes, I left her at the Itsuka family's doorstep. Her name is Shiori Itsuka now."
Higashino Makoto's mind raced for a moment.
Mio transformed Shiori Itsuka Mana Takamiya, the protagonist who was originally supposed to seal away the Elf Kingdom's power.
But now there are no Elf Kingdom to seal, she's just an ordinary girl?
"Mana?"
"She wasn't adopted with Shiori Itsuka and has always worked to earn money on her own. However, I gave her some fragments of spiritual energy, which is why her body hasn't grown."
Higashino Makoto thought to himself, this arrangement was exactly what he wanted.
Is this the benefit of being treated like a main character?
Indeed, I'll have to be a savior more often in the future!
There was no way around it; the compensation was just too good to pass up.
"Fine."
Mio's fingers paused for a moment.
"I don't know how to raise a child."
She looked up at him, her pale blue eyes meeting his.
"I want you to decide. You specifically entrusted them to me before you left, and I know you care about them, so I left them here. When you come back, you can decide how to arrange things."
Higashino Makoto stared into those eyes for a long time.
"You..."
To build a harem for myself?
Haki Mio, you're just so irresistible!
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
He reached out and pulled her into his arms.
"Thanks."
Mio's lips curled into a slight smile. She buried her face in his chest and closed her eyes.
When Higashino Makoto left Mio Takamiya, his legs felt a little weak.
It's not that my body is weak; how could a body above level 100 be weak?
Please don't talk nonsense.
I haven't been able to get out of bed much for three days, and my muscles haven't adjusted to gravity yet.
He stood at the doorway, took a deep breath, and felt the warm sunlight on his face.
The taste of freedom.
To be honest, probably because of the shared origin of their powers, when I'm with Mio, in addition to physical pleasure, our powers also intertwine, so our compatibility seems to be at its best.
I'm really amazing that I was able to resist such temptation and leave the room!
He walked along the street, holding the address Mio had given him in his hand.
Kurumi lives in an apartment building in the East Ward of Tengu City, not far from here, about a 20-minute walk.
He didn't use teleportation or flying; he just wanted to walk there.
My feet sank into the concrete, each step firm and steady.
The apartment building is gray, six stories high, and the exterior walls are somewhat old.
He stood in front of the door and knocked three times.
The door opened.
Tokisaki Kurumi stood in the doorway. Her long black hair was tied into two braids, which fell to her shoulders.
Her right eye was visible, while her left eye was covered by her bangs. She wore a long black and red dress that reached her ankles, and a thick book hung from her waist.
"Ara ara."
Her right eye curved into a crescent moon, and a half-smile played at the corners of her mouth.
"My savior, you've worked hard, don't wear those stockings."
Higashino Makoto looked at her and remained silent for two seconds.
Then he reached out, pinched her cheeks, and pulled them apart slightly.
Her face was stretched into a pancake shape, and her mouth was pulled open, revealing her neat teeth.
"Speak properly."
Kurumi did not struggle.
She just stood there, her face being pulled by him, her right eye still curved, the smile on her lips distorted but not gone.
He released her hand, and her face bounced back, leaving two faint red marks on her skin.
She reached up and rubbed her cheek.
"That was really heavy-handed."
"You asked for it."
Kurumi stepped aside.
"Come in."
Higashino Makoto entered the room.