Chapter 194: I kept my promise.

Since Eva and her little one had dinner with them, the evening went by normally, with some casual conversations among everyone. However, Eva couldn’t help but glance at Kai with a bit of surprise—just when she thought no one besides Keiko and her daughter could eat so much while still looking so slim and toned, Kai showed up eating more than the two of them combined, leaving her amazed at how impressive some quirks could be.

After dinner, Eva said her goodbyes and headed to the room she was using with her son, as she wanted to bathe him and get him ready for bed. Meanwhile, the rest of the family gathered in the main living room, and just as Kai sat down on the largest couch, Momo and Nejire happily sat on his lap, their faces lit up with cheerful smiles—though a hint of shyness could still be seen on Momo’s face.

Seeing Momo and Nejire’s affectionate behavior, Chatora, Nemuri, Ryuko, and Shino couldn’t help but laugh a little, clearly amused. Meanwhile, Tomoko, wearing a rather “combative” expression, suddenly jumped like a cat to sit on Kai’s left side and cling to his arm. This made Kai glance at her with a touch of surprise—after all, while Tomoko did enjoy clinging to him from time to time, her competitive and slightly jealous expression was far from her usual demeanor.

Meanwhile, when Keiko and Yumiko saw their daughters sitting on Kai’s lap, it somehow transported them back in time, as it was very common for the girls to do exactly that when they were little. However, upon seeing Tomoko’s actions, they couldn’t help but frown—though they quickly relaxed when they noticed the confusion on Kai’s face, along with the slightly guilty and uncomfortable looks on Momo and Nejire. It didn’t take much for them to put the pieces together.

“Uh, well, I don’t know if everyone’s already aware, but I think it’s important that I say it myself.” Although a bit surprised by Tomoko, Kai quickly set it aside and spoke while letting his gaze pass over everyone present. Then, with a serious tone, he announced.

“I’m actually in a romantic relationship with Nemuri, Shino, and Ryuko, and Momo and Nejire joined us a few days ago. I don’t expect you to understand or support us; I just hope you can tolerate us and give us the chance to see where this leads.”

Upon hearing Kai’s serious announcement, Momo and Nejire quickly turned to give him each a loving kiss on the cheek. At that moment, Nemuri—who had already taken off her hero costume and was now wearing simple and comfortable light gray pants along with a loose white blouse tied at the waist—walked over cheerfully and hugged Kai’s neck from behind, then kissed him on the cheek and said with a big smile.

“I know you all already know, but still, we’ll be in your care. Even if it might seem strange, I want you to know that we’re truly happy, and we intend to keep it that way.”

Soon after, Shino and Ryuko also walked over to Kai—Shino was wearing a simple short red sundress with thin straps and a cat print in the center, while Ryuko wore tight pink shorts along with a comfortable tank top of the same color.

Shino and Ryuko sat to the left and right sides of the couch, respectively. Ryuko wrapped her arms around Kai's, while Shino—who was next to Tomoko—simply rested her hand gently on her friend’s thigh.

“I also want to apologize for keeping this a secret for so long. It's just that we weren’t sure how to break the news, let alone how you’d all react.” Shino said in a serious tone, to which Ryuko responded with a cheerful smile.

“Yeah, but now that you know, we really feel more at ease and comfortable. Though I assure you, our dynamic isn’t going to change much—you’ll hardly notice a difference.”

Ryuko spoke with a calm smile, and at that moment, Nemuri, Shino, Nejire, and Momo turned to look at her with questioning expressions. After all, they did want some things to change. They wanted to be much more open and affectionate at home without having to hide.

But when they saw Ryuko simply smiling back at them calmly, they quickly began to reflect and realized that perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea after all. It could affect the mothers, and it was probably better to take things one step at a time to avoid rejection.

“As Kai usually says—what’s done is done. Since this is already happening, I just hope you take care of yourselves and be cautious. We don’t want to see any of you get hurt, and even less do we want to see the family fall apart because of misunderstandings or arguments.”

Chatora said in a calm tone, looking seriously at each of them. Everyone nodded solemnly in response, and that’s when Kai spoke, his tone slightly solemn as well.

“It's the last thing I want. I’ll do everything I can to make sure that never happens.”

“We all will.”

Nemuri quickly added with a serious and solemn tone, to which the other girls nodded in agreement. At that moment, Keiko sighed and spoke in a calm voice, looking at Kai with affection.

“Actually, Kai, Yumiko and I spoke with Nemuri, Shino, and Ryuko, and we were convinced by their sincerity. And since Momo and Nejire are far too stubborn for anyone to even think about changing their minds, you have my support. If anything happens, you can always come to me—you know you can count on me for anything, at any time.”

“Thank you, Keiko. I know that, and I truly appreciate it.”

Kai responded quickly with genuine gratitude and happiness, and Keiko gave him a warm smile, not caring in the slightest whether or not Kai had picked up on the subtle message hidden between her words. It was then that Yumiko spoke in a calm tone.

“It’s the same with me, Kai. No matter what it is, you can count on me. Don’t hold back in any way. Though I would like to ask you to take good care of my Nejire—she’s my princess, and I don’t want to see her suffer. I know you’d never hurt her intentionally, but I still want to ask this so that you stay even more aware. The relationship you’re all in is incredibly complex, and a lot of things could go wrong...”

“I know, and believe me, even though I made sure each of them understood the challenges of this madness, I’ll still do everything I can to make sure things go well—or at the very least, that no one gets hurt. And if I fail, rest assured I’ll take full responsibility and find a solution at any cost. And not just for Nejire—Momo, Nemuri, Shino, and Ryuko too. I’ll do everything I can for them.”

Although Kai’s words brought warm smiles to Keiko and Yumiko’s lips, they made Nejire and Momo frown as they turned to look at him. Nejire cupped his cheeks and spoke in an unusually serious tone.

“Kai! I was the one who made the decision to join despite your warnings. And while I really love how much you care about me and want to protect me, this is an exception. This relationship is something we’re all in together, and the responsibility falls on all of us equally. Just like you want us to be happy, we want you to be happy too. And with so much on your mind, that’s going to be hard unless you take it easy. Like you always say—step by step.”

“Nejire took the words right out of my mouth. Relax, Kai. We’re all in this together. You don’t have to carry everything by yourself. Let us do our part.” Momo added firmly, which made Shino, Ryuko, and Nemuri smile tenderly. After a small chuckle, Nemuri spoke up.

“The girls are right, Kai. Let us take care of you too—you’re not responsible for everything.”

“Yes, darling, things have been going well. We’re happy, and we know the kind of person you are—and you know the kind of people we are. We’ll all do our part to make sure everything turns out fine.”

“I feel exactly the same as the others. We’re doing things right, so let’s keep it that way.” Shino said with a calm smile as she looked at Tomoko, gently rubbing her thigh, to which the beautiful turquoise-haired woman nodded with a serious expression.

Meanwhile, Chatora, seeing how incredibly united they all were, couldn’t help but smile with joy. Even though it was a bit different from how he had imagined his soul sisters’ happiness would look, it was easy to see that they were genuinely happy—radiating vitality and hope for the future.

For the first time in many years, he felt a heavy weight of guilt lift from his heart, leaving him feeling incredibly light and joyful. As if he could run ten marathons in a row without the slightest hint of exhaustion.

At the same time, Keiko and Yumiko looked at each other and nodded in satisfaction. Things were much better than they had expected. Just as the girls had said, the relationship hadn’t changed much—it had simply brought them all closer together, more in sync, as if they now all felt with the same heart. That realization brought them a great sense of peace, along with a subtle tinge of longing.

“I’m not promising anything, but I’ll try to relax a little more from now on.”

Being ‘attacked’ from all sides, Kai could only respond with a happy smile. But his expression quickly turned serious again, which caught the girls’ attention. He then spoke in a calm voice while looking at Nejire.

“But setting that aside for now, there’s something else we need to talk about—and though I’m not sure if you know, your father came by this morning, Nejire.”

“Dad came?!”

Upon hearing the announcement, Nejire couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise, then quickly turned to look at her mother in disbelief—she hadn’t mentioned anything. The others did the same, except for Keiko, who calmly accepted the cup of tea served by Mrs. Yoshiko, the family’s trusted housekeeper. She always wore her dark purple hair shoulder-length, perfectly styled and silky.

Her face, slightly marked by the passage of time due to her age, always carried a soft and professional smile. This, combined with her attire—which resembled a service uniform, though only slightly, as it wasn’t truly one but rather something Yumiko had designed specifically for her when she insisted on having one—made her appear consistently elegant and dignified.

That expression remained perfectly unchanged even after hearing the shocking news about Kai’s immoral relationship with five women—she didn’t even twitch an eyebrow, as if she hadn’t heard it at all. It was that unshakable demeanor that had earned her not only the affection but the complete trust of the entire family. To the point where no one felt the need to hold back what they said in the house, even in her presence.

It wasn’t for nothing that she was the family’s most trusted confidant, and Kai paid her a literal fortune every month. Even though she knew everything about everyone—some things more compromising than others—not a single word had ever left her lips in all her years of service at the mansion. Not even to her own family. She was an impenetrable vault of secrets who held such an important place in the household—especially in Kai’s heart—that she’d only have to open her mouth for everyone to come running to defend her without asking a single question.

“Don’t look at me like that. I was planning to bring it up after dinner since there were more important things to talk about. Kai just stole my moment—I swear I was going to mention it in a bit.”

Yumiko responded in a serious tone, completely certain of her words—swearing she’d take to the grave the fact that she had completely forgotten that that worthless man had even shown up.

“…What happened with Dad…?” After a few seconds, Nejire asked in a quiet, conflicted voice, prompting Yumiko to gesture for her daughter to sit on her lap as she began to speak.

“Nothing important. He came trying to convince me to give him the designs for the upcoming collection. But right then, Kai woke up, and after a brief argument, your father told me he wanted to start a new life with his lover and the baby on the way. He claimed he never meant to steal the company, just wanted to protect it from creditors after the mess he made—and a bunch of other things.

“Even though I didn’t really believe most of what he said, I told him that if he was telling the truth, then he should respond to the summons from my lawyer that would arrive in a few days to sign the divorce papers, and that he should follow our instructions to return the company to my hands. Then he left—not without first saying that he’s going to fight to keep half of what’s mine in the divorce.”

As Nejire moved from Kai’s lap to sit on her mother’s, Kai looked at Yumiko with suspicion. After all, while her account wasn’t too far from what had actually happened, it was impressive how, with that brief summary, Haruto now somehow came off as far more ‘villainous’ and ‘bold’ than he had actually been at the moment. It was then that Nemuri couldn’t help but ask, not entirely convinced.

“He really dared to say all that in front of Kai?”

“Well, he squirmed a bit, and Kai gave him a couple of hits, but then healed him, and everything turned out fine.” Yumiko replied casually, gently stroking her troubled daughter’s head. At that moment, Ryuko couldn’t help but glance at Kai and ask, somewhat surprised.

“You showed your powers just like that, Kai?”

“Not really. I healed him, but I didn’t let him see what was going on, so he can’t be sure how I did it—or even if it was me. Besides, the guy has more important things to worry about right now.” Kai answered calmly. Nejire then looked at him with a complicated expression, prompting him to quickly add in a serious tone.

“I left him good as new—I swear! I kept my promise!”

“I know…”

Nejire replied in a soft voice, feeling deeply conflicted. Even though her father was a bastard, and she fully understood that, she couldn’t stop loving him—he was still her father, after all. At the same time, she loved Kai deeply and knew exactly how much he despised traitors. So, the fact that he hadn’t torn her father to pieces with his swords already said a lot about how much he valued his words and promises. And yet, she couldn’t stop feeling sad and hurt.

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