Saki didn't know what Ryuji was thinking, but she was just thrilled that he had agreed. Without thinking, she cheered and hugged him.

  "I k! Thank you!"

  Saki's figure, while not as exaggerated as Hana's, was still quite impressive. Ryuji couldn't help but notice how felt for a moment.

  But before he could react further, there were two knocks at the door.

  "Dong! Dong!"

  The sound interrupted the moment, and perhaps realizing how forward she had just been, Saki quickly pulled away, coughing awkwardly to mask her embarrassment.

  "Cough… cough."

  The door to the service club opened, and Nakano Miku peeked her head in with a bright smile.

  "Excuse me, is Ryuji here?"

  Ryuji nodded as he stood, looking over at Miku and the four identical girls who entered with her.

  "Quintuplets?"

  Yukino and Saki, who were sitting nearby, couldn't help but murmur in surprise. Seeing twins was rare, but quintuplets? That was something else entirely.

  "Hello! I'm Nakano Ichika," the eldest introduced herself with a friendly smile. The other sisters followed her lead, each saying their names in turn—Nino, Yotsuba, and Itsuki.

  Ichika, meanwhile, subtly surveyed the clubroom, her eyes taking in the girls already inside Yukino and Saki, but also Miko and Hana, who were sitting quietly with their eyes closed as if meditating.

  All of them were beautiful. Ichika couldn't help but notice this as she gnced back at her sister, Miku. Her heart sank a little.

  "How is Miku going to pete with all of these girls?"

  She didn't want to admit it, but pared to the others, her sister didn't seem to stand out as muo wonder Ryuji wasn't showing muthusiasm toward her.

  At first, Ichika thought maybe Ryuji was just pying hard to get, but now it seemed like he genuinely wasn't that ied.

  "So," Ryuji said, breaking the sileell me what's going on."

  Nino stepped forward, adjusting her breathing before retiory iail. She had felt like someone was watg her she had initially assumed it ervert, but now, after hearing what Miku had said, she suspected it might be something more… supernatural. That was why they had e to him for help.

  "That's definitely strange," Yukino and Saki nodded as they listehen turheir gaze to Ryuji, waiting to see how he would hahe situation.

  "Alright, stretch out your hand," Ryuji said calmly, holding his hand out to Nino.

  "Huh?"

  Niated for a moment, feeling a bit awkward. It wasn't every day that she let a strange boy hold her hand. But after a g Miku, who gave her an encing nod, Nino finally stepped forward and pced her hand in Ryuji's.

  "…Hmm."

  Nothing happehe entry-triggering sound that Ryuji had grown aced to didn't e. He let go of her hand, already disied.

  "???"

  Nino was fused. It had been her first time holding hands with a boy, and it had felt a bit… weird. But the fact that Ryuji let go so quickly, as if ued, made her wonder was there something wrong with her?

  "Am I ugly?" she thought, her cheeks flushing slightly.

  Women's thoughts could be so tradictory. If a guy showed too muterest, they might feel unfortable, but if he showed no i, it left them feeling… unappreciated.

  Ichika, atg from the side, could see things clearly now. It was just as she suspected Ryuji wasn't ied i all. She had worried for nothing.

  "So… was it something supernatural?" Miku asked anxiously, her voice tinged with .

  "No," Ryuji replied ftly.

  "No?"

  Everyone, including Nino, seemed surprised by the answer.

  Ryuji shrugged. "I didn't sense any cursed energy or anything stra's probably just a regur pervert watg you."

  Sometimes, the mind pyed tricks on people. They might think something supernatural was happening when, iy, it was nothing at all. Ryuji didn't see anything unusual in Nino's case.

  "ime after school, split up and follow quietly," Ryuji suggested. "Leave Nino alone as bait, and the rest of you catch whoever's watg her."

  Sini watched even at school, the stalker had to be someone close by. With the bined effort of the five sisters, catg him would be easy.

  "Got it!" Ichika nodded seriously, already thinking about how they could pn it out. Even though it wasn't a supernatural issue, the idea of a pervert lurking around her sister made her skin crawl.

  "Don't worry, Nino! We'll catch that creep!" Yotsuba chimed in cheerfully.

  "Yeah," Nino said, finally able to rex a little now that she k wasn't some cursed spirit after her. Still, she ched her fists in frustration. That pervert's beeing away for too long… Not this time.

  Ichika had been about to say they should leave now that the issue was resolved, but before she could, Miku moved closer to Ryuji, her eyes filled with .

  "Ryuji-kun, you must deal with these monsters every day, right? It must be really hard on you."

  Miku's voice was soft, and she gazed up at him with an expression that showed how much she cared. Meanwhile, Yotsuba and Itsuki, the two most carefree of the quintuplets, were busy expl the clubroom, clearly fasated by their surroundings.

  Ichika stood back, watg Miku's iion with Ryuji. She wao pull her sister aside and say, "Give it up already. He's not ied." But she didn't want to embarrass Miku in front of everyone, so she kept quiet for now.

  "Are they resting?"

  At this moment Miku looked at Miko and Hana.

  Sitting there with their eyes closed. If they were really resting, Miku felt that she should keep her voice down, otherwise it would easily disturb them.

  "They're trating," Ryuji said, notig Miku's curious goward Miko and Hana, who were still sitting with their eyes closed. "trolling their cursed energy."

  "trolling cursed energy?" Miku echoed, her curiosity growing.

  "Yes," Ryuji nodded. "They're training to bee sorcerers."

  At this, Ichika's skeptical expressiourned. She still didn't fully believe in the supernatural. After all, she hadn't personally seen anything out of the ordinary yet.

  "I wonder if I could—" Miku started, but before she could finish her sentehe door to the clubroom opened again.

  "We're here!" Utaha's voice rang out as she and Eriri entered side by side.

  Seeing the Nakano sisters, Utaha's eyes widened in surprise before she smirked and looked at Ryuji.

  "Well, well. Ryuji's luck with women never seems to run out, does it?"

  Though it was meant as a harmless joke, Miku turned red with embarrassment.

  "No, no, it's not like that! I'm here because I needed Ryuji-kun's help," Miku stammered, worried that her sudden appearance might annoy him.

  "Oh? I see," Utaha replied, gng at Miku with a knowing smile. "This girl definitely has a crush on him."

  Ichika, watg the whole exge, shook her head again. *Miku, you're not hiding your feelings well at all.*

  "Haah," Eriri yawned as she stretched, clearly exhausted. "Is the clubroom this crowded every day? I was hoping to take a nap."

  She looked around, clearly ahat her quiet lunch break pns were ruined.

  "Were you up all night reading… certain ics again?" Utaha teased.

  "Of course not!" Eriri shot back, but she didn't have the energy for her usual banter. She rolled her eyes at Utaha and plopped down in a seat o Ryuji, looking like she was about to pass out.

  "e here," Ryuji said suddenly, waving Eriri over with a serious expression.

  "Hmm?"

  Eriri blinked, fused by his sudden request, but obediently leaned closer.

  Before she could ask what was going on, Ryuji pced his hand on her forehead, his eyes narrowing in tration. A moment ter, he pulled back, and with a swift motion, something that looked like a small fox spirit ulled out of Eriri's body.

  "Ahhh!"

  The fox-like spirit squealed, struggling in Ryuji's grasp.

  Everyone in the room, especially the Nakano sisters, froze in shock.

  "What… is that?" Eriri whispered, her eyes wide. She had no idea such a thing had been lurking inside her.

  But what was even more surprising was how quickly she felt different.

  "I don't… feel tired anymore?"

  Just a moment ago, she had been exhausted, but now, after the spirit was removed, she felt pletely refreshed. The sleepihat had weighed her down vanished in an instant.

  "What the heck was that thing?" Ichika muttered, her skeptiature starting to crack. Even Yotsuba and Itsuki were staring at the se, eyes wide with disbelief.

  "Big sister…" Yotsuba whispered, turning to Ichika. "What… what was that?"

  Ichika, still in shock herself, shook her head. "I… I have no idea."

  For the first time, Ichika found herself at a plete loss for words. She, who always had an answer for everything, was staring at something she couldn't expin. Her sisters looked to her for reassurance, but all she could do was shake her head in disbelief.

  "Let me go! Let me go!" the fox spirit screeched, still writhing in Ryuji's grip.

  Ryuji ighe spirit's protests.

  Eriri rubbed her forehead where Ryuji had touched her, still processing what had just happened. "I had no idea something like that was inside me," she mumbled, her voice quieter than usual.

  "Well, now it's not," Ryuji said casually, as if pulling spirits out of people was the most normal thing in the world.

  The Nakano sisters, meanwhile, were frozen iheir earlier skepticism now pletely shattered. Yotsuba, always the most eic, finally broke the silence.

  "That was… a real ghost?" she whispered, looking up at Ichika with wide eyes.

  Ichika slowly nodded, still unsure of how to process everything.