I Sealed Sukuna’s Finger#515+516: She Couldn't Eat Lunch, Another Little Succubus!

With Bokue around, returning to the Keystone Gate didn't take much time at all.

As for what to do once they got back—well, that went without saying.

First, Yukina had already asked Nagisa to request time off from school on her behalf, while Sayaka had similarly informed La Folia in advance since they'd be meeting with Master today.

Especially considering that after returning from the Lion King Organization's Itogami Island office, it was only nine in the morning.

In other words, they still had plenty of leisurely time to "enjoy" their day off.

From sunrise through high noon, the sounds from inside the apartment showed no signs of stopping.

❁❁❁❁

[Shared Sensation] truly was a magnificent innovation. It allowed everyone within range to experience the physical sensations of whichever target the caster selected.

It also eliminated the awkward situation of having girls wait around with nothing to do while queuing for their turn at the single available "workstation."

Just like right now.

Though Bokue was currently focused on one particular girl, the overwhelming sensations rippling through her body were simultaneously transmitted to her companion through the technique—every tremor, every gasp, every moment of exquisite intensity shared between them.

Which was precisely why Sayaka kept desperately trying to get Bokue to show some restraint.

After all, experiencing everything secondhand was already pushing her limits. If this continued much longer—

Like this, going all out without holding back—

Unfortunately, her voice couldn't reach the young man.

The petite sword shaman girl could only maintain her embarrassed silence, enduring wave after wave of shared pleasure.

Finally, after one more particularly intense surge—

❁❁❁❁

Another hour or so passed before the sunlight outside finally hung directly overhead above Itogami Island.

Inside the now-cleaned living room, both girls gradually regained consciousness.

"Mmm..."

A soft murmur broke the quiet air.

When Sayaka opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was pure white. She could hear the clinking sounds of what seemed to be someone making juice nearby.

Looking up, the living room appeared just as familiar as always—except she no longer felt that strange sensation in her body. She'd been thoroughly cleaned and wrapped in a large, fresh bath towel.

As for the juice-making sounds, they came from the kitchen area.

Bokue currently stood at the open kitchen counter with his back to them, several glass tumblers arranged before him filled with what appeared to be tangerine or orange juice. Ice cubes floated on the surface, condensation forming droplets that slid down the frosted exterior of the glasses.

It looked incredibly refreshing...

Gulp~

Sayaka's throat moved involuntarily, though the swallowing sound actually came from beside her.

Hmm?

The War Dancer instinctively turned her head to see Yukina—similarly cleaned and wrapped in a towel—had apparently woken up as well, staring fixedly at the young man processing juice in the kitchen.

"Y-Yukina... you're awake too."

Sayaka spoke softly.

Her voice still carried a hoarse edge from having been overused earlier.

"Uh... yeah."

Yukina seemed to realize only now that her friend had also regained consciousness, nodding with slightly flushed cheeks.

"Are you okay, Yukina?"

Recalling the final moments before her memory went blank, Sayaka couldn't help but complain.

"Bokue really overdid it, using you like that..."

"Oh? You're both awake?"

Before the War Dancer could finish, Bokue suddenly appeared beside them, his voice practically right against their faces.

Eep!

Sayaka instinctively leaned backward.

"W-wait! We just woke up! If you're going to continue, at least let us rest for a bit... no, let Yukina rest at least! If you absolutely have to, then use me instead..."

"What are you even talking about?"

Before she could finish, the young man's voice came again, accompanied by something cool pressing against Sayaka's cheek.

"Mya??"

The suddenly stimulated War Dancer let out an adorably startled sound.

She practically bounced off the sofa—though lacking sufficient strength, she only managed a slight attempt at sitting up before settling back down.

Only then did Sayaka see clearly what had touched her face.

It was the iced juice Bokue had been preparing in the kitchen.

"I'm just giving you the juice I made. I knew you'd be thirsty when you woke up, so I prepared it in advance."

Bokue held out the drinks to both girls.

But neither reached out to take them.

Sayaka rolled her eyes with mild exasperation.

"Idiot. We just woke up—we don't have the strength to hold glasses right now."

"Oh, right. My bad..."

Bokue raised an eyebrow in understanding, then brought both glasses to the girls' lips.

"Here, open up. Say 'ahh'—"

Truly exemplary service.

Without any objections, both girls downed most of their juice in one go and immediately felt considerably recovered.

Pulling the glass away, Yukina licked the lingering traces of icy-sweet citrus from the corners of her mouth and blinked up at the young man.

"Senpai, there's actually something else we'll need your help with later."

"What's that?"

Bokue looked puzzled.

"Grocery shopping."

The sword shaman's response was concise.

"After dinner last night, there wasn't much left in the fridge. Originally, I was planning to go shopping with Sayaka after we got back from Master's, but now we don't have the energy. So I'll have to ask you to go down to the shopping center below and pick some things up."

"Oh, sure, no problem. I'll head down after you finish your juice."

Bokue nodded agreeably.

"Though it might be too late to make lunch now. How about I just grab takeout?"

"Lunch..."

At the mention of those two words, Yukina and Sayaka exchanged glances, their already-flushed faces turning even redder.

The sword shaman shook her head shyly with small movements.

"That's okay. Just buy the ingredients. As for lunch... we're not really hungry."

❁❁❁❁

Meanwhile, directly below the apartment, a certain wine-red-haired girl arrived at the city center plaza located before the Keystone Gate.

It was Eguchi Yume.

She gazed up at the structure before her—reportedly the tallest building on all of Itogami Island—tilting her small head in confusion.

Honestly, she wasn't entirely sure why she'd come here. But something told her that if she came to this place, good things would happen...

With that thought, Eguchi Yume began walking toward the Keystone Gate's entrance.

At the same moment, Bokue Keikain's face flashed through her mind.

'I wonder if I'll run into that big brother who wasn't affected by my mental control?'

<><><><><><><><>

Sometimes coincidences just work out that way.

The moment Bokue had finished settling Yukina and Sayaka upstairs and arrived at the shopping center entrance below the Keystone Gate, he immediately spotted a small, familiar figure standing at the entrance.

It was none other than the nightmare girl they'd encountered on their way back from the Lion King Organization's office earlier.

After all, today was a weekday and it was broad daylight, so even Itogami Island's largest indoor commercial plaza didn't have many visitors.

Which made spotting a familiar face in the sparse crowd pretty straightforward.

Wait a second...

Bokue raised an eyebrow.

If he remembered correctly, the office was quite a distance from the Keystone Gate. To avoid random people accidentally wandering in, the Lion King Organization had deliberately located their office on Itogami Island's outskirts—basically in the "countryside."

Normally, it took about forty minutes by bus to reach the city center. If you walked the whole way, it would probably take two hours or more.

Yet Eguchi Yume had somehow ended up here with pinpoint accuracy.

Following them? Highly unlikely.

Which meant this had to be pure coincidence.

While Bokue was still puzzling over this, the nightmare girl standing at the mall entrance seemed to sense someone watching her. She turned to look, her gaze landing directly on the young man who'd also just noticed her.

"Ah! It's the big brother from this morning!"

As if her inner premonition had come true, Eguchi Yume's beautiful, youthful face lit up with a delighted smile.

Without a trace of shyness, she raised her hand and waved, then actively started running toward Bokue.

"We meet again, big brother!"

"Yeah, we do."

Bokue watched the girl bounce cheerfully up to him. That "big brother" gave him a distinct sense of déjà vu with Nagisa.

Though there were slight differences from Nagisa.

Nagisa always gave off that innocent, adorable, energetic girl vibe—well... except when he was "feeding her milk."

But this nightmare girl in front of him had a vaguely mischievous feel to her.

Hard to pin down exactly, but roughly the same energy as Iroha Isshiki from Oregairu... Hmm?

Bokue suddenly realized something.

Wait—when they'd first met at the office this morning, had she given off this impression?

She seemed... different somehow.

Whoosh~

Subtle air currents interrupted the young man's thoughts. When Bokue snapped out of his contemplation, he saw a slender black tail with a heart-shaped tip swaying back and forth right in front of him.

And the other end of that tail... led directly under the nightmare girl's pleated skirt.

"What's wrong, what's wrong? Did big brother suddenly space out?"

Eguchi Yume pressed her index finger against the corner of her mouth, leaning forward slightly as she tilted her head to look up at the young man. What should have been a cute, childish expression somehow carried a hint of seductiveness with her movements.

"...Nothing. I just feel like you're a bit different from when I saw you this morning."

Bokue pointed at the small tail still swaying constantly beside her.

"Is this like some kind of form-switching thing where your personality changes too?"

That wasn't baseless speculation.

Just like how hormonal imbalances could make someone irritable, ramping up power output would similarly make someone more aggressive. Switching forms and altering power output levels would undoubtedly affect someone's mentality and even personality.

Just like Eguchi Yume right now.

"Switching personalities? Mm... I suppose you could say that."

The nightmare girl tapped her lips thoughtfully, then suddenly smiled faintly.

"Oh right, I kept forgetting to mention—I never expected to run into big brother here. What a nice surprise! Maybe this is what people call fate?"

"Yeah, seems like quite the coincidence."

Bokue looked up and scanned the area, eventually settling on a café about twenty meters away on the same floor.

"We're not in any rush anyway. Want to grab a drink? My treat, of course."

"Sure, sure~!"

Eguchi Yume agreed without hesitation, smiling.

"Wait—does this count as big brother asking Ririu on a date?"

"I'm just buying you a drink. Nobody takes elementary schoolers on dates."

Bokue shook his head and started walking toward the café.

"Also, isn't your name Eguchi Yume? What's this 'Ririu' business?"

"Mm... don't worry about it so much. Just think of it as a nickname or something."

The nightmare girl's tail swayed lightly behind her as she followed along.

❁❁❁❁

The scene shifted—the two had already seated themselves inside the café.

Bokue ordered a chocolate sundae for himself, while getting Eguchi Yume a hot cocoa.

They sat down at a window booth. The nightmare girl held her cup with both hands, sipping the warm brown liquid through a straw while her beautiful blue-purple eyes reflected the image of the young man methodically scooping at his sundae with a spoon.

"Mm~ I never expected a grown-up like big brother would still enjoy eating sundaes. Shouldn't you act mature and order coffee, then lecture Ririu about how kids can't drink coffee while sipping it?"

"That's what you think."

Bokue shrugged.

"Besides, I'm only seventeen. There's at most a five or six-year age gap between us. What's weird about liking sundaes?"

This was a pattern Bokue had identified long ago.

First off, coffee's defining characteristic was bitterness. But if he really wanted to pursue that bitter flavor, he should just drink iced Americano straight. Yet Bokue absolutely couldn't stand iced Americano. Between that and drinks like mocha, latte, or cappuccino—which had milk and sweetness—he'd take the latter any day.

Which led to another problem.

If he was already drinking sweet, milky coffee... why not just buy bubble tea instead?

There was literally no point drinking coffee at that point.

"Oh~ I see."

The nightmare girl nodded seriously, then tilted her head.

"By the way, when we first met this morning, big brother seemed completely unaffected by Ririu's nightmare powers. Why is that?"

"Why?"

Bokue's spoon paused mid-scoop, repeating the question.

Then he gave a straightforward answer.

"Because you're too weak."

"Uwaa~ That's so mean!"