SCIAW: Chapter 573/574

Chapter 573: Filling Desires and Possessiveness

The next morning, the Amamiya Residence, in the Miyano sisters' room, was very quiet.

Yesterday, her sister didn't come back.

Shiho was currently sitting on the bed, her gaze a bit dazed as she stared at her sister's bed.

It was empty. The bedding hadn't been touched, looking exactly as it had before she went to sleep last night.

She naturally knew that her sister had gone to Ren for advancement.

But would advancement take an entire night? It couldn't be that she stayed overnight in Ren's room just because of that, right?

That didn't seem like something Ren would do.

Ren was always respectful toward women, treating everyone appropriately. He wouldn't make such a rash decision.

Shiho, based on her judgment, first ruled out the possibility that it was Ren who had her sister stay overnight.

So, was it her sister?

After some analysis, Shiho concluded that her sister had voluntarily stayed in Ren's room overnight.

Oh, right. Could something have gone wrong during the advancement, like what happened with Chika?

Shiho naturally knew that Chika had encountered problems during her advancement.

Considering her sister's intention in going to Ren yesterday, Shiho felt that, compared to Ren's or her sister's needs, the possibility of something going wrong during advancement was more likely.

Had the advancement failed?

Shiho's expression turned serious. Without even changing out of her pajamas, she left the room and went straight to Ren's door.

She gently knocked.

Knock knock knock!

"Come in."

Hearing Ren's response from inside, Shiho slowly turned the doorknob, peeking into the room.

What met her eyes was Ren holding her sister, sleeping on the bed.

This scene made Shiho momentarily doubt her judgment, but when she saw how her sister was clinging tightly to him, her head buried deeply in his embrace, she knew she had been right.

Shiho didn't feel embarrassed. She stepped into the room and pointed at her sister.

"Advancement consumes a lot of energy."

"Even without the influence of the ancient gods, a Secrets Suppliant's advancement isn't easy. And your sister was under considerable pressure. The issues weighing on her mind became added pressure during the advancement."

Ren looked down at Akemi, who was still sleeping soundly. He smiled gently and patted her back softly, as if coaxing a large child.

"She was afraid of failing the advancement and being abandoned by me. Afraid that if she died, she would leave you behind."

"Because she's lost everything before, she treasures it even more now that she has it again."

"That sense of comfort became something she feared losing, and it turned into pressure during the advancement."

Akemi's lips twitched slightly in her sleep. She didn't wake up but continued to sleep peacefully.

Seeing her sleep so soundly, Ren continued gently stroking her back.

"I gave her a reason to feel at ease."

"What reason?"

Shiho looked at her sleeping sister. She understood her sister's worries, but Ren's words piqued her curiosity.

"I told her I wouldn't abandon either of you."

Shiho paused slightly, then understood that this was Ren's promise to both of them.

"So, this was said to me too?"

"Yes. I said it to both of you."

"Finally, Lord God has developed desire for us."

Shiho wasn't angry at all. Instead, a sense of relief filled her voice.

"I was always worried whether you would abandon my sister and me. That's why we've been trying so hard to be useful, so we could stay by your side. We didn't want to repeat what happened in our previous lives."

"...I just wanted to respect your choices."

Ren fell silent for a moment. He realized that his one-sided consideration had turned into a kind of forceful approach. He shook his head, smiling bitterly.

"I didn't expect my actions would cause you two so much unease."

"No."

Shiho gently shook her head. She knelt by the bed, held his hand with both of hers, and looked at him with reverence and respect.

"My sister and I understand your intentions. You've given us, the sisters, the freedom we always longed for. Everything we have now is because of you. We're both grateful for your generosity."

"Not just freedom, but also grace. What you gave us isn't just any kind of freedom, but a freedom without restriction or color..."

"But precisely because of that, we feel uneasy."

"The less you need our contributions, the more we feel like we're not needed. We worry that one day, we'll be discarded, like a rag that's lost its luster."

"That's why my sister and I want to stay by your side. We're willing to give everything for you. Only then will we be needed. That's the only place we can truly belong."

That deep-seated unease had always existed in the hearts of the Miyano sisters.

The more Ren respected their freedom and refrained from making demands, the more insecure they felt. They yearned for a sense of belonging.

But Ren had never given them an answer before. That silence became the source of their constant fear of abandonment.

Hearing Shiho's words, Ren hadn't expected the result to be this way.

He always believed he was being respectful to women. Yet his respect had caused these two girls such anxiety.

"So, I should have more desire?"

Seeing Ren's gloomy expression, Shiho's lips unconsciously curved into a smile.

"Yes. You should have stronger desires, especially for girls like my sister and me, who have voids in our hearts. Your direct desires will fill those voids and give us a sense of security."

"We yearn for freedom, but our circumstances make it difficult to obtain it. And even when we have it, we still feel uneasy. What we fear most is being abandoned, even if the power you gave us is enough to survive."

Listening to Shiho, Ren's expression grew more troubled. In the end, all his good intentions had caused nothing but pain.

"So, please have more desire and possessiveness toward us. To outsiders, it may seem impolite, but for people like us who just crawled out of the abyss, it's exactly what we need."

Shiho's words left Ren silent.

"I understand."

"This is my promise to you. No matter what happens, I will never abandon you two sisters. You will always belong to me."

(To be continued.)

Chapter 574: “Akira Kurusu” and “Shido Masayoshi”

"Hmm... Shiho?"

Akemi, who had slept soundly, opened her eyes to find her sister's face very close to hers.

"Good morning, Sis."

Shiho, lying on her side on the bed, raised a hand in greeting.

Her mind, still foggy from sleep, cleared instantly.

"Shiho! Why are you here?"

"What do you think?"

Shiho rolled her eyes.

"Yesterday, you said you were going to Lord God to help with your promotion, and then you never came back. When I saw you hadn't returned by early morning, I was worried something had gone wrong with your advancement."

"But what I saw was you, sleeping in the God's arms. You looked like you were sleeping even more soundly than him."

Oh, so that's how it was... Akemi recalled what happened yesterday, and with her sister's explanation, she roughly grasped the situation.

Once her mind fully cleared, Akemi remembered what Ren had said to her yesterday, and she wanted to share it with her sister.

"Shiho, did you know? Lord God said..."

"That he won't let go of us... right?"

"Eh? You, you knew?"

Akemi was stunned when her sister finished her sentence for her.

"Sis, I came in this morning and saw you sleeping in his arms. Do you think Lord God wouldn't say anything to me?"

Shiho sighed. At this point, she clearly understood that her sister still treated her like a child.

"I also told Lord God that what we truly need is his desire and possessiveness. Only then can we stay by his side with peace of mind."

She sat up and hugged her still somewhat dazed sister.

"This is also the best reason for us to remain by his side."

"From now on, neither of us will be abandoned by him."

"...Mm."

At that moment, Akemi also felt relieved. The sense of belonging brought by that promise filled her with happiness.

"Hmm... Akemi and Shiho really had such worries all along."

Sonoko had a slightly odd expression, but in this situation, she couldn't bring herself to smile.

"Because they were saved unilaterally by Ren, they've always wanted more reasons to stay by his side. But since he never gave them any response, they were constantly uneasy."

Ran also now understood why the sisters were always so quiet. It turned out that they had been silently carrying this fear the whole time.

"Well~ For someone who's been saved, Ren never asked them to do anything. So it's natural they'd worry about being cast aside."

Kaguya could fully relate to their concerns.

The reason Ren saved those two back then was simply because he wanted to change something, not because he had any ulterior motives.

But for someone who had been saved, it was inevitable that they'd fear being abandoned. Eventually, they would want to prove their value to Ren and hope to become useful.

"I just hope they don't feel the need to work so hard to be useful."

Kaguya sighed softly.

If possible, she truly wished those sisters wouldn't have to bear such thoughts.

Sonoko also deeply agreed with that.

Only two months had passed, and the number of girls surrounding Ren was steadily increasing. The diary that served as a matchmaker was playing a major role in this development.

Still, she honestly hoped the diary would show a little restraint, and not work so hard to boost Ren's popularity with the opposite sex.

Meanwhile, Ren, who was at the center of the conversation, looked a little awkward.

My original intentions really were pure.

Even though he wanted to say that, the outcome was very different from what he had imagined.

"After all, Ren is special."

Ran didn't feel conflicted about it. She had already known this was inevitable.

After Sonoko and Kaguya, she herself had fallen too. At that moment, she understood more girls would gravitate toward Ren, and there was no avoiding it.

"Akemi and Shiho's situation also came from their anxiety."

"For them, I don't think Ren did anything wrong. It's just that, as the ones involved, they're not as simple as Ren thought."

Kaguya and Sonoko exchanged glances, both agreeing with Ran's perspective.

The sisters, who had once been pulled from the abyss, would obviously never want to fall back in. Now that they had a chance to truly escape, it was only natural they'd cling to that opportunity.

Though the diary gave them some security and a connection to Ren, to girls who had just escaped the abyss, that still felt insufficient.

As for Ren himself, he had already sat silently to the side.

At this point, he really didn't know how to continue the conversation.

Chika, who had been watching quietly, smiled and smoothly shifted the topic.

"By the way, the investigation into Akira Kurusu and Shido Masayoshi that I asked my mother to conduct has already been completed."

"That fast?"

Everyone's attention shifted.

"Actually, my mom already looked into them the same night. She just didn't send the results over since we were still on our ski resort vacation."

Chika explained briefly, then began relaying the findings.

"Akira Kurusu's situation is simple. He's also a first-year high school student living in a small city, just like Ren. Because he has a distinct name and features similar to Ren's, he stood out from the many people with the same name."

"Not just his appearance, but even his personality and the impression he gives are very similar to Ren. He's the type of person with a weak presence, and he wears glasses like Ren too. He usually doesn't attract much attention."

"As for Shido Masayoshi, he's a regional councilor. In politics, he presents himself as very radical and ambitious, but in practice, he mostly speaks in empty platitudes. His so-called radicalism is unrealistic, and within the councilor circles, he isn't taken seriously."

"Because he's good at saying the right things but lacks real execution ability, his actual competence doesn't match his rhetoric. He's just average among councilors."

Boasting and empty talk were standard skills for ordinary politicians. Shido Masayoshi was exactly the kind who could talk well but couldn't deliver results.

It was precisely because of his smooth talking that he managed to get elected as a regional councilor.

But aiming for a higher office would clearly be difficult for him.

(To be continued.)