I'm Sorry, Ghost
While we were talking about the black ring, I nearly got hauled off to the hospital several times.
Once when I said my head and chest had started hurting tremendously the moment I put the ring on.
Once when I said I'd immediately coughed up a massive amount of blood right after.
And once more when I said I'd collapsed face-first into the blood I'd just thrown up.
Being the sole focus of beautiful girls' concern is nice in itself, but…
When those beautiful girls are all far stronger than me, even I can't help but find it a little terrifying.
If they put their minds to it and teamed up, they could drag me anywhere they wanted and I wouldn't be able to resist at all.
So where is that ring now, and what is it doing?
"Hmm? Nothing's happening to me at all."
It was being examined by everyone while fitted on Adele's finger.
They turned it this way and that looking for any changes, and even tried putting it on different fingers just in case.
I told them it was dangerous!
I don't know why they're doing something so recklessly dangerous when they might get hurt.
But even when I tried to stop them…
"G-girls… I told you that's dangerous…?"
"Just stay still, Elysia."
"Yeah. Next it's my turn to try on Ellie's ring!"
None of them even half-listened. If anything, they seemed a little excited.
When Luna picked it up, she even tried using her ability to smash it.
Bang!
The ash-gray hammer at her fingertip didn't so much as chip the ring — it bounced right off instead.
She'd struck lightly out of concern for the house, but Luna was a Level 8 Awakener on the verge of Level 9.
That alone was enough to prove just how ridiculously hard the ring was.
Their research-and-experiment-disguised play continued late into the night…
And just when I thought everyone might finally be heading home, Rina spoke up while looking somewhere else for some reason.
"It's gotten late. Looks like we'll have no choice but to sleep here tonight."
"…Huh?"
Adele nodded with her eyes closed.
"True. Going back would be a hassle anyway."
"Uh…"
Tania, who'd been getting ready to leave, quietly sat back down and agreed.
"I was thinking the same thing."
"……"
This is clearly my house, so why are all of you talking like you have no other choice?
I looked to my last hope — Luna, who'd been silent this whole time — but…
Luna was already asleep, leaning against Rina.
…Well, she'd looked sleepy for a while. Sleep well…
In the end, regardless of my will, a sleepover at my place was decided.
I wasn't looking forward to this at all! Not even a little!
Really! There was just no other choice!
How did things end up like this?
I rewound through everything that had just happened.
Once everyone decided to stay the night, I'd been screaming with joy on the inside, practically drunk on happiness.
But even so, I was fretting over the fact that we probably couldn't all fit on one bed…
Contrary to my expectations, everyone climbed onto the bed like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Alright, no major problem so far.
The bed Adele bought me was enormous, and they all had slender builds, so they could probably manage just fine among themselves.
Since they were guests, I was about to lay out a blanket on the floor and sleep alone when—
Something yanked me, and the next thing I knew I was wedged right in the middle of the bed.
From right to left: Rina, Luna, me, Tania, Adele.
Rina didn't particularly seem to want to sit next to me, so the right side was fine.
The problem was my left — Tania and Adele.
Both of them hated the idea of sleeping on the outside so much that they bickered for a while, completely out of character, until Adele finally sighed and yielded the inner spot.
And the result was our current arrangement.
Rina was lying at the far right end staring blankly at the ceiling, while Luna was sleep-talking and gradually crawling into my arms — wait, not there!
Likewise, Tania was slowly pressing closer from the left, casually stretching out an arm to pull me into a hug.
The faint lily scent unique to Tania created a strangely charged atmosphere.
And then Tania casually slipped her hand under my clothes… ah, that feels nice…
At the far left, Adele was watching me with a sulky expression.
It'd been a while since we last slept together, and she was probably unhappy that someone else was between us.
Thinking that, I reached over Tania's head and gently stroked her platinum-blonde hair. She looked startled for a moment.
Then the beauty of her small smile…
Just in case, I turned my head toward Rina.
"…Already asleep."
Luna and Rina both.
Falling asleep anywhere in an instant must be a twin-sister trait.
The sight of the sisters sleeping with identical expressions was so cute I couldn't help a little chuckle.
Being able to fall asleep sandwiched between four beautiful girls, two on each side… isn't this true utopia?
A flower garden of beautiful girls, each with their own distinct personality.
If there is a god, and if that god is looking at me right now — even that god must be jealous!
…is what I'd like to say.
But being pressed up against my beloved girls in one bed was actually quite difficult.
It was incredibly hot.
I was already starting to sweat so much I felt bad for Tania and Luna who were holding me.
Though honestly, the heat was largely because of those two clinging to me.
At least Adele's hand, which we'd somehow ended up holding at some point, was cool, so my left hand was comfortable…
But with this much heat, there was no way I could fall asleep…
Chirp. Chirp. Chirp-chirp.
Bright sunlight filtering through the window.
The faint song of birds, and the soft, even breathing of the beautiful girls still sleeping soundly.
I stared blankly at the ceiling and muttered without thinking.
"…I slept amazingly well."
Probably the best sleep I've had in weeks. How long has it been since I woke up feeling this refreshed?
Maybe beautiful girls really do come with all sorts of bonus effects…
Like, if you're pressed against them for more than a few hours, your fatigue just melts away.
I must have slept so well my face feels all smooth and shiny.
I carefully tried to get up without waking the still-sleeping girls… and then I witnessed something unbelievable.
"…Why is my shirt half off?"
This wasn't just the usual rumpling from sleep.
Tania and Luna had been sneakily slipping their hands under my clothes even before we fell asleep — maybe it came off while they slept like that…
I decided it was better not to think about it too deeply and stopped.
I gently moved Tania's naughty hand — which was resting on my chest over just a bra under my half-unbuttoned white shirt — off to the side.
Then I also moved Luna's small hand, which had naturally come to rest on my bare thigh.
Moving as carefully as possible so the bed wouldn't shake, I slipped out.
School was coming up soon, so I needed to wash before the others woke up.
Thinking that, I started taking off my white shirt when—
Ting! A small, light metallic clink of something falling.
I looked down. The black ring was rolling across the floor as if it had just fallen from my body.
"……"
What is this, a horror movie?
The last time I'd seen that black ring was when Rina was holding it, examining it this way and that, then putting it on her own finger.
So why did it fall off my body?
And the only clothes I'd been wearing were black underwear and a single white shirt.
No pockets, and it definitely wasn't on my finger either.
So where had the black ring been until it fell?
Wondering if maybe this was a different ring from the one yesterday, I carefully checked both of Rina's hands — the last person to wear it.
Just in case, I checked everyone else's hands thoroughly too, and even searched every corner of the house in my underwear.
But nowhere in the house was there any sign of the black ring.
Except for the one that had fallen from my body.
My wandering around must have woken her — Rina, the only one with her eyes open, glanced briefly at everyone still sleeping like angels, then asked me.
"…What are you doing?"
My appearance, wandering around in just underwear first thing in the morning, must have looked bizarre.
Wanting to put her at ease, I honestly told her what I was doing.
"Looking for the ring."
"It's in your hand."
"I was wondering if maybe it multiplied into two…"
Rina tilted her head for a moment, thinking hard about something, then—
"Ah. Okay."
—gave up thinking about it entirely.
Her expression seemed to say, It's not like this is the first or second time that sister's been like this.
Great. The case has plunged even deeper into mystery.
Why was the black ring somewhere on my body when I woke up?
…Wait.
With a truly "what if" kind of feeling, I looked at Rina — the only one awake — and said:
"Maybe a ghost is proposing to me?"
"…Ah. Yes. That could be it."
Even smart Rina agreed, so it must be true!
The ghost that used to live here must have fallen for my looks and keeps following me around with the black ring.
"I'm sorry, Ghost. I'm a living person, so I can't accept your feelings…!"
"…Haa."
I thought I heard Rina sigh beside me.
And not long after, Rina started casually stripping off her clothes and went into the bathroom first in just her underwear.
"…Ah. If I try to go in with her, I'll get scolded, right?"
What a shame.