The next day, we took Jupiter to my place. My slightly frustrated yet still wholly angelic sister met us at the door. She had a lot of questions.
“I need you to explain it to me once more, Kyou.”
In the Shimizu household, my sister’s words were as good as law. If my sister told me she wanted to eat acqua pazza, then we’d have acqua pazza for dinner. If my sister told me she liked those chocolate crackers shaped like bamboo sprouts, then from that day forward, their rival snack—chocolate mushrooms—would never again grace our cupboards.
Thankfully, my sister liked both bamboo crackers and chocolate mushrooms, so there was no need to worry about such a tragedy ever befalling our house. That aside…
…my sister wanted me to explain the situation.
Sister, sister. Oh, dearest sister. Let me count the ways in which you are a perfect angel. I would love nothing more than to stare upon your angelic visage all day and night—
“Kyou. Stay focused.”
My party’s radiant star politely slapped my knee, snapping me out of my trance. I cleared my throat before attempting to summarize our current state of affairs.
“Well, basically, what I’m trying to say is… This kid’s just joined our party, so would it maybe be okay if she came to live with us? You know, something like that… So, uh. What do you think?”
“……”
Jupiter, sitting on my left, bowed slightly. She seemed pretty nervous. She hadn’t said so much as a word since we arrived at my house.
Well, whatever. I can handle this.
“Like I said, she’s been through a lot. And she’s got nowhere to live right now.”
I wasn’t lying. Szilard was more than happy to have her stay at the Rosso and Blu clan house and had even left her on the register, but Jupiter had voluntarily chosen to move. When I asked her why, she’d told me that she was no longer a member of their clan. I could see why it would be tough to stay, all things considered…
“Technically, she does have a place to live, since we’re renting a house in the dungeon. But aboveground, she’s got nowhere to go. So I was thinking that maybe, we could, y’know, take care of her…”
“Okay. I understand the situation,” said Fumika. “Now, tell me, Kyou. What exactly is your plan, taking in little Jupiter here?”
“My…‘plan’?” I hadn’t really thought much beyond giving her a comfortable place to stay. “Well, I mean, we’ll make sure she doesn’t cause any trouble for you, Sis. And I can cover her part of the rent and food budget using the money I made—”
“This isn’t about money. I’m asking you in what capacity you expect her to live here. What will she be to us?”
“Uh… Like a long-term houseguest, I guess?”
Basically, she would be the same as Albi.
I had assumed that so long as I took care of the financial aspect, Fumika wouldn’t have a problem letting her stay…but the conversation seemed to be heading in another direction.
I thought things over and realized that the wicked goddess’s position was rather unique—she’d won Fumika over easily, thanks to her special power to make those of the Shimizu bloodline fawn over her. And while my sister’s compassion ran as deep as the ocean, suddenly asking her to take in a foreign child she’d only just met was probably pushing it. Her bewilderment was understandable.
“Sorry, Sis. I realize now that this was all pretty sudden. Maybe we can wait a little while and then reconsider the guest idea.”
“Not a chance!” she exclaimed, standing up in one graceful movement. “I refuse to have her stay with us as our guest.”
She’s…rejecting her? Really? Just like that? I mean, I expected a bit of pushback, but for her to completely shut it down…
I was at a loss. I’d never expected things to turn out this way, even in my wildest dreams.
“But…Sis!”
“This child…” My sister crossed over to our side of the table, her voluptuous body swaying. “This child… She…”
Fumika approached Jupiter, then suddenly bent down.
“She’s…!” She grabbed the girl’s face and pulled it close, burying it in her ample bosom. “Why, she’s going to be the newest member of our family!”
“What?!”
This bombshell from Fumika silenced not only me but the radiant star as well.
Uh… What’s going on?
“What do you mean, ‘What’?! I’m saying that as long as this child wishes it, we will gladly welcome her as a member of the Shimizu family!”
It was a powerful and sincere proposal. Everyone present was astonished.
“I’d expect nothing less from Fumika. She’s as bold as ever,” came Albi’s beautiful voice.
She was using telepathy as she sat across from me, munching away on pickled cucumbers. She probably just didn’t want to put down her food.
What a pig. Take a look at Haruka—she’s munching on pickled cucumbers, too, but at least she looks shocked. Now there’s a proper lady— WAIT! HOLD ON! Why are all these women always shoveling food into their mouths?!
I had been wondering for a few minutes why a mountain of pickled vegetables was piled up on the table in front of us. I felt like I was going crazy. Would it have killed them to stop eating for two seconds?
“Are you listening to me, Kyou?”
“Uh, yeah. Sorry, Sis. I’m listening.”
I decided to shift my attention from the gluttons back to my sister.
Ah, what divine features. My sister truly is an angel.
“So what exactly do you mean she’ll be a member of our family?” I asked.
“I mean exactly what I said. I’m going to ask Aunt Sayaka to help us legally make Jupiter a Shimizu.”
“Huh?!”
Her response far exceeded my wildest expectations. Making Jupiter a legal member of our family, rather than just a housemate, was sure to improve the situation in all sorts of ways. First of all, it would give her protection under the law. There were plenty of things Jupiter couldn’t do that would be possible for Jupiter Shimizu. That was how much it meant for a foreigner to receive a local surname.
The government would still require strict background screenings, and as guardians, we would be responsible for any misdeeds she might commit. But it was well worth it for the potential benefits. And most importantly…
“We’ve already set a precedent for this with Albi.”
“Exactly.”
She was right. The evil deity sitting across from me and happily munching on cucumbers had been given a new name in our three-dimensional realm—Albion Shimizu. Legally speaking, she was our aunt Sayaka’s adopted child.
We had already achieved the unthinkable by having the government officially recognize Himinglaeva Albion—a foreign woman we’d claimed had amnesia and didn’t even know where she was from—as a Shimizu.
In other words, so long as we had our aunt’s help, there was a high chance we could successfully add Jupiter to the family.
Out of all possible solutions, this is easily the best one.
I could feel excitement welling up inside me. But I still needed to air my concerns. If we were going to follow through with this ingenious plan of ours, we needed to address the biggest potential issue.
“Do you really think Aunt Sayaka will help us out?”
“It’s not a question of if. It’s a question of how long it will take to convince her. We’ll all need to negotiate. We may even have to beg.”
What a glorious answer. Fumika must have been the most dependable sister in the world.
The girl with silver pigtails looked up from her comfortable position between my sister’s bountiful hills and asked, “…Are you sure?”
“I know the pain of growing up without parents all too well,” she replied.
That seemed to be enough for Jupiter. Fumika wasn’t making this offer out of empty idealism or some innate urge to protect; she was sincere. She wanted to help.
And so Jupiter gave an equally earnest response.
“This sounds like a dream come true. If you’re serious…then I want to be part of this family.”
Our plans now settled, Fumika reached out to Aunt Sayaka immediately.
Our aunt was much more receptive than we’d expected.
“This sounds like my chance to get in good with the rising stars of the adventuring world,” she said over the phone. “Nothing wrong with having a favor to cash in later. I’ll give it my best shot.”
What could I say? The Shimizu women were all gloriously bold and daring. My sister and aunt both had good heads on their shoulders. And they were both just so damn cool.
I was a bit terrified at the prospect of owing my aunt a favor, but I decided that was a problem for my future self.
We had more important things to worry about right now. We had a reign of terror to stop—a lightning beast to catch and collar.