Clyde's house…

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"Airi, this is Clyde . Clyde, Airi," Harumi said . The girl seemed to inspect him from head to toe with a single glance . An inch shorter than Harumi, she had long dark-purple hair, skin the color of milk chocolate, and light-brown eyes . She a.s.serted an air of pure confidence, maybe n.o.bility . Dressed in normal casual clothing, no one but the gifted would know at first sight what she was about .

He gave her a quick a.n.a.lysis, shutting down the prompt before the sa.s.s could emerge .

Name- Airi .

Level: 120 (compressed . )

Type: Super Druid, adventurer, ??? .

Relations.h.i.+p: Neutral . Extremely curious .

Question marks hiding an unknown type and a compressed level . The f.u.c.k? At this point, nothing really fazed Clyde anymore . That didn't mean he lacked curiosity . f.u.c.k, what would he give to find out what those question marks hid . Clyde held out a hand .

"Harumi and some of the others told me a lot about you," he said . Airi seemed hesitant to accept at first . Her hands were soft and delicate, fitting for a young woman that carried the natural good looks of an anime girl .

It took him a moment to realize Airi was blus.h.i.+ng . She quickly covered it up with a fake clearing of the throat . Her eyes stopped on Neko, widening .

Neko…was playing with a ball of yarn . Clyde facepalmed . He didn't think Chika would seriously find one and trigger the cat within .

"Nyyyaaa," Neko said then purred . Harumi facepalmed .

Way to embarra.s.s us all, Clyde thought .

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"Is she really a…" she looked at Clyde . "Did she take you as husband?"

Harumi nearly fell . Clyde gave a long, suffering sigh, before s.n.a.t.c.hing the yawn from the cat girl .

"Nya, I was playing with that," Neko said, false innocence in her eyes .

"Do you mind introducing yourself to our guest?" Clyde said .

Neko looked at Airi as if noticing her for the first time .

"Nyaaa, you attract trouble like a rabbit doing an eat-me dance near a wolf pack," Neko said . Indignation flashed in Airi's eyes . "I'm Neko . An observer from a family of observers . "

"If you're jumping at her, then just wait to the others return," Clyde said offhandedly . Ruri would probably make her panic at first .

Airi plucked at Neko's ears .

"Oh wow . "

When she reached for Neko's tail, the catgirl quickly moved it away .

"Nyaaa, I don't swing that way . "

Airi blushed, raising two hands in the air . She gave the beast kin a sad smile .

"Sorry . I…uhm, didn't know tails were…a sensitive ordeal . "

Neko smiled warmly .

"It's okay . Nyaa, learn something new every day . "

Chika emerged from the back, smiling at Harumi and Airi .

"Need some help with your bags? We've got a strong man right here . "

Clyde gave her a micro-glare .

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"At least try not to sound as if you're about to offer some help . "

"It's okay," Airi said, pulling a roller bag .

"I'm going to show Airi to her room," Harumi said .

"I'd like to talk with you some more," Airi told Clyde . "As much as possib—I mean sometime later if you don't mind . You guys call yourselves, Team Stone?"

"Yep," Clyde said .

"Interesting," Airi said . "You have no idea how many questions…Never mind, I shouldn't bother you . I'm here to see my best friend . " She gave the young man a j.a.panese-style bow . "Thank you for the hospitality . "

"It's no problem . " Clyde said, a little moved by the politeness . As Harumi moved to take her friend to her room, Clyde spoke . "Can you make the team meeting or should we push it back . "

Her eyes burned with resolve .

"We're carrying on this meet," she said . "And if I have to drag Yusuke by the throat while beating him with my slippers, I will . "

Clyde stifled a laugh .

"Don't worry about me stopping you . Full support . "

They both laughed . Harumi stole a kiss . Airi didn't see .

"Besides Yusuke's fate, I need to talk with everyone about Niyoto," Clyde said .

"What about Niyoto?" Harumi asked .

"I'll explain everything during the meeting," Clyde said . "And of course bring your friend . I'd like to pick her brain . "

Clyde's phone rang . Unknown number . For some reason, a gut feeling advised him against ignoring it .

"h.e.l.lo?"

"Clyde! I've got a new phone," Alice said .

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"It's about time," he said . He offered to buy her a phone before, but she refused . Alice wanted to buy her own using earned money . "Are you still shopping?"

"We're done," Alice said . "See you in a minute . Oh and Tear says—"

"Don't put false words in my mouth," Clyde heard Tear snap . The line died . Sure enough, less than a minute later, Alice's group arrived . The young man already had the door open . The general rule of thumb was to Jump only outside . His house may be huge, but teleporting in on someone while they were taking a s.h.i.+t or showering would obviously not be appreciated .

Besides Tear being the addition to Alice's group, Kitome was there too .

"Here," she said, handing Clyde a small box, almost without looking at him . "A gift—nothing special . It's not like I'm thankful or anything . "

Clyde blinked as he took the box and opened it . s.h.i.+ning at him was a white-gold necklace with a well-crafted homemade charm attached to it .

[You received Necklace of Her Devotion . Item cla.s.s: *One of a kind* This necklace was made with love . Unknown benefits . Has a 1% chance of triggering Enlightenment mode 1 during battle . All stats will increase by 100% during the mode . ]

"Kitome…" Clyde said . "Thank—"

"Nya, just hug him already," Neko said, pus.h.i.+ng the magical girl into him . Instead of exploding with fury, she melted into Clyde .

A rare vulnerable moment, the young man took in all of it until Airi cleared her thought .

"Okay, someone explain to me why she looks like a school girl in love with Harumi's boyfriend . "

Airi seemed to shrink into herself when all of the glares fell on her .

"Clyde, is this—"

"Airi?" Kitome said as she pulled away .

"Kitome? And hugging him instead of ripping his head off," Airi said .

"I'm not that mean," Kitome said, hugging Airi . "It's been a while . "

"Yes it has," Airi said, nodding . "It has…And I'm just confused . "

"We've got a team meeting in a half-hour," Clyde said . "Everything will be explained then . Harumi, do you mind catching her up?"

Harumi shrugged .

"It's a bit complicated," she told Airi, "but I'll try . "

"I could always give you a drink to take off the edge," Yuki said .

All eyes fell on the demoness maid, Toru-style . Airi laughed .

"I accept! And it's not like I'm judging . " She said softly . The rest of her sentence was a whisper . "It's like having a family, right?"

Clyde decided not to touch the matter any further . If Harumi didn't explain, he'd show, not tell . He put on the necklace, allowing the power to flow through him . Kitome managed to wiggle her way past the others and back into his embrace .

"Do you like it?" she said .

"I f.u.c.king love it," he said truthfully . "You are amazing . "

[The existing quest, Either call or visit Kitome in the late hours has changed to mandatory . Reward: unknown . ]

[Kitome's current relations.h.i.+p with you is Friend, closer level 10 . Excellent job, but you know that's not enough . Kitome has the love in her heart, but doesn't know how to show it . Break that sh.e.l.l by completing the above quest . ]

Clyde mentally nodded . He couldn't help but admit to himself that he was eager to spend time with the magical girl .

That tsundere moment . Fortunately for him, his nose didn't bleed .

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