NEET Receives a Dating Sim Game Leveling System
chapter-328

Mika returned to her residence .

Before calling the president… no, Natsuya, Seiji wanted to have a meal first . He was quite hungry after his ordeal, and he assumed that the scion was likely having a meal of her own, which he had no desire to interrupt .

"Sensei, would you like to eat lunch together with us?" Seiji asked .

"Is that alright?" Kaede said .

"Of course—as long as you don't mind that it's rather plain . "

"How could I possibly mind? I won't hold back by staying over, then . Food is a lot more delicious when enjoyed with others rather than eating it on my own . " The blonde teacher smiled . "Please allow me to help out in the kitchen to repay you a little . "

"There's no need to be so polite, Sensei . "

"I'm not the type who can simply sit around and wait to enjoy a meal . Please allow me to help out, Harano-kun . "

Kaede firmly insisted on helping out in the kitchen, so Seiji could only accept .

In that case, he wanted Shika to have a chance to rest, but Shika also firmly insisted on helping out in the kitchen .

And so, it became a scene of him, Kaede, and Shika all working together in the kitchen .

Cooking together with a mature beauty and a younger beauty… Seiji had a sense of déjà vu . He recalled how he had done the same thing together with Mika and the landlord before in the past, on the day that Kaede had moved in .

That had been a very enjoyable dinner for him . Seiji secretly snuck a look at Kaede beside him .

The blonde teacher had a big smile on her face as she washed some vegetables; she seemed to be enjoying her time here .

Seiji felt conflicted when he saw this . He personally believed… no, he felt like he didn't owe Kaede anything, but even so…

He didn't know how to describe his feelings . At any rate, he hoped that she could be happy .

Kaede detected Seiji's gaze upon her . The fact that he was looking in her direction meant that he cared for her, which made her happy .

She was happy to be able to cook and eat together with him in the kitchen . Having him pay attention to her and being close to him were both sources of joy for her .

She believed that she would be even happier in the future .

Everyone's efforts in cooking lunch together was a great success . Reo even ate an extra half a bowl compared to usual .

Kaede also insisted on washing the dishes, and Shika didn't back down as well . As for Seiji… he was kicked out of the kitchen by the two girls, who claimed that he wasn't needed and could go do whatever he wanted to .

Reo was currently sitting by the kotatsu , softly collapsed on the table . She seemed just like a lazy kitten, satisfied from eating its fill .

Seiji glanced at the time and decided to call Natsuya later, as he wanted to rest for a while . Like Reo, he collapsed onto the table and turned into a big, lazy cat .

His consciousness gradually became hazy…

…

Seiji slowly opened his eyes .

'I actually fell asleep? What time is it now?'

When Seiji woke up, he noticed something warm, soft, and faintly pleasant-smelling next to him .

When he turned around, he saw that Shika was sleeping beside him, snuggling closely into his back .

The black-haired girl's pure and beautiful face had a contented expression, as if she were having a wonderful dream .

Seiji was somewhat stunned by her appearance . 'What's going on?'

Seiji was somewhat stunned by her appearance . 'What's going on?'

When he looked around, he discovered that he had fallen asleep by the kotatsu . Shika was sleeping next to him .

And judging by the fact that there were other feet under the kotatsu , the others were sleeping on the opposite side .

They had to be Kaede and Reo . For all four of them to have fallen asleep by thekotatsu … honestly .

Seiji looked towards Shika again .

She seemed to be fast asleep, and Seiji didn't want to wake her up . But… he had things to do, and he couldn't continue to sleep any longer .

Seiji attempted to move slightly without waking his adopted younger sister up .

'Very good; she didn't react . '

He moved his body away some more .

At this moment, the black-haired girl moved, got closer to him, and clutched him in her arms!

Seiji was rendered speechless .

"Shika-chan, are you awake?" he asked in a soft voice .

There was no response .

It seemed to be an action taken while she was still asleep . Seiji carefully lifted up his hand and was about to gently peel off Shika's hands from himself .

Right when he touched her hand, he suddenly heard her mutter, "I like…"

'Is she awake?' Seiji looked at her face .

He saw that Shika still had her eyes closed, and only her lips were moving slightly . He barely managed to hear her say, "…Brother the most . "

Seiji's eyes widened in shock . This scene… he felt like words such as beautiful or cute were insufficient to describe it .

Seiji's eyes widened in shock . This scene… he felt like words such as beautiful or cute were insufficient to describe it .

He couldn't describe what he was feeling right now .

He recalled what it was like being together with Shika during the period in which she had amnesia .

He felt something welling up within him . Seiji continued to hold her hand without letting go .

'Forget it; let's continue sleeping like this for a while longer!'

Seiji decided to close his eyes again while holding on to his adopted younger sister's hand . In the end, he slept until the middle of the afternoon .

Shika's face was rather red when she woke up and returned to her own room .

"I should have left earlier, but I didn't want to return to my lonely room by myself . " Kaede hugged Reo and asked in a spoiled voice, "Can I stay here for dinner tonight as well? I'll chip in for groceries . "

Seiji looked towards Reo . The little girl was snuggling against the blonde beauty; she was obviously enjoying the hug .

The answer was obvious . After acceding to Kaede's request, Seiji went to the study to make a phone call .

"Good afternoon… Natsuya . "

"Good afternoon… Seiji . "

He still felt rather awkward about addressing her by name .

"I met with something on my end; it's like this…" Seiji explained what happened earlier in the morning .

"The board game was able to draw multiple people into an illusion and restrict their actions, including even you and Kagura-san… judging by this, the board game must be an incredibly high-level Spiritual Artifact," Natsuya explained in a serious tone . "This type of Spiritual Artifact is unlikely to have been crafted just for the fun of it… at least that's what I believe . I won't be able to know the specifics until I inspect it, but I'm currently busy today, so why don't you bring it over tomorrow night?"

"Alright," Seiji agreed .

"By the way, it's really surprising that Uehara-san had such a Spiritual Artifact lying around in her apartment . "

"Yeah, I'm even beginning to wonder now if Sakura-san greeting Mika wasn't a coincidence at all—perhaps there was some type of hidden connection . "

"By the way, it's really surprising that Uehara-san had such a Spiritual Artifact lying around in her apartment . "

"Yeah, I'm even beginning to wonder now if Sakura-san greeting Mika wasn't a coincidence at all—perhaps there was some type of hidden connection . "

"It's possible… I only saw Uehara-san as a normal person, but perhaps Sakura-san saw something that I didn't…"

Both of them fell silent for a moment .

"I'm very curious just what exactly it's about," Natsuya said at last . "If you learn anything more, please contact me . "

"Yep…"

Their conversation ended there .

Seiji idly stared at his cell phone for a moment .

'Should I contact Mika now and ask her about the situation? Or should I wait for a while longer?'

He didn't know if she would be able to find anything out from the landlord . In the end, he decided to wait for a while longer .

Seiji put away his cell phone and went to his computer to begin the task of writing .

After some time, there was a knock on the front door . Seiji opened the door and welcomed Mika inside .

At this time, Kaede and Reo were inside one of the other rooms, so nobody else was in the living room .

"I asked my mom, and she said that Dad was a little strange when they were younger," Mika said after sitting down by the kotatsu . "He liked to talk to himself in places where nobody else was around, make strange movements, read weird books, occasionally act abnormal, or draw unusual runes or drawings… and so on . Later on, these strange habits stopped .

"He explained it by saying that he was immature in his youth and was simply clowning around . But he still had the hobby of collecting strange things—such as this board game .

"Because he really valued his collection when he was still alive, Mom never threw anything of his away and kept them all .

"I went and looked around the storage room . It would be quite a hassle to clear them all out, so I took a picture with my cell phone . "

She showed Seiji the picture she took on her cell phone .