After Xiangzi died, I inherited her harem.

Mortis scoffed at the politeness the voice spoke of, completely disregarding it.

"That's true. After all, Yuyu is very responsible. Regardless of Xiangzi's situation, at least he wouldn't leave me here. So... could it be that Hailing is up to no good?"

Although Mortis didn't take the other party's warning to heart, he didn't completely dismiss it either.

After rejecting the possibility that "Toyokawa Yuu couldn't help but run away with Chihaya Aine," another hypothesis, which was even more unacceptable but more likely, emerged in Mortis's mind.

After all, the fact that Hachiman Kairin had designs on Toyokawa Yuu was no secret in a small circle consisting of only two bands.

Even his former bandmates felt a sense of unease upon realizing this.

To have such a long-standing obsession with a married man for ten years, even after he got married, is truly lamentable and shows how morally corrupt society has become.

“I told you I could just get the guitar myself. Xiangzi is really something. He only said he didn’t want the guitar anymore, he didn’t say he wouldn’t want it back. Why did he give it to Aine? She’s the one who’s said goodbye to the past, not me.”

“Mortis, you didn’t object to that solution back then, so you shouldn’t be bringing this up now. Besides… if Hailing really does detain Youyu…”

Another voice first corrected Mortis's complaint, then paused, but didn't refute the possibility she had suggested.

But it was Yuu Toyokawa's own decision to go and get the guitar from Aine Chihaya herself, and even they had no room to object.

Even if they wanted to come along, there can't be no one at home.

Mortis was right; no matter what, those people would always find fault and create trouble. But if we didn't care about anything, they wouldn't even have to bother finding fault, and they could easily find reasons to attack us.

For a moment, the garden fell silent, neither of them able to come up with a better solution.

In today's world where circumstances dictate our choices, we are indeed in a predicament where no matter what we choose, it's the wrong one.

"Perhaps, if Hailing can really take Youyu away, it will be a good thing."

After a brief silence, the voice spoke first.

This time, Mortis didn't refute, but just muttered a sentence in a low voice.

"But I can't bear to part with Youyu..."

"...I can't bear to part with it either."

Just as Mortis was feeling down, he suddenly felt his phone vibrate.

Hachiman Kairin: [I've brought Yuu back. Open the door.]

"Mortis, Yuyu is back. Give me back my body."

............................................................

A black sedan drove up at a leisurely pace and came to a steady stop in front of the open gate of the Toyokawa family mansion.

Similar car model, unfamiliar license plate number. A certain beauty who had been waiting anxiously at the mansion for a long time, but had not yet seen Toyokawa Yuu return, would not rashly open the door to this suspicious vehicle, but still paid a lot of attention to it.

The driver's door of the black sedan opened, and a beautiful woman in a suit with long black hair stepped out of the car. Her emerald green eyes shone like two jewels in the sunlight.

Having confirmed that the visitor was Yawata Kairin, the beautiful woman, who had been waiting for a long time, readily opened the side gate, allowing the car to drive into the manor.

Yuu Toyokawa got out of the car with a cold expression, holding Mutsumi Wakaba's guitar in her hand, and she didn't seem to be in a good mood.

Also getting off the car was Yawata Kairin, a beautiful woman in a suit who had rarely had the opportunity to set foot in this mansion in the past ten years. Instead of simply visiting as usual, she left hastily after realizing that she could not achieve her goal. Instead, she followed behind Toyokawa Yuu, as if she was escorting him back to the mansion.

"Yuyu, you're finally back... That's great."

Just as I got off the car, a graceful green figure emerged from the garden beside me, her golden eyes gleaming in the sunlight.

Her body was much smaller than Hachiman Kairin's, and although she seemed somewhat indifferent, one could still feel the care in her heart. This was naturally the same Wakaba Mutsumi that Toyokawa Yuu knew.

Upon seeing those familiar golden eyes, Toyokawa Yuu paused slightly, and her previously stiff expression, which had seemed to indicate a conflict with Hachiman Kairin, softened a little.

Although she didn't know why Wakaba Mutsu didn't come with her to get the guitar this time, seeing that the much older woman was safe and sound, and that her mental state was much better than the soulless puppet she had been like last time, Toyokawa Yuu was somewhat relieved.

However, he seemed to have put his mind at ease a little too soon.

The woman's indifferent yet clear voice lasted only half a sentence before suddenly becoming lively.

Instead of taking the guitar that Yuu Toyokawa offered, the beautiful woman with long, light green hair opened her arms and hugged the man's arm.

“I told you I could just go get this broken guitar myself, but you insisted on going yourself. As a result, you spent most of the day out there, and I couldn’t even handle those old guys nitpicking.”

It was as if she had become a different person in just an instant; her tranquil temperament, like a clear spring, had vanished, replaced by a completely opposite liveliness.

Grabbing Toyokawa Yuu's shoulder, Mortis looked at Hachiman Kairin, who had followed him in, and sized up the guy he suspected of having ulterior motives.

If she remembered correctly, when Yawata Kairin picked up Toyokawa Yuu this morning, she was wearing a knee-length pencil skirt and black stockings. Why is she wearing suit trousers now?

"Why have you been gone for so long? Did Hailing do something unnecessary again?"

“Metis…”

Seeing the suddenly transformed, lively yet wary beauty, Toyokawa Yuu quickly realized who was the person currently holding her arms.

This person was undoubtedly Metis, and even his childish, coquettish tone was no different from ten years ago.

But given Metis's abilities, is it possible for him to just leave Wakaba Mutsu's body so easily?

Although she had many doubts in her heart, Toyokawa Yuu knew that now was not the time to delve into them, at least not in front of Hachiman Kairin.

Reaching out to touch Metis's hair, the smooth strands flowing through her fingers, Toyokawa Yuu's mood improved slightly.

"Don't talk nonsense. Hailing is a trustworthy friend. She even got a little injured while helping me out this time."

Thinking about this, Toyokawa Yuu couldn't help but feel a little strange.

Hachiman Kairin injured her leg, and he was bitten by her. Isn't this a case of tit for tat?

"I don't trust this guy..."

Mortis narrowed his eyes slightly and looked Hachiman Kairin up and down. The other woman also had a stern face, showing no trace of the anticipation and excitement she had felt when she planned to take Toyokawa Yuu out this morning.

What an awkward atmosphere! Something...something definitely happened between those two.

"Never mind, we should go back now. Youyu, you've been away for so long, there are still many people you need to deal with... Hailing, you should go back too."

"I'll take you in."

Ignoring Mortis's arrangement, which was somewhat of an order to leave, Hachiman Kairin looked at Toyokawa Yuu in front of her with a rather firm attitude.

It seems that even if Yuu Toyokawa refuses, she will still follow along on her own.

"...Don't you have anything to do at your company?"

"Is your business more important... or are you more concerned about those rumors?"

Despite Toyokawa Yuu's veiled resistance, Hachiman Kairin still did not back down, and her words even carried a hint of provocation.

"Don't be so ambiguous. No matter what I do, there will be rumors. It's just that you, someone who wasn't invited to the funeral, appearing at the funeral hall will make you the target of everyone's criticism."

Toyokawa Yuu never cared about rumors or gossip from the beginning.

Putting everything else aside, his previous interactions with Hatsune Miku alone are enough for those with ulterior motives to spread some "family jokes."

It's rather laughable that someone who already wants to kill the other person, and has even succeeded in killing them several times, is now saying they need to be careful about what the other person says.

Yuu Toyokawa simply... didn't want to spend any more time with this guy who confessed his feelings inexplicably and inappropriately, and who even resorted to verbal abuse after being rejected.

"Let's go then. I'll take you up to the second floor and then I'll go back... Mortis, you shouldn't keep holding onto Yuyu's arm like that, people will gossip."

"Don't try to teach me anything. I'm not you. Xiao Mu is Xiangzi's other half. I've lived here for ten years, and that's why no one dares to gossip about me."

Metis raised an eyebrow at Hachiman Kairin's "advice."

"On the contrary, it's you who causes trouble for Youyu whenever you show up."

These two, who were once partners in the band designated by Yuu Toyokawa to work remotely together, don't seem to have a very harmonious relationship now.

"Mortis, that's enough. If you keep arguing, it will only bother Youyu."

Mortis, who had been like a restless flame, seemingly ready to start a fight with Hachiman Kairin at the slightest provocation, suddenly changed his tone.

Calm, gentle, and with an innate indifference, this voice sounded more convincing than Mortis's.

Taking the initiative to release her grip on Toyokawa Yuu's arm, Wakaba Mutsu turned to look at Hachiman Kairin beside her with a solemn expression.

"Hailin, I have no say in what happens between you and Youyu, but I hope you won't get him into any more trouble here... Don't say anything for now, just take him upstairs and then leave. I'll handle those people."

"......I see."

Faced with Wakaba Mutsu's serious gaze and the attitude that seemed to have taken control of the situation and treated this place as her own domain, Hachiman Kairin did not refuse this time. Instead, she nodded solemnly.

She isn't the type to deliberately cause trouble, but when it comes to Yuu Toyokawa, she finds it hard to control herself.

After confirming that Hachiman Kairin had agreed, Wakaba Mutsu then looked at Toyokawa Yuu, who was still holding her guitar.

He looked at Hachiman Kairin with an unusually serious, even somewhat imposing, gaze, but his expression softened when he looked at Toyokawa Yuu, though he didn't reach out to take the guitar directly.

"Youyu, thank you for bringing my guitar back. Go upstairs now and put it back in my room. I'll go find..."

Before Ruoye Mutsu could finish speaking, Toyokawa Yuu's actions interrupted her.

The somewhat old pink guitar was personally slung over Toyokawa Yuu's shoulder.

"Don't talk like I'm afraid of those guys. I'm the head of the family now, and..."

For the first time since getting off the bus, Yuu Toyokawa truly focused her gaze on Hairin Hachiman. She opened her mouth, and her voice was no longer as stiff as before.

“I don’t know why you did that, but at least… Hailing, you shouldn’t become my enemy, right?”

"...Absolutely not."

Making her expression more serious, Hachiman Kairin made a rather formal assurance to Toyokawa Yuu.

Toyokawa Yuu merely glanced away at the woman in the suit's promise, without revealing the fleeting distrust in her eyes.

Chapter 132 Hatsune Miku was kicked out of her home?

"Ugh... We finally managed to fool those guys. They may not have any other skills, but they're good at nitpicking. They weren't this arrogant when Xiangzi was still around."

On the second floor of the Toyokawa house, Mortis, with somewhat weary steps, opened the door to Toyokawa Yuu's bedroom and, in front of the only remaining occupant of the room, naturally slipped inside.

As if casually tossing down a briefcase, Mortis threw himself onto the soft bed, kicked off his shoes, and wrapped himself in the blankets in front of Yuu Toyokawa, curling up on the bed like a kitten and rolling around.

"Even Xiao Mu couldn't help but hide back halfway through dealing with them, and I had to pretend to be her and take her place... These guys are so annoying, I really want to burn them all down when they're all together."

They seemed to be saying something terrifying, and Toyokawa Yuu could almost see the dark aura swirling around Mortis.

Ultimately, Mortis is just one of the personalities in this body. Even if she has some extreme thoughts, the other, quieter and more obedient personality will stop her from being willful.

“Mortis, you can’t think like that. Xiang’s funeral isn’t over yet. At least let her rest in peace first.”

If Ye Muna's voice, which was noticeably more composed than Mortis's, rang out again, even her actions of acting like a kitten on the bed would stop.

But listening to her words, it seemed as if she was implying that anything was permissible after Xiangzi's funeral.

Unlike Mortis's antics, Toyokawa Yuu walked to the table in silence, neither stopping his somewhat unorthodox remarks nor his reckless behavior on his bed.

Looking at the golden-eyed beauty who seemed to be talking to herself, and who appeared to outsiders to be having some internal conflict between her left and right brain, a subtle fluctuation flashed in Toyokawa Yuu's eyes.

It seems that Mortis is currently in control of the relationship between these two personalities.

Of course, it's also possible that Mortis has a more extroverted personality, so he often takes the initiative to control his body.

After all, judging from the situation, it doesn't seem to be a case of one personality overwhelming the other; it's just that Mortis is no longer as vulnerable in front of Wakaba Mutsu as she was ten years ago.

In a sense, this is even a positive outcome, better than what I've experienced before, where at least one party died.

Is this the only good thing that has happened to me in all the times I've died?

It's unclear how they achieved such a harmonious relationship, and...

Since the two personalities got along so well, and according to Hachiman Kairin, the person who played the guitar at her and Toyokawa Shoko's funeral was Mortis.

So why did they give up the guitar this time?

Yuu Toyokawa was quite curious about the reasons that led to this situation, and if she could figure it out, she might be able to deliberately guide the future in this direction.

However, before asking about these things, there were many more things that Toyokawa Yuu cared about quite a bit, even... worried about.

As Toyokawa Yuu fumbled on the desk in her bedroom, her expression gradually turned somewhat unpleasant.

It's gone. The notebook that I asked Hatsune to find last time, the one I found among Toyokawa Kiyoko's belongings, has now vanished.

Toyokawa Yuu certainly didn't believe that Toyokawa Kiyoko had survived until now. He had already seen Toyokawa Kiyoko's black and white photo hanging quietly on the wall when he was in the funeral hall.

Of course, the possibility of it being taken by someone else cannot be ruled out, but right now, besides myself and Wakaba Mutsu, whose mental state has obviously improved, only Hatsune Miku is able to enter this room.

Could Hatsune Miku have taken it secretly...? Come to think of it, I haven't seen her downstairs before.

Recalling his subtle probing of the branch families downstairs, he still hadn't seen that familiar blond figure.

Does this mean that Hatsune Miku has completely betrayed us this time?