**Episode 052: Let’s Go Home**

“You’re safe, huh?”
“I’m glad you’re alive… What about that monster?”
As soon as they saw my face, the two of them displayed a relieved and happy expression.

“Yeah, somehow. I just defeated it a little while ago. It was a close call, though. But more importantly, why are you two here?”

As I stood up and turned towards them, I inquired about the reason for their presence.

“Well, um… we were worried…”
“After helping everyone escape from school to some extent, we came back.”

Yuna answered nervously, while Kana calmly added to create a coherent response.

“Thank you for coming all the way to worry about me. I appreciate it.”

I smiled at the two of them, feeling touched by their concern.

“Huh!?”
However, for some reason, they both froze.

“What’s wrong?”
“…”
“Nothing, really.”
“If that’s the case, then it’s fine.”

I asked, thinking something might have happened, but since Kana shook her head, I decided not to dwell on it further.

“Phew, I’m exhausted. We defeated that monster. Rokudo, Enjyu, and all the girls are alive. In the end, everyone is alive, and it’s a happy ending. That’s what matters, right!!”

Shuji lay down in a spread-eagle position and began speaking.

“Hey!”
At that moment, Enjyu, who had clung to my chest, also neighed energetically.

“Certainly, as Shuji and Enjyu say.”

“Indeed.”

I agreed with their words, and Yuna nodded similarly, followed by Kana and Sato.

“Thank you, Kotaro. Everyone being alive is thanks to you.”

Next, Kana expressed her gratitude to me.

“Don’t worry about it. I just did what I could.”

“Hehe… even though you did something like that, you’re not boasting at all. You’re a strange guy, Kotaro.”

“Yeah, Kotaro is modest.”

Feeling a bit embarrassed, I shrugged my shoulders, and the two of them chuckled at my attitude.

“It’s not like that. It’s not just my achievement. I could only land the finishing blow thanks to Shuji, Sato, and Enjyu. If Sato and Shuji hadn’t come, I would have definitely died, and without Enjyu’s luck, the enhancement wouldn’t have succeeded.”

It was definitely not something I could have accomplished alone. If Sato and Shuji hadn’t come, I would have died for sure, and without Enjyu’s luck, the enhancement wouldn’t have succeeded.

“Anyway, it’s all thanks to your efforts, Rokudo. If you weren’t there, everyone would have died.”

“Yeah, you should willingly accept the praise.”

“Haha, alright, I get it. Anyway, it’s great that everyone is safe. More importantly, what are we going to do now?”

As everyone bombarded me with questions, I changed the topic and started discussing what to do next.

Honestly, I just wanted to go back and rest. I’m mentally and physically exhausted. Even though my body is healing, I won’t recover my stamina and mental anguish.

“Yeah, I’m tired too, so I want to go back and rest.”

“Me too. Even though the wounds can be healed with potions, it doesn’t restore my stamina.”

“Hey…”

“Certainly. While we’re going home, what about you two?”

Sato and Shuji seemed to be in a similar condition, and Enjyu also looked sleepy. It seemed like we were all heading home, but I wondered what Yuna and Kana intended to do.

“Did you forget the promise?”

Kana asked me with a stern expression.

“What was it?”
“Seriously. About cohabiting.”

When I tilted my head, unexpected words came out.

“What!?”

The three of us exclaimed in surprise.

“Hey, Rokudo, were you trying to charm a girl in this situation!?”
“Yeah, I never expected you to do something like that.”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait a minute! I don’t remember making such a promise—”

Even though I was being accused by the two, I couldn’t recall the promise at all.

“You said you would grant our wishes and then decided to live and train together afterward.”

“Oh, right…”

Before I could say I didn’t remember, Kana quickly explained, jogging my memory. I remembered the promise; we indeed decided to live and train together.

“But the word ‘cohabitation’ is misleading!”

“Huh? If we live together, isn’t that cohabitation?”

“Not the same thing! It’s different!”

As I protested to Kana, she tilted her head as if saying something strange and I couldn’t help but shout in a dilemma.

“Well, well, we were about to go on a journey, so it works out perfectly.”

“Yeah, we were worried if it was just you alone, but with the two of them, it should be fine now.”

“You guys too!”

Shuji and Sato wrapped their arms around my shoulders, teasing me with grins.

“Anyway, it’s settled that we’re going to live together with Kotaro. Perfect timing since we were planning to leave soon.”

“That’s right… we were a bit concerned about Kotaro being alone, but now that you have these two, it should be fine.”

“You two as well!”

Thus, Yuna and Kana also decided to come to my place. On the way back, the two finished their farewells with Sato, Shuji, and Enjyu and chatted cheerfully about my topic.

“Well… as long as I can protect their smiles, it’s fine, I guess…”

Muttering absentmindedly while looking at everyone’s smiling faces, I gazed up at the sky and whispered to myself.

There were various challenges, but today was safely overcome. I’m quite fed up with battles for now…

“Hey, what are you doing, Rokudo?”

“Rokudo-kun!”

“Hey.”

“Kotaro.”

“Kotaro.”

As I stood absentmindedly, it seemed like I had stopped, and all five turned around, calling out to me.

“Oh, sorry, sorry.”

I hurriedly rushed towards them, and we headed towards home together.