"I have excellent hearing." Her fingers traced patterns on my chest, each deliberate touch sending warmth through my exhausted body. "She also told me to keep you alive."

"Everyone’s very concerned about my mortality rate."

"Because you keep almost dying."

"Occupational hazard."

She was quiet for a moment. Her hand stilled against my skin.

Then: "I meant what I said. To your mother."

"I know."

"Do you?" Her voice carried an edge now, sharper than before.

I turned my head to look at her properly.

Her purple eyes glowed faintly in the darkness, the light not quite natural. More ethereal.

White streaks catching the moonlight filtering through the window.

Beautiful in a way that still caught me off guard sometimes.

"Yeah," I said. "I do."

"Good." She leaned in and kissed my jaw, her lips lingering there. "Because I’m not going anywhere. Even when you’re being stupid. Even when you’re lying to everyone. Even when you’re building your empire of broken girls and pretending you don’t care about any of them."

"I care."

"I know that too."

The cat meowed from somewhere in the shadows.

Natalia’s eyes narrowed, searching the darkness.

She glared in the general direction of the sound.

"That’s Maki," I said flatly.

"Your naked catgirl familiar."

"She’s a cat right now."

"That doesn’t make it better, Satori."

As if on cue, Maki transformed.

The shadows shifted.

Suddenly, a very naked, very smug woman with glossy black hair and hazel-gold eyes sat at the foot of my bed, her twin tails swishing behind her.

She was completely shameless about her state of undress.

"Hi!" she said brightly, her voice dripping with false innocence. "I’m Maki! You must be the scary purple one Satori’s obsessed with!"

Natalia’s eye twitched.

Frost spread across the sheets in a thin, crackling pattern.

The temperature in the room dropped several degrees.

"Satori," she said with dangerous, terrifying calm.

"She doesn’t wear clothes. It’s a whole thing."

"Make her wear clothes."

"I tried. She’s stubborn."

"I’m right here," Maki said cheerfully, waving. "And I don’t mind wearing clothes if purple scary lady wants me to! I just don’t like them very much because they’re itchy and restrictive and—"

"Maki."

"Yes, Master?"

"Transform. Please."

She pouted dramatically but complied with exaggerated reluctance.

The naked woman vanished.

The cat returned, sleek and black with those same mischievous eyes.

It immediately climbed onto Natalia’s lap without hesitation and started purring loudly, nuzzling against her hand.

Natalia, despite her clear irritation and the lingering frost on the sheets, started petting it almost automatically.

Her fingers moved through the soft fur.

"She’s manipulating you," I pointed out.

"I know." Natalia scratched behind the cat’s ears. "It’s working."

I closed my eyes.

My door opened again.

"Satori, I made you a sandwich in case you’re—" Emi stopped.

I opened one eye.

Emi stood in the doorway holding a plate, her blue hair in a messy ponytail, wearing pajama shorts and a tank top.

Her gaze moved from me to Natalia to the purring cat.

"Oh. Sorry. I didn’t know Natalia was—I’ll just—"

"Come here," Natalia said.

Emi hesitated.

"I don’t bite," Natalia added. "Usually."

Emi set the plate on my desk and carefully approached the bed.

Natalia patted the space beside her.

"Sit."

Emi sat.

The cat immediately abandoned Natalia and climbed into Emi’s lap, purring louder.

"Traitor," Natalia muttered.

"She’s so soft!" Emi stroked the cat’s back. "Is this the familiar you mentioned?"

"That’s Maki," I confirmed. "She’s a bakeneko. Also a menace."

"She’s purring."

"She’s plotting."

The cat meowed indignantly.

My door opened a third time.

Skylar walked in without knocking, saw the three of us, and raised an eyebrow.

"Is this a thing now? Everyone just congregates in here?"

"Apparently," I said.

She shrugged and climbed onto the bed, settling at the foot and pulling her knees to her chest.

"Your mom’s scary, by the way."

"I’m aware."

"Like, genuinely terrifying. She smiled at me and I felt like she was reading my browser history."

"That’s her thing."

A knock at the door.

Celeste’s voice: "May I come in?"

"Why not," I said. "Apparently my room’s a public space now."

Celeste entered, saw the crowd, and froze.

"I can come back."

"Just sit down," Natalia said. "Everyone else is."

Celeste perched on the edge of my desk chair, her posture perfect despite the casual setting.

Five women.

One cat.

One extremely tired scumbag king.

"So," Akari said from the doorway, because of course she’d appeared. "Are we doing this?"

"Doing what?" I asked warily.

"Talking about last night. About the System," Akari clarified, her voice carrying that same dangerous sweetness. She stepped fully into my room and claimed the remaining space on the bed with practiced ease, settling in like she owned the place. "About the fact that we’re all apparently soul-bonded to you now and stuck in some cosmic reality show with omniscient gods as viewers."

"I thought we were collectively ignoring that uncomfortable truth," I said, already knowing it was futile.

"We tried that approach. It lasted six hours." Akari stretched out her legs, perfectly comfortable amidst the chaos. "Now we’re going to talk about it like mature, rational adults."

"Can’t we do this literally any other time? Like tomorrow? Or never?"

"No."

All five of them said it.

In perfect, terrifying unison. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

I looked up at the ceiling, silently cursing whatever gods or administrators were watching this trainwreck of a situation with what I could only imagine was immense entertainment. My room had transformed from a private sanctuary into some kind of bizarre war council meeting, complete with a traitorous cat who’d abandoned me for the enemy.

Nel’s laughter echoed through my mind, crystal clear and dripping with sadistic amusement.

You wanted a harem, kid. This is what that actually looks like. Welcome to hell. I’m going to enjoy watching you navigate this absolute disaster.

I let out a long, slow breath and sat up properly, resigning myself to whatever interrogation they had planned. "Fine. What exactly do you want to know?"

The silence that followed was heavy, charged with unasked questions and carefully maintained composure. The five of them exchanged glances, some kind of unspoken communication passing between them that I wasn’t privy to.

Then Emi raised her hand tentatively, those telltale antenna-like strands of hair twitching nervously.

"Is there...a schedule?"

"Schedule?"

Her face turned red. "For. You know. Spending time with you."

"Oh my god," Skylar muttered.

"It’s a valid question!" Emi’s antennae twitched. "I don’t want to just...show up and interrupt something!"

Akari cackled. "A sex schedule. That’s so organized it’s almost cute."

"Can we not?" I said.

"We absolutely can," Natalia disagreed. "Because Emi’s right. We need structure. Rules. Something."

"I don’t do rules," Skylar said.

"You do now," Natalia countered. "Unless you want to walk in on him with someone else and deal with that awkwardness."

Skylar’s jaw tightened.

Point to Natalia.

"Okay," I said slowly. "So what are you proposing?"

Natalia crossed her legs.

"I go first. Always. That’s non-negotiable."

"Obviously," Akari said. "You’re the Covenant Queen. We all saw your profile."

"Then Emi," Natalia continued, "because she’s the least likely to cause problems."

"Hey!"

"It’s a compliment."

Celeste raised her hand slightly. "Where do I fall in this...rotation?"

"After Emi. Before Skylar."

"Why am I last?" Skylar demanded.

"Because you don’t actually care," Natalia said. "You’ll take whatever slot is open and make it work."

Skylar opened her mouth.

Closed it.

"Fair."

"And me?" Akari asked sweetly.

"Floating position. You fit where convenient."

"Also fair."

I rubbed my face. "This is insane."

"This is logistics," Natalia corrected. "You wanted five of us. Now you get to manage five of us."

"I didn’t want—"

"You chose Impossible Mode," Celeste said quietly. "You knew what that meant."

She was right.

I had known.

I’d just been too arrogant to think through the actual implications.

"Fine," I said. "We’ll figure out a schedule."

"Good." Natalia stood. "Now everyone out. He needs sleep."

"But—" Emi started.

"Out."

The girls filed toward the door.

Skylar paused, looking back. "Tournament starts soon."

"I know."

"Don’t die before then."

"Working on it."

She left.

Celeste lingered longest, her hand on the doorframe.

"Thank you," she said. "For today. For introducing me to your family. For making me feel like I belong."

"You do belong."

Her smile was small but genuine.

She closed the door behind her.

Natalia remained.

"Alone at last," she said.

"Don’t you have somewhere to be?"

"Nope." She locked the door. "You’re mine for the next eight hours. I’m collecting."

"I’m exhausted."

"I know." She climbed back into bed. "That’s why we’re just sleeping. Together. Like normal people."

"We’re not normal people."

"Pretend."

I lay back down.

She settled against me.

The cat transformed and curled up on my chest between us.

"Your familiar’s a brat," Natalia observed.

"I’m aware."

"But cute."

"Also aware."

We lay there in the darkness.

Outside, the island continued its endless rotation.

The tournament clock ticked down.

Enemies sharpened their knives.

And somewhere, the Administrator watched.

But for now, in this moment, with Natalia’s warmth against my side and a magical cat purring on my chest, I let myself believe that everything would be fine.

Even though I knew better.

Even though the System was already generating the next disaster.

Even though five women with soul bonds and competing priorities was a recipe for absolute chaos.

I closed my eyes.

Tomorrow’s problems could wait until tomorrow.

Tonight, I just wanted this.

Natalia’s breathing evened out.

Maki’s purring gentled.

And I fell asleep surrounded by the two most dangerous creatures I’d ever encountered.

One bound to me by cosmic contract.

One bound to me by choice.

I still wasn’t sure which was scarier.