In Academy City, the Paradise Project begins.

Page 203

"Yes, let's go, Kinuhata."

Chapter 239 Mugino Shizuri was ridden

Before entering the room, the two were worried about being questioned by several people, but when they actually went inside, they were stunned by the scene in front of them.

In the center of the room, all sorts of exquisite and adorable children's clothes, dresses, and accessories were scattered all over the floor, almost covering half of the living room floor.

The central image in the room made Higashino Yu pause in surprise.

The petite Febri was riding on Mugino Shizuri's shoulders, her legs, clad in white stockings, swinging gently and happily.

She had changed into a brand new red Lolita-style dress, with layers of lace and ribbons making her look like a little princess.

She was tightly clutching a chibi-style doll that looked somewhat familiar. The doll's face was clearly a miniature cartoon version of Higashino Yu!

Mugino Shizuri's expression was indescribably complex as he was being used as a "mount".

It was an awkward expression that carried a hint of helplessness, a touch of annoyance, yet also a subtle, barely perceptible joy...

She carefully held Philip on her shoulders with both hands, afraid that she might fall, but her brows were slightly furrowed.

"Pfft haha!"

Frenda, who was standing nearby, laughed so hard she almost fell over, slapping her thigh without any regard for her image.

"That's hilarious! Mugino, you've finally met your match!"

Takitsubo Riko sat quietly on the sofa to the side, holding a matching top hat in her hand, seemingly preparing to put it on Febri.

She noticed the two returning first, lazily raised her eyelids, and greeted them softly, "You've finally decided to come back."

She noticed something was off. Although they had separated, Kinuhata always held hands with Higashino when she came in.

Moreover, she couldn't believe that something hadn't happened to make it take so long to return from such a simple task.

"What... what's going on here?"

Kinuhata looked at the mess and Philip riding on Mugino's shoulders, somewhat bewildered.

This is Mugino, the boss! How could she be ridden on the head by a little girl she'd only just met? Is she really that kind of gentle woman?

That's absolutely outrageous!

Hearing the sound, Mugino and Frenda also looked over.

Frenda immediately skipped over, her face still beaming with smiles, and pointed at Febri's new dress, boasting, "Higashino! Kinuhata! Look! Look! Febri's new dress! Isn't it cute! We picked it out together!"

Higashino Yu's gaze fell on Febri. The little girl smiled even more brightly because of their return and Frenda's excitement, her lovely big eyes curving into crescents.

It was clear that the group had gotten along very well during the time he and Kinuhata were away, so well that it seemed unbelievable to him.

He smiled and nodded, his tone sincere: "Yes, very cute, it suits her very well."

Higashino Yu's gaze then fell on the familiar chibi-style doll in Philip's arms, and he asked with some curiosity.

"Um, this..."

Well, the doll is incredibly lifelike, but let's not even talk about the clothes. They might have been bought while he was away, but such a clearly custom-made doll couldn't have been made on short notice.

"What's this thing in her hand...?"

Takitsubo Riko then turned her gaze to Mugino and explained in a calm voice, "It was Mugino who asked her to do it. She saw that Febri seemed to like you a lot, so she had someone send over a chibi-style doll of you."

Upon hearing this, Mugino Shizuri seemed to have had something on his mind exposed, a barely perceptible blush flashing across his face. He somewhat roughly and carefully lifted Febri off his shoulder and placed him on the ground, his tone tinged with embarrassment and anger: "Tsk... this little guy, he's completely out of control once he gets used to things! He actually wanted to play some kind of horseback riding game! How could I possibly agree to that..."

Halfway through her sentence, she seemed to remember that she had not only agreed but also obediently served as a "mount" for half a day. Her voice lowered involuntarily, and she turned her face away, adding with extreme reluctance, "...Seeing her disappointed look, almost on the verge of tears...I inexplicably...nodded. I even doubted if it was really me!"

Not long after Higashino Yu and Kinuhata Saiai left, the group was at a loss as to how to take care of the child. Fortunately, Febri's belly started to growl at just the right time, and with the combined efforts of the three, they prepared a sumptuous dinner, successfully bringing them closer to Febri.

After they got to know each other, things inexplicably progressed to the dress-up segment, and then inexplicably turned into the ending where Philip was used as a horse to ride.

Mugino even suspected that Febri might be a psychic who was secretly controlling her mind, otherwise she couldn't understand why he would be so accommodating to her.

Kinuhata loved pointing at the new clothes scattered on the floor and asking in surprise, "These... did you all buy them?"

"It was Mugino who sent it."

Takitsubo Riko calmly revealed the answer once again.

"After making a few phone calls, someone soon delivered several large boxes of the latest children's clothing to choose from."

Upon hearing this, Higashino Yu's face showed utter surprise. He raised an eyebrow at Mugino, a playful smile in his eyes: "Oh? I never expected that you, Mugino, would have such a... um, 'thoughtful' side?"

Mugino Shizuri felt uncomfortable under his gaze. She abruptly turned her head away, her ears turning slightly red, and tried to cover it up with a stiff tone: "Stop talking nonsense! It's just that her old dress is really an eyesore! I didn't do anything for her on purpose!"

Her attempt to cover up her true intentions was both novel and amusing to Higashino Yu, who knew her usual style.

Although I don't fully understand Mugino's inner thoughts, she's surprisingly a woman who loves children. Despite her terrible personality, she might have the chance to be a good mother if she becomes one in the future.

Philip loved the atmosphere. Hugging his Higashino doll, he looked up at his face and said in a soft, sweet voice, "Brother Higashino, everyone is such a good person."

Aside from Frenda's overly familiar manner and excessive enthusiasm for changing clothes at the beginning, which was a bit off, Febri had a pretty good time all evening.

The older sisters have such lovely voices and cook such delicious food. Especially the eldest sister, who sometimes looks a little mischievous, even lets her ride on her back. It's just amazing!

Frenda was charmed again. She squatted down and ruffled Febri's blond hair, excitedly saying to Higashino, "Oh my, no matter how you look at this child's face, he's just so cute! Higashino, where did you find this treasure? Tell me where, I want to go find one and raise one too!"

Higashino Yu was both amused and exasperated: "Do you think this is like picking up a kitten or puppy? A cute child like Febri is a rare find, not something you can just pick up anywhere."

He paused, a slightly smug, mischievous smile spreading across his face.

"I guess only a handsome guy with exceptional charm like me would have this kind of luck?"

These words immediately drew perfectly coordinated eye rolls from the women present. Even Philip seemed to understand his boasting, covering his mouth and giggling, his eyes sparkling.

After the joke, Takitsubo Riko got back to the point: "We just tried asking Febri a lot of questions about her home, her parents, her past... but she doesn't seem to know anything."

Higashino Yu nodded and readily gave the prepared explanation: "Yes, I've done a quick check. She must have suffered some kind of trauma or impact, which caused some memory loss. She only remembers her own name now; everything else is very vague."

Mugino Shizuru temporarily snapped out of his awkward mood and looked at Higashino and Kinuhata, asking, "What's going on over there? Why is the mission taking so long? Have you run into trouble?"

Her gaze lingered on Kinuhata Saiai for a second longer, trying to discern something.

Kinuhata Ai felt a pang of guilt at the question. The intimate scene from the movie theater just moments before flashed through her mind, causing her cheeks to flush and her eyes to dart around as she hesitated to speak.

Higashino Yu naturally picked up the conversation, saying without changing his expression, "Well, no one was making any transactions there. And..."

His tone became a bit somber.

"We were ambushed."

"ambush?"

Takitsubo Riko looked at Higashino with some concern.

"Are you alright? How could someone attack you..."

"Don't worry, I'm so strong, how could I possibly get hurt? They were just some unmanned, remotely controlled drive armor. Their combat power was negligible, and I took care of them with ease."

Higashino Yu spoke in a relaxed tone, reaching out to pat Takitsubo's somewhat worried little head.

"But the attackers' identities and motives are still unclear, but it seems they were specifically targeting us."

"what?!"

Mugino Shizuri's temper flared instantly, and a layer of frost covered her beautiful face.

"Which blind bastard dares to touch anyone from Item?! Are they tired of living?!"

She was genuinely angry; she never imagined someone would scheme against her. Although no real damage was caused, she couldn't tolerate such behavior.

"rest assured."

Higashino Yu's lips curled into a dangerous smile.

"I will investigate this thoroughly. Tomorrow, at the latest tomorrow, I will find out who is behind this."

Of course, there's no need to investigate, since he's already guessed who's behind the attack. Tomorrow, he just needs to deal with them as a matter of course.

But we can't say it directly now; explaining these things is too complicated.

"Anyone who dares to lay a hand on my people will have to pay a heavy price."

Higashino has already decided that tomorrow he will simply say that he has found the mastermind and lead the girls to physically destroy the Fuchun Tree.

It just so happens that they seem to have quite a few drive armors, which will give everyone a chance to stretch their muscles.

"Alright, let's put those things aside."

Higashino Yu clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention back. He looked around the living room, which looked as if it had been swept by a typhoon.

"Before everyone leaves, shouldn't we clean up this 'battlefield'?"

He pointed to the mess of children's clothes and accessories scattered on the floor, as well as the uncollected tableware still on the dining table not far away.

If it weren't mentioned, everyone would definitely have left after the meeting, since it was already getting late. Higashino didn't want to have to pack up at the last minute when they met up again tomorrow; it would be too much trouble.

"Eh?"

Frenda immediately let out a reluctant groan and slumped onto the sofa next to her as if she had no bones left.

"But it's so tiring! And all of this was brought here by Mugino, so let her take care of it herself!"

Mugino Shizuri immediately glared at her, her tone dangerous: "Huh? Frenda, say that again? Didn't you say you were going to change Febri's clothes? Believe me or not, we'll all leave and leave you to do all the work!"

"Waaah... I was wrong, Mugino!"

Frenda immediately backed down and hid behind Takitsubo Riko.

"Why don't you use your omnipotent abilities to do the work, Higashino? You should be able to manage, right?"

"I refuse. If everything is done just to make using abilities convenient, then what's the point of having hands?"

Although Higashino Yu occasionally uses his ability to be lazy for convenience, he doesn't use it much for ordinary housework or cooking.

Takitsubo Riko didn't seem to have any objections, and lazily stood up: "Hmm... it is indeed a bit messy."

She looked at Febri.

"Fibril, do you want to help? Let's put away these pretty clothes."

Philip hugged the doll and nodded obediently, "Yes! I'll help!"

Kinuhata Saiai also rolled up her sleeves: "This is so troublesome, let's get it done quickly."

Since no one was deliberately probing why she had been gone for so long, she didn't mind working overtime for a while longer.

Higashino Yu smiled and took the lead in making his move.

His main responsibility was to sort and fold the clothes scattered around. It has to be said that Miss Mugino is really rich; the clothes she had delivered were not only cute, but judging from the feel of them, they were definitely not cheap.

Despite complaining about the trouble, Mugino still started to gather up some hangers and packaging boxes.

With Higashino leading the way, the girls of Item, along with the little one, quickly got to work.

With everyone's help, the originally messy living room was quickly restored to its tidy state. Stacks of cute children's clothes were temporarily placed in a corner of the sofa, and the tableware was also put away in the kitchen.

"Phew, at least it looks decent now."

Higashino Yu threw the last empty box into the trash can and nodded in satisfaction.

He knelt down in front of Febri, the little girl who had been diligently handing out small accessories to everyone. Higashino Yu gently ruffled her blonde hair and said softly, "Febri is wonderful, she was a great help."

"Hehe, I'm happy to be able to help Higashino-nii."

Febri squinted her eyes in enjoyment and rubbed her little face against his palm.

"It's getting late."

Higashino Yu stood up and addressed the crowd.

“I should take Febri back with me; she needs to rest.”

He extended his hand to Febri: "Come on, Febri, let's go home."

Without hesitation, Febri reached out her little hand and tightly grasped Higashino Yu's finger, nodding vigorously: "Yes! Let's go home with Higashino-nii-san!"

Higashino Yu nodded to the girls of Item: "That's all for today. Mugino, I'll let you know about the investigation tomorrow. Frenda, Kinuhata, Takitsubo, off."

"Goodbye."

Frenda replied listlessly.

Goodnight, Higashino.