108 Smelly Little Brother

Joss had not the slightest inkling of the danger that was about to descend upon him. Even he would never have imagined that someone might cross universes just to cause him trouble.

Although, as it happened, he had said exactly that himself only two days ago.

With the irresistibly alluring Takagi before him, Joss’s mind was filled with nothing but a herd of deer racing wildly through his chest. He had no attention left to spare for the strange disturbances in the world around him.

“Joss, it’s almost time to go home. Shall we leave together?”

Takagi did not say anything particularly shocking. She merely smiled faintly and extended the most ordinary invitation imaginable.

Joss paused, then nodded. “Sure. Are we going to your place or mine?”

“Eh?”

The smile on Takagi’s face froze for a moment. Clearly, she had not expected that answer.

As an individual formed from a Venom symbiote, Takagi’s personality and character had been pieced together from Joss’s own mind. She might have been very good at seducing people, but she had absolutely no experience dealing with a question like that!

Still, the Venom symbiote truly was a born expert at manipulation. In another world, one could simply rename the thing a succubus. Though she had only just been born, she had already come up with a response in an instant.

Her ultimate goal was to make Joss completely open his heart and accept her. Since Joss himself had brought up such a topic, she naturally had to take advantage of the opportunity.

At once, a faint blush appeared on Takagi’s face. She then put on an air of feigned composure and said, “You’re being awfully forward today, Joss. Since you’ve put it that way, let’s go to your house after school.”

As though conspiring with her, the school bell rang the moment her words fell. Takagi rose with a smile and turned toward Joss.

“Hey, stupid mutt! What are we having for dinner tonight?”

Before Joss could answer, an utterly rude voice cut into their conversation. He turned his head and saw a chestnut-colored crown of hair directly below his line of sight.

His gaze lowered further, and an adorable, fair-skinned face finally came into view. It belonged to a petite girl with long, fluffy hair that curled slightly at the ends. She glared up at Joss.

She possessed a remarkably cute face, yet her expression was thoroughly hostile. She looked like a ferocious beast warning all strangers to keep their distance.

“Ah…”

Joss’s thoughts were briefly thrown into confusion before he finally spoke again. “Oh, it’s Taiga. We’ll have curry tonight. Takagi is coming over to play, too.”

At that, Taiga merely folded her arms and snorted. “Who you bring home has nothing to do with me, does it? I’m only going there to eat, anyway.”

“Yes, yes.”

Joss seemed entirely unaffected by her unpleasant attitude. He simply reached out and fondly ruffled her hair.

When Joss raised his hand, Taiga’s face first filled with reluctance. Yet she did not swat his hand away. She merely blushed faintly and stood there until he had finished petting her to his heart’s content.

“Come on, Takagi. Let’s head home. But I need to buy some groceries on the way.”

“Huh? Oh.”

Takagi nodded, though she stared blankly at Taiga Aisaka.

Who was this girl?

Wasn’t this place supposed to contain only the person he loved most? And wasn’t that person supposed to be me?

Why had someone else suddenly appeared?

Who exactly was she? Was this normal, or had something gone wrong?

Poor Venom had been thrown out into the workforce by its unscrupulous mother hive without even receiving a proper education. It had no idea what was happening.

But when it saw Joss and Taiga already walking out of the classroom, it could only hurriedly grab its schoolbag and follow them.

It would have been one thing if that were all. But the moment they stepped outside, Takagi discovered that Joss was already talking to another girl.

“Little Ai, what brings you here?” Joss asked, looking at the naturally curly-haired legal loli standing before him.

“Illya and Miyu are coming over to play today. You’ve met them both before.”

Ai Haibara’s expression remained cool and indifferent, though a faint smile could be seen in her eyes as she looked at Joss.

“Those two? Yes, we’ve met them quite a few times.”

Joss scratched his head. When Takagi emerged from the classroom, he quickly turned and introduced them.

“Takagi, this is Ai Haibara. She’s currently staying at my house.”

“H-hello…”

Takagi—Venom—raised a trembling hand and waved. She could barely maintain the personality she had been given.

There was no helping it. The situation had completely exceeded her understanding. The fact that she was still capable of holding a normal conversation was already the result of a tremendous effort.

“Hello, Miss Tsukuyomi Komoe. Huh? Us? They’re all coming over to play at my house. What? You want to come too?”

“Hello, Miss Dourakuen. Today we… Oh, you’d like to come as well? Of course, of course!”

“Nicole-chan…”

By the time they had walked from the classroom to the school entrance, the group behind Joss had already grown to an astonishing size. At a glance, it looked as though this fellow was about to be dragged away and sentenced for his crimes.

And their Venom beauty had completely given up by then. She did not know whether other Venoms experienced the same thing when they took hosts, but she did know that this situation was far beyond her ability to handle.

At long last, they arrived at Joss’s house. But when he began introducing her to Ram the maid, the little library spirit Beatrice, Saber, who was temporarily staying there as a guest, and the others, Venom felt that the entire world was showing signs of collapse.

She did not know why, nor did she need to know. There was no doubt that the problem was simply that there were far too many people in this world!

Wasn’t she supposed to see only the person he loved most? Had the mother hive’s gift malfunctioned, or was there something wrong with this man himself?

She was only a weak, pitiful, helpless symbiote. Why was the world treating her like this?

Finally, the Venom symbiote could endure no longer. Controlling Takagi’s body, she approached Joss, who had just finished eating and was reclining in rest. She straddled his legs and stared directly into his eyes.

“Joss, do you like me? Are you willing to become one with me?”

Venom had abandoned all strategy.

Venom was attacking head-on!

She did not need to figure out what was happening. As long as she could make Joss accept her, everything would be over!

Yet, unexpectedly, the moment she asked the question, Joss’s gaze became extraordinarily clear. A confident, calm smile even appeared at the corner of his mouth.

“Of course I like you!”

Joss had spoken the words that filled Venom’s heart with ecstatic joy. She was just about to press her advantage when Joss continued:

“And everyone else, too!”