Reward Event: "Tell Me, I Won't Get Mad"
"Tell me. I won't get mad." Umi said this while straddling me, flashing a benevolent smile. It was a smile, sure... but her eyes weren't smiling one bit.
"Nah, you're mad right now."
"Talking back? That's what I hate most."
Umi immediately pinched my side.
"Eek?! That hurts!! And just now you said you hate lies the most!!"
I groaned from the ticklish pain but still shot back.
"I'm at that age where I hate a ton of things. Being a teenager means hating lies and backtalk."
Umi said.
"Don't lump everything under 'teenager'!!"
Aah... I couldn't stop snarking back!!!
"What do you do with Taiga at midnight? Spill it."
Umi pressed her body against mine as she asked. If I lifted my head even a little, it'd turn into an accidental kiss. Her faintly sweet breath was messing with my head.
"Th-that... night walks!! Sassis comes too!! Totally wholesome!!"
I immediately sold out Sassis. I was the rotten underling who ratted out the boss without a second thought.
"Sassis?"
Umi seemed a bit relieved at that. Still, why was she so nosy about my schedule?
"Hmmm... night walks, huh."
The grip of Umi's thighs around my waist loosened a tad. Good. If I could just calm her down like this...
"Now I'm mad. Back during spring break last time... you turned me down when I asked to walk together. But you jump at the chance with Taiga, who you just met?"
Suddenly, Umi's anger boiled over!!
"I-I couldn't help it!! There were circumstances! Circumstances!!"
I shouted.
"Hmmm... mind if I tag along on those night walks?"
Umi asked.
"But... Umi, don't you have a curfew?"
I pointed that out.
"I can sneak out."
Umi said it with a straight face.
"A-alright... I'll loop in Sassis."
I gave in. Yeah, this was probably how it was meant to end up anyway. Umi was an Awakener with Psychorobo powers too, after all.
"Heh. That's more like it."
Umi stroked my chin like she was petting an animal. Getting that from a beauty felt oddly ticklish and nice. And because of it, my lower half reacted. Yep, getting hard activated again. Plus, with Umi sitting right on my lap, it was inevitable she'd feel the hard something through her butt.
"Ufufu. Shota, you got excited over me?"
Umi grinned.
"........."
I wanted to die from the embarrassment. They say a girl's mood changes in a flash, and it looked true. For some reason, Umi seemed in a good mood now. No sign of disgust even though a horny high school boy was pitching a tent for her—she just leaned against me, humming a tune.
Me? I had no choice but to play submissive with Umi.
"Hug me tighter."
Umi ordered.
"...Got it."
Under her command to backhug her, I pulled Umi close. I had no idea why she wanted this, but I just did as told.
"Does Eri... make you do stuff like this too?"
In that instant, Umi's eyes sharpened.
"W-well... yeah."
The skinship was so intense it was troublesome.
"Good. Then massage my shoulders too."
Umi pressed her back against my chest, clearly planning to milk this for all it was worth. Man... her back felt super slim. That thought made my face heat up on its own. Her massive chest contrasted with her delicate frame, making any guy's heart race.
Rub-! Rub-!
As instructed, I kneaded Umi's shoulders.
"Nngh... hnnngh..."
Umi let out an unguarded moan. Dude... that's too stimulating, cut it out. Anyway, after that, Umi bossed me around nonstop. From shoulders to full foot massage—she ran the complete course before finally releasing me. Time to head home anyway.
I started to leave the room. That's when—
Squeeze—!
Umi grabbed my sleeve.
"Tomorrow... after your session, let's hang out."
Umi mumbled, her face flushed.
Damn... that smile was total cheat-level. Way too pretty on a human level. I could only manage a wry smile at the thought.
----------
After leaving the dojo, I let out a deep sigh.
"She... likes me, right?"
I'm not a total blockhead. With my 25-year-old uncle brain in here, I could pick up on it. Umi liked me.
'What sparked it, though?'
That was the question. If I were some super handsome guy, it'd make sense, but Umi and I didn't have much overlap. Just comrades who'd belted out karaoke medleys together—nothing more, nothing less.
'Table it for now.'
I put the messy relationship stuff on hold. For this world to stay intact, our protagonist Sassis had to save it. And I was his party member now. As a teammate, I'd help however I could. Romance problems... we'd deal later.
I set my priorities like that.
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I walked the short distance home.
"Hey, Shota-chin. You're back?"
Eri greeted me right at the entrance. She was basically family now, crashing here full-time.
"Gah!! What the hell is that shameless getup!!"
I immediately yelled at Eri. She was in what amounted to underwear—a swimsuit with just an apron over it. Felt like she was putting every ounce of effort into seducing me.
"Ufufu. Shota, you excited?"
Eri spun around with a grin.
"What kind of indecent outfit is that!!!"
I snarked right back.
"Huh? It's just a swimsuit. You can wear these outside, y'know?"
Eri stated the facts. Hard to argue with that.
"Swimsuit and apron. You like this look, Shota?"
Eri said.
"Don't pin pervert on me."
I shut it down and went to boot up the laptop in the living room. Figured I'd work there today. Sticking to one spot made me hit walls.
"Your manga's full of this trope. Thought you liked it."
Eri followed me, giggling. Big data from my room's manga collection, huh.
"So. Do ya?"
Eri pressed. No dodging this one.
"Hell yeah."
I admitted it. Swimsuit and apron... golden combo.
"Shota! Pervert!!!"
Even while calling me out, Eri snuggled right into my arms. Yeah, yeah. I patted her back and soothed her vaguely. Anyway, I serialized my novel today too. Aiming for three chapters daily. This was my debut work, free serial with zero name recognition. Total noob status. To get steady reader exposure, I had to spam updates to top the lists.
Productivity? No issue there. I dove right into writing.
'Views are climbing decently.'
Old world's writing experience paid off—I knew how to mix trends tasty-like. Views were solid. Hit a certain chapter count, and I could go paid. Could probably cover living expenses if I played it right. Use that cash to gear up the party and boost our power. This game was brutal. Slack on levels, and main story kicks your ass.
"Shota. Coffee."
Eri brought me some with a smile. Still in that shameless swimsuit-apron combo. Guy or not, I couldn't help sneaking peeks at her back. Total writing distraction, but my lower half was screaming it didn't mind. I stuck with the status quo.
"Ah, thanks."
I nodded.
"Hang in there, hubby?"
Then Eri thumped my shoulders and gave a massage.
"Ufufu. Totally wife vibes now. With a daughter-in-law like this, no worries."
Mom watched the scene, tearing up.
"Oh, right... gotta grab side dishes."
Mom suddenly invented an excuse and bolted out. Obvious she wanted to leave us alone—cruel consideration. Mom had us all wrong.
Once Mom was gone, Eri pumped her fist in a tiny cheer.
"Yes!"
Being alone with me made her that happy? Anyway, I wrapped up my solid three-chapter grind.
"Phew..."
My eyes stung a bit, so I gave them a light massage.
"All done?"
Eri toddled over like she'd been waiting.
"Yeah."
I replied.
"You look beat."
Eri smirked oddly.
"Just got back from kendo dojo, y'know."
Work after exercise was rough.
"Ehehe. Shota, wanna heal up by groping me?"
Eri immediately tempted me, swaying her hips. That firm butt jiggled in my view. Mom had said it before: 'Eri looks like she'd pop out healthy kids. Super fertile.' Said it with a smile. Mom... that's sexual harassment if you say it to her face. I snarked internally.
"Sure."
Whatever happens, happens. That's what I figured. Honestly, it scared me a bit. If things progressed with Eri like this, I'd probably knock her up. She was seducing me with her whole body. One day it'd escalate, and boom—I'd wake up a dad with a kid. A girl's full-throttle pursuit of love was terrifying.
Squish-!
I groped Eri's butt.
"W-wait... you're really... nnghaaa?!?"
Eri tensed up in surprise, then let out a lewd moan. If she hated it, she'd say so—but she kept her butt out, accepting my hands.
"You told me to. Your fault."
Crime of provoking a horny high school boy. I groped away, claiming justification. Damn... she is firm. Felt a twinge of guilt for the pervy thought.
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Anyway, after the short home break. Midnight hit, and I slipped out the window.
"Fuu..."
Second floor, but dropping via the roof wasn't too high. Landed in the front yard.
"You're here."
Umi was waiting.
"You actually made it."
Gonzaemon was such a doting dad, he never let her out.
"Said it was you, and Mom okayed it right away. Geez... my family's totally into you."
Umi grumbled.
"Then hurry up and guide me to that Taiga bitch."
Umi's eyes narrowed sharply.
"Bitch...? You got beef with Taiga?"
Had to ask.
"Hmph. Not really."
Umi tossed her head brat-style. Felt like they'd fight on sight. I led Umi straight to the meetup spot.