Chapter 157
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: Proposal (1)
I had a feeling that Old Man Yuzuke had something he wanted to say.
But he didn't say it outright.
I'd hear it soon enough anyway.
"Have a seat for now."
I was curious what the old man had to say, after all.
Thinking that, Takuya sat comfortably on the sofa across from Old Man Yuzuke.
Old Man Yuzuke looked at Takuya, who was seated comfortably, and gave him a warm smile.
It was like the gaze of someone looking at his grandson, which made Takuya a bit flustered, but he quickly pulled himself together and spoke.
"I was just about to leave. Why'd you call me, sir?"
In response to Takuya's words, Yuzuke chuckled heartily and said,
"As expected of youth, huh? Straight to the point."
"I don't think that's a youth thing."
"Heh heh. Fair enough. Anyway, no need to rush. We've got plenty to talk about."
With that, Old Man Yuzuke instructed the elderly butler by the door to bring in some tea.
The butler acknowledged the order and walked down the hallway.
Takuya listened intently to the sound until the footsteps faded away, and then Old Man Yuzuke's voice came.
"First off, you handled the commission I gave you splendidly."
"It's not like the results confirmed pregnancy yet. That's a bit of an exaggeration."
At Takuya's words, the kindly expression vanished from Old Man Yuzuke's face, replaced by a mischievous grin like that of a playful neighbor grandpa, and he said,
"Exaggeration? I'm the one who checked all the footage you took. Considering the amount of semen you pumped out, it'd be weirder if she didn't get pregnant, don't you think?"
He had a point.
Honestly, the reason I hadn't knocked anyone up until now was those high-performance birth control pills. Otherwise, I'd have built a huge family by now (all still in the womb, though).
So Takuya nodded agreeably at Old Man Yuzuke's words and replied,
"Well, variables always exist."
In response, Old Man Yuzuke just chuckled lightly again.
And so, they exchanged some small talk for a bit.
The elderly butler opened the door and brought in hot tea.
I thanked the butler, let the tea cool a little, and took a sip.
As expected from a fine household—the tea was exceptional.
So they savored their tea for a moment.
Old Man Yuzuke, who had been sipping his tea much like me, set his cup down and said to me,
"Well then, shall we get to the main topic?"
"Let's."
At my response, Old Man Yuzuke leaned back comfortably in his chair, took a deep breath in and out, then looked at me with an incredibly serious expression and asked,
"No beating around the bush. Takuya, do you have some kind of [special ability]?"
His unexpected question froze my brain for a moment.
'Special ability? Out of nowhere like this?'
Honestly, it threw me off. Of course it did—who wouldn't be flustered hearing something like that without any prep?
Even so, Takuya kept a calm expression on the surface and asked,
"Hm, I'll deny it for now, but what's this about?"
At those words from Takuya, Old Man Yuzuke grinned and replied,
"So if I show proof, you'll admit it?"
"Depends on the evidence."
And after that, whether to erase his memory with hypnosis or not.
Takuya thought that as he waited for Old Man Yuzuke to speak, and soon enough, the old man did.
"Two reasons. First is what I heard from my bodyguards, Lia and Jessica, about that aphrodisiac you have."
"Aphrodisiac?"
What was special about that?
"I've devoted my life to this erotic world. If an aphrodisiac that potent existed, it'd have reached my ears at least once. But never. So doesn't that mean something's up?"
Takuya was dumbfounded by that.
No way. That evidence was way too flimsy.
It could be a new product just released, or some secret stash that'd been hidden away.
And he's jumping to conclusions from that?
Honestly, it was ridiculous.
Maybe my expression showed it, because Old Man Yuzuke said,
"I know what you're thinking, Takuya, but I know more than you imagine."
With that, Old Man Yuzuke stood from his seat and started walking somewhere.
I followed behind him down a long hallway until we reached a certain room.
There was an old CRT monitor computer in the room.
Takuya felt dubious about the computer but decided to watch for now as Old Man Yuzuke sat in front of the monitor and fiddled with something.
And what appeared on the computer screen was enough to make even me grimace.
[Ah, good porn's been scarce lately (English)]
[Don't be sad, bro~ Kashu's new vid's coming soon (Chinese)]
[The new drugs we got this time suck. Someone complain to that drug-pushing bastard (Japanese)]
[That's on you for being dumb enough to get scammed (English)]
At a glance, it looked like a normal community chatting in all sorts of languages.
But on closer inspection, something felt off.
[Mystic aphrodisiac from China, $100+ (English)]
[○○ actress private recording (German)]
[Japan ○○ singer recording share (Japanese)]
[Got a good girl from Vietnam this time, real-life pics (English)]
[Outdoor sex shots from all over Paris (French)]
"...This is?"
"The dark web."
I knew about the dark web.
A lawless, chaotic space with no rules—thus, a space with everything. That was the dark web.
But this seemed a bit off for just any dark web.
I'd used the dark web plenty back in the day too (mostly for arms deals), so I knew it wasn't usually this friendly.
Normally it was more cold and rigid, but this place felt like... a real community.
"This is a special dark web forum only approved members can access."
"Approved members?"
"Yeah. Everyone here has proven or been recognized as a pervert in their field."
The meaning was simple.
This was an adults-only dark web—just for those obsessed with sex.
"Of course, there are minimal rules. Like no kid stuff, no gore."
Was this moral, or just batshit insane? Hard to say.
Takuya thought that and asked,
"So how does this relate to there being no aphrodisiac as good as mine?"
"Simple. Nothing's as fast and effective as the one you gave me."
Takuya immediately countered,
"Could be a new product, or something undiscovered till now."
"Possible, but I put more stock in you having some special ability making it feasible."
I nodded at that.
It wasn't incomprehensible. But it didn't convince me I had some ability.
Maybe reading my face, the old man looked at me, still smiling, and said,
"Well, that's just a side point, really. Like you said, too many other possibilities. What really made me think you have an ability was that sex you had with Yui just before."
"What do you...?"
Instead of explaining, Old Man Yuzuke played some footage, and I realized why he'd said that to me.
What he showed was when I'd stopped time and what came after.
The differences on screen were clear.
The water vanishing from the bottle. Yui convulsing like mad.
Those two things.
Alone, you could call it coincidence.
"You can't fool these eyes."
Apparently, the old man didn't buy that.
"I've watched countless plays over the years. Naturally, sometimes real footage doesn't cut it."
What was he getting at? Takuya didn't want to know.
"I've seen endless fictional works too. And among them, there's this great genre: time stop."
That was enough. This perverted old coot had sniffed out my secret with pure lust.
Honestly, more awe than disbelief filled Takuya.
'How insane do you have to be to think something straight out of 2D is real?'
Sure, Takuya could've denied it if he wanted, but now he was curious about the mad old man's response.
What would he say if Takuya admitted it?
In the end, before the unfathomable madness of Old Man Yuzuke, Takuya admitted it.
"Whew, never thought it'd be something like this that exposed me. Yeah, you're right. I have a kinda special ability. So what? You're not gonna blackmail me with it, are you? Then why—"
But my words didn't continue.
Because.
"Takuya, how about becoming my adopted grandson?"
Old Man Yuzuke had made a proposal I never saw coming.