A Lewd Weekend and the Dark Merchant

I scrolled through the dark merchant app, but since it was still early in the game timeline, there weren't any particularly good items available. Still, maybe I should look a little more…? Ah, found one!

**Permanent Perfume:** A drinkable perfume. It permanently gives your body a pleasant scent. Price: 12,000P

Since I was viewing it through the app, I couldn't see the full item description. You had to look at the actual item for the semi-transparent window to appear and display the details. But I already knew what this was. It was an appearance-proportional charm-boosting elixir. The charm stat only started increasing once appearance reached at least 10. With my appearance stat at 15, this was definitely worth buying.

The price was ridiculously cheap compared to its options. Apparently, buyers were hesitant because the scent was permanent. After all, if it ended up smelling like fart, that would be catastrophic. That was why it was discounted by over eighty percent. The game description said it gave off a truly wonderful fragrance, so it should be safe to buy.

I used my points to purchase the permanent perfume. Delivery time varied depending on the country and region where the item was stored. This one seemed to be kept in a warehouse in Japan, and quite close by, since the message said it would arrive after lunch today.

I left a note in the delivery instructions saying to place it in the delivery box and send a text, then decided to rest for a bit. In the old days, Japan had a cumbersome system where the recipient had to personally accept every package. These days it had improved somewhat—if you installed an unmanned delivery box in front of your house, you didn't need to receive it yourself. The boxes came with cameras, so they were a bit expensive, but more and more people were installing them.

I lay down to nap until lunchtime, but then my alarm rang with a Line message. It was from Kazuhiro. By the way, I had him saved under his high school nickname, SumiKatsu.

Oh, right. Kazuhiro had sent me two tickets for his debut match. Since it was on Sunday, I'd decided to go with Aris. Thanks to him, I had one less ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠date course to plan, which was convenient.

Whoa… they were still dating? That was quite a long time for him. Kazuhiro was a total player with a short attention span, so he never stayed with one girl for long. His longest relationship had been half a year back in his first year of high school, when he was still a virgin who didn't know anything about sex. After losing his virginity, he'd earned the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠nickname "Egawa High's Ugly Girl Bomber" for how quickly he cycled through women.

When he tried to break up, the girls who'd tasted his dark cock would cling to him, but Kazuhiro was the trashy type who gave them an ultimatum: never see him again or become fuck buddies. According to him, about forty percent chose to become fuck buddies. If he'd pulled that shit with pretty girls, I would've personally ended his life for the sake of the world. Guess his terrible taste was what saved him.

What a horny bastard. When we'd gone to that driving school training camp, I'd seen how much Kagawa Umi liked his type, so I guess they were a good match.

After finishing the Line chat with Kazuhiro, it was already lunchtime. Taira Yukiko must have gone out for work because she was nowhere to be seen. I happily devoured the hamburger set the housekeeper auntie had made. It was incredibly delicious thanks to the Wagyu beef. The beef flavor was perfect.

After finishing lunch, brushing my teeth, and taking a shower, I received a text saying the delivery was complete. Hmm, that was fast.

I opened the delivery box in front of the house and retrieved my package. There was another one addressed to Taira Yukiko. I figured I'd just leave it in front of her room. It was a long, slender box about thirty centimeters long and nine centimeters wide. Curious what it could be, I checked the invoice. It said "stationery." Maybe a fountain pen? I placed the package on the small side table with a potted plant in front of Taira Yukiko's room.

Then I went to my room and opened my own package. Since it was in a glass bottle, it had been very carefully wrapped in bubble wrap. After removing all the wrapping and focusing on the bottle, a semi-transparent window appeared before my eyes.

Appearance 10 grants Charm +1. Every additional point of appearance grants +0.8 Charm.

With my appearance at 15, that meant a base of 1 plus an additional 4, for a total charm increase of 5. I opened the bottle without hesitation and drank the permanent perfume.

Ugh! The taste was the worst. It really felt like drinking actual perfume. Or maybe shampoo? I hadn't consumed that many elixirs yet, but this was easily the most disgusting one so far.

Still, I was curious about the effect, so I brought the back of my hand to my nose and sniffed. Since it was my own scent, it was hard to tell—maybe it smelled nice, maybe it didn't. It was ambiguous.

Hmm… I was also curious whether my stats had actually increased, so I decided to open my status window for the first time in a while. I even opened my bedroom door to make ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sure no one was around, then quietly called out for the status window.

My charm, which had been 5, had increased by 5 thanks to the permanent perfume and was now 10. Nice. With this much charm, I wouldn't lose out anywhere. Like all stats, charm was important. It wasn't just for seducing women—it acted like a kind of charisma. The higher your position, the more charm you needed.

If your charm was low, subordinates wouldn't listen properly or would subtly ignore you. So if I wanted to take the route from youngest son of a megacorp to internal promotion all the way to chairman, charm was the stat I needed to prioritize most when leveling up.

“Time to start getting ready to head out, I suppose?”

It was already three o'clock. Since I didn't have a car, Aris had agreed to pick me up at the Human Resources Development Center at four. I needed to change clothes soon. After changing, styling my hair, and even applying some BB cream to my face, it felt like my appearance stat had gone up by about one more point.

Since we'd be playing around today, staying at a hotel tonight, and watching Kazuhiro's soccer match tomorrow, this was definitely going to be an overnight trip. I opened Line and sent a message to Taira Yukiko.

Taira Yukiko has sent 100,000¥.

As expected of a conglomerate daughter-in-law—she just casually sent me a million won in allowance. I replied with a grateful "Thank you, Mother, I'll use it well" and closed Line.

After closing Line, I immediately put on my shoes and headed outside. It was 3:45, so I had plenty of time. No matter how large the Human Resources Development Center was, it only took five minutes to reach the main gate from here. My stride was a bit fast, but still. I took my time looking around the center, greeting the security guards, and when I reached the main gate, Aris's red Porsche 911 was parked there waiting.

“Yahoo! Ryuta!”

As I got in the car, Aris waved at me cheerfully.

“Have you been well?”

“Yeah. I got a job modeling underwear recently. It was embarrassing, but I did it. Want to see?”

“Show me the underwear modeling photos later. When we're alone.”

She was still the same bright Aris. I sat in the Porsche's passenger seat and gave her a light peck on the lips. She kept chattering away until—poof!—her face turned bright red. I couldn't help but chuckle.

“Today we're meeting my friend ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Sayaka.”

“And tomorrow we're meeting my friend Kazuhiro.”

“Yep yep~! We'll take turns meeting each other's friends every day~.”

I leaned in toward the excited Aris again and blew gently into her ear. The way she flinched and shivered was incredibly cute.

“Tonight and tomorrow morning… you know what that means, right?”

“...Yeah.”

Aris's face flushed as she started driving. Teasing her really was fun. I was really looking forward to today's date.