At dinner, everything was peaceful.
Chihaya Airi took a taste of the mushroom soup Kiyoharu had made himself, and her eyes immediately lit up. It was fragrant without being cloying, with rich layers of flavor. Even the Michelin-starred chef hired by her family might not have done better.
Still, she maintained her refined dining manners and ate slowly.
As the only daughter of the Chihaya Family head, she had been raised from childhood to remain elegant and reserved at all times.
As for praising Kiyoharu aloud? That was even more impossible. It simply did not fit Chihaya Airi's proud persona.
Kiyoharu, meanwhile, kept his head down and focused entirely on eating.
He had been good at cooking in his previous life. After spending some time adjusting to Airi's tastes following their marriage, every dish he casually prepared now could please the Young Lady.
Naturally, this was also part of the "agreement" between Kiyoharu and Airi. Kiyoharu was responsible for taking care of the household.
Airi had an extremely strong sense of territory and disliked strangers constantly coming and going through her home, so this mansion had not hired any servants. Kiyoharu handled all the housework himself.
The price listed for this portion of the "agreement" was two million yen per month after tax.
Doing housework for the picky Airi was hardly enjoyable, but considering the generous salary, Kiyoharu was quite satisfied with it.
Was the actual work at any high-paying job on the market really that enjoyable?
Airi suddenly remembered something and said to Kiyoharu, "My best friend, Kitahara Ayano, is returning to Japan. We're holding a welcome dinner for her tomorrow night. You're coming with me."
There was no room for discussion. It was a complete command.
"Understood." Kiyoharu agreed without even thinking. Since Airi had already decided that he would go, resisting was pointless. Besides, it sounded like a routine social occasion. He just had to mind his manners and eat.
Airi, however, frowned slightly. Hah, "understood"~ He sounded exactly like an employee brushing off his superior at work.
Although Kiyoharu playing the role of her husband was not fundamentally much different from a job, his perfunctory, distracted attitude inexplicably irritated her.
Her beautiful red eyes shifted as a sly smile curled across Airi's lips. "Ayano's graduation return from Europe has caused quite a stir in our circles. She was already a renowned genius in the art world before studying abroad. They say she's an intellectual beauty seen only once in a century."
"Impressive," Kiyoharu echoed. Once in a century? Could she beat the once-in-four-thousand-years bishoujo from my great China? Give me a break.
No matter what Kitahara Ayano was really like, she had nothing to do with him, Kiyoharu. Compared to that, he cared more about what they would eat tomorrow night. Ah, he was kind of craving seafood sashimi.
"Come to think of it, Kiyoharu-kun has never met Ayano, has he? You'll definitely be interested in her when you meet her this time."
There it was again. She was fishing for a reaction.
Kiyoharu sighed softly. "It's the perfect season for New Zealand scampi. Perhaps we could serve some at the welcome dinner?"
"No. Ayano is allergic to shrimp."
"Then forget it."
Skilfully avoiding her baiting topic, Kiyoharu filled his stomach, got up to excuse himself, and returned to his own room to do his own thing.
Airi stared blankly at the tiny amount of mushroom soup left in her bowl.
She remembered attending an art gallery event with her husband last year. Kiyoharu had lingered for a long time in front of one of Kitahara Ayano's paintings, looking utterly absorbed, as though he had completely entered the artwork's atmosphere.
Could it be that the painting itself had merely resonated with Kiyoharu, rather than Kiyoharu becoming interested in its creator?
When the name "Kitahara Ayano" was mentioned, Kiyoharu had shown almost no reaction. To him, tomorrow's dinner seemed no different from a banquet attended by figures from politics or business: vulgar and boring.
Could it be... that she had been overthinking things?
Airi felt somewhat forlorn. She did not know when it had begun, but she had become particularly concerned with Kiyoharu's opinions of other women. If Kiyoharu took a liking to any girl, Airi would feel like a failure. They had lived together for three years, yet he remained unmoved, like a block of wood!
That would make the Young Lady of the Chihaya Family question whether her charm had faded, wounding her excessively strong pride.
That was right. She did not harbor any so-called romantic love for Kiyoharu, but she could not tolerate him cheating, whether physically or emotionally. It would disgrace her, and disgrace the surname "Chihaya."
Kiyoharu was not merely her partner. He was also her exclusive toy.
If Kiyoharu ever developed feelings for some woman, that woman could only be Chihaya Airi. Of course, if Kiyoharu truly intended to become her lover, that would undoubtedly be a betrayal of their prior agreement, and Chihaya Airi would be equally unhappy.
In short, it was a rather contradictory emotion.
Meanwhile, Kiyoharu was already controlling a katana-wielding character in a fierce battle against monsters.
This was the private room assigned to Kiyoharu, his own little corner within the mansion.
A latest-generation game console, a high-definition television customized for gaming, and a soft, comfortable bed.
It was absolutely awesome!
Besides fending off yandere attacks, the superior living conditions were another benefit Kiyoharu had gained from marrying into the family.
In his previous life, he had needed to carefully consider even buying an old game at a massive discount. Now, as long as it was a game he liked, he could buy the deluxe edition without hesitation. The expenses on his account were charged to the Chihaya Group's corporate account anyway. If there was free money from a conglomerate to be had, why not take it?
Snacks in his left hand, soda in his right, controller on, and he loved no one.
"Damn it, I can't stand watching this anymore! Kiyoharu, Kiyoharu, how could you be so decadent?!"
Just as he was wondering what seemed to be missing, a familiar, adorably ditzy little girl's voice suddenly rang out in his mind, making Kiyoharu feel refreshed all over.
Here it came, here it came—the essential daily segment of bickering with the system.
Like the transmigrators of legend, Kiyoharu also had a system. He had simply decided to abandon it after taking one look at it.
Because the system he had loaded was the "Bishoujo Assistance System."
As its name implied, it issued missions for Kiyoharu to help all sorts of bishoujo, deepen his bonds with them, and earn rewards by completing missions. He could improve himself step by step and ultimately become a figure of Urban Legends.
If he had been born into a normal world, Kiyoharu would not have minded seeing how far this so-called playboy system could take him.
Unfortunately, this was a yandere-themed world, and Kiyoharu was the male lead in the most dangerous position. Under such circumstances, going around flirting with women was simply courting death, wasn't it?
Was he afraid the cleaver would not come fast enough?
So, despite the system constantly encouraging Kiyoharu to do missions and even setting its voice to that of an irresistibly adorable little girl, Kiyoharu still said, I refuse!
"System, what kind of sweet talk are you using to fool me today?" Kiyoharu continued playing his game as he lazily responded in his mind.
"Ahem, Host, that's not right. How could it be called fooling you? I'm clearly working for your happiness and doing my best to find opportunities for you to improve!"
"Then tell me. What opportunity have you found this time?"
"Kitahara Ayano." The system paused, its tone a little excited. "According to my preliminary scan, she is a high-value target recognized by the rules. Completing a series of missions related to her can earn countless Energy Points!"
"Oh."
"...Hey, hey, hey, don't just say 'oh'! She's the fattest fish we've encountered so far! Host, hurry up and win her over. Once we get those Energy Points, we can level up like crazy! Then Host will be able to punch a cow to death and never have to fear yanderes again!"
As expected of an advanced civilization AI that claimed to have traveled through hundreds of parallel worlds, it had learned how to target a customer's pain points. Tempting Kiyoharu into doing missions from the perspective of "safety" was, admittedly, an improvement.
But the system had clearly underestimated Kiyoharu's stubbornness.
Without needing to think at all, Kiyoharu immediately retorted, "But I'm very safe right now! Rather than taking unknown risks, it's better to maintain the status quo and coast through life. That's the fundamental rule of risk game theory, right?"
"Uh... you're right, but..."
"You don't even understand something a first-year math student would know. Sigh, so this is all an advanced civilization AI amounts to. As expected, the AI industry is all a bubble. Its future is utterly bleak!"
"..."
The system was left speechless for a moment. Sigh, another day of being looked down on by its host. Its heart was so tired.
Before you continue