The moment Chihaya Airi tasted the green mango, a blissful glimmer flashed through her eyes. However, it vanished in an instant, replaced by her ordinary, utterly uninterested expression.
"Average."
"Does it not suit the Young Lady's taste? Shall I get something else?"
Seeing Kiyoharu about to carry the fruit platter away, Airi spoke again. "Forget it. I'll just have a little. I can't eat much fruit at night anyway."
"That's true."
Kiyoharu agreed and set the platter back down.
Whenever she saw Kiyoharu being so obedient, Airi's mood improved. But then she suddenly remembered that he was so accommodating only to earn rice, not because he had been captivated by her charm, and a trace of irritation rose in her heart.
Glancing at the fruit platter, Airi suddenly got an idea.
"Kiyoharu-kun~ I signed too many documents during the day, and now my arm is sore..."
"Would you like a massage?"
"No. Ah, feed me some fruit instead."
Airi stretched lazily before Kiyoharu, her graceful curves rolling like waves.
Kiyoharu had no choice but to sit beside her and pick up a fork. He reminded himself that this was the last night of his punishment. Starting tomorrow, he could return to the embrace of games with his head held high... For the sake of rice, endure it!
He turned to Airi. Seeing her slightly parted cherry lips waiting to be fed, Kiyoharu's heartbeat skipped two beats.
Wait...
Could this be another trap?
Thinking it over carefully, the Red-Eyed Devil had been very pleased with his punishment. Maybe she wanted an excuse to keep tormenting him, which made tonight the perfect opportunity to bait him!
After all, he was still within the punishment period. If he messed up again, the contract stipulated that he would face an entire week of punishment.
What, a whole week without touching games?
She might as well send Kiyoharu on a Dormitory Gunner mission. He might even feel better that way!
Kiyoharu immediately steadied himself. Ignoring the Young Lady's alluring appearance, he kept a straight face, speared a piece of green mango, dipped it in chili powder, and put it into Airi's mouth.
"Mm~ mnh~"
Airi made vague chewing and swallowing sounds. It was practically spiritual pollution, constantly tormenting Kiyoharu's nerves.
No, he couldn't lose!
Just as Kiyoharu prepared to use the ultimate technique of reciting legal statutes, Airi suddenly said, "I feel like I'm allergic to forks today. I don't want to use one."
"...Hasn't that fork always been your personal utensil? How did you suddenly become allergic to it?"
"Who knows? A person's allergens change as their body changes. Kiyoharu-kun, you don't even understand such basic common knowledge."
I really don't understand you islanders and your allergies...
In his previous life, Kiyoharu had heard that the island nation was a country of allergies, where everyone had sensitive skin and wore masks. Having transmigrated into a similar game setting, that aspect of the worldbuilding seemed to have carried over perfectly.
Of course, it was more likely that the Red-Eyed Devil was deliberately making things difficult for him.
"All right, then shall I get you chopsticks?"
"Who eats fruit with chopsticks? Just feed me with your hand."
"Th-that wouldn't be appropriate, would it?" Kiyoharu hesitated.
"What's inappropriate about it? Or will feeding me fruit give you improper thoughts, Ki~yo~ha~ru-kun?"
Airi revealed a malicious smile.
"Not at all. Fine, I'll feed you."
Kiyoharu continued wearing an expressionless, numb face. His long, well-defined fingers picked up a piece of green mango and brought it to Airi's lips.
He could not help but sigh inwardly. Three years ago, when they had first begun living together, if Kiyoharu accidentally brushed against Airi's shoulder while passing by, she would glare at him viciously.
And now, Airi was actually letting him feed her. Though it was clearly for some special purpose, it still proved that the demon had evolved!
Yet something even more shocking awaited Kiyoharu.
Airi first opened her mouth and bit off half the mango. After swallowing it, she opened her mouth again, swallowed the remaining half, and enclosed Kiyoharu's fingertips inside.
The tight, warm softness instantly overwhelmed Kiyoharu's senses, leaving him briefly stunned. Then, just as he regained his senses, the lick of her tongue and the gentle bite of her teeth, like twin vanguards attacking from both flanks on a battlefield, suppressed his rationality once more.
Finally, the soft pop when her mouth left his finger was the cannon blast that sealed the verdict.
"What are you staring for? Give me another piece."
"Ah..."
This was bad!
Reciting legal statutes was no longer enough to suppress this.
"My apologies, Young Lady. My stomach suddenly hurts..."
Kiyoharu promptly rushed into the bathroom.
"Kiyoharu-kun really needs stronger stimulation before he'll reveal his true self." Airi muttered to herself.
Although she had not caught him red-handed, she knew that she had won this exchange.
Winning was all that mattered.
Chihaya Airi had been winning since childhood. In every respect, there was no reason she should keep losing to Kiyoharu.
However, after shedding that enticing, devilish little act, Airi was not in much better shape than Kiyoharu.
She took deep breaths, the front of her long nightgown rising and falling.
Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Kiyoharu's fingers... had a flavor.
They were like the fresh, faint bitterness after rain in a mountain stream, mixed with a touch of sweet but not cloying woody fragrance.
Combined with the distinct taste of green mango dipped in chili powder, it actually gave Airi the impulse to have another bite!
"Hmph, no... I should stop while I'm ahead. Otherwise, if he really thinks I like sucking on his fingers, his tail will be sticking up in the sky from pride." With that thought, Airi speared a piece herself and ate it.
Yet she could not shake the feeling that something was missing from its flavor.
At that moment, her phone screen lit up. It was her best friend, Kitahara Ayano, inviting her to go shopping and have fun together over the weekend, and to bring Shimaura Hitomi along.
The three of us haven't gone out together in years. Thinking about how the shopping street hadn't been renovated back then, I really miss those days.
Mm... not a bad suggestion.
If Airi's okay with it, I'll go tell Hitomi. We both work at the school now anyway, so we see each other every day.
Every day?
Yeah, I chat with Hitomi every day at work. I feel like she's gentler than before. Maybe it's because she became a teacher...
The tiny doubt that had inexplicably surfaced just now quickly faded away. So Ayano chatted with Hitomi every day... That was perfectly normal. At Chihaya Academy, the only person Kitahara Ayano could really consider an acquaintance was Shimaura Hitomi.
For a moment, Airi had thought Ayano was going to see Kiyoharu, but she quickly dismissed the idea.
They had only met once, and there had been no unusual interaction between them. If anything stood out, it was the joke Ayano had made about a male model for sketches. That joke made Airi a little... uncomfortable.
Only a little!
She imagined Kiyoharu serving as a male model for a female painter, especially the kind of model who posed nude... If that truly happened, Airi would definitely use her family's influence to find a way to send that painter to prison.
Kiyoharu was her private property.
No one else had the right to lay a finger on him.
Meanwhile, in the bathroom.
Kiyoharu stared at his right index finger, which Airi had just sucked on, and fell into deep thought.
"So, if I lick it now, I can get seventy Energy Points for free?"
"That's right, that's right, Host! This is practically a pie falling from the sky, isn't it? You only earned fifty from Shimaura Hitomi's previous mission after getting lucky and accidentally completing it. Now you can get seventy without making any effort at all. Aren't you tempted? Action beats temptation, so hurry up and eat the Young Lady's saliva!"
"You're right, but isn't this a little..."
"Oh, Host, don't feel bad about it. According to this system's scan, Chihaya Airi has a special physique with maxed-out charm! Her bodily fluids are as delicious as jam. The men secretly in love with her would kill for a taste, yet they can't get one. You've hit the jackpot!"
Before you continue