Though it was a dream, everything felt even clearer than reality.
Especially the sensation of Kiyoharu's sturdy arms—it thrilled Shimaura Hitomi so much she almost trembled.
Kiyoharu had the sort of body that looked slim in clothes but toned without them. He was not an obvious muscleman; overall, he still had the refined young-man style favored by women in this island nation.
But his body was full of strength. During that teachers' group outing, Shimaura Hitomi had fallen off a balance beam, and Kiyoharu had easily caught her with one hand.
At the time, Shimaura Hitomi had wanted to linger in Kiyoharu's arms a little longer, but she had felt the Young Lady's needle-sharp gaze from not far away.
Chihaya Airi had attended that event as family.
So she had no choice but to give up.
But now, this was a secret realm Chihaya Airi could never reach. Shimaura Hitomi completely relaxed and freely enjoyed Kiyoharu's tenderness.
Kiyoharu glanced at the test papers on the table. Seriously, even in a dream I have to work?
Of course not!
"Underclassman, it's not convenient to keep grading papers in this situation. How about we rest first and continue once the rain stops?"
"Mm... I'll listen to you, Senior." Shimaura Hitomi answered vaguely. Whenever she got sleepy, her words turned adorably slurred. Combined with her cute, slightly baby-fat face and her outrageously contrasting figure, she made it hard for Kiyoharu to restrain himself.
Tsk.
If this were not a dangerous world crawling with yanderes, and if Kiyoharu were not the male lead, then he would absolutely be willing to marry a girl like Shimaura Hitomi.
Obedient, simple, kind—she was practically an angel. Only an angel could put up with a devil's temper and willingly remain her best friend, right?
Gradually, Shimaura Hitomi's body relaxed further. The full softness pressed against Kiyoharu made his mouth go dry.
Seemingly noticing something off about him, Shimaura Hitomi raised her head and looked at him. Her bashful, alluring gaze met Kiyoharu's evasive eyes.
After hesitating for a moment, Shimaura Hitomi gathered her courage and asked in a voice as tiny as a flying insect, "Senior, do you want to touch here?"
The sudden explosive question, along with her weak, easily bullied-sounding tone, made Kiyoharu's heart stir instantly. Without hesitation, he said, "I do."
Why hold back in a dream?
Besides, Kiyoharu felt that having this sort of dream proved he had been bottling up too much frustration lately. He needed to let it out in his dreams. The more thoroughly he released it, the more calmly he could handle bad women's advances during the day!
And besides, after being friends with Shimaura Hitomi for so long, Kiyoharu had to admit that he had long had thoughts about her figure. He simply did not act on them for objective reasons.
So Kiyoharu's pair of diligent hands reaped the joy of a bountiful harvest.
Then, the sensations, sounds, and images all came to an abrupt stop.
Kiyoharu returned to his private room at Chihaya Estate. The bedside nightlight gave off a faint, comforting glow, but his physical condition was anything but comfortable. In fact, it was downright miserable.
Put simply—he had been woken by the pain of being hard.
Kiyoharu's body reacted easily, but returning it to a calm, harmonious state was extremely difficult. A single romantic dream was nowhere near enough.
As he recalled the dream's events, Kiyoharu's face suddenly darkened.
No, he had to find a way to empty the magazine. Otherwise, he could forget about sleeping tonight.
He quickly came up with a foolproof solution.
After confirming that his door was securely locked, Kiyoharu turned on his computer and opened a hidden folder.
It contained several audio files.
Those files came from a VTuber.
Sometimes, Kiyoharu watched VTubers online, listening to them chat with their viewers, sing, and play games. It was pretty interesting.
Compared with the big streamers who attracted massive audiences, Kiyoharu preferred interacting with smaller VTubers.
By chance one day, Kiyoharu came across a streamer with an especially pleasant voice. Her ID was "Mira," but because she was introverted and unable to loosen up, and because her streams lacked flashy content, her viewer count was dismal.
Still, her game commentary and the occasional quiet way she spoke had unexpectedly great sleep-inducing effects.
Kiyoharu sent some gifts to Mira's stream. The amount was not much to him; he had merely taken a tiny bit from his private savings—obviously, he could not use the Chihaya Conglomerate's official accounts to tip a female streamer unless he was sick of living.
That money apparently meant a great deal to the streamer. Mira regarded Kiyoharu, her loyal fan, as an important patron. After getting familiar with him through private messages, she often sent him some bonus audio clips.
Kiyoharu did not really understand the rules of the VTuber scene. He guessed that this sort of behavior was probably against the rules, otherwise the streamer would not sneak around every time.
But those audio clips were seriously incredible!
By now, they had become essential material whenever Kiyoharu performed his magic.
Mira's seductive voice seemed to possess magical power. Once it sounded beside Kiyoharu's ear, he could no longer suppress the desire deep inside him, as though he had developed a conditioned reflex.
Bathroom.
Kiyoharu washed his hands clean and let out a heavy breath, feeling completely refreshed.
As for the used tissues, Kiyoharu put them into a dedicated trash bag and secretly found chances to throw it away himself. He definitely could not put them in the household trash. If Chihaya Airi saw them, she would surely pinch her nose and tear into him mercilessly.
Compared to the average adult man, Kiyoharu's output was terrifying. Maybe that was the ability a male lead in a yandere story was supposed to have.
Today's haul had been especially absurd.
It was probably because Mira's voice clips had not only set the mood, but the scenes involving Shimaura Hitomi from his dream had also kept replaying in his mind. It was practically double the pleasure.
"Hiss... Does this count as betraying the agreement?" Kiyoharu fell into an amused train of thought. By Airi's strict standards, it definitely did, but no one knew about it except him.
That was the beauty of dreams. There was no need to consider the cost or consequences.
The next day, Saturday morning.
Having just returned from his morning run, Kiyoharu saw that the Young Lady, who would normally still be sleeping like a log at this hour, was already in the living room, pacing back and forth before a full-length mirror.
A fashion designer and a stylist stood nearby attending her. Both were women long employed by the Chihaya Conglomerate.
When they saw Kiyoharu, professional smiles appeared on their faces as they greeted him warmly.
"Good morning, everyone," Kiyoharu replied, then asked with interest, "It's just a trip to the mall. Do you need to make such a big production of it?"
"Ayano and I haven't gone out together in all these years, so of course it needs to be a little grand. Besides, reporters might take pictures of us at the mall. What would it look like if we appeared all shabby? Wouldn't that disgrace the Chihaya name?"
"That makes sense."
"And don't just stand around. Go take a shower, wash off that stinking sweat, and come pick out an outfit too."
"Does it stink? I think it's fine." Kiyoharu used his towel to wipe the fine beads of sweat from his forehead.
One droplet escaped the towel's pursuit and slid down the young man's perfect profile. His sweat lightly dampened his athletic shirt, making his figure look even more upright and defined.
Watching this, Chihaya Airi suddenly felt that familiar strange emotion rise within her. Her delicate brows immediately knitted together. "If I say it's stinking sweat, then it is. Get lost, and stop wandering around in front of me, or else..."
With unaware people nearby, Airi did not say the rest aloud. She simply made the gesture she and Kiyoharu had agreed upon, warning him that she would dock his pay if he displeased her again.
"Understood."
Speaking of docking pay...
Kiyoharu immediately moved with far greater efficiency.
A seasoned workplace veteran might not be sensitive to much else, but his paycheck absolutely could not come up short.
Before you continue