Emotions from Kiyoharu Were Complex and Hard to Discern

What was it like to have a host who was impervious to both praise and punishment?

No one understood it more clearly than Kiyoharu's system.

The key was, this guy was not purely a lazy bum. Call him lazy, and yet he had worked hard to get into Todai, earned widespread praise from his students as a math teacher, and never disgraced the Chihaya Family in his dealings with others. He was clearly a promising young man.

But call him diligent, and he would not even look at the tasks the system issued, treating their generous rewards like dirt.

Once, the system had been so angered by Kiyoharu that it nearly fainted. It questioned why he could not just do a few tasks. Did he really have the heart to watch his weak, pitiful, helpless system starve to death because she could not obtain Energy Points?

Kiyoharu revealed a resolute gaze and snorted. "Everything I have gained so far has come through my own efforts... System, no stat boosts allowed!"

System: o(╥﹏╥)o

"Don't be unconvinced. Let me analyze this for you. I do not know this Kitahara Ayano at all. If I suddenly showed a special interest in her, would I not be playing right into the Red-Eyed Devil's hands?" Whenever Kiyoharu chatted idly with the system, he directly called Airi the "Red-Eyed Devil." No one could hear his thoughts anyway, so he no longer bothered pretending.

"Host, you can carry out a secret operation, after all. You are such a clever and brave host~" The system refused to relent.

"Secret operation my ass. Do you think the Red-Eyed Devil is some innocent little girl who is easy to fool?" Kiyoharu sneered. "System, I remember you said that if I failed to live past sixty, you would completely disappear too, right? If you want to live, then stay put."

"..."

"Even taking ten thousand steps back, isn't this because you are too useless? Look at the garbage tasks you have activated for me: Dormitory Gunner, Storming the Changing Room, Infirmary Horror, A Godly Move in Swimming Class... Damn it, every single one is aimed at making me die of embarrassment! If you gave me a task where I could check in and receive a Lamborghini, would I refuse? In the end, your system is just too pathetic. Think more about your own problems. Being a transmigrator all these years has been hard."

"...Stop talking, stop talking, boohoo... I know I was wrong, okay!"

Having successfully given the useless system a thorough mental beatdown, Kiyoharu ignored her and focused on gaming until late at night. At eleven o'clock sharp, he turned off the television and spent half an hour doing some simple exercise.

After showering, Kiyoharu left his room and entered the living room.

Airi had probably already gone to sleep. The living room was dark and somewhat messy. Packaging bags from unknown purchases were scattered across the floor, several pieces of clothing and an unplugged hair dryer lay piled on the sofa, and leftover potato chips were scattered over the coffee table.

There was even a pair of black stockings stuffed into the gap between a cushion and the back of the sofa...

Kiyoharu shook his head helplessly and began tidying up as quietly as possible.

Sure enough, no matter how glamorous a girl looked outside, her home could still be terrifyingly messy.

As he pulled out those stockings, Kiyoharu could not help recalling how Airi had bullied him with her feet that evening. Those small, exquisite feet clad in black stockings had danced back and forth over his palm, sometimes touching, sometimes pulling away, bringing an extraordinary sensation. The Young Lady's feet did not carry the slightest unpleasant odor; instead, he could faintly smell Chihaya Airi's uniquely rich body fragrance, constantly stirring a desire within Kiyoharu that had been sealed away for many years.

"Gulp!" Kiyoharu swallowed. A wild thought suddenly came to him. Should I take a sniff of the stockings while I have the chance?

In an instant, reason reclaimed his mind. Kiyoharu rolled the stockings into a ball and tossed them into the laundry basket, his gaze clear again.

After finishing the chores, it was nearly midnight. Kiyoharu was sleepy as well, so he returned to his little room and went straight to sleep.

What? You were wondering why Airi did not have any scenes here?

A married couple in name only naturally slept in separate rooms. Did you expect Kiyoharu to go wish Airi good night before bed?

Would you wish your boss good night before going to sleep?

To Kiyoharu, Airi was like a colleague from work. They were not close, plain and simple.

Everyone fulfilled their own duties and stayed out of each other's way. That was just fine.

The next day. Evening.

After finishing his work at school, Kiyoharu arrived on time at the luxury restaurant he had reserved in advance.

He was still wearing the casual suit from earlier that day. It was formal and appropriate enough while keeping a low profile, yet it still could not conceal Kiyoharu's handsome features.

Female passersby frequently cast burning glances his way, but Kiyoharu kept his eyes forward and paid them no mind. He had been handsome for two lifetimes and was long used to it, so he did not feel smug over it or anything. In fact, the possessiveness hidden within a select few gazes even triggered a little of Kiyoharu's PTSD—he had suffered terribly at the hands of a Yandere in his previous life!

What was so good about women? Were games not more enjoyable? Was queuing up with his buddies not more fun?

As for tonight's welcome dinner, Kiyoharu was only looking forward to the food. Apparently, this upscale Western restaurant Airi had chosen was famous for its superb Wellington Steak.

Unlike Kiyoharu, whose mind was filled with nothing but I'm gonna eat, eat, eat, Chihaya Airi had clearly dressed up specifically to welcome her best friend. In the restaurant's private VIP room, the Young Lady sat boredly in a high-backed chair as she waited. Her strapless evening gown perfectly highlighted her alluring curves, while her straight, slender legs crossed over each other. The toe of one restless foot swung back and forth with a high heel dangling from it. Her pale manicured toes were round and glossy, dazzling beneath the indoor lighting.

The moment he entered the room, Kiyoharu's attention was instinctively drawn to those fair feet.

Sometimes, he could not help maliciously suspecting that Airi's so-called "devil" nature might fundamentally stem from childhood hyperactivity...

"Kiyoharu-kun really is not honest. You said you were not interested in my feet." Before she even finished speaking, Chihaya Airi suddenly lifted her shapely calf and threw her high heel in Kiyoharu's direction.

Kiyoharu caught the high heel precisely, looking utterly accustomed to this. He seemed long used to Airi's mercurial temper, and he crouched down to help her put the shoe back on.

"The Young Lady is joking again. Everything related to the dinner is ready, right? Is there anything you need me to help with?"

"It is all settled. The food, the wine... Oh, right, tell the waiter to prepare some lemon leaves. Ayano likes adding them to white wine."

White wine with lemon leaves was something Kiyoharu had truly never seen before. It had the same sort of beauty as pan-seared foie gras with bird's eye chilies.

But that was Miss Kitahara's personal preference, and he had no right to criticize it.

Kiyoharu left the room to ask the waiter to prepare lemon leaves, while complex ripples once again surfaced in Airi's eyes. As if suddenly realizing something, she raised a hand and lightly pressed it to her chest.

Whenever Kiyoharu calmly dealt with her antics, such as putting her high heel back on for her, an indescribable emotion would rise in Airi's chest. It was unlike the disgust she felt toward other men, but it made her feel uncomfortable all the same, so it had to be a negative emotion.

Fortunately, Kitahara Ayano arrived soon afterward, so Airi no longer had to keep overthinking by herself.

In terms of appearance alone, Ayano did not lose to Airi, but her temperament was an entirely different style.

Delicate and graceful like a fragile narcissus, she embodied the words "refined young lady" from head to toe.

As she spoke with Airi, every soft word displayed her gentleness and grace.

"Ayano-chan is getting prettier and prettier. Sigh, I wonder which bastard will get lucky."

"Um, Airi is pretty too," Ayano said shyly after being praised for so long.

Kiyoharu did not interrupt the warm reunion between the two best friends. Instead, he stared at the empty plate in front of him.

Damn it, the appetizer was this tiny? It was gone in two bites. Is this bastard chef feeding a cat?

After discreetly making an initial observation of Kitahara Ayano, Kiyoharu concluded that this woman posed little threat. She was quiet by nature and radiated the reserved elegance of an artistic family. Compared with Chihaya Airi, she was practically an angel.