Airi's Stubbornness Softened by Kiyoharu

"Haa... haa..."

Kiyoharu woke up from his dream, the familiar stiffness, the familiar overwhelming difficulty.

He quickly got up and turned on his computer, accessing the hidden folder.

However, while selecting his spellcasting materials, Kiyoharu saw the familiar Little Witch avatar online on Discord.

This was one of the channels he joined for gaming with friends. The netizen with the Little Witch avatar was the virtual streamer who provided Kiyoharu with his spellcasting materials.

"You there?"

"Come."

The communication was brief and full of unspoken understanding. Within ten seconds, they were connected via voice chat.

Kiyoharu put on his headphones, feeling a slight flutter of nervous excitement, even though this wasn't the first time he'd done this.

A girl's sweet and captivating voice sounded in his ears:

"Yūran-nii, do you need Mira to help you sleep today too?"

"Yes, thank you for your trouble."

"Not at all, Yūran-nii is Mira's most important person. This is something Mira should do as her duty."

Mira's voice was full of youthful energy and an innate charm. Compared to those artificial, squeaky voices and voice changers, she was like an immortal treasure.

What was even more rare was that Mira was incredibly uninhibited when connected with Kiyoharu. Without Kiyoharu even asking, she would proactively arrange scenarios and, with her amazing acting skills, make Kiyoharu feel as if he were there in person, reaching the optimal state for spellcasting.

If Kiyoharu was a great mage undergoing arduous training, then Mira was the divine spirit beast that assisted Kiyoharu's meditation.

"Today's scenario is 'The Gentle and Handsome Male Teacher and the Female Director.' Please enjoy it to your heart's content, Yūran-nii~"

Kiyoharu found it a bit difficult to handle, as he really was a "gentle and handsome male teacher." Roleplaying such a scenario always felt a bit unethical.

Never mind, since it was for spellcasting materials, he shouldn't connect it to reality. Would watching an action movie with a train theme make someone commit a crime on a train?

About ten minutes later.

At this moment, Kiyoharu had an illusion, as if the immersive audio performance had controlled him like a puppet, making him act according to her instructions.

It was only when Mira announced the end of the sleep aid that Kiyoharu regained control of his body.

In short, it was very immersive. Mira-san, I love you!

He had already become shaped by Mira.

Kiyoharu felt this was reasonable. After all, people's desires had to have an outlet. Using a virtual streamer's audio service was much safer than in reality.

She was a professional at skirting the edges, after all.

Although Mira stated that she was a very devoted girl and only served Yūran-nii (Kiyoharu's online alias), well, everyone understood. It was the usual tactic for streamers to fool their top supporters, nothing unusual.

Unlike other top supporters, Kiyoharu was devoid of emotion. In other words, his relationship with Airi was similar: each taking what they needed.

Taking what you need was the best. What was love? Some kind of dogshit, troublesome, and dangerous thing.

Kiyoharu seemed to have reached a state of enlightenment, having seen through the vanity of the world.

The sage time arrived, and Kiyoharu felt his waist was a bit weak and his hands were a bit sore.

Sore hands were unavoidable. The body of the male protagonist in this world was just that sturdy.

If it weren't for Mira's audio to spice things up, pure DIY would have taken several times longer to complete.

Of course, if it were a real battle with loaded guns, the duration would be much shorter, like when he was almost captured by Kitahara Ayano's plump buttocks at the bar.

"Host, since you desire it so much, why not find an absolutely safe girl and form a cooperative partnership as combat companions, just like your partnership with Airi," the system suggested at the opportune moment.

"That makes sense, but why do I feel like you're trying to trick me into opening another quest line?" Kiyoharu's vigilance immediately spiked.

"Wuwuwu, Host, you're slandering me out of nowhere. I'm clearly thinking about your physical and mental health... To be honest, I've already helped you select potential cooperative candidates from your social circle with lower Yandere threat levels..."

"Wait." Kiyoharu suddenly noticed a blind spot. "I remember you said you didn't have the function to assess a woman's Yandere potential?"

"Uh, I don't, but I've accessed this world's network and merged with this world's artificial intelligence perception and decision-making technology. After long-term computational iteration and refinement, aligning fine-grained granularity, empowering system optimization, and achieving top-level design closure..."

"Damn it, who are you trying to fool here? As if I haven't worked in a major internet company in my previous life!" Kiyoharu rubbed his temples, filtering out the useless information from the trash system's babbling. A glint flashed in his eyes.

Utilizing this world's AI functions... Holy crap!

Kiyoharu immediately questioned sternly, "When you calculated the Yandere threat level, did you use my premium AI account membership?"

"Ah ha!" The system's eyes flickered as it whistled innocently, "Nothing can escape the Host's notice, mwahaha~"

"Screw you! No wonder I spent so much data last month, to the point where the Chihaya Family's finance department flagged it as a suspicious bill and sent it to the Young Lady for review. She even suspected I was using premium AI to generate lewd images... So it was you!"

"Listen to my explanation, Host, I'm doing this for our bright future..."

[System has been muted by Kiyoharu for 12 hours]

Kiyoharu shook his head helplessly, his gaze returning to the computer screen. He chatted aimlessly with Mira for a bit and then went offline.

Now was the best time to fall asleep. Kiyoharu prepared to drink a glass of warm milk and then go straight to sleep.

Passing through the second-floor corridor and looking down at the mansion's main hall, he saw Airi sitting there, facing the window, holding what looked like sweet wine?

The hem of her crimson dress fluttered in the wind.

Startled.

In the middle of the night, drinking alone in an elegant formal dress – for the Red-Eyed Devil, there were only two possibilities: in an extremely good mood, or an extremely bad mood.

"Yo, Kiyoharu, you're still awake? Did massaging my feet get you too excited?"

Alright, the good mood option it is!

Kiyoharu was in a state of zen, his mind as still as water, completely unaffected by her teasing. He went to the kitchen to get some warm milk and returned to his bedroom, yawning.

"I'm talking to you, and you dare to ignore me?" Airi's fierce voice came from behind him.

"It's private time now, Young Lady."

"But you came out of your private room."

"Just getting some milk, I'll be sleeping soon. Goodnight, Young Lady."

"You're not allowed to sleep! Come here!"

Airi commanded forcefully – but it wasn't just a tantrum. She opened her phone account and instantly transferred ten thousand yen to Kiyoharu, with the note "Late-night chat fee."

Kiyoharu's foot massage had made her sleepy, but after lying down for a while, she really wanted to talk to him. Due to their agreement, she couldn't barge into his room, but now she had finally caught him.

After a moment's hesitation, Kiyoharu accepted the transfer and walked down the stairs to Airi's side.

The Young Lady might have a bad temper, but she had the power of money. Since she was willing to be the money-spending sister, Kiyoharu didn't mind playing the role of the gentle fiancé.

As a live-in boyfriend, he needed financial support in the early stages!

Seeing Kiyoharu approach with such an indifferent expression, Airi, who had been meticulously observing his facial details, was ninety percent sure that Kiyoharu... wasn't angry.

As the wicked, twisted impulse receded and she calmed down, Airi, preparing for sleep alone in her room, suddenly realized...

She had crossed a line.

Having Kiyoharu do something as subservient as licking her feet... was not in line with their agreement.

Kiyoharu was right; fundamentally, they were in an employer-employee relationship. Of course, he wouldn't do such a thing for her. Kiyoharu was never the type to grovel; it was always an exchange of equal value.

In fact, Airi was usually careful about this. She knew Kiyoharu was completely different from those sycophantic pawns who would do anything to please her... This was one of the reasons she decided to cooperate with him.

In the fitting room, Airi had called Kiyoharu "piggy," and sometimes thought of him as a kitten, but never a puppy. Puppies were fawning and could be completely trained, but Kiyoharu was different.

Airi understood the logic, but she had just gotten carried away. She really wanted to make Kiyoharu her own. Thinking back to that state, she felt scared, as if she wasn't herself anymore, with only "Kiyoharu-kun, Kiyoharu-kun, Kiyoharu-kun" filling her eyes and mind...

However, looking back at Kiyoharu.

He had merely used a small trick to make her suffer a little, without throwing a big tantrum or giving her the cold shoulder.

Looking at him now, he had the pure look of an office worker pulling overtime for some extra cash.

Kiyoharu was like a calm, clear spring, bringing great peace to those who lived beside it.

This atmosphere made Airi's heart flutter. Her usually stubborn lips inexplicably softened.

"I apologize for my previous actions."

"...Huh?"

"I shouldn't have made you lick my feet."

Kiyoharu rubbed his ear in disbelief. No way, was the Young Lady genuinely apologizing? He couldn't have misheard, could he?

After all, Airi was known for her perverse possessiveness and condescending queenly demeanor, and she was the type to stubbornly refuse to admit fault.

His brain overclocked for a few cycles, and Kiyoharu had a flash of inspiration, a moment of enlightenment: "I understand! Indeed, Young Lady, your noble feet should not be defiled by the saliva of a mere mortal like me."

This deduction almost made Airi choke.

No, man.

She was kindly offering an apology, and he interpreted it as her being so classless!

Airi's eyes flickered, and she gritted her teeth slightly. "Are you being sarcastic?"

"Not at all. Speaking of which, Young Lady, you called me over for a chat this late at night. It's probably not just about this. Let me guess, it's a work-related issue?"

It had to be said that Kiyoharu understood Airi's temperament well enough.

If she were merely regretting her actions, Airi would have sulked in her room and quickly controlled her emotions.

What truly kept her awake at night was the complex situation within the Chihaya Conglomerate.

Coincidentally, Airi didn't want to talk about feet anymore, lest Kiyoharu say something even more shocking that would fluster her.

"During the meeting at headquarters this afternoon, some clueless person used Takagi Akane's situation to say I lacked control... It's hilarious. I allowed Takagi Akane to return to Tokyo for the sake of the family business, and now it's somehow become my fault."

"Interesting."

"Hey, I paid you to keep me company, not to stammer and play the ostrich."

"If the Young Lady wants a rational analysis, it's actually quite simple." Kiyoharu took a large gulp of warm milk and let out a satisfied sigh. "The executive who attacked you likely has a business conflict with you recently. Considering the conglomerate's recent poor performance... it's probably Gen'ichiro's order to transfer a certain business that originally belonged to that executive to you."

Airi's eyes flickered, and she moved her lips: "...Yes."

"Then he's bound to attack you. It's best if you mess up the business, and he'll jump higher and shout louder."

"But it's Department Head Kuroda's own fault! If it weren't for his mismanagement, which led to product quality issues and delayed orders, how would it have fallen to me to clean up the mess?"