Shimaura Hitomi Wants to Fill Kiyoharu's Emptiness

"Teacher Chihaya, please attend the Literature Club activity this afternoon and provide assistance."

In front of boring outsiders, Kitahara Ayano maintained her ladylike demeanor. However, when her gaze swept over Kiyoharu and Hitomi, both of them showed unnatural expressions. Shimaura Hitomi's reaction was more pronounced, while Kiyoharu, being an old hand, remained largely unfazed.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Of course, you'll be a model for drawing. Several students are interested in sketching portraits and have been struggling to find a model. Since Teacher Chihaya will be my model anyway, why not let more students enjoy the benefit? This will also help foster their interest."

Ayano's words were delivered with such righteous justification that no one could find fault with them.

It was only natural for Kiyoharu to be a model for the young lady's best friend. After all, as a live-in son-in-law, he had to undertake all sorts of strange tasks related to family and social interactions. Gift-giving and running errands were commonplace, and showing up at detention centers or juvenile prisons to bail people out was also routine.

In summary, he had an endless supply of dirty and difficult work.

Compared to that, Kiyoharu was already receiving top-tier treatment.

However, Kiyoharu knew deep down that Kitahara Ayano's invitation wasn't essentially for help, but for amusement.

"Alright, I'll make time for it. By the way, this is quite a special club activity, isn't it? I suggest the students prepare to document it with photos in advance."

"…That's quite unnecessary."

"Oh, but it is! It's not every day I have the time to be a model. Since I'm here, we might as well make it official, right?" Haneda Miho chimed in. "I recall the girls from the Literature Club previously invited Teacher Chihaya, but you coldly refused. With Miss Kitahara vouching for you this time, I doubt Teacher Chihaya's fiancée will get jealous."

"The affection between the Chihaya couple has been evident for years, and no girl dares to set their sights on Teacher Chihaya. Even Takagi-san has mended her ways…"

"Sigh, a once dashing young man is now a married man."

The atmosphere in the office was jovial.

Kitahara Ayano subtly shook her head, glancing at Shimaura Hitomi a few times as if hinting at something, her lips also curling into a slight, mocking smile.

Shimaura Hitomi swallowed, feeling a growing tension as she approached the hidden truth.

In her dreams, Kiyoharu had called Airi the "Red-Eyed Devil" with a dismissive, even annoyed tone. When contrasted with the happy smile Kiyoharu wore when his colleagues teased him, it was rather chilling. However, Shimaura Hitomi did not develop any resentment towards her senior because of this.

On the contrary, Shimaura Hitomi liked the hypocritical senior, the senior who said one thing and did another, even more.

Because she was the same.

Hehe.

"Senpai, can you accompany me to the rooftop during lunch break?" Shimaura Hitomi whispered to Kiyoharu after Ayano had gone to the Literature Club to familiarize herself with the venue and the office had entered a free-chat mode. She leaned forward, her two crime-level soft weights pressing against the desk, her sparkling eyes looking pleadingly at him.

"Sure," Kiyoharu agreed readily, without even asking what it was for. He had no defenses against his juniors… unless the junior was about to discover his secret with Ayano. Perhaps Kiyoharu would become wary then, but that wariness would essentially be directed towards the Red-Eyed Devil.

What ill intentions could little Hito have?

As Kiyoharu expected, Shimaura Hitomi honestly continued, "I've been thinking of some new ways to interact with students, but they're not fully developed yet, so I'm hesitant to try them in class…"

"Oh, you want me to give you a preview? No problem."

"Maybe, we could buy lunch and eat together…"

"Of course, otherwise, it would interfere with your lunch break."

"Thank you, Senpai!"

Phew, got it.

Shimaura Hitomi let out a muffled sigh and sneakily sent a message to Ayano that the task was completed, muttering to herself.

Late last night, Airi had told Shimaura Hitomi to pay attention to Ayano's abnormality. She didn't understand what Airi meant specifically, but Ayano was indeed acting strangely, especially since Ayano had encouraged Shimaura Hitomi to have an affair with Kiyoharu.

However, Shimaura Hitomi didn't dare tell Airi about this matter, fearing that her identity as a thief would be discovered by Airi. Then… the subsequent deductions were terrifying. Encasing her in a concrete pillar and sinking her body into Tokyo Bay would be a minor issue; her family might even be implicated.

"No one can betray me – because everyone who has betrayed me is dead."

This was part of Chihaya Airi's speech when she took office as the Executive Director of the conglomerate.

It was a bit extreme, but her methods were indeed like that.

Meanwhile, Kiyoharu was also contemplating his own little schemes.

On his system panel, Shimaura Hitomi's charm value had stalled at 78 points.

Even just changing into a more stylish tracksuit, still with no makeup, and with plenty of room for improvement, she was already a woman of moderate attractiveness in a crowd.

However, Kiyoharu did not intend to press his advantage. He could tell that Shimaura Hitomi had overcome a significant psychological barrier to change her image after her friends' persuasion. Pushing further would be too much.

For that mere 2 points, Kiyoharu had a way to reach it through a shortcut.

At noon, on the teaching building's rooftop.

Kiyoharu obtained the key from the building's management and opened a normally locked safety door, leading Shimaura Hitomi to a rarely visited area of the rooftop.

This area housed the transformer box and water supply equipment. It was not open to students… and theoretically not to teachers either, but Kiyoharu, as Airi's fiancé, naturally enjoyed privileges. Getting a key from the administrator was easy.

Since there were no chattering high school students ruining the environment, and staff regularly maintained it, this place was actually cleaner and tidier than other areas. Coupled with the open environment, it was suitable for Shimaura Hitomi to practice her new teaching methods.

Following behind Kiyoharu, Shimaura Hitomi's heart began to race. The quiet space always led to fanciful thoughts.

Kiyoharu took out two seat cushions, spaced them apart, and gestured for Shimaura Hitomi to sit.

"Shall we start with the practice lecture, or with lunch?"

"Um, anything is fine, but…"

Shimaura Hitomi hesitated, unable to finish her sentence. Kiyoharu waved his hand, indicating it was no problem, and listened patiently. His calm gaze and relaxed expression made Shimaura Hitomi feel even more guilty about deceiving him.

But she had to say it eventually.

"…I'm sorry, Senior. I still feel the new method is underdeveloped. Let's not talk about it today. I'll refine it later." In reality, there was no trial lecture at all; this was the only way she could get by.

"Oh, that's fine. Then let's eat!"

Kiyoharu opened the bento box he had bought from the school convenience store.

It contained fried pork cutlet, a vegetable salad, and two meatballs of unknown ingredients.

After taking a couple of bites, he noticed Shimaura Hitomi was still clutching her own bento box, staring at the ground, looking flustered.

"What's wrong?"

"Will Senior feel like I've played him?"

"No, I haven't lost anything."

"But I've wasted Senior's time…"

"Not at all. It was supposed to be a break anyway, and resting anywhere is the same." Kiyoharu figured Shimaura Hitomi's overthinking might be kicking in again and decided to change the subject. "If you feel guilty, do me a small favor."

As he spoke, Kiyoharu took a hair clip from his pocket. It was made of light blue fabric, embroidered with a squirrel pattern.

"It's a gift for a relative's child. Can you try it on and see how it looks?"

"Oh, okay…"

Shimaura Hitomi nodded dazedly, allowing Kiyoharu to lean in. His nimble fingers placed the hair clip on her head.

The man's well-defined fingers and strong wrist, moving past Shimaura Hitomi's gaze, brought a suffocating tension like a fighter jet's cobra maneuver. His movements were practiced, suggesting he often handled small accessories for girls. The clip was placed perfectly, not too tight to cause pain, and unlikely to fall off.

The scene was reminiscent of many shojo manga moments: the admired crush placing a cheap yet carefully chosen hairpin on the girl's head on the rooftop. The emotion felt at that instant was a thrill that no amount of luxurious shopping could replicate in adulthood.

Click.

Kiyoharu took a photo with his phone and placed it flat between them.

"See how it looks. You can give me some suggestions too."

His mind was already filled with the sounds of mission sub-objectives being completed. This meant that the small accessory Kiyoharu had bought at a 100-yen shop during his morning commute had successfully pushed Shimaura Hitomi's charm value past 80 points.

However, Kiyoharu wasn't interested in looking at his status screen right now. He already knew what the reward was, and his target for accumulating Energy Points was clear, so there was nothing else to concern himself with.

Instead, he was looking forward to Shimaura Hitomi's reaction. Every time he had taken her picture before, she had looked very shy and always complained that she wasn't photogenic and looked ugly in photos.

"What does that matter? You're not in the business of selling photo books, are you, Junior!" Kiyoharu used to tease her like that.

This time, however, Shimaura Hitomi stared blankly for a moment until Kiyoharu waved his hand in front of her eyes, snapping her back to reality as if waking from a dream.

"Was she captivated by how cute she looked in the photo?"

"No way, Senior, you… don't tease me. I just think…"

"You think what?"

Clutching the hem of her jacket, Shimaura Hitomi hesitated for a moment before saying softly, "Senior, please remember to delete the photo. It wouldn't be good if Airi saw it and misunderstood."

"No, why are you jumping so far ahead? You should evaluate the hair clip first, the hair clip!"

"Mhm, mhm, okay, okay… Um, the hair clip, I feel like my looks are dragging it down…"

"You're overthinking it. This one actually suits you very well. My relative's child has a similar temperament to you."

"Really?"

"Really. After trying it on, I'm confident the child will be happy with this gift, although it is… well, a bit cheap. Maybe I should add two more substantial gifts."

Kiyoharu smoothly wove his lies.

Lies were a mandatory subject for scumbags and a direct cause for the infamous "kitchen knife" scenarios. When a devoted girl discovers she's been deceived, her unleashed fury would melt the scumbag like lava.

Reflecting on his past life, Kiyoharu decided to turn over a new leaf. However, white lies could still be retained as effective skills. For instance, this hair clip, and the non-existent relative's child, allowed Kiyoharu to easily obtain 100 Energy Points while avoiding any inappropriate actions towards Shimaura Hitomi.

Shimaura Hitomi blinked, not suspecting Kiyoharu's words, but her thoughts had already leaped to another level.

"In Senior's eyes, what kind of temperament do I have?"

"Temperament… very well-behaved and cute."

"Do you mean like a child?"

"Not entirely." Kiyoharu's gaze shifted slightly downward as he praised her frankly, "Junior has such a great figure, especially after changing into new clothes on the weekend. You're so curvy, how can you compare to a child?"

[Mission: Shimaura Hitomi's Image Makeover, Completed]

[Obtained: 100 Energy Points]

"This host is so weak. It took so long to complete such a simple task. If you ask me, why bother with all these detours? Just buy her clothes and tell her she looks good, wouldn't that be easier!"

"What do you know? This is what I call strategic maneuvering, leaving no trace." Kiyoharu scoffed at the system's disdain. "I haven't offended anyone, nor have I seduced anyone. I maintain the noble integrity of a respectable family man. Sigh, as expected of a useless system, your perspective is too limited."

"Alright, alright, Host is so strategic. So, when do you plan to save enough Energy Points to exchange for hacking skills?"

"…We'll discuss it later."

Kiyoharu was a bit choked, and honestly, this damn system was really slow at saving money. But he couldn't really let loose and be a spendthrift. Rather than rushing to a bad end, Kiyoharu chose to be held in Ayano's grip for now.

What he didn't expect was that while he was arguing with the useless system, Shimaura Hitomi next to him was experiencing a volcanic eruption of emotions.

Curvy... curvy... curvy...

Her mind was filled with Kiyoharu's evaluation of her with those four words.

In Shimaura Hitomi's impression, Kiyoharu rarely commented on girls' appearances. The girls all said he was a "cold, handsome" type, never getting involved with anyone.

So, when Kiyoharu directly complimented her figure, Shimaura Hitomi was so happy she almost fainted. Fortunately, after Kiyoharu spoke, it seemed like nothing had happened, and he continued eating. His calm demeanor lowered Shimaura Hitomi's temperature to a point where she could maintain her sanity.

Senpai probably doesn't have any special intentions, he was just objectively complimenting me.

But Shimaura Hitomi then recalled Kiyoharu's hands reaching for her "dumplings" in her dream twice, and she couldn't help but feel smug. Perhaps Senpai was secretly coveting her body, but due to societal norms and his loyalty in marriage, he would never make a move.

She remembered Kiyoharu holding her in his arms at the ranger's cabin, performing some technique. The manful, enjoyable breaths he exhaled echoed in Shimaura Hitomi's ears, around her neck, and by her nose and mouth, clearly conveying a desire to take.

That's right, Senpai has been suppressing himself.

He had a conflict with Airi, so he needed another curvy body to fill the void.

Shimaura Hitomi was self-aware. She knew she couldn't compare to the young lady, but if "consuming" her could bring Kiyoharu a happier life, Shimaura Hitomi would do it without hesitation!

The petite girl, who possessed surprising fullness, slowly ate her cooling bento box in small bites. Her palms grew hotter, and a deep affection stirred within her unfocused pupils, almost impossible to hide.

Kiyoharu was completely unaware of this. After talking with the system, he received a message notification on his phone regarding the math teaching and research group. So, he devoured his meal while processing emails, completely oblivious to the fact that the junior student next to him was greedily scanning every inch of him from head to toe.

What should I steal to enter their dreams today?