Shimaura Hitomi Wants to Fill Kiyoharu's Emptiness

"Chihaya-sensei, please attend this afternoon's Literature Club activity and lend us a hand."

In front of boring outsiders, Kitahara Ayano still maintained her ladylike demeanor. However, when her gaze swept over Kiyoharu and Hitomi, both of their expressions became a little unnatural. Shimaura Hitomi's reaction was more obvious, while Kiyoharu, being an old hand at acting, remained practically unfazed.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Of course, be a drawing model. A few students are interested in figure sketching, but they've been struggling to find a model. Since Chihaya-sensei has to model for me anyway, we might as well let a few more students enjoy the privilege. It'll also help cultivate their interest."

Ayano spoke with such righteous conviction that no one could find fault with her words.

It was only natural for Kiyoharu to serve as a figure model for the Young Lady's best friend. As a live-in son-in-law, he had to take on all sorts of strange work related to the family's social connections. Delivering gifts and running errands were routine, and even showing up at detention centers or juvenile prisons to bail people out was normal.

In short, there was no end to the dirty, exhausting work.

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

Yet Kiyoharu knew perfectly well that Kitahara Ayano had not invited him over to help. She wanted entertainment.

"Sure. I'll make time for it. By the way, this counts as a rather special club activity, doesn't it? I suggest having the students prepare photographic records in advance."

"...That really won't be necessary."

"It is necessary. I don't have time to model every day, so since I'm making the trip, shouldn't we do it properly?"

"Exactly!" Haneda Miho chimed in. "I remember the girls from the Literature Club invited Chihaya-sensei before, only to be coldly rejected by him~ This time, with Miss Kitahara vouching for him, Chihaya-sensei's fiancée shouldn't get jealous."

"Over the years, everyone has seen how loving the Chihaya couple is. No girl would dare set her sights on Chihaya-sensei anymore. Even Takagi has turned over a new leaf..."

"Ah, that dashing young man from back then is already somebody's husband now."

The office atmosphere was cheerful and lively.

Kitahara Ayano shook her head almost imperceptibly and glanced at Shimaura Hitomi a few times, as though hinting at something. The corners of her lips also seemed to hold a trace of mockery.

Shimaura Hitomi swallowed, feeling the tension of gradually approaching some hidden truth.

In the dream, Kiyoharu had called Airi the "Red-Eyed Devil." That contemptuous, even somewhat irritated tone, contrasted with the happy smile on Kiyoharu's face as he faced his colleagues' teasing now... The comparison was rather chilling, but Shimaura Hitomi did not become estranged from her senior because of it.

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

Because she was the same way.

Hehe.

"Senior, can you accompany me to the rooftop during lunch break?"

After Ayano headed to the Literature Club to familiarize herself with the venue and the office entered free-chat mode, Shimaura Hitomi spoke quietly to Kiyoharu. She leaned forward, pressing two criminally soft weights against the desk, her shimmering eyes pitifully captivating.

"Sure." Kiyoharu agreed briskly without even asking what she wanted to do. He had absolutely no guard up around his junior... Unless she was about to discover his secret with Ayano, perhaps Kiyoharu would become wary. But at its core, that would only be wariness toward the Red-Eyed Devil.

What bad intentions could Hitomi possibly have?

Just as Kiyoharu expected, Shimaura Hitomi honestly continued, "Recently, I came up with some new ways to interact with students. They aren't fully developed yet, so I don't dare try them in class..."

"Oh, you want me to look them over first? No problem."

"Maybe... we could buy lunch and eat together while we're at it..."

"Of course. Otherwise, wouldn't it cut into your lunch break?"

"Thank you, Senior!"

Phew, done.

Shimaura Hitomi breathed out softly, then furtively messaged Ayano to tell her the mission had been completed. Yet she could not help feeling uneasy.

Late last night, Airi had told Shimaura Hitomi to watch out for anything unusual about Ayano. She did not understand exactly what Airi meant, but Ayano clearly did have a problem. After all, Ayano had encouraged Shimaura Hitomi to cheat on Kiyoharu.

But Shimaura Hitomi did not dare tell Airi about that. She was afraid Airi would discover that she was a thief, and then... The deductions that followed were terrifying. Being sealed into a concrete pillar and sunk in Tokyo Bay would be the least of it. Shimaura Hitomi's family might be implicated too.

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

That had been part of Chihaya Airi's speech when she took office as managing director of the conglomerate.

It was a little extreme, but her methods truly were like that.

At the same time, Kiyoharu was also occupied with his own thoughts.

On the system panel, Shimaura Hitomi's charm score had stalled at 78 points.

She had merely changed into a more stylish tracksuit and was still bare-faced, with plenty of room left for improvement, yet she had already become a somewhat attractive woman among the crowd.

However, Kiyoharu did not intend to strike while the iron was hot. He could tell that Shimaura Hitomi had overcome enormous psychological hurdles before changing her appearance at her friends' urging. Pushing further would be pressing her too hard.

For a mere two points, Kiyoharu had a shortcut.

At noon, on the teaching building's rooftop.

Kiyoharu got a key from the building manager, opened a normally locked security door, and led Shimaura Hitomi to a rarely visited section of the rooftop.

The area contained electrical boxes and water supply equipment, and was off-limits to students... Theoretically, it was off-limits to teachers as well. But as Airi's fiancé, Kiyoharu naturally enjoyed certain privileges. Getting a key from the manager was effortless.

Since no chattering high school students came up to ruin the environment, and staff maintained the place regularly, it was actually cleaner and tidier than other areas. The open surroundings also made it suitable for Shimaura Hitomi to practice her new teaching approach.

Following behind Kiyoharu, Shimaura Hitomi's heartbeat quickened slightly. Quiet spaces always invited wild thoughts.

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

"Do you want to do your trial lesson first, or eat first?"

"Um, either is fine, but..."

Shimaura Hitomi hesitated, clearly wanting to say something but holding it back. Kiyoharu waved casually to indicate that it was fine and wore a patient expression. His calm eyes and relaxed demeanor only made Shimaura Hitomi feel more guilty about deceiving him.

But she had to say it eventually.

"...Sorry, Senior. I still think that new method needs more consideration, so let's not go over it today. I'll refine it some more later." In truth, there was no trial lesson at all. She could only muddle through with this excuse.

"Oh, no problem. Then let's eat!"

Kiyoharu opened the boxed lunch he had bought from the school convenience store.

Fried pork cutlet, vegetable salad, and two balls of unknown ingredients.

After taking two bites, he realized that Shimaura Hitomi was still clutching her own lunch box, staring awkwardly at the ground in a daze.

"What's wrong?"

"Will you feel like I played you, Senior?"

"No. It's not like I lost anything."

"But I wasted your time..."

"Not at all. It was break time anyway. Resting here is the same as resting anywhere else." Kiyoharu figured Shimaura Hitomi's overly serious mindset was acting up again, so he 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 little squirrel.

"It's a gift for a relative's child. Try it on for me and let me see how it looks."

"Oh, okay..."

Shimaura Hitomi nodded blankly, allowing Kiyoharu to lean over. His nimble fingers placed the hair clip atop her head.

The man's distinct-knuckled fingers and strong wrist passed through Shimaura Hitomi's field of vision, bringing suffocating tension like a fighter jet's cobra maneuver. He moved skillfully, clearly used to handling little accessories for girls. The clip was positioned just right—not easy to fall off, yet not tight enough to hurt her scalp.

The scene looked exactly like something from countless shoujo manga: the admired boy placing a cheap but carefully chosen hair clip on a girl's head atop the school rooftop. The fluttering emotion of that instant was something no amount of luxurious purchases in adulthood could ever rival.

Click.

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

"See how it looks. You can offer some suggestions too."

A notification had already sounded in his mind, indicating that a task sub-objective had been completed. In other words, the little accessory Kiyoharu had bought at a hundred-yen shop by the roadside during his morning commute had successfully pushed Shimaura Hitomi's charm score past 80.

But Kiyoharu did not want to look at the panel right now. He had long known what the reward would be, and his goal for accumulating Energy Points was clear, so there was nothing worth worrying about.

Instead, he was looking forward to Shimaura Hitomi's reaction. Whenever he had photographed her before, she always looked embarrassed and said dispiriting things about not being photogenic or looking ugly in pictures.

"What does it matter? It's not like you work in an industry where you profit by selling photo books, Junior!" Kiyoharu had teased her like that before.

This time, though, Shimaura Hitomi froze for a moment. Only after Kiyoharu waved a hand before her eyes did she snap back to reality as if waking from a dream.

"Was the girl in the photo too cute? Did she charm you?"

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

"What do you think?"

Gripping the hem of her jacket with both hands, Shimaura Hitomi hesitated for a while before quietly saying, "Senior, remember to delete that photo. It would be bad if Airi saw it and got the wrong idea."

"No, how did you skip straight to that? At least evaluate the hair clip first. The hair clip!"

"Y-yes, 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. That relative's child has a temperament similar to yours too."

"Really?"

"Really. Now that I've tried it, I'm sure the child will like this gift. Although it's... uh, a little cheap, so I should probably pair it with two more substantial gifts."

Kiyoharu smoothly wove his lie.

Lying was a required course for scumbags, and also the direct cause of Hacked to Death Endings. When a lovestruck girl discovered she had been deceived by lies, the rage that erupted from her would melt the scumbag like lava.

Looking back on his previous life, Kiyoharu had resolved to mend his ways. Still, harmless lies could remain useful skills. This hair clip, along with the nonexistent relative's child, had easily earned him 100 Energy Points while allowing him to avoid doing anything inappropriate to Shimaura Hitomi.

Shimaura Hitomi blinked without doubting Kiyoharu's words, but her thoughts had already leaped to another level.

"What kind of temperament do I have in your eyes, Senior?"

"Temperament... You're very well-behaved and cute."

"Does that mean I'm like a child?"

"Not entirely." Kiyoharu's gaze lowered slightly as he calmly praised her. "You have such a great figure, Junior. Especially after changing into new clothes over the weekend, your curves stand out even more. How could a child compare?"

Task: Shimaura Hitomi's Image Makeover, completed

Reward: 100 Energy Points

"This host is so lame. Such a simple task took you this long to finish. If you ask me, stop making so many detours—just buy her clothes and tell her she looks good!"

"What do you know? This is called careful planning, leaving without a trace." Kiyoharu scoffed at the system's contempt. "I neither offended anyone nor seduced anyone. I maintained the lofty purity of a respectable married man. Sigh, you really are a useless system. Your perspective is too limited."

"Fine, fine, Host has perspective. So when does Host plan to save enough Energy Points to exchange for the hacking skill?"

"...We'll discuss it later."

Kiyoharu was slightly choked up. Honestly, this trash system was painfully slow at accumulating points, yet he could not truly cut loose and become a playboy. Compared to speedrunning a Hacked to Death Ending, Kiyoharu would rather let Ayano hold leverage over him for now.

What he had not expected was that while he bickered with the useless system, Shimaura Hitomi beside him underwent a drastic inner upheaval, like a volcanic eruption.

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

Kiyoharu's four-word assessment of her filled her entire mind.

In Shimaura Hitomi's impression, Kiyoharu rarely commented on girls' appearances. The girls all said he was a handsome abstinent type who never flirted around.

So when Kiyoharu straightforwardly praised her figure, Shimaura Hitomi was so happy she nearly fainted. Fortunately, after saying it, Kiyoharu continued eating as though nothing had happened. His calm manner cooled Shimaura Hitomi down enough for her to retain her reason.

Senior probably did not mean anything special. He was just politely offering an objective compliment.

But Shimaura Hitomi then recalled how, in the dream, Kiyoharu had reached his large hands toward her breasts twice. She could not help feeling secretly pleased. Perhaps her senior truly coveted her body in secret, but because of worldly norms and his loyalty to marriage, he had never taken any action.

Thinking back to Kiyoharu at the Ranger's Cabin, holding her in his arms while working his techniques, his breath—full of masculine hormones and enjoyment—had lingered around Shimaura Hitomi's ears, neck, nose, and lips, clearly carrying a desire to take.

That was right. Senior had been suppressing himself all along.

There was conflict between him and Airi, so he needed another curvy body to fill his emptiness.

Shimaura Hitomi knew herself well. She knew she could not compare to the Young Lady, but if having her could give Kiyoharu a happier life, then Shimaura Hitomi would not hesitate!

The petite girl, who hid astonishing fullness beneath her small frame, slowly ate the boxed lunch that was about to go cold, taking tiny bites. Yet her palms grew hotter and hotter. In her unfocused eyes, a rich love stirred restlessly, nearly impossible to conceal.

Kiyoharu noticed none of it. After talking with the system, a message notification appeared on his phone regarding work from the mathematics teaching and research group. He wolfed down his food while replying to emails, utterly unaware that the junior beside him was greedily scanning every part of him from head to toe.

What should she steal today to bring into her dreams?