Akimoto Yoichi's Character Special Move

The Suzuran residence.

"Akimoto-kun, I've left my father's clothes by the door. Don't worry about it, just put them on."

Through the glass door of the bathroom, Akimoto Yoichi heard Ayano's voice from outside.

He could vaguely see Ayano's silhouette through the glass, moving on tiptoe with her back turned to him; usually, only love hotels installed doors like this.

Should he say the Suzuran parents were open-minded, or that the Suzuran family rarely had guests? Still, this was someone else's home, so Akimoto Yoichi didn't feel it was his place to judge.

"Right, I understand. Thank you."

"No problem at all! It was Natsuki-chan who got your clothes dirty in the first place, so this is the least I can do."

"I hope your father won't mind me wearing his clothes."

"My father isn't home anyway. He works overseas with Natsuki and Fukayama Midori's parents; they only come back once or twice a year, so it's fine to borrow his things."

"I see. Regardless, thank you. Otherwise, I would've had to go home in dirty clothes."

"That would've been a headache for Maya and me. We were still planning on learning how to cook with you."

"It's a promise. I'll teach you both how to cook no matter what."

"Mm! Then go ahead and finish your bath, Akimoto-kun."

As the sound of the door closing echoed outside, Akimoto Yoichi turned off the showerhead above him and settled into the bathtub, which had been prepared with a hot spring bath salt packet.

The feeling of being submerged in the heat was truly comfortable, and the Suzuran family's bathtub was clearly designed for two.

Even for a large guy like Akimoto Yoichi, it was easy to relax comfortably.

This was the first time he could recall being a guest in someone else's home—blocking someone's doorway didn't count—and it was also his first time relaxing in someone else's bathtub.

Judging by the decor of the Suzuran house, it was easy to tell that Suzuran Ayano's family was not short on money.

Although the old man had the idea of wanting Akimoto Yoichi to go to the expensive Izuki Academy to "rob the rich and help the poor."

It wasn't a bad decision, though; the tuition at Izuki Academy was enough to filter out average families, and the vast majority of those attending that private academy were quite wealthy.

With a sufficiently good environment, naturally, the classmates around Akimoto Yoichi wouldn't be the type he could easily meet out in the real world.

At the very least, Suzuran Ayano was one such person; she lived in a wealthy district that took Akimoto Yoichi a long time to find.

Next door to Suzuran Ayano was the home of Fukayama Midori. The parents of the Suzuran and Fukayama families were colleagues and even lived together.

It was no wonder Ayano and Fukayama Midori had become childhood sweethearts; after all, their parents were clearly close friends.

As for the parents working overseas, that was a very convenient setup for fostering romance.

On his way to the bathroom earlier, Akimoto Yoichi had seen quite a few photos of the two families together, as well as pictures of Ayano when she was young.

Of course, the figures of a young Fukayama Midori and Fukayama Natsuki were always by Ayano's side.

For an average person, it would be nearly impossible to shake a childhood romance where they had been part of each other's lives since they were small, but the protagonist, Fukayama Midori, had a personality that was just as indecisive and cowardly as every other stereotypical anime protagonist.

That was exactly why the "yellow-haired" rival had a chance to pry open the back gate with simple, brutal, and reckless force.

Speaking of Fukayama Natsuki, Akimoto Yoichi wasn't quite sure of her current situation.

According to the settings, Fukayama Natsuki was originally the heroine of the "paid version," and now that she had been integrated into this reality.

What was her current state toward Fukayama Midori? Or rather, what was the current extent of her brother complex?

Was she already completely obsessed, or was she still rational and just starting to awaken?

If this were the paid version, she would certainly be very proactive, but this wasn't the paid version.

Fukayama Natsuki's character panel did indeed state "Likes brother," but her walking posture and kiss count were both zero.

So, she must be a heroine with a lower priority, one whose plot route would only trigger at the very end?

He wasn't thinking about this because Akimoto Yoichi liked small, cute creatures.

Maya was also a twin-tailed loli with a gluttonous attribute, but he was focused on Natsuki because the heroine tag BUFF for Fukayama Natsuki was too useful.

Because she was Fukayama Midori's sister, that was likely how Midori managed to get into Izuki Academy despite being a lazy shut-in; the study-power-boosting BUFF from Fukayama Natsuki was just that terrifying.

Since she was Fukayama Midori's sister, Akimoto Yoichi wanted to borrow that power for himself.

Akimoto Yoichi maintained a superficial friendship with Fukayama Midori precisely because the heroines would easily appear by his side, and the heroines he intercepted all possessed highly useful tag BUFFs.

Currently, aside from some liberal arts courses where his grades had skyrocketed thanks to Suzuran Ayano's memory-boosting BUFF.

His science courses were still stuck at a middle-school level.

If he had the assistance of Fukayama Natsuki, he could probably finish catching up on middle-school science in just one year.

He had to find a way to interact more with Fukayama Natsuki.

Now was his chance; he should deepen his connection with her.

Thinking this, Akimoto Yoichi stood up from the bathtub and grabbed the towel Ayano had prepared, wiping himself off.

As a man, he didn't have the habit of spending too long in the bath, especially not in someone else's home.

Pulling open the thin bathroom door, Akimoto Yoichi saw the clothes Ayano had prepared.

He held them up to himself; the size looked about right.

It seemed that Ayano had inherited some of her father's height; both her father and Akimoto Yoichi stood at around 1.85 meters, though Akimoto Yoichi was still in his growth phase and hadn't reached his limit yet.

If Akimoto Yoichi continued to grow over the next few years, he would be able to hang everyone up like sloths.

Just as Akimoto Yoichi had pulled on his trousers and draped his shirt over his shoulders, preparing to button it up, the door suddenly swung open.

Though he wasn't exactly startled, Akimoto Yoichi turned his head to look, feeling somewhat surprised.

Could it be that Ayano had forgotten something?

However, it wasn't Ayano he saw, but a figure in a sheer camisole nightdress slowly walking inside.

Her slightly messy long hair hung loosely on both sides of her cheeks, and framed by a face that remained beautiful even without makeup, she didn't look disheveled, but rather possessed a fragile, mature allure.

She exuded the sweet, ripe scent of an apple, which held a deep attraction for a caterpillar that had yet to undergo its metamorphosis.

She clearly saw Akimoto Yoichi, yet she hadn't fully registered who he was.

"Honey, when did you get back? You jerk, we are definitely getting a divorce this time."

The woman pressed herself against Akimoto Yoichi, biting down on his shoulder with a bit of force, much like a kitten.

Akimoto Yoichi was completely bewildered throughout the encounter; before he could even open his mouth to explain, this beautiful young woman seemed to "recognize" him.

Then, he watched as the beautiful woman turned around, lifted the nearby toilet lid, and the rustling sound of clothing friction reached his ears.

"..." This was likely Suzuran Ayano's mother, right?

She appeared to be groggy, as if she had just woken up, and he was wearing the clothes of Ayano's father.

Her height only reached his chest, and without looking up, she couldn't see Akimoto Yoichi's signature blonde hair.

So, Ayano's mother thought he was her husband?

Come to think of it, Ayano had only mentioned that her father and Fukayama Midori's parents were overseas; she had said "father," not "parents," which meant Suzuran Ayano's mother was actually home!

Having cleared his thoughts, Akimoto Yoichi didn't have time to explain before he heard the sound of the faucet turning on behind him.

I'm cooked.

From this moment on, the nature of the situation had changed.

If it had just been a hug, a bit of pouting, and a bite from Ayano's mother, it would have been awkward but explainable.

But in this current situation, it was far beyond the level of mere awkwardness.

He used to think that only protagonists encountered such plotlines, but it seemed that even a blonde guy had his own ntr luck; it wasn't as if he couldn't trigger these events just because the woman had a boyfriend or a husband.