You Don't Want to Trend Online, Either, Do You?

"I'm going to let go now, but you know what'll happen if you scream, right?"

Fukayama Natsuki nodded as she looked up at Akimoto Yoichi, held in his arms like a frightened little deer. Only then did he slowly set her down.

When her dangling feet touched the ground again, a hint of relief appeared in Natsuki's eyes.

Meanwhile, Akimoto Yoichi slowly loosened his fingers around Natsuki's painfully pinched tongue.

"Mm...?" Just as Natsuki finally pulled her tongue free, she felt Akimoto Yoichi pinch her mouth shut.

What was going on? She hadn't even done anything.

Why, now that her tongue was free, was he pinching her mouth shut?

"Good. You behaved yourself. I thought you'd be stupid enough to scream for help." Akimoto Yoichi casually let go.

If Natsuki had screamed for help, Akimoto Yoichi would have pinched her cheeks between her upper and lower teeth to stop her from making a sound as quickly as possible.

Thinking of that, Natsuki couldn't help feeling relieved that she hadn't taken any chances. She was even more afraid of Akimoto Yoichi now.

"W-what do you want to do to me?"

Although she could speak again, Natsuki was still held in Akimoto Yoichi's arms.

She couldn't wave her arms or use her dreaded crotch-crushing kick.

Like a little deer that had been knocked over, she could only ask him nervously.

"To you?" Akimoto Yoichi looked Natsuki over carefully.

A pleasant citrus scent drifted from the back of her neck, probably a mix of her body wash and the natural scent of a young girl.

Her lovely, pitiful face didn't lose out to Suzuran Ayano or Nishida Yuki. Her catlike lips looked a little pale, and her still-young chest had a rather cute curve.

She wore shorts, and her lower legs were covered in white stockings.

As one of the heroines, Fukayama Natsuki was naturally top-tier in looks. She had a lovable little-sister vibe, with a touch of bratty kid.

If she didn't speak, Natsuki really was cute.

Natsuki seemed to have misunderstood, too. Akimoto Yoichi wasn't holding her because he was into her; he simply didn't want her grabbing his crotch or causing a scene.

But it wouldn't be so bad to let her keep misunderstanding. It wasn't like he'd lose much by earning himself a lolicon label.

"I'm very interested in you, but you're not cooperating, and I'm a little disappointed. So I think I'll just switch to someone else."

"Mrs. Suzuran's drunk right now, and she's resting, isn't she?"

"If I went upstairs and did something to her now, do you think she'd notice? Ayano isn't home, anyway."

Things had reached this point, and Akimoto Yoichi had no intention of explaining himself.

Although Natsuki had found the right clues, things hadn't gone as far as she thought. Akimoto Yoichi hadn't violently had his way with Mrs. Suzuran.

At this point, the truth no longer mattered.

What mattered was stopping things from taking an even worse turn—and, if possible, gaining the upper hand and keeping Natsuki under control.

Akimoto Yoichi's conclusion was simple: play the villain.

Since Fukayama Natsuki had already misunderstood him, he wasn't going to waste his energy trying to prove otherwise.

He might as well go along with it and play the sleazy older guy she thought he was.

That would save him a whole lot of explaining.

Besides, even if he explained things to Fukayama Natsuki, she wouldn't believe him.

If Ayano found out he'd seen Mrs. Suzuran in a sheer nightgown and had turned on the tap to wash his hands, she definitely wouldn't be able to interact with him the way she did now.

Akimoto Yoichi would lose the benefits of Ayano's halo, which would be a huge loss for him.

For now, Ayano's "Memory" buff was the most useful one he had.

It helped him remember things better in class, and he never had to worry about memorizing material for his humanities courses. Losing someone as useful as Ayano would be a real problem.

In return, if he threatened Fukayama Natsuki properly, she'd keep his secret.

While they'd been eating, Akimoto Yoichi had noticed how much Natsuki cared about Mrs. Suzuran. So now he'd use Mrs. Suzuran to threaten her.

"N-no, you can't! You can't bully Mama Mari! Please, don't hurt her! As long as you leave Mama Mari alone, I'll agree to anything!"

Sure enough, Fukayama Natsuki panicked once he had her cornered.

She didn't even seem to care that she herself was in Akimoto Yoichi's clutches. Instead, she just begged him not to touch Mrs. Suzuran.

That confirmed Akimoto Yoichi's guess, which made things easy.

"Oh? You'll agree to anything? Right?"

Akimoto Yoichi's gaze traveled over Natsuki.

With his blond hair and looks, he was a perfect embodiment of the blond-haired guys in the adult comics she'd read.

"...Y-yes! A-as long as you don't go after Mama Mari—oh! And Ayano-nee is off-limits, too. B-but you can't do anything too awful to me!"

Natsuki trembled, but she didn't back down.

From beginning to end, she was trying to protect the people she loved most: Suzuran Mari and Ayano.

Now that this blond-haired guy was threatening her, she naturally wouldn't back down. Her desire to protect everyone was completely sincere and unshakable.

"Then hand over your phone," Akimoto Yoichi demanded, making a request that seriously violated her privacy.

"N-no way!"

Natsuki blushed and resisted.

A girl's phone was bound to have all sorts of obvious photos on it. More importantly, Natsuki had hundreds of gigabytes of adult comics saved on hers.

As a fan of BL and shoujo manga, Fukayama Natsuki's secret was known only to Suzuran Mari.

"Oh? Then I'll show you my phone."

Akimoto Yoichi let go with one hand, took out his phone, and turned it on.

Natsuki relaxed a little and grew curious about what he wanted to show her.

Then she caught sight of several familiar photos flashing across Akimoto Yoichi's screen, and immediately cried out.

"Wait! What were those photos you just scrolled past?!"

"Were those pictures of Mama Mari? They were of Mama Mari, right?"

"Ah! You perv— you jerk! You took pictures of Mama Mari without her knowing?!"

Seeing the photo of Suzuran Mari in a camisole nightgown on Akimoto Yoichi's phone, Fukayama Natsuki let out a scream.

She tried to snatch his phone, but Akimoto Yoichi naturally refused to let her have it.

Watching Fukayama Natsuki panic in front of him, Akimoto Yoichi delivered the classic line.

"Yeah, I did it. Natsuki, you don't want Mrs. Suzuran's photos posted online, do you? Hand over your phone."

With a quick motion, Akimoto Yoichi licked Fukayama Natsuki's finger.