Chapter 32

Even among so-called villains, there were exceptionally capable people. Mystery novels portrayed plenty of highly intelligent criminals, too.

So she only needed to learn how Nangong Cheng approached and handled problems.

As for his character...

She could only choose to turn a blind eye to it for now.

"You don't need to worry about that. Our relationship is purely transactional."

"Now that I have my answer, I won't take up any more of your time. Goodbye."

Karuizawa Kei silently watched Horikita Suzune leave until she disappeared from view.

She sighed, her feelings still tangled.

Who would've thought he meant this kind of stress relief...

"Forget it. I'll just think of it as letting my future husband see a little early."

Funnily enough, that worked.

Once she thought of it that way, she felt much less conflicted.

After all, according to the system, her future was destined to be inextricably tied to Nangong Cheng's. Didn't that amount to the same thing?

It all made sense to her again.

Karuizawa Kei stood there thinking for a moment, then gritted her teeth, turned around, and went to the Clothing Store to buy a new outfit.

After that, she went to the Department Store for a selfie stick.

She returned to her dorm room.

She headed straight for the bathroom.

After washing herself thoroughly from head to toe, she looked in the mirror at the scar on the side of her abdomen.

"I can't let him see this yet..."

She returned to her bedroom.

Karuizawa Kei checked her phone first. After saying good night in her clique's group chat, she set her account to Do Not Disturb.

"Don't be nervous. You'll get used to it little by little."

She began psyching herself up.

But she wasn't doing it without reason.

Although she had only triggered three tasks so far, each one had been more... embarrassing than the last.

That was clearly a sign.

Of course, she might have been overthinking it.

But how should she put it...

After this, her relationship with Nangong Cheng was bound to take a flirtatious turn, which would make it all too easy for future tasks to follow a similar pattern.

Fundamentally, there was no difference.

"I should learn how first."

Karuizawa Kei took several deep breaths, then opened the video Nangong Cheng had sent her.

Sounds that made her cheeks burn red immediately rang out. Thankfully, the Student Dormitory at Advanced Nurturing had good soundproofing, or she would have died of embarrassment all over again.

The video was only about twenty minutes long, so Karuizawa Kei soon finished watching it.

But she still didn't quite understand.

"Does that really feel that good?"

"And this... isn't that a bit exaggerated?"

As someone with no sexual experience, Karuizawa Kei really didn't know much about these things, even if her teacher had touched on them in health and PE class.

Theory was just theory, after all. Without firsthand experience, it remained purely academic.

Unfortunately, her teacher wasn't going to devote a health and PE lesson to this particular subject, so Karuizawa Kei ended up searching online for a detailed explanation.

Good grief, there was so much more to this than she'd thought. She really was learning something new.

"So that's how it works..."

"It counters cortisol by speeding up dopamine release? That's surprisingly scientific."

Karuizawa Kei had assumed Nangong Cheng was just being a creep, but it turned out there was actual science behind this.

She'd misjudged him.

"Well, I've come this far. I might as well try."

Karuizawa Kei didn't think she was stressed enough to need this particular outlet, but once curiosity took hold, she simply had to give it a go.

She set up the selfie stick, adjusted the camera angle, and checked that her outfit looked right.

"Okay, time to start."

Karuizawa Kei took a few more deep breaths, then opened the door to a whole new world with a resolute expression.

An unknown amount of time passed.

At some point, the moon outside had hidden behind dark clouds. A low rumble of thunder rolled across the sky, followed by a light patter of rain.

[Task complete]

[Task reward: The host receives 1,000 points]

Volume One: Ichinose Honami's Mom Act

The next day.

Nangong Cheng was up bright and early.

To be precise, though, the two mine-detection tasks he had issued had kept him awake the previous night.

Fortunately, with his current physique, a few sleepless nights wouldn't tire him out. Otherwise, he might soon have earned the distinguished nickname "Young Master Cheng the Depleted."

"System, show my panel."

[Host: Nangong Cheng]

[Core ability: Master's Task (Lv. 3)]

[Auxiliary abilities: Intermediate Acting Mastery, Kato Taka's Hand, Gene Enhancement (Second Stage)]

[Experience: 30/200]

[Current number of available task targets: 7 (Horikita Suzune, Kikyo Kushida, Karuizawa Kei, Sakura Airi, Shiina Hiyori, Ichinose Honami, Sakayanagi Arisu)]

[Current task issuance allowance: 7/7 (Resets daily at midnight. Uncompleted tasks do not count toward the limit.)]

[Currently available task types: One-Time Task, Daily Task]

[Items held: People-Finding Cane]

The 8,000 points had come from the task he had issued to Kikyo Kushida the night before. At least Kato Taka's Hand hadn't been a bad investment, and he had started to get a feel for how to rake in large amounts of points.

The two lots of 2,000 points came from the little stress-relief tasks he had issued yesterday morning—the very "culprits" behind his sleepless night.

Though, really, they weren't all that ().

There were no visuals, so it was essentially ASMR.

"Judging by the time, she should be here soon."

Nangong Cheng was still waiting for Ichinose Honami to come over and provide a proper "Mom Act."

The words had barely left his mouth when the doorbell rang.

He went over and opened the door.

"Good morning, Nangong."

Ichinose Honami greeted him with a smile.

She was even carrying a bag of ingredients.

"Good morning, Ichinose Mom."

"What's all this...?"

Nangong Cheng pointed at the bag in her hand, asking a question he already knew the answer to.

Ichinose Honami tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her smile turning a little awkward.

"Actually, after I went back, the more I thought about the terms you offered for that Student Council position, the more I felt I'd gotten far too good a deal. So after I reported to the Student Council yesterday, I kept thinking about how I could thank you."

"But I know you don't need Private Points, so I had to find another way. I thought I could make your three meals a day for a while."

"Besides, since you call me Mom, I thought I should live up to the name. This fits the role pretty well, doesn't it?"

That was a lie.

Naturally, Ichinose Honami was standing outside Nangong Cheng's room at this hour because she had received another task yesterday, requiring her to prepare three meals a day for him.

It only paid 100 points a day, but the requirements were so easy for her that she was actually quite pleased.

In fact, whenever she thought of the equation "100 points = 100,000 Japanese yen," she felt she was getting the better end of the deal.

That was why she was so enthusiastic.

Meanwhile.

Nangong Cheng put on a look of sudden understanding.

He immediately stepped aside.

"I knew I was right about you. Ichinose Mom, you really are a woman who could become my mother."

"If only every girl in the world were as kind and understanding as you."

Ichinose Honami smiled bashfully.

"You're exaggerating, Nangong. There must be plenty of women in this world who are much better than me. I'm just an ordinary girl."

With that, she stepped into Nangong Cheng's room.

It was her first time visiting a boy's room, and she'd even come alone. She couldn't help feeling a little nervous.

"The kitchen's over here."

"Do you need a hand?"

Nangong Cheng led Ichinose Honami to the kitchen.

Credit where credit was due, and criticism where it was deserved.

On this point, Advanced Nurturing deserved praise—the Student Dormitory was incredibly well equipped.

"Hmm... then could you wash these ingredients for me, Nangong? Sorry for the trouble."

Ichinose Honami didn't turn down his offer.

She had to prepare not only Nangong Cheng's breakfast and lunch, but her own as well.

Efficiency mattered.

With a boy and a girl working together, the work felt lighter.

Given Nangong Cheng's physical abilities, comprehensively enhanced by the Gene-Enhancement Potion, this sort of thing was a breeze.

Besides, he had a new idea.

"What are you planning to make, Ichinose Mom? I don't know much about cooking."

Ichinose Honami had started helping her mother with the housework at an early age and was already a skilled cook, so she could easily chat while she worked.

"Just a typical homemade breakfast."

"As for lunch, I didn't get a chance to ask what you like, Nangong, so I took the liberty of deciding for you this time. I'm going to make you a sushi bento."

Nangong Cheng nodded.