Kawasaki Saki answered the phone that had been ringing nonstop, and she did not deliberately avoid Higashino Akira.
Because of that, Akira also heard a familiar voice from her phone.
It was Hiratsuka Shizuka calling to ask why Saki had not come to school and was absent without permission, only for Saki to vaguely brush it off by saying she was not feeling well.
Speaking of which, Akira had learned from Shizuka that she was currently the homeroom teacher of Sobu High’s Class 2-F.
After hearing her complain about the bizarre essays written by her students, and how this batch was even harder to manage than back when he had been in school, he had finally confirmed where the current Oregairu storyline was.
That was why he had approached Kawasaki Saki.
After Saki hung up, she felt too embarrassed to keep looking at the man beside her.
Leaving right away would seem too thoughtless, but she was also genuinely exhausted.
In the end, she could only turn over, close her eyes, and curl up under the blanket like an ostrich.
Even so, the subconscious numbness where her body was in contact with the other party, along with the afterglow of her first experience, still made her unable to stop feeling waves of shame.
“Quit those part-time jobs afterward.
With me here, you don’t need to keep wasting yourself on repetitive labor with no room for growth.” Kawasaki Saki lightly bit her lip, desperately enduring the strange pleasure that almost made her unable to stop a soft moan from escaping as those large hands caressed her lower abdomen and even gently kneaded the area further above, and gave a muffled, low response, “Mm.” “If you’re already satisfied with having this much money every month and living comfortably, then naturally, you don’t need to work hard anymore.
But if you want to raise your salary with me as quickly as possible, I suggest you don’t give up on studying.” “The salary level and growth potential of a university student and a high school student are different.
That remains true even out in society.” “I like seeing you work hard.
So if you can get into university and raise your own value, I’ll be happy to raise the price I pay for that value.” “Perhaps one day, if your ability is high enough, you could even become my assistant and receive extra dividends on top of your fixed salary.” Akira spoke very realistically, but there was no falsehood in his words either.
He also had no intention of turning this simple, material relationship into something mixed with the uncertainty of emotions.
And yet, this way of speaking was unexpectedly more reassuring to Kawasaki Saki than sweet words without any material foundation.
It was also easier for her to accept.
Saki did not speak again.
She only curled a little deeper into Akira’s arms.
Young bodies are always brimming with vitality, naturally drawing attention.
Akira was no exception.
He, too, had desires, and at the peak of his youth, both his drive and his physical attributes were formidable.
Yet, when faced with a girl who was completely inexperienced, while he might have been clueless about romance, he still knew how to cherish a delicate flower.
At the very least, for Higashino Akira, Kawasaki Saki was definitely not a consumable; at the very least, she counted as a collectible that might have quite a lot of room to appreciate in value.
Until Saki gradually fell asleep again, Akira did not take things any further.
By evening, Kawasaki Saki slowly woke up.
Although her body still felt uncomfortable, the exhaustion that came from staying up all night and rotating through multiple part-time jobs had been swept away.
Her mind felt clear, and even her complexion had become much rosier.
She had skipped class for an entire day today, and Hiratsuka-sensei had even called her phone.
Most likely, her family already knew about her absence too.
This was not the same as simply sleeping in class like usual.
In order not to make her family worry, Saki took a shower at the hotel and changed back into her clothes.
After the two exchanged contact information, she hurriedly left.
Akira went to handle checkout by himself.
Under the darkening evening sky, he left at an unhurried pace and headed away from the crowd.
Then he found a pitch-black alley with no surveillance cameras or passersby and slipped inside.
“Here should be fine.
Draw.” As soon as his words fell, countless points of light appeared out of thin air.
They gathered in front of Akira, gradually condensing into a human shape.
A moment later, the light dimmed, revealing the figure within.
“Two memorials repaid three visits.
One discourse stands for a thousand autumns.” “Liang pays respects to my lord.” Familiar language entered his ears.
“Prime Minister, please rise!
There’s no need for such ceremony!” Akira hurried forward and helped the man straighten up.
It was stable now.
Everything was stable!
Gold on the first draw.
A top-tier historical figure had arrived!
And he was an all-rounder workhorse too.
Zhuge Kongming still looked only middle-aged, and with modern medical technology, he could work for at least a few more decades!
With Teacher Little Liang in hand, could I still end up worse than that Adou?
“With the Prime Minister at my side, I’ve gained more than a million troops!” Akira praised him from the bottom of his heart.
A million troops would not be able to withstand modern firearms, and undocumented soldiers would be hard to arrange identities for anyway.
But Zhuge Kongming was different.
I could turn my surname into something royal right now and start building a modern empire — and honestly, it might just work.
“My lord overpraises me.
The post of Prime Minister is already a matter of the past.
Since I have answered the summons, I shall share my lord’s worries.
From now on, please simply call me by my courtesy name, Kongming.” “Mm, that works too…” Seeing that his new lord could at least listen to advice, and that he did not give off the hopeless impression of someone utterly unfit to rule, Kongming felt somewhat more settled.
This encounter was truly bizarre, strange, and dreamlike.
However, since he had answered the summoning, Kongming had no intention of being perfunctory.
The affairs of the past had already become dust, but at least he could remain in the future and properly see this era on behalf of his old friends.
“Now that my lord’s great undertaking has only just begun, this is precisely when people are needed.
I fear Liang alone may find it difficult to support everything.
However, before troops move, provisions must come first.
May I ask whether my lord already has a plan, how much military grain has been prepared, and how many usable people are available?” Kongming was trying to help his new lord clarify the current situation and discuss the grand plan.
However, after drawing gold on the first try and meeting a legendary historical figure, Akira’s initial excitement finally cooled down a little.
“There’s no rush on that.
I do have a general direction in mind, but I’m not in a hurry to act freely yet.
As for whether the plan is complete, we don’t need to discuss that for now.” “The most urgent matter right now is for you to first understand the present era, learn the local language, and master common knowledge before we talk about anything else.” “As for usable people, in the early stage of a startup, quality matters more than quantity.
Having you, Kongming, is worth far more than ten million others!” “Ah, only me?” Kongming was somewhat stunned.
For some reason, he suddenly felt a faint pain in his liver.
“Hey, in this era, we value elite soldiers and lean leadership.
We don’t take the usual path.” Akira slung an arm around his neck with an expression that said they were already close brothers, then led Kongming out of the alley.
“Besides, once you understand more about this era and our current situation, you’ll know why having too many people right now would actually be a bad thing.” After all, he could not open by saying that what they were about to do was secretly build a nation inside another sovereign country, borrow the chicken to lay eggs, and finally replace the host outright, could he?
Faced with his lord’s words, Kongming could only smile helplessly.
In the end, since he had already come, he might as well make peace with it.
Along the way, passersby were amazed when they saw such an incredibly realistic Zhuge Kongming.
Quite a few people even came up to ask whether they could take photos with him.
Because Kongming still could not understand Japanese and did not know what taking a photo together meant, Akira politely declined on his behalf.
Akira did not bring Kongming home.
Instead, he found a hotel near a language school and booked him a room.
He prepaid one month of room fees in advance, left behind a good amount of cash, and told him to rest peacefully for now.
He would come see him tomorrow.
Only then did Akira leave by himself.
On the way home, he casually bought a scratch-off lottery ticket.
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