Oreki Gen had not even left the courtyard yet. He had only just walked out of the studio, and one could say he had not even softened yet, when he suddenly heard a voice ring out in his mind.
He froze.
What the hell?
So this system was syncing progress with him too?
What was this, Assassin's Creed?
The voice continued in his mind.
【Congratulations, host, on activating the weekly Check-In System. Through check-ins, the host has a chance to directly obtain attributes, skills, and special items. Would you like to begin check-in?】
It was currently Sunday, the weekend.
So that meant he could do one check-in draw each weekend... Oreki Gen did not rush. Instead, he asked in his mind.
【If I don't check in now, can I accumulate two chances next week?】
【Of course not.】
【Then is each week's draw pool different?】
【All random. It all depends on luck.】
So fucking stingy. Nauseating.
In that case, there was nothing to hesitate over. Oreki Gen silently said, Check in.
【Congratulations, host. Check-in successful...】
【Congratulations, host. Check-in reward obtained!】
【Magical Eye Drops: A one-use consumable item. After dripping it into your eyes, silently imagine a person's appearance and name in your mind, and for the next ten minutes, you can obtain that person's field of vision. After one use, it will become ordinary eye drops. (Please note: if the host is too close to the target, the target may sense the host's presence. Use with caution.)】
What the hell was this?
Oreki Gen immediately felt something extra appear in his pocket.
He took it out and saw that it was a bottle of blue eye drops with no logo and no label.
It did not look special at all. It was exactly like ordinary eye drops.
The key point was that there were usage restrictions too? Better not be too close to the target... But the real question was, what was he supposed to use this thing for? What could he do by getting someone else's field of vision for ten minutes? Become a secondhand peeping tom?
Oreki Gen felt like this check-in had given him a whole lot of nothing.
Forget it. Maybe there really would be a time when it came in handy. At least he had unlocked check-ins, so this trip had not been completely without gains.
"Eh? Is Oreki-kun already going home?"
Just as Oreki Gen was preparing to leave, kimono-clad Shinkai Yui appeared from the side at exactly the right moment, still holding her phone.
"Yeah. The matter's over, so I should head back."
Shinkai Yui blinked, then suddenly came over with quick little steps. She jogged straight up to Oreki Gen, her pretty eyes wide and full of curiosity.
"What matter?"
"What do you mean, what matter?"
Oreki Gen did not understand what she meant.
Shinkai Yui lowered her voice deliberately, her gaze carrying a hint of ambiguity.
"You and Onee-san were in the studio for so long... what were you doing?"
Looking at her ambiguous gaze, Oreki Gen understood what she meant. It seemed she had started imagining strange things about relationships between men and women.
Oreki Gen was not angry or impatient. Instead, he smiled as he looked at Shinkai Yui.
"Yui-chan, what do you think your sister and I would do alone in the same room?"
Shinkai Yui's eyes grew even more excited.
"Could it be... something only adults can do? After all, you're both adults, and this is the first time I've seen Onee-san invite a guy home... and you spent quite a while in there. Don't tell me, don't tell me..."
Just as Shinkai Yui felt she was getting closer and closer to the truth, while Oreki Gen's gaze was full of encouragement for her to keep guessing...
"Creak!"
Suddenly, the sound of a door opening rang out.
Shinkai Yui's whole body shuddered. She seemed to sense something, and she did not even dare turn her head in that direction.
She carefully lifted her eyes to glance at Oreki Gen, then swallowed.
"Oreki-kun... you'll help me explain, right?"
Oreki Gen smiled, but said nothing. He simply said nothing.
Shinkai Yui's little face collapsed. She looked practically ashen.
Immediately after, a voice like a demon crawling out of hell rang out.
"Shinkai Yui, you have a lot of free time, don't you?"
Shinkai Yui tried hard not to look especially guilty, but when she turned her head, her smile looked worse than crying.
"I-I'm very busy, Onee-san..."
Sakuraba Mitsuki stood at the studio door, staring coldly in their direction. The look on her face made it seem as if she wanted to eat the two of them just to take the edge off.
"Very busy, holding your phone in the courtyard and chatting with a stranger?"
A stranger?
So he was a stranger now? Oreki Gen almost wanted to laugh. Sakuraba Mitsuki's little temper was actually rather cute.
Shinkai Yui's whole body began to tremble slightly.
"I-I wasn't... It's Oreki-kun. He isn't a stranger..."
Perhaps it would have been better not to mention him at all, because the moment Oreki Gen was brought up, the situation seemed to become even more serious.
Sure enough, Sakuraba Mitsuki's expression grew a shade colder.
"Very good. When Mother comes home, I'll tell her you didn't spend the whole day reading or reviewing. Perhaps it would be best to confiscate your game console and phone after all."
"Wuwuwu, no! I'll go back and study right now! Don't confiscate them, Onee-san!"
Shinkai Yui wore a crying face as she left Oreki Gen's side, looking pitiful and wronged. It was clear she was in so much pain that she did not even say goodbye.
Oreki Gen stood where he was and glanced back at the young woman standing in the studio doorway.
She looked at him coldly. Without saying a single word, she turned and returned to the studio, closing the door behind her.
It seemed she meant for him to leave on his own.
Oreki Gen shrugged and walked straight out of her courtyard.
It was already nearly evening. A weekend when he did not need to work felt rather relaxed. Still, Oreki Gen had nowhere else he wanted to go, so heading straight home seemed like the best choice.
As for what would happen tomorrow, and as for what future entanglements he and Sakuraba Mitsuki might have, those were not things he needed to think about right now. He could wait for them to happen naturally. At the very least, Oreki Gen could now be certain that, in the short term, Sakuraba Mitsuki probably would not want to kill him.
Because her desire to make him submit would outweigh the threat he posed to her.
Still, the hungry young man ate dinner at a restaurant outside. By the time he returned home, night had already fallen.
Everything along the way seemed especially normal. Nothing seemed to happen after he got home either, and he did not run into the mature office lady next door.
Did that mean his luck was not bad?
Oreki Gen returned home, took a shower, then watched a bit of a newly airing anime. Mm... a harem anime.
First, let it be stated that he was not the kind of person who liked watching harem anime while embracing empty romantic fantasies. Nor had he ever longed for some wonderful romantic battlefield where a beautiful heroine fell from the sky and a childhood friend tangled with him.
It was only because, given his current circumstances, he might need to cram some knowledge.
But after watching this and that, this so-called "nice guy" male lead did not seem suited to him at all... Dragging things out, being indecisive, would only land him in danger and get him stabbed at any moment.
After all, a woman like Sakuraba Mitsuki was not the type of heroine with no brain. There was only one path to making her compromise.
I came. I saw. I conquered.
"A long road ahead."
The young man sighed and prepared to get into bed. Although there was still enough time to stay up a little, there was no need.
Just before he was about to get into bed...
"Ding-dong~~"
The doorbell of his apartment rang.
Oreki Gen froze, somewhat puzzled. It was almost ten at night. Who would ring his doorbell at this hour?
He frowned and went to open the door.
A figure immediately threw herself over. For a second, Oreki Gen almost thought some strange person was breaking in to rob him in the middle of the night. But very quickly, he smelled an almost overflowing scent of alcohol, and felt the fragrant, soft body leaning against him...
"Mmm~ Oreki-kun, good evening~"
Well, hell. Oreki Gen did not even need to lower his head to roughly understand what was happening.
A drunk mature woman.
A drunk Kikyou Satomi...