After her bath, Shiina Mahiru lay on her bed, silently crying.
After a good while, she managed to calm down a little.
She reflected carefully for a moment and realized that she herself was largely to blame for how things had developed. She couldn't put all the blame on Lin Mu.
She knew how cute she was; from elementary school to high school, everyone had always said she was a girl like an angel. Every day, her shoe locker would be filled with a pile of confession letters.
Although Lin Mu was a bad guy for taking advantage of her vulnerability, the fact that she had allowed him to do as he pleased was also a mistake.
The thought of how she had given up on herself yesterday, telling him he could do whatever he wanted, made her cheeks grow even hotter.
Images from last night flashed through her mind, causing Shiina Mahiru's heart to race and her cheeks to flush a deeper shade of crimson. The memory of those risqué scenes threw her heart into chaos.
And it wasn't just last night. That guy had made a move on her again just now.
That strange sensation seemed to still be coursing through her body, making her subconsciously cover her mouth.
"I hate him... Why am I thinking about that bad guy? That shameless pervert."
It seems he's my neighbor, too...
No, I can't let him find out. Otherwise, he'll definitely keep pestering me.
Her attention successfully diverted, Shiina Mahiru no longer had time to dwell on her sad family situation. She immediately called the school to take a day off. She had no intention of going to class today.
Besides... it was still a little sore down there... she needed to rest...
Lin Mu saw all of Shiina Mahiru's actions and couldn't help but sigh.
Having just awakened his memories, he hadn't had time to properly sort out information about this world yet. The fact that Aki Tomoya had choked to death on water seemed strange no matter how he looked at it.
Moreover, searching through his memories, he was surprised to discover that this world had the Yukinoshita Zaibatsu, the Shinomiya Zaibatsu—known as the heart of the nation, with its heir being a girl named Shinomiya Kaguya—and that the second-largest conglomerate was the Sanzenin Zaibatsu, followed closely by the Saginomiya family.
He continued to search his memories and made an even bigger discovery.
In middle school, he had a classmate named Katsura Kotonoha, and another with blonde pigtails named Eriri.
His current location was Kyoto, and the biggest school here was his own, Seiho Imperial Academy.
From the moment he saw Aki Tomoya, he knew this world wasn't simple.
It seemed to be a massive crossover world.
In that case, his targets for familiars were also very clear.
Could there be any higher-quality familiars than the female leads of various series?
Therefore, his future plan was set: contract more familiars, obtain more powers, become the strongest demon, and establish his own backyard harem—the Empire of Mu.
Just as he was contemplating his future ambitions, a knock came from the door.
He opened it to see a spirited-looking beautiful girl with her hair tied up in a high ponytail.
The girl bowed to him politely and handed over a gift bag.
"Hello, I'm Aoyama Nanami, I just moved in next door. This is just a small gift, it's a pleasure to meet you. Please take care of me in the future."
"Ah, the pleasure is all mine. I'm Lin Mu."
Lin Mu quickly replied, though he was incredibly shocked on the inside.
Aoyama Nanami, from The Pet Girl of Sakurasou, a hardworking girl who juggled multiple part-time jobs for her dream of becoming a famous voice actress by getting into a voice actor training agency.
"Um, Lin Mu-san, I still have to greet the other neighbors, so I won't disturb your rest."
"Okay, you go ahead."
Lin Mu nodded with a smile but didn't go back into his room.
Aoyama Nanami smiled politely and then knocked on Shiina Mahiru's door.
Shiina Mahiru subconsciously called out, "Who is it?"
"Ah, I'm Aoyama Nanami, I just moved in next door. I came to say hello."
Hearing this, Shiina Mahiru opened the door and accepted Aoyama Nanami's gift. Accepting a housewarming gift from a neighbor is basic courtesy; if you refuse, they might think you look down on them.
Shiina Mahiru politely greeted Aoyama Nanami, but her smile froze when she suddenly saw Lin Mu standing nearby.
It's over!
He knows I live right next door to him!
Her carefully laid plan was instantly ruined.
Shiina Mahiru quickly and politely bid farewell to Aoyama Nanami and swiftly closed her door.
Aoyama Nanami, meanwhile, continued on to visit the other neighbors.
A short while later.
A knock sounded on Shiina Mahiru's door.
"Who is it?" Shiina Mahiru asked subconsciously, feeling a little nervous.
"It's me, Lin Mu."
"..."
After a long silence, Shiina Mahiru sighed and spoke from behind the door, "What do you want?"
Lin Mu shamelessly spoke up.
"Shiina-san, I just got out of the hospital and haven't prepared any groceries. Could I come over to your place for a meal?"
"No! Go buy a bento from the convenience store yourself!"
"Oh..."
Lin Mu replied with a dejected tone and slowly walked away.
Hearing his departing footsteps, Shiina Mahiru breathed a sigh of relief, but she also felt a little upset. She felt bad for refusing his request for a meal.
Actually, it's just a meal, it wouldn't have been a big deal. He just got out of the hospital and used up so much... stamina...
Mmph...
I can't think about this anymore.
He brought that stamina drain on himself.
Serves him right for bullying me!
With that thought, Shiina Mahiru's guilt vanished. She put on an apron, tied her long golden hair into a ponytail, and started cooking. She was hungry too; crying takes a lot of energy. Besides, she was the one who had been pinned down and bullied by him.
Lin Mu, having failed to secure a free meal, had no choice but to go to the convenience store to buy a bento and also stock up on some groceries for his fridge.
Lin Mu was growing more and more excited about this world.
Since Aoyama Nanami had appeared, didn't that mean the airheaded pet girl, Shiina Mashiro, would also show up?
He wondered what kind of ability that girl—who was always drawing, her mind as pure as a blank sheet of paper—would grant him after becoming his familiar.
Also, Shiina Mahiru and Shiina Mashiro... their names were so similar. Could they be related? The fact that both were blonde made the possibility of them being relatives even higher.
Returning home, Lin Mu put the groceries in the fridge and stared at his bank account balance, lost in thought.
He had about 200,000 yen left. It sounded like a lot, but converted to Chinese Yuan, it was only about 9,918 RMB. Factoring in the high cost of living in Japan, this amount of money was nowhere near enough.
So, did that mean he had to get a part-time job?
Lin Mu sighed. He never thought that even after being reincarnated, he would still have to become a corporate slave to earn money.
Wasn't there a faster way to make money?
Considering his super-recovery ability, becoming a host would be a good choice. But Lin Mu had no desire to sell his smiles; it was beneath his dignity as a demon. Although other Demon Lords have worked part-time jobs, he wanted a job where he could earn money comfortably.
Stroking his chin in thought, Lin Mu decided to go back to his old profession: becoming a light novel author.
Since the female leads from all sorts of anime were present in this world, it stood to reason that the light novels associated with them didn't exist here.
He checked on his phone and found that the most popular light novel at the moment was a school romance story titled Love Metronome, written by an author named Kasumi Utako.
It has to be you, the black-stockinged senpai that Eriri calls 'Kasumi-old-hag,' Utaha Kasumigaoka!
It made sense. If Aki Tomoya could appear and choke to death on water, then it wasn't surprising that the fair-skinned and beautiful senpai, Utaha Kasumigaoka, would also exist. He just didn't know which school she attended.
As Lin Mu thought about the senpai's black stockings, he subconsciously compared them to Shiina Mahiru's, but he couldn't come to a conclusion. He hadn't officially met her yet, and this was a real world for him; the characters would naturally have differences from their anime depictions. This was also why he hadn't recognized Shiina Mahiru at first glance.
Lin Mu was a man of action. Once he decided on something, he did it.
Since he had decided to write light novels, he naturally had to scan through the currently popular genres.
And upon scanning...
Wow, several more familiar names popped up.
For example, the doujin artist Kashiwagi Eri, and also... Eromanga Sensei.