Her petite, white-socked feet slowly slipped into her shoes.
The girl stood up, glanced back at Fumiya Jin with a straight face, and said, "I'm leaving."
"Itterasshai." Fumiya Jin waved at her.
Nijika froze for a moment, her cheeks flushing red.
She turned back and kicked Fumiya Jin in the shin. "Don't say it like my home is here, okay...? In this situation, you're supposed to say 'Oki o tsukete' (Be careful on your way home), right?"
"It's fine if you think of this place as your home, Nijika." Fumiya Jin said, lowering his head. "How about I get a spare key made for you?"
"I don't need one!" Nijika stuck out her tongue and opened the door to leave.
But just as she stepped outside, she suddenly remembered something.
She turned back, tucked her hair, and said. "Um... I have a performance at Starry tomorrow night. Are you coming?"
"What kind of performance? A band performance?" Fumiya Jin asked.
"Yeah, we scheduled it a while ago, and Ryo and the others have been practicing hard for it. It would be letting them down to suddenly cancel."
"So, at least for this debut... I still want to see it through properly," Nijika said, scratching her cheek. "So, will you... come and watch?"
"Alright, I'll go," Fumiya Jin nodded. "Even if a volcano erupts, the world ends, and all of humanity turns into zombies, I'll be there."
"You don't have to go that far!" Nijika shot him a look. "Well, see you tomorrow..."
The next day.
3:45 PM.
Fumiya Jin walked out of the school gates and let out a long sigh... Today had been an exhausting day.
It was all because the effect of "Loved by All" was too powerful. The moment he entered school today, the gasps from the girls never stopped.
Starting from the break after the first period, there was a constant, unending stream of girls coming to give him love letters and ask for his contact information.
At first, Fumiya Jin found it novel. Being adored by a group of girls wasn't exactly a negative experience.
But as it happened more and more, the novelty wore off, leaving only exhaustion.
After all, Fumiya Jin's aesthetic threshold for beautiful girls had been raised sky-high by the angel Nijika and the top-tier succubus, Yuki Suou.
Ordinary girls were too far from those two in terms of looks to even catch his eye, let alone arouse his "interest."
Throughout the day, just rejecting all the requests had made his throat dry. It was almost more tiring than clearing a small-scale instance.
"Sigh, finally free... I'll go home, rest, change my clothes, and then go find Nijika," Fumiya Jin stretched and prepared to head home.
Ring ring ring ring... his phone suddenly rang.
He took it out and looked...
The contact name was: Kadokawa Shoten - Editor Ando.
Although Kadokawa Shoten was called a "bookstore," it was actually the core publishing house under the Kadokawa Group. The version of "Your Name." that Fumiya Jin had replicated was being published by them.
This Ms. Ando was the editor in charge of liaising with him.
"Hello? Ando-san?" Fumiya Jin answered the call immediately.
"Fumiya-san, good afternoon,"
Ms. Ando was a woman in her forties, who seemed to have two children. She was quite gentle, unlike the terrifying, soul-crushing editors from stereotypes.
"I know this is sudden, but there's a rather urgent and important matter from the publisher's side that requires a face-to-face meeting. It's about the publication of your book. I was wondering if you're free right now?"
The book's publication was Fumiya Jin's next core source of income, so he was quite invested in it.
"I'm free," Fumiya Jin said. "Do I need to come to the publishing house?"
"No need. There's another important person who will be joining us, and considering you're both quite far from the office... let's meet at a café. I'll send you the address via text. How about in half an hour, is that alright?"
"Sure, no problem," Fumiya Jin nodded. That would give him enough time to go home and change his clothes.
After hanging up, Fumiya Jin quickened his pace.
But as he walked...
He suddenly felt something was off.
He tilted his head slightly and glanced behind him.
He didn't see anything.
He raised an eyebrow slightly and continued walking, but changed direction at the next intersection.
Instead of taking his usual route home, he headed into the less crowded backstreets...
Five minutes later.
Fumiya Jin passed an alleyway entrance and walked down a dim, south-facing passage.
About ten seconds later...
A slender figure arrived. She cautiously peeked into the south passage... and was startled.
It looked like a dead end ahead.
Where did he go?
"Clang—"
A crisp sound suddenly came from not far behind her.
It sounded like a small metal object falling on the ground.
The girl was slightly startled and turned to look...
"Smack!"
A figure rushed forward, pinning her against the cold wall.
"Gotcha," Fumiya Jin said, holding the girl's hands. He took a closer look and was slightly stunned.
"You're... Yuki Suou's maid?"
Ayano Kimishima's hands were held fast and her waist was pressed against, making it impossible to move. She looked up, her face slightly pale and her eyes holding a trace of shock, but her expression remained blank.
"Yes...?" Ayano Kimishima responded. "I am Lady Yuki's servant, Ayano Kimishima."
"Why are you following me?" Fumiya Jin raised an eyebrow. "Did your young lady send you?"
"No," Ayano Kimishima shook her head. "Lady Yuki is unaware of this. I came on my own accord. I wish to implore you... to let Lady Yuki go."
"Let her go?" Fumiya Jin was stunned. "What do you mean?"
Ayano Kimishima looked at Fumiya Jin's stunned expression but didn't believe he truly failed to understand, merely lamenting inwardly how this man was a beast in human skin, and a convincing actor at that.
"There's no need to pretend, Fumiya-san. You don't have to hide it. I already know what you've done to Lady Yuki," Ayano Kimishima said, looking at him coldly.
"You must be holding some important leverage over my master, using it to blackmail Lady Yuki and turn her into a vessel for your filthy desires... Am I wrong?"
Fumiya Jin slowly formed a question mark: "?"
"Of course, I know that Lady Yuki's charm as a young woman is unparalleled. For any man, having the opportunity to freely violate Lady Yuki's sacred body, it's almost impossible to expect him to stop and let her go on his own. I won't entertain such an unrealistic fantasy."
Ayano Kimishima had clearly rehearsed her speech in her mind long ago, so her words now flowed smoothly, and her gaze was incredibly resolute.
"Therefore, I've come to you to propose a deal—if you are willing to let Lady Yuki go, I am willing to take her place and endure everything. Of course, I know I'm not as perfect as Lady Yuki, but... whatever you wish to do to me, I will accept it. I can cooperate in any way."
______
✅ Until 40 advanced chapters of ALL stories!
✅ Exclusive content and updates!
Help us hit our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 55 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters of ALL STORIES!
Claim your 40% OFF spot and unlock everything now:
👻 P - Walnutchan