It was a spur-of-the-moment idea.
With the ring, Ōmon Naoko could cut through red tape like butter. After all, the only real obstacle in any organization was miscommunication—and hypnosis solved that in one whisper.
"Naoko, you've been working yourself to the bone." In front of every woman present, Su Ze planted a firm kiss on her crimson lips.
Soft as ever.
In the surface world he'd never dare. In the hidden world? It fit the aesthetic perfectly.
Surface me cowers; hidden me throws haymakers!
Yukinoshita Yōno: Heh.
Envy shimmered in every pair of eyes.
"Master…" Naoko's gaze misted. Lower down, too.
"This is for you." Su Ze took her pale hand and slid the Hypnotic Ring onto her ring finger.
The women saw a violet cat's-eye gem, tasteful and mysterious—and on the ring finger.
"I want one!" Rena instantly latched onto his arm, rubbing like a needy bunny, twin rabbits bouncing.
"Ze-kun, is that a wedding ring?" Sakura pouted.
Hmph! Why does the principal get the proposal ring? Clearly Mom's not trying hard enough.
"So pretty…" Natsumi's eyes sparkled.
Kyoko's gaze turned hungry. She quietly slipped off the novelty "mood" ring she'd worn for fun, a pang in her chest.
She'd been just as swamped—no days off. Why not her?
"Quiet down. This one's special—it can hypnotize people." Su Ze pinched Rena's cheek. "Naoko handles bureaucracy and outsiders. With this, everything smooths out."
Now the envy doubled.
Rena kept fussing until Su Ze promised goodies for everyone later. Only then did she settle.
Naoko admired the ring, heart swelling, but caught Kyoko's dejection. After a beat she offered, "Kyoko's been helping me nonstop. Can I lend it to her sometimes?"
Scarcity breeds resentment; equity breeds peace. As leader, she knew the rule. And Kyoko was her sister in arms.
"Of course—but never on our own people. That's the red line." Su Ze's tone was steel.
"Understood." Naoko nodded solemnly.
"Thank you, Naoko-nee." Kyoko managed a smile.
Every woman craved recognition for her sweat. She might be Su Ze's exclusive pet, but favoritism still stung.
In a hentai MC's shoes, he'd just rail her till the hurt vanished. Su Ze was more human.
Kyoko felt a tap. Something cool slipped into her palm.
A ring!
Joy flared. She whipped around—Su Ze winked.
[Kyoko's Affection +750]
"Wow, those mice—are they Ze-kun's too?"
Sakura and the others were already distracted by the bustling Infrastructure Saburos.
Each Saburo hefted loads dozens of times its size—zipping across lawns, scaling walls, painting, drilling, screwing, tiling… every motion a choreographed dance.
Forty thousand Desire Points bought perfection.
Mountains of materials on the field shrank by the minute.
Su Ze watched, then frowned. Even at night, this was too conspicuous.
Discovery meant headaches.
He burned points on a campus-wide holographic projector—99% fidelity. A flawless illusion swallowed the construction zone.
"Amazing!"
"Ze-kun, another souvenir from another world?"
"Another world? I thought you were from the future!"
Su Ze basked in their gasps, grinning.
He remembered the first projector—disposable, because he'd been stingy. Now, staring at 800,000+ Desire Points, he felt… nothing.
So this is what money feels like. Goddamn refreshing.
"Enough gawking for now." Su Ze raised a hand. "Important question: dorms are rubble. Where do we sleep?"
Blank stares.
Especially from Naoko, Kyoko, Natsumi, and Mafuyu—the four who'd lived on campus.
"Oh crap, where do we stay?!" Natsumi clapped a hand to her mouth, horrified.
Not sending me home, right? She'd rather die than face that house.
"Seven nights in a hotel?" Kyoko groaned.
"My apartment's big enough—three bedrooms, two baths," Naoko offered. Eight people could squeeze.
"No way, my house!" Rena shot her hand up.
Sakura's lips parted. Her family home was huge, but she still felt her father held the reins—even after Su Ze had turned his bed into an Oreo.
"Ahem." Su Ze cleared his throat. "Rena's place. Been ages since I saw Rihwa."
The moment he'd spotted Rena, he'd started craving that family set meal.
"YES!" Rena leapt.
Half an hour later, the Mercedes rolled up to the Kurashiki residence.
Kurashiki Rihwa jolted awake at the commotion. Hearing Su Ze and Rena, she padded out in silk pajamas.
"Rena, what in the world—" Rihwa's brain short-circuited at the crowd. Principal, teachers, all of them?
"Mom, these are the academy staff. They're crashing here a while." Rena saw the storm brewing in her mother's brow and added with a cheeky grin, "Ze-kun's orders~"
"Honestly, no warning, just dragging a whole entourage home…" Rihwa's fuse fizzled. She grumbled, but the fight drained out.
Languid in loose satin, she was a vision. Su Ze's blood roared.
He stepped forward, wrapped an arm around her plush waist, and claimed her mouth in a deep, public kiss.
The air turned syrupy.
"Eh?! That's Rena's mom?" Kyoko's brain blue-screened.
"Mom's Ze-kun's girlfriend too." Rena snapped her fingers, smug.
Su Ze's hands drifted lower, cupping that heart-stopping rear. The heat inside him climbed.
"Okay, okay—guests are watching." Rihwa pushed him off, cheeks flaming.
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