Akashi's Imported Sugar skill continued to work its magic, his tiny hands displaying an almost supernatural grip on her body—a two-pronged assault!
Finally, Ran's fear began to subside.
Of course, the real reason for her calmness wasn't just his efforts. The thunder had stopped, and the power outage had lasted only a short while.
She was only afraid of lightning—nothing else.
As the electricity returned, the house was once again bathed in warm, artificial light.
The two of them emerged from the damp, shadowy abyss of darkness back into the brightness of reality.
Under the glow of the incandescent bulb, Ran finally took in the scene before her.
The cute little boy in her arms, still holding onto her tightly.
And her—
She was embracing him.
In that position?
Oh my god.
What was she doing?
This was her little brother!
A jolt of clarity shot through her mind as reason returned, bringing with it a wave of guilt and self-reproach.
Had she just encouraged Akashi to behave like this?
No, no, no—this was wrong!
Instinctively, Ran pushed Akashi away and bolted to her feet.
Without another word, she turned and rushed toward the bathroom.
Once inside, her trembling body leaned against the sliding door for support.
Her long, pale legs—bare beneath her school skirt—refused to stop shaking.
Then, as though they had lost all strength, they gave out entirely.
She sank to the floor.
Meanwhile, the young shota left sitting on the sofa blinked in mild confusion.
That reaction…
It felt oddly familiar.
However, Akashi didn't feel the slightest bit of regret watching Ran flee.
Even if she hadn't run away, he had already planned to put her under hypnosis.
That way, she would fall asleep, and he could move more freely.
After all, it was raining outside now—he couldn't afford any delays in getting back.
He still had an agreement to keep with Shiho.
Casually brushing off his pants, the little succubus stood up.
But then—
A damp sensation.
Glancing down, he noticed his pants were wet.
His expression turned slightly odd.
Shrugging it off, he grabbed his school bag and walked over to the bathroom door.
"Sister Ran, it's getting late. I need to head home now."
"Auntie Eri has been calling for me. I'm leaving first."
Hearing his words, Ran felt a pang of distress.
She wanted to stop him, to ask him to stay.
But she didn't even know how to face him anymore.
As an older sister, how could she have acted that way with Akashi?
He was still so young…
Shame burned inside her. She couldn't even bring herself to look at him.
She should be the one kneeling before him, begging for forgiveness!
The more she thought about it, the worse she felt. Her hands gripped at her hair, messing it up in frustration.
But then—
Silence.
Akashi hadn't spoken again.
The air outside the bathroom was eerily still.
A sudden unease gripped her chest.
Ran quickly slid open the bathroom door and dashed out—
Only to find the third floor completely empty.
At the entrance, even Akashi's shoes were gone.
Rushing to the doorway, she looked down the stairwell.
But there was no one.
Only the relentless downpour outside, hammering against the ground.
She froze.
A hollow feeling settled in her chest, as if something was missing—something irreplaceable.
Akashi had left.
Without waiting for her to come out.
Without even waiting for the rain to let up.
Did he think she was angry with him?
What if he ignored her from now on?
What if… he never forgave her?
A whirlwind of thoughts spiraled through her mind, each one more tormenting than the last.
Little did she know—
The young succubus hadn't thought about any of this.
His only concern at the moment was picking up Shiho.
Ran wanted to chase after him, to brave the storm and bring him back.
But the moment she took a step forward—
Her legs nearly buckled beneath her.
Something… felt off.
She looked down at herself, realization dawning with a mix of shock and embarrassment.
She couldn't go outside like this.
Defeated, she turned back toward the bathroom, her only option clear.
First—
A shower.
Then, she would figure out what to do next.
Alone, young Akashi walked through the quiet streets of Beika Town, holding an umbrella against the rain.
In his item compartment, he had already discarded the small piece of poison-stained plastic.
Instead, he had loaded three fully equipped Colt pocket pistols, tucked neatly inside his schoolbag.
Thanks to the unique properties of his inventory system, he could store an unlimited number of identical items in a single slot.
That was precisely why he had stocked up on multiple pistols—ensuring that, as long as he had enough weapons, he could generate near-unlimited firepower.
This setup also provided another advantage: no matter how much Eri or Yukiko rummaged through his things, there would be no risk of them stumbling upon his weapons. It was a convenient safeguard.
It wasn't that Akashi doubted the success of Shiho's escape plan.
In the original timeline, she had managed to break free from the organization without his intervention.
But now, with his reminders and countermeasures, the odds of success should be even greater.
Still, it was always best to prepare for every possible scenario.
If the escape did fail, he wouldn't hesitate to strike back.
Otherwise, Shiho could be taken away by the organization, and tracking her down again would be nearly impossible.
The Black Organization had countless hidden bases scattered across the globe.
If she disappeared into their network, rescuing her would be an unimaginable challenge.
With these thoughts in mind, Akashi continued walking until he arrived near the Black Dove Pharmaceutical Factory.
A Black Organization base in Tokyo.
It was also where Shiho worked as Codename: Sherry, conducting research on the organization's secretive drug projects.
The facility was heavily fortified.
A military-grade observation tower stood on the first floor, monitoring everything within a 1,500-meter radius in real time.
Any suspicious activity would immediately be flagged, and factory personnel would be dispatched to investigate.
Because of this intense security, attacking the factory head-on had never been an option.
If the assault went smoothly, fine. But if it failed…
That 1,500-meter gap would give the organization enough time to either relocate Shiho or eliminate her entirely.
So, just like in the original timeline, escaping was the best approach.
However, unlike in the original story, Shiho lacked the confidence to go through with it.
Despite developing the APTX drug herself, she wasn't sure she would survive taking it.
After all, neither he nor her sister had died from it, but that didn't mean she was ready to gamble with her life.
That was why Akashi had taken the risk of approaching her last night—to give her the confidence she needed.
And he knew the truth.
She would survive taking APTX.
Even if something went wrong, he had plenty of ways to save her.
At worst, he could administer emergency treatment—preach a little, provide some fluids, whatever it took.
With that resolve, Akashi followed his original plan, making his way to Park, two blocks away from the pharmaceutical factory.
The streets were empty. No pedestrians, no surveillance cameras.
Perfect.
Activating Bandage Control: Level 1, a white bandage materialized out of thin air.
Following his command, the bandage wrapped around the nearby manhole cover and lifted it effortlessly.
Without hesitation, Akashi closed his umbrella and climbed down into the underground passageway.
This subterranean route was beyond the reach of the pharmaceutical factory's observation tower.
A true blind spot—completely unmonitored.
It was the perfect entry point.