"Are there any fun places in Kyoto?" The weather today wasn't as hot as yesterday. The sky was overcast, hinting at rain, and Kai and Mia were strolling along the street, enjoying the cooler air.
"Of course! Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Yasaka Shrine, and some nearby mountains for hiking," Mia Collins spoke cheerfully, as if she were young again. Ermmm—in fact, Mia often felt younger when she was with Kai.
It wasn't solely because of Kai's [Time] ability, which did restore her body to its most beautiful, youthful state, but her psychological age remained the same.
It was just that being with him made her spirit younger, too. Of course, it was undeniable that it might also be related to Kai's lovemaking...
"Don't you find those places boring? Are they really that interesting?" Kai asked, quite bluntly.
"Girls generally like those things. Haven't you ever been on a date with Yui and the others?"
"Yes, but we usually go to arcades or places like that. Tokyo at least has Akihabara, which is more interesting than here..."
"Kai, honestly! Kyoto has plenty of electronic game centers, too," Mia suddenly grabbed his hand. "But I don't want to go to those places. Just indulge me, please. How about we go to Karaoke together?"
Despite being a mature, married woman whose daughter was Kai's age, she clung to his arm and whined playfully, her voice saccharine sweet.
"Karaoke... If I didn't know your age, Mia, I'd almost think you were a high school girl," Please don't try to act like a young girl, it doesn't suit you.
"Kai!!"
"Cough, cough. Just a joke. I was implying that your appearance is much younger than your actual age. Can't you tell? Beautiful and youthful Mrs. Collins, you don't look almost forty at all... Mhhmph."
"You did it again—"
Age truly was a taboo subject for women, especially mature women like Mia. Even the blessing of [Time] couldn't change that.
Kai had no choice but to agree to Mia's Karaoke request as compensation.
"There are a lot of people..."
Young men and women were constantly entering the Karaoke venue, mostly groups of students, overflowing with youthful hormones. Mature beauties like Mia were less common.
Her presence was intensely alluring, drawing all the surrounding gazes.
Among them were many malicious stares.
There were also many girls dressed as "Gyaru" (Japanese fashion subculture characterized by bold style). The mixture of perfumes made Kai frown. In contrast, while little Ai also wore makeup, she wasn't as heavily made up as these girls...
"I apologize, guests, but we don't have any empty rooms left."
"What?! We finally came here with our friends, and you say you're full?"
"I am truly sorry. Perhaps you could wait for a moment?"
"Wait for what? We clearly saw those two just now..."
"Excuse me? Guests, is there a problem?"
The area behind them became noisy. Kai and Mia had just reserved the very last private room, but before they could walk far, they were stopped by several aggressive-looking boys and girls dressed in the Gyaru style.
"Hey, you two! Wait up!"
A group of cocky boys and girls blocked Kai and Mia. "We saw you reserve a room, right? We don't want to stand here like fools waiting. How about you give us the last room?"
Kai and Mia remained silent, their lips curved slightly as they observed the rebellious teenagers.
"Hey! What are you staring at? We're not asking for it for free; we'll pay, alright? Besides, there are only two of you—why would you need a Karaoke room? Can't you see there are more of us?"
Were the Osaka Gyarus all this arrogant?
And although subtle, Kai sensed the jealousy and cold hostility in their gazes toward Mia. They were clearly envious of her captivating charm. Amidst this group of young girls, the sexy and seductive Mia stood out like a beacon.
It was highly likely that this envy was the reason for their provocation.
The men accompanying the Gyarus were also greedily ogling Mia with vulgar, lecherous eyes. Such a beautiful, full-figured woman was perhaps a sight they hadn't seen before.
"Don't be like that," another man stepped forward to mediate, smiling while he appraised Mia, trying to appear like a good guy. "If you don't mind, why don't we just share the room? We can all be friends."
That's what he said, but in his mind, he was already impatient. The girl he had just met, Saki Yoshida, was pretty, but compared to this sexy beauty, the difference was huge.
If he could get his hands on a woman of this caliber...
Share a room? Wouldn't it be easy to slip her something later? Heh heh...
Unbeknownst to him, his vulgar thoughts were completely transparent to both Mia and Kai.
Mia was largely unfazed. She was often subjected to such stares, and she frequently dealt with people like this in the business world. How could she have survived without the experience to handle them?
However, she disliked their attitude toward Kai.
Mia was about to step forward to confront them, but Kai's outstretched hand stopped her. The powerful businesswoman instantly stood quietly by his side. There was no need for her to deal with these clowns.
Kai merely swept his gaze over them. The power of [Absolute Control] swiftly shattered their mental defenses, paying special attention to the man whose eyes held suppressed lust and lewd thoughts.
"Wha—"
An uncontrollable, terrifying force surged through the man's entire body. He suddenly lost control of himself and, before he could react, his body began to tremble violently.
"Ah!!!"
Pffffft—
A strange, embarrassing odor spread.
He... he pissed himself?
"You—what did you do to me?!"
"Hayato, are you alright? Uh..."
Seeing the man wet his pants, the surrounding Gyaru girls quickly backed away, their faces turning strange. The next second, they also felt the same sensation as him—the feeling of being unable to hold it in, about to burst...
It wasn't just water, it was urine!
"We are so sorry!!"
This kind of public social death would be fatal for a Gyaru girl. If word got out, how could they ever show their faces again? The girls' faces were pale with terror. "We are genuinely sorry! It has nothing to do with us! We—we just wanted a Karaoke room."
One of them was on the verge of tears. "It was Saki Yoshida who suggested we come to Karaoke!"
"Yeah, yeah, if it wasn't for Saki, we wouldn't be here..."
Saki Yoshida?
Kai narrowed his eyes, his gaze suddenly sharpening. He shot a look at the girl hiding in the back whose heart was racing, his penetrating stare sweeping from her face to her feet.
"Is your name Saki Yoshida?" Kai pointed at her. "You, come with me!"
"..."
Oh no, what does he want?
Looking at her companions, the other Gyaru girls gave her a silent look of "you're on your own" and made no move to interfere.
They did not want to experience the terrifying loss of bodily control again.