Sakura POV
I walked toward the bus station. I felt dizzy. My body was still warm. It was all because of Makoto. He was such an insensitive man. How could he be so rough with a tied-up girl? Geez. If I hadn't agreed beforehand, I would've sued him into oblivion.
Well… it felt good. I guess. Hah… I could still feel my crotch tingling. How many times did I climax there? Two times? Three times? Ugh… I think I passed out more than once. My body had surrendered completely under his thumb. If I hadn't passed out, how many times would I have cum? Just thinking about it made my body tremble. This is bad. I was really turning into a slut.
As I entered my house, I saw my aunt and uncle having dinner with a man I didn't know. Was that Alex? The guy they'd been chummy with—the one who wanted to buy my house for cheap? Or was it his brother? The adventurer with, like, seven scandals in court?
"Ah, Sakura. Why did you come home so late? Here, say hello to Mr. Alex," my aunt said.
"…Hello." I looked at him warily. If looks could kill, he would probably be dead by now.
"Hello, Sakura. I'm Alex. I believe this is my first time meeting you. I've known Mr. and Mrs. Yuuki for several years, and they told me you wish to become a doctor. If I may ask, which university are you aiming for?"
"I'm not interested in selling the house, Mr. Alex."
"Sakura, that's not how you talk to someone!" my aunt scolded me. I glared at her.
"It's fine, Mrs. Yuuki. Well, Sakura, right? If you do not want to sell the house, how about a loan with this house as collateral? If you become a successful doctor, I am sure you could pay off your debt in no time."
I blinked. I'd expected him to intimidate me into selling the house, but he backed down and offered a loan instead. I hesitated.
"What are the terms?" I asked.
"Well, let's not talk about business this late at night. You can discuss it tomorrow at my office. Your aunt bought you dinner. Let's eat," Alex said.
"Okay," I nodded.
"See? Alex is a good guy. Come on, let's eat. I bought pizza for both of you. By the way, Sakura, where have you been?"
"I was at a friend's place."
"Was it a male?" my aunt asked. She smiled, but I could tell her smile didn't reach her eyes.
"Yes."
"You shouldn't be too close to boys your age, Sakura. You shouldn't sell yourself short. There are better men out there—such as Alex's brother, right? He's an adventurer!"
"Yes. He's an A-rank adventurer. He's also the vice-captain of his guild. The guild is currently ranked seventh across Japan. Would you like to meet him?" Alex said. "I can contact him."
"Erm… I'll think about it."
"Please think about it, my dear. If you marry Alex's brother, you're set for life. Ohohoho."
"Ahahaha. I don't know about that. Adventuring is dangerous, ma'am. They may get paid a lot, but the risks are just as high. Let's not talk about marriage yet—they haven't even met. Haha."
Alex and my aunt were coddling each other. It was disgusting. There is no way an A-rank adventurer doesn't have suitors yet. He must have had girls all over him. I will be just one girl he had slept with.
"Of course. My apologies. Here—let's drink. Would you like some beer?" My aunt entertained Alex as if he were a VIP in my house. I hate it. These guys and their fake smiles.
After dinner, I bathed and plopped onto my bed. Should I take his offer? Even with potions from dungeons, doctors were still needed in this world, and they were paid well. If I took a loan, I could repay him once I was employed. Then I could be with Makoto without feeling like a leech.
But becoming a doctor would take at least five years of education. I doubted he would wait that long. Moreover, the path ahead would be difficult. Doctors are the hardest majors among other things. If I wanted the easy path, I should have become an accountant or something. I could then pamper Makoto when he came back from his adventuring job.
"Wait a minute! It's not like I'm falling in love with him!" I stood on my bed, feeling ashamed. We were just sex buddies! Why was I treating him like a boyfriend? But you only did that kind of stuff with someone you liked, right? At the very least, Makoto must have some feelings for me… right? This relationship could work. Probably. He knew my fetish, so we'd match well in bed.
But I didn't know anything about him. Despite him being my childhood friend, I didn't even know his birthday. I only knew that he was a weeb—or a nerd—and nothing else. Ugh… our relationship really started from the wrong angle.
Maybe I should go to his house tomorrow. No—he had adventuring business tomorrow. Ugh… he must be meeting that girl again. Damn it. They were both adventurers too. I couldn't compete!
"Makoto, you cheater. We already did so much together…" I shouted into my pillow as I pummeled it. Envy and jealousy surged within me as I imagined Makoto's date with that adventurer girl tomorrow.
"Should I give up on him? No, we have the same fetish. I can win this. That girl is only a coworker. Yes—just a coworker. Adventuring is only a job."
I then drifted off to sleep as exhaustion from today's play finally hit me.
Makoto POV
"Achoo!" I sneezed in the middle of the night as I collated what had happened with Sakura into my personal video.
[You have completed mission:
Make the target orgasm 5 times in less than 2 hours
You have 290 Essence Shards remaining.]
[New Mission unlocked:
Make the target orgasm 20 times in less than 2 hours.]
I was more than halfway there. Only 210 Essence Shards to go and I could select my second target. When I checked Sakura's stats, I was elated to see that her bond with me had increased to 25. Just five more, and I would clear another mission.
As I edited the videos from my security cams, my thoughts wandered to dungeon exploring with Yuuno tomorrow. Dungeon exploring didn't bring any shards at all. Without shards, I couldn't grow my powers. I would prefer to focus on Sakura—but being an adventurer was the most lucrative job there was. There was no reason not to take it.
I didn't intend to become a top-tier adventurer. Being an E-rank adventurer was enough. Yeah—even with a blessing, I had no real power. Not yet. I was just a mediocre guy. But without this blessing, I might have rotted away as a corporate slave or fast-food cashier somewhere for the rest of my life.
A few moments later, I finished editing the video from the security cameras in my apartment and named it Sakura's Training Diary #2. I then hid it inside a secret hard drive and went to sleep.
I yawned as the teacher cast his sleep spell in the classroom. My thoughts drifted away from Sakura and dungeon exploring. His boring history lesson went in one ear and out the other. One thing I did notice, though, was how Sakura kept eyeing me during class.
Her eyes were scary. What did she want?
"Lord Makoto! Are you well today? Would you like a pudding? I made one especially for you!" Nijima approached me, holding out a store-bought pudding. What a con artist! She might have peeled off the labels, but I recognized those shapes and taste.
"Makoto! Hello! I am—"
"Hey, don't steal our introduction!"
"We came first!"
A bunch of girls suddenly crowded around me. My eyes darted toward Nijima and Sakura. Sakura immediately shook her head, while Nijima whistled. This bitch. I didn't know whether she was trying to curry favor with me or harass me. Why did she spill my personal information?
Well, it was my fault. I shouldn't have told her in the first place. They said rumors traveled faster than light—someone must have overheard us yesterday.
"I want to sleep. If you keep pestering me, I'm going to report you," I said. The girls calmed down and left, eyes downcast. Even so, I could still see some of them watching me through the windows or from their seats. This school was going to be hell for me.
"Makoto. Are you joining a guild?" Sakura came over, holding a sandwich from the cafeteria.
"No. I think I'll go indie for now—at least until I finish school," I replied, biting into my boxed lunch.
"I see. You're not going to have a permanent party with her?"
"Well… dunno. I don't want to make commitments right now," I muttered. I hated commitments.
"Well… great, then. So it's just a temporary party, huh…?" Sakura brightened at once.
"I see. Even though you're blessed, you're just a weakling, huh? Why partying against goblins? Hah… acting so high and mighty. You're just a talentless Makoto after all," Nijima said. Every time this flat-chested bitch spoke, it grated on my nerves. But I didn't argue with her. This was a chance to lower my reputation.
"Well, yeah. I just fought goblins the other day, and it was seriously scary. I think I almost died. I can fight one, but I don't think I'd survive if I fought many of them at the same time."
"Pfft! Hahaha. You can't even beat a goblin. Aren't they the weakest monsters? I shouldn't have bothered with you! Let's go, Sakura. There's no need to pander to this loser anymore."
"No. I think I'll stay," Sakura said.
Nijima left, rejoining her clique. She waved at Sakura, and Sakura waved back.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay with them?"
"No. It's fine. Nijima is my friend, but her world view of men… I don't really like it. Well, unlike her, I don't really care about your adventuring business. If adventuring is hard for you, you can stop, you know. There are other jobs in this world, right? Do you want to be an adventurer, Makoto?"
"Dunno." I shrugged. Her words didn't reach me. I'd stopped listening to women's advice and compliments ever since Mom left me. Women couldn't be trusted.
"Well… good luck, then. Um… will you be free on Wednesday?"
"What? Do you want to play?" I perked up. Was she already addicted to our play? That would be wonderful. She was much easier than I'd expected.
"Not that! You idiot! Pervert! Degenerate!" She hit me with the books on the table. Then she looked down, her cheeks flushed. "I mean… just hang out. Like eating at a restaurant or watching a movie or something…" Sakura muttered.
I tilted my head.
Was she asking me out on a date?