Chapter 47: Only Death Can Part Us
"You're way too reckless!"
Akari sat on the back of the scooter, grumbling right into Takumi's ear. He'd panicked when her phone wouldn't pick up—thought something awful happened—so he barged straight into the middle school. Security tried to stop him. In his frantic state he ended up dropping five guards like sacks of potatoes. That brought out the full twenty-something security force—batons, steel forks, capture nets, the works. If he hadn't looked like a student and been empty-handed they'd have called the cops for sure. Things were about to explode until Akari finally showed up, explained it was a misunderstanding, and smoothed everything over. The principal was Dad's old buddy—Haruto's father—so Takumi narrowly avoided getting hauled to the station.
"I was worried sick about you! How was I supposed to know your phone was dead but still ringing instead of going straight to voicemail?"
Takumi sounded genuinely innocent. Akari pinched his side hard from behind.
"You big dummy! Couldn't you just talk to the guards like a normal person? And since when are you that strong? One versus five?!"
"Ow—owowow! Mercy, Your Majesty! That was pure protective instinct exploding out of me. Forgive your loyal subject!"
"Hmph. For your loyal heart, I'll pardon you this once. But thanks to you, the imperial treasury just took a two-thousand-silver hit as war reparations."
Takumi knew she meant the medical bills for the guards he'd floored. He'd been careful—only enough pain to disable them, no real lasting damage—but Akari understood that the principal's influence alone wouldn't bury the incident completely. So she'd dipped into her own savings to cover the costs. With her insane popularity at school (easily on par with Ryūko's fame at the high school) plus the principal stepping in, the whole mess finally died down.
"Ha… so this is ceding territory and paying indemnities? Even though we were the 'victors'?"
"Small countries have no diplomacy. Whatever—I'm appointing you Minister of Finance right now. Figure out how to refill the treasury ASAP."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Your humble servant obeys."
Back home, Takumi first ran a hot bath for his tyrannical little sister, then threw on an apron and started cooking dinner. By the time everything was done he was dead on his feet. A quick cold shower later, he collapsed onto the bed, already half-asleep—when his phone buzzed. LINE message from Nao.
"Good evening, Kouichi-kun. Are you asleep yet?"
"Not yet. Almost though."
"Nao had so much fun today. I really wish you'd transfer over soon."
"Yeah, it'll be soon. Then we can be together every single day."
Takumi desperately wanted to hit that 100 mana points and unlock the Fantasy Shop. There were so many things he could buy there—like the most crucial one: proper IDs for the 2D worlds. Right now he was basically an illegal immigrant every time he crossed over. To actually live in those worlds long-term he needed real identities, homes, families, friends… even implanted memories if he wanted. The demon engraving had already unlocked the shop. Now he could purchase whatever role he qualified for.
Casual background NPCs were the easiest to snag. Later he could even buy supporting characters, or—if he had enough mana—even protagonists or villains. Once he owned the role, he'd be fully integrated. The only limits were his mana pool (it worked like currency) and the rule that he could only replace same-gender characters.
"What do you think of the Akizuki sisters?"
Nao suddenly sent that. Takumi pondered a moment before replying:
"They're both really beautiful."
"Would you… lock them up too?"
"No way. I'm done doing stuff like that."
"Really?"
"Really."
"I don't know why, but I have this feeling they're going to become your next targets…"
Takumi read it and muttered to himself—woman's intuition, huh?—then typed back:
"Don't overthink it. Get some rest."
"Kouichi… say you like me. Say you love me."
"I like you, Nao. I really have fallen in love with you."
"Me too… Even though you kidnapped me at first and forced me to do those naughty things. A normal girl would hate you or be terrified, right? But Nao… Nao's totally broken. I love you so much, Kouichi. I love you to death. I can't live without you. So even if you get new prey, new targets… please don't ever abandon me."
Her heartfelt message completely vaporized Takumi's sleepiness. He couldn't hold back anymore—he activated dimension crossing and appeared right in Nao's bedroom out of thin air.
She was staring at her phone, waiting for his reply, when a shadow suddenly fell over her. She gasped—then saw him. Takumi leaped onto the bed, slipped under the covers, and pulled her into a crushing hug.
"Nao… I know. I really am a pervert. And yeah, I'm way too fickle. But I will never get bored of you and toss you aside. I will never leave you."
He spoke each word deliberately, staring into her eyes:
"Only death can part us."
Hearing that line, Nao's eyes instantly filled with happy tears. She clung to him desperately.
"Kouichi… love me. Hold me."
Takumi knew—this was the moment their feelings had truly boiled over. If he rejected her now, he'd be worse than an animal.
"Are you really sure about this?"
He cupped her soft cheeks in both hands. His whole body pressed heavily down on hers. The scorching hardness between his legs pushed insistently against the space between her thighs. Hot breaths from his nose fanned across her flushed face, making her cheeks burn even redder. He leaned in and gently licked the tip of her delicate nose, then traced the seam of her tightly closed lips. He could feel every tiny tremor running through her body.
"Mmm…!!"
Her voice was tiny—but the determination behind it was unshakable. Her arms wrapped around his waist like she was terrified he might disappear. Nao gazed up at him softly, eyes overflowing with tender affection.
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