Tokyo's North District was considered a relatively remote area, and there weren't any high-end hotels nearby. Even the best one only charged ten thousand yen per night.
That price was already considered cheap in Tokyo.
Toru supported the drunk Shizuka. After checking in at the front desk, he took the room card, went upstairs, and opened the room door.
The hotel room was small, something Toru often complained about. He always felt that Japan was too stingy when it came to space.
Even in those expensive hotels, the room sizes felt cramped to him compared to the hotels he was used to back in the U.S.
"Hiratsuka-san, we're in the hotel room now. Should I help you to the bed to rest?"
Once inside, Toru acted quite gentlemanly. He only lightly supported her slender waist, without any improper contact.
His actions were almost innocent, and he even looked a little shy and awkward.
"I... I want to…"
Drunk and slurring, Shizuka mumbled, her breath full of alcohol.
"What do you want?"
"I want to throw up…"
Toru frowned. No matter how beautiful someone was, vomiting was still unpleasant. He quickly helped her into the bathroom, had her kneel in front of the toilet, and gently patted her back.
She retched, clinging to the toilet, but after a long while, nothing came out.
Seeing this, Toru helped her up again. He walked her through the entryway, took off her coat and high heels, then gently laid her on the bed.
Lying there, her eyes were hazy from the alcohol, but she still seemed somewhat conscious. She fumbled in her pants pocket, pulled out her phone, and with her arm over her face, muttered,
"Fujiwara-kun, add me on Line? I'll pay you back later."
She had been too drunk to pay for the room earlier, so Toru had covered it.
Shizuka shakily opened Line, brought up her QR code, and tossed her phone onto the bed.
Toru had no choice but to pick it up, then opened his own phone and added her as a friend.
"Hiratsuka-san, I'll head back now. Will you be okay by yourself? I've put the trash can next to the bed. If you need to throw up, it's better to do it in the bin."
As he spoke, Toru picked up the trash can from under the table at the foot of the bed and gently placed it by the headboard.
Shizuka covered her eyes with one arm and softly mumbled, "Mm."
Toru lightly covered her with the blanket, then got up and walked out of the room, leaving her lying on the bed.
Just as Shizuka was wondering why he hadn't turned off the light or closed the door, Toru returned.
He was holding a box of milk. When they came in earlier, he'd noticed a vending machine selling milk in the hallway.
Toru placed the milk on the bedside table.
"When you sober up a bit, drink some milk to help with the hangover. If anything happens, message me on Line. Well then, Hiratsuka-san, good night."
He seemed to realize she was too drunk to reply. Toru turned off the main room light, leaving only the hallway light on, so if she woke up in the middle of the night, she wouldn't be disoriented in the dark.
After doing all that, he quietly left and closed the door behind him.
Back in the hallway, Toru bought a bottle of sugar-free drink from the vending machine and gulped down half in one go.
His expression was calm. Gone was the bashful demeanor he'd shown in front of Shizuka, and there was no hint of agitation from being around a beautiful woman.
"This woman clearly drinks often. Her alcohol tolerance can't be that bad. When I was supporting her just now, she looked defenseless, but in reality, she was subtly avoiding my hand from touching any sensitive spots."
"Besides, how could a twenty-six or twenty-seven-year-old woman who's never been in love, never had a boyfriend, and is still a virgin, willingly come to a hotel room with a man she just met?"
"If she were that casual, she'd have gone through boyfriends faster than flipping pages in a book. Tch, people these days are so fake. It's all just bait."
Toru let out a long sigh.
Well, he was setting bait too.
There's a saying: the best hunters disguise themselves as prey. Rather than being a hunter, it was better to act like easy prey and let the other party come after him.
After finding out that the other party was Hiratsuka Shizuka from My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected, Toru had guessed that she was likely one of the heroines. Which meant she could provide him with skills and attribute points.
So he had to handle this carefully.
The cheat system had very strict standards when it came to judging emotions. Just like when he saved Vermouth over a year ago. She already had some feelings for him back then.
But the system didn't register it. It wasn't until recently, after over a year of contact and genuine mutual affection, that he finally gained precious skill points.
In other words, if he wanted attributes and skills, both sides had to truly invest emotionally. Mere deception wasn't enough.
Tricking a woman's body was easy. Tricking feelings wasn't that hard either. But getting both parties to develop genuine emotions was a hassle.
Emotions were the most priceless thing.
So when it came to Shizuka, Toru wasn't after her body. He had to play the long game.
"Who doesn't like sweet and sour romance? But nowadays, even relationships require tactics, and women always come with drama. It's exhausting."
Toru sighed.
Now that he'd been reborn and could attend university again, what he wanted was a youthful, vibrant life, not endless darkness or a dull corporate grind.
But right now, he wasn't in the mood to think about women.
That girl in the white dress he saw at the street corner earlier still weighed on his mind.
"Should I go take a look? Or just head home?"
Toru hesitated for a moment, then decided to go check.
If it's a blessing, it's not a disaster. If it is a disaster, you can't avoid it. That girl in the white dress was likely tied to ghosts. Since he'd already seen her, simply avoiding it wouldn't solve anything. He had to face it head-on.
He touched the pistol in his pocket. For the first time, it didn't give him a sense of security.
(To be continued.)
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