Mina Morita quickly hurried inside. Before fully entering the door, she held the door frame, used her left foot to push off her right shoe, and then did the same for the left, scampering up the stairs.
"Grandma! Grandpa! I'm home!" Mina called out to her grandparents in the living room on the first floor as she went upstairs.
"Grandma, is my brother back?"
"Mina, you're back. Jiro came back a while ago; he should be in his room. Mina, have you had lunch? Do you want to eat something?" Grandma Morita called back from the living room.
In her room, Mina took out the remaining money from her designated box and counted it, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
Mina's monthly allowance was 100,000 Yen. This was because the house was their own, so there was no rent. Things like utilities were paid separately. 100,000 Yen was just barely enough given the cost of living here, as this was the country where strawberries were sold individually and slices of watermelon were obscenely expensive.
However, since she was starting high school, Mina's parents considered this and raised her allowance to 120,000 Yen starting this month.
It was mid-month, and Mina had a good chunk of her allowance left. She counted about 70,000 Yen. Mina hesitated, then took 30,000 Yen. She was afraid that if she didn't give Alistair some money, he would look down on her and leave. The remaining money was more than enough for the rest of the month. If that jerk brother took too much, it wouldn't be her fault.
This was Mina's first "boyfriend"; she had to maintain this relationship carefully.
It didn't matter if the remaining money wasn't enough; she could just say the jerk brother stole it. Her grandparents would definitely believe her brother was the thief, as he had a record, and they wouldn't call the police, saving Alistair any trouble. Still, it was better to try and prevent her brother from stealing it while the grandparents were here and while there might be other unexpected expenses.
After carefully putting the rest of the money away, Mina walked to her brother's room. She hesitated for a moment, then decided not to knock. Instead, she stood outside and texted him.
Mina didn't want to see her asshole brother.
[Mina's Text]: "Vance-kun is waiting for you outside the door. He's the one who beat you up this morning. He wants to talk to you. Get out there now!"
Mina's tone was utterly impolite. With Alistair backing her, her words were sharp, and she wasn't afraid of her bastard older brother at all.
Jiro Morita was curled up and shivering under his duvet. Receiving the text, he frantically threw off the covers. He didn't even stand, scrambling directly towards the window to peek out at the front door.
A cute, well-behaved looking boy in a school uniform was standing there. To anyone else, he looked like a model student, but in Jiro Morita's eyes, he was an absolutely terrifying demon.
Alistair was looking over the house's layout. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the familiar patsy—cough, senior—and smiled, waving at him. He then held up five fingers and, to Jiro Morita's horror, curled his thumb into his palm—he was counting down!
Jiro Morita was already terrified. Then Alistair curled his little finger, making it three!
Thinking of the punch he took this morning, Jiro was so scared he scrambled to open his door, practically rolling down the stairs. He rushed out without even putting on his shoes.
"Jiro! Jiro! What's wrong? Why are you in such a rush?"
His grandfather was stunned by Jiro's behavior. His grandmother recovered quickly and hurried out after him.
Outside, Grandma Morita saw her usually rude grandson talking to someone who clearly looked like a well-behaved student, completely different from his usual delinquent friends.
Alistair saw the elderly woman emerge. He stopped his attempt at intimidation, feeling a little helpless, but greeted the older woman politely. "Grandma, hello. I'm Jiro and Mina's friend. I just needed to talk to them briefly. It won't take long. Please go back inside and rest."
"Oh, goodness, goodness. Young man, please come in and sit down, take a rest. I'll make you some Oolong tea."
Grandma Morita was delighted to see such a polite, good student. She was pleased that her grandchildren were making such respectful friends, and she eagerly invited Alistair inside.
"No, no, thank you, Grandma. I have some things to do soon, so I won't bother you. I'll be going now!"
Alistair waved his hand, declining the grandmother's warm invitation. He turned back to Jiro Morita and whispered, "That's it. Remember to send me your mother's phone number. If you don't do as I say, the consequences are your own to bear~"
Then, Alistair gave him a warm smile that made Jiro feel like he'd plunged into an ice cellar. Jiro shrank his neck. He wasn't actually very brave, only daring to extort money based on his senior status. If Alistair asked him to resist, sorry, he couldn't do it.
Jiro's face crumpled. He dejectedly walked back inside, ignoring his grandmother.
The grandmother looked helpless and followed him inside.
As soon as Jiro entered, he was collided with by Mina Morita, who was rushing down the stairs. Mina stumbled but managed to catch herself, almost dropping the bag she was holding.
It would be terrible if the secret surprise for Alistair inside were exposed. Luckily, she didn't drop it.
Mina breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing her grandmother, she ignored Jiro and addressed her directly. "Grandma, I'm going to a friend's house today, and I'll be staying there overnight. We'll go to school together tomorrow."
Mina dared not mention 'him,' using only 'friend' instead. Unlike in English, the Japanese words for 'he' and 'she' are clearly different. It would be troublesome if she were overheard.
Grandma nodded, agreeing. Her granddaughter was usually obedient, and she didn't worry about the friends she made. Now that both her grandchildren had friends worth keeping, the grandmother was very relieved.
This was certainly better than constantly staying alone in their rooms.
"Then I'm leaving now, Grandma."
Before leaving, Mina shot Jiro a warning glare from behind her grandmother, telling him not to speak out of turn. Mina now considered herself Alistair's woman, naturally making her much bolder and more domineering with her asshole brother.
It was a world where only Jiro Morita was hurt.
Meanwhile, Alistair, who was about to obtain Mina's mother's phone number, was in a great mood.
According to the beautiful woman rule of the adult-themed 2D world, a mother with such a good-looking daughter must be attractive herself. What was the expression? Ah, right: a ripe peach! Although he hadn't seen her, in this adult-themed 2D world, Mina's mother would undoubtedly look impossibly young and beautiful on the surface.
Since that was the case... first, he definitely needed to let them know about how Mina was being severely "bullied" by him. But he needed to control the timing of that reveal—it couldn't happen immediately.
Parents who care about their child would definitely rush back if they found out. However, they wouldn't be able to return right away, especially since, according to Mina, they were working abroad.
By the time they returned, Mina would likely be Alistair's shape, inside and out...
So, what should he do next? That would depend entirely on Alistair's manipulation.