I turned sharply toward the left, following the voice that cut through the room. There stood a boy about my age.
His long, unkempt black hair draped over half his face, hiding his right eye completely and leaving only his left—dark, sunken, and twitching—to peer out.
His body was thin, almost brittle, like someone who had been living off nerves and spite alone. And on his lips… that smile.
A crooked, trembling, unnervingly eager smile that made my skin crawl.
Irie Kakeru.
The same bastard Eriko had confronted this morning.
The same creep who had earned himself a months-long suspension after his last stunt.
And yet here he was—breathless, disheveled, sweat sticking his hair to his forehead—like he had sprinted across the entire city just to get here.
Why?
How the hell did he know Eriko was being processed for the Conversion Program?
Who leaked it to him?
And why so fast?
My stomach tightened as he staggered closer, panting heavily, shoulders rising and falling like a starving animal that had finally sniffed out meat.
"Kiyoshi… pant… sell her… to me…" he wheezed, voice trembling with a hunger that turned my blood cold.
"Huh?!" I stared at him, my face twisting in revulsion before I even realized it.
This motherfucker.
He really came here to claim Eriko as if she were some discarded item waiting for him to pick up.
As if he had been waiting for this moment.
As if turning her into a love doll wasn't enough.
Disgust boiled into rage.
If we weren't surrounded by government officials, officers, cameras—if this place wasn't a damn minefield—I swear I would've grabbed him by the hair, slammed his head into the floor, and beaten him until he stopped moving.
Until every twitch and every breath left that creepy frame of his.
Just seeing him here made my fists ache.
What the hell did he think Eriko's life was?
Some kind of merchandise he could bargain for?
"Do you know him?" Takayuki asked, glancing between me and Irie with a puzzled expression.
His eyebrows rose slightly, as if he found the whole situation entertaining.
Suppressing the anger twisting in my gut, I forced my voice into something neutral.
"He's… one of my classmates."
Takayuki's eyes widened a little.
"Oh? Then what are you going to do now?"
There was a glint in his eyes—an ugly, probing amusement.
He wasn't asking out of concern.
He was watching, waiting to see what choice I'd make, as if this were some entertainment broadcast.
His expression practically screamed:
Are you going to keep her? Will you let him take her? Will you 'share'? What kind of person are you really?
Disgust crawled up my spine.
These people… these bastards…
Their mindset made me sick.
Made me sick not just at them, but at myself.
In my previous life, I had allowed my rage and betrayal to twist me, and now, seeing how people casually treated human beings like disposable objects—objects to be "assigned" or "owned"—made me feel even more revolted by my past self.
No. I refuse to be like them again. Not ever.
"I've already sent the money,"
I said sharply, pressing the confirmation button on my phone and shoving it forward for Takayuki to see.
"Please complete the transaction."
I didn't even bother looking at Irie anymore.
Staying in this place a second longer felt suffocating.
Every breath tasted like rot.
I needed to get Eriko out of here—away from these people.
Takayuki's phone buzzed, and the moment he saw the notification, his already–sleazy smile widened.
Of course it did — he'd just received his personal cut of the 50,000 yen bribe, perfectly timed with my 200,000 yen payment to the government's account.
He didn't even bother hiding how happy that made him.
Before I could speak, Irie stepped closer, still breathing unevenly, his expression an unsettling mix of desperation and excitement.
"H-Hey, Kiyoshi… listen to me for a second," he said, voice trembling with some twisted eagerness.
"How about… we share her? We can… teach her properly. I'll pay you—way more than what you spent. Okay?"
My jaw tightened so hard it hurt.
Pay me?
Hewas talking about money in front of me?
The absurdity of it made something in me snap.
My mouth twitched, not from amusement — but from the effort it took to keep myself from breaking his nose on the spot.
"Get lost," I said, voice shaking with barely restrained fury.
"She's mine now."
I forced the words out through gritted teeth, each syllable tasting like poison.
My hands curled into fists so tightly my nails bit into my palms.
If we weren't surrounded by government officers and cameras, Irie's face would already be smashed into the floor.
Turning away from him before I did something reckless, I faced Takayuki instead.
"Since I've completed the transfer," I said, keeping my tone steady, "can I take her out of that box myself and bring her home?"
My eyes flicked toward the containment package.
Eriko was still inside, motionless, her expression blank — eyes empty, staring at nothing.
Seeing her like that made my stomach twist.
I needed to get her out of that thing.
But Takayuki shook his head firmly, as if the matter wasn't up for debate.
"No. Delivering a love doll isn't just customer service, kid. We also need to confirm the exact location she'll be staying, verify ownership, and log everything for the department. Protocol is protocol."
I held back a sigh and simply nodded.
"Alright… I understand. Then please hurry."
Hearing the impatience in my voice, Takayuki let out a loud, obnoxious laugh and slapped my shoulder.
"You really can't wait, huh? Fine, fine. I'll move you up in the queue."
He strolled off toward a cluster of uniformed staff, barking a few orders as they began preparing the paperwork and arranging transport.
I could only watch, hands clenched, trying to stay calm.
Meanwhile, Irie—who had been standing there the entire time—continued staring at me with those bloodshot, trembling eyes. His jaw tightened with every second that passed, the fury on his face so raw and twisted it looked like he was seconds away from jumping at me.
That glare… it wasn't jealousy anymore. It was hatred. Pure, venomous hatred.
He looked as though he was plotting a hundred different ways to tear me apart.
His behavior was disgusting, revolting.
But I forced myself to look away, pretending not to notice him.
I couldn't afford a scene.
Not here. Not now.
The only thing that mattered was getting Eriko out of this place and back to somewhere I could keep her safe.
I sighed as I watched them lift Eriko into the back of the delivery truck, her body handled carefully yet lifelessly, like fragile merchandise.
Once the vehicle pulled away, I flagged down a taxi and headed home.
The ride felt twice as long—thirty minutes of nothing but my restless heartbeat and the nagging impatience clawing at my chest.
After I finally reached home, another ten minutes of anxious pacing passed before the doorbell rang.
My package had arrived.
"Please sign here…" the delivery person said, holding out a form that confirmed successful delivery.
I snatched the pen a little too quickly, signed my name, and handed it back.
He then gave me a slim device—Eriko's phone-line remote control—before stepping out and leaving me alone in the silent hall of my home.
Now it was just me… and the package.
I took a deep breath to steady myself.
Then I opened the box, carefully peeling away the protective layers until Eriko's body came into view.
I slid my arms under her and lifted her out.
There was no reaction—not even the slightest twitch.
She sat on the sofa exactly where I placed her, her posture perfectly still.
She really had become like a doll… an eerie, almost unsettling contrast to the lively girl she used to be.
I sat down beside her and finally looked at the remote in my hand.
The small panel displayed several settings—options to adjust her body sensitivity, to select a mode, even to choose a character format.
Each button felt like it could decide what kind of "Eriko" I was about to bring back.
I hovered my thumb over the option labeled Start Without Any Change, ready to activate Eriko as she was, when a sharp mechanical chime suddenly rang through my head.
[Ding! Final condition to synchronize the system has been completed!]
[Detected… opposite gender at your possession!]
[Loading…]
[System initializing completed!]
[Multiverse Pornstar System successfully bound to host!]
[Initial rewards for successful synchronization will be allocated…]
[Loading…]
[Reward: Inventory allocated.]
[Reward: Beginner Package delivered to inventory.]
[Task function has been initialized.]
[Automatic live recording and uploading function has been initialized.]
[Shop function has been initialized.]
[Congratulations! You are now eligible to become the greatest pornstar across the multiverse!]
The messages flooded my vision in rapid-fire succession, bright text appearing one after another without giving me even a single breath to understand what was happening.
It felt like my brain had been hijacked.
"What the—?!" I stumbled back, nearly dropping the remote.
"What the fuck is going on?!"
More notifications flashed, overlapping each other. My pulse spiked.
"W-wait… wait!! Pornstar system?!"
I shouted, the disbelief punching air out of my lungs.
"Are you for real?! This—this can't be happening!"
The room stayed completely silent except for my panicked breathing, Eriko still sitting motionless on the sofa as if none of this concerned her at all.
Meanwhile, I stood frozen, staring at the ridiculous, impossible stream of system messages forcing themselves into my mind.