Next Target, 600PS!!
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A woman in a white dress with disheveled hair crawled out of the dry well.
She was visibly getting closer.
Thinking it was just a prank, Sayuri wasn't afraid at first. But for no apparent reason, the temperature in the living room plummeted. A sudden chill crept over her skin, raising goosebumps along her arms.
'What is happening?' She used to watch horror movies alone all the time and never felt anything like this.
A second later, the nightmare worsened.
The woman on the screen actually reached a hand out of the television. Then her head emerged, followed by half her torso. Finally, her entire body crawled right onto the living room floor.
'WHAT... WHAT IS THIS??' Sayuri wanted to run, but her body felt glued to the spot. She couldn't move an inch. She tried to scream for help, but no sound came out.
She could only watch helplessly as the eerie woman dragged herself closer, inch by creeping inch.
'It's over! It's over! Am I actually going to die here?'
"Mom?"
Just as the terrifying figure was inches away, Eriri's voice echoed from the top of the stairs.
Whoosh.
The suffocating atmosphere vanished in an instant. Sayuri gasped for air, her chest heaving as cold sweat drenched her clothes.
Eriri, who had just come down to get a glass of water, looked at her mother in confusion.
"E-Eriri! Did you see anything just now?"
"See what?" Eriri frowned. "What is there to see? I just saw you staring blankly at a black TV screen!"
"A black screen?"
What black screen? Wasn't I just watching a movie? But when Sayuri looked back, the television was indeed off.
The box Tomoya Aki had brought was sitting quietly on the coffee table, looking exactly as if it had never been opened.
It was as though everything she just experienced was a hallucination.
Was it all fake?
No. That visceral terror felt far too real to be an illusion.
"Mom? Are you okay?"
Despite her usual tsundere attitude, Eriri actually cared deeply about her mother.
"I... I'm fine!"
Sensing a real danger she couldn't explain, Sayuri decided not to drag her daughter into it. She just shook her head.
"I'm going to take a shower. I'm just a little tired today."
Without waiting for a response, Sayuri hurried off to the bathroom.
"..."
Eriri watched her go, thoroughly bewildered by the bizarre behavior. Still, she didn't pry. She grabbed her water and headed back upstairs.
Inside the bathroom, Sayuri didn't actually shower. She waited a few minutes until she heard Eriri's footsteps retreat to her bedroom.
Then, she opened the door and slipped back into the living room.
'Something is very wrong here.' She walked over to the coffee table and opened the box. The videotape was resting inside. Was her mind really playing tricks on her? No. She refused to believe it was just a trick of the light.
Yet, science couldn't explain what had just happened.
Unable to make sense of it, Sayuri dialed Tomoya's number several more times to ask about the box. The calls went straight to voicemail.
Left with no other options, she had to set her fears aside for now. It was getting late, and she needed to start preparing dinner.
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The next morning.
When Kai woke up, he was careful not to disturb Sakiko.
While preparing breakfast, he remembered the uncollected quest rewards from the previous night. He had been a bit too preoccupied to check the system then.
[Congratulations to the Host]
[Reward: 100,000 Yen in cash]
[Congratulations to the Host]
[Reward: A complete luxury skincare set]
[...]
He received several standard, mundane rewards in a row. It made Kai sigh.
The drop rate really was hit or miss.
Still, he was used to it. He wasn't lacking anything at the moment anyway. Better than nothing.
But just as he assumed he hit a dry spell, the final reward popped up and made him freeze.
[Congratulations to the Host]
[Reward: Reverse Cursed Technique]
"???"
Reverse Cursed Technique? It actually dropped.
He had planned to use the Mangekyou Sharingan's copying ability to slowly figure out the mechanics himself, but the system just handed it to him on a silver platter.
It saved him a massive amount of time.
Now this feels like a proper cheat... As he claimed the reward, Kai felt the intricate knowledge of Reverse Cursed Technique burn into his mind. Without hesitation, he began converting the negative output of his Cursed Energy into positive energy.
He channeled the healing energy directly toward his eyes.
A cooling sensation washed over his vision. The faint, lingering dryness from overusing the Mangekyou Sharingan the day before vanished entirely. His eyesight felt sharper than ever.
"If I don't have to worry about the physical backlash of the Sharingan anymore..."
The true terror of the Mangekyou wasn't just its unique abilities.
It was the ultimate defense—Susanoo!
His Dual Kamui Mangekyo Sharingan possessed the power to manifest a full-body Susanoo, unlike Obito's single-eye handicap.
That meant he could spam Susanoo whenever he wanted.
If he wasn't currently standing inside a cramped apartment, he would have activated it just to test it out.
"Kai-kun?"
Amid his excitement, Sakiko's voice called out from the bedroom. Waking up and not finding him beside her made her tone anxious.
Kai set his things down and walked back in.
"What, afraid I ran away?"
He smiled and sat on the edge of the bed. Sakiko looked like a delicate, wilted flower. Seeing him, she nuzzled against his side like a clingy kitten.
"I just missed you." She knew he wouldn't leave. But having just crossed that threshold, she couldn't bear to be separated from him for even a second.
"..."
Catching his drift, a faint blush spread across her cheeks. She looked up at him anyway.
"If you want, I can..."
"Alright, easy now."
That exact mindset was why he accidentally went overboard last night. With her current stamina, she wouldn't be able to handle another round.
"Do I look like the kind of guy who doesn't care about your limits? You stay here and rest today. I have some errands to run anyway, so it's the perfect time for you to catch up on sleep."
They hadn't gotten much rest last night, after all.
"Errands?"
That caught her attention.
"Yeah, some stuff related to the novel. Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
He spoke casually, making it sound like a routine business matter.
"Alright then."
Lacking any reason to suspect him, Sakiko nodded and settled back under the covers.
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A little while later.
Exhaustion took over, and Sakiko fell fast asleep.
Kai quickly freshened up and headed out the door.
He had agreed to meet Yui Yuigahama at a station in Ginza.
Stepping off the train, he immediately heard her voice.
"Kai-kun!"
"Yui."
He smiled and waved.
But when he noticed Yumiko Miura standing right next to her, he raised an eyebrow.
He hadn't paid much attention to Yumiko's recent antics, so he genuinely hadn't expected her to show up for their date.
"What, surprised to see me?" Yumiko was initially caught off guard by his arrival, but seeing the surprise in his eyes fueled her irritation. She couldn't help but snap.
"Not really. If you're volunteering to be a third wheel, I don't mind."
Kai shrugged, looking unfazed.
"Tch! I came out to hang with Yui. If anyone is a third wheel here, it's you!"
"Is that right?"
A playful smirk touched his lips.
He smoothly pulled Yui by the waist and, before anyone could react, leaned down and kissed her.
"P-People are watching!" Yui protested weakly, her face flushing red, though her eyes were filled with deep affection.
Kai didn't reply. He just shot Yumiko a pointed look.
Who's the third wheel now?
"..." This guy knew exactly how to twist the knife.
Yumiko clenched her fists. Luckily, she had mentally prepared herself for this before leaving the house, so she managed to keep her composure.
She marched forward and grabbed Yui's arm, pulling her away.
"Let's go, Yui! We're going shopping today. Just ignore him!"
"Ah! But..."
Unable to resist Yumiko's pulling, Yui cast a helpless, pleading glance back at Kai.
He just chuckled and followed them at a leisurely pace. Today was supposed to be a fun outing anyway.
Besides, He was curious to see exactly what Yumiko Miura was plotting.
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There was a reason men dreaded going shopping with girls.
They could browse forever.
They bounced between clothing boutiques and high-end cosmetic counters. In Japan, girls learned how to do their makeup in elementary school, so they navigated the cosmetic aisles like seasoned pros.
Yui felt a bit awkward initially, but she soon relaxed and enjoyed the browsing.
Kai, meanwhile, adopted a simple strategy: enter a store, find a seat, and mess around on his phone. He didn't pay much attention to what they were buying.
"Texting your other girlfriend?" Yumiko's voice suddenly broke his focus.
"Hmm?" He looked up to see Yumiko standing right beside him.
Glancing over to verify that Yui was still distracted by a salesperson, Kai pocketed his phone and looked at Yumiko with interest. "Taking a break from shopping?"
"I already have all that makeup at home. There's nothing to look at."
She sat down next to him on the bench. She was sitting very close. She had clearly put effort into her perfume today; the scent was distinct and pleasant.
"You didn't answer my question. Were you texting your girlfriend?"
"My girlfriend is standing right over there."
He pointed at Yui across the store.
"Drop the act," Yumiko said bluntly. "I read your novel."
"Oh?"
What did his novel have to do with this?
"They say a writer's work reflects who they are. You're trying to build a harem, aren't you?"
"..."
To be fair, KonoSuba did lean heavily into harem tropes, even if it masked them with comedy. The undertones were definitely there.
Was she just taking a wild guess?
"It's just a story," he defended calmly. It wasn't his fault the system handed him that specific light novel to publish first.
"Don't treat me like I'm as gullible as Yui."
Seeing that Yui was still occupied, Yumiko leaned in closer.
She lowered her voice so only he could hear.
"I saw you. That day at lunch, you left the academic building with Marin Kitagawa. Didn't you?"
Megumi Kato's presence was too faint for Yumiko to notice, but Marin Kitagawa stood out.
Yumiko had seen how closely they interacted. It was obvious their relationship wasn't strictly platonic.
Yumiko wasn't stupid. In fact, she was highly perceptive, lacking Yui's airheaded innocence.
She hadn't pieced it together immediately, but looking back at how he cornered her and the things he said—it was classic player behavior.
"I see right through you. You're a player."
There was no disgust in her voice. If anything, she sounded happy, like she had just successfully caught him in a trap.
"Is that so?"
It seemed he hadn't hidden his tracks very well.
Then again, he never really tried to hide them in the first place.
Looking at Yumiko's smug face, Kai laughed softly.
"If you know I'm a player, why haven't you told Yui? Aren't you two supposed to be best friends?"
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