Haruno was about to continue her questions when a faint knock came at the door.
"Haruno, Kouichirou, how's your chat going?"
The two exchanged glances. Haruno instinctively frowned, quickly thinking of a plan to handle the situation.
But on second thought, since Yuu managed to reach her, he should also have a way to deal with a "caught dating" scenario like this.
"I'll call you later."
With that, she gave him a "handle it yourself" look, put her mask back on, and walked back into the Japanese-style room with a wide smile.
"Mother, Aunt Kyouko, we were just discussing recent U.S. stock market fluctuations…"
Casually, she closed the window and curtains.
Left on the terrace, Yuu didn't rush to leave. Instead, he leaned against the railing where Haruno had stood, enjoying the cool breeze while checking the "haul" from this trip.
"Two Studying skills—three should combine into Expert level, right? Athletics? Am I really supposed to become a decathlon athlete?"
Lastly, the status: Emotion Transfer.
This was easy to understand—it allowed perfectly expressing one's emotions through writing, singing, or performance.
Perfect Acting could do the same, but this "status" extended its scope to more aspects, enabling him to move others with displayed emotions, even if he was terrible at writing or had a bad singing voice.
"If used well, this is a god-tier skill, especially paired with Perfect Acting… If the system ever disappears, I'll become a politician, swaying the masses."
It's only been a few days—why was he becoming less and less human?
After an amused sigh, Yuu browsed the system and found Haruno was quite generous this time. Besides tens of thousands of yen deposited into his account, she also gave him several single-use statuses.
With the beautiful, colorful summer mountains outside the corridor, Yuu was in a good mood, so he randomly picked three seemingly useless statuses and tossed them into the system for fusion.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host has received status: Brand New]
"What's this?"
Yuu closed his eyes to sense it, then opened them with a strange expression.
Great, no more need for BBQ smoke baths… or even regular baths.
While this status was active, even if he was in a pit of filth a second ago—uh, rephrase—a second ago he was surrounded by women, the next second he'd be as if cleansed by a "sparkling clean" spell. All dust, dirt, odors, and traces not his own would vanish.
Come to think of it, the one who should be most grateful for this status was that bald BBQ stall owner.
From now on, no one would buy skewers just for the smoke.
Yuu decided to test it on the spot, but since there was no obvious dirt on him, and Haruno left no lipstick marks, he rubbed his finger on the floor, seeing dust on his fingertip.
Brand New!
Faintly, a BuLinBuLin~ sound echoed.
Like a bucket of cold water poured from head to toe, Yuu couldn't help but shiver. After the shiver, he noticed the dust on his finger was gone, and his whole body felt fresh, like it just came off the assembly line.
He was very satisfied.
"Sigh, why are all the statuses I combine so useful? Am I loved by Lady Luck?"
Yuu patted his own shoulder as if praising himself: "Great job, Tenkuji-kun."
Standing here enjoying the breeze wasn't a plan, so it was time to go explore.
While wondering when Haruno's "later" would be and where he should go before then, Yuu stretched, turned, and opened the floor-to-ceiling window.
"Sorry, the terrace has been cleaned."
He said casually, passing the people in the room. No one questioned why he came from there or why he was so relaxed.
"Haruno, did you guys dirty the balcony?"
"Huh? Maybe? Sake or something…"
It seemed this status also forced people to ignore illogical things.
Hearing the mother-daughter conversation shift topics, Yuu mused to himself, then opened the sliding door.
He glanced back, only to find Haruno staring at him curiously, her lips curling into a Cheshire Cat smile, her eyes gleaming.
"…"
Yuu was sure he was still under No Suspicion Whatsoever.
(Then what's with that look? Did she notice something odd?)
Feeling uneasy under her gaze, Yuu didn't intend to test further. He closed the door and quickly left the [Spring] room.
While the status lasted, at Four Seasons Resort Manor, whether it was a luxury suite, VIP room, back kitchen, or women's restroom, Yuu could go anywhere, freer than at home.
After all, Sora wouldn't let him into her room without reason and would watch his every move if something was up.
If Yuu were a bit more mischievous, this status could be used in many ways; as for how and what games, imagine it yourself—
For now, he used it to sightsee. He went wherever the feng shui felt good.
The journey was smooth, no obstacles.
As a "tourist," Yuu's actions weren't suspicious at all, so naturally, no one bothered him.
Evergreen summer, mountains bursting with vibrant, lively colors.
The sky was clear as a mirror, a pristine blue, and one could imagine how stunning the twinkling stars would be, like the Milky Way spilling into the valley after nightfall.
A cool, slightly damp breeze gently brushed the tip of his nose.
Yuu, strolling with one hand in his pocket, looked left and right, then turned toward the man-made lake in the distance.
Before getting close, the beautiful lake scenery, blending with the sky, came into view.
The lake's surface occasionally rippled, forming circles like dew stepping on waves.
"I'll take a picture for Sora… She doesn't even know why I went out."
"Seeing scenery this beautiful, even a hikikomori like her would be tempted to go out and play, right?"
Yuu held his phone, preparing to find a good spot for photos, when his gaze landed on a girl standing by the lake.
Her figure was slender, dressed neatly, her chest's curves sharply outlined by the wind, looking very full.
Long, flaxen hair cascaded behind her, softly shimmering, reflecting the bright sunlight like silk.
She stood quietly by the clear blue lake, seemingly captivated, lingering as if reluctant to leave.
Suddenly.
She took off her shoes, letting her fair, delicate feet touch the ground.
Holding her wind-tousled hair with one hand, the girl seemed to have made a decision. She stepped forward, entering the cold lake water.
And step by step, she walked toward the center.
"…"
Rubbing his chin, Yuu was lost in thought.
This man-made lake had no fences, no guards, not even a warning sign prohibiting entry, freer than a school pool.
So letting her continue like that… there shouldn't be any danger, right?