After her bath, Shiina Mahiru lay on the bed, silently shedding tears.
It took a good while before she regained some composure.
She reflected carefully and realized that things turning out like this was largely her own fault.
She couldn't blame it all on Lin Mu.
She knew how cute she was; from elementary school to high school, everyone called her an angel of a girl.
Her shoe locker was stuffed with love letters every day.
Lin Mu might be a jerk for taking advantage, but letting him do as he pleased was her mistake too.
Thinking back to how she'd given up yesterday and told him to do whatever, her cheeks burned hotter.
Flashes of last night's scenes made her heart race, her face flushing deeper.
Those erotic images threw her entire mind into chaos.
And it wasn't just last night.
That guy had made a move on her again just now.
That strange sensation still lingered, eroding her body, making her subconsciously cover her mouth.
"Damn it... why am I thinking about that jerk? That shameless pervert."
He seemed to be her neighbor too...
No, she couldn't let him find out, or he'd definitely keep pestering her.
Distracted from her family woes, Shiina Mahiru called in sick without a second thought.
She wasn't going to class today.
Plus... it still hurt down there a bit... she needed rest...
Lin Mu watched all of Shiina Mahiru's actions and couldn't help sighing.
He'd only just awakened his memories and hadn't had time to sort through this world's info yet.
An Yilun Ye choking to death on water? That seemed suspicious no matter how you looked at it.
Searching his memories further, he was shocked to discover this world had the Yukino Shita Zaibatsu, the Shigunakiya Zaibatsu called the nation's heart with its heir, a girl named Shigunakiya Kaguya.
The second-largest was the Sazanomiya Zaibatsu, followed by the Luzhi Gong Family.
Digging deeper into his memories, holy crap.
In middle school, he'd had a classmate named Katsura Yanaba, and a blonde twintails girl called Eriri.
He was currently in Kyoto, and the biggest school was Seihaku Imperial Academy, where he attended.
From the moment he'd seen An Yilun Ye, he'd sensed this world wasn't simple.
It looked like a mixed anime universe.
So his targets for familiars were clear.
What familiar could be better than the female protagonists?
Thus, contracting more familiars, gaining more abilities, becoming the strongest demon, building his familiar harem, and establishing the Mu Empire—that was his path forward.
As he pondered his ambitions, a knock suddenly came from the door.
Opening it, he found a spirited beauty with a high ponytail.
The girl politely bowed to him and handed over a gift bag.
"Hello, I'm Aoyama Nanami, just moved in next door. A small gift, nothing much; please take care of me from now on."
"Ah, likewise. I'm Lin Mu."
Lin Mu responded quickly, though his mind reeled in surprise.
Aoyama Nanami, from "The Pet Girl of Sakurasou," a girl working multiple jobs to chase her dream.
She juggled several gigs just to save for a voice acting academy and become a famous seiyuu.
"Um, Lin Mu-san, I need to visit the other neighbors, so I won't disturb your rest."
"Yeah, go ahead."
Lin Mu nodded with a smile but didn't go back inside.
Aoyama Nanami gave a polite smile and knocked on Shiina Mahiru's door.
Shiina Mahiru instinctively called out, "Who is it?"
"Ah, it's Aoyama Nanami, just moved in next door. Here to say hi."
At that, Shiina Mahiru opened the door and accepted the gift.
Accepting a neighbor's token was basic courtesy; refusing might make her seem condescending.
Shiina Mahiru greeted Aoyama Nanami politely, but spotting Lin Mu nearby made her smile freeze.
Crap!
Now he knew she lived right next door!
Her freshly made plan crumbled instantly.
Shiina Mahiru hurriedly exchanged pleasantries with Aoyama Nanami and shut the door fast.
Aoyama Nanami continued visiting the other neighbors.
Soon after.
A knock sounded at Shiina Mahiru's door.
"Who?" she asked instinctively, a bit tense.
"It's me, Lin Mu."
"..."
After a long silence, Shiina Mahiru sighed and spoke from behind the door. "What do you want?"
Lin Mu shamelessly replied.
"Shiina, I just got out of the hospital and don't have any ingredients prepped. Mind if I come over for a meal?"
"No way! Go buy a bento at the convenience store!"
"Oh..."
Lin Mu sounded dejected and slowly walked away.
Hearing his footsteps fade, Shiina Mahiru relaxed, but a pang of discomfort hit her.
Rejecting his request for food made her feel bad instead.
It wouldn't hurt to share a meal; he'd just been discharged and had expended so much energy...
Ugh...
No, stop thinking.
That energy drain was his own fault.
For bullying her!
With that thought, her guilt toward him vanished. She tied her golden hair into a ponytail, donned an apron, and started cooking.
She was hungry too; crying took effort.
Especially since she'd been the one pinned down and bullied.
Failing to mooch a meal, Lin Mu headed to the convenience store for a bento and stocked up on ingredients for the fridge.
Lin Mu was growing more excited about this world.
If Aoyama Nanami had appeared, then that airheaded pet girl, Shiina Mashiro, would show up too, right?
What ability would that ever-drawing, pure-as-a-blank-sheet girl grant him as a familiar?
Also, Shiina Mahiru and Shiina Mashiro—such similar names. Were they related?
Both blondes too, which boosted the odds.
Back home, stashing the groceries in the fridge, Lin Mu stared at his bank balance and fell into thought.
He had about 200,000 yen left—seemingly a lot, but in RMB, it was just 9,918 yuan.
With Japan's high prices, it wouldn't last.
So, time to get a job?
Lin Mu sighed; who knew transmigration meant slaving away as a corporate drone.
Wasn't there a faster way to make money?
With his Super Recovery Ability, being a host could work.
But Lin Mu had no interest in selling smiles; too undignified for a demon.
Sure, other demon lords took jobs, but he wanted something cushy.
Stroking his chin, Lin Mu decided to stick to his old trade: light novel author.
Since this world featured heroines from all sorts of anime, light novels tied to them hadn't appeared yet.
He checked his phone; the hottest right now was a campus romance light novel.
Called "Love Metronome," penned by Kasumi Shiko.
It had to be her—the black-stocking senpai Eriri called "霞老肥," Kasumi no Oka Shiyu!
Made sense; An Yilun Ye was here, even choking on water to death.
So a fair-skinned beauty like senpai Kasumi no Oka Shiyu showing up wasn't odd.
Just wondered which school she attended.
Lin Mu thought of senpai's black stockings and subconsciously compared them to Shiina Mahiru's, but couldn't.
He hadn't formally seen hers yet; this was a real world to him, different from anime character designs.
That's why he hadn't recognized Shiina Mahiru right away.
Lin Mu was a man of action; if he decided, he did it.
To write light novels, he needed to survey the hot genres now.
One sweep.
Holy crap, several more familiar names popped up.
Like the ero mangaka Kashiba Eri, and Eromanga Sensei.