After finishing her bath, Shiina Mahiru lay on the bed, quietly letting tears fall.
It took her a while, but she gradually regained some composure.
Reflecting carefully, she realized that much of what had happened was partly her own fault. She couldn't put all the blame on Itsuki.
She knew how cute she was. From elementary school to high school, everyone said she was an angelic girl.
Her shoe locker was always filled with confession letters every day.
Although Itsuki had taken advantage of her, she had allowed him to, and that too was a mistake.
Thinking about how she had surrendered herself yesterday, saying he could do whatever he wanted, her cheeks burned even hotter.
Scenes from last night flashed vividly through her mind, making her heart race and her face blush deeper.
That trembling, intimate scene left her completely flustered.
And it wasn't just last night. That guy had also acted on her earlier today.
The strange feeling seemed to seep into her body, and she instinctively covered her small mouth.
"Ugh… why am I thinking about that bad man? That shameless pervert…"
He even happened to be her neighbor…
No, she couldn't let him find out, or he'd keep bothering her.
Distracted, Mahiru didn't have time to dwell on her family's painful issues. She called in sick and decided to skip class for the day.
And… some things still hurt a bit… she needed rest.
Itsuki observed her actions quietly, sighing softly. He had just awakened his memories and hadn't had time to piece together the information about this world.
The death of Aki Renya from choking on water still seemed odd.
Searching through his memories, he was surprised to find this world contained the Yukinoshita conglomerate, the Shikimiya conglomerate with its heir named Shikimiya Kaguya, and the second-largest being the Sanzenin family, followed by the Tsubakimiya clan.
Continuing his mental search, he found some familiar faces from his middle school: a classmate named Katsuragi Kotonoha, and a blonde twin-tailed girl named Eriri.
Currently, he was in Kyoto, and the largest school nearby was his own—Holy White Emperor Academy.
From the moment he saw Aki Renya, he sensed this world wasn't ordinary.
It appeared to be a mixed anime multiverse.
Which made his target clear: a high-quality female follower.
Was there anyone better than the heroines?
So: contract more followers, gain more powers, become the strongest demon, build a harem paradise, and establish the "Empire of Itsuki"—that was his plan for the future.
While contemplating his ambitions, a knock sounded at the door.
Opening it, he found a girl with a high ponytail, full of energy, politely bowing as she held out a gift bag.
"Hello! I'm Aoyama Nanami, your new neighbor. Just a small gift as a greeting—please take care of me from now on."
"Oh, nice to meet you! I'm Itsuki Hayashi."
Itsuki responded promptly, though his mind buzzed with surprise.
Aoyama Nanami was the heroine from Sakura-sou no Pet na Kanojo, a hardworking girl juggling multiple part-time jobs to enter a voice acting agency and become a famous seiyuu.
"Um, Itsuki-san, I still need to visit other neighbors, so I won't disturb your rest," she said politely.
"Yeah, go ahead," he replied with a smile, stepping aside.
Nanami bowed once more before heading to Shiina Mahiru's room.
Mahiru, half-asleep, asked, "Who's there?"
"Hi, I'm Aoyama Nanami, your new neighbor. Just came to say hello," Nanami replied.
Realizing this, Mahiru opened the door and accepted the gift. Taking a gift was basic courtesy—refusing would appear rude.
Mahiru greeted Nanami politely but froze when she saw Itsuki standing nearby.
Damn!
He knew she lived next door! Her carefully laid plans had just collapsed.
Quickly, Mahiru greeted Nanami and shut the door. Nanami continued her rounds, visiting other neighbors.
A short while later, another knock came at Mahiru's door.
"Who is it?" she asked nervously.
"It's me, Itsuki Hayashi."
"…."
After a long pause, she sighed, standing behind the door. "What do you want?"
Itsuki, bold as ever, spoke.
"Shiina, I just got out of the hospital and don't have ingredients at home. Can I come over for a meal?"
"No! Go buy a bento at the convenience store yourself!"
"Oh…" Itsuki replied dejectedly, slowly turning away.
Hearing his footsteps fade, Mahiru breathed a sigh of relief—but also felt a pang of regret.
Maybe sharing a meal wouldn't have been a big deal… he just came out of the hospital, and had used so much energy…
No… she couldn't think about it.
He had brought it upon himself by teasing her!
Mahiru quickly wiped away her guilt, tied her golden hair into a ponytail, put on an apron, and began cooking. She was hungry anyway—and crying had been exhausting.
Meanwhile, Itsuki, unable to sneak a meal, went to the convenience store to buy a bento and stocked up on some ingredients for his fridge.
He was increasingly excited about this world.
If Aoyama Nanami appeared, surely the shy pet-like Shiina Mashiro would too.
What abilities might such an innocent, art-loving girl grant him once contracted?
Also… Shiina Mahiru and Shiina Mashiro? Their names were so similar—could they be related?
Both were blonde, too… the likelihood of kinship was high.
Back home, after putting away the ingredients, Itsuki checked his bank balance. About 200,000 yen—not bad at first glance, but only about 9,918 RMB. Considering Japan's high cost of living, it wasn't enough.
So… part-time job it was?
Itsuki sighed, realizing that even after crossing over, he'd still need to work like a salaryman to earn money.
Wasn't there an easier way to make money?
Thinking of his Super Recovery, working as a host could be profitable… but he didn't want to sell his charm as a demon.
Even though other demon overlords worked part-time, he wanted a comfortable way to earn.
After some thought, he decided to return to his original craft: writing light novels.
This world, full of familiar anime heroines, hadn't seen light novels about them yet.
He checked his phone—the hottest one right now was a school romance titled Love Metronome, authored by Kasumigaoka Utaha.
Ah, yes… the black-stockinged senpai called "Kasumi-senpai" by Eriri. Kasumigaoka Utaha!
It made sense. Aki Renya had appeared and died choking on water; so the fair-skinned, beautiful senpai appearing was only natural.
He just didn't know which school she attended.
Itsuki absentmindedly compared her black stockings to Mahiru's, but couldn't really tell—the world was real, and characters looked slightly different from their anime depictions.
This explained why he hadn't recognized Mahiru immediately.
A man of action, Itsuki dove straight into planning. If he was writing light novels, he had to survey the popular genres first.
And as he did… familiar names popped up everywhere.
Like the erotic illustrator Kashiwagi Eriri, and Eromanga-sensei herself.