"I wouldn't think like that."
Sawamura Haruno's eye twitched slightly.
Was Miyazawa Mana not even bothering to pretend anymore?
To be fair, what she said did make a certain amount of sense. In that regard, Maki really was exactly the same as her. On the night he'd first taken Maki in, he himself hadn't been able to resist stealing a few extra glances.
But deliberately bringing stockings over just to have someone else wear them—purely to satisfy her own visual desires—and on top of that, treating her younger sister as a substitute for herself…
At this rate, he felt like one day he might end up starring in some kind of island-nation "substitute" literature.
"Alright, jokes aside. I'm heading home.
Haruno rubbed his brow helplessly.
"It's getting late anyway. I still have to go back to school for classes tomorrow morning."
"Do you want me to walk you back?"
Mana blinked, wearing an utterly innocent expression.
As if none of the suggestive things from earlier had come out of her mouth.
"No need. You should rest early too. If anything comes up on Maki's end, I'll contact you."
"Alright then. See you later."
"Mm."
After saying goodbye, Haruno pulled his small suitcase along and turned to leave.
It was already past nine, close to ten. The residential streets nearby were nearly empty, and every so often he passed through dimly lit roads without streetlights. Thankfully, as a grown man, he wasn't particularly worried about anything happening.
He glanced at his phone and realized he'd forgotten to charge it during his afternoon nap. The battery was down to less than ten percent. Startled, he quickened his pace toward home.
About twenty minutes later, Haruno arrived safely downstairs at his apartment building.
Compared to the area around the Miyazawa residence, the streets near this high-end apartment complex were noticeably brighter and busier. After all, it wasn't far from the station, and there were plenty of shops nearby that operated twenty-four hours a day.
To move here in the first place, Haruno had put in quite a bit of effort. Ever since high school, he'd been working part-time and saving money. Whenever he had free time, he even took on tutoring jobs.
After getting into the University of Tokyo, his tutoring pay had increased significantly. He'd finally saved enough by last month and paid a full year's rent in one go.
Of course, all his part-time income went straight into rent. His daily living expenses still relied on money from home—but thankfully, Haruno didn't have many expensive hobbies, so life was fairly comfortable.
"Mr. Takashima isn't here tonight?"
Dragging his suitcase into the first-floor lobby, Haruno glanced around and only saw a middle-aged woman sitting at the front desk, yawning.
She was another receptionist for the apartment complex, someone who rarely appeared at night. It seemed Takashima Kazuki had switched shifts with her today.
Haruno shook his head. He wasn't familiar with her and didn't feel like making small talk. Carrying his suitcase, he headed straight for the elevator.
Back at his apartment door, he took out his key and opened it. The corridor lights outside briefly shone through his silhouette, illuminating the pitch-black interior.
—Maki clearly hadn't woken up yet. Otherwise, the apartment wouldn't still be completely dark.
That girl was far less troublesome when asleep. At least she wouldn't stir up chaos or chatter nonstop.
The real problem was what to do with her tomorrow once he went to school.
"I'll have to figure out a way to keep her behaving herself at home," Haruno muttered.
His expression unchanged, he set the suitcase down by the entryway, changed his shoes, turned on the lights, and hurried toward the bedroom.
His phone was about to die. This was more important than anything else—he had to plug it in before it shut down.
Thankfully, the remaining battery barely held out until the very last moment. As he connected the charging cable, he managed to save his phone just before the shutdown warning appeared.
"That was close."
Haruno let out a breath of relief.
Even though phones could be turned back on after shutting down, there was something deeply uncomfortable about letting it die. Once you got used to having it on, even a brief shutdown felt unsettling.
Beep—
Before Haruno could relax for long, the phone screen lit up again. A LINE notification popped up.
It was from Mana.
There were two messages, but because of the notification preview, he only saw that the last one was an image.
Thankful that he'd plugged the phone in just in time, Haruno opened the LINE chat without hesitation.
The photo showed Mana wearing ultra-thin black stockings, sitting on her bed in a duck-sit pose. The gentle-looking girl lightly bit her lip, even remembering to make a peace sign toward a mirror placed at a distance.
Her skirt had clearly been pulled up beforehand. Between her thighs, a sliver of white, form-fitting fabric was faintly visible—subtle enough that you might miss it if you weren't looking closely.
That alluring image made it impossible to associate her with the flawless campus goddess she usually appeared to be.
Just from her expression alone, she looked perfectly innocent—but once your eyes drifted downward, it was obvious she was deliberately trying to entice the viewer.
Even though this wasn't Haruno's first time seeing her in such a pose, he still couldn't help swallowing.
Above the image was her message:
What I said earlier was just a joke. You'll still look at me, right?
Let this count as my reward—after that, you're not allowed to look at Maki anymore.
She even added an adorable emoji at the end.
"…Am I really that kind of person?"
Haruno cleared his throat twice. Without changing expression, he quietly saved the photo—then zoomed in and continued appreciating it.
Mana herself had said it was a reward, hadn't she?
What was wrong with taking a few extra looks openly and honestly?
Still, he had to admit—Mana really was far more skilled at temptation. That hint of white in the middle made his skin itch just looking at it. Compared to Maki's clumsy attempts, this was on a completely different level.
As expected of the older twin—everything she did seemed more practiced and effortless.
Haruno sighed, making a few silent mental comments. Once he'd looked his fill, he finally set the phone down and prepared to take a shower.
And then—
A sudden chill brushed against his back.
"—!"
"Who's there?!"
Haruno's pupils shrank violently. Without even putting his phone down, he instinctively turned toward the source of the cold air.
The moment he did, a ghastly pale face suddenly filled his vision.
His body froze on the spot.
The person before him was deathly white, her slightly curled short hair messy and frizzy as it fell loose. Her body swayed faintly with the breeze drifting in from outside.
A pair of lifeless, icy eyes stared straight at him—unblinking.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. Comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 60 chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/Star1801