Under the starry sky, a gentle night breeze drifted through the resort.
From the balcony came the sound of clinking glasses, lively chatter, and even the occasional thud—Eri and Yukiko were drunkenly sparring and toasting at the same time.
With beautiful women all around and the air filled with their fragrant scent, the atmosphere was intoxicating in itself—even if one hadn't touched a drop of alcohol.
Even the usually composed young Shota found himself relaxing under such circumstances.
Still, he hadn't forgotten—there was one last check-in he needed to complete for the day.
Without hesitation, he headed to the resort's balcony and initiated the system check-in.
With a soft click, the system interface enveloped the three women and two children present on the balcony.
A purple glow shimmered briefly before fading, revealing a gleaming purple-gold treasure chest on the screen.
The chest cracked open, and several beams of light surged outward!
[Ding! Check-in successful. Congratulations, Host, for obtaining: —Phantom Wall [Lv1]! Grasp of Immortality [Lv2!]
[Ding! Grasp of Immortality has been upgraded to Lv3!]
[Lv3 – Grasp of Immortality: Consumes mental power to manifest two ethereal hands with a control radius of three meters. Sensory feedback is shared with the host's palms. Each use can absorb 1–3 points of Physique, triggering up to three times.]
[Lv1 – Phantom Wall: Consumes mental power to conjure a phantom barrier. Effective for blocking attacks or creating visual confusion. No offensive capability.]
"Whoa! It's a jackpot!"
These acquired new skills were growing more and more bizarre.
But still—
I like it!
Akashi was mulling over ways to test them out... when suddenly, his body was yanked backward.
His head collided with warmth and softness.
Ran was drunk.
She'd collapsed onto the futon, dragging Akashi down with her. She clutched him with her dainty hands as if clinging to a stuffed toy.
Dressed in nothing but a bathrobe, Ran slept soundly, her robe slightly parted, revealing her fair skin and defenseless form.
Her mouth hung open just a little, soft pink lips exposed and faintly glistening in the moonlight.
It stirred the young lady-killer inside Akashi.
The little shota is a little excited and wants to feed her imported candy!
—Eh?
Wait a second.
Where's the balcony judge?
Earlier, during the feast, Ran had acted extra clingy. A little hand had even pinched him from behind.
That was Haibara—Akashi's ever-vigilant 'balcony judge'.
Even if her pinch didn't hurt, he'd gotten used to it. Now that she wasn't stopping him, he felt oddly off.
Turning to check, Akashi found Haibara... caught in Yukiko's trap.
Yukiko was holding a glass of red wine and coaxing Haibara with her trademark smile.
"See? This wine tastes just like juice. Even kids can enjoy a little. It's good for the skin too—just don't drink too much~"
Said so lightly—yet a whole glass was poured into Haibara's tiny mouth.
"Hic!"
With a small burp, the little loli got drunk almost instantly. Her porcelain face flushed, and her blue eyes spun.
She blinked toward Akashi.
"Hehe... why are there three Akashis~?"
Haibara staggered forward, wobbling unsteadily. Before she could even reach him, she tripped and fell.
Akashi caught her smoothly.
"Seriously? Feeding alcohol to a child this young?"
He muttered under his breath, but Yukiko was far too focused on pouring Eri another drink to notice.
Akashi could only sigh.
He couldn't just leave the two drunk ladies out in the breeze—it would be a migraine festival in the morning.
With no choice, he carried little Haibara into the back room and laid her gently on the bed.
He was just stepping back out when he saw Ran still sprawled outside.
Time to carry her in too.
But there was a problem—Ran hadn't triggered his 'horse riding' skill, and she wasn't five-fold reduced.
She was full-sized.
Akashi, a petite Shota, couldn't lift her on his own.
—Unless...
Right! His newly acquired skill!
Consuming a bit of mental power, Akashi activated Grasp of Immortality Lv3.
Two large invisible hands materialized midair. Only Akashi could see and control them.
The hands moved with eerie precision, gliding over to Ran's body without hesitation.
"Whoa."
Akashi wrapped his own small hands around Ran's waist as the ethereal hands lifted her from both sides.
With this assist, he could actually carry her!
Usually, being smaller, he had no way to lift adult women properly—especially when their upper bodies had nowhere to lean.
But now, those ghostly hands acted like a support harness.
The sensation was... otherworldly.
It felt like multiple layers of touch feedback flooding his senses.
Even Akashi had to marvel at how realistic it was.
Ran, still drunk, gave a soft whimper as her body stirred.
Her hands twitched unconsciously in the air, unsure of what to grasp.
Akashi steadied himself, choosing not to fool around with his four hands.
Instead, he held her gently and laid her down on the other bed—separate from Haibara's.
Ran was completely down.
As the saying went, "Newborn calves aren't afraid of tigers."
She had overestimated her tolerance and underestimated the wine. Now, she didn't react no matter what Akashi did.
He shook his head helplessly.
After carefully placing Ran's legs on the bed, he helped her take off her slippers.
And then—the jailers appeared before him.
Under the silver moonlight, her heels looked like smooth pearls—round, dainty, and sparkling.
"…Incredible."
Glancing back out the balcony glass door, Akashi sighed again.
He turned to Haibara, removed her shoes as well, and tucked her in with a light quilt.
Then he came back to Ran, intending to do the same.
But just as he lifted the blanket—
Ran stirred in her sleep and rolled over.
With a soft rustle, her loosely tied belt slipped.
And suddenly—everything was visible.
The bathrobe parted, and springtime bloomed before Akashi's eyes.
To make things worse, Grasp of Immortality was still active, and the sensation was being fed directly into his brain.
He couldn't help but remember earlier that day—he had genuinely tried to help Ran by sucking out the poison.
Yet what had been his reward?
Misunderstanding. Blame. Violence.
Unfair!
Totally unreasonable!
"If I'm going to be wrongly accused of being a pervert..."
"...then shouldn't I at least do something to deserve it?"
A single thought lit up his mind like a spark.
No longer just a boy confused by the world...
He was a boy who understood.
Getting on the train without a ticket? That's wrong.
But if the fare's already been paid... why not take the ride?
In that instant, his spirit was awakened.
He consumed a small portion of mental power and activated Phantom Wall.
A phantom barrier shimmered into place, sealing off the glass door to the balcony.
From outside, all that Eri and Yukiko could see was a blur of shifting mist—a fake illusion controlled by Akashi's succubus form.
The real scene behind the glass was now completely hidden.