The night felt impossibly long and deeply intoxicating for both of them, yet when morning finally broke through the false windows of the penthouse, they appeared as if absolutely nothing had happened.
It might have seemed strange, but as soon as Shizuku had crossed over to this world, she could physically feel her body adapting and growing stronger. But what truly supercharged her recovery was Suzuki's penthouse.
Suzuki had rigorously checked his system logs the night before. His [Online Shopping] food—infused with modern Earth vitamins and processed perfectly—actually provided temporary stat boosts when consumed in this magically deprived world. Furthermore, the [Subspace Penthouse] possessed a hidden passive buff that dramatically accelerated the stamina and mana recovery of anyone sleeping inside.
"...Your abilities are a complete cheat code," Shizuku mumbled into her pillow, her voice thick with sleep.
She absolutely refused to get out of the massive, ultra-soft bed. The thought of leaving this perfect, climate-controlled sanctuary to face the horrifying, drafty reality of the medieval castle outside was sickening.
"I don't mind if you stay," Suzuki murmured, sitting on the edge of the bed and gently running his fingers through her messy hair. "But what is Kaori going to do without you?"
If Shizuku wanted to hide in the penthouse forever, Suzuki genuinely wouldn't have cared. He could easily find a way to forge her presence or legally manipulate the Kingdom into ignoring her. But the moment Kaori entered the equation, the logic fell apart.
"....."
"...I'll get up."
Shizuku let out a long, deeply reluctant sigh. Even though she felt incredibly lazy, her body felt better than it had in years. Suzuki's intense "care" combined with the room's passive healing had left her muscles feeling completely revitalized. But her mind was still fragile. She was still a teenager ripped from her home, and facing reality was exhausting.
But what about the others?
If Shizuku was being brutally honest, she didn't care about the rest of the class. It sounded incredibly cold, but she knew exactly how expensive it was for Suzuki to maintain this penthouse. The resources were limited. It was either them or everyone.
If "everyone" discovered Suzuki had a luxury spa hidden in his pocket, they would immediately corner him, guilt-trip him, and aggressively demand he share it for the "greater good." Shizuku intimately understood the toxic culture of modern Japan: The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.
At this moment, Suzuki's physical combat strength was still too low. He needed a massive amount of financial leverage, legal authority, and political power to permanently protect himself. Until he secured that leverage, he had to remain completely low-key, playing the role of the humble logistics guy.
"Here, let me help you," Suzuki offered.
As Shizuku clumsily tried to pull her uniform over her head, Suzuki dutifully assisted her. He let his hands linger, giving her shoulders and waist a series of firm, deeply satisfying squeezes. He knew she was mentally exhausted and desperately needed the physical grounding of a "good" massage.
"Am I supposed to say thank you for that?" Shizuku rolled her eyes playfully, though she leaned back into his touch, deeply happy that he adored her so much.
"But seriously, what are you planning to do today?" she asked softly.
Suzuki sat behind her, skillfully gathering her long, silky black hair to tie it into her signature high ponytail. He obviously wasn't going to tell her his ruthless, sociopathic plan to financially leash every single knight and noble in the Kingdom into permanent debt-slavery.
Instead, he said smoothly, "I am thinking of buying a guild."
"...Buying an entire guild?" Shizuku looked over her shoulder at him, completely dumbfounded. "Are you serious?"
"Think of it like a modern corporate acquisition. Back home, there are plenty of young CEOs who buy out smaller companies, right?"
"...That is the modern world, Suzuki. What kind of world do you think this is?"
"It's exactly the same," Suzuki replied, his tone chillingly pragmatic. "Capitalism doesn't change just because people use swords instead of smartphones. The only real difference is information. On Earth, we have the media. Here, we are completely blind. I have absolutely no guarantee the King or the Pope are telling us the truth about this demon war. I need a reliable, vast intelligence network. Therefore, I need to either build, work for, or completely buy out a merchant guild."
"I think working for one is a bit more realistic," Shizuku sighed, shaking her head.
"Yeah, maybe," Suzuki nodded smoothly. He didn't bother arguing. He knew that in exactly one week, when the fat Guildmaster inevitably defaulted on his impossible contract, Suzuki would legally own the largest guild in the capital anyway.
Once they were fully dressed, Suzuki opened the dimensional door directly into the hallway outside his assigned, spartan castle bedroom.
As they stepped out, they immediately froze.
"Kaori?"
"Shizuku?!"
Kaori, who had her fist raised to knock on Suzuki's door, stood entirely paralyzed. She stared wide-eyed at Shizuku, and then at Suzuki standing right behind her.
D-Did they sleep together?!
While Shizuku instantly panicked, her face flushing crimson, Suzuki handled the situation with flawless corporate composure.
"You have impeccable timing, Shirasaki-san," Suzuki smiled calmly. "Shizuku came over to wake me up so we could all go find you together. Have you eaten breakfast yet?"
"A-Ah, um, no, not yet," Kaori stammered, frantically trying to process the situation. "I wanted to go to Shizuku's room first, but... I guess she came to visit you instead."
Kaori desperately wanted to say stayed, but she swallowed the word. She felt she had no right to pry into her best friend's deeply private, romantic life.
But it was so incredibly obvious! Shizuku couldn't properly hide the radiant, deeply satisfied glow on her face. Her skin was flawless, her posture was relaxed, and she looked like a woman who had been thoroughly, deeply loved.
Kaori couldn't help but feel a sudden, painful pang of jealousy and misery.
Her own mind was in a constant state of suffocating panic. The future was bleak, and the fear of dying in a dungeon was paralyzing. Kouki was entirely mindless, loudly shouting, "Everything will be okay!" without offering a single logical plan.
And Nagumo?
Back in Japan, Kaori had genuinely liked Nagumo. He possessed a quiet, hidden kindness that she found endearing. She would have stuck by his side on Earth. But in this brutal, terrifying world? Kaori was desperate for a sense of absolute security and peace. And right now, Suzuki Tanaka was the only person in the entire castle capable of providing it.
"Suzuki-kun..." Kaori's voice trembled slightly. "What do you honestly think is going to happen to us?"
"Nothing," Suzuki answered immediately, his voice deep and unshakable.
"Nothing?"
"Yes. For now, as long as we follow the Kingdom's basic training instructions, we will slowly get stronger. The Kingdom won't send us to die until they think we're ready. So, nothing bad will happen immediately." Suzuki looked directly into Kaori's terrified eyes. "I know it might be incredibly hard to trust me right now... but I promise you, I will calculate a way out of this."
Kaori stared at him. The sheer, immovable confidence radiating from his dark eyes finally broke through her panic. She took a shuddering breath, trying to hold back her tears, and offered him a deeply genuine, sweet smile.
"Thank you, Suzuki-kun."
"It's fine. You are Shizuku's best friend, after all. You're under my protection too."
"Um!" Shizuku nodded fiercely, stepping forward to hug Kaori. "I will absolutely protect you, Kaori!"
Standing beside Shizuku and Suzuki was the only place Kaori felt she could actually breathe.
Yet, as she hugged her best friend, Kaori couldn't help but notice something incredibly bizarre. Both Shizuku and Suzuki smelled amazing. It wasn't the scent of heavy perfume or sweat... it smelled exactly like premium fabric softener and clothes fresh out of a warm dryer.
It was utterly inexplicable in a medieval castle, but Kaori knew better than to ask.
They quickly regrouped with the rest of the class in the courtyard. Captain Meld arrived early, loudly barking orders to prepare for another grueling day of combat training.
Suzuki didn't even bother drawing a practice sword. It was a complete waste of his time.
Instead, while the rest of the "Heroes" sweat in the dirt, Suzuki smoothly excused himself to fulfill his "Merchant" duties. He began touring the inner depths of the royal castle. He systematically walked the halls, mapping out the architecture, before finally heading toward his true targets: the Royal Library and the Kingdom's central accounting offices.
"Oh?"
Suzuki paused in the doorway of the massive, dust-filled accounting room. A deeply predatory, highly corporate smile slowly spread across his handsome face as he observed the chaotic mess of ledgers and nervous clerks inside.
He was going to have a lot of fun here.