Was this a dream?
"No... it definitely isn't."
Suzuki let out a long, deeply satisfied exhale, staring down at his chest. Lying bare against him were the two most popular, untouchable girls in his entire high school class. They were fast asleep, their expressions radiating a heavy, thoroughly exhausted bliss. Feeling the soft warmth of their flushed skin, the silky tickle of their messy hair, and seeing the absolute, tangled ruin they had made of his premium silk sheets last night... he had to admit, reality was incredibly wonderful.
The memory of it was intoxicating. Stripped of all their heavy morals, societal expectations, and the crushing dread of the dungeon, they had simply released everything onto each other. They had drowned in pure, unadulterated pleasure.
Suzuki knew it was a dangerous game. Whether it was him, Kaori, or Shizuku, none of them could stop themselves from falling deeper into this twisted, addictive reliance. But without a doubt, his image of them had entirely changed.
Shizuku was one thing. She was his girlfriend. In the eyes of the Kingdom and their classmates, she was the fierce, stoic, and unapproachable Swordmaster—a girl so capable she intimidated most men. But Suzuki matched her intellect and completely overwhelmed her physical prowess in the dark. With him, she didn't have to be the "Iron Lady." She could let her guard down, completely surrendering into a sweet, pliant, and desperately indulgent girl who just wanted to be dominated and loved by her boyfriend.
But Kaori?
When Suzuki thought about how that pure, fragile, angelic Priestess had melted into an incredibly needy, lewd succubus beneath him, it tested the very limits of his self-control. He knew it was slightly twisted to enjoy entirely corrupting the class's saint, but he couldn't stop himself.
How did a girl with such a pristine image end up giving him her innocence, eagerly letting him do absolutely whatever he wanted to her deeply sensitive body? He understood exactly why she had been so wild.
Crushing, suffocating stress.
After Kouki arrogantly took over the vanguard's leadership yesterday, several classmates had suffered nasty gashes and bruises. The physical pain was theirs, but the psychological burden fell entirely on Kaori.
Suzuki knew Kaori shouldn't be wasting her precious mana healing minor scrapes. If she burned out her magical reserves playing nursemaid for Kouki's mistakes, she would be completely useless when a real crisis hit. To solve this, Suzuki had supplied her with his premium [Online Shopping] potions.
Of course, this made the expedition incredibly expensive. But since Suzuki managed the party's finances, he simply deducted the cost of the potions directly from the vanguard's loot shares. It was a flawless loop. He weaponized his financial monopoly to force the frontline to be more careful, simultaneously ensuring Kaori didn't drain her mana.
Still, Kaori was entirely too kind. She internalized every single drop of spilled blood as her own personal failure. The sheer terror of being useless had broken her, and when she finally found sanctuary in his arms, her suppressed anxiety had violently transformed into pure, insatiable lust.
"So... you two have just been hiding all these incredible comforts from me this entire time?"
The next morning, Kaori sat at the edge of the dining table in his [Subspace Penthouse]. She was wearing one of his oversized dress shirts, freshly bathed in imported lavender soap, and currently staring in absolute disbelief at a traditional, steaming Japanese breakfast of miso soup and grilled fish.
"Haha..." Shizuku laughed awkwardly, her cheeks dusting pink as she sipped her green tea.
"I keep it a secret because I don't want the others to know," Suzuki replied calmly, taking a bite of his rice. "Before you call me selfish, Kaori, imagine what would happen if the rest of the class found out I had a luxury hotel spa hidden in my pocket."
"....." Kaori fell silent, immediately realizing the horrific political ramifications. They would swarm him. They would demand he share it for "the greater good," completely draining his resources.
"But," Suzuki mused, his dark eyes glinting with a predatory, corporate light, "if my [Manager] level grows high enough, I might actually open the penthouse to them."
"Huh? Really?" Both girls blinked in shock.
"Yes. Once I can expand the subspace to include separate suites, I'll open it. And as long as they pay my exorbitant nightly room fees, they can sleep in a real bed."
"...You are an absolute devil," Shizuku muttered, though she couldn't hide her highly amused smirk.
And that was exactly why they trusted him so completely. The moment the terrified students tasted the safety and luxury of his skill, they would become instantly addicted. They would gladly hand over every single gold coin they earned just to escape the drafty dungeon floors. Suzuki held the ultimate monopoly on comfort.
Shizuku could swing her blade, and Kaori could cast her healing magic, but neither of them understood the ruthless math of survival. They knew Suzuki's methods were incredibly dark, but they also knew he was building an empire solely to protect them.
Rather than debate his business models, the girls' conversation naturally drifted back to the deeply scandalous events of the previous night.
"I still can't believe how incredibly lewd you were, Kaori," Shizuku teased, her eyes dropping to the faint, reddish marks blooming on Kaori's exposed collarbone.
"W-Weren't you exactly the same, Shizuku?!" Kaori squeaked, her entire face burning a brilliant crimson. "Your tongue was entirely too aggressive!"
"You were vastly worse! You practically begged him not to stop and swallowed every single—!"
"You did the exact same thing!" Kaori shrieked, covering her blushing face with her hands.
"....."
Suzuki quietly sipped his coffee. He honestly had to wonder if he had secretly acquired an [Incubus] job without the system notifying him, given how hopelessly addicted these two proud girls had become to him.
Still, it was perfect. Even though their three-way relationship was highly improper and would heavily scandalize the Kingdom, they were happy. The crushing weight of the death game vanished when they were tangled together. They were flawed, terrified humans, and they desperately needed each other's warmth to survive this brutal world.
"It's time," Suzuki finally announced, glancing at his sleek wristwatch.
"Yeah..." Shizuku and Kaori sighed in unison.
Neither of them wanted to leave the penthouse. They wanted to lock the dimensional door, bury themselves in his bed, and ignore the labyrinth entirely. But their consciences wouldn't let them abandon the class. More importantly, they knew Suzuki was quietly orchestrating a massive takeover to guarantee they could all eventually go home to Japan.
"You know," Shizuku murmured, adjusting her uniform collar, "if we actually make it back to Earth, and you somehow keep your Merchant wealth... I think we could afford the legal loopholes to marry each other."
"...Let's survive the dungeon before we start drafting the marriage certificates," Suzuki chuckled dryly.
Their immediate goal was simply staying alive. He needed to keep a close eye on his two girls today. As for the rest of the Hero party? They could fend for themselves.
But as they exited the penthouse and stepped back into the gloomy, echoing halls of the Labyrinth to regroup with the class, a sweet, timid voice called out to him.
"Um... Tanaka-kun? Could you possibly give me some advice on how to optimize my Job skills?"
A pretty girl with soft features approached him, looking incredibly innocent and sincere as she tilted her head.
Suzuki's perfectly calm heartbeat spiked. He offered her a flawless, polite smile, but internally, his [Assassin] instincts screamed red alert. The girl asking for his private attention was none other than Eri Nakamura—the most dangerous, unhinged psychopath in their entire group.