"Maria!"
Akira's voice carried the power of Bewitch Heart. "I know you're watching. Come over."
The power of Cognitive Distortion was not just able to input one cognition into the target. Instead, after each cooldown, it could write or distort one cognition. Just now, Akira had already planted a cognition in Eriri's mind: that sisters being together was a common occurrence. So Eriri subconsciously believed that there was nothing wrong with Maria appearing here.
Maria, as if possessed, walked stiffly into the living room. She reached out to cover her face, but a gap remained between her fingers.
"Mr. Akira, I seem to have come at the wrong time."
"No, you've come at just the right time."
Cognitive Distortion activated again.
Maria suddenly felt that she was being a bit too shy. Wasn't this the most common thing that happened in the Bear Country? What was there to be shy about?
"Hmm, it really is the right time."
Maria lowered her hand, her smile gentle. The previous Cognitive Distortion had not yet dissipated; Akira was still her true love in her cognition—the person for whom she could do anything. Now Akira was with her sister. Then she could naturally and smoothly join in.
Her cognition changed, but her body was clumsy, not knowing how to proceed with what was next.
Akira freed a hand and pulled Maria into his arms.
God's Hand activated, triggering simultaneously with Bystander.
Maria immediately realized she had made the right decision. She slowly tidied the stray hairs at her temples, her eyes radiating something warm.
Maternal love.
Maria had always been soft-spoken, her voice sounding languid, always showing kindness and tolerance, even if Akira was also her "true love." But from the road until she returned home, she had been very restrained and forbearing. She saw herself as the elder, yielding to and accommodating Eriri. She also gave Akira, as her "true love," the right to be unrestrained.
This yielding and tolerance indirectly led to the current situation.
"Mr. Akira, Eriri is a bit tired. Let me help her."
Maria's delicate face drew near, a loving smile on her face, her nose touching Akira's.
"Sister! No."
While "taking care" of Akira, Maria didn't forget to take care of Eriri. Her movements were very gentle. But under the effect of Akira's Bystander, the destructive power was undeniable.
After a short while, Abdicate the Throne activated.
Maria then let Akira rest his head on Eriri's lap.
Eriri was indeed an E-cup—no mistake. Akira could only see Eriri's slightly shy expression through that narrow opening.
Eriri turned her head, muttering with a touch of tsundere: "Mr. Akira, you really are something—help me too!" (Russian)
Hearing these words, Akira only felt that this was heaven. The benevolent "Saint Mother" Maria, and Eriri, who said one thing but meant another, loving to grumble in Russian.
At this moment, Akira only wished the game would continue like this.
Unfortunately, happy times are always short. Going home from school had taken nearly an hour. Now, the phone alarm rang, signaling that the time for this round was about to end.
It was at this moment—
A wave of Cognitive Distortion swept through the two sisters' minds, and the previously planted cognition—"Akira is your true love"—was completely withdrawn.
In that instant, expressions of disbelief appeared on both their faces. Panic and fear instantly seized their hearts.
"How could this be? Why is this happening?"
Although the Cognitive Distortion was gone, their memories with Akira during this period would not be erased. The lack of logical links between their memories caused their thoughts to become chaotic.
Akira. They had clearly never met this person before. Why did they feel like they had known him for a long time, even letting him into their home so easily?
Even, even… the traces in the living room weren't messy; they were basically just the two sisters' clothes. But this scene, at this moment, was enough to make them question their lives.
This was their first time. Just like this, inexplicably… who started it?
Maria looked at Eriri. Eriri also looked at Maria.
She remembered very clearly that it seemed like she had initiated everything. She didn't know why she had done such things at the time. She only knew that now they seemed to have made a huge mistake. An irreversible mistake. And her mistake had also harmed Maria.
Akira heard the alarm and understood that the effect of the first Cognitive Distortion had disappeared. But he wasn't in a hurry. Just as a lake that is too calm always makes one want to throw a stone to create ripples, Akira was very interested in the reactions of the two women to this "accident."
"I don't know. I just suddenly remembered that I don't seem to know you two."
The three of them looked at each other, not knowing what had happened.
"Ah~!"
Eriri covered her face. "At least let's end this ridiculous situation first."
Maria then realized that the three of them were connected in a somewhat delicate way. But as soon as she moved, Akira couldn't help but move as well, which in turn affected Eriri.
"Sorry, my body is a bit out of control."
The two women's minds were in turmoil, but they still gritted their teeth and ended the farce.
The two of them didn't avoid Akira and started putting on their clothes right in front of him.
"Aren't you going inside?"
"You've already seen everything. What's there to hide?"
Eriri zipped up her short skirt, then pulled her soft, silvery-white long hair out from under her top. Recalling the madness from earlier, her face was a little red, but compared to that, dealing with the aftermath of this matter was more important.
"Mr. Akira, this is a very normal thing where we come from. It's just that thinking about what just happened, I feel like many things aren't quite right."
Akira put on his boxers and T-shirt, drank some black tea, and looked at the two women.
"I feel the same way."
He looked at his hands. "Maria, can I try something?"
Akira first placed one hand on Maria's face. Maria didn't feel anything unusual. But when he cupped her face, she suddenly felt her body become sensitive. Especially now that Eriri was fully dressed and watching. That sensation was enough to indicate that the previous situation involved many forces that could not be judged by common sense.
"What are you two doing?"
Watching the two of them "gaze deeply at each other," Eriri averted her eyes. "Don't expect me to join in this time—I'm very clear-headed now."
But the next moment—
Akira had already used his mind to exit the game. His figure simply vanished directly from Maria's sight, leaving the two sisters looking at each other, completely at a loss for what to do.
Returning to his bed, Akira immediately took out his phone to check his progress.
He found that under Kasumigaoka Utaha's name in the second chapter, two branches had appeared like tree branches.
Maria, capture progress: 15%
Eriri, capture progress: 10%
"So low?"
Akira couldn't help but mumble.
It's a side effect of Cognitive Distortion. Cognitive Distortion will eventually revert, and without its effect, all those seemingly loving sentiments are empty talk.
Hmm~! The effect of Cognitive Distortion is indeed significant, but it cannot be directly used to increase capture progress. It made sense when you think about it. If such a heaven-defying ability counted, Akira could max out capture progress just by looking at the target.
Ah~!
Akira threw himself onto the floor futon.
It was exhilarating, but just exhilarating—no improvement. Tonight, he'd better go play in the other world.
On the other side.
Eriri and Maria were terrified. They didn't know how to deal with this matter, nor did they understand the specifics. They only knew that they had suddenly met Akira on the road, and then everything had proceeded too smoothly. By the time they realized something was wrong, this Akira had suddenly vanished into thin air—and they had witnessed it with their own eyes.
"This isn't a dream, is it?"
Eriri took a sip of black tea, somewhat distracted. She wished it was all a dream, but while other traces could be erased, her first time was undeniably gone.
Oh dear~! She hadn't even been in love yet, and her first time was already gone. This made her very vexed.
"I wish it were a dream too, but this really did happen."
Maria put a spoonful of jam into her mouth and took a sip of black tea. A satisfied expression appeared on her face.
"I envy you—you can still drink tea so calmly."
"There's nothing to be done about it. And besides, this is our…"
As she was speaking, the effect of another Cognitive Distortion behind them dissipated. Their cognitions returned to normal, and both their faces froze as they looked at each other in horror.
Finally, a tragic scream erupted.
"What do we do about this?"
Eriri couldn't calm down. She hadn't expected that an already bad situation would get even worse. She and her sister actually…
Maria was relatively much calmer. "There's nothing we can do. We can't talk about this. Even if we did, no one would probably believe us."
"That's too good for that Akira!"
Even if he was handsome, it was unforgivable.
Eriri hugged her arms, her face suddenly turning red—those memories were like they were branded into her mind.
"Hmm. We can't let that Akira get away with it. We should find him."
With Maria's reminder, Eriri instantly found a direction.
"When does the National High School Kendo Tournament start?"
Akira was brushing his teeth when he suddenly remembered this.
"It's today. The venue is a small gymnasium not far from the school. Mr. Akira, you don't have to come and watch."
Akira looked at Busujima Saeko's collar. "How can I not go? Anyway, I don't have anything to do."
Indeed, with Eroge, he was now financially free, and during the day, he felt a bit idle. But Busujima Saeko didn't know any of this; she was simply happy because Akira was going to watch her competition.
However, she still added, "I was the champion of the previous Kendo Tournament. This is just a preliminary match."
"Even a preliminary match can't be missed. Saeko, hold back a little during the match—I'm afraid your opponent will be too devastated."
"Understood, dear."
Wiping the foam from her mouth, Busujima Saeko unhesitatingly threw herself into Akira's arms. She was still bothered by not being able to control her body. She felt that she might have to leave Akira's side soon. As soon as she thought of these things, her feelings for Akira in her heart grew even stronger.
"Alright, class is about to start. I'll take you to school."
Not long after, the minivan gave a low hum and sped toward the school.
Last night, Kirigaya Suguha went to bed very late. She had been waiting for Akira's night raid. But who would have thought that he really didn't come, wasting her expression.
As soon as she thought of this, Kirigaya Suguha's stomach began to ache faintly. It wasn't hurting before, but Akira made it hurt again.
Upon reaching her classroom, she sat down as usual. Today was the preliminary round, and she couldn't let that guy distract her. Speaking of which, Senior Busujima had grown too quickly under Akira's guidance. This year's champion would definitely be her again.
Just then, a commotion from outside the door reached her. She turned to look and spotted a gleaming black business car parked in front of the school gate.
Busujima Saeko got out of the car and headed into the campus. Akira didn't get out of the car; he just waved his hand and prepared to leave.
But at that moment, a gaze suddenly caught his attention. Turning his head, he saw the iron-fisted teacher, Hiratsuka Shizuka, standing at the school gate, looking surprised.
Huh? Is Hiratsuka Shizuka a teacher here? The one I saw before was clearly someone else. Did they switch shifts?
Akira thought it was very possible, but class was about to start, so he just nodded in acknowledgment and didn't linger. He stepped on the accelerator and left immediately.
Hiratsuka Shizuka was stunned.
As soon as she saw Akira, she remembered what had happened a month ago. Many things happened that night that she found hard to forget. And what she found most unforgettable was that she hadn't gotten Akira's number. She thought it would be fine to ask for it after waking up. Unexpectedly, when she opened her eyes, she found the spot next to her empty. The room only had scattered beer cans on the table, unfinished snacks, and her discarded clothes.
At that moment, her heart grew cold.
After opening Pandora's box, she didn't want it to be just a beautiful dream. However, the reality was that Akira hadn't left any useful information, making it impossible for her to know where to even begin looking for him.
And now, a month later, she saw her destined one again after a long time. She originally wanted to chase after him regardless of everything, but considering that class was about to start, she held herself back.
He must be the driver.
Due to the shift change, she hadn't seen who the young man driving the sports car to drop off Busujima Saeko was. Moreover, she and Akira had met on the tram, and in her opinion, Akira didn't have the financial means to buy such a luxury car.
So, after some consideration, Akira became the driver hired by the owner of that luxury car.
It seems I'll have to ask Busujima Saeko. It just so happens that she's leading the team for this national high school kendo tournament—perhaps I can get some clues here.
Buzz buzz buzz.
Akira glanced at his phone and answered the call.
"Mr. Akira, I wonder when we can continue discussing the lease renewal."
Yukinoshita Haruno's voice was a little apprehensive, sounding cautious.
Akira found it amusing. The usually poised Yukinoshita Haruno actually had moments of timidity.
"I happen to have time now and plan to go to Skyscraper X. Oh, right—after we talked yesterday, how's the progress of those companies moving out?"
Yukinoshita Haruno breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, she had people keeping an eye on it; otherwise, not being able to answer this question would have been a bit awkward.
"The 90th floor has been vacated, and other floors should be gradually cleared out today."
"Alright. I'll see you in a bit."
Akira hung up the phone and pressed harder on the accelerator.
On the other side, Yukinoshita Haruno was a bit lost in thought.
See you in a bit? Could something like yesterday happen again today?
As soon as she recalled yesterday's events, Yukinoshita Haruno's mood became very complex. She had intended to treat this matter as a transaction—a simple exchange of money for goods. But the dreams she had all last night made her realize that this didn't seem to be something her will could control at all.
She understood that a man like Akira surely had many women and wouldn't easily get involved in emotional relationships.
Never mind. Let's just be friends for now. As for those other matters, I'll temporarily bury them in my heart.
About ten minutes later, Yukinoshita Haruno was waiting on the first floor. After sitting for a while, she saw Akira walk in, looking excited.
"Mr. Akira."
Yukinoshita Haruno's attire today was a simple, understated slip dress—not particularly eye-catching. But as a woman, she exuded a mature charm.
"Very beautiful."
"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Akira. Shall we go up?"
Akira nodded but walked ahead of Yukinoshita Haruno, leading her to a space she had never entered before.
Then she discovered that in this building where she commuted daily, an elevator had appeared out of thin air.
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