The Kamishiro estate was a sprawling marvel of modern architecture, but for Renji and his two sisters, whose parents were perpetually away on overseas business, their actual world was strictly contained to the second floor.
It was a longstanding rule of the household: the ground floor was for the live-in staff, but the second floor was an absolute family sanctuary. No servants were allowed up the grand staircase without explicit permission, other than their scheduled cleaning-work. Because of this, the second floor was built like an entirely self-sufficient luxury penthouse, complete with its own high-end kitchen, a sunlit dining room, and an expansive entertainment lounge. It offered ultimate, unfiltered privacy.
And for a guy who had recently awakened to the fact that he was living in a galgame universe with a cheat-code body, that privacy was an absolute godsend.
Renji stood at the stove of their private kitchen, a pair of long wooden chopsticks in his hand, expertly rolling a perfectly seasoned dashimaki tamago in a rectangular copper pan. The soft hiss of the egg hitting the hot, oiled metal and the rich, savoury aroma of dashi broth filled the air.
He was dressed purely for comfort, wearing a pair of light grey sweatpants that sat low on his hips and a fitted black t-shirt that stretched across his broad shoulders.
'I still sometimes can't believe it… I used to spend my Sunday mornings dreading the Monday commute,' Renji thought, expertly flipping the heavy egg roll. 'Now, I'm a millionaire high schooler with a Greek god-level physique, cooking gourmet breakfast in a private penthouse like those millionaire lifestyle videos I had watched once. Life is objectively hilarious.'
"Onii-chaaan..."
A soft, groggy whine broke the kitchen's peaceful silence.
Renji didn't even need to turn around before a small weight collided with his back. Two slender arms wrapped around his waist. Kamishiro Yume, his youngest sister, buried her face into his spine. She was wearing oversized, fuzzy pink pajamas that swallowed her petite, 150-centimeter frame entirely. Her twin-tails were a messy bird's nest of sleep.
"Morning, Yume," Renji said, a playful smile touching his lips. "You're up early for a Sunday. Did you finally beat that RPG boss you were crying about last night?"
"I smelled the good food," she mumbled into his shirt, rubbing her face against his back like an affectionate, sleepy cat. "You're so warm, Onii-chan… and hard. Your back feels like a brick wall."
"That's called muscle, dear. Something you'd get if you swung a racket outside instead of mashing buttons on the sofa," Renji teased, effortlessly transferring the golden, steaming egg roll onto a ceramic cutting board.
"Meanie." she pouted, tightening her grip around his waist.
"Are you going to let him cook, or are you planning to wear him like a backpack all morning?"
A cool, composed voice cut through the kitchen. Kamishiro Akari stepped through the archway. Unlike Yume, the sixteen-year-old cool beauty was already dressed for the day in a stylish, oversized beige knit sweater and black leggings that highlighted her long, slender legs. Her sleek black bob was perfectly brushed.
However, as Akari looked at Renji, her cool facade faltered for just a fraction of a second.
From her angle, the morning light hit him perfectly. The black t-shirt pulled taut across his chest, and the low-hanging grey sweatpants drew the eye dangerously close to the sharp, V-shaped cut of his obliques.
Akari quickly looked away, clearing her throat to hide the faint, unmistakable dusting of pink on her cheeks. "Good morning, nii-san."
Renji noticed the blush instantly. 'Oops. She is totally staring at my body, isn't she?' he chuckled internally. 'Well, I can't really blame her. The game developers really didn't hold back on my specs. I look like a walking thirst trap.'
'I can even say that I have the legitimate pass to be a narcissist…'
"Morning, Akari," Renji smiled cheerfully, pretending not to notice her flustered state. "Perfect timing. Set the table please, the breakfast is ready."
Ten minutes later, the three of them were seated at the dining table. The spread was flawless: grilled silver cod with a perfect crispy skin, the fluffy dashimaki tamago, a vibrant spinach salad with sesame dressing, and steaming bowls of miso soup and white rice. Because there were no servants hovering around, the atmosphere was completely relaxed.
Yume dug in immediately, making happy, muffled noises around a mouthful of egg. Akari ate with elegant, practiced manners, though her eyes widened slightly at the rich flavour of the cod.
"Nii-san, your cooking has gotten even better," Akari noted, taking a delicate sip of her green tea. "It's a good thing the staff doesn't come up here, or the head chef would lose all his confidence about his future job security."
"I just felt like making something proper today." Renji said casually, leaning back in his chair. He picked up his mug of black coffee, taking a slow sip.
He set the mug down with a soft clink.
"After all," Renji said, his tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather. "I won't be at present here next week. I've got a five-day shoot from the day after tomorrow, so I'll be taking a leave of absence. I will submit the application tomorrow at school."
The clattering of chopsticks stopped.
Yume's jaw dropped, a piece of rice sticking comically to her cheek. "Ehh?! Five days?! But onii-chan, who is going to make my special lunches if you're gone for a whole week?! I can't go on without your food for an entire week, I'll wither away!"
Akari shot Yume a disapproving look before turning to Renji, trying to maintain her mature, sisterly composure. "A five-day shoot? That's unusually long, even for you. Where is the location? Is it an overseas campaign again?"
"No, it's domestic," Renji replied, resting his chin on his hand. "A closed-set, high-end indoor tropical studio down in the city. The brand rented out the entire facility for the week to simulate a resort environment."
"A resort environment?" Akari tilted her head, her blue eyes reflecting innocent curiosity. "It's just mid-April. What kind of clothes require a tropical set right now? A summer pre-release catalogue?"
Renji's lips curved into a slow, mischievous smirk, hidden from his sisters. He loved these sisters of his and doesn't want to mess with them, but the opportunity to completely shatter Akari's cool, pristine facade was simply too entertaining to pass up.
"You could say that…" Renji said smoothly, leaning forward slightly. "It's a slightly mature summer swimwear campaign. I'll be modelling their new line of swim briefs. I am trying my hands at new kind of projects to expand my horizons."
Akari, who was sipping her green tea, choked violently, coughing into her napkin as her eyes watered. Her sleek, composed aura completely and instantly disintegrated.
"A-A-A what?!" Akari wheezed, her face turning a vivid, explosive shade of crimson that spread all the way down her neck.
"Swim briefs, you know, the sleek, form-fitting ones." Renji repeated helpfully, a playful glint in his eye. "The only thing I am a little nervous about is that… they cling to everything and leave very little to the imagination. The agency specifically requested me for it and are even paying me more than the average for this shoot."
Akari's eyes widened in sheer panic. Despite her best efforts to remain purely platonic and sisterly, her gaze betrayed her. Her eyes darted frantically downward, locking onto the table just above Renji's lap, her brain instantly and involuntarily pulling up the mental image of her cool brother's heavily muscled physique squeezed into a tiny, unforgiving layer of spandex.
Renji let his cheat skill activate just for the fun of it.
[Target: Kamishiro Akari]
[Status: Extreme Panic / Deeply Flustered]
[Current Thought: "Skin-tight?! With his body?! No, don't imagine it! Stop imagining it! It's going to outline everything!"]
[Frustration Gauge: 98%]
Renji had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from bursting into laughter. 'Pfft! She's totally imagining it! My pristine, honour-student sister is having a complete ecchi meltdown in her head right now! This is too good.'
"Nii-san!" Akari finally managed to squeak out, slamming her hands onto the table. "You're a high school student! You can't model something so... so indecent! It's practically underwear!"
"Hey, like I said, it pays incredibly well," Renji shrugged, unapologetically fanning the flames. "Plus, I get a week off from math class. It's a win-win."
Akari looked like she was about to faint.
Yume, who was slightly too innocent to fully grasp the scandalous nature of the skin-tight swimwear, zeroed in on a completely different detail. Her eyes narrowed into dangerous, possessive slits.
"Chotto matte… (Hold on)" Yume interrupted, pointing her chopsticks at Renji like a tiny, angry prosecutor. "You said it's a campaign. Are you shooting alone? Or... are there women there?"
"It's a couples' shoot," Renji answered truthfully, taking another relaxed sip of his coffee. "I have a co-star. The theme is 'Sensual Summer Getaway'."
"Who?!" Yume demanded, practically vibrating with sudden jealousy. "Who is the lady that is taking away my onii-chan for almost a week?!"
Renji set his mug down and looked between his hyper-jealous younger sister and his completely flustered older sister.
"Kanzaki Rio." Renji said calmly.
For a second, there was absolute, dead silence in the dining room.
Then, total chaos erupted.
"KANZAKI RIO?!" Akari shrieked, her voice cracking entirely.
The name was a bombshell. Kanzaki Rio wasn't just a model; she was one of the top Gravure Idols in the country. She was famous for two things: her incredibly sultry, playful aura, and her completely devastating, natural J-cup bust. She was a woman who made a living posing in impossibly tiny bikinis, dripping wet on beaches, radiating raw, adult sex appeal.
"That cow?!" Yume yelled, jumping up from her chair. "Onii-chan, you're going to be half-naked in a studio with that massive, heavy-chested woman for five days?!"
Yume looked down at her own completely flat chest, her pajama top hanging loosely. A wave of profound, devastating defeat washed over her, instantly followed by pure rage.
"No! I forbid it!" Yume whined, running around the table and grabbing Renji's arm, trying to shake him. "She's going to rub those giant melons all over you! You're too good for a gravure idol!"
Renji was also internally doing backflips of pure joy. 'Of course! That's one of the reasons! J-cups. Literal J-cups. I get to spend a week in a tropical studio next to a national treasure. God bless this crazy galgame world!' Outwardly, however, he maintained his charming, princely smile. He gently poked Yume's forehead, stopping her from shaking his arm.
"Calm down, Yume," Renji laughed, finding her tantrum genuinely endearing. "It's just a job. Don't be so jealous. Eat your spinach and maybe you'll grow up to be like her eventually."
"I don't want to be a cow!" Yume shrieked, her face bright red as she stomped her foot.
Renji turned his gaze to Akari, who was still standing with her hands glued to the table, looking at him as if he had just announced he was joining a mafia family.
"Nii-san, this... this is too much!" Akari stammered. "Kanzaki Rio is an adult! Her photoshoots are always so... intimate! They shouldn't let you do a 'sensual' couple's shoot with someone like her!"
"Akari, you know about the new policy the government is planning to pass right? With all over the news, it will soon come to pass and with that into motion, I don't see any problem…"
"But—"
"It's an opportunity for something new, Akari." Renji said, changing to a slightly serious tone. "The agency booked me because I don't look or act like a nervous amateur. I'm going to be fine. If anything, she's the one who should be nervous working with me."
He stood up, his towering frame dwarfing them both. As he stretched his arms to flex his biceps, he deliberately let his t-shirt ride up just an inch higher than necessary, flashing the hard, sculpted ridges of his lower abdomen.
Akari instantly averted her eyes, swallowing hard and gripping the edge of the table.
"Anyway," Renji said playfully, grabbing his empty coffee mug. "I need to go and start packing my bags. I will leave tomorrow after school, so we can start bright and early on Tuesday. You two are on dish duty."
He turned and walked out of the dining room, leaving his sisters in a state of absolute, flustered ruin.
As he climbed the grand staircase toward his bedroom, Renji couldn't help the wide, adventurous grin that spread across his face.
A private indoor beach, swimwear and a famously busty gravure idol known for teasing her co-stars. There were no school rules, no friends and emotions getting in the way, so no holding back. He was finally going to "enjoy" a little.
He was leaving the high school drama behind for a week to step into an adult playground.
'Let's see just how wild this new life can really get,' Renji thought, his blood humming with pure, unadulterated excitement. 'I am going to enjoy every single second of this.'