---
[Hirose Residence – Living Room ]
The delicate Mrs. Hirose Kaguya stood before him with all the bashful vulnerability of a woman half her age—cheeks flushed peony-pink, slender fingers clutching the towel wrapped around her body like it was the last shred of dignity she possessed.
Steam still clung to her skin from the bath. The living room smelled of jasmine shampoo and something warmer underneath—nervousness, maybe. Anticipation.
"Riku... I can't accept this money."
Her voice came out smaller than she intended. The ten million yen debt collectors had been calling every day now. Working the food stall from dawn until dusk barely covered the interest. And Yoru—her precious daughter—had already started picking up shifts to help. If those men grew impatient, there was no telling what they might do.
This is wrong. He's just a student. Why is he doing this?
Riku rose from his seat, the leather creaking softly beneath him.
"Madam, this money can help you weather the storm for now. Think of it as lifting some of the pressure off you and Yoru both."
Mrs. Hirose's brow furrowed. Ten million yen wasn't pocket change anywhere in Tokyo. For a mere student to produce that sum so casually—was he really just a high schooler?
And more than that... she didn't believe herself worth such an amount.
I'm just a tired widow with debt and stretch marks. What could he possibly want?
"Riku... what exactly is your purpose here?"
"Madam." His smile didn't waver. "This money comes with conditions."
"Then tell me."
He stepped forward. Close enough now that she caught his scent—clean cotton and something darker, muskier. The heat radiating off his body made the air between them feel thick, syrupy.
His eyes locked onto hers without blinking.
"Madam, my condition is..."
The narration echoed inside Riku's skull:
「Mrs. Hirose holds significant fondness for you, but pursuing her through conventional means would be tedious. Tomorrow is Yoru's birthday—certain matters must be settled tonight. You've decided to leverage money as pressure against Mrs. Hirose. After all, she desperately needs it...」
「Despicable Orator」 activated.
「Secret Explorer」 activated.
You have acquired one secret clue regarding Mrs. Hirose Kaguya.
Riku understood now—「Despicable Orator」triggered specifically when he intended to voice threatening or coercive statements. The "despicable" prefix really earned its name.
He reviewed the newly obtained clue:
Clue #1 – Mrs. Hirose Kaguya:
Beneath her resilient exterior lies a fragile heart. Under the crushing weight of debt, her daughter Yoru has become her greatest anxiety.
If someone were willing to clear her debts entirely, Mrs. Hirose would do anything.
Clue Note:
Becoming her creditor allows you to make unreasonable demands. Her psychological tolerance limit is 100 days.
Ten million yen can purchase 100 days of Mrs. Hirose's compliance—this represents her absolute bottom line.
Riku exhaled slowly.
Buy her for a hundred days.
This clue was explosively useful. The ten million essentially paid off debts owed by both Yoru and her mother—which meant he could enjoy the Hedonist System's twenty-fold rebate through Yoru.
Twenty times ten million yen.
Two hundred million.
---
Mrs. Hirose felt the intensity of his gaze like a physical weight pressing against her chest. Before she realized what she was doing, she'd retreated backward, her calves hitting the edge of the sofa. She dropped onto the cushions with a soft fwump, towel riding dangerously high on her thighs.
Like a lamb awaiting slaughter.
With the clue's guidance and「Despicable Orator」enhancing his words, Riku spoke:
"Madam... running that stall every day must be exhausting."
She opened her mouth to respond—
"Can this money buy you for one hundred days?"
Mrs. Hirose's eyes went wide.
The first sentence had warmed something in her chest. The second shattered that warmth into jagged disbelief.
Her hands tightened around the towel's edge until her knuckles blanched white.
This boy I thought was a harmless lamb... he's a wolf. A hungry wolf.
"O-One hundred... days?"
"What are you... saying, Riku?"
Her voice cracked. She shook her head slowly, as if trying to dislodge what she'd heard.
"Riku-kun, you're joking... right?"
"Aren't you?"
He didn't advance immediately. Simply let the silence stretch.
"I'm not joking."
His tone dropped lower, smoother—like honey laced with something bitter.
"Think about it, Madam. Don't you want to give Yoru a safe future? What have all those early mornings and late nights been for?"
"If these ten million can clear your debts... Yoru won't need to work herself ragged anymore. She can focus purely on her studies."
"A girl who's desperate for money can so easily stumble down the wrong path..." He tilted his head, studying her. "You wouldn't want that for her. Would you?"
「Despicable Orator」combined with the clue struck directly at Mrs. Hirose's psychological fault lines.
She had no grounds to refuse.
But still...
Her heart thrashed against her ribs like a caged bird. The logical part of her knew she should accept. The rest of her screamed that this was wrong—that she was about to become something she'd never imagined.
Riku read the hesitation in the trembling of her lower lip, the way her gaze kept darting toward the bedroom door where Yoru's childhood photos hung.
He decided to make the choice for her.
In one fluid motion, he closed the remaining distance, his body leaning forward until she had nowhere to go. Her back met the sofa cushions; his palms planted on either side of her head. The towel slipped another inch.
"Madam... you wouldn't want Yoru finding out about what you've done with me, would you?"
Mrs. Hirose stared up at him with genuine shock.
This isn't the innocent boy I thought I knew. I misjudged him completely.
She had assumed Riku was a wholesome, well-mannered student. That assumption was precisely why she'd felt comfortable chatting with him while wearing nothing but a bath towel.
In her mind, he'd been a harmless puppy—obedient, sweet, unthreatening.
That mental image shattered like glass against concrete.
Ten million yen. One hundred days.
I could pay off everything.
She could endure anything for that. Couldn't she?
And the terrifying truth was—she didn't entirely despise the situation. The heat of his body hovering over hers. The commanding edge in his voice.
What's wrong with me?
「Shameless Thief」activated.
Under the title's subtle influence, the tension between them thickened. His breath ghosted across her collarbone; hers came faster, shorter.
She felt it pressing against her inner thigh through his pants—rigid, insistent.
Mrs. Hirose squirmed beneath him, her resistance halfhearted at best. A symbolic struggle. Then her eyes drifted shut, and she surrendered like a woman accepting her fate.
Yoru will be safe. That's what matters. That's all that matters.
Several heartbeats passed.
Finally, her lips parted:
"Riku..."
Her voice died for a moment before she could finish.
"...I accept your deal."
The words hung in the humid air between them.
Riku leaned down until his lips brushed the shell of her ear.
"Good girl, Madam. You've made the correct choice."
His fingers hooked around the towel's knot—and yanked.
"Mmnh—!" A startled whimper escaped her throat as cool air kissed newly exposed skin.
She lay sprawled on the sofa, every curve and slope of her body bared for his inspection. Her figure defied her age—full breasts that maintained their shape despite time, waist tapering inward before flaring into generous hips, thighs smooth and pale with the faintest trace of silvery stretch marks near her pelvis like battle scars.
Mrs. Hirose's eyes fluttered open, watching him watch her.
"Madam... your body is incredible."
Heat flooded her cheeks at the compliment. The「Shameless Thief」effect amplified her arousal, painting her face and chest in deepening shades of rose.
Why does his praise make me feel this way?
Riku's hand descended, cupping the heavy swell of her left breast. His palm was warm; her flesh yielded softly beneath his grip, filling the spaces between his fingers.
"Ahh—!" She nearly cried out, both hands flying to cover her mouth.
He squeezed experimentally, feeling the nipple stiffen against his palm. When he lifted his hand away, a thin strand of something slick and clear connected his fingertips to her areola.
"Madam... you're so sensitive." His grin sharpened. "Already this wet just from being touched?"
"D-Don't... say such things..." Her voice came out strangled, mortified.
She felt herself growing wetter by the second—slickness pooling between her thighs, the scent of her own arousal mingling with jasmine and sweat.
Riku dipped his head, lips closing around one taut nipple. His tongue traced slow circles while his hand kneaded the other breast, fingers occasionally pinching and rolling the peak until she whimpered.
"Hahh... nnh..."
Just as he prepared to escalate further—
The narration interrupted:
「As you're about to proceed, footsteps echo from the corridor outside. Hirose Yoru has returned? She didn't continue her date with Sato Shiro?」
「No matter. Her arrival will only make things more... stimulating. What if this happened right in front of her daughter...?」
Riku lifted his head, saliva glistening on her breast.
"Madam... it sounds like your daughter's almost home."
His smile turned wicked.
"Doesn't that make this even more exciting?"
Mrs. Hirose's eyes went wide with fresh panic.
"You... what are you planning to—"