Vol 1 Chapter 5【Vol 1 – The Woman Next Door】

Items aside, the real problem was figuring out how to conquer Sakurai. I had far too little to work with. The fact that she was secretly enjoying affairs behind her husband’s back seemed solid enough — but how to actually use that information was another question entirely.

Too little intel. Conquest or no conquest, it seemed like getting close to her was at least theoretically possible — but just walking up and hitting on her out of the blue wasn’t going to fly. Information was everything. With what I had right now, the only thing passing was time. I made up my mind to head back to her apartment and try again.

I wanted to find something useful inside. The Scouter had listed her hobby as going to clubs — but what about her everyday habits, the ordinary things? Those were what I was curious about.

I also needed to confirm whether breaking into someone’s home with the 【Master Key】 alone was enough to trigger the police. I was already fairly sure it wasn’t — but verifying it conclusively would let me use the 【Master Key】 without risk going forward.

So this time, I decided to move carefully — slip in during a window when she wasn’t home.

I peeled back the curtain and kept my eyes fixed outside. From my room, the entrance to her building across the way was visible. That’s how I’d always caught glimpses of her taking out the trash at the same hour. If I spotted her leaving, that was my moment.

The time crept past 11:30 AM. Staring out the window without a break was draining — I was thoroughly sick of it already. God, I missed having a working computer. Damn, I could really use one right now. It was looking like she wasn’t planning to leave before noon. Come to think of it, she’d been sprawled in front of the TV in those hot pants and a T-shirt earlier. That was the posture of someone with no intention of going anywhere for a while.

So for now, I headed out to the convenience store to fill my stomach. The food I’d bought before had vanished with the 【Load】, which meant I was starting from zero. I grabbed a bento, came back, and worked through it with one eye on the window. The clock moved at its own unhurried pace. Had she slipped out while I was gone?

I’d heard somewhere that women take considerable time to get ready before going out — especially for anything longer than a quick errand. What I needed was exactly that: a long outing. Which meant she had to be inside still. I was steadily growing more irritable at having nothing to do but stare — and then, finally, there was movement. Sakurai stepped out through her building’s entrance and started walking. Fitted jeans and a blouse. She’d done her makeup too.

Anyone could have told that she was heading somewhere.

The Scouter’s Conquest Info had said she had multiple affair partners. By all appearances, she was on her way to meet one of them without her husband knowing. Now, I thought, and moved fast toward the building next door.

On the off chance her husband had come home while I was at the convenience store, or that someone else was inside — just to cover every possibility — I pressed the doorbell first. No response. Tap the bridge before you cross it; that mattered right now. Looked like the coast was clear.

【Use Master Key?】

I pulled up the 【Master Key】 and tapped it. The door opened. I stepped inside without a hitch. Took off my shoes and swept my gaze across the living room. And as expected — no police. No enforcement response appeared that would negate the entire point of the 【Master Key】’s existence.

That settled it. The police had shown up because I’d tried to force myself on her. Simply entering wasn’t enough to trigger them. I relaxed and looked around the space. A sofa, a TV in front of it—a few pieces of furniture — nothing out of the ordinary.

Moving to the table, I noticed a handful of envelopes. Looking through them, I found debt collection notices. Loan repayment reminders—money she’d funneled into the clubs, most likely — all behind her husband’s back.

Two rooms in total. One was the bedroom; the other looked like it might be a study. I went into the bedroom — a bed, a dresser, a wardrobe. I opened the wardrobe without thinking much of it. Her clothes filled it.

But there was nothing of her husband’s. Were they keeping their things separate? Or maybe — living apart? Given the Scouter’s note that the marriage wasn’t going well, the theory wasn’t far-fetched. I moved out of the bedroom and into the study. It was clearly a man’s room — his belongings were everywhere. But all of it was completely ordinary. Nothing useful.

What struck me was how little it felt lived-in. The books that seemed to be his were coated in a visible layer of dust. Compared to the bedroom, which had none, this room looked like it hadn’t been intentionally cleaned in a long time.

So they really were living apart.

I checked the bathroom too. One toothbrush. Shampoo, toiletries — everything was women’s products. That only reinforced the theory.

The kitchen had an oversized refrigerator. I circled back to the living room. On the wall above the TV, a large wedding photo showed her husband and Sakurai smiling — radiantly happy. How had two people like that ended up living separately? Probably the affairs.

— Beep-beep-beep.

The sound of the door lock disengaging.

I startled and ducked into the bedroom, pulling the door shut behind me. She was back sooner than I’d expected. Now what. This was bad. If she came into the bedroom like this, I was done. I was turning it over in my head — and then the wardrobe caught my eye. I yanked the door open and squeezed inside. Standing there in the dark, I offered up a silent, desperate prayer that she would somehow leave again.

The sound of the bedroom door opening. Sakurai, almost certainly. Being found was only a matter of time. My heart was trying to leave my ribcage.

“You actually found my place — you must’ve looked pretty hard,” she said.

“Yeah, it wasn’t easy.”

“You could’ve just called me instead of wandering around.”

“A man has his pride.”

“And then you called anyway.”

“More importantly — you’re sure your husband won’t be coming back?”

“He won’t. Stop worrying about that and kiss me. I’ve been wanting to do this for a while now. Hehe.”

“I love that about you.”

Those were the last words I heard before a wet, smacking sound filled the room. They were kissing. It threw me off completely. Of all the things — kissing, right on the other side of that door. Did that mean they were about to take things further in the very bed I was hiding next to?

Multiple affair partners. Unbelievable.

And then it hit me — the see-through camera. Even if they were separated, photos of an affair would be seriously damaging for Sakurai. In a divorce proceeding, evidence like that would wipe out any alimony claim—perfect material for leverage.

If I could use that — it might actually open a door. And maybe the reason the 【Camera】 was in the 【Item Shop】 in the first place was exactly this.

My mind was made up. I pulled up the 【Item Shop】.

【Lv.1 Scouter — ¥100,000】

【Sleep Spray — ¥250,000】

【Master Key — ¥600,000】

【Camera — ¥100,000】

【Foreign Car — ¥50,000,000】

【Domestic Car — ¥8,000,000】

【Purchase Camera for ¥100,000?】

I tapped the window. The description I’d read before said it could capture anything I aimed it at — walls included. It was a see-through item. From inside this wardrobe, I ought to be able to get a clean shot of whatever was happening out there. The method: activate the item, look in the direction I wanted to capture, and blink. I just needed to have a clear mental image of my subject.

But that was precisely when it happened.