Vol 1 Chapter 7【Vol 1 – The Woman Next Door】

Sakurai Ami made a point of letting him see her body as she leaned close, whispering against his ear in a way that sent a tingle down his spine. She gripped the hand holding the cash like she had no intention of ever letting go. He’d agonized for so long over how to get close to her, and just like that — solved. Money really was the magic word with this woman. He put on a show of hesitation, arranging his face into something serious and conflicted.

“Huh? Am I sorry? What exactly do you mean by… play?“

Sakurai smiled as she’d finally landed her catch and tugged his hand.

“What else would ‘adult fun’ mean between two people? Let’s be good neighbors, you and I. Hehe. Come on in for a bit.”

She was more forward than he expected. She clearly needed money that badly. Was she planning to ask him for a loan? If I get into her apartment and she pulls me down with her — does that count as a conquest? Even knowing exactly how greedy she was, his heart went ba-dump, ba-dump at the thought. He ended up going inside anyway. She waved him toward the couch.

“Your husband?”

He asked, glancing at the wedding photo hanging on the wall. Her expression shifted — suddenly, genuinely sorrowful.

“We’re divorced. That’s why I’ve been so lonely lately…”

Divorced? Give me a break. He already knew they were separated — not divorced. And if they were really divorced, why was the wedding photo still hanging there? What a shameless, half-baked lie. He stood up from the couch. Nerves had caught up with him — he needed the bathroom.

“Mind if I use your restroom?”

“Of course. It’s right over there.”

He was already stepping through the door before she finished her sentence. Damn. He knew where the bathroom was, so his body had just moved on its own. A first-time visitor who knows exactly where the bathroom is — wasn’t that a little suspicious?

When he came out, Sakurai was in the kitchen pouring drinks. She didn’t seem to find anything odd. Her eyes were still glued to the wad of cash in his hand. He set the cash on the table. Her gaze followed it like a magnet.

Then time stopped. A white light swallowed the room. Another set of choices.

Two options materialized in front of him:

【CHOICE 1: Sneak into the study】

【CHOICE 2: Talk】

Why the study all of a sudden? He picked option 2. Option 1 was too out of nowhere. The moment he chose, his body was free again. Sakurai came over carrying a glass of orange juice.

“You look like you’ve got money.”

Her gaze was deeply alluring — eyes glittering. So this is what a money obsession looks like.

“Oh, not really — this isn’t even mine. Just some cash my friends and I pooled for a night out — haha!”

She clicked her tongue softly at his answer. Then she handed him the glass. And pressed her lips lightly to his.

A kiss.

The feel of her full lips was impossibly soft. She slid her tongue naturally into his mouth. They stayed like that for a moment before she pulled back. A thin thread of saliva hung between their parted lips.

“Want to do something even better? Drink up, and we’ll head to the bedroom.”

What’s her angle?

He set the cash on the table. Her eyes drifted right to it. What am I supposed to do here? He still had no idea what counted as a conquest. If this was supposed to be an eroge, did he have to sleep with her?

The kiss still buzzed through him.

He set his glass beside the money and reached for her hand. But Sakurai shook her head and pressed the glass back into his palm.

“You’re not going to drink the juice I poured for you?”

Her eyes still hadn’t left the cash.

What kind of woman… He felt almost sorry for her — but he drank the glass anyway. Then, for the sake of the conquest, he reached for her hand again. Reached for it.

But Sakurai threw him off and burst into loud laughter.

In the same instant, something scorching erupted deep in his gut like his blood was surging backward, like his stomach was tearing itself in two. An agonizing pressure clawing up from deep in his chest. Something surged up his throat —

He collapsed, clutching his neck without thinking. His hands moved on pure survival instinct. It was a miracle he managed to pull up the 【LOAD】 window in time.

The world went white.

That insane woman had poisoned the drink.

He never imagined she’d go that far over ¥500,000. This is murder. He was drenched in a cold sweat just thinking about it. If she’d used something like cyanide — instant death — he wouldn’t have had even a second to hit 【LOAD】. And the fact that he’d only had one sip was another stroke of luck—a genuine miracle.

Thinking back — she had asked whether he was rich. She still had the glass in her hand at that point. If he’d said yes, she might have held off on the poison, hoping to squeeze more money out of him first. The more he thought about it, the more his jaw dropped.

What now?

He had to go back. He’d just refuse anything she offered him this time. Knowing what was coming, he could be careful. She was a woman — she couldn’t overpower him. But his focus had already shifted somewhere else. That choice appeared. Sneak into the study. Why had such a random-sounding option even shown up?

Maybe that’s the actual path to the conquest.

He made his way back to her apartment and walked through everything exactly as before. Sure enough, the same two choices appeared.

【CHOICE 1: Sneak into the study】

【CHOICE 2: Talk】

That’s it.

Option 2 was a death flag the whole time.

He selected option 1 and sprinted toward the study. Sakurai yelped in shock.

“Wait — not in there!”

Her reaction was clearly off. He threw open the study door. This was the room buried in dust the last time he’d checked. What could have changed?

The study looked the same as he remembered at first glance.

His eyes drifted downward.

A man was collapsed on the floor. Foam at his mouth. The image was a perfect mirror of himself — just before he’d hit 【LOAD】.

Damn.

She hadn’t just tried to kill him. She’d already killed her affair partner. He’d watched that front door obsessively and never once saw this man leave. Now he understood why.

Because he was dead.

While he was still processing it, Sakurai had slipped into the kitchen and come back with a knife.

“Die!“

He was frozen in shock — but a weapon changed everything, woman or not. He was no martial artist. He scrambled back and slammed the study door shut, locking it from the inside.

His head was spinning. Trapped in a room with a corpse — what a situation. Should I call the police? Then a better idea hit him. Even if he called, it would take time for them to arrive.

This must be why the 【SLEEP SPRAY】 existed.

Not a tool to assault someone — a defensive item, prepared for exactly this kind of situation.

With that thought, he pulled up the 【GAME WINDOW】. A message appeared.