Returnee from Another World - Chapter 18: A Devoted Woman

Chapter 18: A Devoted Woman

It’s been just over a week since I kissed Kyouka and became lovers—or, put another way, since I took Ayano’s virginity.

I’ve been living an indulgent life with Ayano.

Though I send her home at night, we’ve been having sex every evening.

Since Ayano’s on the pill now, she begs me to finish inside her without hesitation. She seems like a woman driven mad by our sex.

She melts into our kisses, gets aroused by my cock, and is obsessed with giving blowjobs.

Lately, it feels like Ayano spends more time with her face buried in my crotch.

I suspect serving me has become her purpose. Compared to the Ayano in my memories, she’s practically a different person.

One odd thing: when she’s with me, her aura is almost entirely green (【Happiness】, 【Joy】) and pink (【Love】, 【Lust】).

Occasionally, a bit of yellow (【Expectation】, 【Interest】) mixes in, but negative emotions are nearly absent.

Normally, even with a loved one—especially a loved one—seeing them close with another woman should spark some black (【Jealousy】). But Ayano shows almost none.

Her core emotion seems to be selfless devotion.

Maybe that’s why.

Despite loving Kyouka, I’m starting to feel a slight attachment to Ayano.

She whines about not wanting to go home, clings to me, or gives me needy looks when I’m on the phone with Kyouka.

I’ve been letting her little selfish acts slide.

“You’ve been going to school with Ayano-chan a lot lately, huh?”

Kyouka’s offhand comment on our way home made me flinch.

I felt guilty.

It stemmed from letting Ayano pick me up at my house in the mornings.

I figured if we ran into someone, we could act like strangers and it’d be fine.

We don’t flirt openly while heading to school—just chat occasionally, passing as childhood friends walking together.

But my thinking might’ve been too optimistic.

For the past couple of days, I’d noticed purple (【Anxiety】, 【Suffering】) mixing into Kyouka’s aura.

I was inwardly panicking, wondering if she’d sensed something.

“Yeah, she hangs out with some rough types, right? Like those guys we saw at the park. Her mom’s worried and asked me to keep an eye on her.”

“Wow, being childhood friends sounds tough.”

“Yeah. Don’t you have any friends like that, Kyouka? Guys or girls?”

My excuse felt weak, but it was true that her mom had asked about Ayano’s behavior and who she was hanging out with, including if she had a boyfriend. I could only say I didn’t know much.

“I had close friends in elementary and middle school, but not next-door neighbors. I don’t get asked by their parents to do stuff.”

“Well, it’s not like I’m being asked to fix her. But those guys seem bad news, so I can’t just ignore it.”

“Yeah. Kenji-kun seems nice in class, but he was scary at the park…”

Of course.

He had a thing for Kyouka—past tense, though.

Now, he’s so terrified of me he radiates purple (【Fear】).

He avoids eye contact, and when he has to talk to me, his “Kaburaki-kun” address draws suspicious looks from others.

No surprise there.

A guy who used to strut around class is suddenly groveling to me.

I debated telling him to drop the formalities, but it’d feel unnatural now. I had to let Tominaga be.

“I’ll handle Ayano. Anyway, I’ve got a problem.”

“Huh? What? If I can help, I’ll listen. Unless it’s something naughty—though I might consider it if it’s not too much.”

“You? That’s a tall order.”

“Why! You won’t know unless you try! Hey, Shuu-kun, it’s all about challenges. Even if I can’t solve it, I can give advice.”

“Really? Well, we got our test results back today, and my grades tanked.”

“…”

“English especially. Not a total disaster, but my target university might be out of reach.”

Probably due to my long hiatus.

I couldn’t handle memory-based questions.

I’d been focused on learning that world’s language, forgetting English entirely.

That’s a key part of the time-travel elixir—retaining memories while going back—so it’s unavoidable.

It doesn’t disrupt daily life much, and I can recall things when prompted. Studying again gets it back quickly.

But that name Ayano mentioned—Yukina—I still have no clue about.

“Hey, what time are we meeting for our date tomorrow? I totally forgot.”

“Ten. You know that. That’s why I said advice is tough. How were your test results?”

“Eh, so-so. Not great, not terrible. But if your grades dropped, we might aim for the same university, so problem solved!”

I could only give a wry smile at Kyouka’s absurd logic.

Still, I seemed to have dodged her suspicions about Ayano. She wouldn’t press further.

“Yeah, maybe.”

There’s no need to follow the same path as before.

Studying hard for a good university? Pointless. I can get money anytime.

Even to blend into this society, I had no intention of working hard.

“Right, right? My grades make your target university a stretch. I’m studying hard, but still. Did something cause your grades to drop?”

“Not really.”

“Oh! Maybe since we kissed, you can’t focus on studying?”

Kyouka teased, making kissy faces near mine, clearly trying to mess with me.

Her expression was playful, like she had no worries.

“Maybe that’s it. Guess you’ll have to take responsibility. Tomorrow on our date.”

“What! Is that a naughty invitation?”

“C’mon, I mean you’ll help me pick out a new study guide.”

“Ugh, I fell for it. So embarrassing.”

“You fall for it because you’re always thinking pervy stuff.”

“No way! I’m not like you, Shuu-kun!!”

Half-embarrassed, half-frustrated, Kyouka jumped at my neck, planting a biting kiss on my cheek.

But I felt a twinge of unease—her purple (【Anxiety】, 【Suffering】) aura hadn’t faded.

◇

“Yup, I knew it.”

I muttered to myself, fast-forwarding a PC video.

I was testing an item from my dimensional storage.

The Mirage Coat.

It makes the wearer nearly invisible, like a mirage.

Made from a Mirage Cat’s core (used to vanish when hunting), an alexandrite fragment, Greater Buffalo leather, and Everdark Vine.

As the materials suggest, it’s not too hard to obtain.

But it’s not perfect.

In that world, those skilled in magic manipulation or detection could sense it. Not obvious, but they’d know someone was nearby.

The human eye here would struggle to spot it—maybe a slight oddity, dismissed as an optical illusion. But this world has surveillance cameras. I was testing how it appeared through them.

Using a 10fps digital camera, I saw a slight distortion, like warped space.

Not clearly human-shaped, but enough to raise suspicion, especially if linked to a crime.

Surprisingly, infrared night mode showed nothing, despite my worries.

With the Mirage Coat and dimensional storage, I thought I could steal endlessly.

But it’s not foolproof. Even a minor distortion could cause trouble.

Aliens, psychics, or advanced tech—such talk could draw attention. So, no stealing with this.

It’s intangible but touchable, so fingerprints could remain without gloves.

Gloves prevent direct contact, disabling the dimensional storage.

Infrared night mode might fool visuals, but security sensors would likely detect it.

With other ways to make money now, there’s no need to take such risks.

It’s not perfect, but I don’t doubt its usefulness.

Avoid alarm-equipped places, and if cameras catch it, they’d need to scrutinize the footage to notice. Normal playback wouldn’t reveal it.

Ayano’s at home as ordered. She’s been at my place constantly this week, which I knew was risky.

Wearing the Mirage Coat, I left home.