Chapter 173: Fast Development (Bonus Chapter)

Morning.

Sakurajima Mai: "@Rei Ao, where are you?"

Rei Ao: "I'm at Shizu's house."

Frieren: "You went to Shizuka's place? But I didn't see any system notifications about you traveling to another world. When did you cross over?"

Kato Megumi: "I didn't see anything either."

Shizue Izawa: "Huh? Rei Ao-kun isn't at my place though."

Rei Ao: "I meant Shizuka, not Shizu—Ms. Shizuka Hiratsuka, my teacher."

Sakurajima Mai: "???"

Sakurajima Mai: "Are you saying you've been at your teacher's house all day and night without returning home?"

Rei Ao: "Yes."

Frieren: "Ah, I see now."

Stella: "Did no one notice? Isn't the way he addresses his teacher a little too familiar?"

Stella's sharp intuition told her there was more to this situation than met the eye.

Busujima Saeko: "Indeed, he seems to have gone out of his way to differentiate between Shizuka and Shizue."

Kato Megumi: "Could it be… Rei Ao-kun, you and Ms. Shizuka..."

Rei Ao: "Exactly what you're thinking."

Kato Megumi: "..."

Kato Megumi was stunned.

She never would've imagined such a thing.

She had thought her own sister was already bold, but she didn't expect Ms. Shizuka to be the same.

"Hey, are you sure it's okay to say something like that?"

Shizuka, who had been added to the private chat group by Rei Ao, was utterly mortified. After all, Kato Megumi was one of her students.

"What's the problem?"

Rei Ao chuckled.

"Why don't you look at yourself? Early in the morning, you wanted to speed things up, and I had to accommodate you."

He still wasn't fully awake, yet Shizuka, who had woken up first, was already eager to get things moving.

So much so that he had to reluctantly get up early and press the metaphorical gas pedal.

While doing so, he still found the time to chat in the group.

Rei Ao: "Anyway, Mai, was there something you needed from me?"

Sakurajima Mai: "Yes, my mom is coming over this afternoon to drop off some of my old belongings."

Rei Ao: "Oh, Mother-in-law is coming over? I'll head back around noon after I finish up here."

Sakurajima Mai: "Finish up what?"

Rei Ao: "Speeding up—with the Shizuka brand."

Sakurajima Mai: "???"

Kato Megumi: "This..."

Busujima Saeko: "So this is what you call speeding up? Well, Yuriko-san told me... actually, never mind. She told me not to say anything."

Frieren: "The terminology in your world is so strange."

Hijiri Kasuga: "Wait, Mother-in-law? Are you saying you've already met the parents and are preparing for marriage?"

Sakurajima Mai: "No, not marriage. My mom and I had some conflicts in the past, and Rei Ao-kun helped me resolve them."

Though the way he resolved it was by thoroughly embarrassing her in front of her mother—a bizarre and absurd method.

"To think it's come this far already..."

Yuigahama Yui, who had been hesitating to ask Rei Ao out, read the messages and felt a deep sense of disappointment as she gripped her phone tightly.

It was a feeling of helplessness, as if there was nothing she could do.

"If only I could be more straightforward like my mom..."

Yui thought instinctively.

...

"Meet… the parents?"

Eriri's hand trembled as she read this.

He's already calling her "Mother-in-law"? Isn't this progressing a bit too quickly?

Eriri instinctively glanced at Sayuri.

It seemed that Rei Ao had also met her own mother before.

That meant she hadn't lost yet!

Eriri's eyes sparkled with determination.

Having been thoroughly influenced by Sayuri with the philosophy of "to grasp happiness, you must cuckold others," Eriri was ready to seize her own future!

But… she didn't know what to do now.

Her mother had told her she needed to hold hands, hug, kiss, and even…

"Hey, how is that even possible?!"

...

"How can that *possibly* be done?!!!"

Gabriel angrily slammed her keyboard.

She had already spent so much money on this game.

But why did new restrictions keep popping up, forcing her to buy even more items to solve these puzzles?

It was an endless money pit!

And now, she was stuck again.

The money she borrowed from Rei Ao last time was already spent.

What should she do?

Quit the game?

Impossible!

Borrow money again?

The thought of Rei Ao kissing her deeply last time sent a phantom tingling through her lips and down her entire body.

"No, no, absolutely not!"

Blushing as red as a ripe apple, Gabriel shook her head furiously.

The price she paid for borrowing money was far too embarrassing.

She swore she would never borrow another cent from him…

"Sigh, I guess I'll just have to keep working part-time."

Gabriel didn't want to, but she had no choice if she wanted to keep playing the game.

As she opened the door to leave, she passed Raphiel, who was cleaning the living room.

"Gab, are you heading out?"

It had been a long time since Raphiel had seen her go outside, given how much Gabriel had fallen.

"Oh, just going to work part-time," Gabriel replied weakly before heading out.

"Part-time work…"

Raphiel couldn't help but think that Gabriel working part-time would probably be a disaster. She wondered which boss would even hire her.

...

"When is Mother-in-law coming?"

After finishing his early-morning "Shizuka-brand racing," Rei Ao returned home.

As soon as he stepped inside, Tohru leapt onto him.

Sniffing his scent, her nose wrinkled. "Rei Ao, you smell so strong. That Hiratsuka Shizuka is way too wild, isn't she?"

Sakurajima Mai's face turned icy.

As expected, he reeked of a lustful older woman's scent.

It was unmistakable.

Waving her hand in disdain, she said, "My mom will be here in a while. Go take a proper bath first!"

"Sure, want to join me?" Rei Ao smirked and teasingly wiggled his fingers.

Tohru's eyes lit up. "Okay!"

But Mai grabbed Tohru's hand and said coldly, "No. You're coming with me to the market later to buy some groceries."

"You can go by yourself. I just want to spend quality time with my dear Rei Ao."

Tohru wrapped her arms around Rei Ao's neck, rubbing her face against his like she wanted to merge into him.

"..."

Mai knew she couldn't handle Tohru, so she narrowed her eyes and smiled at Rei Ao.

"Rei Ao-kun, what do *you* think?"

"Hehe, I think we should listen to you, Mai. Tohru, go to the market with Mai later."

Rei Ao knew it was wise to take Mai's side in moments like these.

By doing so, he could freely use all kinds of moves later.

"Ugh, seriously, Mai! You always use Rei Ao against me. It's so unfair!"

Reluctantly letting go, Tohru stared at Mai with a pout and resentful eyes.

Mai flashed a victorious smile.

~~~

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