[162] Jabami Yumeko's Transformation

Chapter 162: Jabami Yumeko's Transformation

The next day, Shunsuke took another leave of absence.

Shunsuke had lost count of how many times he had skipped school. But if this kept up, his attendance rate would be dangerously low.

At Japanese High School, attendance is just as important as grades for advancing to the next grade and eventually graduating. At this rate, Shunsuke felt he might not graduate from high school and might have to repeat a year.

Then he thought of the Monogatari series: Araragi Koyomi had almost been held back because of a mere eight or nine girls. So if he ended up repeating his senior year, it wouldn't be too unusual.

But his musings were cut short by an angry reprimand from Shizuka, who warned him that if he didn't show up today, it would count as an unexcused absence.

Shunsuke couldn't care less about a single unexcused absence.

But glancing at Yumeko, who was sprawled on the bed, he hesitated. Her abdomen had shrunk considerably, and there was a large yellowish-white stain on the bedspread.

He remembered that the other three rooms and even the couches looked the same way.

"Good morning, Shunsuke—or should I say, O-to-san?"

Yumeko had woken up, clutching her stomach. Though she still felt pain and discomfort, she didn't mind it, treating it as just another bet. With a servile smile, she called out the word that had elicited Shunsuke's strongest reaction the previous day.

From the moment he woke up, Shunsuke felt like Yoshikage Kira. He clenched his fist, and Golden Experience materialized behind him.

"W-wait!" Yumeko panicked as soon as she saw Shunsuke's involuntary gesture. "Could we please not do that again? While it felt good at first, I really can't handle it now!"

For once, Yumeko's distress wasn't a calculated act of gambling.

She was genuinely alarmed. Originally, she had never cared about that kind of thing.

The only reason she was still a virgin was that no one had ever won against her.

Although at first, the physical pleasure had been noticeable, it ultimately wasn't anything special. Compared to the thrill of a mental gamble, physical pleasure had its limits.

Although it felt good, it still couldn't compare to gambling. Shunsuke wanted her to rank it above gambling? How ridiculous! How could anything be more exhilarating than gambling? …Wait! What's going on?!

And then Yumeko's awareness faded.

To say she lost consciousness wouldn't be entirely accurate. She still remembered everything she had done afterward. But at the time, her mind had gone blank except for sheer pleasure. In strict terms, she lost her sense of self.

During those intervals of losing herself, what stood out most vividly was the slight memory of Shunsuke's clenched fist coming into contact with her.

Each time she regained her sense of self, just seeing that motion again would cause her to lose awareness once more. When she came to again, it was always at least half an hour later.

Now, seeing Shunsuke make that same subtle gesture, Yumeko panicked. A deep sense of foreboding welled up inside her: if this keeps happening, I'm definitely going to be ruined!

Forget gambling—anything but that!

Shunsuke paused for a moment and reluctantly dismissed Golden Experience. Fine, fine, he thought. Today was supposed to be Ms. Izumi's turn. Otherwise, if he kept going, he'd have to swap kidneys again, and that really hurt.

Golden Experience could infuse life energy, but essence was essence, and life energy was life energy.

While sufficient life energy could quickly produce essence, achieving certain effects wasn't as easy.

When even massive infusions of life energy weren't fast enough, the only option was to create two completely new, 100%-intact kidneys and replace them.

But replacing kidneys was painful. More importantly, every replacement required at least half an hour of full rest before starting another round. Shunsuke didn't like the hassle.

For now, Yumeko managed to avoid disaster.

Seeing Shunsuke get up to wash, Yumeko quickly put her clothes back on.

She tightly bound her chest with a bandage, tying it as firmly as she could.

Even though she still felt dirty and her chest was uncomfortably constricted, she didn't care.

Yumeko just hoped that when Shunsuke came out of the bathroom, he wouldn't do another abrupt 180 and catch her off guard.

She couldn't believe how indifferent she had been yesterday.

The moment she got home, she had even started taking her clothes off voluntarily.

Thinking about it now, Yumeko wanted to slap her past self. How could you be so foolish?

For the first time, Yumeko truly understood the weight of the saying "girls need to protect themselves."

After his shower, Shunsuke donned his still-clean uniform, having had the foresight not to get it dirty.

He gave Yumeko a slightly puzzled look—her chest seemed to have shrunk—and then headed into the kitchen.

Yumeko shuffled into the kitchen after him.

"Shunsuke, what are you doing?"

"Making you breakfast. You must be hungry, right?" Shunsuke replied casually, opening the fridge. Inside, there was nothing.

"Yumeko, do you not eat breakfast?"

Shunsuke frowned.

In Japan, breakfast was considered very important.

Lunch was often just something simple to get through the day, so breakfast needed to be both hearty and nutritious.

Otherwise, it could impact physical development. Though Yumeko's development was clearly not an issue.

"Ah, I just grab some bread or something," Yumeko said dismissively.

"That won't do. Just wait a bit." Shunsuke left Yumeko's house and then—

"ZA WARUDO!"

Time stopped for grocery shopping!

While one second was enough to beat DIO, and even five seconds wouldn't feel sufficient to save a daughter, Shunsuke now used ZA WARUDO to buy groceries, an extravagance that bordered on absurd.

Before Yumeko had even finished brushing her teeth and washing her face, Shunsuke was back with the groceries.

By the time Yumeko finished freshening up, Shunsuke had already prepared a lavish breakfast, even taking the time to carefully arrange the plates.

Sitting at the dining table, Yumeko stared blankly at the array of dishes in front of her. I didn't take that long, did I? Are these takeout?

"Take your time eating. I've already informed Kirari that you're taking the day off, so no rush. As for me, I need to head to school now."

In the world of stopped time, Shunsuke had quickly filled his own stomach and then left without a second thought.

Quietly, Yumeko poured herself a bowl of miso soup. "…Delicious."

This flavor was something she was experiencing for the very first time.

...

"What? Not coming again today?!" Itsuki couldn't help but yell into her phone. "But we agreed on it yesterday!"

"Yeah, something came up at the last minute. Just postpone it for one more day—tomorrow."

"You've got to be kidding me!"

In the luxury suite of a five-star hotel, Itsuki stared at the ended call and couldn't stop herself from hurling her phone onto the floor.

"Why am I always the one who gets hurt?!"

---------------------

If you want to read 10 advance chapters ahead.

Visit my patreon: patreon.com/EggZy