Chapter 26: A New Week Begins!

Mahiru was still nestled in my chest. Only a few minutes had passed, yet she hadn't moved an inch for some reason. Maybe she just felt comfortable, but for me, it was starting to get a bit awkward after a certain point.

Her chest, which she somehow managed to keep magically hidden, pressed against me. With her petite height, it brought her closer to my lower half. An arrangement that was definitely not ideal for my wandering thoughts. I figured it was mostly hormones, but my love for women certainly didn't make it any easier. What a mental challenge this was turning out to be!

Still, I didn't act on those thoughts, honestly, it just wasn't worth it. Doing something to Mahiru wasn't worth risking everything, especially my bond with Sawako. So, I just let her stay while keeping my hands respectfully to myself. After ten minutes, she finally let go and moved to the couch with a smile on her face. She grabbed the remote and changed the channel to something to watch.

"Dragon Ball Z airs this late?" I muttered in confusion. I'd thought it would have been on earlier, but here it was! I glanced at my phone, and in the same motion, the clock ticked over to midnight. A new week had officially started.

[Distributing Weekly Allowance]

[Tier 1.2 = $1,200]

[Side Quest Completed: Improve relationship with Mahiru]

[Reward: All skills raised by 200 points]

Oh, sweet! I'd completely forgotten about that. This last week was such a blast!

"I'm heading to the restroom," I told Mahiru as I stood up, leaving her to enjoy the show. Truthfully, I wanted to check my status, it was time to take a closer look at everything.

Once inside the restroom, I called out, "Status."

[Name: Fujimiya Amane]

[Age: 16]

[Birthday: November 8]

[Money: $18,700 USD]

[Assets: Maid Latte Café, Miyamura Bakery]

[Skills] [Relationships] [Shop]

Oh crap, my birthday's coming up soon. It's already September 8th, so just two more months! My money seemed accurate enough, but I really needed to start tracking my spending.

Something about my money tab felt off, though. Maybe I was missing something? Actually…

"System Shop."

[State what you need.]

"Spending tracker module?"

[Searching...]

[4 results]

[Basic: $500]

[Intermediate: $1,000]

[Advanced: $1,500]

[Watchdog: $2,500]

"I'm guessing the difference is in speed and accuracy? I'll take Watchdog."

[Downloading module: Watchdog]

[Installed]

[Give 24 hours for Watchdog to fully analyze all spending. Tips on budgeting and better spending habits will be provided.]

"Oh? So Watchdog offers those features! What a great module for just $2,500!" I left the restroom in high spirits. It felt amazing that the system could be upgraded. Sure, I'd have preferred it for free, but beggars can't be choosers. At least I had a system, I could've been broke and systemless!

Returning to the living room, I saw Mahiru fully engrossed in the TV. Super Saiyan Goku versus Final Form Frieza was airing, and it gave me the same nostalgic thrill I felt the first time I watched it! I hurried to sit next to her on the couch, grabbing a blanket for us along the way. Popcorn could come later.

"Fujimiya, Frieza needs to pay!" she declared passionately.

"That's right!" I replied, just as fired up.

Like children, we spent the rest of the night watching Dragon Ball Z. It was a fun, carefree night.

{Hours Later}

"Don't do it, Vegeta!" Mahiru screamed in panic.

"Good grief. What pride can do to someone," I muttered, shaking my head.

"Don't let him take Android 18!"

I felt her pain, too!

Her voice was filled with worry, she was completely engrossed in the show.

"It's gonn—"

Ring~ Ring~

My alarm? I glanced at my phone, and sure enough, it was already 7 a.m.! I needed to start getting ready for the day, though I'd somehow missed my earlier alarm. That meant no time for a jog, but I could do it later. Maybe I should join a club? It might be fun and would give me more to do than just coming home bored.

Sure, I was spending time with people and hanging out with friends, but that wouldn't always be the case during the weekdays. Weekends were different; as long as I gave them notice, they'd make time. But weekdays were iffy. Last week had been a fluke, and I couldn't rely on luck forever.

"NO!"

Watching Mahiru get so worked up was undeniably cute. Unfortunately, I had to turn off the TV since she also needed to get ready. I didn't care much about being late, but who knows what chaos would ensue if she was late?

"Shiina, I'm going to take a shower, so don't forget to get ready," I told her. She pouted in response.

"Why are you still calling me Shiina?" she asked, clearly upset. It hit me then—I'd called her Mahiru while she was playing Fortnite the other day. I guess she didn't mind that.

"Why do you still call me Fujimiya?" I quipped back, curious to see her reaction.

Her eyes twitched, and she turned her face away shyly.

"I-I didn't know if your girlfriend would get mad, so I didn't want to overstep."

Damn... Now I felt kind of bad. I shook my head and waved off her concern.

"Don't worry about it, Mahiru. She's not that type of person. But, if I'm being honest, I doubt you..."

"W-Why?"

"Because you hugged me for so long earlier."

"F-Forget that! I just... I've never been hugged before, so I didn't want it to end." Her voice trembled, and her eyes glistened as tears threatened to fall. I'd forgotten about her family situation—how awful it really was.

I walked up to her and pulled her into another hug. This time, my thoughts were free of anything inappropriate. It was just a hug to help her heal as much as she could. It was my fault for speaking out of turn like that.