Chapter 92: Helping Hiratsuka Shizuka Move, and Yukinoshita Haruno Senses Something Unusual!

In front of Izumi Mio, Shirakawa had openly used his power to go to the SAO world and complete a chat group mission. In a way, he had chosen to reveal everything to her.

And similarly...

He had made no attempt to hide his strength from Hiratsuka Shizuka.

So things needed to be handled separately. He couldn't just say, "You'll all become my wings" or something overly dramatic.

He couldn't even imagine saying it.

Not dwelling too much, he removed the adventurer outfit he'd gotten from Konosuba, took a shower, and changed into fresh clothes. Then he headed to Room 14, where Izumi Mio and Sagiri lived.

Knock knock.

Izumi Mio didn't keep him waiting long. Wearing casual loungewear and with her hair braided over her shoulder, the youthful housewife opened the door.

The moment she saw Shirakawa, her eyes lit up with joy.

She spoke proactively, "Shirakawa-kun, this afternoon—your homeroom teacher showed up, said she was moving in. Brought a lot of luggage. With nowhere else to go, I let her stay in the guest apartment."

"I know," he nodded lightly. "She messaged me on LINE. I just hadn't replied yet."

Changing into indoor slippers, he headed into the living room, leaving Mio standing in the hallway. Her gaze followed his back, filled with disbelief.

She had seen it with her own eyes.

He had vanished into another world.

Even after a full day of trying to process it, she was still overwhelmed. Gathering her emotions, she followed after him.

On the sofa, Hiratsuka Shizuka was helping Sagiri with homework. When she saw Shirakawa—who had completely ghosted her—the look on her face was... complicated.

Even though Mio had explained he was busy with important things, surely that didn't mean he could just ignore all her messages?

"You finally decided to come back?"

"..."

"I had a lot of complicated things to handle," he replied.

He didn't give much detail, though he was a bit surprised that she had so quickly decided to move in. Not overthinking it, he pulled out a bunch of keys from his pocket.

He spoke lightly:

"Sensei, you can pick whichever place you want—Rooms 11 through 14, all the apartment keys are here."

"Rent is 80,000 yen per month."

He knew full well that Hiratsuka Shizuka came from a wealthy background. A regular high school teacher couldn't afford a sports car. If he waived rent, she'd probably find it suspicious.

After all, to him, money was just numbers at this point. He could bring gold from other worlds and exchange it freely.

But no need to say that.

"..."

Checking the time on her phone, Hiratsuka closed Sagiri's textbook and stood up.

"That's it for tutoring today. Sagiri, I need to go get moving."

"Thank you, sensei."

Sagiri sighed with relief, but her eyes kept flickering toward Shirakawa. Then she lowered her head and stared at the still-pristine textbook, lost in thought.

At the entrance, Shizuka took off her slippers. The black stockings on her feet were high-quality, and she slipped into some flat shoes.

She wasn't particularly concerned about the teacher-student relationship right now.

They weren't at school. Her tone was a bit teasing:

"You'd better pick me a good unit. I've been waiting a while now!"

"No problem."

Feeling her hand rest on his shoulder, Shirakawa didn't think much of it. Since she was single and living alone, he led her to a two-bedroom unit.

One room had already been converted into a study, the other for sleeping—perfect for her.

He explained the basics, turned on the water and electricity, and helped a bit with moving. The building had an elevator, so it wasn't hard.

But during the move...

A familiar figure caught his attention.

Short, practical haircut. A sunny, big-sister vibe. She bore a subtle resemblance to Yukinoshita Yukino—but her figure...

Was far beyond her younger sister's.

There was no way Shirakawa wouldn't recognize her—this was Yukinoshita Haruno, the elder daughter of the Yukinoshita family.

A flawless demon-type older sister.

Noticing his gaze, Haruno looked curiously at him before asking Shizuka, "Shizuka, is this your student?"

"Yeah. My student... and now my landlord."

While unpacking her luggage, Shizuka answered casually, clearly annoyed by the hassle of moving.

Now understanding his identity, Haruno gave him a serious once-over. If he was Shizuka's student, that meant he went to Sobu High.

As for being her landlord... that piqued her curiosity.

She'd visited Shizuka's old luxury apartment before, and clearly, the one she was moving into now was a downgrade.

Why the sudden move?

She was genuinely curious.

Wearing a radiant smile like a next-door big sister, Haruno stepped forward and introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Yukinoshita Haruno. Technically speaking..."

"I'm your senpai~"

"I've heard about you from the student council—you're Haruno-senpai, right? Just call me Shirakawa."

No matter how scheming someone was, it meant nothing in front of absolute power. And at her core, Haruno was still just a little sister fanatic.

Shirakawa greeted casually.

Haruno nodded slightly in return. Her gaze swept across the apartment and she gave a rather objective comment, "Is this your place?"

"It's pretty close to Sobu High. Seems really convenient for both work and school. No wonder Shizuka decided to move here."

She didn't mind Shirakawa's relaxed tone.

Haruno walked onto the balcony connected to the living room. She could sense something unusual about Hiratsuka Shizuka and a hint of doubt flickered in her eyes.

"Or is there… some other reason?"

"…Maybe I'm just overthinking it."

For some reason, she couldn't shake the feeling that things weren't as simple as they appeared. Almost as if she'd discovered a new amusement, she cheerfully suggested:

"Once we finish moving, let's go out for dinner together!"

"Consider it a housewarming celebration. You don't mind, do you, Shirakawa-kun?"