Step, step, step
As the sound of footsteps descended the stairs, Alistair and Yumiko both looked toward the staircase. It was Mr. Morita, Mina's father. Judging by his defeated expression, he had likely been standing outside Mina's room until now.
When he reached the bottom, Mr. Morita glanced at the silent pair, then directed his questioning gaze at Yumiko. Yumiko hesitated but simply nodded in response.
Mr. Morita seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, his entire body relaxing somewhat, unaware that he had likely lost much more than he thought.
"Well, since everything is settled, I'll take my leave. Goodbye, Uncle Morita, Auntie Morita."
Alistair stood up, unceremoniously grabbed a can of soda from the refrigerator, walked out the door, and casually gave it a push to close it.
After Alistair left, the Morita house remained steeped in silence.
Mina's father sat on the sofa, unsure how to start a conversation. Mina's mother, Yumiko, kept her head down, looking preoccupied, seemingly lost in thought.
Tsss!
Alistair opened the soda, chugged a large mouthful, and exhaled contentedly.
Alistair considered himself a contradictory person. Before transmigrating, he was a relatively ordinary otaku—or maybe not even that, as he wasn't obsessed with anime. He was mostly into gaming, reading novels, and being horny. Three masturbations a day was standard.
Relatively speaking, he used to be a good-natured person, having even been extorted and bullied by delinquents.
Because of this, he had no patience for thugs. After transmigrating here and spending a holiday period getting acquainted, he found the games and novels here were mediocre, years behind his previous world. He was already sick of the familiar tropes.
In terms of games, there were some Souls-like titles, but he wasn't interested. He might play them occasionally, but as for other genres, they were similar yet different from his previous world, so he just gave up on them.
After acquiring the Ox Talisman and the Horse Talisman, he briefly entertained thoughts of megalomania, but his inherent laziness quickly won out. Who said having power meant you had to conquer the world? Wouldn't it be better to just stay put, be a small-time landlord, and collect rent every month?
His laziness in his past life was mainly due to the overwhelming amount of entertainment available. He could always scroll through short videos—so much fun.
But here? Setting aside everything else, even Akihabara (Japan's famous electronics and anime district) didn't exist in this version of Japan. Although anime was still popular, he wasn't that obsessed with it.
So, with nothing else to do, he came to school to see what was available. He was pleasantly surprised on the very first day. After realizing this was likely a Dark Erotic Anime Reality, Alistair decided to indulge himself. With the Ox and Horse Talismans, he could afford to be reckless.
However, a person can't just be focused on sex all the time. But since Alistair had no interest in games or anime, and possessing the Ox Talisman, beating up people he found irritating became his temporary pastime.
But this was strictly limited to beatings. Alistair's personality was still relatively normal. Taking revenge to relieve inner frustration was fine, and those thugs were essentially social parasites. This way, he could both pass the time and vent past grudges. What could be better?
Otherwise, Alistair felt that actively seeking fights meant being too idle. Only someone with his past experiences would casually beat up a thug for fun. And transmigrating here had an advantage: people here were generally "Ninja Turtles" (passive), and teachers often preferred to smooth things over. So, for those who deliberately annoyed him or tried to bully people, he could instantly slap them.
In his previous world, the saying "It takes two to tango" was popular. Here, teachers also liked to use it. So, he could slap someone and prove whether or not one hand could clap. Furthermore, Alistair was a minor and had powerful backing. In this capitalist society, what was that called?
It was called invincibility! Even Roppongi Lami (a figure known for wealth/power) would scream "Awesome!" Unlike before, when hitting someone—win or lose—always cost you money, it was different here. Especially in the outskirts of a small city, as long as the fighting wasn't excessive, no one would care. Even the Yakuza were quasi-legal.
Most importantly, this was an erotic anime reality with supernatural elements, which was even better. Alistair could completely let himself go—
Humans are the only animals that are perpetually horny for every one of the twenty-four hours in three hundred and sixty-five days.
So, he intended to try everything he had read about in his previous life. The situation with Yumiko was an attempt at one type of play. He was eager to see whether the female desire would suppress the maternal instinct, or vice versa.
Alistair didn't go too far. The condition was merely to make the children's lives unpleasant. This lowered Yumiko's mental resistance without making Alistair feel disgusted. Wanting to see family members slaughter each other was for perverts; Alistair's psychology was still relatively sound.
Gulp, gulp—
Alistair finished the rest of his soda and casually tossed the can against the wall. In this country, you had to follow schedules and sort trash. Alistair, who intended to live a simple, amoral life as a major villain, had no time for that.
This life, Alistair planned to fully indulge in the Sin of Lust, one of the Seven Deadly Sins. The rest would be dealt with as they came.
There were no anime or games he was interested in, and even the novels were mediocre. The local light novels were all about the Yasahii (gentle) trope.
"Ugh~ I should grab something to eat."
Alistair rubbed his stomach, feeling hungry. He had eaten a small amount of food with Mina before going to her house to talk with her parents, and it had mostly been digested.
Conveniently, the area Alistair was now in had a few shops. As mentioned before, Mina's house was not too far from Alistair's apartment building. Near the building was a large supermarket, and that area was considered the "downtown" of this neighborhood. So, there were many different shops around. The closest one to Alistair was a cake and pastry shop.
"The taste is alright."
Alistair held a small bag containing small cakes and cream puffs. He was eating one as he walked out the door.
Clang.
Alistair pushed the door open and looked around.
Hmm?
A woman with snow-white, transparent skin and sky-blue eyes was standing by the sign for the shop's featured pastry, holding an umbrella. The sign had just been marked with an "SOLD OUT" notice.
The woman's hair was white with a hint of blue. Her slightly narrowed, slanted eyes seemed weary, and her eyebrows were faintly drooping. Her delicate, refined nose and moist lips were gently pressed together, making one want to approach and steal a kiss.
Looking down, she was wearing a white knit sweater with a simple blue jacket over it. The magnificent peaks on her chest stretched the sweater into a huge curve. Alistair felt he wouldn't be able to cup even one of those soft mounds with both hands.
Continuing down, her hips were encased in a dark blue pencil skirt, showcasing the round fullness of her buttocks. Her legs were covered in slightly sheer black stockings, revealing glimpses of her pale skin while perfectly outlining the flawless curve of her legs, making them even more tempting.
This woman appeared cold and aloof, yet possessed a sense of fragility. Alistair's eyes were magnetically drawn to her.
Alistair had a very deep impression of this person, but his distant memory failed him, and he couldn't recall her name.
"Do you want some? I'm not that fond of this pastry."
Alistair walked over, glanced at the sign—it was cream puffs—and remembered he had bought quite a few. He held some up in front of her, making her snap back to reality.
"...Thank you. I will pay the full price."
She was silent for a moment, then pulled out a wallet, handed Alistair some money, and accepted the bag of cream puffs. She thanked him again, turned, and walked away.
Alistair watched her retreating figure, deep in thought...