Chapter 9: This Support Isn’t Even Pretending Anymore

“So… so that’s what it was… cough, cough, I guessed as much, so I was just teasing you…”

After learning Yuuma Tsugumu’s goal, Akiba Sakura gave two dry coughs.

She was about to reach into her small bag when she suddenly thought of something and stopped.

“Wait… this was given to me by your mother. Why should I give it to you!”

“…”

Hearing this, Tsugumu felt a headache coming on.

It was precisely because his mother had taken it upon herself to give her the spare key that he had to get it back, no matter what, for the sake of his future peace and quiet.

“Because that’s the spare key to my room—”

“So what!” Sakura puffed out her cheeks and looked away.

“Scrub Tsugumu wants to steal my things, hmph…”

“What do you mean ‘your things’… are you being reasonable at all…”

“Anyway…”

Sakura ducked slightly and slipped under Tsugumu’s arm.

“The key… Auntie gave it to me. Unless she asks for it back, I’m not giving it to anyone else!”

She then shot a glance at Tsugumu.

“Not even to you!”

“…”

‘What a pain.’

Listening to Sakura’s categorical refusal, Tsugumu’s head throbbed.

After all, even though the girl in front of him looked short, once she set her mind on something, ten bulls couldn’t pull her back.

Of course, Tsugumu hadn’t ruled out the idea of snatching it.

‘But…’

The moment he thought of the flying knee Sakura had used on the rooftop earlier, even Tsugumu’s own jaw began to ache phantomly.

His own shoulder throw was something he had learned in the past, but Sakura…

‘I thought this girl just had natural freakish strength, but I didn’t expect…’

In Tsugumu’s memory, Sakura had never formally studied anything like that.

He couldn’t imagine a girl taking the initiative to learn combat moves.

In truth, Tsugumu’s guess was correct; Sakura had indeed not studied them in this life.

After all, she had already spent enough mental energy on her plans to conquer Tsugumu, maintaining her figure, and keeping up with her regular workouts.

She had no time for anything else.

Those technical movements were merely the result of her efforts in her previous life to build a certain persona and steal various girls away.

‘…Forget it, there’s still plenty of time…’

Tsugumu sighed, shaking his head as he followed behind Sakura.

“…”

On the other side, Sakura let out a soft hmph through her nose, indicating she was in a fairly good mood.

‘Hmph… kid, you want your key back? Know your place…’

Thinking about ‘knowing one’s place,’ Tsugumu’s shoulder throw naturally surfaced in Sakura’s mind, and a strong sense of crisis welled up within her.

Sakura knew very well that such a move wasn’t something one could pull off just by imitating a TV show.

It was definitely the result of systematic training.

This meant that, as things stood, he could easily suppress her using his size and technique if he really wanted to.

After all, a girl’s physical disadvantage wasn’t something that could be overcome just by what she was doing now.

‘My current skill set is only suited for surprise attacks… otherwise, I wouldn’t even be able to beat a street fighter like Suzuki… should I switch to a gentler approach for my plan?’

After all, Sakura didn’t want a situation where she accidentally pushed Tsugumu too far and he ended up “taking” her on the spot.

‘If he devours me and then just discards me, wouldn’t I be the one getting “taken” instead of doing the NTR-ing? I don’t want that!’

The thought made Sakura shiver.

She immediately quickened her pace.

‘Auntie Mariko, I’m counting on you for protection! You’re the only one who can save me when Tsugumu’s beastly side takes over!’

“Hey—slow down!”

Seeing the girl ahead speed up, Tsugumu hurriedly chased after her.

“I’m serious, what do I have to do for you to give me the key?”

“No—”

Sakura stuck out her tongue in response.

—

“Eh—you’re not eating at our house today?”

Yuuma Mariko looked at Sakura standing at the door, her expression full of reluctance.

“Yeah, Mom told me last night that I definitely have to go home for dinner today. Maybe there’s something she needs to talk about…”

Sakura smiled as she pulled on the heels of her shoes.

After supervising Tsugumu while he finished his homework, Sakura had walked straight to the entrance.

Hearing that Sakura was leaving, Mariko immediately leaned out from the kitchen.

“I see. Well, I suppose it can’t be helped…”

“That’s how it should be, so hurry up and go home—”

At that moment, Tsugumu strolled down from upstairs. Seeing that Sakura was about to leave, he felt a bit smug.

After all, seeing his number one enemy go home early meant she wouldn’t be here to continue annoying him.

“Tsugumu…”

At this point, Mariko’s gaze shifted to Tsugumu, her expression thoughtful.

“Alright, alright, I’m leaving. Wake up early tomorrow, Tsugumu. Don’t be late, okay?”

Sakura finished putting on her leather shoes and flashed a smile.

“Auntie Mariko, Tsugumu, see you tomorrow~”

“Wait—”

Just as Sakura adjusted her small bag and turned to leave, Mariko suddenly called out to her.

“Hmm?”

Both Sakura and Tsugumu looked at Mariko simultaneously.

“Auntie, what’s wrong?”

“Tsugumu, you should go eat at Sakura’s house tonight too.”

“…”

“…”

“WHAT????!!!!” the two of them shouted in unison.

“Wh… why?!”

Tsugumu looked at Mariko in horror, his hurried and confused gaze carrying a hint of pleading.

Sakura, on the other hand, looked on with great interest.

After all, if this actually happened, it would benefit her.

She was thinking of how to conquer Tsugumu every second of the day.

‘If he comes to my house, it’ll be my home field advantage. I can set up defenses and mess with Tsugumu-cat’s head. Go for it, Auntie Mariko!’

“Because today, Mom only made enough for me and your dad. I didn’t make any for you~”

“…”

Looking at the dishes placed on the kitchen table behind Mariko, Tsugumu was speechless.

‘She’s not even pretending anymore…’

“Mom, setting aside the fact that I can clearly see the food on the table behind you, as a matter of principle, it’s completely wrong to suddenly intrude on Auntie Shiori! Besides, she doesn’t even know I’m coming, so she won’t have made a portion for me…”

“Don’t worry~”

To his surprise, Mariko didn’t look flustered at all.

Instead, she turned back into the kitchen and took out some disposable plastic containers from a drawer.

“Sakura, take these dishes back with you. Tell your mother they’re fresh and don’t need to be reheated.”

“Huh?!”

Before Sakura could respond, Tsugumu was dumbfounded.

“Are you even listening to me, Mother?!”

“It’s extremely rude to just show up at dinner time! Even Auntie Shiori will definitely get angry!”

“How could that be? Of course I heard what you said, but your worries are completely unnecessary~”

Mariko held out the packed food and handed it to Sakura under Tsugumu’s pathetic gaze.

“Mom!”

‘My dear Tsugumu, your worries are unnecessary because Shiori… is on the same boat as me~’

Mariko watched as the ‘mother’s-orders-are-absolute’ Tsugumu and Sakura walked out the door.

Once the security door closed, she let out a mischievous smile.