Inside the Takagi family's private tearoom.
"Shuya-kun, please enjoy."
"If I remember correctly, this pack of tea leaves was something Sōichirō went through great trouble to obtain from Tokyo University. He's been reluctant to drink it all this time. I believe it's called Da Hong Pao?"
"As a Tokyo University alumnus, you should be somewhat familiar with it, right?"
After sending Saya away, Yuriko Takagi knelt gracefully in the traditional Japanese seiza position in front of the tea table. With practiced, elegant movements she brewed a cup and slid it toward Shuya.
Shuya secretly clicked his tongue in surprise.
If this really was the legendary Da Hong Pao he'd heard of, then this cup of tea was worth a small fortune.
But he didn't quite believe it. With the Takagi family's connections, something so rare that even domestic supply couldn't meet demand—how could some random foreigner get his hands on it? Dream on.
Still, since Yuriko treasured it so much, even if it was fake, it was probably at least a high-quality blend.
Unfortunately, Shuya had never been much of a tea person. Compared to the bitterness of tea, he much preferred milk tea or good old sugary soda.
He picked up the cup and downed it in one gulp like a cow chewing peonies.
After swallowing, he smacked his lips. It smelled amazing, but it was still bitter as hell.
He looked straight at Yuriko and said, "I've finished drinking. Can we get to the point now?"
Yuriko could tell from his behavior that he had zero interest in tea. She didn't offer to refill his cup and went straight to the main topic.
"In that case, I'll be direct."
"You should have some idea of what Saya is thinking, right?"
"I'm curious… what exactly are your thoughts about my daughter?"
"Saya is indeed very beautiful," Shuya answered without hesitation or sugarcoating. "But that's all."
Toward Saya—one of the original heroines—he might feel a slightly different impression because of the 2D factor, but that was it. She wasn't irreplaceable.
Just like Rei. In the anime, didn't Rei have more screen time and a stronger heroine role than Saya? Yet without the past half-month of interaction and the way she had followed him without question when the zombie outbreak began that afternoon, his attitude toward her would have been the same.
NPC.
"Just that? That's quite a cold answer."
Yuriko mulled over his words. Since he had answered instantly without any hesitation or evasion, she could easily tell he wasn't lying.
In the end she simply shook her head and let out a helpless sigh.
"It seems my daughter's feelings are unrequited after all."
"Mrs. Takagi, if there's nothing else, please give me what I asked for. I need to head back."
Shuya had zero interest in dragging this conversation out.
He had no designs on the Takagi family and no curiosity about them either.
He would rather go home and sleep with Saeko or Shizuka in his arms. That would be way more enjoyable than sitting here making dry small talk.
"Then what do you think of me, Shuya-kun?"
Yuriko lightly brushed aside her light-purple hair, blinked, and struck an intellectual, mature pose.
"…What?"
Shuya was caught off guard.
Yuriko dropped the bomb without warning: "Since you're not interested in a little girl like Saya, you should be able to appreciate someone more… mature, right?"
"Ha?!"
Shuya's eyes nearly popped out of his skull.
He almost spat out the tea he had just drunk.
What the hell was going on?!
Seeing his stunned reaction, Yuriko looked like a mischievous child who had successfully pranked someone. She covered her mouth with her slender hand and laughed softly.
"Ahem."
Shuya coughed twice to cover his embarrassment, then said seriously, "Mrs. Takagi, you've misunderstood. I'm not interested in married women."
"What a childish way of thinking."
Yuriko shook her head. "But that's actually better. It makes me like you even more."
Shuya was speechless.
He really had nothing to say.
Some people loved the whole "married woman" fantasy, but Shuya instinctively rejected it.
Part of it was personal principle, and part of it came from his contract ability.
In his eyes, if a married woman could betray her husband once, she could betray someone else later too.
That was something he could never tolerate, no matter the reason.
The foundation of equivalent exchange was trading sincerity for sincerity.
"Because, you see…"
Yuriko's red lips curved into a smile as she said sweetly, "Big sister is actually still a virgin~"
"Eh?!"
Shuya's pupils shook violently.
A virgin wife?!
What kind of cursed setting was this?!
If this were written into a novel, readers would roast the author to death, right?
…Well, maybe not.
After all, there were readers who could accept a heroine who had dated a sleazy ex for years, been wildly passionate with him, and even been willing to let the ex sleep with the protagonist—yet still believe the author when he said she was "pure."
Compared to that, a virgin wife didn't seem so bad.
Shuya opened his mouth: "Um, Mrs. Takagi—"
Before he could finish, Yuriko cut in: "You're wondering about Saya? Do you really think a mature woman under thirty could give birth to a high-school-aged child?"
To prove her point, she casually slipped the ring off her left ring finger right in front of him.
There was no indentation or mark from years of wearing it.
"Under thirty?"
Shuya stared in astonishment at the elegant, intellectual woman before him.
Now that she mentioned it, he realized something was off.
People always said youth was a woman's greatest asset. Even a forty- or fifty-year-old woman who spent a fortune on skincare and makeup couldn't completely hide the traces of time.
Yet Yuriko's skin was flawless, completely untouched by age—on the same level as Shizuka's.
If she hadn't said anything, he would have just assumed it was another 2D perk.
After all, in anime there are no ugly girls.
But… what was she after?
Wait, wait—what the hell am I even thinking?!
Whether Yuriko Takagi is a virgin or not has nothing to do with me!
He had already rejected Saya because of the Takagi family. Switching to the mother wouldn't change anything.
Shuya gave her a strange look.
In the end, the information had simply been too shocking. It had thrown him off balance for a second.
Truly a despicable adult, playing with people's hearts like this.
He immediately steeled his resolve: no matter what she said next, he would treat it as nonsense.
As long as I stay unmoved, I stay unmoved.
Seeing how quickly Shuya regained his composure and remembered his original intention, the satisfaction in Yuriko's eyes grew even stronger.
She really hadn't misjudged him.
A jewel this dazzling and brilliant… she wanted it even more now.
Just thinking about it made her thighs involuntarily press together.
"Shuya-kun, would you like to hear my story?"
Shuya sat up straight.
Everything he had told himself earlier? Consider it farted away.
Sick mother, gambling-addicted father, younger brother still in school, broken family.
What man in the world could refuse when a beautiful woman wanted to tell him her story?
It was the same reason no one could refuse a tense, exciting round of Gwent with an NPC while on the road to save the world.
Shuya: Guess I have no choice but to listen now.
Yuriko smiled gently and began telling Shuya her story…