"Uh?" Kawaki twitched his eye, filled with black lines, letting out a short, confused sound.
…
On the streets of Yoshiwara, Kawaki wandered with his head down like a soulless husk. He ignored the enthusiastic greetings from the courtesans standing in front of the shops on either side of the street.
Did I really... do sothing irreversible? Is that what happened? Did I really do that? Kawaki thought as he walked, his face drenched in sweat. No… it can't be true, right? What am I going to do? Forget about whether the novel can continue to be serialized—after all, it wasn't that popular anyway, so who cares if it gets suspended because of the protagonist's actions? But what about ? What do I do now? Two won…, and they just happen to be won I see every day! Even if I try to cover it up and deal with them both, they're bound to find out! The chance of being caught cheating is a hundred percent! This is bad, really bad!
Suddenly, Kawaki had a thought. He stopped in his tracks, raising his hand to snap his fingers, "Yeah! I could just go to a place where no one can find … Wait, what am I thinking?!"
He grabbed his hair in frustration, continuing his internal monologue. I can't do that! That would make a total scumbag who abandons won! I'm not a scumbag! And the worst part is, based on what Hinowa and Tsukuyo said, I apparently made so really terrible statents while doing those things with them yesterday. What do I do? How do I fix this? And Gintoki was involved, too... So gross…
As he thought about it, Kawaki felt a wave of nausea, leaning against a nearby wall to throw up. Σ_(」∠)呕...
Several minutes passed as Kawaki emptied his stomach. He wiped the drool from his mouth and continued thinking, As for Gintoki… it doesn't matter. He's already caught up in his trouble, so he'll be too busy to care about . As for my situation… it's tricky, but as long as I'm careful, it should be fine. I just need to keep those two won from eting too often. That's it! That way, I can keep this hidden! Even if the novel gets canceled due to the protagonist's behavior, I should be able to survive! Yes! That's it! The most important thing now is…
The next mont, Kawaki stood at the gates of Yoshiwara, carrying a large bundle on his back. He clenched his fist, his face determined.
The most important thing now is to find a secluded corner of the universe where no one can see so I can cool my head. Ten years… twenty years… no, maybe fifty years should be enough! By then, I'll be calm! And when the ti cos, I'll return! Wait for , Tsukuyo! Hinowa!
With that, Kawaki didn't hesitate to take a step out of Yoshiwara's gate.
But just at that critical mont, he suddenly heard a courtesan's scream from behind him.
"Sir! Stop!" a courtesan scread as a troubleso custor was pulling her.
"It's fine, Yoshiwara is that kind of place, isn't it?" The bald, middle-aged man with a scar over his eye had a malicious grin. "Didn't I pay for this? Last night…"
"Your ti is up, so you really shouldn't be lingering…" The courtesan kindly reminded him, "Causing trouble in Yoshiwara…"
"What's the big deal?" The bald man ignored her protests, pulling her into his arms. "I'll be back anyway. Just a little more ti won't hurt…"
"Sir, please stop!" The courtesan struggled desperately, warning him, "Causing trouble in Yoshiwara will have serious consequences!"
"You're just a courtesan, who do you think you're fooling…" The bald man spat and raised his hand to slap her.
But before his hand could co down, it was tightly gripped by Kawaki, who had appeared behind him unnoticed.
"Sir, your ti is up~," Kawaki said with a smile, his eyes narrowing. "If you want to continue, co back when you have more money. Oh, and just a reminder, if you're into S&M gas, you might want to visit that club over there."
"What does this have to do with you?!" The bald man turned around angrily, glaring at Kawaki.
"Kawaki-sama!" The courtesan, now free from the bald man's grip, ran to Kawaki's side and clung to his arm, putting on a pitiful expression.
"Kawaki-sama~ This custor is so scary~," she said, making sure Kawaki's arm was nestled in her chest. "I kept saying no, but he forced . The ti was up long ago~ And last night, he kept hitting and yelling at . Even though I said stop~"
"What's wrong with this woman?" The bald man was at a loss for words.
"Is what my girl said true?" Kawaki asked coldly, giving the man a chilling look.
"It's… true, but what's it to you?!" The bald man answered arrogantly. "I'm the custor! I can do whatever I want!"
Two minutes later, ignoring the bald man, who was lying on the ground with his butt in the air, eyes rolled back, and foaming at the mouth, Kawaki clicked his tongue in irritation and muttered, "Seriously, running into trash at a ti like this is disgusting."
"Kawaki-sama, you're so cool~" The courtesan clung even closer to Kawaki.
"By the way, where's Hyakka?" Kawaki asked. "Aren't they supposed to be patrolling around this ti? Did they miss this?"
"I don't know." The courtesan shook her head. "I haven't seen them since this morning. But it's good for because it ans Kawaki-sama ca to my rescue! You're so cool!"
"How is that a good thing?" Kawaki muttered under his breath. "Alright, I'll go check. Maybe Tsukuyo gave them the day off and they're slacking off."
"Oh." The courtesan let go of Kawaki's arm and then pointed to the large bundle on the ground. "Kawaki-sama, what's that?"
"Just trash," Kawaki lied without hesitation.
"Ah, I see…"
"Hey, trash, get up and get out of here," Kawaki said, glancing down at the bald man. "And next ti, I won't be so lenient."
"Y-yes, sir!" The man scrambled to his feet and replied.
"Also, take that bag of trash with you," the courtesan added, pointing to the large bundle on the ground with disdain.
"Y-yes, ma'am!" The man quickly hoisted the large bundle onto his back and, without waiting for Kawaki to stop him, bolted out of Yoshiwara as if his life depended on it. That man... is terrifying! He's not even human! Absolutely terrifying!
"Hey!" Kawaki shouted after him as he realized what had just happened. "Wait! That bundle…"
"Wasn't it just trash?" The courtesan asked, confused.
"Uh… it was trash," Kawaki replied casually, but inside, he was screaming, My… my gas!!! They got taken away as trash by that piece of trash!!! Ahhh!!!
…
Later that morning, Kawaki, his head still hanging low, reached the Hyakka dormitory. It's worth ntioning that along the way, Kawaki kept muttering, "My gas," "My gaming equipnt," and "My life" over and over.
The Hyakka dormitory, or rather the new dormitory, was built after Kawaki arrived in Yoshiwara. From the outside, it looked like a six-story apartnt building. Starting from the second floor, each floor had nearly twenty individual rooms, each fully equipped with modern anities.
Moreover, the dormitory was one of the few buildings in Yoshiwara that were built with concrete instead of wood. After all, the Hyakka were a group of girls. The building offered soundproofing, comfort, and all the modern conveniences, rivaling even the most luxurious apartnts in the city. While it was called a single apartnt building, each room was spacious enough to accommodate two people comfortably, with a separate bathroom, living room, kitchen, and a sizable bedroom.
"Seriously, what are they doing? Have they forgotten about work?" Kawaki grumbled as he climbed the stairs to the second floor.
Standing in front of a room at the top of the stairs, Kawaki knocked on the door calmly. However, as soon as he hit, he realized the door was unlocked. Not thinking much of it, he called through the gap, "Hey, work's starting. Tsukuyo's off today, so you…"
"Ah, Kawaki-sama, just co in. I'm… um, feeling a bit unwell," ca the voice of one of the Hyakka girls from inside.
"Not feeling well?" Kawaki opened the door, a bit of an apologetic smile on his face. "Well, take care then. I'll go find the others…"
But before he could finish, Kawaki realized sothing was off. The Hyakka girl in the room was lying in bed, her posture almost identical to that of Hinowa and Tsukuyo earlier! The only difference was that the Hyakka girl was on a bed, while Hinowa and Tsukuyo were on tatami mats!!
"Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I still want to ask…" Kawaki's mouth twitched, his face full of black lines, as he asked, "What exactly is wrong with you?"
Lying in bed with her back turned, the Hyakka girl's ears turned red as she whispered, "Don't… pretend you don't know. Yesterday, you did those things to and said those things… Kawaki-sama… no, I should call you 'husband' from now on… husband…"
Suddenly, for so reason, Kawaki… stopped thinking.
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