The Heroine in Trouble? I Take Advantage, Ch 11-15

Chapter 11 — Utaha-senpai, Think About My Offer

Night.

Heavy clouds pressed down over the city, as if the sky itself were about to collapse.

Fat raindrops slammed against the asphalt, bursting into little white splashes.

"..."

Utaha walked the road home, shivering as the cold seeped into her bones.

The resolve she had found in the hospital wavered again.

She was still only seventeen. Before her father's accident, she had been showered with love at home. At school, her beauty and top grades had placed her among the elite.

To suddenly sell herself like this... it was more than she could accept.

…

Meanwhile.

Seiji Fujiwara returned to the old apartment, ready to pack his things.

The new place still needed some appliances moved in and a proper cleaning, so he couldn’t move right away.

As soon as he reached the building entrance, he heard the voice of Ms. Sato, the manager.

“Oh my, Fujiwara-kun, coming back in weather like this?”

From the front office, Ms. Sato poked her head out with a smile.

Seiji closed his umbrella, giving it a gentle shake before returning a polite smile. “Good evening, Ms. Sato. The rain outside is really something.”

“Isn’t it just!”

She came out, and when her eyes fell on the rental contract in his hand, she froze in surprise. “Ah—Fujiwara-kun, you’re moving out? Congratulations! Found a better place, have you?”

“Thanks to you, I managed to find something I’m satisfied with in Minato Ward,” Seiji said with a faint smile.

“Minato Ward?!” Her voice jumped an octave, eyes wide. “Goodness! A place there… Fujiwara-kun, you’re really going places!”

She sighed in admiration, though her gaze wandered almost instinctively to the dark window on the second floor.

“When you leave, this building’s going to feel even lonelier. Especially the Kasumigaoka family next door… such a pity. That girl’s practically a ghost of herself these days.”

A faint glimmer passed through Seiji’s eyes.

He furrowed his brow, feigning ignorance. “Kasumigaoka? The girl next door—the underclassman from Toyonozaki Academy? What happened to her?”

“What else could it be?” Ms. Sato’s words spilled out immediately, laced with sympathy. “Her father was in a car accident, left the family drowning in debt. Just when things had barely stabilized, her mother had a brain hemorrhage and landed in the hospital…”

She paused to sigh.

“I hear after the first operation, they already need a second one. Costs three million yen… Where’s a high school girl supposed to find that kind of money?”

“Her relatives have all run off, treating her and her mom like the plague.”

“That poor child… she’s probably crying alone in her room right now.”

“So tragic,” Seiji echoed, sighing along.

In truth, his focus was on the glowing system panel before him.

[Rare Collectible Panel]

Target: Utaha Kasumigaoka

Rarity: SSR (Super Special Rare)

Status: Not Collected

Core Attributes:

Peerless Beauty: A natural-born temptress. Face and figure at the very peak of humanity. Exceptional both to behold and to possess.

Pride of the Peak: Confidence born from top-ranked intellect and extraordinary beauty. Like an unyielding iceberg—yet fragile at the core.

Dormant Talent: A well of creative genius buried deep within her soul, still untouched. A raw gem awaiting polish.

Collection Strategy: This Collectible boasts immense potential and high training value. It is recommended that the host shatter all her pride in one decisive strike, then rebuild dominance from the ruins. This will maximize growth and enjoyment.

…

Seiji’s lips curled into the faintest of smirks.

A few days ago, he had offered Utaha a deal—and she had rejected him with fury.

But now?

Now she was out of options.

“Yes…” Ms. Sato sighed again, oblivious to the thoughts hidden behind his polite mask.

After some small talk, Seiji said goodbye and climbed the stairs.

But he didn’t return to his own room.

Instead, he stopped in front of Utaha Kasumigaoka’s door.

He raised his hand and knocked.

Thunk, thunk, thunk.

There was a faint stir inside.

The peephole darkened—someone was checking.

Seiji stood calmly, letting the girl behind the door look at him through the glass.

“...”

Silence hung heavy.

After ten seconds, maybe fifteen, the door opened just a crack.

Utaha’s tear-stained face appeared.

She looked terrible. Her long black hair hung in messy strands, her skin so pale it looked drained of blood.

Those bright wine-red eyes were dulled, rimmed red from crying.

“What do you want?” she asked, glaring warily.

Seiji ignored her tone, smiling lightly. "Kasumigaoka-san, I heard from Ms. Sato that your mother needs a second operation. It won't be cheap, will it?"

They went to the same school—Toyonozaki Academy. The difference was that Seiji was in his third year, while Utaha was just a first-year.

"Why not reconsider my earlier offer?" Seiji's words were steady, deliberate. "Five hundred thousand for a month. However much the operation costs, I'll cover you that long. For anyone else, I'd never even make such a generous proposal."

His words pierced her like needles, and Utaha flared instantly.

“Seiji Fujiwara, don’t you dare!”

Her voice shook with anger, her whole body trembling.

“Stop looking down on me with that arrogant charity!”

"You make me sick!"

"I would rather beg on the street than accept your filthy conditions!"

Her eyes blazed, full of fury, as she glared him down.

Chapter 12 — Utaha: “…I’ll Go With You”

“You think I’ve got no options? I can tutor, I can do translation work… Three million yen—it’s just a matter of time!”

“I can earn it on my own!”

Her words fired out like bullets, chest heaving with every breath.

If she really believed that, she wouldn’t be shouting so loud. Seiji Fujiwara felt no stir of sympathy. If anything, he almost laughed.

Loud voices always come from shaky confidence.

He waited patiently for Utaha to burn through her emotions before speaking, slow and deliberate.

“Utaha-chan, your rent’s due this month, isn’t it?”

His voice wasn’t raised, just a calm statement. Yet it clamped around her throat like an invisible hand.

“Fifty thousand yen isn’t much, but… do you even have it?”

The fire she had just been spitting sputtered, half-extinguished in an instant.

“I…” Panic flickered in her eyes, but pride and stubbornness forced her to look away. “That has nothing to do with you.”

“Ms. Sato is kind. I’ll ask her. I’m sure she’ll give me a few extra days.”

“Is that so?” Seiji’s tone carried a shade of amusement.

He took a single step forward.

The tiny movement shrank the distance between them. Pressure rolled off him, forcing Utaha to instinctively shrink back.

“Rent can wait. But your mother’s surgery—can that wait too?”

Boom.

The words hit like a hammer, crushing her chest.

Her mother’s pale face on the hospital bed…

The doctor’s solemn, pitying expression…

That slip of paper stamped with Second Surgery Required and Please pay within three days…

One image after another flashed through her mind, shredding the fragile wall she’d built around herself.

“I…”

Her posture collapsed, all defiance draining out of her like air from a punctured balloon.

Against her mother’s life, her pride was worthless.

Her voice shook, barely a whisper. “The hospital… they said they could go ahead with the operation, and I… I could pay later…”

Her words trailed off. Even she didn’t believe them. Hospitals weren’t charities. They’d never allow debt.

Seiji’s smile deepened as he watched her faltering eyes.

The timing was perfect.

“So, Utaha-chan,” he said smoothly, his tone unhurried, “where exactly do you plan to earn enough to cover the surgery afterward?”

“You do realize the hospital costs won’t stop there. Surgery fees, yes—but then you’ve got the aftercare. The nurses. The ward. Cleaning, food… oh, and your own living expenses.”

“Where’s all that going to come from?”

That was the final straw.

Her face drained of color, leaving her ghost-pale.

“I…”

Her lips parted, but no sound came. Her throat felt stuffed with cotton.

For a moment, time froze.

Only the relentless sound of rain against the window filled the silence.

Then—

“Fujiwara-kun? Kasumigaoka-san?”

Ms. Sato’s voice drifted up from the stairwell, breaking the suffocating stillness.

“I thought I heard raised voices from downstairs. Is everything alright?”

The building manager, alarmed by the noise, had come to check.

“You’re neighbors—you should get along, you know.”

At the sound, Utaha flinched like a startled rabbit. She tried to slam the door shut, to hide her tear-stained face.

But Seiji was faster.

His foot blocked the door, holding it open. He turned toward the stairwell, his expression flipping instantly into one of harmless warmth.

“No worries, Ms. Sato, I’m so sorry. We were just discussing school choices. Kasumigaoka-san got a little worked up, that’s all. I hope we didn’t disturb you.”

His voice was polite, flawless.

Utaha couldn’t close the door, and she couldn’t let the manager see her like this. Forced into a corner, she scraped together a shaky smile. “Y-yes… it’s fine. We’re fine. Thank you for checking.”

“…Is that so?” Ms. Sato stepped up the last stair, suspicion clear in her eyes.

Her gaze flicked between Utaha’s swollen eyes and pale cheeks, then to Seiji’s calm demeanor.

It looked nothing like a conversation about school.

But since both insisted nothing was wrong, she couldn’t press further.

“Well then. That’s good. Young people—try to talk things out without raising your voices.”

She gave a small smile, nodded, and turned back downstairs, though the doubt still lingered in her expression.

Silence fell once more.

But that brief interruption had drained the last spark of resistance from Utaha.

Seiji withdrew his foot and let his eyes linger on her face—pale, tear-stained, yet still breathtakingly beautiful.

“So, Utaha-chan,” he said softly, “what’s your answer?”

His gaze wandered shamelessly, tracing the curve of her face, sliding down to her figure. He looked at her like she was already his Collectible.

All the while, he grinned. "My offer hasn't changed. Five hundred thousand yen a month. I'll cover you for half a year. There's no time limit."

"If you agree, I can give you the money right now."

His stare made Utaha’s skin crawl. Goosebumps prickled her arms.

She felt like a lamb, stripped bare, cornered by a wolf.

Disgusting.

Repulsive.

Infuriating.

But…

“I… I need to think about it…” she whispered, teeth clenched.

“Think?” Seiji’s lips curled in mocking amusement.

He pulled out a document and held it out. A lease contract.

A luxury apartment in the heart of Minato Ward.

“Monthly rent… 480,000 yen.”

He tapped the figure. “Money’s not something I need to worry about, Utaha-chan. But you… don’t have that luxury.”

“Time won’t wait.”

“I move out tomorrow.”

Crash.

The words thundered through her mind. Her pupils shrank in shock.

The lease contract. Moving out tomorrow.

That meant…

Her last foothold, gone.

Tears slipped silently down her face, cutting twin paths over her cheeks.

The final struggle inside her broke apart completely.

“…I’ll go with you.”

Her head bowed low, voice barely audible, each word drenched in humiliation and sorrow.

Chapter 13 – Filming the Video, Leaving No Escape

"Good."

A faint smile of satisfaction curved across Seiji’s lips.

He stepped aside, leaving the path open to his room. "Come in."

Like a puppet on strings, Utaha Kasumigaoka moved stiffly, each step dragging her deeper into the place she had always dreaded—the room of the single male neighbor she had tried to avoid.

The moment she crossed the threshold—

Click!

Seiji swung the door shut and locked it.

Utaha flinched.

This small room, once ordinary, instantly became a cage.

Seiji walked to the table, pulled a thick stack of ten-thousand-yen bills from his wallet, and tossed it down.

"Here's five hundred thousand. Think of it as a deposit."

Utaha's eyes locked on the money, unable to look away.

Then, Seiji produced a neatly prepared document and a fountain pen.

A “Lover’s Contract.”

"Sign it." He handed it toward her.

Don’t misunderstand.

He hadn’t made this for Utaha specifically. He’d simply thought it might come in handy, so he’d printed one earlier that afternoon. And now, perfectly on cue, here it was.

"…"

Utaha accepted it in silence and skimmed the pages.

She froze after only a few lines.

The clauses were viciously one-sided. Every paragraph spelled out humiliating, degrading obligations the “second party” would be forced to obey.

"Sign it, and you’ll get the rest," Seiji said, watching her.

Her whole body trembled as she read words like “the second party must obey all instructions unconditionally” and “during the contract period, all rights of the second party’s body belong to the first party.”

Signing it meant surrendering her dignity. Becoming nothing but a toy.

"And one more thing…"

Seiji pulled out a video camera he had just bought that afternoon. He flipped it on, set it on a tripod, and aimed the lens directly at her.

"To guarantee the contract’s ‘validity,’ I’ll need you to cooperate with me and record a ‘voluntary statement.’"

"!!!"

Utaha’s head shot up, eyes wide with fear.

"D-Do we really… have to?" she whispered, biting her lip.

Leaving behind a recording meant leaving behind a weapon that could destroy her forever.

It was like those guys who tell girls they’ll just fool around a little, won’t go all the way—then end up taking everything. Seiji, under the pretense of proof, would now hold her in his grip wherever she went.

Utaha knew exactly how dangerous her beauty was. With this video, she might never escape him for the rest of her life.

"We have to," Seiji replied, cold and absolute.

"But…" Utaha clutched her fingers against her chest, trembling.

Seeing her hesitation, Seiji sneered.

"Utaha-senpai, you and I both know this kind of arrangement isn't legal to begin with. If you take my money and disappear, or go to the police claiming I blackmailed you, where does that leave me? I need protection."

"I need proof that everything happening today… is your choice."

His words were half truth, half lie.

Really, Seiji just wanted the recording. And he knew it would shatter the last of her resistance.

"Of course, if you don’t want to, you can leave right now." He gestured politely toward the door.

Utaha’s head drooped, fists clenched tight.

Leave? Impossible. She had nowhere left to go.

"…I understand."

She closed her eyes, voice trembling. "I’ll do it."

"Good." His lips curved into a satisfied grin, tinged with a devilish edge. "Then here’s what I want you to do on camera…"

He gave her instructions.

Utaha’s eyes widened in horror as she listened, staring at him like he was filth.

What followed became the most humiliating moment in all her seventeen years.

Under his commands, she stood before the camera, stripping piece by piece.

Her black stockings slid from her pale, slender legs. She folded them neatly and set them with her clothes.

Her flawless skin shivered in the cold air, exposed under the camera’s unblinking eye.

Burning with shame and fury, she held up her student ID, introducing herself clearly, even reciting her measurements.

Then, with no defense left, she displayed the contract page by page to the camera, reading each degrading clause aloud, declaring that she was signing willingly.

At last, she put her name to the document. With a face full of humiliation, she dropped to the floor in a formal dogeza, pushing the signed contract toward the lens—toward Seiji.

"Well done."

Seiji looked down from above, his smile widening.

Utaha, however, felt something deep inside her soul shatter the moment her knees hit the floor.

…

…

Meanwhile—

Downstairs, Ms. Sato, the building manager, couldn’t shake her unease.

She kept replaying the image of Utaha Kasumigaoka’s pale, stricken face—and Seiji Fujiwara’s disturbingly calm expression.

"No, I can’t just sit here. What if something’s really wrong?" she muttered, finally climbing the stairs.

She crept to the second-floor hallway, her steps light as a cat.

Silence. Not even the motion-sensor lights came on.

Pressing her ear toward the hall, she heard nothing.

No voices, no arguing—nothing.

That unnatural quiet only made her nerves worse.

She did the math. Utaha had gone into Seiji’s room… what, half an hour ago?

A young man and a girl, alone together this long, in total silence—

An absurd thought began to grow in her mind.

Could they already be… finished?

It made a twisted kind of sense. Utaha was a stunning girl; any ordinary boy would struggle to resist.

Ms. Sato’s imagination began to run wild.

A desperate girl with nowhere to turn, needing money. A young man who had just made a fortune and was about to move to Minato Ward.

Taking advantage of the situation?

Or mutual consent?

Either way, it wasn’t unthinkable.

Ms. Sato’s expression grew complicated. Worry for the girl mingled with a sharp, guilty curiosity.

She hesitated, then decided to wait a little longer.

"If it’s consensual, then fine… but if Fujiwara’s tricking her, and Utaha gets angry, that could cause problems. It’d hurt the building’s reputation."

"And besides… she’s just a girl…"

Ms. Sato murmured, unease flickering across her face.

Chapter 14 – Utaha, I Want You Anytime, Anywhere

Inside the room.

"Good."

Seiji Fujiwara switched off the camera with a satisfied look, his eyes drifting to the girl kneeling before him. Utaha Kasumigaoka’s long black hair hung in messy strands, veiling most of her face. Only her pale jawline and delicate collarbones peeked through.

Her chest, far too developed for a high schooler, was shielded by her trembling hands. But the shape was still impossible to hide.

Shivering from both shame and the cold, she looked like a lamb cornered by a wolf—fragile, uneasy, and unbearably tempting.

Seiji took his time admiring the view before picking up the contract from the floor. "Well done. I’ll pay you the rest now," he said casually. "Do you want it in cash or a transfer?"

He made it sound like he was discussing business.

Utaha recoiled, arms squeezing tighter around herself, her body curling up like a startled fawn.

Did he really have to talk like that?

Her face burned with humiliation, her voice trembling in a whisper so faint it barely carried. "C-Can I… put my clothes back on first?"

That hint of pleading betrayed the fact that, after what had just been recorded, her pride lay shattered at his feet. She couldn’t even muster a strong tone anymore.

"What’s the rush?"

His eyes roamed shamelessly across her bare skin. He smiled. "You’ll be in this situation plenty of times over the next six months. Better to get used to it now—for both our sakes."

Her breath hitched.

Right. The contract bound her for half a year. It was filled with terms that spoke of training, torment, and play. Compared to those clauses, this moment was nothing. Just an appetizer.

With a heavy sigh, she gave up on dressing and remained kneeling, exposed before him.

But she couldn’t completely let go. She kept her arms tight across her chest, legs pressed firmly together, clinging to whatever small defenses she could.

"Tomorrow, you’ll move out of here and straight into my new apartment in Minato Ward," Seiji said, still savoring the sight.

"What?"

Her head snapped up like she’d been struck by lightning.

"Live… together? No! Absolutely not!"

Panic flared in her voice as she quickly shook her head.

If it was just scheduled encounters, she could endure it. Survive half a year and it would be over.

But living together meant twenty-four hours under his control. Like a pet on a leash, caged without escape.

Her outburst darkened Seiji’s eyes.

"No?"

A sharp laugh slipped from his lips. "Utaha-senpai, let me break this down for you."

His tone was calm, almost soft, yet every word slithered into her ears like a devil’s whisper.

"Our arrangement lasts six months. I’ll be covering your mother’s surgery—three million yen—plus everything else. Call it three-point-six million in total."

"Six months. One hundred and eighty days."

"Which means I’m spending twenty thousand yen a day on you."

Utaha's whole body jolted. She bit her lip hard and lowered her gaze, unable to look at him.

Twenty thousand yen a day. That was six hundred thousand a month. Her late father, even as a mid-level company manager, had earned about the same.

Would anyone spend that kind of money for just the occasional meeting? Of course not.

Being kept wasn’t about visits. It was about owning her life.

"You really think I’d pay all that and give you the freedom to ‘not live with me’?" Seiji sneered.

"I’m buying the right to enjoy you anytime, anywhere I please. Got it?"

"…Yes."

The answer slipped from her lips, bitter as poison.

Her future unfolded before her eyes—half a year of darkness. Endless domination. Constant violation. No freedom. No dignity.

Only when he saw the fight fade from her eyes did Seiji rise to his feet, satisfied.

He pulled over a chair and sat right in front of her, eyes fixed on her trembling lips.

"Now then. As a reward for behaving tonight… let’s call this your first lesson in adapting to your new role."

Utaha froze, realizing what he meant.

No. Not that…

"I… I can’t… I can’t do that…" she whispered, her voice shaking.

"This is your mother’s life on the line."

Seiji dropped the rest of the money in front of her. The bills scattered at her knees.

"Do it well, and I’ll transfer the funds to the hospital tonight. Do it poorly…"

He chuckled lightly.

"Then we’re done here. The rest, you’ll have to figure out on your own."

Utaha’s shoulders slumped. The fight drained out of her. She had no choice.

…

…

Outside the door, Ms. Sato had been waiting a long time.

Just as she was about to give up, the door suddenly opened.

Startled, she ducked into the stairwell corner like a thief, peeking out only a little.

Thud, thud, thud!

Utaha stumbled out of the room.

She looked worse than before—face white as a sheet, eyes empty, like her soul had been stolen.

Most unsettling of all, she kept her hands clamped over her mouth, as though holding something back, her body shuddering with faint dry heaves.

Her uniform, once neat, was now in disarray.

Bang!

She didn’t notice Ms. Sato at all. She ran into her own apartment and slammed the door shut.

In the stairwell, Ms. Sato’s heart pounded.

That face… those clothes…

Could it really be what I’m thinking?

Had the boy gone that far already?

The thought made her cheeks burn.

At that moment, Seiji stepped out.

His face glowed with the satisfaction of exertion, like a man fresh from a workout.

And when he spotted the building manager peeking from the corner, not even a flicker of surprise crossed his face.

"Ms. Sato, out so late? Something the matter?" His voice was warm, polite, as if nothing at all had happened.

"N-No, nothing!" she stammered, caught red-handed, her cheeks flushing. She forced a laugh. "I just came up to… uh… check if the hallway light was broken, yes, the light!"

But her eyes kept darting between him and his room.

Almost unconsciously, she sniffed the air, trying to catch a trace of… something.

But there was nothing. Just the musty, damp odor of the old building.

Seiji caught every twitch of hers and laughed inwardly.

Not a drop wasted. Utaha had swallowed it all.

How could there possibly be a trace left behind?

Chapter 15 – Conquest Reward

Ms. Sato left soon after.

Seiji Fujiwara returned to his room, replaying the video he had just recorded while waiting for Utaha to come back.

It didn’t take long.

Utaha, freshly washed and dressed in casual clothes, stepped in expressionless.

"You…"

Her eyes widened when she saw Seiji watching the footage of her. Panic flickered across her pale face, followed by a surge of humiliation and anger. She had expected this, but seeing it happen still rattled her.

Would she ever be able to get that recording back?

Even if she did, how could she be sure he hadn’t made backups?

From the moment she stood in front of the camera, she had left behind a fatal weakness. But for her mother’s sake, she had no choice but to walk right into the trap.

I’ll just have to take it one step at a time.

Utaha let out a silent sigh, forcing her emotions down.

She stood before him, her expression cold. "The money."

"Here." Seiji stopped the playback and handed her the remaining balance without hesitation.

Then he pulled out another envelope stuffed with bills.

"These cover the nursing care, hospital expenses, and all the extras. Plus, your twenty thousand yen monthly allowance is in here."

He pushed the envelope toward her.

"…"

Utaha’s delicate hands curled into fists as she stared at it.

She needed the money.

The surgery fee was only the beginning. Afterward, life would go on.

With her mother bedridden, there would be no income. Three million yen wasn’t enough. She needed more.

"What do I have to give up for it?" she asked warily.

The contract terms already scraped the bottom line of human dignity. Any further, and she’d be no different from a slave.

She still wanted to be human. Not a hollow puppet like in some degrading doujin.

"It’s not about more demands," Seiji said with a faint smile, noticing her suspicion. "Think of it as an incentive. Don’t just lie there like a corpse—it kills the mood."

"As for the extra cash, consider it an extension. Fifty thousand yen a month, and the contract runs longer."

He never planned to ruin her completely.

A Collectible had value only if it kept its personality and charm. Once that broke, what difference was there from a doll?

"I see."

Utaha exhaled softly, relief slipping through her tone. "Then extend it to a year."

"Fine. Adjustments can be made later." Seiji nodded, then stood, smiling.

"Now… it’s time you fulfill the contract terms."

…

That night.

In the luxury apartment in Minato Ward, with its rent of 480,000 yen a month.

The furnishings weren’t complete yet, but it didn’t matter.

An hour later, Seiji leaned back with a satisfied look.

Of course, he noticed something. Utaha hadn’t truly yielded.

Deep in those crimson eyes, flashes of stubbornness and hatred still burned.

But Seiji didn’t mind. If anything, it thrilled him.

That resistance made the conquest sweeter. If she broke too easily, became a docile pet overnight… it would be boring.

…

The next day.

Kyoto Third Central Hospital.

The surgery bill for Mrs. Kasumigaoka was fully paid, and she was wheeled into the operating room.

The operation was a success.

Afterward, she was placed in a private top-floor recovery room overlooking a serene courtyard. Two skilled nurses rotated shifts, providing twenty-four-hour care.

Money had paved the way.

"Did you hear? The bill for Mrs. Kasumigaoka in Room 6 was paid in full yesterday!"

"No way. I heard the second surgery plus care was nearly three and a half million yen!"

"It’s true! My friend in accounting said not only did they settle everything, but they even donated extra to the hospital foundation. The transfer record said the payer was Seiji Fujiwara."

"That Kasumigaoka girl’s so lucky! To land a boyfriend with that kind of money…"

"Seriously. Being beautiful makes all the difference. Some people have it all…"

The whispers, thick with envy and gossip, never reached Utaha’s ears.

But she knew the truth.

Her debt had only deepened. With things as they were, she would be trapped in Seiji Fujiwara’s grasp for the rest of her high school years.

…

A few days later.

Seiji returned to the old apartment to end his lease.

Utaha helped him pack.

The neighbors were stunned.

In their eyes, Utaha Kasumigaoka had always been the sharp-tongued, cold beauty—the thorned rose of the building.

Now she trailed after Seiji quietly, like a wife in training.

Her face was blank, but her hands moved with practiced ease, carrying boxes downstairs, scrubbing the now-empty room spotless.

Her obedience seemed unreal.

"Am I seeing things? Isn’t that Kasumigaoka from the second floor?"

"She’s helping Fujiwara move? Even cleaning his place?"

"When did the ice queen get tamed?"

"Damn… looks like that guy pulled it off. Took down the toughest one without anyone noticing!"

The young men who witnessed it stared openly, their eyes filled with envy, jealousy, and the unspoken understanding only men shared.

Seiji accepted the looks calmly, even with a touch of pride.

Utaha ignored them all.

After what she had already endured, whispers and stares meant nothing.

Everyone knew she couldn’t cover the medical bills on her own. Depending on someone else was the only option.

And the rest… was obvious.

After the move, Utaha stayed with her mother in the hospital, renting her a comfortable apartment nearby.

But she herself kept her end of the deal—living in Seiji Fujiwara’s home.

…

In the new apartment, Seiji soaked in the bath, eyes closed in contentment.

He had been utterly indulgent these past few days, yet his body felt stronger than ever.

"Ever since my memories awakened, even my stamina’s better," he mused.

Perfect.

He’d be collecting plenty of girls in the future. If his body couldn’t keep up, that would be a waste.

"Time to check my system rewards."

He summoned the interface.

He had been too distracted by Utaha’s allure until now.

[ Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing Phase One of the conquest of ‘SSR Collectible: Utaha Kasumigaoka’! ]

[ Progress: 1/3 ]

[ Phase One Reward: Full set of the light novel A Certain Magical Index! ]

A flood of detailed outlines, worldbuilding notes, and polished drafts filled Seiji’s mind.

"Index, huh?"

He stroked his chin, deep in thought.

----
Nia's note: I need your opinion, guys. Do you want smut? I could write extra chapters for them or integrate them directly into the story. However, at this point in the story, it would be rather dark and uncomfortable. Let me know what you think. The main character is a real scumbag.