I, the mastermind behind the scenes at Soubu High, refuse to be caught in a bloodbath.

"Hmm, so who were you with last night? You don't seem tired at all, Haruto. Was the other person taken care of so easily? Did you use contraception properly?"

"Ahem, cough cough—actually, nothing happened last night, I just stayed at a hotel for one night."

"Oh dear, the manager told me you were staying with that teacher named Hiratsuka Shizuka, in a double room, and nothing really happened?"

"Of course, I love Sister Lingzi so much, if anything were to happen, it would have to be with Sister Lingzi."

"Naughty." Miss Reiko turned around, stuck out her tongue at Himekoji, and made a face. She took her hands off the steering wheel, made a loop with her left index finger and thumb, and then repeatedly threaded her right index finger through it, saying, "Want to try it tonight? Whoever does ○○ first has to promise the other one something!"

"Are you serious?!"

"There are still many chocolate lipsticks available. You can have them anytime you want."

"..."

Miss Reiko is absolutely terrifying!

As the New Year approached, Dad finally got a holiday. On the night of December 31st, the family happily stayed together, enjoying the delicious food Mom had prepared, while Dad poured out his grievances, complaining about the bunch of jerks at work and the unreliable subordinates.

I invited Kazusa over before, but she declined. Apparently, she went to karaoke with Setsuna. I hope the two girls are careful.

Bottle after bottle of red wine was opened. Don't let Mom's small size fool you; she can actually drink a lot. She's just not very good at games. Ever since Himeko changed rock-paper-scissors to a left-hand punch followed by a right-hand punch and then a back-hand punch when things go wrong, Mom's win rate has dropped to around 25%. Soon, Himeko and Dad were getting her all red-faced.

"Alright, alright, that's enough drinking. Just enjoy yourselves. If you keep going like this, your mother will get drunk."

Dad stopped Ji Xiaolu from bullying Mom any further, while Mom let out a small hiccup, pinched her chin, and pondered, her amber eyes darting around.

"Oh! That's right!" Mom suddenly realized and looked at Himekoji, saying, "Reiko said she needed to talk to you, so I told her to wait for you in your room. Let me check... It's past midnight now, and the New Year is coming. Go back and check on her."

Chapter 277 Interesting, Miss Reiko has a gift to give.

"Huh? Oh... okay."

When Ji Xiaolu heard that Sister Lingzi wanted to talk to him, his heart skipped a beat. Meanwhile, his father, holding his swaying mother, began to give Ji Xiaolu meaningful glances, indicating that the two of them would be busy later. He coughed loudly a few times, smiled, and left the table.

When Himekoji was born, Reiko was 14 years old. She was of Italian-Japanese descent and was his mother's childhood playmate. She was also Himekoji's personal maid, and could be said to be no different from a wet nurse except that she didn't have milk. After completing her compulsory education, she took care of Himekoji while receiving family education from Himekoji's family. When Himekoji was eating chocolate lipstick, she was only about 20 years old. Now, Ms. Reiko is 31 years old at most, which can be said to be the age group of women that Himekoji likes the most.

With a slightly apprehensive feeling, Himeko returned to his room, where Miss Reiko was sitting at his piano, happily playing Beethoven's Ode to Joy.

How could someone who grew up with their mother not know how to play the piano? A playmate is someone who takes the blame for their master. The two learn and live together, but if the mother makes a mistake, it's Reiko who gets beaten... Overall, her childhood was quite miserable, since her mother was very mischievous back then. Incidentally, the reason her mother got pregnant with Himekoji so early was because Reiko, who was taking care of her, was tricked by Himekoji's father with a few words and forgot her duties.

So when she got back, Miss Reiko was almost killed by Borgia's family.

After closing the door, Himekoji came up behind Reiko, who had just finished playing her piece.

"good evening."

Good evening, Sister Lingzi.

Himeko reached out and wrapped her arms around her waist, gently swaying against Reiko's back.

"You're so good at acting cute. Don't you want to know why I came to find you in the first place?"

"Well, I guess it's because Reiko-nee wanted to give me a precious New Year's gift, isn't it?"

"You got it right."

Miss Reiko reached out and placed her hand on Himekoji's hand. Her fingers were much rougher than her mother's, after all, she often worked and drove, but they were more similar to the feel of Hiratsuka Shizuka's fingers. She often wrote with chalk, and even though she took care of her fingers, they were still rough.

"Who was Haruto's first time with—? Was it Lady Kazusa? Or...?"

"Ahem, is it really necessary to explain this?"

"Well, it's fine if you don't want to say, but..." Miss Reiko turned her head and gave a bitter look, "Just now, I turned 31."

"It really is another new year..."

“After a woman turns 17, she no longer looks forward to her birthday…” Miss Reiko sobbed, her voice trembling as if she were about to cry. “Besides, I’ve been a virgin for thirty years. Do you really want to accept this gift?”

Will Sister Lingzi tell Mommy?

Of course.

"...Suddenly I didn't dare accept it."

"But your wife already knows, which is why she sent you here now."

Reiko slowly stood up. The high heels that came with her maid uniform made her almost as tall as Himekoji, but she was still a bit shorter.

"Huh?!?!"

Ji Xiaolu was dumbfounded. Her mother actually said it was okay?! Was she trying to teach her about women? Making her childhood friend do this kind of thing with her...?

“I would never lie about this. I came here after consulting with Madam,” Miss Reiko said, shrugging helplessly as she left Himekoji’s embrace. “Madam said that it’s time for you, Haruto, to learn about girls through your body. She asked me to teach you properly. That’s all.”

"...Oh my god!!!"

Ji Xiaolu sighed deeply, but her mother was already busy and had no time to spare for this matter.

"Does Haruto, my little master, hate me?"

Miss Reiko suddenly knelt on the carpet, supporting herself with one hand on the ground and sobbing with the other hand in front of her mouth and nose.

"How could I possibly hate you... You've taken care of me since I was a child."

"I see. So, where does Haruto like to be? On the windowsill? On the piano? By the wall? On the carpet? On the chair? Or in the kitchen?"

"...Where does Sister Lingzi like to be?"

"I am a virgin, so you may do as you please."

She stood up again, adjusted her maid's long skirt with the apron attached, and bowed her head in acknowledgment.

"Besides, aren't you ashamed to talk about these things?"

"Rest assured, I have done a lot of research and observed many real-world scenarios for this, and there will absolutely be no mistakes."

Lingzi lowered her head again, and Ji Xiaolu felt dizzy.

How did you do your homework? And what's with this "practical observation"? Did you just watch my parents cause trouble?

"Then, Lingzi, why don't you... go stand by the wall first?"

"Yes."

As she spoke, Miss Reiko walked to an empty wall, on which hung a painting of herself as a young girl. Needless to say, the artist was Himekoji's mother. Next to it, covered with silk, was a self-portrait of his mother.

"Uh—, don't face the wall...turn around."

"Yes."

Miss Reiko turned around expressionlessly, gently pressing her hands together on her lower abdomen.

"What's next...?"

“Next…” Himeko walked up to her, put her arm around her shoulder and whispered in her ear, “Lift up your skirt.”

Under Reiko's watchful gaze, Himeko slowly knelt before her, and she immediately exclaimed anxiously, "I can't let Master Haruto kneel before me and do such a thing..."

"Well, you've taken care of me since I was little, so let me make you feel comfortable first. Lift up your skirt and stand still, okay?"

Ji Xiaolu reached out and tickled Lingzi's leg, making her giggle.

It wasn't until around four in the morning that the two of them fell into a deep sleep in each other's arms. Of course, even though Ms. Reiko was 31 years old, she was still a virgin. Since it was her first time, Himeko couldn't play too intensely. Doing this kind of thing wasn't just about putting ○○ inside ○○ and doing back and forth movements. There were many other interesting things to do, which is why it went on so late.

The next day, Himekoji woke up to the frantic ringing of his alarm clock, along with Reiko. Reiko pushed Himekoji to the bathroom to help him take a bath, as Himekoji had to go see Kawasaki later.

Ah, I should have known better than to agree to her request. I could have spent more time with Sister Lingzi. It's so nice to be with older women... She's really good at doing her homework.

"Click—!" Mom opened the door with her master key and came in, smiling as she stared at the two people packing their things in front of the mirror. "Did you have fun last night?"

"Madam!" "Mother, my dear!"

"Hey, Reiko, your voice can be heard all the way down the hallway!"

Chapter 278 The next day, [Kawasaki Saki] hesitated to speak.

Leaving aside how red-faced Reiko was from being teased by that bullying old lady, Himekoji was supposed to head to the place she had arranged to meet Kawasaki Saki, namely the Asama Shrine. However, it wasn't the Asama Taisha Shrine in Shizuoka Prefecture that everyone always saw in photos, which seemed to echo Mount Fuji. It was just a relatively well-known branch in the Tokyo area, which was naturally always bustling with worshippers, and even more crowded during New Year's Day.

Fortunately, while the shrine has professional or part-time shrine maidens, there aren't any awful gods who have terrible drinking habits and always like to inexplicably tease worshippers. Speaking of which, do gods really exist? If they do, why have they never performed miracles? If they don't exist, how can I explain that I was transported to this world?

Sitting in the car, pondering these questions she had considered countless times before, Ji Xiaolu ruffled her hair, which Reiko had styled beautifully. She frequently glanced at herself in the rearview mirror. "You were so tired last night, yet you still drove me today. Thank you for your hard work..."

"Young Master Qingren, the car can't go any further."

Because of the large number of worshippers, even the motor vehicle lanes were already occupied by pedestrians, making traffic very slow from the very beginning. It was already a miracle that we had made it this far. Given this, Ji Xiaolu couldn't possibly give any instructions to keep honking and force his way through. He asked Miss Lingzi to stop temporarily, and he would get out first so she could park the car in the nearest parking lot.

After dialing Kawasaki's number, Himekoji struggled to carve out a spot in the sea of ​​people where she could clearly hear the phone ringing—which, frankly, sounded really silly.

After finally getting in touch with Kawasaki, she said she would come to find Himekoji and told him to stay put. Isn't that the kind of thing guys usually say to girls? Oh well, let's ignore those details.

But when Kawasaki came up to Himekoji, he realized that the so-called Kawasaki was not just Kawasaki Saki and Kawasaki Taishi, but also Kawasaki Kyoka, who was only about knee-high... Of course, he probably didn't know Kawasaki Kyoka's name now, since the previous Christmas event hadn't involved elementary school students.

Is this a family mobilization?! Himeko wanted to shout out loud. Kawasaki Saki herself looked quite embarrassed, but her younger brother, Kawasaki Taishi, kept pushing her towards him. Seriously, is it really okay to push your older sister into a fire pit like this? Wait, if we use this analogy, doesn't that make me the fire pit?

Ji Xiaolu shook his head to dismiss the silly analogy and waved to her, saying, "Hey, Happy New Year."

Today, Kawasaki wore a pinkish kimono that had a somewhat girlish feel. You could see from the neckline that it had several layers inside and out, and even though the wide belt was wrapped around her waist several times, you could still tell that she had a slender waist.

Wearing a thin yukata in this freezing weather would obviously be deadly. If she were to add a white fox fur scarf to her current outfit, she would look exactly like a girl about to participate in a coming-of-age ceremony.

As for Kawasaki Taishi and Kawasaki Kyoka, they were dressed in ordinary, thick clothes. Because the little girl was too small, Kawasaki Taishi had to hold her hand constantly. She seemed quite dissatisfied with her height, since her view was always blocked and she could only see the adults' legs and feet.

"So, what is it you want to ask me?"

Because there were just too many people, Himekoji didn't want to stay in this place for too long. He wanted to resolve Kawasaki's younger brother's question and then hurry home. Kazusa had just called her mother and said she wanted to come over to celebrate the New Year together. By the way, why didn't you come last night if you were coming?

"This...that..." Saki immediately looked at her younger brother, nudging him with her elbow to signal him to speak quickly. Her brother, however, seemed even more impatient, constantly giving Saki meaningful glances. Seeing her suddenly blush and start whispering to him, her brother, Daishi, strode forward and, along with Kawasaki Kyoka, bowed to Himekoji, saying, "Himekoji-nii, actually, the one who wants to ask you a question isn't me, but my sister. Well, I have something to do, so I'll take my leave with my sister Kyoka. Say goodbye, Kyoka."

Goodbye, brother~

Despite it being their first meeting, she was unusually lively and not shy at all. Kawasaki Kyoka waved her little hand, which was covered in cotton gloves, and gave Himekoji a very cute smile. She had the same light blue hair color as Saki, and her face shape was also quite similar. I guess Saki looked like this when she was a child.

Ji Xiaolu bent down and gently patted Jinghua's head before smiling and saying goodbye to them. Saki, who had been left behind by her younger siblings, seemed rather awkward. She looked longingly in the direction her brother had left for a long time before turning around, fiddling with a strand of hair draped over her chest.

"This is the second time you've combed your hair like this."

The first time was when Himekoji "invited" Kawasaki to go to the temple fair. She always wore a ponytail at school, so it was quite refreshing to suddenly comb her hair into a Hime hairstyle like a Yamato Nadeshiko. Paired with this cute kimono, it was surprisingly pleasing to the eye.

"How...how is it?"

When the point about the change was made, Kawasaki gently scratched the small black mole on his cheek and asked cautiously.

"Well...it looks pretty good, all in all."