I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

"It's summer vacation, but it doesn't feel like vacation at all..."

Yuuki Asuna, whose life consists of nothing but studying and various etiquette courses, has never experienced the feeling of going out and playing with friends during summer vacation.

The mother treated her like a canary, waiting for her feathers to grow full and she to become beautiful and elegant before selling her for a good price to increase her influence within the family.

Almost eighteen years old, Asuna Yuuki understands everything she should, but she works hard without complaint just to get praise from her parents and to repay them for their care, striving to become the person they are most satisfied with.

But no matter how hard the iron is, if it is repeatedly and persistently hammered, it will eventually develop cracks.

Yesterday, Yuuki Asuna got the only perfect score in her class at the cram school. Instead of praising her, her mother took her hard work for granted and even said that she would be punished if she didn't get the same score next time. Yuuki Asuna, who has never earned her mother's smile through her own efforts, is starting to feel tired.

Perhaps that's why she suddenly decided to sneak into her brother's room and take his virtual reality headset last night?

"How do I use this thing though..." Asuna Yuuki frowned, looking at the virtual reality headset from top to bottom with some trouble. She was so nervous that she forgot to take the instruction manual with her.

However, by trying a few more wires, you can eventually figure out the correct way to use it—her academic excellence is not just due to hard work, but also to her intelligence and quick thinking.

Just then, the phone on the desk suddenly vibrated.

"Brother?" Opening the message from her brother, she found a PDF file titled "Virtual Reality Helmet User Manual" and a message:

"The helmet is yours. Relax in that world, and remember not to let Mom find out."

Yuuki Asuna stared blankly for a long while before breaking into a smile and nodding vigorously:

"Ok!"

As I typed a reply on the keyboard, another message came in:

"If you encounter a boy named Tenkuji Yuu, about your age, in that world a week later, whether you confront him head-on or ambush him, help me teach him a lesson!"

Why?

"Don't ask, it's just a feud between men."

"?"

With a puzzled look on her face, Yuuki Asuna quickly ended her somewhat inexplicable conversation with her brother, then opened the instruction manual, intending to start figuring out how to fix the machine.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and a cold, stern voice rang out from outside:

"Asuna, what are you still doing? You should go to your cram school."

With a sudden jerk of her shoulders, Asuna Yuuki quickly stuffed her helmet under the bed and stood up.

The mother opened the door and frowned slightly as she looked at her daughter standing in front of the bed, trying to hide her nervousness.

"...Come downstairs when you're ready."

Having found nothing, the mother turned and left, just like the jailer who was ordering the prisoners to do their labor.

"I'm coming down right away!"

She gave a weak reply, her face bearing a gentle and compliant smile.

Once the door was completely closed, Asuna Yuuki's face fell, and she patted her chest, letting out a huge sigh of relief.

"Luckily I reacted quickly; otherwise, I would have been finished..."

Then, ignoring the helmet tucked under the bed, she quickly finished dressing up, looked in the mirror, grabbed her schoolbag, and hurriedly left the room to meet her mother downstairs.

The helmet was stuffed under the bed, but one thing remained clearly etched in her mind:

"A week later, in that world... I'll teach 'Tenkuji Yu' a lesson on behalf of my brother..."

Chapter 49 Even the Heavenly Path Souji Wants to Rent a Girlfriend

July 27th is still summer vacation.

On a day when he had no part-time job and Yukinoshita Haruno didn't ask him to go out, Yuu Tenkuji opened a website for renting girlfriends, and the avatars of two women appeared on the page.

Mizuhara Chizuru, Sakurazawa Sumi.

When he was looking for "peers" before, he paid special attention to the experimental group and the control group.

After comparing them side by side, the difference between the two can be seen just from the photos—Mizuhara Chizuru's headshot clearly shows that the camera angle and lighting were carefully designed, while Sakurazawa Sumi's is just a simple everyday photo.

The difference between a veteran and a novice.

Although they are all very pretty and cute, from a purely sensory perspective, if the cost is not a factor, most people would choose the more mature and eye-catching Mizuhara Chizuru as their rental girlfriend.

Yuu Tenkuji is one of those few people—he wants them all.

But not now.

"It's been two or three days and no one has placed an order yet. This is just too bad."

Renting a girlfriend is indeed a highly competitive industry.

With a certain degree of sympathy, Yuu Tenkuji pressed the "Decided Date!" button on Sumire Sakurazawa's personal page. This button, designed like a gacha game, was designed to trigger PTSD in Africans.

A notification suddenly popped up.

"My girlfriend is taking the day off today. Could you please choose another time?"

Yuu Tenkuji was not surprised.

"So we really do have to book in advance? After all, everyone has their own life to live."

He glanced at his schedule, which had been blank ever since he quit his part-time job—so what he really needed to look at was Yukino Yukinoshita's schedule.

After all, he was the one being "kept" by her.

"Next time, just ask her when she's busy, and then go out and find another woman on that day."

Using such a despicable phrase on purpose, Tenkuji Yu chuckled twice, then cheerfully closed Sakurazawa Sumi's homepage, leaving Mizuhara Chizuru, who seemed to be even busier, to follow.

With a try-it-out mentality, he also selected the order from this afternoon, and to his surprise, it was approved directly, and the notices and consent statement for renting a girlfriend popped up - up to this point, it was almost the same as the one for renting a boyfriend.

After selecting "agree," the notification "Mizuhara Chizuru is now your girlfriend! Have a great date~" popped up again.

...It feels like ordering takeout.

"Is this all?" Just as Yuu Tenkuji was browsing the web and trying to gather as much information as possible, her phone suddenly lit up with an email notification.

I glanced at the signature—Mizuhara Chizuru, is that right?

"Hello, I'm Mizuhara, your rented girlfriend! Thank you for choosing me. I will be your girlfriend and accompany you through..."

After a formulaic opening, the other party asked him about the location of the date and explained how the fee would be calculated—from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., a total of four hours, 32,000 yen, with payment due before the date and no extra charge for late arrivals.

After silently reading the email, Yuu Tenkuji took a deep breath, then smiled through gritted teeth:

"System, why didn't I receive this kind of email before... Is it really okay for you to make this arbitrary decision?!"

system:"……"

Naturally, this dog system, which only gave him tasks, money, and rewards and did nothing else, ignored him.

Feeling awkward and disappointed, Yuu Tenkuji could only suppress his frustration and arrange a meeting place with Chizuru Mizuhara, telling her what he would wear that afternoon.

After arranging this "rental date," he looked at the webpage on the screen again. A woman named Mizuhara Chizuru smiled gently and cheerfully in the photo. No one would doubt that it was a picture of an idol.

"However, this face..."

The more Yu looked at it, the more she felt something was off.

Eyes, facial features, face shape—there are so many things that can't be changed by makeup. If your eyes are sharp enough, you can quickly spot differences or similarities...

Tenkuji Yu narrowed his eyes, his sharp gaze fixed on the photo—after all, he had just met the person yesterday, and the impression was still quite deep. He quickly realized what it was, and then chuckled to himself.

"What a coincidence... And, they didn't even change their names, aren't they afraid of being recognized by their friends?"

Mizuhara Chizuru, Ichinose Chizuru.

—I never imagined that you, with your braided hair and glasses, would also be in the same industry!

△

On a summer afternoon, even buildings seem to distort.

At Chiba Station, the bustling crowds swirl around in the sweltering heat. The gray-white stone bricks on the ground seem to be radiating heat like iron plates, and no amount of light clothing can dispel the oppressive heat.

Tenkuji Yu arrived five minutes early and stood under the Starbucks sign, pulling down the brim of her hat to shield herself from the sun, watching the flow of people passing by with a complicated expression.

This was the second time he had arranged to meet a woman outside—both were college students, and both were stunningly beautiful.

The difference is that last time he was the one being prostituted, but this time he's the one who's being prostituted... cough cough, the difference between being rented and being rented has changed his mindset a bit.

"Speaking of which, Yukino Yukinoshita is really rich and powerful. A newbie's rented boyfriend only costs 4,000 yen an hour, but she spent 30,000 yen a day to book all my time..."

Perhaps the system is interfering.

After all, in his opinion, a rational person like Yukino Yukinoshita wouldn't do something so foolish as to waste money.

"Excuse me, are you... Souji-kun?"

A pleasant, familiar female voice rang out from the side.

Tenkuji Yuu, who was using the alias Tendou Souji, turned his head to look.

A beautiful girl with long, flowing hair cascading down her back, a sweet face, and a stunning figure, wearing a flowing short skirt and knee-high socks that accentuated her eccentricity, was tilting her head and curiously observing him.

Sky Temple Yuu smiled and nodded: "Hello, I am Tendou Souji."

"That's great, I was worried I'd mistaken someone for someone else~" Mizuhara Chizuru smiled with relief, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

This action drew the attention of many men passing by, who glanced at Yuuki Tenkuji with envy.

Being approached by a beautiful girl of this caliber is something to be envied, regardless of whether there's a close relationship or not.

"It's still so hot today~ You didn't keep me waiting long, did you?" With an intimate tone that felt completely natural, Mizuhara Chizuru approached him, tugged at his sleeve, and smiled broadly and cheerfully.

"Souji-kun, let's not stand here. Let's go inside and chat while the air conditioning is on! We can discuss where to go on our date later~"

Yuu Tenkuji nodded, his fingers pressing on the brim of his hat, the corners of his mouth also turned up, as if he was suppressing a laugh.

"it is good."

The two walked into Starbucks and chose a corner seat.

Just as Mizuhara Chizuru was about to look up and ask him what he wanted to drink, she saw Tenkuji Yuu slowly take off his hat and look at her with a smile.

"What a coincidence, we meet again, Ichinose-san."

Blinking in disbelief, Mizuhara Chizuru stood frozen in place, her mouth slightly agape.