Extra again at 500 stone.
So vote!
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The Yotsuya Family wasn't the only one watching the news.
At that very moment, the Tozuka family vacationing in Hawaii caught the same broadcast.
He certainly wasn't buying the official story about a gas leak.
"Coincidences like that don't just happen."
"A tanker carrying gas somehow gets hit by a bullet train?"
"The nerve they have to claim that."
"Why not say it was struck by a plane while you're at it?"
"And what's with this vague number—'hundreds of thousands'?"
"Ten thousand? Twenty? Fifty? Eighty?" Tozuka thought of Akuto, glanced again at the footage of Shibuya Ward strewn with corpses, and shuddered.
All of a sudden, Akuto seemed to have treated him rather kindly.
In a situation like that, placing bets would've been impossible—he wouldn't even have managed to stay alive.
Elsewhere.
Miko shuffled out of her room, eyes still puffy with sleep, and heard the same report; her expression turned complicated.
She sat beside Akuto, casually plucked the chips from his hand, and popped them into her mouth.
"Mom, when's dinner? I'm starving!"
"Almost ready!"
Miko was changing the subject.
Even though she'd spent ages with Akuto, sitting opposite him as this felt like a first—and it felt awkward.
Embarrassing, even.
Akuto stayed silent.
After the meal, Akuto settled into the guest room.
Fresh from a bath, he sat on the sofa by the window, lifted a finger, and swallowed it.
[Congratulations, Host: Third finger assimilated!]
[Role-playing percentage cap increase.]
[Current Sukuna role-play: 10%.]
[New ability unlocked: Overall capacity raised.]
Akuto glanced at the notifications; he had no complaints.
He'd inherited most of Sukuna's Cursed Techniques, though their power didn't compare to the original.
In the source material, it was obvious—Sukuna wasn't about clever mechanics; he was about raw numbers.
Sukuna was strong because he was Sukuna, not because his techniques had intricate frameworks like Gojo's.
So while Akuto could use Sukuna's moves, their output remained modest.
With the third finger down, he could feel clear boosts to Cursed Energy, stamina, and technique across the board.
From here on, without more fingers, progress would come only through raising his Role-play Degree.
Each finger granted a five-percent cap increase; his current ceiling now sat at fifteen percent.
[Congratulations: All fingers in this world have been collected.]
[ The Second World will open in twelve hours. Please prepare, Host.]
"Hmm?"
Akuto raised an eyebrow; he'd known the fingers here were finite, but not that it would be this soon.
"What happens to this world once I leave?" He lit a cigarette.
[Host may return to this world at any time.]
Good enough.
Akuto had grown used to this place; abandoning the foundation he'd built would be a waste.
At least he could come back whenever he wanted.
Just then the door cracked open.
Miko slipped inside in a yellow pajama set, shut the door softly, and met Akuto's gaze.
The air turned awkward.
"Um…I used your move today."
She sat stiffly opposite him, cheeks reddening as she kept stealing glances.
Akuto exhaled a plume of smoke.
"When I channel my technique through your body, it imprints on you,"
"So your body copied my Cursed Technique: 'Dismantle'."
"But the move's too heavy for you; your Cursed Energy can't keep up."
"Use it in a small area and you should manage two, maybe three times."
That said, the room sank into another bout of uneasy silence.
"I heard what you said this afternoon,"
"That I'm your husband," Akuto spoke with playful amusement.
Miko's face flared crimson; she buried it in her chest.
"I know. As Yomi's new wife, I won't refuse my duties,"
"But having kids right now is too soon. I'll marry you, just… please use protection. I'm not ready for children."
"Huh?" Akuto was completely lost.
What nonsense was she spouting?
He'd only meant to tease her a moment ago.
"What exactly is Yomi's new wife—some trendy new kink?" Miko lifted her head in shock, eyes brimming red.
"Am… amusing yourself by toying with me? I already agreed to be your wife!" She knelt beside him, hands on his thighs.
"I'll fulfill a wife's duties, but please—children can wait."
Akuto scratched his head. "First, explain to me what Yomi's new wife even means."
Miko stared at him through watery eyes and realized he wasn't joking.
Her expression froze. "You… don't know?"
"Should I?"
She suddenly recalled that Granny Saegusa had briefly sealed Akuto earlier.
"Yomi's new wife! You came from the underworld to find a bride and sire children, didn't you?"
"Isn't that how every Psychic bloodline began?" Akuto blinked, then curved a grin.
"No idea how Psychics originated,"
"But I'm not from any underworld." He leaned closer. "So, woman, are you saying you like me?"
"Pretty outdated way to confess."
"Confess…"
Steam might as well have shot from her ears.
"Ah!"
Overloaded, Miko chose homicide—she threw a straight punch.
She missed entirely, lurched forward, and wound up half-sprawled across him.
"Why didn't you say so earlier, idiot! Jerk!"
Straddling his lap, she pummelled him.
Akuto blocked effortlessly with one hand.
Knock-knock.
"Akuto-kun, I had the butler bring pajamas—are you…?"
The door opened; Touko froze mid-sentence.
Akuto sat on the sofa while Miko knelt astride him, face-to-face.
"Uh… stay safe!"
She slammed the door.
"Agh—I'm killing you!"
Miko lunged, sinking her teeth into his shoulder.
Akuto didn't resist.
When she pulled back, face still scarlet, a silver strand linked her lip to his shoulder.
"W-well…"
Words failed her. Akuto glanced downward.
"Flat as a runway."
"Jerk!"
"Relax, it's nothing I haven't seen."
"Moron! Shut up!"
After more tussling she draped herself sideways across him, head against his chest.
"I'm leaving."
"Where? I can come with you in a few months."
She spoke so softly that she was still drowning in embarrassment.
"I'm going to another world." Her body stiffened; golden eyes lifted to his.
In the next instant, she cupped his face and kissed him. "Then you're still my only husband—the one I've chosen."
"Even if it started as a misunderstanding."
"That wretched Old Woman—next time I'll settle the score."
Akuto's brows knit; his gaze turned complicated.
"I can come back, you know—probably every so often."
"Eh?"
"EHH?!"
"When do you leave?"
Relief and fresh embarrassment mingled inside her.
"In a couple of days. Once I'm sure of the Exorcism Society's stance, I'll go."
"Okay. I'll wait for you."
Her arms circled his neck, body burning against his.
—
T/N: Although the protagonist is a hypocrite, and generally just a scumbag, that ended quite well. At the very least he doesn't take girls like Pokémon.
Read 35+ Chapter in advance.
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