Since you've already said it like that, then he was definitely going to enjoy the experience properly.
Although Wakaba Mutsumi's life was probably on the busy side, when it came to sheer quality of living, it was absolutely leagues above that of Togawa Sakiko and Chihaya Anon.
Without the slightest hesitation, Asai Yu replaced himself with the primary personality of this body.
At that moment, just as Wakaba Mutsumi was preparing to leave the personality space and return to her own body, she suddenly noticed that something was very, very wrong.
She… seemed to have lost the right to control her own body?
What was going on?
She froze in place, lowered her head, and looked at her own hands. A wave of panic inevitably rose in her chest.
Mortis, standing off to the side, noticed it as well.
As a sub-personality, she could very clearly feel that Wakaba Mutsumi had become the same kind of sub-personality as herself.
So what, exactly, had happened?
Mortis slowly widened her eyes in shock.
"Little Mutsumi…"
At that moment, Wakaba Mutsumi suddenly realized something. She lifted her head and directed her gaze at Asai Yu standing before her.
"Yu… did you do this?"
"I think so," Asai Yu replied calmly. "As you can see, I've already become the primary personality of this body."
As he spoke, he casually waved his right hand, and the figures of the three of them instantly appeared inside a grand theater.
Control over the personality space was already in his hands.
When Mortis saw this scene, her eyes widened even further.
How was this even possible?
This newly born personality had replaced Little Mutsumi?!
She turned her gaze toward Wakaba Mutsumi beside her.
The green-haired girl looked visibly flustered. She took two steps backward, only to trip over the corpse of a personality she herself had killed, falling flat onto the ground with an undignified thump.
"How could this be… I'm the primary personality…"
"No—this kind of thing, absolutely not!"
"There are still so many things I haven't asked, Saki—"
But the disappearance of her strength undeniably proved that she was now nothing more than a sub-personality who could be killed at any time.
It was real.
Little Mutsumi really had become just like her.
Mortis's nerves instantly tightened to the breaking point.
Her head turned stiffly, almost mechanically, toward Asai Yu. She swallowed hard, then asked with great difficulty:
"Yu… are you going to kill me and Little Mutsumi?"
Hearing those words, Wakaba Mutsumi also lifted her head, looking at the girl wearing the white beret in front of her. Her expression was filled with fear.
Asai Yu was actually tempted to scare the two of them a little.
But considering that doing so might provoke extreme resentment from Wakaba Mutsumi—and that being kicked out of the body afterward would be a real problem—he reconsidered.
So he answered instead,
"No. But for now, this body will be under my control. When I need you, you'll have to come out and take my place."
At those words, Mortis finally let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.
Thank goodness. I survived.
Maybe it was because she had already gotten used to this kind of life, but her emotional fluctuations weren't particularly intense.
Wakaba Mutsumi, however, was completely different. Just moments ago, she had truly believed she was about to die—especially given how terrible her attitude toward Yu had been before.
So even now, she was still trembling with lingering fear.
"I'll head out first," Asai Yu said. "You two can take your time talking."
With that, Asai Yu left the personality space and returned to the body itself.
After he left, Wakaba Mutsumi and Mortis exchanged glances, staring blankly at each other.
Seeing the utterly confused look on Wakaba Mutsumi's face, Mortis suddenly realized something important.
Right now, shouldn't she be siding with Yu instead of Little Mutsumi?
After all, Yu was now the primary personality.
Yeah. She'd go with that, at least for the time being.
—
On the other side, Asai Yu sat up on the bed. Today was a school day.
He first took off the pajamas he was wearing.
Compared to Togawa Sakiko and Chihaya Anon, this body was noticeably thinner and smaller, almost like a finely crafted, oversized porcelain doll.
After putting on the school uniform, Asai Yu walked over to the desk and took out his drawing tools.
Since he had plenty of time right now, he might as well grind some bonus experience.
He already had some experience with drawing, so getting started was easy, and he quickly slipped into the zone.
After activating a 5× EXP card and a 3× EXP card, he began an hour-long drawing practice session.
One hour later—
[Drawing Bonus Lv.1 (220/100)]
[Lv.1 → Lv.2]
[Drawing Bonus Lv.2 (120/500)]
Because of the stacking of the two EXP cards, plus the system's compensation of 3× experience, a single practice session yielded a full 220 experience points.
"Little Yu is amazing. Even more hardworking than Little Mutsumi," Mortis praised loudly, seeing that he had practiced drawing for a full hour right after waking up.
At this time, Wakaba Mutsumi was still in a dazed, hollow state and paid no attention to either of them.
Little Yu? When did that kind of affectionate nickname start?
Asai Yu was at a loss for words. Big Sister Mortis really knew how to read the room.
Seeing that the timing was about right, Asai Yu left the bedroom and went downstairs.
He just happened to run into Wakaba Mutsumi's mother—Mori Minami.
"Mutsumi, good morning. You seem to have gotten up a little late today," Mori Minami said with a smile as she set down the facial mask in her hands.
To be honest, this was the first time Asai Yu had seen Mutsumi's mother since coming to this world.
Everyone described her as looking almost inhuman.
Asai Yu, however, thought: not exactly normal either.
Being watched by her as he walked down the stairs, Asai Yu felt a chill crawl up his spine for the first time.
"Mm. Morning, Minami," Asai Yu replied calmly, using a tone similar to Wakaba Mutsumi's.
[Acting Bonus Lv.1 (11/100)]
The acting bonus experience increased slightly. Factoring in the EXP cards he used, it should have gone up by one point in actual terms.
Just as he had expected, playing the role of Wakaba Mutsumi while interacting with others granted experience.
What he hadn't expected was how easy it would be.
Maybe it was because his usual facial expressions were already similar to Wakaba Mutsumi's. He didn't need to consciously control them—just soften his tone a little.
"Mhm. The driver is already waiting in the car. Hurry and head to school," Mori Minami said after putting on her face mask.
A chauffeur-driven ride to school—not bad.
Asai Yu nodded, then headed out the door.
After the green-haired girl left, Mori Minami narrowed her eyes slightly.
It changed again. Changed again, that monster born from nature itself.
A trace of fear quietly surfaced in her heart.
"Little Mutsumi, Yu's going to school now. Don't space out," Mortis whispered softly when she saw the girl beside her still in a daze. "She's definitely going to come into contact with Togawa Sakiko."
"School… Saki…"
Upon detecting the keyword, Wakaba Mutsumi instantly snapped back to life. She stared intently at the small screen in front of her displaying the body's field of vision, watching closely.
Asai Yu heard every word of their conversation clearly.
No matter what Wakaba Mutsumi was thinking, he would do everything possible to avoid contact with Togawa Sakiko.
After arriving at Tsukinomori Girls' Academy in a private car, Asai Yu first went to Wakaba Mutsumi's personal little vegetable garden.
The cucumbers in the garden had already been replaced with bitter melons.
After watering them briefly, Asai Yu headed to the classroom.
Along the way, several classmates greeted him, and he returned each greeting in turn.
The acting bonus experience shot up rapidly, quickly hitting the cap.
[Acting Bonus Lv.1 (220/100)]
[Lv.1 → Lv.2]
[Acting Bonus Lv.2 (120/500)]