Everything Begins With a Debt in the Hentai World

It was already past one in the morning; the streetlights along the road were sparse, casting only faint glimmers of light.

A car drove slowly down the quiet street, the sound of its tires scraping against the pavement resonating in the stillness of the night.

In the back seat, Ito Yoshito shared a delicate atmosphere with the driver, Tsukishima Matsuo.

An awkward tension hung between them. 

Suddenly, Tsukishima Matsuo broke the silence.

"Yoshito... Is it alright if I call you that?" 

"Whatever you prefer, Mr. Tsukishima," Ito Yoshito replied softly, feeling a bit uneasy considering he had just spent time with the man's wife.

Now, sharing the car with her husband was decidedly uncomfortable.

"Just call me Matsuo," he insisted. 

"Alright, Matsuo-san." 

There was a moment of silence, then Matsuo seemed about to speak again, hesitating.

His serious demeanor made Ito curious about what he wanted to say. 

Casually using his ring to probe the atmosphere, he caught an oddly unsettling thought:

'How can I get Yoshito to come to my house more often?' 

Indeed, the mindset of someone self-disciplined like him was beyond the understanding of ordinary people. 

After a brief moment of silence, Matsuo spoke again.

"Yoshito, what do you think of Kyouko?" 

"...She's delightful," Ito replied immediately, knowing that was what Matsuo wanted to hear. 

To his surprise, however, this seemed to trigger an impulsive reaction from Matsuo, who suddenly slammed on the gas, making Ito feel as if they were headed for disaster. Luckily, it was just a momentary scare, and Matsuo quickly eased off the accelerator. 

"Sorry, Yoshito. I got a little carried away." 

"It's fine." 

Watching Matsuo fidget and redden, Ito felt even more perplexed. 

"Yoshito, the truth is, because of work, I'm often not home and can't spend time with Kyouko, so she often feels very lonely…" 

"Ah… I see." 

"Ahem, so Yoshito, please feel free to come over and keep Kyouko company when you can." 

"…"

Ito Yoshito found himself at a loss for words.

A person could be so self-disciplined to that extent; it was a kind of remarkable state of being. 

"I will…" 

The trees along the roadside swayed gently in the breeze, their leaves rustling softly against the branches. 

Arriving at a small park, Ito asked Matsuo to drop him off there. 

"Goodbye, Matsuo-san." 

"Goodbye, Yoshito… Remember to visit often!" 

"…" 

He waited until the red taillights of the car disappeared into the darkness before picking up his phone. 

"It's so late. I hope Asou won't be too upset with me for flaking on her…" 

Opening the Line app, he saw the unmistakable bright red unread notification glaring at him in the darkness. 

"Ah!" 

———

Asou Miyuri (Landlady):[Aren't you back yet, Ito-kun?](Read) "23:09"

Asou Miyuri (Landlady):[Ito-kun?](Read) "23:40"

Asou Miyuri (Landlady):[Ito-kun, you didn't forget, did you? 😊](Read) "0:12"

Asou Miyuri (Landlady):[Stinky Ito, bad Ito, how dare you not reply to your older sister?](Read) "0:12"

…

The next messages conveyed her growing frustration: I'm very angry right now!

Until the last message…

Asou Miyuri (Landlady):[Ito-kun, why aren't you replying? Is something wrong?!](Read) "1:12"

——— 

Ito Yoshito quickly checked the time—1:15 AM.

Three minutes had passed.

He hurriedly dialed Asou Miyuri. 

"Bee—bee—" 

"Hello, Ito-kun, you're okay, right?"

Her voice came across the line, frantic and breathless. 

"I'm fine, Asou-san. I just got home." 

"Phew—"

The noise on the other end of the line began to settle down; it was clear she was stopping in her tracks and taking deep breaths of relief. 

"Humph—Ito-kun, why didn't you reply to my messages? You worried me sick! I thought something had happened to you!" 

"I'm sorry, Asou-san. It wasn't convenient for me to check my phone earlier…" 

"By the way, Asou-san, where are you right now? I can come pick you up. It's not safe out here at night." 

"I'm almost at the crossroad in front of the apartment… Ah, [why is there a child on the street at this late hour…]" 

Suddenly, a commotion erupted over Asou Miyuri's phone, followed by distinct raucous noises drawing nearer. 

Without thinking, Ito hung up and rushed towards Asou Miyuri. 

Meanwhile, she had turned around at the sound, and her phone was snatched away. 

"Hey little girl, being out on the street alone at night is dangerous. Come on, let big brother hold onto your phone for you." 

Staring at the two tall, unkempt guys in front of her, Asou Miyuri's heart raced like a drum. However, she had learned to protect herself, leveraging her youthful appearance. 

"Um, big brother, if there's nothing wrong, I'll just head home…" she pretended to be teary-eyed, her voice innocent yet laced with a hint of a sob. 

No one would ever guess that she was an independent wealthy young woman; they simply saw her as a cute little girl. 

"Moze, why don't we just give her phone back? She's just a kid…" 

"Smack!" Ueda Moze slapped Matsushita Masao, who stood beside him, and leaned in closely. 

"What do you know? When you're out here, it's all about the bravado. We can't show weakness in front of a little girl. She needs to learn what delinquents are all about! Don't you want to avoid being bullied like before? Besides, we already spent our money on hair dye." 

"I get it, Moze." Matsushita Masao nodded, finally catching on, and turned to look menacingly at Asou Miyuri. 

Miyuri forced a smile, considering the two foolish delinquents in front of her. What should she even say? 

Since they realized they were merely rookies in the game, they shouldn't loudly discuss it in public! 

"Children, you should scram. Just leave the phone with big brother!" Matsushita Masao tried to intimidate her, flashing what he believed to be a fierce grin but instead looked rather daft, as he declared threateningly.