Paradise of Infinity

Chapter 281: Poor Shou

Chapter 281: Poor Shou

"Amano! Wait!" Manabu huffs as he power walks after the skipping girl. Dark-blue blazers, similar to the color of their trousers, cover their white shirts and respective tie and bow ties. Megumi doesn't stop at Manabu's words as the coffee-haired, twin-tailed girl looks back with a toothy grin, revealing a slightly sharper left canine as she giggles under the brisk autumn morning's wind, "Nope~! Maa-Kun, try running—" She skips the final stairs... and falls face first as the bespectacled youth stops, almost blowing a blood vessel in his nostrils.

'Amano, your panties—' He looks away. Yet his gaze returns to the glorious sight of the flipped skirt revealing a pair of blue-stripped panties, the edge of which slightly digs into Megumi's 'relatively' appealing posterior if Manabu has something to say about it.

The girl quickly sits up before giggling foolishly as Manabu works his jaws, 'As defenseless as ever.' She is always like this, somehow exposing herself in the strangest of manners! 'It's almost like that manga I used to read growing up—Love-Ru, something. It's just that instead of the lucky protag molesting other females, Amano somehow opens herself to possible molestation instead!'

"Are you hurt?" Manabu sighs as he walks down the last two stairs near their bus stop while Megumi smirks, "Nope!"

Her expression soon freezes as she looks beyond him. Blinking, Manabu looks back. He sees Kurumi walking in their direction.

'But who is that man beside him?'

Manabu glimpses as the man looks strangely familiar.

Tall, broad-shouldered, short—and messy—pitch-black hair, exotic dusky skin, a pair of strange violet pupils, and quite an intimidating scowl!

"N-Nik?!" Manabu hears Megumi gasp beside him.

'Nik?' The youth instantly recalls the 'streaker' case as his eyes behind the glasses widen. 'That's him?!'

Kurumi's winter uniform is the same except for her skirt's length, which is a notch shorter than Megumi's article, exposing most of her thighs. Kurumi glances at Megumi, her honey-golden pupils glimmering in the distance as the girl suddenly holds Nik's hand, sticking her body to his arm as she smirks proudly despite the pronounced difference in their heights.

"Oh, it's you guys," Kurumi hums aloud, narrowing her eyes at Megumi as the latter gazes at Nik with a strange expression.

"Hey," Nik comes to be as his scowl recedes during the greeting. His expression breaks into a warm smile, and his eloquent sentence shocks Megumi to her core. "It's nice to see you again, Megumi. You don't have to look too shocked."

"Huh? Oh," Megumi nods before blinking, "Ah! You can speak again!"

"He could always speak," Kurumi elects to speak on his behalf as she mocks, "And you can kiss your store's greatest addition goodbye—"

"Nope," Nik rolls his eyes as Kurumi gazes at him snappily. "You promised!"

"I promised your mother I would be her bragging rights." Nik scoffs at the perpetually disagreeable and contradictory girl—until she has a good and hard reason to moan into her pillow—similar to a peculiar former Fire Princess. "And my exact words were—Sure, I'm awake. I don't mind keeping you company until your school."

Kurumi frowns deeply, but her arm around his thicker trunk squeezes tighter as she mutters, "Fine!"

Nik shrugs as he doesn't need words to dissuade her glumness when an orgasm or two will suffice. He didn't agree to help Kurumi to restore her 'pride' as a woman. If anything, she was worthy of the highest honor when taking him all the way despite knowing his 'flooding' virility. But things turned to ruin once he returned to his personal world after helping the women into their bedrooms. The ominous tangent aside, Nik agreed to provide Kurumi company to explore more of this world.

He will stop by the same place as before to take the necessary documents before visiting Yuuko and appealing to the gracious woman for an extension of his tenure. He also needs to find a spacious location to stay so that he can bring others inside his space to his homeworld. He also needs to identify if the culture of this planet shares a similar language to the rest's native tongue before finding translated language books—the group needs to do a lot if they are serious about wanting to start a new life here. Of course, the other option is to spend 5 AP(Rank 3) to purchase Language Tablets for the group—shit is costly!

The privilege of using 1 AP(Rank 0) to learn a language never felt so precious before!

The issue of finding a good place is easy to deal with [Twilight Thief,] and he has a buttload of gold and precious jewels to compensate his target, so things aren't as bleak as they seem.

He almost feels satisfied by the risks of getting the Primordial's essence—the keyword is almost. The thought of Ra strongarming him into a deal still leaves a slight distaste in his mouth.

"Back up!" Megumi's voice pries Nik out of his musings as he cocks his head sideways, smiling as the treat to anyone's sight. "Why are you a Gyaru-o?!"

Kurumi hides her smirk while Nik thins his lips.

He's starting to feel oppressed, damn it!

"I entered this mysterious cave during my leave of absence and came out the man I am today. You should feel my biceps," Nik flexes his free arm as Megumi gasps.

"And when did you put on so much muscle?!"

Nik pinches the bridge of his nose as he questions, "Is your next question—when am I going to dye my hair blonde?"

Megumi stills before nodding curiously, "Are you? It won't look good. Black hair suits you more."

"Thanks," Nik sighs and smiles.

He learned about the delinquents and their somewhat notable attire from Genta, but the sudden tan of skin seems extreme even by the standards of the social outcasts.

"What about your body?" Megumi ignores the scowling Kurumi and starts walking around Nik. "You're taller and bulkier. Did you take some questionable medicines—"

"He isn't on any weird stuff," Kurumi scoffs. If the general stereotypes are correct—from what Kurumi hears—people on too much 'juice' can't even get it up, or something like that. Megumi frowns at her words as she questions, "I am only asking because the side-effects of such drugs are lasting even if they don't seem harmful in the short run."

Megumi's words catch Kurumi sideways as she looks at Nik, making him roll his eyes. "Believe me, the only juice I like is the Orange one in the morning." The Souma Family didn't ask many questions in the morning, but Nik could feel their doubts and curiosity. Besides, only Kurumi and Mitsuko woke up like usual and entered their routines, while Sayako and Souko stayed in their beds, too tired for the morning.

See? Who said Kurumi doesn't have her pride? She is cut out of the same cloth as her mother!

It is clear to him Megumi isn't buying what he's selling as he sighs and mutters, "Well, your mother will be relieved. I can attract more customers, right? It means more bonuses and hugs!"

He grins, nodding at Manabu. "I don't remember your name. Hi. I'm Nik."

"Shindou Manabu," the bespectacled youth nods and shakes Nik's hand as the formed observes Kurumi's friend.

"His parents run the restaurant near our store, remember?" Megumi chimes. "Her mother bought a lot of cooking books from—"

"Ah, I remember her. She is a pleasant woman," Nik smiles. "And a terrific hugger."

"Y-yeah," Manabu's eyes twitch as Nik looks at Megumi. "Say, Megumi. If your mother is awake—"

Manabu speaks before Kurumi admonishes her prized stallion for sidelining her goals—

"Um, Nik-san? Can you tell me your last name? One shouldn't call another by their first names without knowing them well."

Nik blinks in surprise. "Oh, didn't know that. I figured it was a personal preference or something." He keeps his tone light despite noticing the slight defense in Manabu's tone.

"It is," Kurumi narrows her eyes, shooting a glare in Manabu's direction.

"Either way, my last name is Faran," Nik shrugs. "But I prefer Nik. Oh, as I was saying, Meg- Amano-san?" He looks at Manabu inquisitively as if questioning with his gaze—Did I get that right?—when Megumi snickers, "Megumi is fine. It was just such a surprise when you left out of nowhere. I don't even know if my mom will recognize you."

"You recognized me just fine," Nik chuckles. "I'm sure your mother will, too."

Megumi nods as she glances at Manabu, who keeps to himself.

"You aren't going anywhere!" Kurumi ends the discussion before Nik can spark the topic again. "You're free after you drop me off, right? You can return to your job on time." She suddenly looks at Megumi while addressing Nik. "Can't you be a good boyfriend for once?"

The remaining trio blinks.

Boyfriend? Who?

Me?/Him?

Megumi and Manabu glance at Nik as he works his jaws before looking at Megumi and nodding at Manabu. He speaks somberly. "I guess the cat's out of the bag."

But he never said Kurumi is the only wild card around here. He literally has the Primordial Paradox of Freedom bound to him—"I'm in a relationship with Kurumi and her sisters."

Kurumi's lips parted in shock.

If sleeping with them is the only criterion needed to form a relationship—so be it! It's almost a burden off his mind since he promised himself to sleep with others for a good reason—not vain one-night stands. While his motivation to repay the family for their grace is good enough—him fucking their daylights out because they are in a relationship with him—is better.

"Isn't that right?" Nik smiles at Kurumi, who loves snatching a mile when afforded a mere yard—similar to Azula—again. Nik doesn't mind seeing and understanding such similarities.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be happy around Mitsuko—whose lust and passion were similar to Esta's. But Mitsuko's compassion makes up for everything else.

Kurumi shuts her lips. Her facial features twitch as she looks away. "Whatever," she scoffs. "As if those women will ever settle."

Kurumi may deride her sister's tendencies, but she is the REAL runner-up in last night's event after her mother's glorious and enticing movements.

"Really?" Megumi gasps, focusing on Kurumi as the latter puffs her cheeks, brows sinking into a familiar gloom as the thinner of the duo adopts a narrow-eyed glare.

"Just stay away from him!" Kurumi snaps, sliding her hand into his as she tugs him away.

"Here comes the bus," Nik watches the beautiful piece of transportation arrive at their location as he wonders how the Sky Bisons and Ignit will react to the moving structure.

'At least better than last night's disaster.' Nik firms his heart to beat Ray's ass the next time he sees her.

"Sigh, let's go, Maa-kun," Megumi shrugs and walks with Manabu. The girl stares at Kurumi for a few seconds before leaning against Manabu.

"Huh?" Manabu almost pulls back as he questions, "Did something happen, Amano?"

"Why don't you call me Megumi?" She smirks. "We're about to graduate soon enough, right? It's only right for you to call me by my name since I do the same."

Manabu looks away, his smile awkward and flaky at best, "It's fine, haha."

Megumi frowns momentarily before puffing her cheek as she waits for Kurumi and Nik to enter the bus before stepping in. The second she steps on the stairs of the bus, her packaged bokken(wood sword for Kendo practice) slides against the space between the railing ahead of the first seat next to the bus' exit, breaking her moment up with a forceful tug as Megumi's pouty expression freezes. She can practically envision herself falling behind on Manabu—and, no! Unlike what Kurumi asserts, Megumi doesn't pull such stunts on purpose!

Yet a hand flies in her direction quicker than others' reaction and sturdier than any support she's ever held!

"Whoa!" Megumi gasps despite herself as a firm grip pulls her straight while a strange blow of wind pushes her packed Bokken out of the gap.

"There you go," Nik smiles as he lets go of Megumi.

---

Questions fill Megumi's and Kurumi's minds alike. They have time to ponder their doubts, surrounded by the tranquility of the moving bus. Kurumi and Nik sit behind Manabu and Megumi as the twin-tailed spinner of the Souma Family takes the window seat for herself but wastes all the exploration opportunity by leaning slightly against Nik.

Megumi wonders and worries about the substance Nik is possibly abusing—since the man's impression after their initial 'peachy' meeting has been stellar. Not to mention Nik ate her cooking without making a sound despite Megumi's understanding of how much she lacks in the arena. It is as heartwarming as it is concerning! Nik shouldn't just put anything in his mouth!

On the other hand, Kurumi wonders about the cause of her constant urge to find Nik ever since she saw him yesterday. His changes are too drastic to go unquestioned, but he either answers with nonsense, like entering a cave and emerging with his new body or ignores the question completely. And Kurumi is almost sure that the violet of Nik's eyes isn't due to contact lenses!

She glances at his profile, finding him staring at the streets through the window with great interest.

"Do you want to change the seats?" Kurumi softly inquires as Nik shakes his head. "It's fine like this."

Kurumi smiles despite herself, leaning her head against his round shoulders. "Aren't you the least bit annoyed that I'm using you to make my ex jealous?" Her question isn't too soft as the duo ahead perks up.

"Your ex has every right to be jealous," Nik shrugs as a matter of fact.

"I never knew you were such a big mouth," Kurumi snickers as he replies, "That's because I didn't remember anything at the time."

"Can you pick me up after school?" Kurumi suddenly suggests. "We can find you a house together."

"Don't you cross the Shopping District every day?" Nik hums, "Why not pick me instead? You can lead the way later. I suppose you will be more knowledgable about such stuff when you actually live in a home, and I bunk in one."

His slightly whiny tone gets a short chuckle out of Kurumi as she hums. "Sure. But how will you rent anything? Do you have a bank account?"

Nik blinks, recalling the need for a bank account during the explanation from the voyeur criminal.

"I do," Nik nods—he will have one in an hour or two, thanks to the wonderful donation from the blackmailing entrepreneur.

"Really?" Kurumi pulls back, looking at Nik with a surprised expression. "We can go shopping after house hunting! No, wait! Karaoke! Your treat!"

Manabu feels slightly odd when he sees Megumi taking such interest in their conversation. But the trio's expression freezes as they hear Nik.

"Okay, I understand."

"Great!" Kurumi visibly brightens.

"But what's karaoke?"

---

"Hey, check him out."

"A foreigner?"

"Isn't that one of the top scorers? Shindo-Senpai from the Third Year?"

"Hmm, but why is that giant walking with them? Is he a bully?"

"Psst, keep your voice low. You will get us in trouble, asshole!"

"Ah, sorry!"

Whispers echo in the bustling street leading to a giant structure surrounded by a concrete wall as high as three meters. Nik observes other children, teens, and young adults in the same uniform as Manabu and Kurumi/Megumi walking toward the gates of the building.

'Devouring such a large building should get me 4 or 5 AP, right?' Nik wonders. The conversion rate of AP depends on the material and the volume consumed—the simpler the material, the lower the generated AP. Even Fire Nation's large battleships net him about 10 AP(Rank 0) since the materials refined were common.

The need for AP is as real as it gets inside Reincarnation Paradise since things aren't lax with the stuck-up cousin of Transmigration Paradise.

But as he spoke to Ray—Nik didn't mind the change. He will still avoid conflict since running away is always the best defense. But he isn't afraid of conflicts either. Instead, he is still intrigued by the number of items and the trade center—The Reincarnation Trading Facility.

"Okay!" Kurumi posts herself near the school's entrance as Nik stands beside her, looking at everyone passing by as Megumi questions, "Are you really going to do it?"

"Yeah," Kurumi states as she waves Megumi away, "Don't block my view and run off to your training."

Megumi scoffs as she looks at Nik, "See you later, Nik. Come, Maa-kun!" She leaves with Manabu as Nik leans against the wall.

"So, tell me a little more about this fellow," Nik poses once he's had enough sight. "You just told me he dared to decide things for himself. At least tell me his name."

"It sounds like you're already on his side," Kurumi frowns. "Didn't you say he has every right to regret?"

"I did. But that's because of me," Nik hums, waving at a peculiar group of blonde-haired schoolgirls.

"What do you mean?" Kurumi scoffs at Nik's actions.

"Think from my perspective. I know what I'm capable of, so it's somewhat natural that other men may feel inferior if they lack certain experiences. Remember my brothers I talked about? One of them was like that, and he butted heads with me for a while. So, it's nothing new. But it is also pathetic, and the feeling stays the same. It just shifts onto you."

"What?!" Kurumi raises her voice as a few other students look in their direction. Nik can hear their whispers—Kurumi is one of the prettiest gals around, giving any guy around her enough attention—which drives Nik's point.

"You asked me if I minded helping you with this—I don't. But do you mind if I think all this is kind of pathetic?"

Kurumi frowns deeply, an expression of conflict on her pretty, tomboyish features. She can understand what Nik means, but her need to get back at her Ex is just as great!

"Stop messing with me," she snorts, crossing her arm. "Go back to being unable to speak a thing."

Nik chuckles, continuing. "Of course, the stupidest thing about this situation is you want him to feel jealous when you moved on—that's the opposite of moving on. If you truly moved on, you would use this time to find a hiding spot in your school and have fun."

His quiet and calm words make Kurumi flinch as his words sound a lot more tantalizing.

"You could just be saying this to get under my skirt," the girl mutters when her 'functions' under her skirt don't mind the notion at all as recollections of last night start filling her head. Her slick lower lips twitch in anticipation—all alone in their gym equipment room, she can even wear her gym outfit. She is about to graduate, after all! She has to make use of that outfit and her swimsuit as much as she can!

Her slightly drooping, contemplative gaze sneaks a glance in Nik's direction as he keeps on leaning against the wall with a serene expression.

To get back at her Ex or get ON her current sex—what to do?

While Kurumi may haven't been completely serious about dubbing Nik as his boyfriend, his easygoing reaction was certainly a relief. It opened many possibilities for her.

She groans aloud, surprising the small group of students watching them from a distance as she grabs Nik's hand and drags him past the school gates!

"Won't things get troublesome with security or something?" Nik questions as Kurumi huffs. "They don't care! A few girls spend their time with their boyfriends from different schools on the roof."

"It sounds like you're upset."

"I am! You just had to put weird ideas inside my head!"

Nik blinks before smiling. "Now, don't you look like a proper woman—taking charge and all."

She looks back with a glare, "I'm going to do a lot more!"

"Hey, I'm fine as long as I get to my job on time. I was on leave for seven days so starting the day late is simply giving the wrong impression."

Kurumi drags him through the wide field before settling inside the shed built on the discreet corner past the concrete stairs beside the field.

"The thing you did yesterday, your eyes, your body—we all can see you're different!" Kurumi erupts the second she slides the shed's door shut. She throws her school 'purse' away, driving her index into his chest like before. "And I mean your attitude! Do you think we can't tell? You were like a scared child a week ago—probably due to your amnesia. But what about the rest? Something is going on!"

She heaves deeply, her perky chest rising and falling as her palm opens and she grabs his hoody. The girl looks away as she mutters, "You were infuriating that night. You still are annoying. But it's not the same. I don't know. I guess, what I'm trying to get at—"

She feels her head moving sideways to face him, his curled index and thumb clasping her chin steers her head as Nik pecks her lips. Kurumi's eyes briefly widen before she closes them, leaning further into the sensation of his warm tongue, bringing her practiced pleasure others couldn't hope to imagine. As he pulls back, she feels his warm whispers against her lips, cooing hotly, "If I have to guess, what you're trying to say is you don't know why you're interested in me. But you're scared I'll do you the same as your Ex did. And all of my changes make things even more confusing—not to mention your family."

Kurumi slowly opens her eyes before nodding as she averts her gaze again in the true moment of vulnerability.

"I never told you about my third brother. He is the oldest of us four," Nik smiles. "And he was scared of many things. But he taught me with his actions that fears are to be understood and conquered."

"Like I want to understand you- wait, who said I'm afraid of you?!" Kurumi scoffs.

"Not me," Nik shakes his head. "Should you really fear me? Especially after what we did yesterday?" His eyes bear into Kurumi's honeyed hues in the dark, barely-illuminated shed, enchanting her momentarily. "Or am I to be conquered?" His words fill her mind with all sorts of ideas—positions. But he pecks her again. "You can speak your mind without fear if you don't need to fear or conquer me, right? You don't need to understand the wildest things about me to know what I'm thinking, right?"

Kurumi's eyes widen as she stills.

Her fists clench before she gulps loudly. Her usual 'resting bitch-face' recedes into a nervously eager expression—hesitant and anticipative all at once!

"W-will you return the favor if you find a place for yourself?" Kurumi questions. "I want to leave my 'father's' place."

People can't ask such things right off the bat, but as Kurumi begins—he's the first one to do it. Even if Mitsuko invited him, he accepted things as is for convenience.

"Sure, but I hope you don't mind the rest of my family," Nik smirks. "I suppose that's all. I should be—"

Kurumi snorts for the umpteenth time in annoyance, sealing his lips. If Nik has to point out the difference between Kurumi and Azula—it's their reactions. Azula will never react like this and will always have a comeback, no matter how rotten, ready. On the other hand, Kurumi just tosses her body on the battlefront similar to a valiant knight—in micro-bikini armor.

---

"Oh?" A thin but tall youth walks past the school gates. He looks more mature than his peers, streaks of bleached hair decorate his brunette tones, and his uniform's shirt has the front two buttons unbuttoned. "Did something happen? Why are you guys here?"

The group looks at the youth before flinching simultaneously. After all, they knew the youth, Shou. He is one of the scariest karate club members. They only speak of the matter after enough insistence.

"You guys saw Kurumi with someone else before she took him somewhere else?"

The youth mutters with a strange look before shrugging. "Cool for her." He leaves with a pep in his steps.

"Huff," the thin bespectacled youth heaves a sigh of relief as others around praise him. "Smart, Tojo! Who knows what that streak-haired bastard would do to us if he heard Megumi was happily prancing around Kurumi's new boyfriend."

It's well-known that Shou asked Megumi out—and continues to persist.

***

Alternate Title: The Dumpy Stumbler; Appealing Posterior=A Bakery; Nik Turning Into Every Hentai-Ecchi Mc's Nightmare; The Sudden Boyfriend; Nik: I Guess I'll Have More Harem; Nik IS On Juice—Orange Juice!; Nik Promised Nothing; The Opportunistic Princess Azula- Ah, Sorry, Wrong Character Model—Kurumi!; The mood Ruining Night? Why?; Hideous Mystery!; The Cake Saver; Manabu's Mc Senses Are Tingling; Nik Ready To Pound Another Canon Event; The Philosophy of Gaslighting is Strong With Nik; The Eerie Slut-cubi Rizz; Alone With The Devil in a Shed; Kurumi Taking After Her Mother The Most; But Mitsuko Is Simply The Superior Breed—Meant To Bred; Bedridden Sayoko and Souko *Kurumi: Weakness Disgust Me.*; Azula To Kurumi: This Princess Shall Watch Your Career With Great Interest; Jin Silently Looks at Megumi—Cutely Menacing; Similarities Between Azula and Kurumi—Clean Their Mothers, Guzzle, Opportunistic, Tsundere Siblings; Have Big-Titted Rivalries!; The Hentai Genre Expands—Enters The Cool Delinquent Senpai With an Eye For The Cake Potential

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