Vol. 5 Chapter 2.4

Translated by SoundDestiny Edited by SoundDestiny

Back on the rooftop, Rin had put her clothes on and was sitting on a bench.

She looked up at the sky blankly, her eyes following the clouds.

Deliberately closing the door with a loud noise, she flinched.

“Senpaaiiii…”

“Why are you making that almost-crying face?”

“But…”

“Don’t worry. After a good talk, she understood.”

“Understood… What are you talking about?”

“Many things. Anyway, I got her to promise not to go crying to the teacher.”

At that, Rin stood up from the bench and scratched the air anxiously.

“N-No way!? Y-You mean that Takata Takaka!? You managed to convince that uptight person?”

“Yeah, surprisingly, she’s not so bad.Takaka-san.”

With that, Rin leaned against the bench, breathing out a huge sigh of relief.

“That’s a relief…If we ended up leaving school together, we’d go on a love escapade. Living off the land deep in the mountains of Okuhida, until our third baby is born… I’ve already simulated it all.”

“There are too many things to point out, but first of all, why Okuhida?”

“Senpai seems to like it, doesn’t it? It sounds kind of naughty. Okuhida.”

“Apologise to everyone living in Gifu Prefecture!”

“Aaa, so it’s in Gifu Prefecture, I see. I thought it was the top pointy area of Hokkaido, because of [oku].. well…”

“You’re taking it too far!”

As I sighed in disbelief, Rin let out another relieved breath.

“I really didn’t know what to do. The other person I mentioned earlier, the one staying in the dorms, is actually that Takata Takaka-senpai.”

“The one who’s skipping home because of summer prep school?”

“Yeah.”

“You…you actually suggested staying in the dorms when she’s still around?”

“I thought it would be fine as long as we weren’t caught… and, well, lately I’ve been completely ignored anyway.”

But hearing that was actually a good thing.

If I handle this well, I might be able to keep the fact that I detained someone hidden for a while.

“Takaka-san had a family emergency back home, and she said she’s changing her plans and going back today. Your dorm posted the summer break plans, right?”

“Uh, yes, in the dormitory dining area…”

“Could you change that? Make it say she’ll be away on a home visit until the last day of summer vacation.”

“Well, sure, I guess.”

Rin nodded with a face that still didn’t seem quite convinced.

×××

I couldn’t bring myself to embrace Rin any further today, so I only made a promise to visit her dormitory and returned home.

Rin seemed quite dissatisfied, though.

I arrived home a little after three in the afternoon. When I got back to my room, as usual, Lili was floating in the air, engrossed in reading a manga.

“Welcome back, Devi. You’re home unusually early today, Devi?”

“Yeah, it was just the closing ceremony…and there were a few things”

“A few things?”

When I explained the situation, as usual, Lili made a bewildered expression.

“Devi, I didn’t expect you to suddenly make a detour, especially when the next target is already decided.”

“It can’t be helped, right?”

“Well, whatever, Devi. For now, go to Freesia and have that Takata girl bring some of her belongings from the dormitory. That way, we can fake a homecoming appearance.”

“That’ll be helpful.”

“But from what I’ve heard, that girl is quite interesting as material. During the summer break, we can use her as a practice subject for brainwashing and training, Devi.”

“Interesting? How so? In reality, she’s just an unsociable girl with single eyelids and plain looks, not to mention that inflexible personality of hers. There’s nothing really appealing about her.”

At this point, Lili showed a somewhat contemplative gesture.

“Well then… What if that girl were to start begging for Fu–min’s cock and even go as far as kneeling down?”

“That… would be a bit interesting.”

As I said that, Lili smiled mischievously.

“Alright, let’s start planning the brainwashing right away, Devi. Isn’t that girl uptight and even takes it upon herself to discipline other students?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Is she disliked by other students, Devi?”

“Well… yeah, I guess so.”

“A role that doesn’t work out well, Devi. Why does she do things that make her disliked? What merit does that girl get from it?”

“Eh, merit? I’m not sure…maybe it’s about gaining the teacher’s favour, which could be advantageous for exams…”

“If not getting on the teacher’s good side would result in grades that can’t even support passing the exams, Devi?”

I shook my head.

“I think she was way ahead of me. She might have been in the top ten of the class.”

“In that case, there’s one conceivable merit, Devi.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s because it’s 『comfort』 Devi. Behaving stiffly and imposing that stiffness on others comes naturally to her. Do you understand why?”

[TL:楽; I decide to use comfort rather than easy.]

“…Like a label? Being raised being told she’s serious?”

I answer while recalling the time with Tashiro-sam. She was labelled as an excellent and dignified person, and as a result, she started behaving that way… That was the story.

However, Lili shook her head.

“Actually, the opposite. She should have been raised being called careless by her parents.”

“What?! How can they call that careless…”

“No, it’s different, Devi. It’s not that she’s careless now, but rather, she became like that as a result of being excessively suppressed. Due to oppressive parents fitting her into a mould, behaving stiffly became natural for her. And then, enforcing that behaviour onto others…”

At that point, Lili pointed her finger right in front of my nose.

“She’s seeking revenge, Devi.”

“…Sorry, I don’t understand.”

“Well, Devi, humans are creatures moulded by habits. Regardless of personal preferences, if a habit forms, that state becomes『easier』 The girl who has been forced to live stiffly since she was young, for her, that stiff state becomes 『comfort』.”

“That’s just too unpleasant.”

“Well, it’s a common pattern, Devi. But on the other hand, even though she feels so suppressed herself, she also senses the inequality that others aren’t like that. So, unconsciously, she tries to enforce it onto her surroundings.”

“But she’s supposedly living in a dormitory, so once she’s away from her parents, wouldn’t the suppression go away?”

“She might have thought that initially, Devi. But unfortunately, that’s not possible.”

“Why?”

“Have you ever heard a story about someone winning the lottery and becoming a millionaire, only to quickly spend it all and end up back as a poor person? Have you never heard of someone succeeding in a diet but quickly reverting to their previous weight?”

“Well, yeah…”

It’s not an uncommon story. In fact, it often feels like success and rebound are almost a package deal.

“That’s because the state of being poor or overweight is 『home』 while being a millionaire or being thin is 『away』 Devi.”

“What do you mean?”

“Human beings have a function called 『homeostasis maintenance』. Essentially, it’s a function that tries to return to a normal state even when there’s some abnormality. Thanks to this, even if humans have a fever, they return to normal body temperature and don’t go below it, Devi. And this function works in the same way for 『behavior』.

[TL:Homeostasis maintenance;The tendency to maintain a stable, relatively constant internal environment]

“So, in other words, being in a poor or overweight state is considered normal and it naturally tries to return there?”

“Yes, exactly. Changing a firmly established 『home』 is an incredibly challenging task, Devi. For that girl too, since the state of 『behaving stiffly』 is considered normal, even if she tries to stop it, she’ll ultimately return to that state.”

“I see… If that’s the case, then what do you do?”

Lili puffed out her chest and let out a self-assured snort.

“You make it so that even if she wants to go back, she can’t. You gradually force a change in her 『home』 over time. To a flashy, irredeemably vulgar gal to a lewd woman who adores Fu-min’s cock. All the way until that stiff eyeglasses-wearing 『home』  changes.”

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