[Narrator POV]
In the quiet of the room, with only the ticking of the clock for company, Yuuki lay flat on the floor, arms spread.
He felt happy.
Not the deep, emotional kind — just a simple, content feeling. A bit stupid, maybe. But real.
In just one week, he'd made more progress than he ever managed back on Earth. The thought made him grin a little.
Meditation had always felt like one of those things people posted about online — something spiritual or cool to mention in a vlog, but no one really knew how it worked.
And here he was, sitting in a manga world, actually doing it. Feeling things. Moving energy. Making it real.
The best part? Some of the random theories he'd been playing with were starting to make sense.
Like the whole thing about the peach blessings.
Everyone in this world treated them like sacred miracles — the source of power for women. But Yuuki had started to see them differently.
They weren't blessings. They were shortcuts.
Where he had to push and pull his way through his Root Chakra, sweating and straining for every bit of progress, the peaches just... forced things open.
And they didn't follow any clear order, either. It was like triggering power without laying the groundwork first.
That might've been the reason why abilities in this world felt so random — strength, healing, shrinking, flying — whatever door the peach hit, that's what came out.
It made sense, at least to him.
Of course, the annoying part was that peaches only worked on women. Maybe it was something to do with their biology. Maybe not. Either way, he didn't really care.
What mattered was that, even without a peach, he was getting somewhere. Slowly, but properly.
He'd read enough in his past life to remember — humans were said to have seven chakras, and each one controlled something big. Emotions, thoughts, instincts, body functions — everything was tied together.
And ever since he managed to open his Root Chakra and get the energy moving, he started noticing more connections.
Like the way Kyouka's Eternal Chains worked on him.
At first, he thought his Slave Form just gave him power from outside. But now, it felt more like it was forcing open his own chakras in a rough, unnatural way.
That explained why the form felt overwhelming at times. Powerful, but wild. Not stable.
So he had a thought — if he opened his chakras naturally, step by step, maybe he could reach that same level of power.
Only this time, he'd be in control.
That idea alone made him chuckle a little under his breath.
But before he could drift too far into thought, he sat up and walked over to his bed, pulling out the old notebook he kept tucked underneath.
He grabbed a pen, flipped through the worn pages, and stopped at a blank one. Then sat cross-legged on the floor.
[Daily Entry — Day 8 | 4:30 PM]
He wrote the heading, added the time, and began jotting down everything. A short summary of what he'd done that day. His thoughts on the Root Chakra. The little things he'd figured out. How close some of his guesses were.
Once the entry was done, he slid the notebook back into its place and got up with a stretch.
The rest of the evening passed without much noise.
Shushu and Himari returned fully healed later that night, with Nei tagging along. He made sure to cook them something warm and healthy.
Kyouka seemed relaxed too — not as cold or stiff as usual.
Dinner went on peacefully. Even Himari, in her awkward, tsundere way, acknowledged his help. Not with words, of course — but with a full mouth, red cheeks, and one very loud "Not like I needed it or anything!"
Which, in Yuuki's book, counted.
And just like that, the day came to a quiet close.
No drama. No big event.
Just a full belly, tired muscles, and a sense that — finally — something real was beginning.
•••
The next day, after finishing his regular training and chores in the morning, Yuuki was inside the dorm's common bath.
He was calmly scrubbing his body, humming a soft tune as steam gently filled the room.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Shushu grabbed his soldier from behind, trying to surprise him with a cheeky sneak attack.
But it didn't work. Yuuki had already heard the sound of footsteps approaching earlier. And honestly, he wasn't too bothered about someone entering at this point. It had become sort of normal by now — seeing naked women here and there wasn't anything new anymore.
Shushu let out a playful whine.
Shushu: "You're no fun! You were supposed to get scared like a cute little slave, you know!"
Yuuki, still scrubbing his arms, replied without even looking back.
Yuuki: "I heard the footsteps. I already knew it was you."
Shushu blinked in surprise and leaned her chin on his shoulder.
Shushu: "Ehh? How?"
Yuuki turned his head a little toward her and answered casually.
Yuuki: "By the process of elimination."
Shushu: "Huh?"
Yuuki: "There's only five of us in the dorm. Himari and Nei are naturally out of the equation. Mrs. Kyouka isn't someone who'd just barge in either. That just leaves you."
Yuuki: [shrugging] "Plus, only you are this clingy. The others avoid any kind of skinship with me."
(He thought for a second — though the reward from Kyouka was an exception.)
Shushu puffed her cheeks and slapped his arm lightly with a mock angry look.
Shushu: "Tch, I came to thank you for saving me, okay? So I'll wash your back as repayment!"
Yuuki: "You don't need to do that. We're comrades, and it was natural for me to help you."
But Shushu ignored his words and persistently snatched the scrub from his hand, pressing herself closer as she started to rub his back.
Yuuki turned around quickly to stop her — and froze.
Her naked body was right in front of him. Big, soft breasts bounced gently with the movement. Her pinkish nipples were lightly perked, her stomach was toned, and her bottom was cleanly shaven. It was all smooth and beautiful — lewd and distracting at the same time.
He became rigid on the spot and quickly turned back to face the wall, trying to suppress his reaction.
Shushu didn't say anything at first, a bit flustered by how fast it happened, but in her mind, she was already thinking.
(She saw the way he looked — and weirdly, it was kind of hot.)
She kept washing his back, acting normal, but her body kept brushing against him. Her breasts occasionally poked his back, her skin pressed against his arm. It wasn't helping his situation.
In Yuuki's mind, the gutter had already opened up.
Even though he was used to being intimate with Kyouka, and had seen her naked plenty of times, it was a different matter with Shushu. This was only the second time he saw her like this — the first being after that battle where his transformation was incomplete.
Of course, it was natural to feel flustered in the presence of a beauty like her. Honestly, everyone in this world had near-celebrity faces. Flawless, spotless.
But still, his reasoning was slipping, and he knew if he stayed any longer, the blood rushing south would knock him out sooner or later.
So without warning, he stood up and grabbed a nearby bucket, splashing the water over his head. Some of it ended up splashing on Shushu as well.
His dragon lifted the towel slightly, and he quickly fixed it.
He turned his back again and spoke without facing her.
Yuuki: "I'm done. You should be more careful walking in like that… I'm still a man, you know."
He said it in a low voice, assuming she probably didn't hear it — but she did.
He then walked toward the door, trying to act normal and cool, even though his legs were stiff from tension.
But just as he opened the sliding door — another disaster unfolded.
Right in front of him, in the middle of undressing, was Himari Azuma.
Her hair spilled over her shoulders as she bent forward, panties halfway down her thighs, her bra barely keeping her breasts in place. Gravity did its job — and his eyes, unfortunately, followed instinct.
Right between her legs — soft, pink folds were clearly visible.
Time stopped.
At that moment, Yuuki froze in place.
Yuuki: (thinking) "...I fucked up."