Critical hit! Critical hit! One after another!
In her sleep, Yukiko felt as if she were being dragged by unseen tentacles into a dark abyss.
It was like being a child lost in a raging storm, with waves crashing endlessly over her making her body shiver from pleasure.
Startled, she opened her eyes. Her emerald-green gaze widened in shock as reality mirrored her dream.
Young Akashi was leaning over, his lips pressed against hers!
'How dare he?! '
Before she could fully react, a groggy voice broke the silence.
"Yukiko, what's wrong? Were you having a bad dream? Why are you screaming so loudly?"
It was Eri, stirring awake. Her hands fumbled across the bedside table, searching for her glasses, even as she lazily adjusted her straps.
After finally slipping on her glasses, Eri stretched with the kind of unbothered grace only half-sleep could afford. Then, almost instinctively, her hand reached out to find the little shota's usual spot.
Yukiko instantly broke into a cold sweat.
Summoning every ounce of her award-winning acting skills, she forced a casual smile and controlled her voice.
"Haha, maybe I'm just too used to my own bed. Eri, keep your voice down—Akashi is sleeping soundly next to me. Let's not wake him up!"
Eri frowned slightly. 'Akashi? Next to Yukiko? '
Usually, Akashi always slept in her arms. Why was he over there?
Still, Yukiko's explanation seemed convincing enough, and Eri lowered her voice.
She glanced at the clock on her bedside table and gasped softly.
'Eight o'clock already?! '
When spending time with the little shota, the hours always seemed to slip away unnoticed.
Eri shot up from bed in a flurry.
"Yukiko, I'm running late for work! I need to head out now."
"Akashi will be in your care. Don't forget to take him to school later!"
Her words came quickly as she dashed out of the room, hurriedly pulling on her clothes.
In her rush, Eri didn't notice the conflicted look in Yukiko's eyes or the slight movement of her hand, as if wanting to stop her.
The bedroom door swung open and closed in mere seconds, leaving Yukiko alone with her silent plea hanging in the air.
With Eri gone, Yukiko suddenly felt a shiver run down her spine.
A thin white ribbon snaked its way into view—it was a bandage.
The bandage seemed alive, slithering around her wrists and ankles, binding her in place.
Her gaze shot upward, locking with Akashi's crimson-tinged eyes.
Though both Yukiko and Eri had provided more than enough yin energy the previous night, the little succubus's hunger remained insatiable.
As his nature demanded, Akashi craved more. And now, Yukiko was his sole source.
Determined to extract more yin energy, Akashi wasted no time deploying his skills once again.
---
Meanwhile, at Teitan Elementary School, Conan sat at his desk, staring at the empty seat in front of him.
His expression was contemplative, his thoughts spinning.
He'd come to school that morning with one purpose: to confront Akashi.
From Dr. Agasa, he'd learned that the individuals who had faced the mysterious organization last night included both his mother and Akashi.
'How on earth did my mom end up with him? ' he wondered.
But that question was secondary.
The real issue was that Akashi had come into direct contact with the organization. If anyone could provide vital clues, it was him.
Yet, frustratingly, the boy hadn't shown up for class.
Even worse, his mother wasn't answering her phone either.
Conan let out a sigh of frustration, coughing lightly into his hand.
'What is going on? '
Mitsuhiko, standing to the side, couldn't help but voice his frustration.
"Conan, you obviously have a cold. There's no reason for you to come to school!"
Genta nodded in agreement, adding, "Yeah, and you're not even wearing a mask!"
Hearing these remarks, Conan rolled his eyes in exasperation.
'If it weren't for investigating Akashi, I wouldn't have bothered coming here at all, ' he thought.
Meanwhile, Ayumi looked genuinely concerned.
"Do you think Akashi caught a cold too? Maybe that's why he didn't come to school. Should we visit him at home?"
Before anyone could respond, Mitsuhiko quickly interjected.
"No, no! The flu is really bad right now. If we go, we might get infected, and it'll be hard to recover!"
Mitsuhiko's real motive, however, was clear—he wanted to reduce Ayumi's chances of interacting with Akashi.
Convinced by Mitsuhiko's reasoning, Ayumi reluctantly dropped the idea of visiting.
Mitsuhiko's plan seemed successful, but it was short-lived.
Around ten in the morning, Akashi strolled into the classroom, fashionably late.
---
For a succubus like Akashi, being late was no big deal.
A simple word to the guard at the school gate was enough to gain entry.
On his way through the corridor, he even greeted the bearded principal.
The principal, charmed by Akashi's cuteness, didn't even think about reprimanding him.
With everything going smoothly, Akashi nonchalantly entered the classroom.
As expected, his arrival immediately captured the attention of all the little girls in the room.
However, thanks to strict supervision from Kobayashi-sensei, the girls restrained themselves from openly fawning over him.
Originally, Akashi hadn't even planned to come to school today.
But with every new day came fresh opportunities to achieve his objectives, and he knew he couldn't waste them.
Spending the entire day at Eri's house wasn't ideal either—repeatedly utilizing his succubus abilities in one place could quickly deplete his opportunities for rewards.
Besides, Yukiko was proving to be far weaker than he'd anticipated.
While Akashi had hoped to extract more Yin energy from the acclaimed movie star, she had already contributed nearly 2,500 units of Yin energy between yesterday and today.
It was impressive but exhausting.
'Only 600 per hour, ' he mused. 'She needs time to recover before I can push for more. '
Even so, Yukiko's contributions were nothing short of significant. Thanks to her, Akashi's total Yin energy reserves had reached an astonishing 16,848.
With just a bit more, he could unlock his next major upgrade.
Feeling refreshed and in a good mood, Akashi was all smiles and kindness, which earned him even more admiration from his fellow elementary school classmates.
The only exception was Conan.
Every time Conan tried to approach Akashi during class breaks, the latter would instinctively move away, as though afraid of catching his cold.
This pattern continued throughout the day, frustrating Conan to no end.
When the final school bell rang, Conan realized he still hadn't managed to get any alone time with Akashi to question him about the events of the previous night.
'This kid is seriously tough to deal with,' Conan thought, his determination only growing.
---
As the school day ended, Conan hurriedly packed his bag and chased after Akashi, hoping to catch him at the gate.
But as he ran, Conan's schoolbag slipped from his grasp, and he froze in place.
His eyes widened in disbelief from the scene he's seeing in front of him.
'What the...?! '