Chapter 34

The quickest way to earn the rest of the points would be to do another gangbang. However, the sheer number of people involved was risky. Six men. It was still fresh in my mind that the one time I decided to go for it during the reload spree, Tetsu somehow discovered me. I still didn't understand how that happened. Something else must have changed that day.

With time to spare, I spent the rest of the morning picking up groceries and preparing dinner. Tetsu and I wouldn't be able to join them, since the Maedas were having us for dinner tonight.

I finished some time in the afternoon and brushed the sweat from my brows. Fried chicken, seared salmon, tofu, plenty of vegetables, salted edamame, and more. I even stocked the fridge full of beer for the men. They were sure to be awestruck by all the food.

And there was some daylight left.

"Hmm." I whipped out my phone and called Tetsu.

"Yeah?" Tetsu answered.

"Are you busy? Do you mind coming home?" I asked.

"Still busy, but I can step away. Did you need anything? We're not due to head over to the Maedas' place for another few hours, right?" he recalled.

"Just find a reason to come back. I have a surprise for you!"

Tetsu promised to come back within half an hour. Meanwhile, I changed into the lingerie I would originally wear for Miyamori, Eisuke, and Haruo later tonight. I had a different plan for him. My husband arrived home alone to the sight of me opening the door in lingerie. His jaw hit the floor, and he quickly entered to close the door behind him.

"Now what did I do to deserve this?" Tetsu looked me up and down.

"We've been working on Tanabata all week. I think we deserve some time for ourselves. Well?" I spun around for him.

"In that case…" He marched over and swept me off my feet.

However, Tetsu realized in an instant that I didn't weigh the same as I used to. I'd put on some kilograms over the years. He found his footing and began the careful trek to our bedroom. Locked in an embrace, I pushed my tongue into Tetsu's mouth. We kissed so passionately, I remembered how it felt for my heart soar.

As I rode Tetsu in the cowgirl, our hands held tightly together, the bed creaked violently with every bounce. He winced every now and then, panting heavily.

"Yes! It feels so good, Tetsu! You're so hard!" I cried.

"And… you're so… intense… Slow down just a little… Marika, I… ahhh!" Tetsu tensed up and orgasmed first.

I reached back to massage my husband's testicles. That caused him to shudder even more.

"Hold on! Don't touch them… Whew… I… I think I'm spent after just one blow." Tetsu panted.

"Y-You are?" I stammered.

I hadn't orgasmed yet. I wasn't even close.

"I'm sorry. I appreciate you putting in the effort to look sexy for me. It's just… working all day has me beat. Maybe we can just cuddle?" Tetsu asked, stretching his arms to me.

"Of course," I smiled and laid down on him.

We snuggled in bed until Tetsu drifted to a nap. I checked my phone.

[+20,000 points. Cannot earn points from having sex with Tetsu Kashiwagi again.]

At the very least, I earned points from Tetsu. That put my event points to 120,000.

The sun began to set, and I got up first to finish the rest of dinner for everyone before they arrived. Tetsu woke up from his nap not long after to help me set the table. Miyamori, Eisuke, Haruo, Fuminori, and Guo arrived at the house to a feast waiting for them.

"Everyone, remember to thank my lovely wife for this incredible dinner." Tetsu bowed playfully.

A wave of gratitude spilled from their mouths.

"It smells amazing! This made working all day worth it." Fuminori stumbled over, wiping the drool from his chin.

"There's cold beer in the fridge, too. Please, help yourself. Tetsu and I won't be eating with you all, because a family friend invited us for dinner." I smiled at them and Guo in particular.

The large man snorted and scooted past us for the fridge to grab a couple of cans. They didn't hesitate to start eating. Tetsu returned upstairs to change into fresh clothes before we needed to leave. Since I was already good to go, I checked on his friends.

"How is everything?" I asked Nicholas Guo as he filled his plate full of fried chicken and rice.

"Oh, uhh… " It seemed like my question had taken him by surprise. "It's great. Thank you. Actually, is everything alright? You've started acting nice all of a sudden. I ain't gonna lie. It's weirding me out."

"C'mon, boss. You're losing it. Marika's just being a great host!" Eisuke chimed in.

It slipped my mind! I'd been more polite because Guo turned out to be a decent person in my last Reload. It must be a stark difference from his point of view.

"Alright, I'm ready to leave." Tetsu came downstairs.

I peeled away from them to follow my husband out. Dinner at the Maeda family household went exactly as last time. However, I avoided pressing Satoshi for sex. For now.

Unfortunately, I caught myself staring at Satoshi's father, Akio Maeda, more than once over the course of dinner. My pussy grew increasingly wet. His jovial personality was so starkly different compared to the nights we had sex each Reload.

When we returned home, I resisted going to Miyamori's room to have a foursome with him, Eisuke, and Haruo like I normally did. It was hard. My body was on fire the entire time, and I had to pleasure myself in the bathroom before I calmed down enough to sleep. This was a necessary part of my plan to complete the event in one swoop.

I fell asleep that night burning with the urge to be taken roughly again. Dreams tormented me with the touch of other men. My body, not satisfied with Tetsu, craved that feeling of release.

In the morning, I followed the same routine. But since I didn't go through with the foursome, Eisuke also didn't hit on me when we ran into each other in the kitchen. Instead, he was very much a gentleman and scooted to let me through.

Now, for the hard part. Akemi and I had a falling out in the woods. Every Reload I went through ended the same way. It almost felt predetermined for me. After I prevented her accident, she drove us out of Togetsu.

"Say, Marika. Can I ask you something?" Akemi turned to face me.

"I know what you're about to say, and the truth is… I'm still playing the NTL app," I confessed.

Deflecting wouldn't work. I had to come out with the truth. There was no lying to my best friend. She would see through me instantly.

I continued, "It's wrong. Tetsu deserves better. I made a lapse in judgment and had Maruyama revert my phone to let me play again. However, this turned out to be something more than I can handle, and now I can't escape it. You know how it punishes us for skipping a game. I have a feeling if I fail, it's going to be much worse. Once this is all over, I'll take my phone back to Maruyama and never play again."

"Geez. What the fuck did we get ourselves into, huh?" Akemi took a deep puff from her cigarette. "Maruyama didn't say anything. I… found out by chance. I replayed it over and over again about what to say to you, but… It won't change a thing. But I guess it's only right that I come clean, too, like you did. I'm planning to leave Togetsu with my mom after Tanabata."

If memory serves, Akemi had a lot more to say than just that. She was beyond frustrated. To the point of rage. Did my honesty alter the way this progressed?

"You're not gonna try and stop me?" Akemi asked.

"That's only going to hurt you more, and I don't want that. But I'm going to miss you. Tetsu's going to miss you, too. Maruyama and I will have more work without you," I said.

"Yeah. It's not fair to you guys, but I've made up my mind. Sorry, Marika… for being selfish." She frowned.

I hugged the one person who was like a sister to me. Unlike last time, Akemi didn't try and push me away at first. She held me in return, sniffling quietly in hopes that I wouldn't hear. We let each other go and erupted into a fit of giggles.

"I'm sure there's millions of real and better Satos for you to find in the city," I said.

"And I gotta do my due diligence, so I don't get catfished by a twig again." Akemi smirked.

We figured it was time to return to Togetsu and hopped back into the car. On the drive home, Akemi kept throwing looks at the mirrors. It went beyond just being a diligent and safe driver. An element of paranoia seemed to torment her.

"Is something wrong?" I couldn't help but ask.

"It's… Damn it. Our old principal is in town," Akemi said.

"Principal Iwata?" I gasped.

"Yeah." She nodded. "I didn't find out through Glimpse. Principal Iwata told me you were cheating on Tetsu. He showed me a recording of you two. That's how I found out. I was so pissed that you were doing that to Tetsu, I just kept it a secret. Listen, I'm sorry for not telling you. But this is me trying to make it right. I don't know why he's in Togetsu. It can't be for any good reason though."

We arrived back in town, and now my own paranoia chewed at me. Nowhere seemed safe. The image of Principal Iwata's grinning face appeared around the corner of every house. Visitors from out of town looked our way, and I saw him for the briefest of seconds in their faces. The threatening presence I hadn't felt in weeks returned tenfolds and made me sick.

"Where is he now? The principal, I mean?" I asked.

"I don't know. He confronted me early in the morning. Before Sato tried to talk to me," Akemi explained.

Could it have been Principal Iwata, who tipped Tetsu off about my gangbang? He must not have any other reason to be back in Togetsu than to get revenge. I ruined his life here, took his house, and had him chased out by the townsfolk.

I yawned into my hand, waiting at the front door of my house. Jiro Shiraishi should be here momentarily. He was next on my list of things to do.

If Jiro disappeared, that was one less person to earn points from. I couldn't afford to let Akemi take him to the hospital. There must be another way. I looked through both shops in the NTL app for anything to help and found Stethoscope.

[Stethoscope: Heal any injury. 100,000 points.]

This was it! A steep cost. I only had 170,000 non-event points left after purchasing Double-up, but keeping Jiro around was worth it. Accumulating event points was what mattered in the end.

"Saya, buy Stethoscope and show me where Jiro Shiraishi is right now," I said.

[Stethoscope purchased! It is now in your inventory and awaiting use. Pulling up the Partner System next… here you go!] Saya navigated the NTL app for me, showing the icon of Shiraishi was going to pass by my house soon.

That sounded about right. Shiraishi was a late morning riser. I ran into him coming out of my house before, right after meeting Akemi and seeing the men off. It was still going to be a bit of time before his cardiac arrest.

"Marika, good morning!" Jiro waved.

I glanced up and waved back. Before, I had him accompany me to all the spots on the riddle.

"Good morning." I bowed.

"I was just heading to Himawari Shrine. Would you like to come with me? Or… maybe I can come in?" Jiro licked his lips.

Not this time, I thought.

"Hehe. You naughty old man. Maybe later at night? I was thinking about going to Himawari Shrine, too." I smiled.

"Certainly!" Jiro cleared his throat.

We headed up to the shrine together alongside many people. Jiro struck up conversations with everyone we passed by. Anyone he spoke to sounded like they were old friends, who had only just seen each other the other day. It was one of the benefits of living out in the sticks. After enough time, you knew everyone and everyone knew you.

"How about you, my friend?" Jiro sidled up to a man in a maroon yukata, holding an umbrella low enough that it covered his face. "Togetsumura treating you well?"

Without a word, the strange man picked up the pace ahead of us.

"Alright, you don't have to answer." Jiro rolled his eyes.

My eyes lingered on that man for a moment longer. Something about his build seemed familiar. I shook my head. It must be my imagination.

At the top of the stairs, festival goers partook in the amenities Togetsumura had to offer. The savory smell of yakisoba reached my nose. If I hadn't already eaten, it would have lured me into buying a plate.

Today was the day I completed the Tanabata event. A renewed sense of hope filled my being. If I had wings, I'd take flight right away. Looking around at all the people having a good time with friends, family, and loved ones, reminded me of those years Tetsu and I spent with Keita. I didn't need sex. I only needed my—

Seated alone on a bench away from the main crowds was a man that made my blood go cold. He lifted the umbrella just enough for me to catch a glimpse of him. Principal Iwata. His lips creased into a wry smile.

Jiro lightly beat his back with his fist. "I'm gonna go sit down in the warehouse. Oof. My back is killing me. Not sure how many more festivals I have in me. Marika?"

"You go on ahead. I'll catch up. I think I want to buy some yakisoba for myself and Tetsu," I said.

"Alrighty. Don't enjoy yourself too much!" He went on ahead.

Ever since I locked eyes with the principal, we haven't broken eye-contact. As soon as Jiro entered the warehouse, I stormed over to the man I once looked up.

"What are you doing here, Principal Iwata?" I glared.

The man chortled. He quickly regained his composure and shot me a dirty look. Dressed in the dark red yukata and holding an umbrella to hide himself from prying eyes, he blended in with any passerby. His hair had been shaved down, but the physical features of his face were undeniably Principal Iwata.

"I belonged here… until you messed it all up. How does it feel, Marika? Living in someone else's home? My home where I fucked you stupid in?" Principal Iwata taunted.

"You took things too far, and that's why things ended up the way they are. Please, just leave and never come back. If Mr. Shiraishi or other Togetsu men find you here, it's not going to end pretty," I explained.

The principal grabbed my wrist. I couldn't escape fast enough. His vise sent shivers through my body that made me feel… good.

"After all I did for you and Keita, this insolence is how you repay me? You misbehaving little bitch." A glint in his eyes shined, and he leaned closer to me. "Hehe. You still remember all those times we had sex, don't you? That's the look of a slut." He squeezed my breasts.

"Nngh… Stop…" I muttered.

"I know you've been fucking other men. Because you can't help yourself. You're a loose whore who can't help but cheat on her husband," he growled.

"Let go!" I wrenched away and slapped him across the face.

Principal Iwata did, but only because my outburst drew attention to us.

"This isn't the last you've seen of me, Marika. Before the end of the day, I will get back at you," he promised before closing his umbrella to slip into the masses of people.