"That's right. In games, completing a stage earns you a reward, so it's perfectly reasonable for me to get paid as soon as I find a clue, right... Hmm? Someone's coming."
Alistair was talking, walking closer to Akane Nanao with his hands spread. Akane Nanao was cooperating, standing still and waiting for Alistair to collect his "reward," when suddenly, a person appeared in the corner of Alistair's eye. Alistair stopped and turned his head.
"Nanao-student, Koyasu-student, hello. I wanted to understand the situation regarding Shouya Katase just now."
Professor Ariel Hatsufuji had a gentle smile. Her words suggested she wanted to get information about Shouya Katase from the two of them, as one was the 'culprit' responsible for Shouya Katase's current state, and the other was the Baseball Club manager, who had responsibilities related to such incidents.
"Professor Hatsufuji?"
Alistair narrowed his eyes slightly. He couldn't detect anything unusual in Ariel Hatsufuji's expression, but she might have overheard Alistair and Akane Nanao's conversation and was just pretending. This could be troublesome.
Ariel Hatsufuji and her daughter, Shizuku Hatsufuji, were already on Alistair's list of "prey." If Professor Hatsufuji became highly wary of Alistair because of this, it would be difficult to proceed. Furthermore, if Ariel Hatsufuji, as Shizuku's mother, told her daughter to keep her distance from Alistair, he wouldn't have many good options.
"Ah? Hello, Coach Hatsufuji. Just now, just now Koyasu-student and I were... uh..."
Akane Nanao looked as if she had been suddenly woken from a dream. She flusteredly tried to explain her interaction with Alistair, becoming incoherent, making it awkward for both Alistair and Professor Hatsufuji.
Alistair smacked his forehead in exasperation. He felt that most of Akane Nanao's brainpower must have flowed into her full breasts. Professor Hatsufuji hadn't brought it up, possibly because she hadn't heard anything or didn't want to pursue the matter. In either case, the best course was not to bring it up. Yet, this silly girl wanted to explain, practically "self-destructing."
Ariel Hatsufuji also didn't know how to respond. Based on their previous interactions, Akane Nanao's ability to "read the room" should have been online. Why was it offline now?
"I don't know what you were talking about, and it's irrelevant to me as your coach. I only wanted to understand the situation with Shouya Katase just now. Whether you're dating or doing anything else, I'm personally not very strict about it. It's youth; I understand."
Professor Hatsufuji shook her head, responding to Akane Nanao's stammering. Her tone was very gentle, making them both feel she was an exceptionally understanding and kind teacher.
Of course, Alistair felt this was just the facade Ariel Hatsufuji wanted to present. Whether her actual personality was the same or vastly different remained to be seen. The true answer probably depended on Shizuku Hatsufuji's reaction to Alistair later. If Shizuku kept her distance, it might be as Alistair suspected: Ariel had overheard some or even most of the conversation and was just pretending.
"Okay, I understand."
Akane Nanao replied obediently. She had finally realized what she had just said and how foolish it was. She now wished she could go back and slap herself. Why had she panicked and spoken without thinking? It must be because Alistair had too great an impact on her state of mind, causing her to suddenly become stupid.
"Then, Professor Hatsufuji, what would you like to know? I'll tell you everything I know."
Alistair looked completely unconcerned. Having graduated and become an adult before transmigrating, he naturally didn't fear teachers as much as he did during his student days. Although he was a student again, his cheat and pre-existing background meant attending school was just a way to polish his resume. Alistair wasn't worried about any issues.
However, Alistair wasn't entirely contemptuous of teachers. This Professor Hatsufuji genuinely participated in training with her students, demonstrating standard actions repeatedly. He had observed this when he visited the Track and Field Club recently. Although he wasn't sure why she wore that peculiar bracelet, her dedication to teaching was undoubtedly respectable. It was just that Alistair was used to being lazy, and he generally didn't get excited about things that didn't interest him. And having his good thing interrupted was quite annoying.
"I've already asked the other students. I'm looking for you two because you are the parties involved. Nanao-student is the Baseball Club manager, and she needs to deal with incidents like this within the club. Koyasu-student is the 'suspect,' so you also need to come forward and assist. Although it was an accident, I'll have to trouble you both to help with a few things. Also, Koyasu-student might need to cover some medical expenses. Regardless, it was Koyasu-student who injured Katase-student."
Professor Hatsufuji cleared her throat, indicating she already understood the basic events. She was just asking the two to come and help with some matters. Although Alistair's action was accidental injury, he still needed to take partial responsibility because, regardless of the cause, he was the one who hurt Shouya Katase.
"Mmm, that's fine. I have no objection."
Alistair nodded. Theoretically, this was correct. Alistair didn't object. Based only on the outcome, it was reasonable and appropriate. However, given that Shouya Katase had acted deliberately, Alistair really didn't want to pay any of his medical fees. But since he was still playing the "mission game" with Akane Nanao, Alistair didn't mind acting slightly better during the "mission."
After all, openly stealing his girl right in front of him was already terrible for Shouya Katase. Alistair wouldn't go so far as to kill someone just for provoking him. At most, he would make them gay, like Masaya Yasumizu or Katsu Yukawa—look how happy and engrossed they were with fencing, they didn't even want to go to school anymore.
Alistair only constantly pursued those who were potentially cuckold-type characters in the plot, needing to eliminate them or change their sexual orientation with an item before he could be at ease, like Masaya Yasumizu.
As for the cuckolds themselves, they were already miserable, and Alistair generally wouldn't overly torment them, as there was no benefit, unless they changed like Shouya Katase. In that case, Alistair might take a look and cause some trouble.
"That's all for now. Shouya Katase isn't very conscious yet. We'll discuss the specifics tomorrow when both parties are present, which will be more convenient. Koyasu-student, don't feel any psychological burden. This was just an accident. I'll be leaving now. You two continue your conversation~"
Professor Hatsufuji nodded, clarified the current situation, then advised Alistair not to feel any psychological burden. She then bid them farewell with a cryptic smile.
Doom!
Alistair's special vision suddenly activated on its own. The world dimmed considerably, and Professor Hatsufuji's true state was revealed before Alistair's eyes.
Holy shit!
Alistair looked at Professor Hatsufuji, who was almost half the color of black ink, and nearly gasped aloud. The amount of "Desire" Alistair had accumulated from the girls he had collected so far was considerable, but only because it was gathered over time. In reality, the blackness was relatively faint.
However, the color of the "Desire" in Professor Hatsufuji's body was nearly pitch black, indicating that Professor Hatsufuji's "Desire" was vastly stronger than any of the girls Alistair had collected so far.
"Desire" is the embodiment of a person's craving for certain things. Generally, the stronger and more intense the craving, the darker the color and the greater the quantity of "Desire." Conversely, after the "Desire" is extracted, the intensity of the craving lessens, though specific circumstances vary.
Alistair's demonic ring primarily absorbs lustful Desire, so the black gas is predominantly composed of lust. The "Desire" contained within Professor Hatsufuji's body made Alistair's hands tremble; it was incredibly absurd.
Is this teacher a succubus? With such massive "Desire," does she have a sex addiction? They say women are "lustful as a wolf at thirty, as fierce as a tiger at forty." Are you "lustful enough to suck up dirt at thirty, and suck mice through walls at forty?"
Wait, why only half?
Alistair looked closely and noticed that the "Desire" on Professor Hatsufuji's body was only present on one side. Wasn't this supposed to be evenly distributed? Hmm? That bracelet! Is it absorbing "Desire"?!
Alistair squinted. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the thick, ink-black "Desire" was continuously being drawn into the bracelet on her hand. The dark purple bracelet showed no change, remaining dark purple even in Alistair's special vision, with nothing else revealed.
Does this thing, in addition to boosting physical ability, also have the power to suppress one's Desire? No wonder Professor Hatsufuji didn't appear to have such powerful Desire; the bracelet was absorbing it, preventing her from going into heat frequently. Still, Professor Hatsufuji's intense Desire was rare.
In Alistair's view, although the "Desire" in Professor Hatsufuji's body was constantly being absorbed, her generation rate wasn't slow. It just couldn't quite keep up with the bracelet's absorption speed, though it wasn't far behind. The fact that half of it had been absorbed suggested it took a long time, accumulating slowly over months or years. If that were the case, how wild must Professor Hatsufuji have been before? A female beast driven purely by instinct? He dared not think about it.
However, this gave Alistair a new idea. Since Professor Hatsufuji had such strong Desire, and assuming she hadn't been promiscuous to release it, it must be severely repressed. After all, absorbing "Desire" only lessens the craving, it doesn't eliminate it. To live normally, one must either release it or suppress it. But if Alistair gave her an opening, would she still be able to control herself?