Chapter 41: Haruka Himuro’s Message Oil

After saying goodbye to Haruka Himuro, who was enjoying a pleasant chat with Matsumoto Hitomi, and explaining that he was walking Miyuki Sakurai home, Quillan walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Miyuki toward the Sakurai residence.

Unlike the last time he walked Miyuki home, this time they walked side-by-side through the dark of the night, which added a subtle, flirtatious atmosphere to the air between them.

Quillan wasn’t particularly interested in any of that, so he spent the entire walk looking at the sides of the road, consciously keeping his distance from Miyuki. As for Miyuki, her shyness kept her from speaking up to start a conversation with Quillan.

The two walked in relative silence the whole way.

Reaching the front of Miyuki’s house, Quillan waved to her and turned to leave. Miyuki stood at the front door watching Quillan’s departing figure for quite a while, until he turned the corner and disappeared from sight. Just as she turned around to head inside, she was startled by her own mother.

"Ah! Mother, you..."

Miyuki gasped, but her mother remained completely calm, asking Miyuki with a warm smile, "Miyuki, did Quillan walk you home?"

"Mm!" Blushing, Miyuki nodded, then darted right past her mother—clearly dying of embarrassment!

"This girl!" Kayo Sakurai shook her head as she watched her daughter’s back. As a mother, how could she not understand what was on Miyuki’s mind? Japanese parents were actually quite open-minded in this regard; for instance, even though Kayo knew Miyuki liked Quillan, she didn’t say anything negative, wearing a smile instead!

This likely tied into the fact that Japanese women could get married at sixteen with parental consent. Under such legal provisions, Miyuki was almost of age to marry, so her parents naturally wouldn’t go out of their way to stop her.

"What’s wrong with Miyuki?" Just then, a young woman wearing a long dress and drying her hair with a towel walked over. Her facial features bore a resemblance to both Kayo and Miyuki, but she looked significantly prettier than Kayo and a few degrees more mature than Miyuki.

Her hair was dripping wet, likely because she had just finished washing it.

Seeing this young woman, Kayo smiled again and said, "Miyuki... I reckon she’s about to fall in love! Speaking of which, Mika, do you really still not have anyone you’re dating?"

"Mother, w-what are you talking about?!"

It turned out this woman was Miyuki Sakurai’s older sister, Mika Sakurai. No wonder the three mother-and-daughter women looked so much alike. Mika appeared to be two or three years older than Miyuki, which was evident from her exceptionally well-developed figure.

In terms of height, Mika was a head taller than Miyuki. In terms of figure... ahem...

Mika’s figure could be described as stunningly well-endowed, with her chest being a whole size larger than Miyuki’s.

Kayo glared at her eldest daughter and said, "Look at you! Every time I ask if you have someone you’re dating, you fall silent, and you’re never in a rush about it. Look at girls your age—who among them isn’t married yet? Now even your younger sister has someone she’s seeing!"

"Is that true or false?" Mika said in disbelief. "I don’t buy it! Miyuki is so shy, and she studies at an all-girls school. How could she possibly know any boys? You must be fooling me, right, Mother? Hmph, please don’t lie to me anymore, Mother, because it’s useless even if you try. I, Mika Sakurai, am not marrying anyone right now—I want to focus on building my career first!"

"You..."

Kayo didn’t want to argue with her eldest daughter, but she was clearly thoroughly exasperated by Mika’s words. She shook her head repeatedly as she walked past Mika, muttering under her breath, "Honestly, how did I raise a daughter like this? If a woman doesn’t marry, doesn’t have kids, and doesn’t become a housewife, does she really want to go out to work and be looked down upon by everyone?"

Surveys had noted that Japanese women had some of the lowest career achievements in Asia, which was directly tied to this line of thinking.

Male chauvinism was deeply ingrained in Japanese culture and impossible to change easily, creating this societal dynamic. If a Japanese woman didn’t marry to become a housewife and instead chose to go out to work, she would be treated as inferior—put simply, she would be looked down upon.

That was precisely why Kayo instantly became displeased the moment she heard Mika talk about prioritizing her career!

Being scolded by Kayo made Mika unhappy too! She knew getting her parents’ support for her ideals would be extremely difficult. However, previously, Miyuki was still young and in no rush to marry. If the younger daughter wasn’t rushing, the older daughter naturally didn’t have to hurry either, so Mr. and Mrs. Sakurai hadn’t been overly strict with Mika!

But the situation was different now. Miyuki actually had someone she was dating already—didn’t that mean...

Mika’s very first thought was that her parents would definitely use this as an excuse to pressure her into getting married immediately!

How could that be allowed?

Mika Sakurai was an ambitious woman with big dreams. She certainly didn’t want a future where she could only survive by depending on a husband’s whim. Thus, Mika made up her mind on the spot: no matter what, she couldn’t let Miyuki actually date a man, because doing so would completely derail Mika Sakurai’s own life plan!

"Hmph, I refuse to believe Miyuki would fall for a boy and date him right now!"

Stomping her foot, Mika Sakurai bit her lip and pondered for a moment. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she headed straight toward Miyuki’s room.

...

After saying goodbye to Miyuki Sakurai and watching her head inside, Quillan turned and went straight home.

The walk back was quiet, the streets empty save for the occasional flicker of a vending machine or a distant cat darting across the road. By the time he reached his apartment, he just wanted to shower and sleep.

When he opened the door, he found someone waiting for him.

"Master, you’re back!"

Haruka Himuro stood up from where she’d been sitting. She was dressed in a thin, silky nightgown that clung to every curve of her body. The neckline dipped low, revealing the soft swell of her breasts, and the hem barely reached mid-thigh. She’d clearly been waiting a while, and she’d clearly dressed with purpose!

A plastic bag of massage oil dangled from her fingers.

Quillan blinked. "Haruka? What are you doing here so late?"

"I... I wanted to give you a massage!" she said, her voice a little too eager, a little too rehearsed. "You’ve been working so hard for me. I brought some massage oil—applying and massaging it directly on the body will have a better effect!"

Quillan stared at her, dumbfounded!

Over the past few days, Haruka had noticed something that made her chest tighten every time she thought about it—Quillan was always surrounded by beautiful women!

Quillan was young and handsome, and on her side, she truly lived a difficult life and needed someone’s support.

If it was just a matter of trading her body to receive Master’s love and care, that was acceptable.

Mm, if it was Master, she wouldn’t be losing out.

After all, she had even considered selling her only property. There was even a time when a scout from the adult entertainment industry wanted to invite her to act in a film, and faced with the generous payment, she had been tempted...

So Haruka Himuro made her decision—to give herself to Quillan, to let his efforts be repaid, and also in hopes that he would continue to support her!

She would let him know that she was grateful, that she was willing, that she could be whatever he needed. Maybe then he would stay.