With his current physique, Hikari Nakamura felt like a mini Superman. There were countless ways for him to make money. A mere 200,000 yen to win the friendship and gratitude of a Yuki-Onna was well worth the cost.
After all, in today's world, someone like Mifuyu Yukino, with abilities akin to superpowers, was a rare find. Even if she did nothing more ambitious than using her powers to mass-produce ice pops for wholesale, she could easily earn back that 200,000 yen in no time.
And he knew, for sure, that his actions wouldn't go unnoticed by the system.
Sure enough, as soon as he helped Yukino pay off her rent, the system's reward notification rang in his mind.
[Ding! The host helped Mifuyu Yukino pay off her overdue rent, directly thwarting Takahashi's sinister intentions to coerce her.]
[Congratulations, host! You've earned 'Pure Love Points +100'!]
'Spending 200,000 yen for 100 Pure Love Points?—what a steal'
On the other hand, Mifuyu Yukino had no idea that Hikari's mind was running all these calculations. She was just astonished that a high school student like him could produce that much money so easily.
More than that, she felt a mix of deep gratitude and some lingering shame over the fact that he had to step in and pay her rent for her.
She initially wanted to protest, to tell him that he didn't need to go out of his way for her, especially since he was still so young. But Takahashi had fled, and Hikari seemed unfazed by the money, so all she could do was bow her head and make a serious promise.
"Then… think of it as a loan from you to me, Hikari-kun! I promise I will repay every yen, with interest! I'll go write an IOU for you right now!"
Before she could dash inside to write the note, Hikari gently grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "No need, Yukino-san. I trust you won't run off without paying me back. No IOU necessary—I believe in your character."
Yukino froze at his words.
"You… trust my… character?"
Her eyes welled up with tears, and a faint chill filled the air around her.
Due to her nature as a Yuki-Onna and her difficulty interacting with people, Yukino had always struggled to truly fit into human society. Her beauty often attracted people, but most of them had ulterior motives. Almost no one had ever helped her selflessly, and certainly no one had shown her such trust.
Especially after her husband passed away, leaving her alone in the world, Yukino had lived a lonely and isolated life.
Now, for the first time, someone not only lent her a helping hand but also believed in her without question.
"Thank… thank you, Hikari-kun… You're so kind…"
"Sniff… you're the best person I've ever met… Thank you so much…"
Mifuyu Yukino's voice trembled as tears streamed down her face, her sobs filled with gratitude.
The sight of the stunning silver-haired widow weeping softly, her chest rising and falling as she cried, was enough to tug at anyone's heartstrings.
Feeling moved, Hikari instinctively placed his hand on her back, gently patting and comforting her. "It's okay, Yukino-san. Don't cry. Everything will be fine from now on."
After a few moments, Yukino finally calmed down, wiping away her tears. That's when she realized she had unconsciously leaned into Hikari's embrace, finding comfort in his warmth.
Embarrassed, she noticed that his arm had, at some point, slid around her back, holding her quite intimately.
"T-That… Hikari-kun, maybe… maybe you should let go now…"
"Eep…!"
Yukino, feeling shy, tried to quietly pull herself out of Hikari's arms, hoping to avoid any awkwardness. But as she shifted, something went wrong—she got stuck midway.
Hikari could only sigh internally. He had been planning to release her as soon as she asked, but Yukino had decided to act on her own. Now, she was squirming around in his arms, which only made the situation more awkward for both of them.
As Yukino continued to struggle, she started to panic.
"Ah~!"
Her soft groan escaped, and Hikari suddenly noticed that the once-warm widow in his arms was rapidly cooling down—no, more than that, she was becoming ice-cold, like he was holding onto a block of frozen snow.
Alarmed, Hikari quickly loosened his grip.
Realizing her powers had unintentionally activated, Yukino blushed, deeply embarrassed by her lack of control. "I'm so sorry! Hikari-kun, I didn't mean to… but I can't help it sometimes. Whenever I get too emotional, my body temperature drops..."
She nervously explained, hoping he wouldn't be scared or suspicious.
'You call that "just a bit cold"?'
Hikari laughed bitterly in his mind. Even with his superhuman resilience, that chill had still managed to pierce through him. For a regular person, hugging her like that would probably result in frostbite.
Despite what he thought, Hikari smiled reassuringly. "It's alright, I understand."
"I read in a book once that fair-skinned, radiant beauties like yourself have a unique constitution—it's called 'icy jade bones.' Some might even call you Snow White."
Yukino had been listening earnestly up until the end of his explanation. When she heard his last sentence, she couldn't help but burst into laughter. She playfully tapped his chest with a small hand, smiling brightly. "Hikari-kun, what nonsense are you saying? I'm no Snow White!"
Though her words were teasing, her heart felt warm. Compared to the eerie folklore about Yuki-Onna, being called Snow White felt much nicer.
And, deep down, Hikari calling her a "princess" brought her a small flutter of joy.
But when her hand touched Hikari's firm chest, her face instantly reddened as if she had touched something she shouldn't have. She quickly pulled her hand away, realizing how improper her actions had been.
Here she was, a widow, acting so casually with a high school boy. She never behaved like this with any other men.
'Hikari-kun must think I'm some sort of shameless woman…!'
Yukino tightly gripped the hem of her skirt, her face burning with embarrassment. She lowered her head, torn between shame and worry.
"I-I'm sorry, Hikari-kun… I didn't mean to be so forward…"
"Really, it's alright. The girls in my class do this sort of thing all the time," Hikari replied, waving her apology off with a smile.
While Yukino relaxed a little at his response, a strange, sour feeling arose in her chest.
'So… I'm not the only one who's touched his firm, muscular chest…'
'Of course, Hikari-kun must be popular with the girls at school', Yukino thought to herself, unable to help the words that slipped out of her mouth.
"Hikari-kun, you must be really popular with the girls at school, huh?"
As soon as the words left her lips, Yukino slapped a hand over her mouth, realizing she had said it out loud.
She had only meant to think it, not say it.
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