Marisa had a dream.
In her dream, an elderly yet beautiful girl with an indistinct face taught her a unique cultivation technique.
She immersed herself in studying it and, in a moment of enlightenment, successfully ascended to immortality.
With the blessing song of a certain shrine maiden, she felt as if she had shed her burdensome physical shell, her soul floating lightly into the clouds.
A warm, relaxed, and comfortable sensation enveloped her entire body, as if she had just received a full professional massage. It was so blissful that she didn't want to wake up…
Wait. Massage?
Triggered by this keyword, Marisa was momentarily stunned. Then, as if recalling something, she suddenly jolted awake in terror.
Same familiar ceiling, same familiar bed, and… the same boss who had massaged her countless times…
"Yaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!"
A terrified scream instantly echoed throughout the Forest of Magic, even startling Alice from the neighborhood.
"Good morning~ You're quite energetic right after waking up, huh?"
Rin greeted her with a bright smile, holding Marisa's hand as if playing with a fascinating toy, rubbing and shifting his grip playfully.
Marisa's entire body bristled in shock. She immediately jumped up and pressed herself against the wall, baring her teeth in alarm.
"You beastly boss, did you finally cross the line?!"
"You degenerate! Scum! Starving black-haired devil!! A heretic like you—I'll definitely get Reimu to—"
"Don't you feel like something's missing from the bed?"
"Hmm? Hmm—hmm?! No blood?"
Marisa froze, staring at the bedsheets that were merely soaked with sweat. She let out a relieved sigh.
But then, as her gaze landed on Rin's bitten lips, her pupils shrank.
Wait… was she the one who did that?!
Rin, meanwhile, calmly adjusted his nearly torn clothes and reassured her with a sincere tone—
"Relax, I'm a person of principle."
"When encountering a lovely young lady, I strictly follow the proper steps: getting acquainted, chatting, drinking tea, dating, holding hands, kissing, exercising, adapting to various environments, and eventually engaging in group activities."
"We already practiced part of it last night. Our compatibility is quite high. Next time, we'll definitely coordinate perfectly."
"Like hell I'd relax! Is this some kind of crime premeditation?!!"
Marisa's face turned green. Whatever fleeting sense of security she had instantly vanished.
She was stuck at the most dangerous step!
And what the hell did he mean by 'group activities'?! He was targeting more than just her?!
"Alright, hurry up and get out of bed. We need to finish breakfast and get back to renovations."
Not giving her any chance to dwell on it, Rin casually called out before heading toward the bathroom.
Marisa, furious, glared at his retreating back, itching to kick him.
But the moment she got out of bed, her legs gave out like jelly, and she collapsed onto the floor with a splat.
As she stared at her trembling legs, her pupils quaked in realization.
Even though she was mentally alert, her body had already been trained into something… weird!!
"AAAAHHH!! You bastard, I'm gonna kill you!!!"
Smack—
"Uwah?! Where did this bun come from?"
Marisa blinked in confusion at the hot steamed bun Rin tossed at her.
"I snagged it from the general store. Yukari and the others had quite the feast this morning, so I 'borrowed' some from her bowl."
Rin explained.
But as soon as he finished speaking, a gap suddenly opened beside him. A familiar arm stretched out and thumped his head repeatedly with a folding fan.
"That was mine!"
"No big deal. You can just take a few more from Reimu."
"Hah?! I already took a bite of all of them! Don't you dare touch them!"
On the other side, Reimu had already taken a bite out of every one of her buns, hugging them protectively.
Yukari gave her an exasperated look before half of her body vanished into the gap.
"How's everything going on your end? If you need help, I can…"
Before she could finish, her gaze landed on the sweat-drenched bedsheets.
Her expression instantly changed.
Was last night's battle that intense?!
Feeling Rin's gaze, Yukari shuddered and quickly shrank back into the gap.
This was far too stimulating for a seventeen-year-old girl.
Watching her flee at top speed, Rin didn't care. He simply continued munching on his bun as he strolled toward the unfinished renovations.
Marisa, meanwhile, stared at the sheets, hesitated for a moment, then scowled and snatched them up.
She'd burn this humiliating evidence later!
No way was she ever letting this bastard use "massage" as an excuse again.
This time, she had already lost control and started biting randomly. If things actually went further next time, she didn't even want to imagine what might happen!
Just thinking about last night's terrifying fluctuations in sensation made her body weak.
Rin's ability was way too dangerous. At this rate, she'd be ruined sooner or later.
She had to find a way to counteract it!
Right—Patchouli!
She read a lot of books, so she must know some magic to guard against this!
"Achoo~"
In the mansion, Patchouli suddenly sneezed while sipping hot porridge. She rubbed her nose absentmindedly.
Was Remilia talking about her again?
She instinctively glanced at the back of her hand, but the chain-like markings showed no reaction.
'Had that idiot already reached the point of no return?' Patchouli's eyes narrowed. After a moment's thought, she decided to put the matter aside.
She still had her own troubles to deal with—no energy to save her. At most, she'd burn some incense for her on holidays.
With that thought settled, Patchouli returned to reading the magic book, Rin had given her.
There were quite a few interesting spells inside. Maybe she could use them to break the contract on her body.
"…But why do these spell formations look… a little suspicious?" Staring at the magic diagrams, Patchouli muttered to herself, then instinctively glanced at the nearby tengu, who was reading near the shelves.
They looked eerily similar to the markings on her body…
Before she could call Aya over to compare notes, a small hand suddenly clutched the edge of the counter.
"Patchouli, I finally found you…" Remilia's voice, thick with resentment, echoed chillingly that sent shivers all over Patchouli.
Peering over the counter, she saw Remilia's tattered clothes and exhausted, pitiful expression.
Even her adorable little face was covered in fresh bite marks, as if someone had sucked her dry…