Chapter 24 Talent: Mirror Reflection: Incomplete
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Aki shrugged. If there was a shortcut, why wouldn’t he take it? It wasn’t that he was too lazy to think, but stuff like “deduction” just wasn’t in his wheelhouse. He could come up with a gentle approach if he had to, but the legwork was just too much of a pain.
”Too few clues. I haven’t really dealt with these three, so I can’t make a call.”
Shitori Sona knit her brows. “Are you sure you haven’t pissed someone off?”
”Positive.”
Aki was dead certain. He barely had enough time to juggle the girls he was actually interested in; why would he waste energy on anyone else?
”Then why target you?”
The suspects were lined up, but the motive was missing. For a moment, Sona and Shinra Tsubaki were at a loss.
”Who knows? Maybe I’m just too damn handsome,” Aki said, pouting.
Thanks to his Cuckold Template, he was used to being a magnet for trouble.
”If you ask me, we should just round ’em all up and squeeze ’em one by one. Starting with that third-year—the one with the yellow punk hair.” He continued to stir the pot. “Just look at that rat-faced prick. He’s got ‘villain’ written all over him. Even if he didn’t do this, I bet he’s got a rap sheet a mile long.”
Having spent a few days with him, Tsubaki had realized Aki had a weird, deep-seated grudge against blond guys. She’d learned to just ignore it.
”Uesugi, that’s his natural hair color. He’s got Yokai blood.”
Hearing he was a natural blonde made Aki even saltier.
”It’s him. It’s definitely him! I bet he was lurking in the shadows, eavesdropping on me and Tsubaki-senpai, and he just couldn’t handle the jealousy…”
Sona covered her ears, her patience snapping. “Tsubaki, get him out of here!”
”Understood, Madam President.”
Tsubaki clamped a small hand over Aki’s mouth and began dragging him out of the Student Council room. Unable to fight back, Aki decided on a different kind of retaliation: he gave her palm a cheeky lick.
Feeling the damp, hot flick of his tongue against her skin, Tsubaki’s face flushed crimson. Ugh… you little lecher. You never miss a chance, do you?
Seeing her blush, Aki didn’t hesitate. He hooked an arm around her waist, pulled her close, and—still through her own hand—pressed his lips firmly against her mouth.
”Mmph! Mmmph!”
With his mouth still covered, Aki could only make muffled, indistinct noises. Tsubaki finally sighed and dropped her hand.
”What is it now?”
Aki didn’t actually have anything to say. He just needed her to drop her guard. The moment she did, he went in for the kill. As their lips met, Tsubaki froze. She knew she’d been played. Her instinct was to shove him away, but then she thought about their time together—the days and nights spent side-by-side—and the possibility of where they were headed. Her resistance melted into a silent surrender.
Aki tasted her soft, crimson lips for a moment before testing his luck against her teeth. He tried every trick in the book—probing, teasing, swirling, sucking—until his tongue felt numb. But Tsubaki kept her teeth clenched tight, giving him nothing.
He wanted to keep at it, but he was starting to run out of air. Tsubaki, meanwhile, hadn’t even broken her breathing rhythm. They were in the middle of the hallway; he couldn’t exactly start groping her to force a distraction… and he had a strong feeling that if he tried, Tsubaki would go from “embarrassed” to “homicidal” and use a submission hold to teach him a very painful lesson about power levels.
Just as Aki was about to throw in the towel, a slick, warm tongue darted out and met his. It slid past his teeth, slicking against his own tongue as it delved deep into his mouth.
Aki stared wide-eyed at the beauty in front of him, his brain stalling for a second. Tsubaki gave him a sultry, sidelong glance, looped her arms around his neck, and slowly let her shimmering, liquid-bright eyes flutter shut.
As they say, Fortune favors the bold. The old timers weren’t lying.
With the surprise victory fueling him, Aki redoubled his efforts. Tsubaki’s technique was clumsy—or rather, non-existent. Once she was in, she mostly just rubbed against him. But she was incredibly cooperative. Under Aki’s lead, they both quickly found their rhythm.
Slurp…
Amidst the wet sounds of their shared breaths and swallowing, a sweet chime rang in Aki’s mind.
'[Ding! Talent: Mirror Reflection Detected]’
'[Begin copying…]’
Ten minutes later, Aki finally pulled back from those delicious, reddened lips, wanting more. Who would’ve thought that even kissing would require Basic Body Mastery? If he hadn’t used that talent to regulate his breathing, he literally would have suffocated mid-make-out.
I need to level up, and fast, he thought.
He couldn’t help but savor the aftertaste. Tsubaki’s saliva tasted way better than Reina’s or the others; it had this faint, elegant fragrance 1. He wasn’t sure if it was because of her sheer power or her devil physiology.
”Tsubaki-senpai, one more time? Please?”
Aki didn’t know what had sparked her sudden boldness, but he wasn’t about to let the opportunity go to waste. Tsubaki rolled her eyes at him.
”You’re going to be late for class. Stop pushing your luck and get moving. And use that brain of yours to figure out who’s actually out to get you.”
”Tsubaki-senpai~” Aki wrapped his arms around her waist, refusing to let go. “We’ve already kissed. Can’t you just call me by my name now?”
”You’re already doing it, so why are you asking me?” Tsubaki looked at him with fond exasperation. “Fine. Consider this an advance on your reward. Don’t get any ideas.”
”If it’s an advance, then I don’t mind taking a few more payments early.”
Tsubaki went silent. She had to admit, he had a point. And besides, “paying” him a bit more was a good way to keep him on her side. They stayed wrapped up in each other a few more times, until Sona finally couldn’t take it anymore and stomped out of the Student Council room to chase him off.
* * *
Back in the classroom, Aki was practically glowing. He’d successfully reached second base with Tsubaki—how much further could a home run really be?
But just as he was daydreaming about his future “perks,” his Dual Cultivation ability threw him a curveball.
'[Copy Failed]’
'[Obtained Talent: Mirror Reflection: Incomplete]’
'[Talent Description: Returns 20% of taken damage back to the source.]’
So I really do have to go “all the way” to get the full talent, he realized. If I don’t finish inside 2, it counts as a fail.
Aki had suspected as much, but he’d never had the chance to test it. This time, he hadn’t just confirmed the theory—he’d gotten a consolation prize. It was a failure, but not a total one.
Aki checked the time. About an hour had passed since he’d parted ways with Tsubaki. This meant that if the “fluid exchange” wasn’t followed up by a full “internal deposit” within sixty minutes, the system flagged it as a failed copy.
But even a fragment was better than nothing.
—
Summary:
Aki meets with the Student Council to investigate who is targeting him, though his personal bias against ‘yellow-haired’ characters cloud his judgment. After being kicked out of the room, he initiates a physical confrontation with Tsubaki that escalates into an intense, prolonged kiss in the hallway. Tsubaki eventually yields and takes the lead, allowing Aki’s system to trigger a talent copy sequence. However, because the interaction did not proceed to full ‘internal secretion’ within the required timeframe, the copy ends in partial failure. Aki is left with a weakened version of Tsubaki’s reflection ability while vowing to increase his strength.
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Trivia:
* The mention of Tsubaki’s ‘Yokai bloodline’ explains her supernatural hair color and hints at her latent power level, which far exceeds Aki’s current state (evidenced by her effortless breathing during the kiss).
* The system’s ‘failed copy’ condition introduces a clear mechanical limitation: physical intimacy alone is insufficient for high-tier talent acquisition; it requires ‘completion’.
* Aki’s observation of her saliva’s unique fragrance suggests that physiological changes occur as characters grow in power or embrace their demonic nature, marking a clear distinction between the ‘heroines’ and ordinary humans like Reina
—
Character Insight:
Tsubaki’s shift from firm discipline to active participation in the kiss marks a turning point in her relationship with Aki, moving from ‘observer/guard’ to a ‘potential romantic partner’. Her willingness to provide ‘advances on rewards’ shows she is beginning to see the strategic value in keeping Aki close, even if it means indulging his lecherous nature. Aki remains primarily driven by game-like progression, viewing the romance through the lens of ‘bases’ and ‘home runs’.
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Lore And Worldbuilding Context:
The ‘Cuckold Template’ (苦主) is a meta-role Aki occupies that influences how the world reacts to him—specifically, it attracts trouble from ‘antagonist’ types. The talent ‘Mirror Reflection’ (镜反) introduces a damage-return mechanic to the power system. Additionally, the cultural significance of first-name usage in Japan is used here as a milestone for their relationship status.
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TL Notes:
The term ‘Internal Secretion’ (内涩/内射) is a vital pun in the original Chinese text used as a euphemism for climaxing inside, which is the ‘hidden’ requirement for the Dual Cultivation system. The translation balances the ‘game system’ terminology with the light novel’s ecchi tone.
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Glossary:
Notes:
• Aki – 16-year-old Kuoh Private Academy student with messy black hair, slender build, delicate features, and black-rimmed glasses. Reincarnated into a crossover doujin world with a ‘Loser’s Script’ (NTR/Victim template) that draws misfortune. Adopted by the Takamine family, he has Succubus/Incubus blood, replicates talents via dual cultivation and bodily fluids, boosts partners’ magic, and recently gained muscle/strength. Trained by a trio of girls at the Hidden Academy.
• Shitori Sona – Short black hair, often seen with glasses and a stern look, always well-dressed; from ‘High School DxD’. Student council president, highly competent and comes from a pure-blood demon family.
• Shinra Tsubaki – Dark blue hair, refined and calm, constantly beside Sona in student council uniform; from ‘High School DxD’. Vice president, Sona’s ‘Queen’-type retainer, calm and collected, has the ‘Mirror Reflection’ and later ‘Demon Bloodline’ talent.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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