Chapter 83 Substitute
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
As the information streamed in from Kuro, Aki’s face twisted into a mask of grim frustration.
(How is this possible?)
Even after he had reduced Tanaka Hajime to a pile of wind-blown ash, another predator with hypnosis abilities had crawled out of the woodwork to take his place. Ignoring the rest of the morning assembly, Aki broke ranks, leaving his place in line under the bewildered, curious stares of his classmates.
”Teacher, I’m not feeling well,” Aki said. “I need a medical pass for the day.”
He didn’t wait for his homeroom instructor to offer a word of protest. He simply bolted, his feet pounding against the pavement as he tore toward the school gates. The teacher’s mouth hung open, an arm outstretched to stop him, but in a literal heartbeat, Aki was nothing more than a fading silhouette. He tried to keep his departure low-profile, but he knew he hadn’t escaped the sharp eyes of Shitori Sona and Himejima Akeno.
At this point, he didn’t give a damn what they thought. He pushed his body to its limit, a blur of speed as he raced toward Aisu Academy. (If I hadn’t forgotten to recall Kuro last time… No, stay focused. If I hadn’t had the foresight to leave a scout behind to keep tabs on things, I’d be walking into a total disaster right now.)
Ten minutes earlier, Aisu Academy had been holding its own routine Monday morning assembly. However, the figure standing center-stage on the podium wasn’t a faculty member or a student leader. It was a revolting, bloated man wearing a pair of flat, rimless glasses that did nothing to hide his lecherous aura.
”Quiet,” the fat man commanded.
As he looked out over the sea of murmuring students, a predatory red light flickered in his eyes. His voice, laced with hypnotic power, projected through the microphone and washed over the entire indoor gymnasium. The room fell into an unnatural silence. Only Miyajima Sakura and the Takamine sisters felt a jarring wave of nausea and vertigo.
They tried to speak, to protest the sudden heaviness in the air, but a nameless force clamped down on their vocal cords. It was as if their bodies had been hijacked—their muscles refused to move, their autonomy stripped away in an instant.
In that same moment, the spirit-form of Kuro—a small, dark sphere—shuddered with a visceral squelch. Before the fat man could utter another syllable, the familiar made a split-second decision and spiraled out of the gym, vanishing into the air.
* * *
By the time Aki reached the Aisu Academy grounds, the assembly had already dispersed. Students were drifting toward the main building in small groups, chatting and laughing as if it were any other day. To a casual observer, the scene was perfectly normal. But the more “normal” they looked, the more the words falling from their lips chilled Aki to the bone.
”A Sexual Guidance Counselor¹? That’s a new one for the government, huh?” one girl remarked.
”Yeah, but if they’re state-appointed, it’s gotta be legit,” her friend replied. “Nothing to worry about.”
”I’m so jealous of the couples they kept behind,” said another. “They get to skip class all day for ‘practical guidance.’ We really need to find ourselves some boyfriends so we can sign up for those government perks.”
”I heard they’re launching a ‘trial program’ for singles soon, though…”
”Man, I hope that starts today,” the boy answered.
The same twisted dialogue echoed across every corner of the campus. Boys and girls alike spoke with a glassy-eyed enthusiasm, their faces twisted into expressions of disturbing longing as they hoped to be selected for “instruction.”
Aki retreated into the shadows of a corner, his heart sinking. Hearing that only the couples had been detained offered a momentary reprieve—it meant the Takamine sisters and Miyajima Sakura were likely not in the immediate blast zone.
It seemed this “Substitute” shared Tanaka Hajime’s specific brand of filth: a fetish for public indecency and using the guise of sexual education to facilitate his crimes.
(Is this the Convergence of World Lines²? Is everything I do—every change I make—destined to be erased by the world’s self-correction?)
No. He wouldn’t accept that. This world had already shifted under his influence in countless ways. This wasn’t destiny; it was a variable he hadn’t accounted for. If he could find the source, he could cut it out at the root and stop this “plot” before it truly took hold. He had to break the spell and erase that fat piece of shit from existence.
Aki followed Kuro toward the gymnasium. He didn’t have a specific counter-spell for mass hypnosis, but he knew one universal truth: if you kill the caster, the magic dies with them. As he reached the heavy gym doors, three familiar figures emerged from the gloom.
”Sakura-senpai? Ayame-ane? Lily-ane?!” Aki hissed. “What the hell are you three doing here?”
”Aki-kun!” Sakura exclaimed.
”Uesugi-kun!” Ayame added.
Takamine Ayame and Miyajima Sakura turned to him, their eyes wide. Under normal circumstances, Sakura used his surname, reserving his given name for the intimacy of their Dual Cultivation³ sessions. Ayame, for her part, had wanted to call him “Master” even in public, but Aki had shut that down immediately. He’d insisted they treat him like a younger brother when they were out in the world.
Takamine Lily glanced at the hovering Kuro sphere. “Aki-kun… did this little guy call you?”
”Yeah. Are you three okay? You weren’t hypnotized?” Aki asked.
”So that’s what it was… hypnosis,” Sakura murmured.
”The whole ‘Sexual Guidance’ thing felt super sketchy,” Ayame complained. “Especially the part where he said he had to ‘demonstrate’ on us before we could get intimate with you. It made zero sense. But everyone else acted like it was totally fine, so we decided to check things out for ourselves.”
Aki’s gaze sharpened. (Just “sketchy”?)
”Is that all? You just thought it was ‘strange’?” Aki asked.
”Yeah,” Sakura said. “We originally wanted to confirm something was wrong before notifying you, but the little ball beat us to it.”
Aki exhaled a heavy, ragged breath. His suspicion was confirmed: they were affected. This was a form of high-functioning hypnosis. They retained their personalities, but their internal alarm bells had been muffled. If that fat bastard caught them and applied a focused, secondary layer of control, they’d be lost.
”I need you three to go home. Right now,” Aki said. “Consider yourselves on administrative leave. Do not come back to campus until I give the word.”
”Uesugi, wait! If something’s going down, we can help!” Sakura protested.
Aki shook his head. “You can’t help with this. You’ll just be a liability.”
”It’s just a little hypnosis, and we’re clearly fine!” Ayame huffed. “Let us stay. I want to see what a ‘transcendent’ fight actually looks like.”
(Clearly fine… is it?) Aki’s mood darkened. If they were truly fine, they would have been the ones calling him the second that red light flashed in the gym.
”Enough. Get out. Now,” Aki ordered.
Aki sensed the energy shifting inside the gym. He didn’t have another second to waste. When Ayame opened her mouth to whine, Aki silenced her with a look so cold it felt like a physical weight.
”I am not going to say it a third time.”
Usually, Aki was an easy-going partner. But when the line was drawn, he was absolute. Ayame saw the steel in his eyes and shrunk back. She nodded silently, and the three of them turned to make their exit.
Aki watched them disappear before taking a deep breath. Time to see what the “Substitute” was made of. From the looks of it, this guy was just another low-life lecher who had no idea what had happened to Tanaka Hajime. Aki had scrubbed that incident clean; with Himejima Akeno’s help, the police hadn’t even opened a file.
Aki pushed the gym doors open and stepped inside.
He saw them immediately: five couples standing before the bloated man. Aki recognized four of the pairs. The “Substitute” was already deep into his secondary conditioning, his back turned to the door.
Aki began his approach, his steps silent. Secretly, he had already activated all of his abilities, striving to achieve a one-hit kill just like last time.
—
Summary:
Aki discovers that a new hypnotic predator has replaced Tanaka Hajime at Aisu Academy. He rushes to the school to find the student body already under a ‘Sexual Guidance’ spell. After intercepting Sakura and the Takamine sisters—who are subtly compromised—he orders them to leave before confronting the substitute alone.
—
Trivia:
- Aki burned Tanaka Hajime to ash in a previous encounter.
- Aki left Kuro (an Imp Familiar) behind as a scout, which is how he learned of the new threat.
- Sakura and the sisters are under high-functioning hypnosis; they feel nausea and ‘strangeness’ but don’t realize they are being mind-controlled.
- Aki’s departure was noticed by Shitori Sona and Himejima Akeno, indicating potential future plot threads involving them.
- The ‘Convergence of World Lines’ suggests the world is trying to force certain plot events to happen regardless of Aki’s interference
—
Character Insight:
Aki shows a ruthless, decisive side when the safety of his inner circle is threatened, dropping his ‘easy-going’ facade to command the girls to safety. His internal struggle with the ‘Convergence of World Lines’ shows his fear that his efforts might be futile.
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Lore And Worldbuilding Context:
The ‘Sexual Guidance Counselor’ trope is a common localization of ‘Sei Shidouin’, often used in Japanese ‘corruption’ themed media.
—
Glossary:
Notes:
• Kuro – A companion or observer who hides during combat and provides information to Aki.
• Aki – Silver‑haired, sharp‑eyed transfer at Kuoh Academy, B‑rank Stray Devil and Dual‑Cultivation peer. Works for Himejima Akeno, dates Rias Gremory and the Takamine sisters, holds “Little Aki,” defeated Miyajima Sosuke, monitors Aisu Academy, bluffs Gremory status, adopts a scumbag persona while growing Mana. Reincarnated with Charm Talent, Bitter Parent Template, new ORC member, handsome, mysterious powers, assists Aisu Academy cleanup.
• Tanaka Hajime – Tanaka Hajime, an obese student at Aisu Academy, once possessed a hypnosis ability that let him control others through speech; he is now referenced as a predecessor to the current antagonist.
• Tanaka – Tanaka Hajime, an obese student at Aisu Academy, once possessed a hypnosis ability that let him control others through speech; he is now referenced as a predecessor to the current antagonist.
• Himejima Akeno – Akeno Himejima, a tall, graceful senior of the Occult Research Club in her school uniform, sports long black hair, an elegant mature beauty and a large bust. She wields golden lightning and Azure Flame magic, serves Rias Gremory as a trusted retainer and confidante, and acts as Aki’s master, giving him a surveillance familiar and overseeing the cleanup of his clash with local punks.
• Shitori Sona – Shitori Sona, Kuoh Academy’s student council president, sports short black hair, glasses, a stern expression and formal attire. She speaks in a flat, professional tone, is highly competent, and hails from a pure‑blood demon family. As a tactical leader of the Sitri lineage, she handles local supernatural issues by deferring to Rias Gremory.
• Himejima – Akeno Himejima is a tall, graceful senior of the Occult Research Club, wearing the school uniform. She has long black hair, an elegant mature beauty, a large bust, and wields golden lightning. As Rias Gremory’s trusted retainer and confidante, she serves as Aki’s master, giving him a surveillance familiar and overseeing the cleanup of his clash with local punks.
• Akeno – Himejima Akeno, a tall, silver‑haired ORC vice‑president and Rias’s queen, wielded lightning magic and performed magical sterilization on the victim during the kiss, displaying a sadistic streak.
• Sona – Shitori Sona, short‑haired black hair, glasses, stern expression, formal attire, is Kuoh Academy’s Student Council President and heir to the Sitri house. A devil skilled in detection and tactical magic, she seeks a cure for Aki’s unique constitution and handles local supernatural issues by deferring to Rias Gremory.
• Miyajima Sakura – Upperclassman Miyajima Sakura, a striking kendo prodigy with “Sword Heart,” studies at Aisu Academy and now at Aie Academy. Living with Aki—whom she views as a younger brother despite his predatory nature—she is brave, romantically sensitive, a former Kuoh student, a club beauty targeted by Tanaka Hajime, and unaware of the supernatural.
• Miyajima – Family name of Sosuke, Tsubaki and Sakura.
• Sakura – Sakura Miyajima, a third‑year Aisu Academy student and kendo prodigy with the Sword Heart talent, wears a navy blazer and red hakama. Daughter of Sousuke, she treats Aki as a younger brother despite knowing his predatory nature, now lives with him after discovering his supernatural side, and they practice Dual Cultivation together.
• Ayame – Tall, confident eldest Takamine sister with long pink hair, slender waist, large breasts and athletic build. Popular at Aisu Academy, she calls Aki “Master,” serves as his host‑family older sister in Garden: Takamine‑ke no Nirinka – The Animation, and is a flexible swimmer. Playful yet resistant toward younger sister Sayuri, she is ultimately submissive and now being trained by Aki.
• Lily – One of the Takamine sisters; maintains a protective stance over the group.
• Takamine Ayame – Eldest Takamine sister, tall and confident with long pink hair, slender waist, large breasts and an athletic build. Bold, open‑minded, a flexible swimmer and Aki’s host‑family older sister in Garden: Takamine‑ke no Nirinka. Playful yet resistant to her sister Sayuri, ultimately submissive. One of Aki’s non‑blood sisters, energetic, curvaceous and eager to learn magic.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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