"When you stare into the abyss, the abyss also stares back at you."
Akashi fully understood the meaning of this phrase now.
The sincerity radiating from this aunt—Eri—was overwhelming. It was so heavy, so dazzling, that he couldn't refuse her even if he wanted to.
'This system... it's not too bad after all,' he thought to himself.
Rubbing his nose, Akashi nodded and said softly, "I do. I really do!"
Eri's heart melted on the spot. Looking at the shy little boy, with his sparkling eyes and a slight blush on his cheeks, she found him irresistibly cute.
'So adorable. I want to hug him forever!'
When she heard the words "I do" escape his lips, Eri couldn't contain her excitement.
She practically jumped for joy.
The happiness she felt was far greater than any victory she'd experienced in court—greater even than defeating Kujo Reiko and overturning her most challenging cases.
Overwhelmed, Eri stepped forward and picked up Akashi in one swift motion.
If she weren't worried about being too abrupt, she might have kissed his porcelain-like cheeks right then and there.
'How could a child be this perfect?'
---
"Auntie! Auntie, wait—clothes! I don't have any clothes!"
Being lifted into the air, Akashi clutched the thin quilt tightly with his small hands, looking utterly lost.
Eri froze for a moment before realizing the problem. She laughed softly and said, "Ah, I almost forgot! Akashi, you're still not dressed!"
"It's fine," she continued with a smile, "Auntie will find something for you to wear."
Still holding Akashi, Eri carried him out of the bedroom without a second thought.
Her actions were so fluid, so natural, that it was as if she had rehearsed the whole thing beforehand.
As she walked, Akashi's small face inadvertently rested against her chest.
'Duang! Duang! Duang!'
It felt like being wrapped in a warm haven—a refuge for a wandering soul.
Akashi couldn't help but think, 'Maybe this system isn't so bad after all.'
Sure, becoming a "succubus shota" had drastically reduced his physical strength.
But... it wasn't completely unacceptable!
For the first time, Akashi began to reassess his opinion of the system.
In this cold, unforgiving world, this newfound warmth was something he could actually cherish.
---
Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted.
"No! Absolutely not!" Akashi exclaimed, pulling the quilt tighter around himself.
"Aunt Eri, do you have... strange ideas? Whatever it is, I'm saying no!"
Eri, now wearing her gold-rimmed glasses, stood in front of him holding a small set of children's clothes.
Her phoenix-like eyes gleamed with amusement, as if she were trying to coax him into something mischievous.
"Akashi," she began, her tone light and convincing, "it's not that Auntie doesn't want to give you proper clothes. It's just that there are no boys in the house, so all I have are my daughter's dresses."
With that, she pulled out a frilly pink dress and smiled warmly.
"You can wear this for now to avoid catching a cold. Just for a little while!"
Her suggestion was clear: she intended to coax Akashi into crossdressing.
But her plan was doomed to fail.
After all, Akashi wasn't just any child—inside this small, fragile body resided the soul of an adult.
Stepping back cautiously, Akashi tightened the quilt around him like a protective shield.
"Aunt Eri, I'm a boy," he declared with conviction. "Even if I were to jump out of this building, I wouldn't wear girls' clothes!"
His voice was firm, his expression resolute.
"Give up on that idea! No matter what, I'll never dress as a girl. Not now, not ever!"
Eri blinked in surprise. A flicker of disappointment crossed her face, but she quickly masked it with a gentle laugh.
'Such a pity,' she thought. 'He'd look absolutely adorable in this dress.'
But she didn't push further. Smiling softly, she set the dress aside and waved her hand dismissively.
"Alright, alright, no need to be so dramatic! If you don't want to wear it, you don't have to."
"I'll have someone buy proper boys' clothes for you."
Her tone shifted back to one of warmth and reassurance.
"Akashi, just rest here at home for now. Auntie will go make you some breakfast~"
As Eri spoke, she casually picked up her mobile phone and made a call, instructing someone to purchase a set of boys' clothes.
Once the call ended, she strolled toward the kitchen, her mood evidently soaring. Humming a cheerful tune, Eri radiated an almost carefree demeanor.
However, Akashi's expression quickly changed the moment he heard she was planning to cook.
His face paled as memories of her infamous culinary attempts in the anime surfaced in his mind. 'Dark cuisine,' he thought grimly.
'This is a death sentence. I'm going to be poisoned for sure!'
An overwhelming sense of self-preservation kicked in, and he rose to his tiptoes, intent on sneaking out of the apartment.
At the very least, he needed to escape before being subjected to whatever abomination might emerge from her kitchen.
---
The problem, however, was that Eri's home was enormous—a sprawling 280 square meters with five bedrooms and a spacious living room.
In Tokyo, where space is at an astronomical premium, her luxurious apartment was nothing short of a palace.
'The invincible queen of the legal world truly lives up to her reputation,' Akashi mused. 'She's not just powerful; she's filthy rich.'
To own such a high-end residence in the heart of the city was proof of her incredible success.
'It's really not bad at all,' he thought slyly, 'to cling to her soft, white thighs and enjoy the perks of living here.'
It took him a long time to navigate the labyrinthine apartment, but eventually, he reached the front door.
As he stood before the door, ready to make his escape, hesitation set in.
A vivid memory flashed in his mind—the suffocating experience from earlier.
The feeling of that impossibly soft, yet overwhelming touch... 'I couldn't push her away. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't.'
He shuddered, both from the memory of helplessness and from the strange allure of that encounter.
But then another thought hit him like a brick: 'What if I leave and end up meeting some fat, sweaty woman who weighs several hundred pounds?'
Akashi glanced at his scrawny arms and legs. He checked his system interface, which plainly displayed his dismal stats: Strength: 5. Speed: 6.
And then there was his unique trait as a succubus:
Charm: 'As a succubus, you possess an extraordinary ability to attract the opposite s'x.'
In other words, he was essentially walking bait—irresistible to women.
'I'm like blessed flesh,' he thought bitterly. 'Every girl would want a bite.'
A shiver ran down his spine as worst-case scenarios flooded his mind.
'If I run into a low-quality woman out there and she catches me...'
The thought of being trapped by an unattractive, overly aggressive woman was unbearable.
And to make matters worse, his system had already explained that not all women carried Yin energy.
Only high-quality women produced absorbable Yin energy.
In other words, if he fell into the hands of someone undesirable, not only would he face untold suffering, but he also wouldn't gain any strength from it.
The idea of being locked away in a tiny, dark room with no escape sent chills down his spine.
'No,' Akashi decided firmly. 'It's too dangerous out there.'
Realizing the risks far outweighed the rewards, he gave up on his escape plan. Wrapping the thin quilt more tightly around himself, he turned and walked back toward the living room.
---
Unbeknownst to him, Eri had been quietly observing from the shadows.
A knowing smile danced on her lips, and a subtle glimmer of satisfaction flickered in her eyes.
'Akashi doesn't seem to resist staying with me,' she thought with relief.
If Akashi had insisted on leaving, it would have disappointed her deeply.
But his decision to stay filled her with quiet joy.
For some inexplicable reason, despite having only just met, Eri felt an unusually strong connection to the boy.
It was as though they had known each other for a long time, as if an invisible thread tied their fates together.
'Why does he feel so familiar to me?' she wondered.
Eri didn't understand it, but one thing was clear—she was happy to have him here, and she intended to cherish the time they spent together.