These Dangerous Girls Placed Me Into Jeopardy

So it’s really true—my past life actually achieved the grand feat of building a full-blown harem and sleeping with all of them!?

“So... I’ve been losing control of myself lately because I’ve been influenced by my past life?”

“Yes. That past life was completely opposite of the current Lord Ethan. He was a frivolous man—not only a pure hedonist, but also someone who dedicated himself to... giving pleasure to the women he loved...”

“...The kind of pleasure you’re talking about can’t possibly mean...”

Rainie had already put it very tactfully, but I understood clearly what kind of “pleasure” she meant... the pleasure of union between man and woman.

Rainie nodded, her expression darkening.

“He was the kind of flower thief who’d flaunt every little shred of talent he had, attracting bees and butterflies wherever he went—a stallion who left his seed wherever he roamed.”

“...To be judged like that by you... just what kind of piece of shit was this guy!?”

She clearly had very strong opinions about my past life—enough that even Rainie couldn’t help blurting out such scathing words. Just how much of a scumbag do you have to be to make her say stuff like that!?

“Putting it nicely, he was... open-hearted. More realistically, he was emotionally promiscuous. And his popularity with women was unnaturally good. He always somehow ended up bringing strange women home with him... They weren’t stray cats or puppies or anything, but somehow every time he went for a walk, he’d come back with a girl. It gave me so many headaches...”

You’re telling me this guy could pick up girls just from taking a walk outside!?

That’s basically divine-level nonsense, isn’t it!?

I’m so jealous I could scream! What a lucky bastard—damn him!

Wait—then what was Rainie to me in that past life? It seems like we were family... So that means—my wife? Which means I had a legal wife and still went around chasing other women!?

...Nope. Nope nope nope. There’s no way I can see that kind of guy as me. That’s not a person—that’s just trash.

Was my past life’s last name Itou or something...?

I was suddenly very curious how I died in my past life.

“Hey, Rainie... don’t tell me I died under a machete, right? I mean—you might not get the reference, but what I mean is... did I get killed by a woman in the end?”

If I was really some womanizing piece of garbage, odds are I either got decapitated or chopped into pieces...

“Well... it was a little different. Your past self actually—”

“Okay! That’s enough! Don’t say it!!”

Just as Rainie was about to say how I died in my past life, I suddenly waved my hand in front of my face like a lunatic to stop her from continuing.

“...Do you have some concerns?”

“...I just—I suddenly feel like it’s better if I don’t dwell on the past. I’m scared that if I hear too much, it might stir up memories from back then... And if that happens, I might stop being who I am now.”

Besides, the past is already the past. Knowing it now doesn’t help anything at all.

Rainie’s face went pale. She pressed her lips together and lowered her head.

And in that moment, I realized: the words I just said had accidentally included Rainie herself in their denial.

I quickly waved my hands to apologize.

“Ah—sorry, I didn’t mean to negate you, or anything—”

What an idiot I am. How could I say something like that right in front of Rainie!?

She’s been obsessed with me ever since awakening her memories from our past lives. And here I go, telling her I want to cut ties with the past—basically denying her entire existence...

“I’m sorry! Damn it, this stupid mouth of mine! Why did I say that!?”

I was filled with regret. I seriously wanted to slap myself—and my hand really did go flying toward my face.

But she stopped me.

Rainie grabbed my wrist, then gently wrapped it in both hands. She looked up and smiled.

“Rainie already said before—Lord Ethan doesn’t need to apologize. And you weren’t wrong. Past-life entanglements shouldn’t carry into this life. Whatever your past self did has nothing to do with who you are now.”

It was a forced smile.

Even her name title was tinged with gray. That must be sorrow...

She’s always been looking out for me, and yet I hurt her with my words. That’s just too awful.

There’s no taking it back now, and I couldn’t think of anything to comfort her with. It’s better to just drop the topic for now.

So I forced myself to change the subject and asked:

“Then... why would my past-life memories suddenly affect me like this?”

“That might be... my fault. I don’t think you ‘recalled’ your past memories on your own. I think you were affected by the ones I carried...”

“Uh? You mean—I didn’t awaken my own memories, but got infected by yours instead?”

This was getting confusing...

But I think I got the gist of it.

It’s probably like what happened with Kan Tsukiyo showing me her memories. Because Rainie’s always been by my side, I unconsciously picked up her memories. And those memories included my past self, which is what made me start acting weird.

“Yes. Because your spiritual power has gotten stronger, but you still can’t properly control its release or suppression, your leaking spirit energy picked up my memory fragments... Ultimately, this is my fault. It was because I hoped too strongly that Lord Ethan would also remember the past. That hope is what made you passively absorb them...”

“This isn’t your fault.”

If anything, I bear some responsibility too. I was the one who failed to keep my spiritual power in check. This is basically self-inflicted.

“You don’t need to comfort me. This is my fault. My foolishness caused your mind to become chaotic. Rainie is willing to accept punishment!”

She bowed deeply toward me again, looking up with those watery eyes.

Why does everyone kneel and apologize like this these days? I think Lan Hua did the same thing before...

...This kind of apology just makes it impossible for me to deal with! Like—come on! You’re a beautiful girl, stop kneeling to people! What’s next, showing me your chest or your belly!?

“Wait—don’t just drop to your knees like that! And even if you say you want punishment, I don’t even know how to...”

“You may insult me however you wish. Beat me, violate me, use me as your punching bag or your toy. Rainie belongs to you, Lord Ethan. I offer myself willingly.”

Those words, coming out of a beautiful girl’s mouth, hit me like a nuclear bomb straight to the brain.

She was kneeling in prostration, the lowest possible posture, while saying such things—what did that mean?

It meant she’d already given her body to me.

No matter what I did to her, she wouldn’t resist. Because she had already handed over ownership of herself to me.

In other words—I could do anything to her I wanted.

Images flooded my brain—me stripping Rainie naked, putting a collar and blindfold on her, binding her arms and legs, and then...

“STOP!”

Stop, stop, stop! Headbutt now!!

I grabbed her shoulders and forced her to stand up—then smashed my forehead right into hers.

Thunk.

My vision flashed with stars, my head spinning. But at least those filthy thoughts were gone.

Rainie clutched her forehead too, eyes brimming with tears.

“...Wh-Why did you do that...?”

“What kind of insane crap were you spouting!? You think I’d ever actually do something like that to you!? And since you already know my mental state is unstable, could you not say things that mess with me even more!? What if I really did lose control!?”

“That would be even better...”

“What!?”

“N-no, I mean, Rainie really... really wants to be pushed down by you...”

“Wait—that’s not what I meant—I didn’t—I-I never...”

Looks like that headbutt scrambled her thoughts too.

With a grimace, I reached out and roughly rubbed her head a few times, then said:

“Alright, fine. That headbutt counts as your punishment! Now keep going—besides the influence from my past life, what else is there?”

“Yes. If it were just that, then it would be enough for me to keep my distance from you. But there are other factors.”

Just one past-life memory is already more than enough to ruin me, and now there are more reasons? I must be way past saving at this point.

If it turns out I really can’t be cured, I’ll write a will now, leave my corpse to Miss Lillian Ji, and chop off my hands to mail to Snowy...

“What I chanted in your ear earlier was a ‘Clear Mind Incantation.’ For ordinary people, it only calms the mind and eliminates stray thoughts. But for you, it triggered a much stronger... reaction. That’s because you’ve already become entangled with a Heart Demon.”

Heart demon?

Like the kind that shows up in cultivation novels?

“Lord Ethan, forgive me if I offend, but how exactly did your spiritual power become so extraordinary?”

......

What do I do... should I tell her?

...Yeah, I should. Otherwise, nothing can be resolved. Besides, Rainie’s not the kind of person who would go around telling others—

Ah, right.

I turned toward a random direction and shouted loudly:

“Hey, Lan Hua, wherever you’re hiding and watching us from—don’t you dare go blabbing about this to anyone else!”

bzz-bzz

Instant reply.

2017-5-6 09:10

[Aww, but my lips are so loose~ Unless you seal them with a kiss, I don’t think they’ll stay shut~ ( ~°)r ]

“Yep. Definitely blocking her.”

I hit the back button, returned to the home screen, opened my contact list, scrolled down to the number saved under the title [Stalker (Advanced)], and just as I was about to add her to the block list—my phone buzzed several more times.

[Phone numbers are all real-name registered now, you know. Getting new ones is so hard! And you’ve already blocked twelve of mine! Didn’t we agree last time that you wouldn’t block me anymore? Ethan, aren’t you a man of your word?]

That was during the hospital stay—the drawn-out negotiation battle between me and Lan Hua. It was a nightmare. I almost threw my phone out the window. If it were the old me, I probably would’ve. But now I actually have friends. My phone finally serves a real purpose—Snowy recently learned how to text, Lillian calls me a lot, and I chat with Leon about anime and stuff. It’d be a real pain to give that up.

Eventually, I made a compromise with Lan Hua.

“I said we’d both compromise, right? As long as you don’t send more than three messages per day, keep calls under three minutes, and don’t leak my personal info, I won’t block you. What I’m about to say is extremely private. You decide what to do with it.”

2017-5-6 09:13

[Geez, Ethan, you really can’t take a joke (˃̵ᴗ˂̵)]

[Fine, fine~ I won’t tell anyone~ And getting another one of your secrets is an absolute treasure for me ♥]

...That should do it.

Once Lan Hua was dealt with, I turned to Rainie and said seriously:

“The reason my spiritual power got so strong... is because I formed a master-servant contract with a succubus.”

“What vile demon would dare try to take Lord Ethan as a servant? I’ll exterminate her immediately!”

I didn’t even finish before Rainie leapt to her feet ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) in a fury and turned toward the window, clearly ready to jump out and go to war.

I grabbed her by the waist, trying to hold her back, but she was already at the windowsill—so I quickly explained in a single breath:

“No no no—you’ve got it wrong! I’m the master in the contract!”

“Eh?”

Her hand was on the window frame. She turned around with a stunned expression.

“Lord Ethan is the master? Why would something like that happen—?”

“Well... it’s kinda complicated. Let me explain.”

So I told her the bizarre story about how I ended up forming a contract with Teacher Lily. I also explained my resulting ability—but I made sure not to mention that the succubus I made the contract with was Lily-sensei herself.

“I see. No wonder you called out my name back then.”

Rainie nodded over and over, as though a light had finally gone on in her head.

“So that means... you’re sharing a succubus’s spiritual power... And that succubus is the school librarian, Ms. Yang.”

“Eh!? How do you know that!?”

I specifically avoided mentioning Lily-sensei’s name, but Rainie still figured it out!?

“Isn’t it obvious? The only succubus in the school besides the principal is Ms. Yang. And there’s no way it’s the principal, so by process of elimination, it has to be Ms. Yang.”

...This whole thing was just an accident. Anyway, the bottom line is: I’m sharing Lily’s spiritual power.

“I see. Then that explains it.”

“You know the cause?”

“Yes. Your spiritual power comes from a succubus—and succubus energy is inherently tied to lust. That’s why you’ve been overwhelmed by sexual urges.”

“So it really is a side effect of the spiritual power...”

I thought having stronger spiritual power would be a good thing. But now it seems like that was naive. And this side effect is way too absurd.

Making someone become a pervert just by sharing energy... Succubus spiritual power, huh...

There’s also one more thing I haven’t told her—the seduction magic circle that’s embedded inside my head.

I’m almost certain that’s contributing to my mental instability too.

So that’s three major factors causing my current condition. It’s no wonder my mind is such a mess—I can’t even blink without a wicked thought creeping in. I can’t even trust myself anymore...

“...Heh. I’m done for, huh...”

I slumped back onto my bed, hunched over with my elbows on my knees, hands holding my forehead.

At this rate, I’ll turn into some walking hormone-driven monster who thinks with nothing but his crotch... I have to fix this before I do something horrible to some innocent girl—

“...There’s still hope,” Rainie said.

I perked up instantly. My eyes lit with a glimmer of salvation as I stared at her.

Rainie’s face was completely serious as she told me the cure.

“If you practice Buddhist teachings, it will help.”

You mean... I have to shave my head and become a monk!?

What kind of nightmare joke is that!?

I screamed and clutched my head in horror.

“There’s no way I’m becoming a monk!!”

Even if I go bald—I’m not getting any stronger!!