Chapter 2: Ruin / The Longed-for Beginning

Japan Youma Countermeasures Agency — Tokyo Branch.

"An... 'uchideshi'—a live-in disciple?"

"Yes. If you would be so kind as to consider it..."

Seated gracefully on a cushion atop a tatami mat woven from high-quality igusa reed, Charlotte Lilywhite spoke in a clear, beautiful voice, her posture the very image of perfect seiza. Facing her in the same formal manner sat a kind-looking, middle-aged Japanese man in a suit — Tanaka.

"Raising one or two live-in disciples is what truly makes one a full-fledged Exorcist. That’s the custom here in Japan, correct? Hehe. To be honest, I’d been wondering when this topic would come up."

"Haha. Oh my, not at all. That’s an old-fashioned notion. There isn’t a single person in Japan who would say something so outdated to you, Ms. Charlotte. You’re perfectly free to decline this offer — it would be no trouble at all."

"No. I believe it’s a rational custom, designed to properly cultivate personnel capable of combating youma. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I have no intention of shirking my duties as an Exorcist in Japan. I gratefully accept this proposal."

Youma are born from the negative will of humanity. As such, the battle against them is eternal. Yet the lifespan of an Exorcist — even one who may live for over a thousand years — is not. Thus, it is essential that techniques and knowledge be passed down to future generations. It is, in every sense, a logical necessity.

"This may have been presumptuous of me, but I believed you would say that, Ms. Charlotte. In fact, I’ve already pre-selected a few candidates."

As he spoke, Tanaka produced a stack of papers. He had likely anticipated that Charlotte — a woman of peerless skill, yet humble, gentle, and compassionate — would accept without hesitation.

"May I see them?"

"Of course."

Her pristine white fingers, so immaculate it was hard to imagine they had endured countless battles, flipped through the thick stack of papers. The glance lasted only a moment, but with Charlotte’s extraordinary dynamic visual acuity, it was enough for her to imprint every detail in her mind.

"...Hmm."

"Is there something unsatisfactory? We have authorization from higher-ups to accommodate your requests as much as possible, so please don’t hesitate to say anything."

The tone that escaped Charlotte’s lips carried not dissatisfaction, but hesitation. Tanaka assumed she was displeased with the selection, but he was mistaken.

"No, quite the opposite."

"How so?"

"I’ve heard that live-in disciples are usually chosen based on spiritual power affinity. However, these candidates seem to have been selected using different criteria. I presume this was done out of consideration for me, was it not?"

"Well..."

To understand Charlotte’s observation, one must first understand the ‘live-in disciple’ system among Japanese Exorcists. An ‘uchideshi,’ as the name suggests, is a disciple taken into one’s inner circle — living under the same roof, sharing meals and daily life, teaching and learning together. As Charlotte stated, selection is typically based on spiritual power affinity.

Affinity — that is, compatibility. Spiritual energy possesses its own form of resonance. When individuals with high compatibility work together, their combined power can far exceed expectations — 1 + 1 can become 100 or even 1000. This is particularly effective for training. When two people with strong affinity but differing power levels live in close proximity, the weaker one is naturally elevated by the stronger, resulting in remarkably rapid growth. The improvement can be so dramatic that it’s often said a mediocre teacher with high affinity teaching for a month is more effective than a master of unmatched skill with low affinity teaching for a year.

However, there is a problem. A disciple chosen solely for their spiritual compatibility may not necessarily align with the master’s personal preferences. Differences in age and personality are common — and in the worst cases, it might even mean a man and woman living in uncomfortably close quarters. That is precisely why raising a live-in disciple is considered the mark of a true master.

And for that very reason, the list of candidates given to Charlotte was peculiar. Every one of the more than one hundred candidates was female. Moreover, all were described as exceptionally talented — the manipulation was so blatant it was almost comical. Of course, it wasn’t impossible that these women truly had high spiritual affinity with Charlotte, but the most critical data — the affinity metrics themselves — were conspicuously absent from the materials. Tanaka’s silence only confirmed what she had already deduced.

"The reason I have been able to live happily in Japan until now is precisely because of the kindness of everyone, starting with you, Mr. Tanaka. However—no, because of that, I wish to proceed from now on in a manner that aligns as much as possible with Japanese customs. My words, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do,' were not empty."

"Ms. Charlotte..."

Charlotte had come to Japan alone from the United States. Her stated reason was that it felt like her true hometown, a place where she could feel at ease. Her underlying reason, however, was that by discarding her backing and going to a foreign country, she would become more susceptible to sexual encounters.

Yet this hidden desire was once again thwarted by her own overwhelming success. Simply put, the Japanese authorities would be in trouble if Charlotte became displeased and decided to return to the USA. As a result, she received an extreme amount of consideration—frankly, preferential treatment.

The proposal for a live-in disciple was a perfect example. Any troublesome customs or traditions that might have led to erotic events were completely bypassed. One could almost see the rubbing hands and hear the gleeful thought, "Heheh, Ms. Charlotte! This way you'll stay in Japan forever, right!?"

If this were the Charlotte from before her transmigration, she would have gladly accepted this preferential treatment with a "Heheh, thank you very much!!" But now, it was different.

No matter how much her actions were driven by the perverted desires in the depths of her heart, the years she had lived, the effort she had accumulated, and the actions she had taken were not lies. The current Charlotte was no longer the ordinary person she once was.

(Except for the incorrigibly perverted desires in the depths of her heart that even she herself hadn't noticed.) She was a flawless hyper-heroine: a beautiful girl who was kind to others, strict with herself, full of compassion, responsibility, cooperativeness, and decisiveness, yet humble, never neglecting her daily self-improvement.

Such a Charlotte could not possibly continue to accept preferential treatment aimed solely at herself forever.

"Therefore, if you would, please provide me with the candidates who have high spiritual power affinity. I wish to choose from among them, just like everyone else does."

"...Understood. If you insist that much."

Perhaps Tanaka had anticipated this. He produced a stack of about ten papers—the profiles of those with truly high spiritual affinity with Charlotte.

"—Oh. This is..."
"…………"

The real candidates.
Whether it was related to the male soul Charlotte once had or her hidden desires was unclear, but this time, in contrast to before, men were the majority: twelve men to one woman.

"I understand. Then I shall choose this person. He is one of the 'Docchaku' I met the other day, correct?"

"That boy is..."

The one Charlotte chose was arguably the worst possible candidate among an already unfavorable bunch.

Ota Futoda Taro.
A high school student who had only recently awakened his spiritual power.
He had an undisciplined, corpulent body, sloppy personal hygiene, and a timid, gloomy personality that made people uncomfortable. In short, nearly every aspect of him seemed utterly mismatched for Charlotte.

Even for Charlotte, who—despite having lived as a woman for nearly twenty years—still firmly maintained the pretense of having absolutely no intention of developing romantic feelings for a man (friendship was one thing), he was someone she would preferably avoid.

However...

"His affinity with me is exceptionally high. Under normal circumstances, he would undoubtedly be the sole candidate. If that is the case, then I must follow that principle."

"Understood... I will make the arrangements accordingly."

"Thank you for your assistance."

Since she had no intention of going back on her word, there was effectively no other choice.

And so, the strongest, loveliest, TS, blonde, busty, beautiful girl transmigrator, Charlotte Lilywhite, ended up taking a gross, fat, introverted loser—whose only redeeming features were his libido and presumably large penis—as her live-in disciple, destined to live under the same roof.

(Well, I'm a little apprehensive, but it's not like I'm fighting an enemy. If I'm just a little careful, it should be fine. It's not specifically because of this person; it's just that there's no way anything could happen between me and a man, hehe.)

At this moment, for the first time since being born as Charlotte Lilywhite, she let her guard down. She thought that with all the experience she had built up, there was no way anything could happen just by spending time with one younger boy who was practically an amateur.

That was, in essence, a completely correct prediction—one that couldn't even really be called complacency. Given Charlotte's abilities, under normal circumstances, there was absolutely no way anything could happen to her.

But Charlotte did not know.
She had no idea that when faced with anything erotic, her body and soul would become incredibly weak, turning her into a waiting-to-be-defeated, total-masochist, slutty, worthless, weakling, slug-like creature—!!