Vol. 2 Chapter 5 – Trick of Burst

The summer sunlight was pouring down as if trying to melt everything in sight. The temperature kept climbing, probably already over thirty degrees. It was the perfect weather for a day at the pool.

Yes, today was Saturday. The long-awaited pool opening day for the students had finally arrived. Normally, Saturday classes only ran in the morning but today was an exception — there were classes in the afternoon too. Everyone had been restless since the morning. Even more so were Lisara and Mina, who were participating in the swimsuit contest. They couldn’t stay calm at all. The two of them had gone to the bathroom more times than anyone could count.

Then came lunchtime in the blink of an eye. Right after that—

“Heyyy, Ryou-suke-kun♡”

Iria called out to Ryousuke right away.

“Wh-What is it?”

Ryousuke instinctively tensed up. Iria laughed as she flashed an A4 sheet. The school map hand-drawn by Ranbashi-sensei with the designated guide duties.

“Would you mind showing me where the changing rooms and the pool are?”

“Again with this…?”

“Come on, I can’t help it. It’s the pool opening today and I don’t know where either of them are~ I just wanna check them out before it gets crowded.”

“…Alright, fine.”

Resigned, Ryousuke stood up.

“You don’t have to go with her, you know?” 

Lisara said bluntly, looking displeased.

“Well, what she’s saying makes sense. And I’d rather not deal with her whining later on.”

“…I guess that’s true.” 

Lisara still couldn’t quite accept it, her tone reluctant. Ryousuke gave her a wry smile.

“Well, I’ll just show her around real quick and come right back.” 

At his words, Lisara nodded reluctantly.

“Alright then, let’s go already.”

“Yep! Ryousuke-kun!”

As Ryousuke started walking, Iria followed closely behind. But unlike before, she didn’t cling to his arm. She just followed him quietly, a short distance behind.

‘What’s she thinking… really?’

He couldn’t get a read on her at all. Maybe she genuinely just wanted to check things out.

‘I mean, at this point she couldn’t really pull off any tricks… maybe that’s all it is.’

While thinking that, they reached the changing room without much conversation.

“This is the changing room.” 

Ryousuke stepped aside and gestured to Iria.

“Ryousuke-kun?”

“Well, I mean, I can’t exactly go into the girls’ changing room.”

Of course, he’d like to go in at least once. Even if there weren’t any girls inside, he wanted to breathe the air where girls had changed clothes — he wanted to be in that space.

‘And maybe, someday, a girl would change clothes in a room where I had been, where I had breathed. Even if peeking is wrong, wouldn’t that make the fantasy more real?!’

That was Ryousuke’s inner adolescent monologue but in reality, he didn’t have the guts to actually step inside.

“Hmm… but Iria’s going in with you, so I don’t think it’s a problem~”

Iria opened the girls’ changing room door and took Ryousuke’s hand.

“Is… is this really okay? I mean, is this kind of thing allowed?”

A faint trace of hesitation. No, he was just pretending to hesitate. His body offered no resistance to Iria’s invitation as he allowed himself to be pulled straight into the girls’ changing room.

“Suuu… haaah… this… this is the oxygen of the girls’ changing room!”

He took a deep breath. In an instant, his lungs were filled with the scent of girls.

“This is where they take off their uniforms, take off their underwear, get naked, and put on their swimsuits! And then, when they’re done, they dry off their wet bodies—thoroughly dry them—then put their underwear back on, and their uniforms too! While chatting about whose chest got bigger or who’s growing up!”

The dream expanded. Just closing his eyes, he could clearly see the entire scene.

“Aaaahh, girls’ changing room… right now I’m stepping into a forbidden holy land. This one small step for a girl is one giant leap for a guy!”

He clenched both fists so tightly they trembled. From his shut eyes, hot, burning tears began to stream down. His breathing slowed, deep and heavy, as if trying to soak in the sacred air of this place into every cell of his body.

“Ryo… Ryousuke-kun…?”

Even Iria took a step back. She looked at him like he was something beyond comprehension.

“Suuuuuuu, haaaaaaaaaah… suuuuuuuu, haaaaaaaaaah…”

Ryousuke didn’t even notice Iria’s reaction. He was too deep in his breathing ritual. Iria gave a strained smile at the sight, then slumped her shoulders and for some reason, quietly shut the door to the girls’ changing room.

She massaged her stiffened cheeks and brought back a cheerful smile. Then she gave Ryousuke a light poke on the body.

“………………”

That jab triggered a reflex and Ryousuke opened his eyes. He couldn’t make sense of the situation. That vivid scene of the girls changing—the one that had filled his mind just moments ago—was nowhere to be found. All that surrounded him was the empty, desolate girls’ changing room.

“Huh?”

He looked around in confusion, but all he saw was the plain old changing room. The dream…was already over.

“Fufu, Ryousuke-kun, you’re really funny”

“Funny…?”

No one had ever said that before, in response to one of Ryousuke’s wild delusional outbursts.

“Uh, wait, did I… did I actually say any of that out loud?”

“Ahaha, you said all kinds of stuff.”

So he did. And yet, somehow, Iria was still smiling like that. Why?

“Hey, Ryousuke-kun.”

While Ryousuke was caught in the middle of total confusion, Iria leaned in and whispered softly.

“Do you really want to see girls changing that badly?”

“Yes, I do… I mean, no, I mean—look, it’s just a guy thing, okay?!”

He blurted out the truth before frantically trying to take it back.

“Fufu, Ryousuke-kun, you’re so honest.”

She smiled, and then, for some reason, reached toward the front of her uniform.

“You know, Iria’s really interested in a guy like you.”

With a swish, she undid her ribbon.

“H-Hey, what are you doing?!”

Ryousuke fell back on his butt in a panic. But Iria immediately closed the distance. And—she was unbuttoning the front of her shirt as she moved in.

“Hey, Ryousuke-kun…I heard you’re super pervy, aren’t you?”

“Uh, no, I mean… not that much.”

“Fufu, you don’t have to hold back, you know? If you promise to vote for Iria in the contest, I’ll give you a little reward♡”

Iria slipped both hands under the hem of her top. Then, around her chest area, she began fidgeting.

“W-What are you doing?”

“Today’s bra, you know, has a front clasp♡”

A single drop of blood trickled from Ryousuke’s nose…

“Ryousuke-kun, you like big boobs, right?”

She pulled her hands back and got down on all fours, crawling closer with her chest fully exposed. Right in Ryousuke’s line of sight was a deep, well-developed cleavage. And it was swaying—ta-yun ta-yun—from side to side.

“F-Fuaaaaaahhh…”

He couldn’t look away. Every bit of his consciousness was being sucked into that bewitching space. Because this was real. Unlike the cleavage seen in magazines or on TV, this was raw, living reality.

His body wouldn’t move, like he’d been bound by invisible chains. He just kept staring.

“Ryousuke-kun, do you want to touch them?”

Iria gently took Ryousuke’s left hand and lifted it.

“Eh, uh, n-no, I… hi-hiyaaaah…”

He didn’t even know what he was saying anymore. But he didn’t pull his hand away from Iria’s grasp either. Iria seemed to take that as agreement.

“This is a special service, just for you, Ryousuke-kun♡”

Blushing slightly, she gave him a wink, then slowly guided his hand toward her open chest.

His fingertips slipped just inside her sailor uniform—

“Mopyaah!?”

Ryousuke’s whole body jolted. The sensation in the air was different. His fingertips alone were in heaven. A little warm—definitely Iria’s body heat.

“Not yet. A little further, right?”

She guided Ryousuke’s stiffened hand with more force. Gradually, more of his hand entered that paradise. By the time his fingers were in past the second knuckle, they were wrapped in warmth as if touching bare skin.

“Haaah… haaah… haaah…”

His eyes were bloodshot, his soul aching. The life energy that should’ve been depleted was bubbling up from within. He wanted to push his hand in and give them a good squeeze. That was his honest thought.

From the moment Iria had pressed her chest against him in the hallway, Ryousuke’s will to live had already made a comeback.

But what he was feeling now went far beyond mere recovery.

He could feel the gauge overflowing with lewd energy.

Yes, it was the same sensation as when he awakened the  《Broken Sword Gram》during his battle with Kyuru.

His soul throbbed violently, his life force surged forth and he rose once again. After all, a huge pair of breasts was about to sandwich his hand. While still in uniform. And practically braless!

“Kuh… kuuuuuuuuh!”

Ryousuke’s body trembled. But it wasn’t fear—it was a warrior’s tremble.

“Hey, Ryousuke-kun. You’ll give your vote to Iria at the swimsuit contest, won’t you♡”

Zubo! Iria shoved Ryousuke’s hand deep into her chest.

He touched them. No—he was sandwiched between them. From left to right, his left hand was being slapped by her breasts.

“B-Breast slaps?!”

A dream—this was a dream world. Was this heaven, or perhaps a paradise like the fabled Peach Blossom Spring? His left hand, his very own left hand was being slapped by breasts, something every man dreams of at least once in his life!

“Th-That’s not fair, left hand! You bastard, fulfilling your dream all by yourself!!”

Roaring in envy, Ryousuke grabbed his left arm with his right hand, full of bitterness.

“It’s okay, Ryousuke-kun. You can dream even more.”

Iria, wearing a sultry, seductive smile like one you’d see in a gravure shoot, this time grabbed Ryousuke’s right hand and pressed it against her chest over her clothes.

“P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-PPP-PREMIUM BOOBS!”

He could feel something stiff through his palm. If Ryousuke’s limited knowledge of the female body was accurate, that was without a doubt the nipple at the tip of her chest.

“Come on now, Iria wants Ryousuke-kun to grope her boobs even more, you know?”

Unbelievable words reached his ears. It had to be a hallucination.

But even if it was, no man could come this far and not grope them. His soul screamed the truth.

“G-Gropey-grope… Here I goooo!”

“Yep♡”

So it wasn’t a hallucination.

His self-control was at its limit. Strength filled his fingers. His right hand lifted from below and his left squeezed from the side.

“Ahhn, be a little gentler, okay?”

“O-Oh yes!”

He had no idea what he was saying anymore. Ryousuke had become an existence solely for the purpose of groping breasts. He didn’t grope to live; he lived to grope. He groped away fatigue, and today he groped for the sake of tomorrow’s groping.

Lewd energy pulsed wildly, overflowing. He rose.

“Mm… nnah… fufu, Ryousuke-kun… ahn… you’re really good at this…”

Iria’s moaning voice echoed.

‘Hmm…?’

Something felt off. In the heat of his burning soul, a cold wind of emptiness blew through.

Yes—this was hollow! His soul, from its deepest core, cried out.

“Ryousuke-kun… more… okay?”

Her breast rippled under his right hand. Her chest jiggled inside his left. That sensation drowned out the voice of his soul. The carrot dangling before his eyes made his teenage brain respond in the only way it could.

As if to finish him off, Iria pressed her body even closer.

“Since I’ve let you go this far… ahn… the swimsuit contest, it’s already—decided, right♡”

Iria grinned playfully. But that smile no longer reached Ryousuke.

“K-Kuaaaaaaah! My—my self-control has reached its limit!!”

He had hit his limit. From the depths of his soul, it rose. The《Broken Sword Gram》began to awaken, slowly rising from Ryousuke’s chest.

“W-What!?”

Startled, Iria quickly pulled away.

But The《Broken Sword Gram》didn’t care. It continued rising with steady force from Ryousuke’s chest—

“…Huh?”

And then, it suddenly stopped. From deep within his soul, Ryousuke’s will to live hit the brakes. Something screamed at him—not to be fooled this far, not at the cost of his pride!

“S-So that’s it… Ryousuke-kun’s will to live comes from his pervy heart. But still, wow. I can’t believe you awakened Gram this much…”

Iria looked at Ryousuke in surprise.

But Ryousuke himself was feeling a strange sense of disconnect. Gram didn’t feel the same as it had during his previous awakenings. The blade hadn’t shown itself at all. Even the hilt—it looked different somehow. Shorter. Thinner.

‘Half-mast?’

Ryousuke tilted his head slightly.

Of course, Iria had no way of noticing the subtle difference. She simply murmured,

“Wow…now I get why Lisara-san chose Ryousuke-kun.”

Her eyes sparkled but they were clearly different from before. Gone was the seductive, inviting gaze. Now her eyes were calm, analytical, as if searching for something.

Then, with her left hand, she grabbed the Moomoo Rabbit, the symbol of Melrose.

“Fufu…could it be that Ryousuke-kun is a special-type?”

As she said that, Iria smoothly pulled off her skirt.

“Aha, so the hornier you get, the more your spirit power rises, right? Well then, let’s take this even further.”

She got down on all fours and began to crawl closer.

“U-Uwaah!”

“Ahhn, don’t run away now♡”

“Y-You say that, but—!”

Ryousuke backpedaled, the hilt of Gram still poking from his chest. Despite being『awakened』, he was strangely composed.

“You’re so spineless… Fine, then.”

Iria rose to her knees and, with deliberate slowness, started taking off her top for him to see.

“Look, Ryousuke-kun. Your favorite—big boobs. Fufu… you’re about to see them all real soon.”

She took her time, slowly peeling her top off.

Little by little, the underside of her breasts came into view. Then more, creeping up toward the summit. Yes—she had already removed her bra earlier.

In other words, underneath that uniform… she was completely bare.

But that… wasn’t it.

“No… actually, I’d prefer if you left the top on. That moment where you can see the bump through the fabric—that’s the true reward for us!”

Ryousuke declared it with a firm, serious expression.

At those words, Iria stared at him blankly for a moment—then,

“Ugh, seriously! This is why virgins are such a pain!!”

She suddenly yanked off her top! Purun—her breasts bounced with a soft quake. Through Ryousuke’s scope, they measured a solid 88 centimeters.

But—

“…Huh?”

Shurururu…

Gram began to shrink even more—based on the hilt size, it was down to the level of a short sword. At the same time, the searing, boiling lust that had overtaken Ryousuke cooled down completely.

“Wha—why!?”

“I don’t know… Something feels off? It’s like… just kinda fake, y’know?”

It wasn’t just the loss of the amazing visual. No bra, just a uniform top and panties—a legendary combo in its own right.

No, it was something else.

A sense of hollowness, of wrongness, was spreading from deep inside his soul.

No matter what. Something just didn’t feel right!

“Un, so basically, that’s Ryousuke-kun’s limit, huh?”

Iria returned to her usual speech pattern.

“What a shame. With just three million in spiritual energy, you’re far from being a Singular One. But still~, it’s true you managed to awaken《Gram》… Haa, what a pain.”

Shaking her head with an exaggerated『yare yare』, Iria shouted out.

“《Binding Attire Disurard》!”

“Eeeeh?!”

The surrounding dust and debris gathered, wrapping Iria’s voluptuous body in black.

‘Why? Why is she taking on that form for someone like me?’

In a daze, Ryousuke looked up at Iria, now transformed into the form of a shinigami.

“《Flotti》!”

With that voice, a golden sword appeared. Gripping it firmly, she thrust it toward Ryousuke.

“Fufu, I’ll give you a little test, okay? To see if that really was your limit, Ryousuke-kun. Who knows, maybe Lisara-san placed some kind of seal on you~. They say humans can bring out unbelievable power when they’re about to die, you know? ♡”

Saying something terrifying, Iria licked her lips.

“No matter how powerful《Gram》 is~, if you don’t get serious in front of this girl’s attacks, ufufu, I wonder if you’ll be able to stay in one piece.”

“W-Wait a sec!”

“Like I’d wait~.”

Iria swung her sword down. Ryousuke hurriedly jumped to his feet and rolled away in a panic.

With a loud zann!, the bench behind where Ryousuke had been standing split cleanly in two.

“Ahaha, be careful, okay~? This girl’s slashes are preeetty dangerous, you know?”

“More than dangerous—it’ll, it’ll kill me! That’ll seriously kill me!”

“Then I want you to show Iria your true power~.”

She lightly swept the sword sideways.

“──!!”

A thin cut ran across Ryousuke’s cheek and blood dripped down.

“I’ll hit you for real next time, okay?”

Iria grinned.

“D-Dammit, you… you’re more than twice as nasty as Kyuru!”

“Oh my, don’t lump me together with that liiittle girl. Iria here was called a genius ever since the founding of the Restall Shinigami Training School, you know~?”

Puffing her cheeks with a pout, as if displeased, Iria raised 《Flotti》 high into the air.

“Now then, what will you do~? Gonna just stand there and do nothing? O-r—will you try resisting a little?”

“Shit, fine! I’ll do it! Don’t blame me if you regret it later!”

Ryousuke gripped the short hilt of 《Gram》 tightly. Dokun—he felt as if 《Gram》 twitched in his hands. Then, with a zururi, 《Gram》 was pulled out and released from within him.

It was completely different from before.

It wasn’t the long, burly sword he had seen in the battle with Kyuru. It was just a short dagger, with only a single-handed hilt and a broken blade about two hands long.

The chain connecting it to Ryousuke’s soul was thin—like thread. It didn’t pulse strongly and there was no wild sensation from the sword itself.

Most of all, it didn’t have that feeling that once devoured Ryousuke’s heart.

If you had to describe it in one word—

“Uwaa~, what a pathetic sword~.”

—it was exactly as Iria commented.

“Well, whatever. I’ll test you out then♡”

“Eh, you’re still going after seeing this?!”

Ryousuke’s scream was completely ignored as Iria sent a slash flying with《Flotti》.

“Eh, wait, there’s no way, I can’t handle this!”

With tears welling in his eyes, Ryousuke thrust out 《Gram》—Giin!

With a burst of sparks, the slash was deflected… right back toward Iria.

“Ooh, nice~!”

Iria lightly batted away her own flying slash.

“As expected from the Restall family’s ultimate treasure, the 《Broken Sword Gram》.”

“Nope, I’m already at my limit!”

Ryousuke lowered his head deeply, his legs trembling violently.

‘I’m gonna die. I’ll really die if this keeps up!’

That he managed to deflect that slash just now was nothing but sheer coincidence. And with his teary eyes, he couldn’t even see properly…

“Ahaha, of course I’m going to investigate a little more, right?”

Don! She kicked off the floor, instantly closing the distance between them.

“Ngyyaaaaaaaaah!”

Ryousuke screamed and tried to flee. But such desperate movement meant nothing to Iria in her shinigami battle outfit. In the blink of an eye, she was already ahead of him.

“You know, when a shinigami is wearing this outfit, their physical abilities are nothing like a human’s. In other words~ there’s no way you’re escaping, ufufu♡”

Iria gave him a sharp wink. It could only be interpreted as a signal to give up.

“Wh-why the hell is this happening to me?!”

Finally accepting his fate, Ryousuke raised《Gram》. But his posture was pathetic—his waist bent awkwardly, his legs trembling uncontrollably and his teeth chattering nonstop.

“Aaah geez, you’re such a mess. If you’re a boy, you’ve gotta stand up a bit straighter, okay?”

“I can’t, I’m scared! Please spare me!”

He pleaded tearfully.

“Aaah, with this much it’s obvious even without testing—he’s definitely not a Singular One~.”

“Then please just let me go!”

He whined again, on the verge of tears. Iria smiled sweetly at him.

He thought he was saved.

“Iria just loooves tormenting scared little boys♡”

In an instant, all hope vanished.

“You’re a saaadist!!”

“Kukukukuku.”

Giggling happily, Iria raised《Flotti》.

“Seriously, wait! I’ll prostrate! I’ll lick your shoes! I’ll lick your feet! I’ll even lick your armpits, so pleaaaase!”

“Pe・r・vert!”

She cheerfully insulted him as she slashed down.

“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Kiiiiiin! A clear metallic ring echoed. Ryousuke had desperately thrust out 《Gram》 to meet the blow of 《Flotti》.

Of course, he couldn’t withstand the pressure, and both he and《Gram》were blown backward, Gon! smashing back-first into a locker before collapsing to the floor.

“Ow, ow ow ow…”

Dragging his aching body, Ryousuke somehow managed to lift his head. He rested it against the dented locker and checked his own body. His limbs were sprawled out in a star shape, and though he had cuts all over, he didn’t seem to have miraculously suffered any serious injuries.

However, the shockwave from the collision of the two swords had shredded Ryousuke’s clothes to bits. Even his pants had slipped halfway down.

“Hmm~, any more than this and I might end up killing you, so I guess we’ll stop here.”

Resting《Flotti》on her shoulder, Iria walked over to Ryousuke. Then, she stepped on the arm holding《Gram》.

“Gyaaaah!”

“I could just pull《Gram》out right here~. But then Lisara-san wouldn’t get her public humiliation show, now would she?”

Grinding her heel into his arm, Iria looked down at Ryousuke.

Ryousuke looked back up at her with frightened eyes, completely frozen—not from fear, not from pain.

But because he saw it.

From his angle beneath Iria’s shinigami battle outfit, he could see her panties.

“Huh? What’s with that stupid grin?”

Iria tilted her head. In this situation, was it even possible for someone to be grinning? She pondered it seriously.

“Don’t tell me…you’re a hardcore masochist or something?”

That’s not it, he thought. More than anything, the reason Ryousuke was grinning now was something entirely different. Beneath that black shinigami outfit, visible due to Iria’s taste in underwear, was a pair of red lace adult panties.

‘Not just plain underwear, but seeing it under the skirt—that’s where the real charm is. And because she’s lifting one leg, I can just barely see the curves of her butt through the side, too. Yeah, I get it. I totally get it. There are no lies in this sight. This lewd space is overflowing with reality!’

Yes, from deep within his soul, Ryousuke’s will to live let out a shout of joy. A treasure like this—he had never known anything like it. He had never seen it before!

Of course, peeking where one shouldn’t is not something praiseworthy. But considering how she had one-sidedly beaten him down until now—Ryousuke figured this level of payback was justified, as he stared and came up with excuses in his mind.

Iria, completely unable to comprehend any of this, simply looked down at him in suspicion.

Even so, Ryousuke continued to endure, soaking in the view.

The panties weren’t see-through. Still, they were thin, and had an incredibly provocative design. The sides were just strings.

“Mmmmghhh!?”

Ryousuke couldn’t help but let out a strange, loud moan.

“W-What the heck?!”

Iria asked with a disturbed tone.

But Ryousuke didn’t hear her voice anymore. Because—because…

“There’s one gold curly hair… peeking outtttttttt!”

And with that, Ryousuke let out a scream of absolute ecstasy. A moment later—

“What the hell are you looking attttttttt!!”

Iria shrieked as well.

In an instant, she jumped back, pressing her skirt down.

“Amazing… second time in my life. And after red, now it’s gold! Damn, I’m—I’m the happiest man alive!”

Dokun!

At the same time as a thread of drool dribbled from his mouth, he trembled. He began to pulse.

His soul was overjoyed! Overflowing with delight—it was converting into raw life force.

The chain began to throb like an artery pulsing with life.

Even the half-raised《Gram》was now overflowing with ferocious, savage delight.

And Ryousuke himself began to transform—his body responding to a wild, primal urge.

“Eh…?”

Iria’s eyes went wide and blank.

Right in front of her, something was swelling—rising up with masculine vigor.

Brutal and untamed, like a symbol of raw strength, it pushed aside the tatters of his clothes and stood tall.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”

A scream burst out—one like a cute little girl’s. Eyes tearful, face flushed bright red, she clutched it with both hands to hide it.

“Put it awaaaay, I’m beggin’ you! That filthy thing, hurry up and put it awayyy!”

She cried out. And what’s more—her way of speaking had completely changed into a dialect, totally unlike her usual tone.

But that was the problem.

The sudden shift from her usual dominant attitude to this timid, girlish display hit Ryousuke’s fetish center hard.

And that accent on top of it—

“Uoooooooh, the gap is god-tier! That pure, rustic vibe is absolutely irresistible!!”

His excitement burned hotter and hotter.

And yet—he also thought:

‘But still, she’s scared… She looks pitiful too. Yeah, no matter how happy I am, I can’t just make a girl cry…’

That thought crossed his mind for a brief moment.

Dokun! 《Gram》 pulsed again—followed by a beat in Ryousuke’s soul, as if in sync.

It throbbed violently, as though demanding more spiritual energy—more, more, more!

“H-Hey…?”

He was confused. But《Gram》kept pulsing relentlessly, growing longer and thicker. A strange sensation began—like Ryousuke and《Gram》were starting to blend together.

Before he realized it, Ryousuke was already on his feet.

In front of him, Iria had collapsed on her butt, her legs having given out. She hiccupped and sniffled, clearly in a panic as she faced the symbol between Ryousuke’s legs now towering over her.

“S-Stop it… I… I don’t… want to make a girl cry…”

A girl was crying. That truth brought Ryousuke back to his senses again.

He resisted. 《Gram》, not to be outdone, pushed back with equal force.

Two wills inhabiting one body—pulling violently against each other through the chain that bound them.

※ ※ ※

“It’s not because Ryousuke was late… no, I just thought I’d come a bit early and now why in the world is Malbec-sensei here? And even putting up a barrier!”

Lisara shouted, holding a change-of-clothes set in her arms. But Malbec, who stood stationed at the door of the changing room, only offered a troubled smile.

“Malbec-sensei, please step aside. Ryousuke-kun should be inside.”

Mina also pleaded but Malbec didn’t move an inch.

“I’m sorry, you two. But I’ve got orders from above, and I can’t just ignore them, you know? You understand how strict the hierarchy of the Shinigami Organization is, right?”

Malbec shrugged her shoulders helplessly.

“If you’re saying you’ll force your way through, then fine. But do you really think you, a mere lower-ranked shinigami, can take on me—Lisara Restall, a first-class shinigami?”

“Is that so…《Binding Attire Disurard》.”

Clutching her Moomoo Rabbit pendant tightly, Malbec began chanting her spell. Her provocative outfit started absorbing the surrounding dust and debris, transforming.

The appearance was quite different from Lisara’s or Iria’s.

It resembled a high-leg swimsuit, a shinigami battle outfit with an extremely revealing design.

“Hmph, how typical of a lower-ranked shinigami. Can’t even properly cover your body.”

Lisara snorted with a mocking laugh but Malbec remained unfazed.

“You’re exactly right. If it came down to a clash of battle outfits, I wouldn’t stand a chance. But… even knowing that the barrier inside this girls’ changing room is a 《Separation Field of Govlin》—can you still cast 《Binding Attire Disurard》, Lisara-san?”

She spoke with clear triumph in her voice.

“《Separation Field of Govlin》, you say… This has Iria’s fingerprints all over it, that damn girl.”

Lisara struck her left palm with her right fist and looked around the girls’ changing room building, visibly frustrated. On her face, a trace of panic had begun to show.

“Lisara, what is that?”

Mina asked, and Lisara replied in a low voice.

“It’s an advanced barrier technique. It cuts off the area inside the barrier from the rest of this world. Once it’s activated, neither side can go in or out, and no sound passes through either. And to dispel it, you need a huge amount of Spirit Money. In other words, if I use《Binding Attire Disurard》, I won’t have enough Spirit Money left to break the barrier afterward.”

“Exactly. And no matter how much of a first-class shinigami Lisara-san is, she can’t win against a lower-ranked shinigami who’s already in battle attire. Besides, I’m just one step away from being promoted to second-class.”

Malbec laughed smugly, full of confidence.

“So you’re saying we’re stuck?”

“As things stand, yes. Hey, Mina, don’t you think it’s a bit too dangerous for Ryousuke to be trapped in a girls’ changing room?”

“Yes…it’s overflowing with stimuli. For Ryousuke-kun, that’s…”

“And on top of that, there’s that Iria—she’s a seductress who doesn’t care what methods she uses.”

At Lisara’s bitter remark, Malbec also nodded for some reason.

“Exactly. She’ll do anything to get promoted. Flirts with the higher-ups, exploits her subordinates… sigh…”

She let out a deep, deep sigh.

“Ah, so you’ve had a rough time with her too.”

“Oh, very much so. Working under that tyrannical boss… I mean, no—that’s not the point. Anyway, could you just give up already?”

“Give up? I already said there’s nothing we can do!”

Lisara replied in defeat. And then, a voice rang out, oozing with theatrical flair.

“Good grief, I really don’t like seeing you like this, you know. Ah! But if it’s because of me, then by all means, I’ll gladly welcome it.”

Tamano Hikaru walked toward them slowly.

“What are you doing here?”

Lisara glared at him not even trying to hide her displeasure. Tamano, on the other hand, responded with a cheerful smile.

“Mmm, yes—that look. Beautiful women are just irresistible when they’re angry.”

“I said, what are you doing here?!”

“Obviously, as the pool opening event committee chairman, I came to scout the location. Not because I had any pervy thoughts about sneaking into the girls’ changing room before the girls get dressed and leaving behind my breath or anything.”

“Ugh… pervert.”

At Lisara’s impression, Mina and Malbec both nodded in agreement.

“So Iria-kun and Kaga Ryousuke are inside?”

“That’s right! Ryousuke is in there! But Malbec-sensei won’t let us through!”

Lisara shouted in frustration.

“I’m sorry, I have my reasons too.”

“Hmph…so Ero-suke’s locked up in the enchanted wonderland that is the girls’ changing room, huh. That rubs me the wrong way. I mean, come on—it’s the girls’ changing room. The dream of all men, the paradise of men, the El Dorado of men, the Shambhala of men! A place where girls giggle and frolic as they change! Anyone would want to breathe in the air of a space like that, and that damn Ero-suke gets to—”

Muttering bitterly, he suddenly clapped his hands.

“Let me ask you one thing—if Malbec-sensei weren’t here, could we get inside?”

He whispered to Lisara.

“Yes, that’s right. There’s a barrier, but I can dispel it.”

Lisara responded quickly.

“Hmm, I see. Then—would you let me handle Malbec-sensei?”

“Hah? She’s a shinigami in full battle attire, you know? Even if you do boxing, you’re still just a human. There’s no way you can take her on!”

“You’re worried about me? Fufu, that makes me so happy.”

“Hey now…”

“Well, just leave it to me. The most handsome man in the academy—no, in the whole town, is none other than me.”

Running a hand through his hair, Tamano leisurely strutted forward, swaying his hips slightly as he approached Malbec.

“W-What are you trying to do?”

“Oh, it’s nothing serious. But Malbec-sensei, you’re single, right?”

“Y-Yeah, so what?”

Malbec answered with a disgruntled look.

“Well, you know, summer’s just around the corner. How about it? Why don’t we spend a glamorous, relaxing holiday together by the sea… somewhere like Florida? Ah, of course, I’ll cover all the expenses. My Tamano Group owns a hotel there.”

As if to prove his point, Tamano pulled out a photo. Sure enough, it showed him posing with an ocean in the background overseas. When Malbec saw it—

“Overseas… Florida… hotel… glamorous…”

She went slack-jawed, completely blanked out. She didn’t even notice Lisara and the others slipping past her side.

“I also have a 17-year-old bottle of wine I’ve been saving for my birthday. A fine Cabernet. It goes incredibly well with Matsusaka beef. How about it? Watching Florida’s night view together while enjoying top-grade Wagyu?”

“Meat… not pork belly… wine… night views outside the overpass… Japanese food overseas…”

Plop. Malbec collapsed onto her butt. It seemed her brain had short-circuited from trying to process such an overload of luxury.

But Tamano didn’t stop. He leaned closer and whispered words like『marine jet』and『first class』into her ears, one after another…

“Just how impoverished is her daily life…?”

Lisara, now standing at the entrance to the girls’ changing room with both hands extended forward, gave a slightly strained smile.

“Yeah… I do feel a little sorry for her.”

Mina seemed to agree.

“Well, whatever. I’ll break the barrier quickly.”

Lisara focused her attention on the ward.

“Ye who devours all—”

The space Lisara’s hands touched began to glow red. From there, red lines branched outward like spiderwebs.

“Now is the time… to fulfill my grudge!”

Bikibiki! Cracks followed the red lines. Lisara took a deep breath—and then shouted:

“Be freed from all shackles!”

In that instant, the space shattered like a glass window, crumbling down with a loud noise.

“Mina, let’s go in!”

As she spoke, Lisara already had her hand on the changing room door.

“Y-Yes!”

Mina rushed in right behind her only to bump straight into Lisara’s back.

“Ow… L-Lisara?”

Lisara had turned her face to the side. Her tightly clenched fist trembled with rage.

“U-Um… are you perhaps angry?”

In response to Mina’s words, Lisara pointed her chin toward the back.

“Uh…”

Slipping past Lisara, Mina glanced around the girls’ changing room.

“KyAAAAAA!!”

With a scream, she quickly looked down.

“Ryousuke, mind explaining what this is all about?”

Lisara’s voice, low, very low, echoed throughout the girls’ changing room.

That voice was the final blow. Ryousuke was terrified. Truly terrified.

“I’m sorry! It was… irresistible force!”

He frantically apologized, turning to face the wall. Both 《Gram》and that part of him had shriveled up in an instant…

『Pathetic…』

He thought he heard such a voice from deep within his soul but it might’ve been his own self-loathing. Even he thought it was just plain disgraceful.

“Hmph, I see.”

Lisara’s heels clicked as she walked toward him. Then she reached forward, gently touching Ryousuke’s chest.

“R-Lisara?”

“Be quiet.”

Deep within his soul,《Gram》trembled and his spiritual energy was drained from him.

“Seriously, this Ero-suke.”

Lisara let go and gave a wry smile. Perhaps because the energy drained was powerful enough to awaken 《Gram》, he didn’t feel the usual sense of loss or emptiness. In fact, he clearly thought, I like girls, I want to grope them!

“So you awakened《Gram》 again.”

“Uh, well… yeah.”

“Let me guess, went out of control because of some sexy trap Iria set?”

“Well, yeah… that’s pretty much how it started.”

“Geez, can’t you do anything about that perverted brain of yours… haa.”

Lisara pressed her hand to her forehead and recited:

“《Dwarf of the Earth》.”

She chanted the spell. Then though impossible on a concrete floor. The ground began to bubble up and a small male fairy poked its head out.

“Make this one a white garment.”

The fairy nodded sideways, dove back into the dirt and reappeared in less than a second holding a piece of white cloth.

“Good work. You can go now.”

With a crusty old-man smile, the fairy dove back into the ground. All that remained was the smooth concrete floor—no sign of any raised earth.

“W-What the hell was that just now?”

“Same spell I used to create this uniform. Anyway, here, hurry up and put this on.”

She handed the white cloth to Ryousuke and pushed it at him.

“What is this?”

“Underwear. Pantsu. Or what, you planning to stay naked like that?”

“S-Sorry!”

Ryousuke hurried to put them on… only to collapse to his knees, hands on the floor.

“Lisara-san… this is women’s underwear.”

“It couldn’t be helped. I summoned it on the spot and it ended up like the one I made for myself earlier.”

“Cruel…”

Ignoring the tearful Ryousuke sniffling, Lisara turned her gaze toward Iria.

“Iria, what exactly do you think you’re doing, messing with someone else’s contracted partner?”

The glare Lisara shot her could’ve made Ryousuke instantly apologize on the spot. But Iria, instead of being intimidated, finally regained her composure from the earlier panic and slowly stood up with a composed, smug smile.

“Even if you say『contracted partner』… If it were a formal contract, sure, but just stabbing him with 《Gram》 once seems more like a one-sided thing to me.”

“T-That’s…”

“But~ I’ll go ahead and recognize the contract, okay?”

Her voice was sweet, but her eyes weren’t smiling at all.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean~, I’ll have you, Lisara-san, make up for all the trouble your contracted partner caused me~. Aha~ Iria’s so clever.”

“What a stupid thing to say. None of this would’ve happened if you hadn’t tried seducing him!”

“Hmm~, Iria doesn’t know anything about that. Iria just wants to blow off some steam, no matter what, okay?”

Without warning, she raised《Flotti》high.

“《Binding Attire Disurard》.”

Lisara instantly responded, chanting the spell and summoning her shinigami battle attire. She then called forth 《Carnun Pladur》.

“Aha~ fast, fast~. But I think the difference in our skill is obvious~.”

“There’s no way I’d let myself lose to you over and over again!”

Lisara raised《Carnun Pladur》and kicked off the ground. In the blink of an eye, Iria thrust 《Frotti》 forward, sending a slash flying. Lisara shifted her body diagonally to the right and just barely dodged it, swinging《Carnun Pladur》horizontally with force. Iria skillfully leapt over it.

Both of them jumped back to gain distance.

To Ryousuke, that entire exchange looked like it happened in a single instant.

As proof of that, the wall in the changing room, where Iria’s slash had struck, and the locker Lisara’s swing had hit—only just now crumbled and fell apart.

“Amazing, amazing! You’ve improved a little. But~ who was it again that kept losing again and again, I wonder? ♡”

Iria gripped the hilt of《Frotti》with both hands and lowered her stance. Lisara, seeing this, bent her knees and twisted her body at the same time. She pulled the scythe-like blade of《Carnun Pladur》behind her, hiding it behind her body.

The two stared each other down just like that.

In the heat of summer, sweat dripped from their faces, not moving a single muscle—Lisara and Iria were locked in a standoff, like a scene out of a sword-fighting drama.

The intensity was too much; Mina had collapsed to the floor as if her legs had given out.

Suddenly, the two dashed forward. Using her twisted posture like a spring, Lisara rotated and brought the scythe in a rising diagonal slash toward Iria. Iria, instead of launching a slash, brought down《Flotti》 directly—crashing it into 《Carnun Pladur》.

Sparks—no, a shockwave like a firework burst through the air. At the same time, clatter! The sound of 《Carnun Pladur》falling to the ground echoed out.

“Tch…”

Lisara groaned, her hand trembling.

“Carnun Pladur-chan, hmm, it’s a decent weapon, but~ it just doesn’t hold up in front of Flotti-chan. I mean really, how could Lisara-san, already ranked lower as a shinigami, possibly win with a weaker weapon?”

Iria grinned, thrusting《Flotti》toward Lisara, who lowered her gaze, her shoulders beginning to tremble with frustration.

“Hmm~, I wonder how I should make you apologize for what Ryousuke-kun did to me~. Oh! Maybe I’ll have you kneel down and beg!『I’ll never go against Iria-sama again, please forgive this weakling, loser, flat-chested Lisara~』Aha, ahahahahaha, that’s a brilliant idea~!”

“Iriaaa!!”

Lisara looked up and leapt toward her—but was stopped cold by the tip of《Flotti》.

“Come on now, try learning, Lisara-san, the runner-up~”

Unable to resist, Lisara collapsed to her knees.

“Ufufu~ this is so fun~♡”

“Don’t mock her.”

Words and action came at the same time. Ryousuke stepped into the path of《Flotti》’s tip and reached under Lisara’s arms, lifting her up.

“Ryousuke!?”

“Wasn’t it the morning after we met? I told you, didn’t I? That in my mind, you’re the rough, reckless, high-flying type.”

“Uh, um…”

She blinked in surprise, looking up at him.

“And yet here you are, kneeling in a place like this. If you do that, I won’t know how to see you anymore. That’s why, y’know…”

As he spoke, the words slowly turned more embarrassing.

“Right, see… it’d be a problem for me. Yeah, in my personal hierarchy, you’re ranked above me. So if someone above me kneels down like that, I won’t know where to place you anymore, see… yeah.”

Nodding repeatedly, Ryousuke seemed to convince himself. Then, from behind—

“Fufu, Ryousuke-kun’s so stubborn.”

Mina’s laughter drifted over.

“Shut up. Anyway, come on, get up already, Lisara.”

“Eh…”

Lisara, still bewildered, received a twitchy smile from Ryousuke.

“I mean, uh… truth is, just being in front of Iria like this, my knees’ve been shaking nonstop since earlier.”

Yeah—honestly, he was scared. The pain Iria had inflicted was still vividly etched in Ryousuke’s memory. His knees were trembling, and if he let his guard down, his teeth would’ve started chattering. His fear was going berserk inside him.

Seeing this, Iria’s temple twitched.

“Ryousuke-kun, I’d appreciate it if you cut the jokes. And seriously~? A guy in nothing but panties playing the hero? You’re so beyond dumb it’s not even funny, it’s just cringe.”

“H-Hero? I know I’m not that kind of guy. But still—”

“But still, what?”

“I’m me. Girls are treasures. They’re important. I’ll protect them, as best as I can. If I break that, then I’m not me anymore. I won’t even be able to enjoy naughty DVDs, or stare slack-jawed during P.E. class. If I’m going to live as myself, enjoying the female life experience to the fullest, then this is the one thing I can’t give up. So even if it’s useless, even if I’m pathetic—I want to stand my ground.”

He glared straight back at Iria.

“Iria, I swear, you’re unbelievably irritating… just a plain old worthless person!”

Iria pressed the tip of 《Flotti》right up to Ryousuke’s throat. That alone was enough—

“Hiiiii!”

—he nearly wet himself and turned his face away. Even so, trembling all over, he stood his ground and continued holding Lisara up.

“Ryousuke…”

“Uh, Lisara-san? If you could, I mean—uh—I’d really appreciate it if you could pull yourself together soon. L-Like, seriously, I’m scared out of my mind here…”

His voice trembled uncontrollably. His instincts had been sounding sirens this whole time.

“Ughhh, you two are such a pain! Fine! I’ll just make sure neither of you ever defy Iria again!”

She raised《Flotti》 high with a flourish.

“You’ve gotta be kidding meeeee!!”

Practically screaming, Ryousuke tried to jump forward to shield Lisara.

Lisara, at the same time, stepped in front to protect Ryousuke.

They both tried to shield each other—and the result:

Thud.

They tripped over one another and tumbled adorably to the floor.

“Ahahahahahahaha! You two look completely ridiculous!”

As Iria brought《Flotti》down toward the struggling pair—

“《Shield Astaltz》.”

With that voice, a shimmering light barrier appeared over Ryousuke and Lisara and《Flotti》was deflected away.

“Who the hell is it now?!”

Iria snapped, turning a venomous glare toward the entrance.

“My, my. Was there someone in this area who could cast spells so smoothly? Oh—technically, Kyuru isn’t a full shinigami yet, though.”

Kyuru stood at the entrance, Caesar beside her.

“Wait, why is Caesar here?”

Ryousuke asked, and Kyuru let out a soft chuckle.

“You never know what might happen. That’s why I brought him along today. Still, Lisara-oneesama, really now… Losing over and over again to someone from the middle of nowhere?”

Kyuru strolled forward, utterly calm.

“Middle of nowhere?”

Ryousuke asked and Iria turned her face away in irritation. Kyuru grinned broadly.

“Iria here is from the absolute boonies of the Shinigami Realm. Back when she first entered the academy, her accent was so thick no one could understand a word she said.”

“Hmph. More importantly, you’ve got some nerve showing up here without even casting《Binding Attire Disurard》, Kyuru.”

Iria replied, probing with a sharp edge.

“If I may say, the ones with real nerve or should I say idiocy are the two of you, fighting in full battle gear in a place like this. I only sensed the spiritual energy and rushed over. What if you’d destroyed the building? How would you explain that to the higher-ups? That you started fighting because you didn’t like each other? Aha, if you tried that, you wouldn’t get off with just a slap on the wrist. Not to mention—it’d be a clear violation of our treaty with the human world.”

Kyuru looked at Iria with a smug smile.

‘Wait, weren’t you the one who fought Lisara first?’

Ryousuke couldn’t help mentally calling her out.

“You really think we didn’t notice? That damage at Asagaya Park—that was from your fight with Lisara-san and Kyuru-chan, wasn’t it?”

Seems like the other side had caught on too. But Kyuru, unbothered, pressed her fingers to her lips and let out a small pfft of laughter. It was the kind of laugh that completely mocked the other person.

“To think someone who’s supposedly the『greatest genius since the founding of the Restall Shinigami Academy』can’t even tell the difference between a training match and a real fight… Iria, you’re honestly not that impressive. I expected the climb to surpass you would be steeper but at this rate, the title of genius will belong to me in no time.”

Where she found the nerve to say that, no one knew but Kyuru grinned innocently. As expected, Iria’s face was now flushed with rage.

“Seriously, the pool opening is happening soon and you’re wrecking the pool facilities? Just covering up the damage is going to be a nightmare. Ugh, honestly, hot-blooded country girls are the worst.”

“F-Fufufufu…You’ve really gone and mouthed off now, haven’t ya…”

Iria’s grip on《Frotti》was trembling with fury. Her eyes were completely devoid of reason.

“H-Hey, she’s snapped! What do we do?!”

Ryousuke ducked behind Lisara and Kyuru, pointing at Iria in panic.

“My, my… I suppose I might’ve gone a bit too far.”

A single bead of sweat rolled down Kyuru’s forehead.

“But I can’t help it. Kyuru just loves throwing fuel on the fire.”

“Damn youuuuuuuu!”

“Ahahaha, guess I might’ve overdone it~”

Kyuru laughed dryly, totally irresponsible. Ryousuke, watching all this unfold, looked like he was about to cry.

“Grrrrrrrrrrr!”

That’s when Caesar leapt into the fray.

Unlike Ryousuke, who flinched in fear, Caesar stood firm, planting all four paws on the floor, lowering his stance, ready to pounce at any moment as he growled at Iria.

“What the hell is this thing…?”

Overwhelmed by his presence, Iria took a step back.

“Kyah~ Caesar~!”

“Caesar, you’re the best!”

The first cheer came from Kyuru, the second from Ryousuke. For the record, Kyuru was Caesar’s temporary contract holder and Ryousuke was his owner.

“…wan.”

Caesar let out a slightly pitiful whimper.

“I ain’t got time to play with some dumb mutt!!”

Iria’s bloodshot eyes locked on as she started to thrust 《Flotti》forward but just at that moment.

“Mind waiting a second?”

Yet another intruder appeared.

“Tamano?!”

“That’s senpai to you, Ryousuke-kun.”

“Ah—well, yeah, that’s true. Tamano-senpai!”

“Good.”

Tamano nodded and calmly walked forward.

“Hmm, impressive, Dog-kun. I can sense the aura of a handsome guy in you.”

He gave Caesar a bright smile then positioned himself right in the center of the room as if that spot was always meant for him.

“If you’re going to interfere with Iria, I won’t hold back, okay~?”

“I’d really like everyone to calm down. I heard what Kyuru-kun said—if the pool facilities were destroyed on the day of the opening, the academy wouldn’t stay quiet about it. And I’d have to get my family involved. As the committee chairman in charge of organizing the pool opening event and as someone who’s been really, really looking forward to it—I can’t allow that to happen!”

He flashed a sparkling smile with gleaming teeth.

“Also, contest participants, it’s almost time. Are the four of you planning to skip?”

Faced with Tamano’s bright, toothy grin, both Iria and Lisara reluctantly released their battle attire. Then Iria spun on her heel and began heading out of the changing room.

“Oh? And where are you off to?”

Tamano asked and Iria pouted her lips.

“Well~, Iria didn’t bring a change of clothes~. Gotta go get them.”

“I see. Then we should all head out too.”

Being watched by Tamano, Ryousuke hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

‘If Iria’s leaving the room, then we should be fine.’

He gave Caesar a pat on the head and left the changing room with him.

“Ryousuke…”

Lisara called out to him in a pleading voice. Ryousuke lightly tapped her on the head.

“You’re gonna humiliate her properly in front of everyone before she even gets the chance to regret it, right?”

“Ryousuke… but…”

“No buts! Just go out there and give Iria hell on my behalf.”

“On your behalf?”

Lisara blinked with a puzzled expression.

“Yeah. Because the Iria inside me just died back there. That…that monster wasn’t Iria. That was something else entirely…She was terrifying. Seriously—I was scared out of my damn mind.”

Trying to sound cool, he only ended up trembling again as the fear resurfaced. And on top of that he was still wearing women’s underwear.

Lisara couldn’t help but stifled a laugh.

“Jeez. You really know how to ruin the moment.”

“S-Sorry, okay?! Scary stuff is scary!”

To that flustered Ryousuke, Lisara gave a gentle smile.

“You’re amazing, Ryousuke.”

“H-Huh?”

“That’s right. Even when you’re scared, even when you know you might lose—you still stand up and fight. Yeah.”

She clapped her palms together.

“Thanks, Ryousuke.”

“Uh, for what?”

Ryousuke had no idea what he was being thanked for.

“For showing me…that you don’t have to let yourself lose to yourself.”

Lisara looked at Ryousuke with a stunned expression. Though, in her eyes—there was a hint of gentleness.

“Man, I really don’t get it at all.”

“Well, maybe it’s a bit too much for a plain old guy like you. Anyway, it just means I’m going to give it my best.”

“O-Oh. I’ll be cheering you on!”

Ryousuke held out his hand—

“Yeah!”

Lisara responded brightly and slapped it with a loud pan!

“All right, Caesar. Let’s head out.”

“Wan!”

At Ryousuke’s words, Caesar wagged his tail. Even as a dog, a male is still a male.

“Wait, are you seriously planning to go out dressed like that?”

Lisara’s words made Ryousuke suddenly realize—right. He was still wearing nothing but women’s underwear…

“Good grief…《Dwarf of the Earth》.”

Lisara chanted the spell and conjured up a full school uniform.

“As for the underwear—well, whatever. Just leave it as is.”

“Eeeeh!?”

“Or what, you planning to change your underwear here?”

“Ah… sorry.”

Reluctantly, Ryousuke pulled on the pants and buttoned up the shirt over the women’s underwear.

“Well then, make sure to cheer for me.”

“Yeah, I got it.”

Nodding firmly, Ryousuke stepped out with Caesar.

“Still, now she actually looks ready to fight. If she looked all gloomy, there’s no way the third judge would give her any points.”

“Wan!”

As Ryousuke talked with Caesar while walking, voices reached them from a thicket nearby.

“So then, Chief Iria erased it?”

It was Malbec’s voice, speaking quietly behind the girls’ changing room.

“Of course, o-f-course. If I’d used《Theft Sprite Awan Red》while Lisara-san was rushing to the toilet and left any traces of spiritual energy, we’d get caught right away.”

That was Iria’s voice.

“I’m sorry, I… I couldn’t detect something as faint as the residue left by 《Theft Sprite Awan Red》…”

“Ugh, I really don’t want to be lumped together with a fourth-class like you. Seriously, such an incompetent underling.”

“M-My apologies…”

“Well, whatever. The important thing is, you scratched Lisara-san’s swimsuit like planned, right?”

“Of course. I made it so if she moves around too much, her bust will be completely exposed.”

“Good. Perfect. Kufufu… Fufufufufufu. That arrogant bitch is gonna show off that pitiful little chest in front of a huge crowd. Ahahaha! I seriously want to slap my stomach and laugh right now. Gosh~ a flat-chested shinigami—how tragic is that?!”

“C-Chief! Quietly!”

“Mmm, it’s fine, totally fine. I know already.”

Iria smirked and placed her hand on the ground.

“Fufu… with this, one of the idiot judges who might’ve voted for Lisara will be absent this round♡”

She smiled sweetly and said,

“《Separation Field of Govlin》.”

She activated the spell.

Vonn.

A strange sensation, like his entire body was being twisted, rushed through him.

Right before his eyes, Iria gave a light wink then turned her back to Ryousuke and casually walked away.

“W-What the hell?”

Just as he muttered that in confusion, Caesar let out a sharp yelp,『Kyan!』

“Caesar?”

Caesar was repeatedly bumping into empty space. Though he could clearly see beyond, it was as if an invisible wall blocked him—he couldn’t move forward.

“A… A barrier?”

Ryousuke placed his hand against where he thought the boundary might be. Sure enough, there was a wall. As he moved along it with his hand, he realized it formed a circular shape, roughly ten meters in diameter.

“And on top of that, it’s blocking sound too.”

As proof, even when students walked nearby, not a single voice could be heard. He could see Mina walking after changing clothes, but he couldn’t hear anything—not even a footstep.

Of course, no matter how much he called out, she didn’t respond.

“Caesar, think you can break through?”

Caesar lowered his tail in defeat and shook his head.

“If you can’t do it, then there’s no way I can either…”

Ryousuke groaned and held his head in frustration for about five minutes, when Lisara and Kyuru came out of the girls’ changing room. Lisara wore the halter bikini they had picked together. Kyuru was dressed in a cute bikini with a matching pareo.

“Lisara!”

He shouted but as expected, there was absolutely no reaction.

“Vuh… Vuhvuhvuhvuh… VUOOOOOOOOOOON!”

Caesar howled. Firmly planting all four legs on the ground, he arched his neck and let out a loud cry toward the sky, like a wolf howling at the moon.

And he didn’t give up after just one howl—Caesar kept howling.

“──?”

Though the sound likely didn’t reach her, Kyuru suddenly stopped and looked around. She said something to Lisara.

After a few more exchanges, they started heading toward where Ryousuke and Caesar were trapped.

Caesar, all the while, continued to howl.

And finally—though it seemed they still couldn’t hear anything. Lisara began pounding against the boundary.

※ ※ ※

There’s no doubt about it. 《Separation Field of Govlin》 is deployed here.”

Lisara spat the words out with clear irritation.

“I knew it. I wasn’t imagining it when I felt Caesar’s soul just now.”

Kyuru glared at the empty space, where Caesar was likely trapped.

“With someone like Ryousuke, that wouldn’t happen, but with spiritual energy on Caesar’s level, it’s possible that some kind of link forms with the weapon’s master.”

“Well, I’d say that’s only natural when it comes to Ryousuke-san’s usual state.”

Kyuru shrugged and Lisara let out a small, wry smile before immediately shifting her expression to something more serious.

“The problem is—we can’t dispel this.”

“Huh? But I thought you said you could before?”

“Did you forget? I used《Binding Attire Disurard》 after that, and even went into combat using《Carnun Pladur》. I covered the dispel cost and the battle cost with the spiritual energy I took from Ryousuke after he awakened《Gram》. But right now, I don’t have enough Spirit Money left to break this again.”

She knocked on the barrier with her fist—kon kon.

“By the way—what about you, Kyuru?”

“I haven’t even learned《Separation Field of Govlin》 yet. I just know it sounds impressive, but I have no idea how much Spirit Money it actually takes.”

“Well, I suppose that’s fair. It’d be a tough ask for someone like you right before graduation…can’t be helped.”

Lisara folded her arms and thought hard, then looked up.

“What do you intend to do?”

“I’ll partially break the barrier and stick my hand in.”

“Huh?”

“You don’t get it? I’ll touch Ryousuke and drain his spiritual energy directly.”

“Th-That makes sense. Sucks for him to be drained right before the swimsuit contest, though.”

“Oh, please. He should be grateful the other girls—especially ones who don’t get fantasized about aren’t the ones doing it. You included, Kyuru.”

“You’re absolutely right.”

Kyuru nodded with a dry smile.

“All right then, let’s get started.”

Lisara pressed her right palm against the barrier.

“O presence that floats upon Ámsvartnir…”

From the center of her palm, gentle ripples began to spread across the space.

“Phew…”

Lisara exhaled lightly and closed her eyes, letting all tension flow out of her body.

“I am water, you are water—we shall become waves together.”

Her arm slipped in smoothly. Beyond the boundary of the barrier, Lisara’s arm began to disappear.

“You’ve synchronized with it?”

“Yes—just my arm and the barrier. This kind of barrier is only meant to separate two areas. It’s not the type that would dangerously sever anything caught in between.”

As she spoke, her arm sank in further—now up to the elbow.

“Now then, where are Ryousuke and the others…?”

“W-Whoa, her arm just came through!?”

Right in front of Ryousuke, Lisara’s hand flopped about in the air.

“Uhh… Am I supposed to grab it? Maybe she’s going to pull me out or something?”

Not really understanding, he reached out and grabbed her wrist.

“That’s not what I meant! What are you even doing… geez!”

Lisara shoved her arm in further. She planted her left hand on the barrier for support and forcefully pushed her right arm deeper into the field.

“H-Hey! Don’t move it around like that!”

Ryousuke desperately tried to push it back.

“What do you think you’re doing!?”

Lisara, now stubborn, flailed her arm even more, determined to reach in further.

“Waaah! No—stop it, seriously!”

“Hurry up and let me touch you already!”

Just as the two of them were shouting.

Pchin. A small snap sounded.

And then, with a soft flutter, Lisara’s halter bikini top slipped off and dropped to the ground.

Malbec’s trap had worked perfectly, loosening both the tie at her nape and the string between her breasts.

“Oh my, Onee-sama.”

“Eh, um…”

“That’s what we call a classic boob-slip, right? And hmm, inside that barrier… Ryousuke-san can see it perfectly, can’t he?”

“Eh…ah…eeeh…KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!”

With a bloodcurdling scream, Lisara yanked her arm back out.

Naturally, the sudden loss of focus broke the synchronization with the barrier and that’s when tragedy struck.

※ ※ ※

“Boobs…?”

Inside the barrier, Ryousuke stood frozen in utter shock. After all, right in front of his eyes, Lisara’s breasts had suddenly appeared.

But it only lasted a few seconds.

Lisara seemed to thrash around, her arm was yanked back… and then, everything went dark.

Not pitch black—just that he could no longer see outside.

“W-What the hell just happened…?”

As Ryousuke stood there confused, Caesar barked, 

“Wan!”

It seemed he was being called, so he walked toward the direction of the bark. His eyes gradually adjusted, and he was beginning to see a little better.

“Wan?”

Floating above Caesar’s head… was something that looked like a button.

“What the heck is this?”

He pressed it. It felt kind of… soft.

※ ※ ※

“Whoa, the barrier’s gone dark now. Hmm… maybe it’s because you forcibly cut off the synchronization—might’ve affected the barrier’s stability”

Kyuru kept muttering while tapping lightly on the barrier.

“So, Onee-sama, how long are you planning to stay in that weird pose?”

She glanced sideways at Lisara.

Lisara was pressing both hands against the barrier in an odd posture, chest pushed forward—her boobs ending up squished against the barrier too, thanks to that strange stance.

“U-Uugh…”

Lisara rocked her body a few times then returned to the same position again.

“That’s what I mean. What exactly are you doing, Onee-sama? You haven’t even bothered to put your bikini back on.”

“I-It’s not like that, I just—kyaaAAAH!?”

Lisara suddenly screamed.

“W-What now!? Please don’t scare me like that!”

“Hyaaah… ahh… d-don’t push it… hnnngh… it’s… stuck!”

“Stuck?”

“M-My nipple got caught in the barrier! Ahh! Hyaaah! So I’m telling you that’s not some kind of button or whateverrrr! Nghh… hiinnn!!”

※ ※ ※

“Hmm, it’s getting a little harder every time I touch it. What is this…?”

Ryousuke muttered, frowning. As he pressed, pinched, and twisted the thing, the texture kept changing—firmer now, maybe even a little bigger.

“It really looks familiar, but man…if only it were brighter in here.”

He poked it again. The warmth and feel of it were oddly pleasant.

Outside the barrier, Lisara was still writhing in that strange pose.

“Hya— nn…r-remember this, Ryousuke-eeeee…hya-aan!”

“It won’t come out?” 

“I-If it would’ve come out, I wouldn’t be going through all this aaa…ngh!”

“What about synchronizing with the barrier again?”

“There’s n-no Spirit Money left. Haa… even keeping 《Existence Bond Raise》 active is risky.”

“Hmm. All right—after touching it just now, I’ve got a feel for the structure of the spell.”

Kyuru placed both hands on the barrier.

“Kyuru?”

“First, I’ll return the barrier to its original state.”

She closed her eyes, focusing.

“Ah, I see… wait— w-wait, don’t you dare!?”

Her protest was in vain. The barrier slowly turned transparent again.

“So it was… a nipple after all!”

Ryousuke’s shout echoed inside the now-clear bubble.

He brought the right index finger he’d been poking with up before his eyes, staring in awe. From that fingertip, happiness tingled all through his body. Now that he knew it was a nipple, he couldn’t just keep poking it. Which meant—the sensation, the warmth left on that finger was a precious treasure.

‘M-Maybe… lick it?’

Yes—the finger, of course. It would be an indirect kiss with Lisara’s nipple.

‘They can’t see me from outside anyway…’

He agonized—seriously agonized. Crossing a really questionable moral line just for a『nipple-indirect-kiss』was… the ultimate of youth problem.

“Wan!”

“Shush, Caesar, I’m dealing with a major adolescent crisis—huh, what?”

Caesar kept bumping him insistently, so Ryousuke reluctantly tore his gaze from his finger.

There it was. The nipple, perked up and swollen, Lisara’s modest breast flattened against the barrier—a heavenly sight.

Looking upward, he met Lisara’s face which was contorted into full demon-queen fury.

“Hiiiii!”

His legs nearly gave way.

Beside her stood Kyuru, tapping on the barrier. If he looked closely, her mouth was moving. Repeating the same shapes again and again.

“Is she telling me to lip-read?”

He concentrated on the movements.

“Let’s see…『Ni-pp-le』… hmm…『pre-ss』. …Eeeeh!?”

While Ryousuke gaped, Kyuru mimed a pulling motion, then restarted the silent message from the top.

“Let’s see…『I press the nipple. Kyuru pulls…』 Ah, I get it. The pushing force and the pulling force together, that’s how they plan to yank it out.”

Ryousuke thinks it over. Could it really be that simple?

And at the same time, he thinks, No, if this is all for Lisara’s sake… if this situation allows him to legally touch her nipple as a result—then why would he hesitate? No, he wouldn’t.

“Alright. I’m doing it. I’m gonna press with everything I’ve got!”

Steeling himself, Ryousuke reaches for the nipple, his hand trembling…and after a brief moment of hesitation, he places his thumb on the tip.

And deep in his heart, he mentally fist-pumps in victory.

“Hiiin! H-Hey, that little pervert’s really pressing it! A-Anh—he’s actually doing it!”

“It’s for your sake, onee-sama. Now then, I’ll start pulling.”

Kyuru wraps her arms around Lisara’s waist and yanks her backward.

“Hyaaah! Stop! It’s stretching—my chest and my nipple are totally stretching out!”

Just as Lisara says, her tragically lacking chest is being pulled to its absolute limit.

“It’s gonna rip off! Aah! Hyaaah! I-It’s impossible, I tell you!”

“Ah, I figured.”

Kyuru casually lets go.

“Hah…hah…O-Of course it didn’t work! The technique’s grabbing on, you know! You can’t just brute-force it out with physics—ahhhn! Y-You’re still pressing it! Ngh!”

“Well, as fun as this little experiment was… honestly, I’ve got no idea what to do next.”

Kyuru mutters while pressing her hand against the barrier again.

“Fun…? Ngh… K-Kyuru!”

“Ahaha, just kidding. Kidding~”

She giggles sweetly.

“You little brat!”

Lisara swings her free hand to smack her but Kyuru dances out of range with a laugh.

“Ahaha, onee-sama, you’re soooo funny~”

And throughout all this teasing, Ryousuke continues pressing the nipple.

At this point, to him, the nipple is the only thing that exists in the world.

He hasn’t even noticed that Kyuru stopped pulling. He’s too busy savoring the memory—the texture, the warmth—of the holy grail of nipples.

His breath grows ragged, a trickle of nosebleed drips down, his eyes bloodshot with obsession. With his thumb, he presses in, rotates, presses again—spamming the tip with devotion.

“A-Amazing… this is amazing… It’s swelling… i-it’s getting firmer… Ooooooh!”

He lets out a heartfelt cry of awe.

And Ryousuke still hasn’t realized.

That just beneath that chest, the hilt of the broken sword Gram is rising—its blade beginning to materialize.

So consumed is he by excitement and his unwavering focus on the nipple, he doesn’t feel a thing.

He also doesn’t realize that his left hand has already grasped the hilt.

“Whoa… when I flick it, it jiggles! It jiggles!!”

And with that euphoric whisper, Ryousuke’s consciousness blacks out—

—and Gram draws itself from its own sheath.

Caesar took several steps back, letting out a low growl. With just a glance at him, Gram laughed.

“Even if he has the vessel of an emperor, he’s still just a beast. Poor《Rizil》really drew the short straw.”

Then it looked around.

“…Cramped.”

With that muttered complaint, Gram swung its long, thick, powerful blade. The rugged sword, free of any flashy embellishment, sliced cleanly through the barrier as if cutting paper.

“Hya!?”

Kyuru’s swimsuit was shredded beautifully by the shockwave. Beside her, Lisara, now released from the barrier, sat on her butt in stunned silence.

“First things first, that damn Shinigami who mocked me endlessly—”

The image of Iria floated into Gram’s mind. That woman, built of lies and falsehood was detestable.

“Let’s go.”

Gram tried to step forward but it groaned.

“What… the hell?”

His feet wouldn’t move freely. In fact, before he even realized it, Gram was staring at someone he had no interest in whatsoever—that little girl… Kyuru.

‘U-uwahhh, even down there… Kyuru’s got, like, curly hair too!’

His thoughts echoed loudly in his mind.

“N-no way… even with me awakened this far—”

He growled, trying to suppress it. But it wouldn’t go down.

‘Damn, those boobs! There’s no way she’s Lisara’s little sister—not with those! In a few years, she’s definitely hitting an E-cup! Right? Come on, even you think so too, don’t you!’

“Like I’d know, dammit! Not again, not a second time!”

He wavered. Gram pressed his forehead with a hand, swaying unsteadily.

And then—

『The swimsuit contest will begin shortly. All participants, please make your way to the stage～』

The announcement played.

It was the final blow.

‘Again!? You gotta be kidding me!!’

“Swimsuits! Of course! It’s not just about being naked. It’s the outfit, the points, the flair! That’s right, girls are meant to be decorated!”

Ryosuke clenched his fist tightly.

‘No choice… a loss is a loss…’

Somewhere deep in his heart, Ryosuke felt he heard a voice say that.

“Seriously, I’m so done with this, I don’t even have the words.”

Lisara muttered, shaking her head while using her right hand to cover her chest.

“Uuu… Kyuru’s… my naked body was seen… hic…”

Kyuru was curled up tightly, covering herself with both arms and legs.

“Uh, wait, what?”

“You managed to suppress Gram. Honestly, Ryosuke… you’re definitely not normal. Though I’m not convinced you’re just some『Singular One』either.”

“I mean… yeah, I guess?”

He scratched his head, then suddenly realized something.

“Wait, crap—we don’t have time to be standing around. The entry’s gonna close!”

“Look around, will you? Do you see a swimsuit anywhere? What, you want me to go out there naked?”

Lisara said flatly. But her shoulders were trembling ever so slightly.

Ryosuke saw it. He knew—she was holding back her frustration.

“Lisara, your swimsuit… it was those bastards, Iria and the others. Me and Caesar got locked up because we found out about it.”

“And what do you expect me to do with that now!? I’ve already been disqualified by default!”

She stepped in close. Up close, Ryosuke could see her eyes welling up with tears.

“I’ve got an idea. Give me a few minutes.”

“W–wait, hey!”

Without waiting for her response, Ryosuke took off running. To get those two swimsuits still tucked away in his bag—the school swimsuits he never got a chance to give her.

※ ※ ※

The swimsuit contest, part of the pool opening event planned by Tamano purely out of his own desires, was unexpectedly well received. The boys, naturally, were all for anything that resembled a beauty contest. The girls, too, watched intently—perhaps wanting to see how a model like Iria would wear her swimsuit.

And so, amidst the hype of the swimsuit contest, Ryosuke found himself sitting as one of the judges.

“What’s wrong? Not happy with this?”

Tamano, seated to his right, let out a wry chuckle.

“Well… I mean, it makes sense for you to be here since you’re the committee chair. And I guess I do take pride in having a good eye for girls.”

Ryosuke replied, then looked to his left and looked down.

There, sitting neatly on a chair with his front paws on the desk before the four voting buttons, was Caesar. Yes, somehow, Caesar was here too.

“Haha, I just had a feeling in the girls’ changing room earlier. Like—『this guy’s got it』. He might even surpass me, the legendary lady-killer!”

“Yeah, well, Senpai… Sometimes you really don’t seem like a normal person…”

Ryosuke sighed deeply.

“Wait, so… you hadn’t even picked the secret judge yet?”

“Exactly! It was hard to find anyone with enough raw mojo to match me. In the end—there just wasn’t anyone else!”

“…You really are a legend, Senpai…”

Ryosuke muttered in disbelief.

Just then, cheers erupted from the crowd—the broadcast club’s announcer had just boldly declared the start of the swimsuit contest.

『In fourth place by vote, Kyuru Kaga-san!』

At the sound of the host’s voice, Kyuru appeared on stage, wearing a school swimsuit that she somehow managed to pull off with elegance.

“I’m Kyuru Kaga. I just transferred here but thank you so much for voting for me, big brothers~ I wuv you all ♡”

It was an outrageously cutesy greeting. But the crowd went wild.

Her bust was slightly on the larger side but her waist was still soft and undefined, her hips just beginning to develop—a body perfectly fit for a school swimsuit, and an absolute bullseye for the traditional lolicon fanbase.

Following her was Mina, who had placed third.

“O–O–Okura Mina… um, uh, th-thank you… v-very much…”

She gave a greeting so quiet it was almost like a mosquito’s buzz. Yet that timid presence made some of the guys cheer even louder. Her swimsuit was a one-piece, leaning toward the cute side but her bust clearly stood out.

She walked carefully, trying not to jiggle too much but even then, her chest bounced gently with each step. That soft, subtle movement only made the size seem even more pronounced.

“Uuu… this is so embarrassing…”

She shrank down next to Kyuru. That image—of someone needing to be protected—tugged hard at the audience’s fatherly instincts, making her massively popular in an entirely different way.

『Now then, for second and first place, please come up from the left and right sides at the same time! In second place: Lisara Kaga! And in first place—our idol, Iria Fukumune!』

A deafening wave of screams flooded the venue. No doubt about it—the cheers were for Iria.

In the sweltering heat, Iria strutted in, flaunting her ample chest like it was her weapon of choice. Her swimsuit was a skimpy triangle bikini, further accentuating her cleavage. Her breasts swayed with a as she walked, yet even after spotting Ryousuke stepping out from the barrier, she ascended the stage with the composure of a runway model.

Meanwhile, as for Lisara—she had no bust worth emphasizing in the first place and thanks to the design of her school swimsuit, there was no cleavage to show even if she had one.

What’s worse, her face bright red, she marched up with all her might, practically shouting『I’ll do my best with everything I’ve got!』

The one who had convinced Lisara to participate in that school swimsuit was none other than Ryousuke himself.

After breaking through the barrier, he’d gone to fetch the school swimsuit and told Lisara.

『Sure, it’s not flashy. But you see, this is the origin—the root of modern Japanese fetishism. Right here lies the primeval fetish. Lisara, if it’s you, you can unlock the true potential of this seemingly outdated school swimsuit!』

He even handed her a swim cap along with it.

Earnest as always, Lisara had dutifully put on the cap too.

But when standing next to Iria’s showy and sexy appearance, the old-fashioned fetishism really did feel faded. Even Ryousuke, who understood the appeal, couldn’t help but grow uneasy when he thought about the remaining two contestants.

“Hmph, Lisara-kun, you’ve thought this through more than I expected,” 

Tamano said, comparing the two with a serious look.

Lisara definitely looked good in the school swimsuit. A suit made for physical activity simply suited her sharp lines. Her flat chest, visible even through the swimsuit, was also a plus.

Above all, the striking contrast of a model-tier beauty like Lisara wearing such a plain, outdated school swimsuit in this setting—it was irresistible.

Her long hair stuffed into the swim cap? Good.

Her shy demeanor, clearly aware of how plain her suit looked? Also good.

Still, Ryousuke couldn’t help but think—this might be way too niche. From a general standpoint, wouldn’t the casually sexy appeal of a gravure idol like Ilia in a flashy swimsuit win out?

『Alright everyone in the audience! There may be no point system, but there is the matter of atmosphere. Let’s call out the names of the one you support!』

The emcee shouted.

『Supporters of Kyuru-san!』

GYYYYUURRRUUU────!! A hoarse cheer rang out like an old-school fan squad.

『Next, supporters of Mina-san!』

Voices from women could be heard in decent numbers—likely out of sympathy.

『Lastly, for Iria-san and Lisara-san, shout them out at the same time!』

The emcee said something truly cruel.

‘Hey now… that emcee… could he be under Ilia’s thumb?’

It wasn’t hard to imagine Lisara’s name getting drowned out. If that happened, the pressure on the judges to vote for Lisara would be intense.

Ryousuke glanced toward Iria—she was pumping a small victory fist.

No doubt about it. That emcee’s been compromised too…

『Alright, ready… go!』

“IRIAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”

A wave of screams surged. But surprisingly, shouts for Lisara were also clearly audible.

“You’re kidding me…”

Ryousuke turned toward the source of the voice. It was Oohira and his crew. The whole Oohira Route squad had gathered in one spot, shouting in unison with the discipline of trained soldiers—loud and clear.

“No waaaay…”

Ryousuke could hear Ilia mutter. The emcee also seemed a bit flustered.

“Emcee-san, I think the extra antics are done. Shall we proceed with the judging?”

『Y-Yes, Chairman! Then, to our two judges and the honorable dog, please write down the number of the beauty you support within one minute!』

Ryousuke and Tamano picked up the markers for their flipboards. Caesar, unable to write, had a button-based system.

One minute later, all flipboards were raised.

Gasps spread through the venue.

“Unexpected. I seriously thought you, a fan of big boobs, would vote for Iria-kun.”

Tamano looked stunned.

“If we’re going there, I totally expect you, Tamano-senpai, to vote for Iria.”

“I don’t like lewd women. That kind of aggressive pressing…do you know how hard I had to work just to run away from her?”

Tamano visibly shuddered.

“I see. So what about Caesar?”

“Wann! (Fake boobs are a turn-off)” he seemed to say.

“Fake… boobs?”

Ryousuke had always felt that about Iria’s chest but to hear Caesar think the same—it genuinely surprised him.

『Unbelievable! All three of them—all three have voted for Kaga Lisara-san! A-And thus, the winner is… Kaga Lisara-san────────!!』

The emcee screamed. The venue erupted into a storm of outraged roars, unable to accept the result.

But more than anyone, Iria herself wasn’t accepting it. Her shoulders stiff with fury, she stormed over to the judges’ table.

“What the hell is the meaning of this, dammit!!”

She was so furious, her speech had lapsed into a thick rural accent.

“Hm, Ryousuke-kun, explain yourself,”

Tamano handed the mic over to Ryousuke.

“Boobs, you see, are dreams, hope, and love. Your photos might’ve fooled people, but in person—your boobs don’t give off any dream, hope, or love.”

At those words, the entire venue fell into a stunned silence.

“Wh-What…What kind of stupid nonsense are you spouting!?”

Ilia, now pale as a sheet, rushed at him.

“I feel the same. Somehow, your boobs… they’re just hollow, you know?”

Just as Tamano said that, Caesar leapt onto the table and pressed himself tightly against Iria’s chest.

“WON!!”

He let out a loud bark.

It was in that instant.

“No… crap, the dog—an English dog, no less!?”

Buuuuunn—a loud static noise burst through the air.

“Don’t do iiiiiiit──────!!”

Iria’s scream rang out—

And her boobs… began to change.

Those previously luscious, enchanting breasts that had bewitched all the boys turned… into what was clearly a pair of fake, fabricated pads.

Then, in a panic to hide her chest, Iria swung her arms wildly and knocked the pads clean off.

They fluttered down as her bikini top swayed lightly…

What remained underneath—was a flat, incredibly flat chest.

“Uh… is it possible she has even less than Lisara?”

“Just by one centimeter, damniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!”

Her desperate scream echoed hollowly—

Through the now haunted silence of the crowd…

※ ※ ※

“So, what was all that about in the end?”

Ryousuke muttered absentmindedly as he gazed at the girls in their swimsuits from a few steps away from the edge of the pool.

“Seems like she was using an illusion-type spell formula that made her chest pads look indistinguishable from the real thing.”

Lisara, who was sitting on the pool ledge, kicked the water.

“Well, I’ll give her credit for the effort. That spell formula seems to have been Iria’s original. To avoid being found out by other Shinigami, it must’ve been really complex and high-level.”

“Being a Shinigami sure sounds tough…”

Ryousuke muttered, vaguely wondering whether male Shinigami had that area measured too.

“Um, Lisara, but…why did such a complicated spell formula get dispelled?”

Mina, sitting next to Lisara, asked.

“You don’t know? Since ancient times, it’s been said that a dog’s bark holds anti-demonic power. And that was Caesar’s bark, after all.”

“Haa…”

“Still, that was way too much” 

“Was it really? I mean, Caesar seemed to have noticed her fake chest from the beginning anyway.”

“Well, that might be true…”

“And it wasn’t just this time, you know. That’s how Caesar always is.”

Kyuru emerged from the water and answered.

“He’s even dispelled one of my spell formulas before. So something like a fake chest, designed for concealment over power, is nothing for him. Honestly, people with flat chests have it really tough, don’t they?”

“And who exactly are you saying that to?”

Lisara glared.

“Ufufu, it’s just a general statement, dear onee-sama working so hard.”

“Kyuru!!”

Lisara’s angry voice rang out and Kyuru swam off in retreat. Lisara went to chase after her but someone grabbed her shoulder.

“Looks like your education’s seriously lacking, isn’t it?”

It was Iria. She, too, was wearing a school swimsuit just like Lisara.

“What’s with that swimsuit of yours?”

“Just thought I’d try something a little more on the maniac side for once.”

“You mean, it’s just that your chest doesn’t fit your usual stuff anymore.”

Lisara pointed it out and for just a moment, a crack appeared in Iria’s smiling expression. But she quickly forced it back into a cheerful grin.

“Lisara-san.”

“What now?”

“You’re in the same boat, dammit!”

With a geshi, Iria kicked Lisara in the back, sending her crashing into the pool.

Lisara fell in head-first, flailing around in the water in a panic.

“Fufun, feels good to say『serves you right』, huh?”

Iria leaned over on all fours to peer down at her, chuckling smugly with satisfaction.

“Lisara, are you okay?”

Mina also leaned over on all fours, peering into the water with a worried look.

“Gehh, gehogehogo… Iriaaa…”

Coughing as she surfaced, Lisara came up from the water. But with Ilia firmly bracing herself on all fours at the poolside, it wasn’t easy to drag her in.

“Ahaha, frustrating, isn’t it? Serves you right~”

Iria looked down at Lisara with a smug grin.

At that moment, Ryousuke clearly heard the sound of something snap inside.

“…………”

Without a word, Lisara half climbed back up onto the poolside beside Iria, planted her arm, and—

“Iriaaaaa!!”

—shouted furiously as she yanked on the chest of Ilia’s school swimsuit.

“Kyaaaa!?”

Iria almost fell into the pool but managed to brace herself.

“Oh my, are you sure about this? At this rate, your swimsuit’s going to go all loose and baggy. I mean, unless you want everyone to see that pitifully flat chest of yours!”

“Lisaraaaaaa!!”

Iria strained to hold her ground as she shifted one of her hands—

“Then take this, dammit!!”

She grabbed Lisara’s chest area and pulled it toward herself.

“Kyah—w-what are you doing!?”

“I’m just giving you a taste of your own medicine, dammit!”

The two of them grappled at each other’s swimsuits by the poolside, tugging back and forth.

Watching the whole thing, Ryousuke instinctively leaned forward.

Iria’s plump, jiggling backside—bigger than you’d expect given her bust.

The swimsuit, pulled taut by the struggle, began to dig into the soft flesh of her rear. The sight of that soft meat gradually spilling out was enough. But more than anything, the fabric was starting to ride up tightly into her crotch as well.

Bit by bit, Iria’s plump butt was being exposed to the sun and the wet swimsuit was digging tightly into her crotch.

That alone was enough to make Ryousuke feel the urge to press his hands together in reverence.

When he shifted his gaze to Lisara, her chest was gradually starting to be revealed.

She didn’t have much in the way of cleavage but her wet red hair clinging to that area drew a slight curve, allowing just the faintest swell to be seen.

Wet strands of hair tangled over her delicate, almost nonexistent breasts.

It was a fragile beauty—too delicate, and yet incredibly erotic.

“The way the swimsuit digs in and reveals the softness of the butt and crotch…Lisara’s delicate breasts sensed through her wet hair…This—this is the miracle of summer! The mystery of summer itself!”

Before he knew it, Ryousuke had crept closer to the two of them, now kneeling right behind Iria’s butt in a full seiza position.

Yes, with heavy, ragged breathing and a soul full of raw life force… surging directly into his groin.

“Eh… kyaaaaaaa!?”

Finally noticing him, Lisara screamed and dove underwater, covering her chest with both arms.

“W-What the…?”

Iria turned back in shock and froze when she saw Ryousuke’s face just inches away from her rear.

“Oh, holy Butt-sama… divine Butt-sama…”

Staring at Iria’s butt in awe, Ryousuke put his hands together in prayer.

“Nooooo! He’s getting hard agaaaain!”

Iria cried with a trembling voice but like a frog staring down a snake, she couldn’t move a muscle.

It was then—Caesar trotted over next to Ryousuke.

As one of the judges, he had been allowed into the pool area. But to Ryousuke in his current state, none of that mattered.

“A butt worth caressing… this, this is exactly what that means. This is youth…”

Raising his hand just a few centimeters from her butt, he prepared to air-caress.

“Touching is a crime but if it’s no contact, I’m just a harmless pervert!”

He slowly waved his hand through the air—feeling the heat radiating from her rear, reaching out spiritually—

—but just as he was about to begin…

Pon!

Caesar’s paw landed from the side—right onto Ryousuke’s groin.

“Eh… Caesar-san?”

“Wan.”

Caesar replied calmly, pressing his weight into his paw—

And walked away…

Crushing Ryousuke’s now fully-erect crotch beneath him.

“──────────!!!!!”

A scream too pained to voice.

At that moment, Iria broke free from the spell of terror and dove into the pool to escape.

“Ah… aaaah… divine Butt-samaaaaa…”

Ryousuke groaned, collapsing face-down on the poolside.

“Seriously, Ryousuke, you’re such a damn pervert.”

Lisara finally resurfaced from the water.

“L-Look, c’mon, I saved you! You could at least say thanks—”

But Lisara cut him off.

“Well, still… I do appreciate that you let me win over Iria this time.”

She winked with a gentle smile.

“Wh-What the hell…”

Hearing her say it so straightforwardly only made Ryousuke even more flustered.

“…Now you’re making me blush too, so quit getting all tense about it!”

With that, she climbed up from the pool.

“Well, anyway—You’re still not off the hook, Ryousuke. I’m not done dragging you around yet.”

She said briskly and by the time Ryousuke looked back.

Lisara was already headed for the showers.

“Well… not like I’d stop even if she didn’t say it.”

Muttering with a wry smile, Ryousuke fully collapsed onto the poolside.

---

Afterword

Hello! I’m Tachibana Pan, often mistakenly called “Shimapan” (striped panties) for some reason.

Whether this is your first time or you’re someone I haven’t seen in a while—thank you so much for picking up this book.

Yep, it’s volume two! In the afterword of volume one, I said something like,『Looks like there might actually be a second volume, Fujimi Shobo sure likes to gamble』 and well… it really did come out. That took some guts.

Of course, it’s entirely thanks to all of you who bought volume one.

What’s more, starting in Dragon Magazine’s January 2011 issue (released in November 2010!), there’s even going to be a manga adaptation in the supplement “Choco Dora,” with art by Okagiri Shou-san. That’s some wild news.

Honestly, I’ve only written up to volume two. What are we gonna do about content from here on out? This must be K-joshi’s latest sadistic move—forcing me into another new S&M writing marathon. Just imagining the day the manga gets published while I desperately try to keep up with writing… it’s nerve-wracking.

Anyway, yesterday, today, and tomorrow—Tachibana Pan lives thanks to all of you. Being able to write, being able to buy erotic books, being able to play games—it’s all thanks to your support.

Truly, thank you so much.

…That’s all—wait, I just got scolded for not even finishing half of it yet. But seriously, I’m out of material. Somebody help. Ah, right. I didn’t talk about the content of the book at all, huh?

As for this volume: I wrote it because I wanted to see Katsurai-san draw soaking-wet girls in swimsuits.

Also, the one who threw a fit and insisted,『If I don’t see a belly button on the cover, I’m not happy!』—yeah, that was me.

I mean, belly buttons are super erotic, right?

A belly button peeking out from under a school uniform… just imagining it gets me ridiculously excited. And then, thinking about a droplet of water sliding down toward it—I’m already past the point of no return.

It’s wonderful. It’s a dream. It’s art. It’s fantasy. Fitting, since this is Fantasia Bunko, after all.

That’s why I full-on dogeza’d and begged for that belly button to be drawn.

Huh? This isn’t a proper work summary at all, is it? Oh well. I think I’ll wrap up the afterword here.

If you were able to relax your shoulders, laugh, and go 『Wow, this guy’s an idiot』then nothing could make me happier.

See you again!

Tachibana Pan