Vol. 7 Chapter 1.1 – Prologue: A False Accusation

Panties.

What exactly was good or bad about any of this?

Panty.

All I wanted was to finish my summer vacation homework more efficiently.

Shorts.

After all, humanity has spent ages constantly thinking about how to slack off, refining that『technology』over time, right?

Yeah, that’s it. So this must be a reward from the god of evolution, granted to me for trying to slack off.

Kaga Ryousuke lifted his face from where it had been pressed against the floor, and boldly opened his previously shut eyes.

It was late at night, inside a dimly lit room. When he looked up, standing side by side were the Shinigami Lisara Restall and her cousin Kyuru Zeria, both dressed in cute Y-shirt–style pajamas.

Ryousuke’s hand was gripping their pants.

No, let’s be precise. Let’s state the fact plainly.

Ryousuke’s hand had pulled those pants all the way down to the floor.

Still half-asleep, Lisara and Kyuru hadn’t quite grasped the situation yet. They blinked together, their eyes going shipa-shipa.

“…Ryousuke?”

“…Ryousuke-san?”

Ignoring their voices, Ryousuke gazed upward—boldly, from below—at Lisara and Kyuru’s crotch, between their thighs, the V-zone… there were many ways to say it, but in any case, the place most important to a girl, covered by those cute panties.

Without thinking, his face softened.

He found himself staring intently.

Ahh…how mysterious.

As a man, the maiden’s gate beyond that thin layer of cloth is what one longs for.

And yet, that very cloth—something that should merely be an obstruction, something unnecessary—why is it so irresistibly alluring?

Yes… panties.

Why is it that the panties a girl wears can tease a man’s heart so much?

The mind and heart, wounded and tormented by the hell of this entire day, were slowly being soothed…

※　　　※　　　※

The whole thing started with what happened that morning.

“Lisara, let me copy your homework.”

After breakfast, with the opening ceremony just three days away, Ryousuke had finally remembered the existence of homework. By the second year of high school, it was already the season to start thinking about entrance exams, and the teachers, full of unnecessary kindness and consideration, had handed out a mountain of assignments.

And, of course, Ryousuke hadn’t touched a single one.

In a normal year, he would have somehow finished about half of it, then had Mina look over the rest, but this summer had been hectic. He’d gone to the Shinigami world, been dragged along to the beach, and in the latter half of summer vacation after returning from the sea, he had even started training his body little by little, leaving him with hardly any time.

Which meant that Ryousuke, in flawless and perfect fashion, hadn’t done a single thing.

And so, partly under the pretense of『shared responsibility』he set his sights on Lisara’s notebook, assuming she had already finished hers. However, the answer he got was a full one hundred eighty degrees opposite of what he expected.

“No.”

Lisara, washing dishes at the kitchen sink, didn’t even turn around as she shut down Ryousuke’s plan with a single word.

“Why not!?”

“No means no.”

Cold. Completely blunt.

“C’mon… look, it’s not an official Shinigami contract, but we’ve got a provisional one, right? And I’ve been helping you search for『Irregulars』too! You could at least support me a little!”

As Ryousuke desperately pleaded his case, Lisara turned off the faucet and faced him, still wearing her apron.

She was a girl defined by her long, glossy red hair and crimson eyes.

Her figure gave off an overall sharp impression, her body toned and full of lively firmness. Though hidden by the apron, her waist had a beautiful curve, and her slim T-shirt suited her well. That said, her bust could only be described as disappointingly flat…

But more eye-catching than that were her denim hot pants, so short they barely had any hem.

They ended right at the base of her thighs, leaving her long, slender legs completely exposed.

A very summery appearance. That was Lisara’s outfit today.

And above all, she was wearing an apron over it.

Depending on how you looked at it, it almost seemed like a『naked apron』and from Ryousuke’s perspective, today’s fashion was extremely satisfying.

“…What’s with that suddenly loosened grin on your face?”

Lisara looked at him suspiciously.

“N-no, it’s nothing. Anyway, about helping me with my homework—”

“I told you, that’s not happening.”

“Why not!?”

At Ryousuke’s protest, Lisara let out a haa sigh, then leaned forward with a serious expression.

“Listen, Ryousuke.”

“Yeah?”

“Even if it’s only provisional, you’ve formed a contract with me, Lisara Restall.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“You really don’t get it, do you, Ryousuke? I need you to become someone worthy of that position, otherwise it’ll be a problem for me.”

“A problem? It’s just a provisional contract, you know. It’s not that big of a deal.”

Hearing his reply, Lisara placed her hands on her hips, bent forward, and brought her face closer to his.

“Provisional or not, I’m going to make you into someone worthy of me. No, I’ll even introduce you to my mother and my relatives and make you into someone they can’t complain about!”

She leaned in even further as she declared it strongly.

“Hey now, it’s not like you’re introducing a bride… well, in this case, a groom. It’s not like you’re planning to introduce your groom or anything.”

“I-I’m just saying you should have that level of determination!”

For some reason, Lisara averted her gaze slightly.

“Even if you say that…”

“Anyway! I’m going to make sure you properly do your homework. Got it? I’ll bring the materials, and I’ll even teach you right beside you, so you’ll finish everything on your own within the remaining three days.”

“No way, that’s impossible! And more importantly, don’t just barge into my room whenever you want!”

“Oh? I clean it for you all the time. What’s the issue now?”

Lisara replied with a completely nonchalant expression.

“D-don’t tell me… the erotic magazines I secretly bought disappearing…”

“Yes, I’ve been throwing them away.”

“Are you my mom or something!?”

“When I first came here, I gathered them all up and threw them away for you and yet you keep buying more without learning your lesson. That’s your fault, isn’t it? Well, whatever. Anyway, I’ll go bring them.”

Lisara straightened her back and slipped off her apron. A slim T-shirt that fit snugly to her body, paired with hot pants. The sight of her long, toned arms and thighs exposed made Ryousuke’s eyes drift toward them without thinking.

‘Damn it… I’ve seen her in a swimsuit, even naked… but still… Lisara really does have an amazing figure everywhere except her chest…’

Once again, he found himself wondering why such a beautiful Shinigami girl was living in his house. And Ryousuke savored that stroke of luck.

“…What is it?”

Looking slightly uncomfortable, Lisara glanced at him. Her face was faintly red, and Ryousuke panicked.

“N-no, nice thighs— I mean, it’s nothing!”

As Ryousuke tried to cover it up, Kyuru, dressed in a one-piece with a wide-open neckline, shot him a sharp look.

She was an apprentice Shinigami girl with long, wavy chestnut-colored hair, as cute as a doll. However, in contrast to that appearance, she had once tried to overthrow Lisara and become the heir of the Restall family, so her inner nature was quite dark.

Letting out a small sigh, Kyuru cut in.

“Ryousuke-san, you said it quite clearly, you know.”

The one who reacted to that remark wasn’t Ryousuke himself—

—it was Lisara.

“──!”

She hurriedly put the apron she had just taken off back on.

“Ahh, what a waste!”

At Ryousuke’s honest words, Lisara turned her face away and shouted.

“I-it’s not『what a waste』! Don’t look at me like that!”

“Oh my, you’ve already shown him not just your swimsuit but even your naked body. Isn’t it a bit late to be getting embarrassed now?”

Kyuru pointed it out teasingly and Lisara shot her a glare.

“…It’s not like I’m embarrassed.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

“Yes, it is.”

With a sharp hmph, Lisara snorted and left the dining room. Watching her retreating figure, Kyuru gave a wry smile.

“W-what do you mean『kiddie underwear』!? There’s nothing childish about Kyuru’s underwear! It’s way more alluring than your plain, no-frills panties, Onee-sama!”

“I can’t just go around casually using the spiritual energy I receive from Ryousuke. Naturally, I have to keep it to the bare minimum, don’t I?”

Lisara pointed that out as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. And indeed, both Lisara and Kyuru generated their clothing through techniques that consumed spiritual energy. As for that energy source, Lisara drew hers from Ryousuke, while Kyuru relied on Caesar, the Kaga household’s watchdog and the undisputed king among the neighborhood dogs.

“If you get hung up on unnecessary embellishments, the energy consumption increases.”

At Lisara’s remark, Kyuru let out a frustrated『vuvu』 growl.

“…But still, you sometimes make extra stuff, don’t you?”

At Ryousuke’s comment, Lisara smiled.

“Yes, sometimes. Really, only very, very rarely, though.”

Ryousuke couldn’t quite accept that answer.

“More importantly, for the next three days, you won’t have any time to play around.”

Lisara smiled sweetly.

That smile was, in effect, a death sentence for Ryousuke.

Just like that, he was forced to study math nonstop under her supervision until lunchtime. Even while Lisara boiled somen, he wasn’t allowed to leave his desk. After lunch, he got a thirty-minute break, then it was straight back to studying until night. Kyuru went out to buy groceries for dinner and while Lisara cooked, he still wasn’t allowed to leave his desk. Including dinner and a short break, he had only one hour…

In the end, Ryousuke wasn’t released until midnight.

And on top of that, he was given the『death sentence』 that homework would resume at seven in the morning the next day…

※　　　※　　　※

“I’m gonna die… At this rate, I’m going to be killed by homework and Lisara…”

A little past one in the morning, Ryousuke sat up on his bed. His head was still hazy and hot, like he had a fever from overthinking, and he couldn’t fall asleep.

“Summer vacation’s almost over already. Is it really okay to spend it like this… like this kind of summer…?”

When he closed his eyes, it appeared vividly on the back of his eyelids.

Under the summer sun, himself enjoying the rest of his vacation—going shopping with Lisara, Kyuru and Mina, heading to the pool, making the most of those remaining days.

He would definitely be sweating.

Because of that, their bras would probably end up faintly showing through.

Ahh… this is summer.

This is what a proper summer vacation should be.

“That’s right. As a perfectly normal guy living in the human world, shouldn’t I properly teach Lisara and the others—who are Shinigami—what a human high schooler’s summer vacation is supposed to be like?”

He clenched his fist tightly.

“Exactly. That’s it. This isn’t about running away from homework. I’ll just finish it properly, and then show Lisara and the others a shining summer. This is… this is the duty of a man!”

With that resolve, Ryousuke crawled out of bed.

Then, tiptoeing—nuki-ashi sashi-ashi—he quietly descended the stairs, muttering to himself.

“There’s only one way. Steal Lisara’s notebook. And copy it… tonight.”

Of course, that would mean pulling an all-nighter.

But still… even so—

“If I do that, tomorrow and the day after I can play—no, I can provide them with a shining summer. Fufufu… You only get one second-year summer vacation in high school. For that, even if I burn myself out completely, I’ll stay up all night copying homework! I’m done with memorizing equations already!”

Firm in his determination, Ryousuke quietly slipped into the room where Lisara and Kyuru were staying as boarders.

In the dim room, lit only by the faint glow of streetlights filtering in, the two of them were sleeping peacefully, breathing softly—suyaa… suyaa…

Kyuru was slightly angled, but overall, neither of them had particularly bad sleeping habits.

Perhaps because it was so hot and humid, both of them had pushed aside their thin summer blankets, leaving their Y-shirt–style pajamas exposed.

The chest area of those pajamas rose and fell with their breathing.

Lisara’s chest showed no sway, no gaps between buttons—just a simple up-and-down motion.

In contrast, Kyuru’s chest had a faint bounce, and between the buttons, a slight glimpse of skin appeared as it moved up and down.

Before he knew it, he felt the urge to stare.

‘No, wait. Staring at someone’s sleeping face without permission… that’s, well… not very gentlemanly, right?’

Just as Ryousuke shook off that intrusive thought, he suddenly realized something.

If he got caught sneaking in like this, wouldn’t he be mistaken for a night intruder… a prowler?

A man quietly sneaking into a room where girls are sleeping.

No matter how you look at it, that’s a night crawl.

‘I-if that happens… maybe they’ll forgive me if I grovel and apologize…?’

He could feel cold sweat trickling down.

‘But still, all I have to do is quickly borrow the notebook and get out.’

In his mind, the image surfaced again—of the two of them playing under the summer sun.

Lisara’s bare legs extending from her hot pants and the black bra strap on Kyuru’s shoulder.

And then, the image of the two of them getting wet under the sun while watering plants.

Ahh… summer.

That—that is what summer vacation is.

After biting down on his lip, Ryousuke steeled himself and began searching for the notebook.

“…Is it this one? No, not that—maybe this.”

He rummaged through Lisara’s study materials.

“Oh… around here, maybe.”

And just as he finally found it—

“…Mm, who’s there?”

Lisara’s half-asleep voice, along with the sound of her getting up, echoed in the midnight room. Then—

“What is it, Onee-sama… munyu…”

Kyuru’s equally half-asleep voice followed, along with the sound of her rising.

“…………”

Ryousuke froze.

“Mm…?”

“Fuwaaa…”

The two of them started approaching.

At this point, there was only one option left: a full prostration apology. Ryousuke made his decision instantly.

【I didn’t come here for a night crawl, I came to steal a notebook.】

If he said that, at least they wouldn’t drain his life force.

To show surrender and that he meant no resistance, Ryousuke raised his hands. Then, turning around, he dropped into a forceful dogeza.

“I’m sorry!!”

He shouted—

And in doing so, his hands caught on Lisara and Kyuru’s pants.

Zururi… ston.

Their pants slid down.

Fell.

And their panties were revealed.

※　　　※　　　※

And thus, Ryousuke’s recollection came to an end.

Yes—him looking up at Lisara and Kyuru’s panties from below was an unavoidable accident.

No matter how happy it made him, no matter how blissful it was, it wasn’t something Ryousuke had intended. This had to be a reward from the gods of evolution, granted to kind-hearted Ryousuke for trying to teach Lisara and Kyuru what a proper high school summer vacation should be like. It absolutely wasn’t a warning against him trying to slack off.

Even so, as he prepared himself to at least drop into a dogeza, Ryousuke suddenly felt a sense of unease.

Something was off.

After all, he should be looking up at panties.

At this very moment, he was staring up at the final barrier covering a maiden’s gate—so to speak, a maiden’s second veil—from below.

And not just something freshly removed, but still being worn… and by two people at that!

It should have been overwhelmingly exciting.

There was guilt, sure. But even so, faced with the reality right before him, Ryousuke’s heart felt like it was in the middle of the Rio Carnival.

And yet—yet—

“Why!?”

Ryousuke let out a cry of sorrow.

“Eh…?”

Lisara blinked in confusion. But without even noticing her, Ryousuke wailed in anguish.

“Why—why, even though I’m this excited, is my『son』not reacting────────!!”

“Eh… u-um, what…?”

Lisara’s gaze darted around, before finally landing on her own lower body—and she froze.

A fraction of a second.

Instantly, Lisara tugged down the hem of her pajamas, hiding her panties.

She pulled it down, just enough to barely conceal them.

That gesture—

was irresistible.

Incredibly so.

However, there was still no reaction from his『son』.

“Whyyyyyyyyy!? At this rate, even if I sneak in at night, I won’t be able to do anything—moga!?”

While sobbing and crying out, Ryousuke took a pillow thrown by Lisara straight to the face.

“A night crawl, you sayyyyyyy!?”

“W-wait, no, that’s not what I meant—”

“At least set the mood a little!”

“Huh?”

Ryousuke blinked in confusion, while—

“Ah.”

Lisara let out a small voice like she’d realized something.

“A-anyway, just get out of the room already────!”

As if trying to cover it up, Lisara kept hurling things at him one after another—Kyuru’s pillow, the summer blanket, even the bedsheet.

“Hmm, Kyuru wouldn’t mind being visited at night—but then again, in a three-person situation, it’d be hard to tell who the main wife is…”

Right beside her, Kyuru pondered this out loud—while still showing her panties…

※　　　※　　　※

In a room with the lights turned on, Ryousuke and the others sat in a circle.

For about five minutes now, the only sound echoing in the room was the ticking of the clock. All the while, Lisara had been glaring at Ryousuke with a face like a demon.

It was terrifying and since the fault was undeniably his, Ryousuke could do nothing but shrink in on himself.

In other words, it wasn’t an atmosphere where he could start making excuses.

Then, with a yare yare, shaking her head side to side, Kyuru finally broke the silence.

“So then, Ryousuke-san, did you come here for a threesome?”

“A-a threesome!?”

Lisara tilted her head in confusion.

“It means having sex with three people.”

Bon.

Lisara turned completely red.

“Could you not blush at every little thing?”

“B-but something that lewd…just hearing it is embarrassing!”

“So with three people, it’s too lewd?”

“O-of course it is!”

“Hm. So that means, if it’s a one-on-one act with Ryousuke-san, it’s not a problem for you, Onee-sama?”

“How did you even arrive at that conclusion──────!?”

Shouting, Lisara glared at Kyuru as if she were about to bite her.

“Yes, yes, I understand. Well, for Kyuru, having a spineless rival is more than welcome.”

Kyuru gave a wry smile, and for some reason, Lisara’s face turned sullen.

“So then, Ryousuke-san. Were you aiming for both of us or were you trying to sneak up on either Kyuru or Onee-sama specifically?”

“That’s not it. There’s no way I’d do something like a night crawl.”

As Ryousuke insisted, Lisara placed her index finger on her chin and thought for a moment.

“Well, now that you mention it, I do think you’re not the type to directly lay a hand on someone or force anything lewd…”

“Right? Right!? I mean, yeah, I’m a pervert, but I’m a safe and harmless pervert! I’d never do something as scummy as laying a hand on a sleeping girl! I even thought it’d be wrong to look at your sleeping faces or how you sleep, so I tried not to look!”

“…………But that means you did look at least once, doesn’t it?”

Lisara gave him a cold, half-lidded stare.

“Eh, ah… well…”

“…………『Safe and harmless』, my foot.”

“I’m sorry.”

Ryousuke lowered his head.

“Well, Kyuru’s sleeping face is like that of an angel, so I don’t mind however much you look. But sneaking into a room where women are sleeping—there’s no explanation for that other than a night crawl.”

Kyuru pointed out bluntly.

“That’s true.”

Lisara nodded in agreement, but Ryousuke pointed something out to the two of them.

“Hold on. You’re both forgetting one important thing.”

“What?”

“What is it?”

“Even if I wanted to do a night crawl, I can’t in my current state.”

Ryousuke tapped the bracelet on his right wrist ton ton. It was a simple bracelet covered in black tanned leather, with no real decoration—aside from the faint sheen that changed depending on how the light hit it.

“This thing, Gleipnir, which transforms into a defensive weapon, absorbs and stores my life force every time it gets activated. In other words, no matter how excited I get… heh.”

He brushed his hair back and gave a wry, almost nihilistic smile.

“My『son』won’t stand. Actually… lately, not even in the mornings…”

And then he collapsed right there, breaking down in tears.

“I-I see… That makes sense. Since lewd things are tied to your life force, Ryousuke-san, then… um, even if you feel desire, that energy gets drained away… so you c-can’t… do it…”

Blushing, Kyuru stammered her way to an understanding.

“That’s right. And on top of that, this thing was originally the sheath for Gram, wasn’t it? Thanks to that, I can’t even take it off unless Lisara does it.”

“That’s correct. Since Galdabroeg took Fafnir from your soul, Ryousuke-san, the awakening of Gram is limited in uses. To prevent it from activating on its own, it’s kept under Onee-sama Lisara’s control.”

“See? There’s no way I’d try a night crawl and then ask the other person to, y’know, get me going.”

“I see. So even doing lewd things requires Onee-sama Lisara’s permission.”

“So not just Gram, but even whether I can stand… is under Lisara’s control…”

“W-well, you could call it a side effect… but it kind of sounds like a chastity device, doesn’t it?”

“Hey…”

At Kyuru’s remark, Ryousuke slumped even further. Meanwhile, Lisara herself tilted her head, unable to keep up with the conversation.

“Chastity device? Um… so what does that actually mean in the end?”

“Basically, it means Onee-sama is managing things so Ryousuke-san can’t freely do anything lewd.”

“………………Ah, I see.”

Pon, Lisara clapped her hands.

“H-hey, can I ask you one thing?”

Ryousuke lifted his face, looking at her with pleading eyes.

“Once Gleipnir is full of spiritual energy, it won’t keep absorbing anymore, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“But think about it. The last time I used Gleipnir was in the middle of summer vacation, at the beach. Wouldn’t it have already been replenished by now with the energy I generate every day? I mean, I’ve had plenty of moments this latter half of summer where I got excited. Like, when my underwear got covered by yours on the laundry pole, or when I could see both your belly buttons through your T-shirts because of sweat…”

As Ryousuke desperately listed examples, Lisara’s face turned red… then she gave a wry smile and finally a grin.

“W-what is it, Lisara?”

“I’ll remind you of something important, Ryousuke.”

“Hm?”

“The spiritual energy you’ve been accumulating like that every day… I’ve been regularly draining it so I can continue existing in the human world, haven’t I?”

“Ah… ah───────────────!”

Ryousuke went completely limp as the realization hit him.

Lisara gently patted his head.

“L-Lisara…”

Moved, Ryousuke looked up at her, but Lisara simply smiled.

“I already have a good idea what your real objective was, you know?”

“Huh?”

“You were trying to steal my notebook and copy the homework, weren’t you?”

“Ugh…”

“Fufufu, as a special bonus, I’ll be giving you some additional homework too.”

That smile…

To Ryousuke, it looked less like that of a Shinigami—and more like a devil’s…