Vol. 1 Chapter 3.4 – I Tried Visiting the Bookstore Regularly

Today as well, I headed to the bookstore after school.

“Welcome—. Ah, Issei-san.”

Piroron♡—just by entering the store, the sound of increased favorability rang out.

This past Sunday was spent at the library. The misunderstanding had been cleared—not that it really was, though.

He had told Shiori that he was approaching her with the purpose of『seeing her panties』and the favorability that had dropped to rock bottom had been recovered.

Issei smiled and spoke to Shiori.

“Do you have any book recommendations for today? —Also, show me your panties.”

Issei’s『objective』was already acknowledged by Shiori.

Being able to interact with nothing hidden made for a very cheerful mood.

“T-That’s why I said—! I-It’s still too early for that! And—! Please don’t say that when there are other people around!”

“Mm. I understand.”

“You have to promise!”

“Of course. I understand.”

“You absolutely, absolutely have to promise!”

“So, about that recommended book?”

“Ah—sorry! Um, how about this book over here?”

From the shelf behind the counter, she pulled out some books.

The books Shiori selected were several volumes. Each one was of a fresh and unique theme.

“They’re very interesting.”

“R-Really?!”

To be honest, just a few books weren’t quite enough for Issei, but he accepted the ones Shiori had picked out and left the store.

◇

The next day as well, Issei continued going to the bookstore.

“Shiori. Let me see your panties.”

“Yes yes. Maybe next time.”

The following day too, he went to the bookstore again.

“I wish to see panties.”

“If you keep saying things like that, the police might take you away.”

And thus, going to the bookstore became a daily routine.

◇

“Why are you following me?”

“I received a report from a witness that Issei’s been loitering around the bookstore too much.”

From diagonally behind, Fujino Sakiko—sticking close—was questioned by Issei with a simple curiosity.

From the moment they left school, Sakiko had been following him.

“Hmm? Who saw me? Was it the gyaru girls?”

“Motohashi and Yokawa. At least remember your classmates’ names.”

“Right. I’ve memorized them now.”

Though he supposedly remembered the faces and names of every student, for some reason, only those two never stuck in his memory. It seemed his brain was outright rejecting them. But since it was Sakiko who said it, he would make the effort to remember.

Still, there were two gyaru girls—so which one was Motohashi and which one was Yokawa?

“It’s true I’ve been frequenting the bookstore, but how does that justify you tagging along?”

“Because it’s your favorite bookstore, right?”

“Well, I suppose that’s true.”

Though it wasn’t the bookstore itself that interested him, but rather the bookstore clerk…

Thanks to her management, even the book selection was impressive. Despite the limited display space in the small shop, she had managed to stock the widest possible variety.

“Then of course I’d be curious.”

“Is that how it works?”

Ever since she showed him her panties the other day, the distance between Sakiko and him had clearly changed.

She talked to him often. She came close frequently. Their eyes would often meet in casual moments.

At one point, she even asked,『Are you hoping to see my panties again?』

There was no need to see panties a second time since he had already seen them once.

He had no idea why she would ask something like that.

Since there was no need to drive Sakiko away when she said she would come along to the bookstore, he just let her do as she pleased.

In front of the bookstore, he came to a stop.

“Huh. I didn’t know there was a bookstore here.”

Wedged between mixed-use buildings, the entrance was indeed narrow.

“Welcome— Oh!”

As they entered the store, Shiori’s face lit up upon spotting Issei, but then froze when she saw Sakiko come in right after him.

“Hmnm?”

“Ah, it’s surprisingly spacious inside. Huh. I don’t usually go to bookstores, but wow—so many books.”

Saying something completely obvious, Sakiko looked around the store with wide-eyed curiosity.

Issei glanced back and forth between Sakiko and Shiori, who was behind the counter.

Along Shiori’s body, something like a shimmering heat haze seemed to rise… or so it felt.

He remembered seeing that before.

Back when he had told her he approached her just to see her panties—that same phenomenon had occurred.

Something bad was about to happen.

And the likely cause was—

“Sakiko. House.”

“Huh…?”

Sakiko, who had been cheerfully looking around the store, turned to Issei with a puzzled face.

“Must I say it twice? Sakiko. House.”

“H-House…!? Hey, Issei! I’m not a dog!”

“Sakiko.”

When Issei quietly said her name, Sakiko flinched.

“Ugh… I’ve got a part-time job anyway, so I was going to leave… but being treated like this… it’s so irritating…”

Turning back twice with a resentful glance, Sakiko left the store.

Issei turned around to check on Shiori.

The aura of anger had decreased by about half.

It seemed this was the『correct』response as a countermeasure. Still, about half of it remained.

“She’s just a classmate.”

“She seemed pretty close for just a classmate.”

“She’s like that with everyone. That’s why she’s so popular in class.”

“She called you by your name without honorifics.”

“Come to think of it, she used to nag me to call her by her family name instead.”

Though recently, for some reason, she hadn’t brought it up.

Issei gave Shiori a sidelong glance. The aura rising from her body had thinned quite a bit. But it hadn’t disappeared completely.

Apparently, he was now doing something called an 『explanation.』

For Issei, this was his first time ever attempting an 『explanation.』

Issei searched for a way to begin this 『explanation.』

“It seems she heard somewhere that I’ve been coming to this bookstore. She started tagging along out of curiosity, and frankly, it’s been a nuisance.”

Sticking to his base strategy of not lying, he tried to steer things in a direction that would calm Shiori’s anger.

Though he didn’t quite understand why Shiori got angry in the first place, even a genius had no choice but to fumble his way through…

“But this puts us in a difficult position as a store.”

“Hm?”

Just then, he heard a piron♡ sound.

He wasn’t sure which keyword did the trick, but…

“You just chased away someone who might’ve become a customer.”

“Then I’ll buy some books to make up for it. That should settle things.”

“Yes. Please take your time choosing.”

As instructed, Issei leisurely picked out some books.

◇

Days of stopping by the bookstore after school continued.

“Welcome—”

A gentle smile greeted him. The piron♡ sound chimed too.

“Aah. Let me see your panties.”

“Officer, he’s over here!”

As usual, she brushed him off lightly today as well.

Issei headed to the shelves at the back of the store. He had already gone through every shelf in the store twice, and this was his third round. The space emptied by the books he’d bought had already been restocked with new ones.

Just by looking at the arrangement of the titles, it was obvious that Shiori had chosen them.

He picked up one, then another, flipping through the pages when—

“—Please calm down! Okakusan!”

He heard Shiori’s tense voice.

Wondering what was going on, he peeked out from the aisle—

“Shut up! Just hand over the money already!”

A man wielding a blade stood there.

“Okakusan! You can’t do this! Please put that away! I’m begging you! Calm down!”

Shiori was desperately trying to reason with him.

No matter how you looked at it, he was clearly a robber—not a『customer.』

For a moment, Shiori’s eyes met Issei’s. From under the counter, she subtly gestured toward him.

From what he could gather, her hand signal probably meant 『Hide.』

But Issei was already on the move.

Not rushing, but walking at a normal pace, he calmly made his way toward the counter.

“Hey, you—! Who the hell are you!? You wanna go, huh!?”

“Don’t! Issei-san, don’t!”

The man yelled.

Shiori tried to stop him—brave girl, that Shiori.

However, having a knife pointed at him wasn’t nearly enough to make the genius Issei alter his behavior.

“Uoraaahhh!!”

The man, in a frenzy, charged with his blade swinging wildly.

Issei dodged by a fraction of a millimeter, landed a solid hit to the man’s solar plexus, and grabbed his wrist—the one holding the knife—crushing it with sheer grip strength.

Clatter—the sound of the blade falling to the floor.

By the time Issei had effortlessly subdued the man, the shop entrance burst open and men and women in black suits and dark sunglasses, along with a maid, rushed in.

“You’re late.”

“We apologize.”

The black-glasses unit dragged the man out. The maid swiftly restored the disheveled books to order.

From breach to retreat, the entire operation took exactly five seconds flat—

The store returned to the same state it had been in before the robbery attempt.

“Eh? Ah? —Um? …Who were those people just now?”

Still standing dumbfounded, Shiori looked back and forth between the shop entrance and Issei.

“Attempted robbery. He’s been handed over to the proper authorities.”

“Eh? Ah…? T-To the police… or someone?”

“Something like that, yeah.”

“I see…”

The situation changed so suddenly that Shiori couldn’t keep up. Of course, that was exactly why he made a high-speed retreat.

“Ah──!! Issei-san!! That!!”

Shiori suddenly shouted.

Looking at Issei’s face, her expression changed drastically.

When he touched his cheek, he felt blood.

Ah. So he had dodged a bit too close and grazed himself.

Next time, he should aim to dodge within millimeters.

“No way──you’re injured!”

“It’s just a scratch.”

It really was just a scratch──

But Shiori was visibly shaken.

“Treatment──we need to treat it! A-a-ambulance! Call an ambulance!”

“No need for an ambulance. If you call 7119, they’ll definitely just tell you to put on a bandage.”

“A-a bandage?!”

Shiori grabbed his hand and started pulling him along.

Though it was a woman’s hand and not particularly strong, there was a mysterious force in it that he couldn’t resist.

After dragging Issei to the counter, Shiori dashed into the backroom and came back out with a first aid kit.

“It might sting a little.”

Soaked in disinfectant, the cotton pad was pressed gently against the wound on his cheek.

Seated in a chair, Issei behaved obediently. Shiori’s serious expression was far scarier than that robber earlier.

“Thank goodness… it’s a really shallow wound…”

“I told you, it’s just a scratch.”

He had dodged within sub-millimeter precision, so naturally, the wound’s depth was also sub-millimeter.

“But an injury is still an injury! Getting hurt like this… just to protect someone like me… I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

Why are you apologizing?

Issei turned to say that—and saw Shiori’s tears spilling down in streams.

“Uwoah!? Wha… why are you crying?”

“Because… becauseee…”

She lifted her glasses and rubbed her eyes roughly with the back of her hand. But the tears kept flowing, dripping off the tip of her chin.

“As you can see, I’m unharmed. But my injury isn’t the issue here. Shiori──I’m truly glad you’re safe.”

“Issei-san…”

“When the robber attacked, you gave me a hand signal telling me to ‘stay hidden.’ You were more concerned for me than yourself.”

“Y-Yes! Because the idea of Issei-san getting hurt for someone like me──! I couldn’t bear that──!”

“I feel the same way.”

Issei said it.

“Saying something twice means it’s special. ──I’m truly glad you’re safe.”

“Issei-san…”

Shiori’s tears had stopped.

Behind her glasses, her wide-open eyes locked onto Issei’s.

Piron♡ Piroron♡ Pirorororororon♡ Pirororororororororororon♡

The sound rang out. So many times in succession, the individual tones could no longer be distinguished.

Issei and Shiori stared silently into each other’s eyes.

And Issei remembered what Chitose had told him.

『Girls need the right atmosphere.』

He honestly didn’t really understand this thing called 『atmosphere…』

But this moment—staring into each other’s eyes, even blinking felt like a disruption—wasn’t this the most perfect state possible?

Alright──

“Shiori…”

“Yes…”

──I’m going to say it.

“I wish to see panties.”

After a few seconds passed, Shiori──

“…Huh?”

She tilted her head and said that.

“I didn’t say it at first… but I told you afterward, so you should have understood. That I approached you in order to see panties.”

“Huh? Eh? …Eh? Eeehh?”

Shiori blinked repeatedly.

Issei leaned closer to her.

“Now, show me your panties.”

“Y-you’re… right. Issei-san approached me with naughty intentions, didn’t you…”

“No, that’s a misunderstanding. I want to see panties. I only want to see panties. I don’t really understand what you mean by naughty, and I’m fairly certain it’s different from what you’re imagining.”

Then Issei added a thought that had just come to mind.

“You’re probably mistaking this for something called 『romance.』But I declare this has nothing to do with that. I purely wish to see panties.”

He’d been recommended many romance novels by Shiori, and had read them all. This realization came from that experience.

“You declare it…? That it has nothing to do with romance?”

“Indeed. Of course. I sincerely, and purely, want to see panties.”

Issei puffed out his chest and said that proudly.

There was… no reply.

Shiori kept her head down.

The light reflected off her glasses’ lenses, hiding her eyes.

“…Understood.”

Eventually, her reply came in agreement.

Issei clenched his fist and exclaimed, “Ooh!”

Panties. Panties. Panties. At last, he could finally see panties!

He picked his position. As Shiori placed her hand on the shelf, he quickly slipped behind her.

She unfastened the button of her denim. The sound of the zipper being pulled down filled Issei with uncontrollable anticipation and excitement.

He felt his heartbeat accelerating.

How shocking──! The genius Issei had lost control over even the beating of his own heart.

Just as she placed her hands on the waistband of the denim, Shiori looked down at Issei, who was behind her.

“Just because someone likes books… doesn’t mean they’re decent.”

She could insult him all she wanted. Right now, he only wanted to see panties.

He desired panties!

“…I’m disappointed in you. …You pervert.”

The denim was pulled down.

What appeared beneath… was pink panties.

“…My cheap panties. …Is it really enjoyable to look at something like this?”

A cold voice rained down.

Before he knew it, Issei was on the floor, gazing up from a low angle.

The panties that Shiori called『cheap』did indeed feel different from the ones belonging to Chitose or Sakiko.

But that was fine in its own way. Panties that had been through countless washes held a charm all their own.

There is no hierarchy in panties.

Hafuu…

Issei let out a breath.

He was satisfied. Completely fulfilled. Truly, panties were wonderful.

“What a worthless man.”

As a frigid gaze poured down on him, Issei stood tall.

“Shiori.”

“Could you not say my name?”

“I was shown a fine pair of panties!! Adios!! Until tomorrow, then!!”

Issei left the shop brimming with enthusiasm.

“Until tomorrow…?”

Left alone, Shiori furrowed her brows, a deep vertical wrinkle forming between them.

She suddenly realized and pulled her denim back up. Hiding her panties.

And then, she let out a soft murmur.

“…Idiot.”