Chapter 28: The Pervert’s Endless Cycle of Choices

…

“Himekoji, come with me to the office.”

Suddenly, just as the bored Himekoji and the gloomy Hikigaya were sitting together in heavy silence, those words drifted lazily towards him from down the hall.

The owner of the voice was very familiar. No doubt about it, it was Hiratsuka Sensei, standing there in the hallway with a slight smirk and a mischievous look, beckoning him.

Hey! Is she a stalker? How come this teacher is everywhere? Seriously, if she’s that bored, she should work on her looks and go find someone to marry!

He instantly knew – his little stunt harassing Miura back in the classroom must have been witnessed by Hiratsuka Sensei.

He could pretty much guess the outcome…

But the most infuriating part was Hikigaya beside him, gloating with a “see ya” hand wave.

Figures. The two guys sharing the “Top 5 Blacklist” spot in Class 2-B couldn’t possibly stick together.

…

No choice. It was too late to run.

Himekoji Akito obediently trailed behind Hiratsuka Sensei, matching her steps closely.

But this time, following her, he suddenly discovered something amazing!

His teacher, who always made her sleek dress pants look uniquely stylish – no, it was practically her signature brand within the school – was actually wearing a skirt and pantyhose today.

And the stockings were black.

Black stockings’ black is the world’s dirtiest black, yet also its purest black.

Some legs wearing them radiate the former feeling, some radiate the latter.

But when Himekoji tried to comment on the pair of legs in front of him, he found himself stuck. It was tough to decide.

If he had to say, these were legs so beautiful they miraculously pulled off combining two completely different looks, slender yet perfectly curved.

Of course, just staring nonstop at a nice pair of legs while walking behind someone was totally pervert behavior.

Himekoji wasn’t a pervert… wait, he actually was sort of a pervert.

Crap, what am I even thinking? No!

Anyway, this time, the reason Himekoji stared so intently at her legs wasn’t the legs themselves. It was those black stockings—

The leaves content to highlight the flower that were the legs.

Unless he was seeing things, that pair of stockings… looked exactly like the pair the System had conjured up for him to propose to Hiratsuka Sensei with that day…

Imported from Italy, super thin and sheer…

Seriously?! She confiscated them from me and just started wearing them herself?

But, well… Nice one, Teach! You’re the future of the black stocking world!

Himekoji was busy marveling internally when Hiratsuka Sensei had already marched him right into the staff room.

For some reason, the staff room was strangely quiet today.

Huh? Are the other teachers all gone?

Himekoji suddenly felt nervous. Being alone with Hiratsuka Sensei – it wasn’t exactly that. He wasn’t scared of her.

He was worried about the System!

Being trapped alone with her in an enclosed space? Conditions this ambiguous? It was the perfect environment for triggering a Perverse Choice!

He had to admit, thanks to countless run-ins with the System, Himekoji had developed a sharp instinct for when the Pervert Choices were likely to strike.

He was practically amazing at predicting it!

…

“So the sexual harassment against Miura earlier… was that also because someone in your head made you do it?”

Hiratsuka Sensei plopped down onto her office chair, crossed her legs, and questioned Himekoji Akito with lazy authority.

“P-probably.”

“Oh?” Hiratsuka Sensei suddenly gestured. “Come here, stick your head out.”

“What for?” Himekoji asked warily.

“What for? Obviously to poke a hole in your skull. I need to have a little chat with whoever’s living inside.” The female teacher stated calmly, uttering bizarre and violent horror-movie lines.

Hey! You call yourself a teacher? If you keep threatening your students like this, you’ll lose your teaching license!

Himekoji only dared complain in his head.

But complaining made him remember something—

Come to think of it, the Choices had been strangely quiet lately, almost forgotten. He thought for sure stepping into the office, a high-risk zone, would guarantee triggering one.

Yet, it had been a little while now, and still nothing happened.

Maybe the System is finally getting old and breaking down? That would be awesome!

[Break down your head! Keep blabbering and I’ll break you!]

Damn it…

His face darkened, and Himekoji wisely shut up inside his own head.

[Make a choice!]

Seriously?! Why is it still showing up? Didn’t I just admit defeat? Dammit!

[A: Ask Hiratsuka Sensei to give you her still-warm stockings. Better act fast.]

[B: Ask Hiratsuka Sensei to give you her still-warm underwear. Better act fast.]

[Quest Completed Reward: 10 2D Points]

[Quest Failed: Automatically proceed to the next choice.]

The moment he finished reading, Himekoji was dumbfounded.

Wait! Hold on!

Since when did they add that dumb “failed means automatically next choice” setting?!

Are you kidding?!

So you’re not only giving me these super impossible choices, but you actually expect me to succeed?

Thank you so much for having so much faith in me!

But I’ve got to tell you, you’re way off the mark!

Himekoji thought back responsibly. He’d been plagued by this System for almost a year. He must have faced hundreds of Choices, big and small.

The number he’d actually succeeded at? He could count them on one hand.

Seriously, less than five…

So, was today the day the System planned to drag him through an “endless loop of failures,” a “cycle of defeat,” a “forever next choice” hell?

Success? With choices like this? Impossible!

But no amount of complaining changed anything. Himekoji knew, through countless painful ordeals, that the System never went easy.

Calming down, he took a deep breath, gritted his teeth—

Screw it! He had no choice but to just try!

…

“Himekoji-kun? What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and put your head here.”

Hiratsuka Sensei seemed to be losing patience.

Tch… Being a pervert sure isn’t easy…

Himekoji obediently stepped forward, respectfully bowing his head as requested, while inside his mind, he frantically calculated how to succeed on this first try.

Because he knew without a doubt, given the System’s terrible nature, the next Perverse Choice would absolutely be even more deranged and obscene than this one.

Therefore, no matter what it took, he had to end this cycle on this choice!

Filled with fighting spirit, Himekoji Akit got ready.