Chapter 295: Carrying a Big Pot
Chapter 295: Carrying a Big Pot
Early the next morning.
Akiko barged into Himekoji’s room, her face radiating excitement.
“Onii-chan, you’ve finally come to your senses! Long live sibling love!”
Shouting this slogan-like phrase, Akiko marched forward, flung open Himekoji’s quilt, and planted herself squarely on his lower back.
“Fuck…”
Himekoji, who had been sleeping soundly, was instantly jolted awake by this unique wake-up call.
“What’s going on? So early in the morning…”
Rubbing his bleary eyes, Himekoji was forced into wakefulness, utterly unwilling.
“All my underwear is gone! Fantastic!”
It was unclear why this was fantastic, but Akiko was clapping her hands in approval.
“Oh, oh. As long as you’re happy.”
Himekoji mumbled a few words of agreement, tilted his head, and immediately tried to go back to sleep.
“Onii-chan, Onii-chan! Don’t sleep, don’t sleep! Snap out of it! The morning hour has gold in its mouth! Show some determination♂!”
“My determination right now is reserved for one thing only: sleeping.”
The late-night antics of the previous day had left Himekoji critically sleep-deprived.
“Sleeping? Sleeping with Akiko?”
“Whatever.”
Can’t I just avoid this if I can’t deal with it?
Himekoji fobbed her off, snatched the flung-open quilt back, ducked his head under, and burrowed into the covers.
“Whatever… I want?”
Akiko tilted her head, pondering the meaning of those words.
Probably equivalent to highest authority?
“Akiko understands now!”
Akiko took matters into her own hands and darted under Himekoji’s quilt in a flash.
“Ah! What are you doing? Can’t you just let me sleep properly?”
Himekoji was about to kick this weird Imouto off the bed, but just as he moved, her body suddenly coiled tightly around him like an eight-tentacled grip.
Her soft, smooth legs crossed over his frail frame, pinning him securely, and along with him, they trapped his arms too.
Mercy…
“Akiko, be good, let me sleep a little more, okay? Just a little bit. I’m begging you!”
“Onii-chan should just go ahead and sleep. Don’t mind Akiko.”
“How am I supposed to sleep like this?!”
Left with no other option, Himekoji resorted to force!
He pushed his arm out hard, trying to shove Akiko away, and the back of his hand inadvertently pressed against her thigh.
Though it was a sensitive, ambiguous area, logically it shouldn’t have been a big deal — there was supposed to be fabric separating his hand from… that.
But now, Himekoji discovered in horror…
That layer of fabric had vanished!
“Akiko, how come you aren’t wearing underwear?!”
Startled, Himekoji’s sleepiness evaporated instantly.
“Huh? Didn’t I say this at the beginning? All of Akiko’s underwear is gone! Guhihi~~!”
Gone! And she was still laughing! Just what kind of Imouto was this?
“Onii-chan is so mean! You did this yourself, yet you still ask Akiko. Lemme guess… what did Onii-chan use Akiko’s underwear for after stealing it?”
Ignoring Akiko’s teasing, Himekoji felt something was very strange and asked directly,
“When exactly did your underwear go missing?”
“They were gone when I woke up this morning.”
Could he have summoned them all last night using his ‘authority’?
“No way…”
Himekoji frowned, confused.
The underwear he summoned last night were all clearly Nanami’s, and only Nanami’s.
Imouto’s underwear couldn’t have possibly gotten mixed in! Absolutely not — he could distinguish the smell!
The underwear authority only worked on Nanami. And even if… even if there was a glitch in the authority, the number wouldn’t match!
He had clearly summoned only one person’s worth of underwear last night — Nanami’s alone!
“Did a thief break into our house?”
This conclusion startled Himekoji.
Who was it?
Apart from him, someone else actually stole underwear!
“Is anything else missing from the house?”
“No.”
Akiko shook her head.
“Only the underwear disappeared. Every last bit of it.”
“Every last bit… Huh? Wait a second!”
Himekoji suddenly thought of something, his face turning ashen.
“Including the one you were wearing?”
If that thief dared to even touch the underwear his Imouto was wearing… he swore he would hunt them down and cut them into pieces!
“Hmph, stop playing dumb, Onii-chan! I wasn’t wearing any! Sleeping in only a nightgown with nothing underneath — isn’t that the rule you established back then?”
“When did that happen? I don’t recall any such thing.”
“Onii-chan really doesn’t remember! But Akiko could never forget! Because Akiko is always, always thinking about making it convenient in case Onii-chan might decide to launch a nighttime attack someday!”
“No, that day will never come! I appreciate the sentiment, but please don’t do that anymore!”
Just as the siblings were slipping into their familiar rhythm and about to start their daily squabble, a third person unexpectedly appeared in Himekoji’s room.
“Akito, underwear… gone.”
Himekoji turned his head towards the voice.
It was Mashiro.
A long white shirt barely covered the girl down to her upper thighs. She seemed to be wearing nothing underneath it. Vast expanses of pale, almost reflective skin peeked out below, and alluring, dreamlike glimpses flashed with every step she took.
He suddenly recalled what she had just said.
“Hey, hey, what do you mean ‘underwear gone’? Yours is missing too?”
“Huh?”
Slightly puzzled by this word, Mashiro tilted her head as if thinking, but soon gave up and honestly answered Himekoji’s question,
“Yeah, all gone.”
It really was gone…
First Akiko, then Mashiro—so what was going on here?
Could another pervert appear besides him?
Damn, stealing my thing? How absurd!
Challenged in my own area of expertise!
Himekoji couldn’t stand it—
No matter what, he had to catch that thief!
And no dilly-dallying, he had to act fast!
Just thinking that Imouto and Mashiro’s underwear were all in that pervert’s hands, Himekoji suddenly felt a strong urge to kill that beast.
So he leaped up and got out of bed swiftly.
Himekoji lifted his head with a fierce look, just about to take steps to catch the thief, but then noticed something wrong—
His body felt oddly heavy.
“Cough, Akiko, could you let go of my hands and feet now?”
That idiot had been clinging to him like an octopus all this time…
“No! Akiko has totally rooted into Onii-chan’s body. If we split now, I’ll lose nutrients and wither away!”
Are you some kind of fox spirit living off men’s life force?
Himekoji was so angry he almost died, his eyebrows twitching nonstop as he barely held back from shouting.
“Stop it, be good.”
His tone was gentle, but his actions turned violent. Himekoji used a sudden burst of strength to fling Akiko back onto the bed.
Akiko’s legs pointed skyward, like an upside-down radish stuck in the bed. Her short skirt obediently followed physics and flipped up, showing no underwear.
[Ding!]
[Enjoy the show—]
The System, afraid Himekoji wasn’t perverted enough, hurriedly shoved this grand sight into his mind like a treasure.
“Wow.”
Mashiro gasped in awe at the same time.
“Little kids shouldn’t look!”
Himekoji quickly took two big steps forward and covered Mashiro’s eyes.
“I have some too.”
Mashiro said as she started to lift her long white shirt. The shirt was doing double duty as a top and skirt now.
“Don’t!”
Just hearing those lines made him guess Mashiro’s plan. Himekoji reached out to stop her, looking very annoyed.
“Neither of you have any right now!”
“Where did they go?”
Mashiro blinked with curiosity.
“How should I know?”
“Doesn’t Akito know either?”
“I wish I knew!”
“Aren’t they with Akito?”
What? Even Mashiro doubted him now?
Having too much history made things bad.
“This time, they’re really not with me!”
Himekoji puffed out his chest proudly, acting extra calm.
Thinking back, hadn’t he always said this with fear and nerves before?
Not anymore!
He couldn’t help feeling a little proud for a moment.
But halfway through, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a third person’s voice—
“Liar! Keep lying! And you say ‘not with me’ this time? You always say that!”
Out of nowhere, Nanami charged forward and kicked at Himekoji.
Thanks to days of training plus the System’s boost, Himekoji’s ears were amazingly sharp. Hearing that familiar whistle of air, his face instantly changed color. Without thinking, he swiftly raised his arms to block his chest.
“PONG!”
A small foot slammed into his arm.
Caught off guard without time to prepare, Himekoji stumbled back several steps with thuds.
“Aoyama, are you crazy? Dare to high-kick with nothing underneath?”
“Can’t you see I’m wearing pants?”
The sneak attack didn’t work, and Nanami seemed a bit disappointed.
“Huh?”
So sneaky! She wore pants? Big mistake—Himekoji silently cursed himself for running his mouth.
“You really can’t see.”
Nanami had known about this since yesterday but only said it now.
“When will it get better?”
She heard classmates who knew about it say it would heal in three or four days, but she wanted the answer from Himekoji himself.
“Soon, either today or tomorrow.”
The System said three days, but he wasn’t sure if that meant the third day or after three days.”Yes, yes! Onii-chan’s eyes will be healed soon—remember to thank me!”
When this came up, the upside-down Akiko instantly flipped upright, raising her hand to ask for credit.
It was her effort that brought light back to Onii-chan’s life!
With that kind of achievement, even asking Onii-chan for a hand in marriage was no problem!
“Oh, thanks, thanks.”
He had no clue why he should thank Akiko for any of this, but Himekoji mumbled the words anyway.
Otherwise, if she got all wild later, it would be a headache.”Okay, since your eyes are fine, don’t try to win pity with that later.”
Nanami rubbed her hands together, looking ready for battle.
“Hold on, I can’t understand what you’re saying, Aoyama.”
He could only tell that her tone sounded terrifying…
“Huh? Still not ready to get beaten up? Then hurry up!”
As soon as she finished speaking, Nanami—against all reason—lunged toward Himekoji again.
“Hey, at least give me a reason for fighting!”
What the heck? This trouble came completely out of nowhere!
Himekoji was utterly bewildered.
Though Nanami’s unskilled moves couldn’t actually threaten him, constantly dodging was exhausting!
“A reason? Stop pretending to be innocent!”
“I’m not pretending. Just tell me! Can’t I just surrender?”
Seeing that he’d already surrendered, yet Nanami showed no sign of stopping, Himekoji had to call for help.
“Shiina, don’t just stand there watching! Help me!”
“It’s Mashiro, not Shiina.”
“Stop worrying about details like this in an emergency!”
“Mashiro!”
“Fine, fine, Mashiro!”
He didn’t expect Mashiro to be much help, but even slowing Nanami down a little would be good.
However, things turned out completely different from what Himekoji expected.
Mashiro, blocking Himekoji’s retreat path, suddenly reached out and hugged him.
“Akito, I’ll give you power. Defeat Nanami.”
Mashiro sounded incredibly serious.
But Himekoji was completely freaking out!
“Hey, what are you doing? I asked for help, not for you to make things worse!”
“I’m transferring my power to Akito.”
“I can’t feel it at all! Let go, now!”
By the time Himekoji broke free from Mashiro, it was too late to dodge. Nanami’s kick landed squarely.
Luckily, the hit was on his butt—thick skin and strong defense—but he still lost balance and crashed into Mashiro, toppling her over.
“Akito, that hurts.”
“Serves you right!”
Himekoji had no sympathy for the traitor Mashiro.
Nanami, the ultimate victor, stood above them with her hands on her hips.
“Now give back my underwear!”
“You attacked me this hard… over a few pairs of underwear? Fine, take them!”
He figured he could steal them again whenever he wanted.
Well… that last thought was just Himekoji joking around. He wasn’t actually that creepy; yesterday was purely out of curiosity.
“Ah! Onii-chan, I knew it was you! Where’s my underwear? Where?”
“Akito lied to me before.”
Seeing this scene, Akiko and Mashiro immediately stopped believing Himekoji’s earlier solemn promises.
“I didn’t lie! Yours really aren’t here…”
With Nanami’s interference, Himekoji suddenly realized he couldn’t explain himself properly.
“Only six? Where’s the rest?”
Counting the recovered items, Nanami spotted something wrong.
“The rest?”
The rest were, of course, secretly kept by Himekoji. He’d only returned the six he’d just stolen in front of her.
He had no proof for the others he’d “obtained through special means.”
Wouldn’t admitting to those be like confessing?
He wasn’t that stupid.
“The rest? What rest?”
Himekoji decided to play dumb.
“Besides these six, the rest of my underwear is missing too!”
Nanami felt Himekoji was testing her patience.
“They really aren’t here. To be honest, Akiko and Mashiro’s were stolen too.”
“You didn’t spare theirs either! Shouldn’t you just take theirs openly? Why steal?”
To Nanami, there couldn’t possibly be anyone else besides Himekoji.
Even Mashiro nodded enthusiastically. “Akito, you only need to ask me if you want them.”
“Hee hee~ Nanami, you just don’t get it. This is special sibling fun for me and Onii-chan! Hmph, so playful, Onii-chan, but I love it!”
Akiko only presented a different motive.
But regarding who the culprit was, she absolutely agreed with everyone else.
Himekoji was nearly breaking down. “No! What do I need to say to make you believe me? It really wasn’t me! I swear!”
“If not you, then who?”
“I wish I knew!”