Fear the reset.

"Listen. I'm telling you the truth. I didn't even know Ayano and Yuki were there."

"Uh-huh."

"You don't believe me at all…"

"And you don't have to explain yourself to me. What's wrong with childhood friends

still getting along?"

Alisa could claim it didn't bother her, but her harsh tone and temper told a differentstory.

Even her classmates, who had no problem talking to her this morning, were now looking

away, pretending as if they didn't even notice.

I guess I can't blame her, though. Who would be happy to see their partner meeting

with an opposing candidate in an empty classroom? But still… Yuki is basically Alya's only

friend of the same sex.

Masachika had decided that was why Alisa was in a bad mood. Alisa wasn't jealous

like a girl who caught the boy she liked with another girl. That wasn't why she was in a bad

mood. It had nothing to do with love. Nothing to do with love at all.

Sigh… She's going to be isolated in the classroom again at this rate…

After sighing in his mind, Masachika decided to let it go and talk about something else

instead.

"Oh, right. Alya, wanna study together for the test after school?"

She looked shocked. Study. It was that word that clouded her expression with doubt as

she replied:

"…Is that some kind of joke?"

"Wow. Rude."

He smirked at her blunt reply.

"I guess it's only natural for you to feel that way, though." He shrugged.

"But, well, there's something bothering me about the whole debate thing and Sayaka,

too."

Alisa thought back to what happened the week before and fell silent. Knowing how

Sayaka felt when she challenged them to the debate renewed their resolve to run for student

council president and vice president.

I see… So Kuze is finally going to get serious.

While Alisa was happy her partner seemed motivated for a change, she had mixed

feelings because she wasn't the spark. She kept that to herself, however, and nodded.

"Fine. We can do that."

"Oh, great… But you don't have to force yourself to study with me if you're the kind of

person who can't concentrate unless you're alone," replied Masachika timidly as if there was

something about Alisa's blunt response that worried him. She knitted her brow in annoyance.

"I said we can study together… We are partners, after all."

"Oh yeah… You're right. How does the student council room sound?"

"Sure."

Alisa brushed her hair back, inwardly sighing.

Hmph. I guess it is my job to help Kuze study. My partner sure is a lot of work.

She looked smug.

I guess she's in a slightly better mood now?

And with that, Masachika heaved a mental sigh of relief.

After school, they made their way over to the student council room. While there were

plenty of students in the library and in the classrooms at this hour, Masachika and Alisa

would most likely be able to study there in peace,since usually only student council members

visited the room after school.

"So let's be—…?"

Immediately after Masachika sat in his usual seat, Alisa installed herself in the spot right

next to him as if it were only natural, and he froze.

Uh… Don't people usually sit across from each other when they study together?

It didn't help that she was sitting extremely close as well. If anyone saw them, they

would wonder why they were using a laughably small portion of such a large desk.

"…What?"

"…Nothing."

But Masachika wasn't brave enough to say anything, and Alisa's sharp glance

immediately sent his eyes back to the table in front of him.

W-well, I guess we'll be fine as long as no one sees us like this. A real couple like the

student council president and vice president should be studying somewhere where they can

have absolute privacy, and Masha would pretend like she didn't notice anything strange even

if she stopped by. The only person who might say something would be Yuki, but she can study

at home with Ayano already, so she's definitely not going to catch us like th—

"Hmm? Oh my. I apologize for not knocking. I had no idea you two were here."

Yukiiiiiiiii!! Damn you, foreshadowing! screamed Masachika in his mind. He slowly

turned to look at the door, where Yuki and Ayano stood. Yuki may have appeared sorry, but

he could see the mischievous glee in her eyes.

Did you think you were finally going to get a chance to be alone with her? Not on my

watch.

What are you doing here?

Isn't it obvious?

No?

I came here to stop you two from playing doctor in the student council room!

We weren't playing doctor!

Yuki inclined her head, maintaining her innocent, ladylike demeanor in spite of her wild

telepathic accusations.

"Are you two studying together? Do you think we could join you?"

Regardless of her reasoning, there was no way Masachika could turn Yuki away when

she was acting like an innocent young lady. Although he slightly reprimanded her with his

eyes, he decided to allow her to—

"<Go away.>"

Ack?!

Masachika desperately struggled to keep himself from doing a spit take the instant he

heard those slightly peevish Russian words coming from behind him.

"…Alya? Yuki wants to join our study group. What do you say?"

Although mentally defeated, Masachika managed to maintain his expression as he

looked to his side.

"Sure. I don't see why not." Alisa shrugged with an air of nonchalance.

"…Okay."

While maybe not in Russian, Alisa gave her consent in Japanese, so Masachika shifted

his sights back on Yuki and—

"<I want to be alone with you.>"

Gwah!

Her sweet Russian hit Masachika with a mental blow that nearly knocked him off his

feet. He trembled like a newborn fawn.

You little punk, being all cute like that! Stop it! You're going to make me blush and say

"moeee" like some hard-core otaku.

In his imagination, he had fallen to the ground on all fours and was bashing his head

into the ground, screaming in agony all the while. He wanted to look at her really bad, but

he wasn't 100 percent sure his lip wasn't awkwardly twitching. All he could do now was

quietly glare at his sister while doing everything he could to control the muscles in his face.

Dammit. What now? It's not like I can say no to Yuki, because if I do…it'd make it seem

like I was the one who wanted to be alone with Alya! More importantly, Yuki! You heard

her say she was fine with it, so why don't you just sit down and thank her?! You just want

to force me to say it's okay, don't you?!

Yuki read the room perfectly and made a conscious decision to ignore it, which made her

brother's disapproving stare only stronger. Nevertheless, she maintained the perfectly fake

smile and inquisitive tilt to her head as though she were still waiting for an answer. Ayano

was basically one with the air.

Hff…! Relax. Act cool. First things first, I'm not sure how serious she is, but either way,

Alya doesn't seem to be too excited about Yuki or Ayano joining us. Personally, I'm not too

fond of the idea of letting them join, either… Oh, I know. I can say something like, "We're

enemies. We shouldn't get to know one another. It'll only make things harder for us down the

road." I can make itsound like a joke and gently turn them down at the same time. That way—

"Oh, I almost forgot. The president and vice president lent us copies of the previous

year's test problems, so if you're interested, we—"

"Welcome to our study group. Glad to have ya aboard."

Masachika quickly flipped in the face of the answer key's irresistible power.

"<Stupid jerk.>"

But Alisa's coldhearted Russian still hurt as it pierced his back.

Regardless of how they may have felt individually, the four-person study group was

going well. Alisa was quietly solving physics problems in her workbook, Yuki was going

over past history test problems across from her, and Ayano was by Yuki's side solving math

equations. While the three of them diligently ran their pens across paper, Masachika was…

"…"

Masachika hadn't even taken out a pen but instead was silently reading over the

explanations of the answers in his math workbook.

"…Hey, Kuze?"

"Hmm?"

"You've been reading the explanations for the answers for a while now. Is that honestly

going to help?"

Reading how to solve the problems without actually solving them may make you think

you know how to solve them, but actually solving them yourself isthe only way to truly learn.

Most people believed this to be the case—Alisa included. That's why she was staring at him

skeptically, since he hadn't solved a single problem on his own yet. Masachika, however,

shrugged as if he wasn't concerned in the least.

"No amount of thinking is going to help if you don't know how to solve something to

begin with. You'd just be wasting your time. That's why I'd rather use my time to memorize

how to solve every problem instead."

"Sure, but…learning theory and applying it are two different things, right? Plus, it's not

like the exact same problems are going to appear on the test. I doubt you'll have enough time

to solve all the problems if you don't get used to solving them yourself beforehand," warned

Alisa with an entirely sound argument.

"Giggle. He'll be fine, Alya. This is how Masachika always studies. Right, Ayano?"

Yuki chimed in with a slightly exasperated smile.

"Yes, this is how he has always studied."

Alisa looked across the table at Masachika's childhood friends, knitting her eyebrows.

"…Really?"

"Yes, he only reads his textbook and the explanations, then checks the answer key in

preparation for his tests. And he never fails to get decent grades as well. Impressive, right?"

Yuki said, looking like she wanted to roll her eyes. Nevertheless, Alisa still didn't seem

convinced, and she pulled out an old math test from four years ago (something that had

been passed down through the generations of student councils) from the pile of old tests and

answers lying on the corner of the table before thrusting it in Masachika's face.

"Then answer problem number six here. You have… Let's make it twenty minutes. If

you can do that, I'll leave you alone."

There were always six large problems on the math tests, and you only had two hours to

finish them, so a simple calculation would come out as twenty minutes per problem, but the

first two problems were usually relatively basic, while the last two were usually application

problems that weren't like anything in the workbook. Therefore, solving one of those

problems within twenty minutes was a difficult hurdle to overcome, and that was exactly

why Masachika was reluctant to take the paper Alisa was handing him.

"Mmm… Well, I guess I could…"

"We're good? Then get started."

"H-hey, hold on. I don't have anything to write with yet."

He pulled out his notebook and pen in a panic before promptly working to solve the

problem. Twenty minutes had gone by when Alisa suddenly told him his time was up, so he

set down his pen and gave Alisa his notebook. The formula needed to solve the problem was

written meticulously on the paper, at least in much more detail than she'd expected, making

her eyebrow twitch briefly.

"The most important thing is whether you got the answer right, though," she muttered,

collecting herself as she began to compare the answer key to Masachika's solution, but it

wasn't long before a grim expression darkened her face. Masachika's lips slowly curled into

a grin the instant he saw the change in her mood.

"Hmm? So? Did I get it right?"

"…Yes."

"Yesss! You like that?! Booyah!"

Alisa, seeming annoyed, thrust the notebook back into her gloating classmate's hands.

"…I don't care as long as you answer correctly."

"Giggle. I know how you feel, but you shouldn't let it bother you. Masachika is a quick

study. He's not like us."

"…If you're really that smart, then I should probably be worried about why you barely

pass almost every test you take."

"Huh? Oh, the reason's simple: It's because I never study!"

"That's nothing to brag about."

Alisa pierced him with a look of disgust.

"Masachika usually crams the night before the test whenever he does study," added

Yuki, her bitter expression deepening.

"Heh. That's what you think, Yuki. Lately, I've been cramming the morning before the

test," Masachika said with a smug grin.

"What is wrong with you?"

"Yes, that is irresponsible."

"Hey, I still passed all my tests. Impressive, right?"

"There's nothing praiseworthy about what you did. Wait. Don't tell me you wanted to

study together because—"

Masachika promptly nodded to confirm Alisa's suspicions.

"Because I needed someone to keep me accountable, of course. I can't study alone

without getting distracted."

"…At least you're aware of what kind of person you are."

"I still do not believe that is something to be proud of, though."

After Alisa and Yuki glared at him in disgust, Masachika shrugged before facing forward

once more to avoid their gazes. That was when he noticed Ayano staring in bewilderment

at her workbook.

"What's wrong, Ayano? Having trouble with one of the problems?"

"Oh, no. I… Actually, yes. A little."

"Let me help you."

"I appreciate the offer, but it is not worth your time."

Although her blank expression hadn't changed, Ayano was clearly refusing his help.

"Don't worry about it. What exactly is confusing you?"

"Uh…"

"Don't be so scared. I'm not going to make fun of you or anything."

"I would actually prefer if you cruelly said something like, 'How are you seriously

having trouble with such an easy problem, you incompetent idiot?'"

"I'm definitely not going to be saying that."

"Oh…"

Ayano quickly drooped.

"What the…? Why do you look disappointed?" joked Masachika, slightly weirded out.

Meanwhile, Alisa watched their exchange in utter confusion.

"Hey… Are you two really just childhood friends?"

"Hmm? Yeah. Why?"

"'Why'? Because it looks more like a master-subordinate relationship, just like her

relationship with Yuki."

How observant is she?!

Masachika swallowed hard at her insightful comment before swiftly kicking his brain

into thinking mode so he could come up with a good excuse. But before he could even say

a word, Alisa continued with an urgent expression:

"Wait… Kuze. Are you and Yuki…?"

"…!"

The sudden inquiry about their relationship made Masachika's heart leap out of his chest,

but what Alisa said next was something he never expected to hear in a million years.

"…e-engaged?"

"All thrusters engaged?"

"Huh?"

"It's a sci-fi series reference."

"You know it, Yuki! Yeahhh!"

Masachika and Yuki high-fived over Ayano's head as they played dumb in perfect sync.

Alisa, on the other hand, didn't know how to react for a few moments. She eventually pressed

her lips together tightly in irritation.

"I'm being serious, and you're just going to ignore me?"

"Oh, sorry. What you said was just so funny that it was hard to take seriously,"

Masachika said, brushing it off.

"What was so funny about what I said? I wasn't joking, you know."

"Think about it for a second. The only daughter of the distinguished Suou family engaged

to some ordinary middle-class guy like me? How many unfortunate mistakes would it take

to lead to something like that?"

"Your parents could be friends."

"This isn't a romantic comedy. Let's imagine our parents were friends. What kind of

normal people would be like, 'So how about we have our kids get married?' It sounds like

you've read way too many comics to me."

"…Oh, I'm the one who reads too many comics?"

Alisa frowned, somewhat surprised that she was the one being called out for imagining

something that happened only in nerdy comics by someone who usually made nerdy

comments because he read too many comics. Masachika smiled cheekily.

"Plus, you're missing some key points. The girl is supposed to be a beautiful, modest,

traditional Japanese lady with long black hair and huge boobs! And she has to look good in

a kimono! That's how the trope goes!"

"…She looks like she fits the description to me."

"Huh?"

After curiously tilting his head at Alisa's comment, Masachika looked back at Yuki once

more.

Long black hair… She wears a kimono when she does flower arrangement… And she

does seem modest and traditional when she's in character outside the house… Hold up.

Yuki surprisingly did fit the trope. However…

"Yeah. And those…"

"Masachika? My eyes are up here," scolded Yuki.

"Ahem. It is ill-mannered to stare like that," Ayano added.

"You disgust me," Alisa hissed contemptuously.

He accidentally acted like he would if he were just talking to Yuki at home and was met

with three accusing stares because of it, forcing him to lower his head in shame.

"No, I mean, like… Anyway, we're not engaged, and we never will be. Tsk. Why are

you and Takeshi always trying to pair up Yuki and me?"

"We must look like we would make a great couple." Yuki giggled and slyly glanced in

Alisa's direction, making Alisa frown in annoyance.

"No… I just thought you two seemed close. That's all."

"Because we are really close. Right, Masachika?"

"Oh, uh… Yeah, I guess."

He may have agreed with Yuki, but his eyes were still pointed in Alisa's direction,

noticing that she was still irritably knitting her brow. Nevertheless, Yuki wouldn't be Yuki

if she didn't follow that up with another attack.

"I often spend the night at his house, too."

"No, that's, uh… Yeah."

&$#%!! A cold sweat slid down Masachika's spine as the crease in Alisa's brow

deepened…so he decided to retreat.

"Anyway, enough about that. Ayano, what were you having trouble with?"

"Oh… This."

Masachika ran away from his problems under the guise of helping a friend learn, but he

could still feel Alisa's sharp gaze piercing the back of his head, even while he was burying

his nose in Ayano's textbook. And that didn't change even after he returned to his seat once

he finished helping Ayano solve her problem. Cold sweat continued to drip down his body

as Alisa stared at him.

"…Alya? Everything okay?"

"…I was just wondering if you needed any help with your studies."

"No, not at the moment…"

"Okay…" Alisa nodded before shifting her gaze back to her textbooks, allowing

Masachika to finally relax…

"<I want you to rely on me more.>"

It had slipped his mind. He had forgotten this Russian girl always struck the moment

he let down his guard.

W-wait. Is this why she sat so close to me?

Masachika stared off into the distance, and in his mind, he saw himself vomiting blood,

but the extra damage he was taking from the additional looks Alisa threw his way forced him

to get his act together and say something.

"Hey, Alya? Sorry, but I'm having a little trouble with this one."

"O-oh, really?"

"Yeah, do you think you could help me?"

"Hmph. I suppose."

She may have acted as if she didn't want to do it, but she seemed somewhat happy

as she swiftly brushed her hair back. Her predictable behavior and follow-up attack forced

Masachika to pinch his thigh in a desperate attempt to keep his cool.

That is, until they suddenly heard a knock at the door. After the four students exchanged

glances, Alisa decided to speak up on everyone's behalf.

"…? Come in."

"Good afternoon. ♪"

It was Alisa's sister, Maria, who opened the door with a bubbly smile.

"Masha? I thought you were studying for exams with your friend."

"I was, but we already finished, so I figured I could put on some tea for you all before

I went home, since you're probably studying hard."

"Oh my. Thank you so much."

Yuki immediately stood up with a ladylike smile, stopped Ayano from rising as well,

then went to help Maria. A few minutes went by before Maria returned with cups of tea for

everyone, so they decided to take a short break.

"Oh my. What is this?" wondered Maria as she picked up one of the books on the

president's desk. Printed on the cover was the sketchy title Hypnosis for Idiots: Welcome to

the Hypnotist Club.

"Oh, Chisaki confiscated that from a student. She was probably planning on handing it

over to the disciplinary committee later."

"Oh?"

After curiously flipping through the book, Maria eventually took a seat next to Alisa,

then raised a finger in front of her sister's eyes.

"…What?"

"Keep your eyes on my finger. ♪ You are getting very sleepy. ♪"

"What are you doing…?"

"Um… When I clap my hands, you will find yourself in another world. A world of

dreams," Maria commanded, and placed the book down.

"Ready? Three, two, one… Clap!"

She stared at Alisa, eyes brimming with anticipation.

"…Did it work?"

"Of course not. Why would it? Hypnosis is bogus."

"Whaaat? Hmm… Come on. Let me try it again. Just one more time."

"No. If you're going to get in the way of our studies, then go home."

"How about you hypnotize me, then?"

"No."

"Why? I want to be hypnotized! Pleeease. ♪"

Pouting, Maria rocked in her chair, but Alisa refused to engage. After glancing once

more at her little sister with obvious disappointment, Maria looked past Alisa to Masachika.

"How about you, then, Kuze? Hypnotize me."

"Huh? Me?"

"You're the only one I can ask, since Alya's being mean…" Maria pouted again. With

a wry smile, Masachika got out of his chair, stood by Maria's side, and picked up the book.

"Okay, then. Hmm… 'Step-by-Step Guide to Hypnosis'? Oh, this?"

He opened to the page Maria had been looking at and tried to replicate what he was

reading.

"Keep your eyes on my finger. You're getting very sleepy," suggested Masachika, who

wassquatting and waving hisindex finger in front of her eyes. The change wasinstantaneous:

Maria's excited expression and glittering eyes immediately relaxed.

"Mm…mmm…?"

Although surprised by her sudden change, he continued, since he figured she was acting.

"When I clap my hands, you will wake up in a world of dreams. Are you ready? Three,

two, one…!"

Maria's head dropped the instant he clapped his hands. She wore a vacant expression

like a doll as her eyes idly focused on one single point.

"Uh… What? Masha…? Masha?"

Her behavior seemed so real that Masachika began waving his hand in front of her face

in a panic, but she didn't even blink.

"Hmm? Did that really hypnotize her?" wondered Yuki, blinking.

"Yeah, I seriously don't know," replied Masachika with a troubled note in his voice.

But all of a sudden, Alisa lifted her head—looking really fed up—and began to shake her

sister's shoulders.

"All right, that's enough already… Masha?"

But Maria didn't respond to being shaken.

"Hold on. What is going on?"

Alisa stood up with an annoyed wrinkle between her eyebrows and slipped around Maria

to get a better look at her face, and she was stunned by what she found. She immediately

frowned at Masachika as if she was still doubtful.

"Could you guys stop teasing me already?"

"I'm not. I'm just as surprised as you are."

"Don't lie to me. Hypnosis isn't real."

"I thought so, too, but…look at her. It says here that it works more on people who want

to be hypnotized, so maybe that's what's going on?" stammered Masachika awkwardly as

Alisa continued to stare at him skeptically. Masachika, however, felt he didn't deserve to be

stared at like this, since he honestly didn't do anything shady.

"A-anyway, I'm going to wake her up now, okay?"

He turned back to the book to avoid Alisa's glare and looked at the part where it explained

how to wake someone from hypnosis, then he squatted in front of Maria once more.

"Uh… You are going to wake up the moment I touch your shoulders, okay? Ready?

Three, two…one!"

Masachika swiftly grabbed Maria's shoulders and shook her, causing her to quickly look

up in astonishment. Her expression slowly went back to normal after that, and she blinked

as if she had just woken up from a nap.

"Hmm…? Kuze? Go on."

"Huh?"

Maria pouted at his confused expression and pointed at the book.

"Sigh. It says right there that you need to wag your finger, then clap."

"Wait… Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. Do you not remember what happened?"

"Huh? When?"

Confusion filled her face.

"Wow, so that was real."

Masachika's face tensed, but there was still at least one person who wasn't convinced.

"Masha, that's enough."

"Alya? Enough what?"

"Enough—… Sigh… Whatever."

Alisa shook her head as if she couldn't take it anymore.

"How about you have Masachika hypnotize you and see for yourself, then?" suggested

Yuki from across the table.

"Huh?"

"What?"

Yuki placed her hands together and gleefully smiled at Alisa and Masachika.

"Masha may not have been able to hypnotize you, but Masachika might be able to. At

the very least, it would make you less suspicious if it works even a little."

Yuki grinned. At first glance, there didn't seem to be any ill intent hidden behind that

ladylike smile, but Masachika could clearly sense the pleasure she was getting from this,

and his lips couldn't help but twitch. Alisa, on the other hand, didn't catch on to Yuki's true

intentions, so she returned to her seat and looked at Masachika with a disbelieving gaze.

"…Fine. Just get to it."

"S-seriously?"

"Yes. Enough playing around. Let's get this over with." Alisa snorted,still unconvinced,

so he timidly approached her with a bad feeling in his gut.

"Uh… Okay, then. Watch my finger. You are getting very sleepy."

And in the blink of an eye, Alisa's skeptical gaze transformed into a vacant stare.

"You are going to wake up in a world of dreams when I clap my hands. Ready? Three,

two…one!"

Masachika clapped, and Alisa's head instantly dropped. Her expression seemed dazed,

eyes unfocused and unseeing like those of a dead fish. He stared at her but then continued

in an almost monotone voice.

"When I touch your shoulders, you will wake up. Ready? Three, two, one!"

He grabbed Alisa'sshoulders with both hands and shook her, causing Alisa to quickly lift

her head and blink a few times. A few seconds went by before her dissatisfied eyes focused

on Masachika.

"Why'd you stop? Hurry up and do it."

"You did the same thing! She did the exact same thing her sister did!" shouted

Masachika.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

To answer Alisa's question and frown, Yuki spoke up in a somewhat troubled tone.

"Alya, you were hypnotized."

"Huh…? No, I wasn't."

"Yes, you were. Right, Ayano?"

"Yes, it was obvious even to me that you were."

Alisa wavered, but she soon shot Masachika another piercing glare and barked:

"Sh-show me some proof! I'm not going to believe you unless you show me a video

you took or something!"

"Oh, come on. Just give it a rest. It's not a big deal…"

"Yes, it is! I don't want people thinking I'm just some girl who can be easily

hypnotized!"

"Who worries about that? And who cares what people think anyway?"

"Just do it again!"

"Fine. Whatever."

Masachika used the same technique on Alisa, and the result…was no surprise.

"You're kidding me, right? That was even faster than before."

He clutched his head as though he had a splitting headache, and Alisa stared blankly into

the distance. Yuki was waving her hand in front of Alisa'sface thistime, and she had dropped

her proper-young-lady act, perhaps because she knew that Alisa wouldn't remember a thing.

"Hello? Alya, you there?"

"…"

"There's no response. She's just a corpse."

"Don't say that," reprimanded Masachika weakly. Yuki smirked at him, then looked

over at Maria to Alisa's side.

"So, uh… Why is Masha hypnotized, too?"

"Don't ask me."

It was asif an aftershock (?) from the spell made Maria fall asleep as well. Yuki observed

the two sisters listlessly slumped in their chairs, dazed eyes staring into the distance, and

gasped.

"Oh my god… We can indulge in our lewdest desires right now, and no one would ever

know."

"Don't joke about that!"

"Bro, can you imagine the smut fan-fiction writers could write about this?"

"Why are you excited?"

"Why wouldn't I be? We just witnessed legit hypnosis. Tsk. Must be nice to be born with

the skill 'Gained EXP × 10 (with the exception of sports involving balls).' Dirty cheater."

"I'm not a cheater."

"Show me your stats, then. I bet you've got a new skill like 'Hypnosis LV: 3.'"

"I don't have 'stats.'"

"By the way, if you get your hypnosis skill to max level, you can put the entire school

under your spell and have your way with—"

"Okay, I've heard enough."

Masachika sent her a reproachful glare, wondering why she wasso knowledgeable about

tropes in indecent otaku media, but Yuki ignored her brother's stare and lifted her hands in

a groping pose like a stereotypical creep.

"Wh-wh-wh-what do you wanna do?! Wanna squeeze their boobs first?"

"No!"

"More booby squeezing for me, then."

"What the…?! No!"

Panicked, he stopped Yuki before she could get her hands on Alisa, and his sister's face

went blank. A few moments of disappointment passed until she eventually clapped her hands

as if she'd had an epiphany.

"Ohhh!" she exclaimed with a pervy grin, giving Masachika a thumbs-up and a wink.

"Don't worry, bro. It's like kissing. Booby touching doesn't count since we're both

girls."

"The hell are you talking about? I don't care that you're both girls. She's not even

conscious."

"Mmm… I mean, maybe I could cop a feel with Masha, but Alya always has her guard

up…"

"Why would you, a girl, even want to touch her boobs?"

Yuki's eyes widened at his blunt question.

"Are you stupid or something?! Girls love big boobs, too, you know! I'd bury my face

is Masha's boobies every day if I could! I bet it'd feel incredible!" screamed Yuki.

"Uh-huh."

"Now, if you don't mind…"

"I do. Stop."

He roughly grabbed his sister by the scruff of her neck and jerked her back before she

could dive into Maria's chest.

"Meooow! I'm not a cat!"

"I know."

She stared at her brother with displeasure as she fixed her hair.

"Hey, Ayano?"

He called out to the essentially invisible maid behind him, rolled his eyes at his sister,

then continued:

"It's not a competition. Just because Yuki said she likes big boobs, it doesn't mean you

have to do something about yours. Besides, this isn't the time or the place to be squeezing

your breasts together or lifting them up."

Ayano looked up and meekly let go of her chest… She had been staring at her breasts and

playing with them with her usual empty expression until Masachika called her out. Although

Masachika scolded her, Yuki gave her a thumbs-up while grinning from ear to ear.

"Don't worry, Ayano. I love your boobs, too."

"You know you're starting to sound like a predator, right?"

"Oh, I know. I'm tryna get my hands on some sweet Russian prey."

"Alya would kill you."

"I'm kidding. The term predator comes from the word predation, which is the act of

taking booty, so if anything, I need to get some of that—"

"Don't finish that sentence."

"Lady Yuki may prey on me as much as she would like. I welcome it, even."

"Don't encourage her just because you're weirdly into being harassed, Ayano."

"Stop manhandling me already."

Yuki was standing on her tiptoes, and she glared at her brother in protest. If this were a

comic book, Masachika would be holding her in the air with one arm as she thrashed about,

but of course, he was nowhere near strong enough to do that.

"Sigh… Anyway, I'm going to wake them up, okay?"

"Hold up. What about the video evidence?"

"Huh? …Oh, right."

It was only then that he remembered why he had put them to sleep in the first place, and

he shoved his hand into his pocket.

"I guess I should at least take a picture."

But before he could take out his phone…

"And here we are with our last performance of the day! We hypnotized two beautiful

young girls. ♪ What's the first thing we should make them do?!"

Masachika looked up like an idea had struck him and abruptly shouted:

"Make them act like babies!"

"Make them more open-minded and have them strip!"

"U-uh… Perhaps have them tell an embarrassing secret of some sort?"

Masachika, Yuki, and Ayano exchanged glances after each gave their suggestion, but it

was Masachika who took control of the conversation and got the ball rolling.

"Being open-minded is kind of ambiguous, and just because someone's open-minded,

that doesn't mean they're going to strip. I mean, that's a pretty big leap in logic there."

"Fine, but making them act like babiesisstill way too aggressive for their first command.

We need to start slowly, then build up to that."

"Mmm…"

After silencing her brother, Yuki shifted her gaze to Ayano.

"I think your idea…wasn't bad, but it's a little weak. Plus, one of them could tell us a

secret so dark that things would become awkward around them."

"I see…"

"We'd probably be better off being more specific, like asking 'How big are your boobs?'

or 'How many guys have you been with?'"

"Thank you, Lady Yuki. Very informative."

"I hope you're not seriously listening to the drivel she's spouting at you."

"Anyway…! Doesn't this prove that my suggestion to make them more open-minded

is the right answer? If we do that, they'd be more than willing to tell us all their most

embarrassing secrets as well!"

"Okay, that's not fair! You're twisting things to get what you want!"

"Incorporating my suggestion into yours… You never cease to impress me, Lady Yuki."

"Democracy has spoken, and it looks like I won! What is the first thing we're going to

make these two hypnotized girls do? We're going to make them more open-minded!"

After Yuki boastfully raised her fist into the air and grinned, she walked over to Alisa

and Maria and stood in front of them.

"It's time to make you two more open-minded. ♪"

"Don't do it. Come on, don't."

"Heh-heh-heh! Alya, Masha, you two are slowly going to become very open-minded.

You are going to start with throwing what was considered 'common sense' out the window

and become free both mentally and physically!"

"Hold up. Have you ever heard of two people hypnotizing someone as a team like this?

This is insa—"

Before Masachika could finish his fed-up rant, Alisa's and Maria's heads lifelessly

drooped forward before immediately lifting back up with vacant expressions, but Yuki was

clearly taken aback by their unusual demeanors.

"W-wait… Huh? Did that really work?"

"Who's the cheater with all the codes now?"

"N-no way. This can't be…"

Yuki tried to get a better look at them, her expression tense, but they instantly stood and

approached Masachika.

"H-hey?! Wait! I—"

He reflexively took a step back, but they closed the distance almost instantaneously,

causing him to collapse onto the sofa and…

"…Hey, Yuki."

"…"

"Why am I being consoled?"

"B-beats me."

"Hey, don't look away. This is your fault."

Maria currently had an arm wrapped around Masachika's neck and was gently rubbing

his head while also rubbing Alisa's head with her other arm. Alisa seemed like she was

trying to do something to Masachika, too, but it appeared Maria had already beaten her to

it. Perhaps no little sister would ever be a match for her older sibling. Nevertheless, Alisa

seemed irritated, as if she wanted to knock Maria's hand off her, but her eyes were narrowed

like she somewhat enjoyed it as well. Perhaps this was the power of hypnosis?

I know they're supposed to be more open-minded, but they seem more straightforward

instead. Masha's maternal instincts seem to have kicked in as well.

In a way, perhaps they lost not only their rationality but also their sense of shame,

thought Masachika as he was slowly detached from reality.

"Giggle! You're such a good boy. ♪ And you're such a good girl. ♪"

Maria's expression was the epitome of pure bliss as she rubbed Masachika's head with

her right hand and Alisa's with her left. Yuki (back in proper-young-lady mode), who had

been watching the whole ordeal, shuddered.

"I thought it was going to be Masachika who got a harem, not Masha!"

"That's what you're surprised about?"

Aftershooting hissister a scornful glare, he looked up at Maria from under his eyelashes.

"Hey, uh…Masha? Do you think you could let go of me now?"

"Hmm? Nope. ♪"

"All right, then."

While it would be nice to be able to surrender himself to Maria, he wasn't in the most

comfortable position right now. His head was lying on her shoulder, which sounded nice, but

he was sitting much higher than her, which meant that his neck was bent pretty far down. He

wanted to grab on to something for support, but Maria's leg was on one side and Alisa's was

on the other. There was nowhere he could safely put his hands, and he definitely couldn't

wrap his arms around the back of the sofa because Maria's body was in the way. And most

importantly of all, it took almost everything he had to not think about what was happening

—about what was touching him.

"Pardon me…"

He hesitantly moved Maria's arm out of the way to pull his head free before his muscles

gave out, causing him to stagger forward…

"Ah! ♪ I'm not letting you go. ♪"

"H-hey?!"

Maria wrapped her arm around his neck once more and firmly pulled his head down.

Masachika completely lost his balance. He tried in a panic to find a place to put his hands,

but Maria's legs were in the way, and before he could even make a decision, he fell forward

—squish.

A soft, squishy sensation in his hand, with something even softer touching his cheeks

and nose… The smell was incredible as well. His left hand was on her thigh, and he found

his head buried in her loving heart (aka titties). Put simply, he was in heaven. The fact that

he had hesitated because he hadn't wanted to inappropriately touch her ended up making the

situation even worse (read: better).

"I'm so sorry—?!"

He tried to get off her, but he couldn't. Pressure on the back of your neck makes it harder

to move than you would think. Plus, the more he moved, the more he found himself buried

in the soft, squishy, hard-to-describe sensation, which was dangerous in all kinds of ways.

"H-hey?! Help m—!"

"Ayano! Look away!"

Right as Yuki interrupted Masachika's plea with a strict order of her own, Ayano froze

in her tracks before she could get a step closer to Masachika to save him.

"Now!"

Ayano swiftly turned around as if Yuki's shout pushed her away. Yuki then turned as

well and gave Masachika a thumbs-up over her shoulder one last time.

"Don't worry about a thing! We won't watch! So please have enough fun for all three

of us!"

"I don't need you to look away! I need you to help! Ayano, please!"

"But…"

"Ayano! I am your master! Follow my orders!"

Yuki uses "Iron Fist!" It's supereffective against Ayano's nethers! Ayano's eyes turn

into hearts!

"…Yes, Lady Yuki."

"Hey?!"

After losing his lifeline, Masachika had no choice but to prepare for the worst and…

"Forgive me!"

He grabbed Maria's arm before jerking his head out of her grasp and getting off the sofa.

He probably touched way more than he should have in the process, but he decided to not

think about it.

Forgive me, Masha's boyfriend. I don't even know what you look like, and I still feel

guilty.

After he apologized telepathically to Maria's boyfriend (who he imagined was some

handsome blond dude), Maria seemed somewhat displeased. She threw both of her arms

around Alisa and tightly held her.

"…I can't take this anymore."

But Alisa sternly pushed hersister away and stood up, clearly aggravated…before slowly

taking off herschool blazer. Masachika figured she must have been hot after all that touching,

and he unconsciously began to fan his face with a hand…but it didn't stop there. As Alisa

reached behind herself, Masachika curiously tilted his head because it sounded like

something was being unzipped.

"It's too much…"

"What the…?!"

Right in front of Masachika…Alisa pulled down her jumper's straps. Of course, herskirt

swiftly fell due to gravity. Her snow-white thighs and aqua-blue panties peeked out from

under the hem of her collared shirt. Masachika's eyes nearly popped out of his skull at the

risqué sight and—

"She looks like an office worker who's really good at her job but is a complete mess at

home!" he couldn't help but shout.

"I know what you mean!" Yuki concurred.

"Hmm?"

"Oops."

Masachika looked back the instant he heard someone agreeing with him…and realized

Yuki was holding a mirror and watching what was happening.

"So much for giving me privacy, huh?"

"Should you really be worrying about me right now? And not what's happening behind

you?"

"Huh?"

He swiftly looked back to find that Alisa had already undone the ribbon at her neck and

was in the process of undoing the buttons on her shirt. And if that wasn't enough, Maria had

begun taking off her school blazer as well.

"Wh-what?! Hold on! Why are they taking off their clothes all of a sudden?!"

"Now that I think about it, I did say that they would slowly become more open-minded

and that they were going to become free both mentally and physically…"

"You creepy little genius! Thank you!"

"You let your inner thoughts slip out again, Masachika."

And thanks to their banter, Alisa was already down to the fourth button. In no position to

joke about it anymore, Masachika promptly buried his confusion and panic and desperately

tried to remember the phrase to break the hypnotic spell.

"Uh… All right. You are going to wake up when I touch your shoulders! Ready? Three,

two, one!" he shouted, almost shrieking. He then looked into Alisa's eyes, praying it

worked…

"…?"

"What the…?! It didn't work?!"

But she continued undoing her fourth button, revealing her breathtaking snow-white

cleavage and aqua-blue bra, which caused Masachika to swiftly avert his gaze.

"Yuki, tag! Your turn!"

"Huh? You want me to take the video?"

"What kind of monster are you?! I want you to wake them up somehow!"

"Oh, okay."

Masachika, heart racing, moved out of the way, still staring at the ceiling.

"Um… When I touch your shoulders, you're going to wake up. Okay? Three, two, one!"

Yuki's echoing voice wasfollowed by a complete absence ofsound. After a few seconds

of awkward, painful silence, she muttered:

"Oh, crap. She isn't waking up."

"What the…?! Seriously?!"

Their despair was met with the sound of rustling clothes hitting the floor just within

Masachika's sight line, making him tremble violently again.

"Seriously, what are we going to—?"

"A-Ayano! I'll hold Alya! You stop Ma—!"

"Masha? You in here? How much longer do I have to wait for you?"

All of a sudden, Masachika heard the door opening, followed by the sound of a familiar

voice, but by the time he placed the voice, it was already too late. Chisaki was standing there

with her eyes wide in complete astonishment.

"…Huh? What's going on?"

"O-oh! This is… Uh… We found this book on hypnosis, so we decided to try it out, but

we don't know how to snap them out of it!" shouted Yuki. Chisaki shifted her gaze toward

the book lying on the table…then nodded once before closing the door and marching over.

"Excuse me."

After getting Yuki to let go of Alisa's arms and stand back, Chisaki threw a perfectly

angled hook at Alisa's chin in a blur of speed, then rapidly tapped the temples and cheeks

of the now wobbling girl with both hands until Alisa's eyes went blank. Chisaki gently laid

her schoolmate's completely limp body on the couch. The entire process took a mere three

seconds. She repeated the same thing with Maria before laying her next to her sister and

nodding with evident satisfaction.

"Perfect."

"Not really," chimed in Masachika, unable to keep his mouth shut. He was so worked

up that he forgot to keep looking away. The corners of his lips twitched.

"So, uh… What the f—? Ahem. What exactly did you do to them?" he asked Chisaki.

"Huh? I reset them."

"Pretty sure only a mad scientist would use a word like that when referring to people!"

But right after his outcry, the Kujou sisters began to groggily groan in unison, causing

him to jump.

"H-huh…? What am I doing on the sofa…?"

"Oh my… I feel like I just woke up from a deep sleep…"

"Um… Alya, Masha? I know you're still confused, but you should probably tidy

yourselves up first."

"Huh?"

"Tidy…up…?"

After a few moments, sharp screams filled the student council room, and Masachika did

everything in his power to look away. Soon, a hand wrapped ominously around his shoulder

and forced him to turn around. It was like a wrench creaking while slowly tightening a bolt.

He encountered Chisaki's beautiful face and smile. They were so close that any ordinary boy

his age would instinctively avert his gaze shyly, but Masachika didn't look away…because

he knew that looking away meant death.

"You weren't ogling, were you?"

"…"

This wasn't the kind of thing you could just be like, "Ogling what?" and get away with

it, but it honestly didn't seem like she was going to kill him if he admitted it, either. In the

end, Masachika wasn't able to say a word. He swallowed his breath as Chisaki slowly raised

her right hand, bending each finger individually until her knuckles cracked.

"Want a reset?"

Masachika frantically shook his head as she tilted hers, still smiling.

"Okay, let's hear you reflect."

Masachika and Yuki headed back to the Kuze residence after the meeting instead of

going somewhere else to continue studying as originally planned. Masachika took a seat on

the edge of his bed and looked down at Yuki, who was sitting upright on the carpet.

Hell had broken loose. Thanks to Yuki shouting that she was the one who hypnotized

them, Masachika managed to avoid being reset, but Alisa still glared at him like he was a

criminal, and Maria immediately went home as if she was embarrassed as well. His head was

already hurting trying to think about how he should act the next day when he saw them at

school. At any rate, they decided to permanently seal that mysterious book on hypnosis, so

all that was left now…was to atone for the crimes committed that day.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself, Yuki Suou, the scoundrel who sexually

harassed her friends and ended up making them strip?"

"…I did no such thing."

"You're not even gonna admit it, huh?"

"Fine! I did it! I did it, dammit! You happy now?! I got carried away and made Alya and

Masha get half naked! But honestly, not one of us really believed the hypnosis would work!"

"Yeah, that still doesn't mean you should lash out at others and pretend like you did

nothing wrong."

Masachika gave her the stink eye, but Yukisimply looked away with a huff. Aftersighing

deeply, he looked to his sister's side…at Ayano, who was sitting next to Yuki for some

reason, even though nobody asked her to.

"Hey, uh…Ayano? You don't have to sit there. Yuki was the bad guy here, not you."

"I cannotstand when my mastersits," replied Ayano without even a second of hesitation.

What loyalty. She was the model maid. But there was something that still concerned

Masachika…

"…My dear sister."

"Yes, my brother?"

"…Why does she look strangely happy about this?"

"Because she's a masochist," replied Yuki without missing a beat. Masachika turned his

gaze up to the heavens and closed his eyes for about ten or so seconds, then slowly leaned

forward and pinched the bridge of his nose. He took out his phone, launched a game, and

began rolling gacha.

"Tsk. Another Zashiki-warashi—a useless low-level spirit."

"…"

"…"

Masachika clicked his tongue at the dud he pulled and tossed his phone onto a pillow

before lightly clearing his throat. After fixing his expression, he placed his elbows on his

knees and swiftly leaned forward, bringing his face closer to his sister's.

"So? Let's hear your reflection."

"You're the one trying to escape from reality," assessed Yuki calmly.

"Who wouldn't in this situation?!"

Masachika suddenly clutched his head, then covered his face with his arms as if he were

taking a defensive position to protect himself from the hard-to-accept reality.

"Also, your buildup to this was way too long."

"Sorry about that. Thanks for waiting, though," apologized Masachika, meekly peeking

out from the gap between his arms after getting hit by Yuki's caustic criticism.

"You're welcome."

Are they doing a bit? thought Ayano, wondering if she should speak up.

"Phew… Anyway, let's hear you reflect on your actions already."

"Hold up. Stop pretending like you didn't hear what I said."

"I heard nothing."

Masachika, staring blankly with unfocused eyes, was trying to pretend like he hadn't

heard anything, so he looked to Yuki's side.

"Hey, Ayano? Quick question. Are you the M in BDSM?"

"Of course." (M = maid?)

"You heard the woman, Masachika."

"Quit iiiiiit!"

Masachika clutched his head once more, taken aback by the fact that Ayano herself

admitted she was a masochist.

"I can't take it anymore! Not only is my sister abnormal, but even my childhood friend?!

I trusted you!"

"The hell? You make it sound like I'm weird."

"Did you honestly believe you were normal?"

"Well, I know for certain it isn't normal to be this cute. That's for sure," Yuki said with

a nod, crossing her arms with a dead serious expression.

"Don't flatter yourself."

Masachika shot his sister a disgusted glare, but Yuki simply smiled as she slyly looked

back up at him.

"Be honest. I am cute, aren't I?"

She closed one eye and tapped her fist against her cheek, playing up her cuteness, but

she was met with her brother's cold stare.

"Can I be honest with you?" he asked with a serious expression.

"Of course. Come at me," she replied, making a serious expression to match. A tense

air reigned over the room as if he were about to confess something profound, and he gravely

replied:

"To be completely honest…you're extremely cute."

"Thanks! ♪ Boing!"

"What are you, a koala?"

Her solemn facade disappeared in the blink of an eye, and she skillfully bounced from

a sitting position on the floor to the bed, grabbing her brother with both arms and legs. In a

way, she did look like a baby koala latching on to its mother, but…

"Hmm… I was thinking more like a rabbit, since I'm ready to f—"

"Shut up."

"I wub you, big bwuder."

"Stop talking like a baby."

"…That's it!" mumbled Yuki suddenly before releasing him as if she had been hit with

a great idea. Smugly, she placed her left hand on her waist and her right hand on her chest.

"You win. So as my punishment, how about you hypnotize me just like we did to Alya

and Masha."

"What? Your 'punishment'?"

"An eye for an eye, as they say. I can even hypnotize myself and start acting like a baby

just like you wanted."

"No thanks. I know I said we should do that to them as a joke, but it was only that: a

joke. Ayano, what is wrong with your master?"

"There is no way for an ordinary woman like me to understand her genius."

"Don't make it sound like there's some deep meaning to what she's doing. She's talking

out of her ass, you know."

"Perhaps it only appears that way at first glance, but in actuality—"

"No. And since when did you become a stupid henchman who always positively

interprets everything your master does? Next thing you know, you're gonna be going, 'Hurhur-hur. Yes, milord?' whenever she calls for you."

"I apologize, but what does 'milord' mean?"

"It's just a humorous way to say 'my lord.' They used to address noblemen this way…I

think."

"Masachika, Yuki is a noblewoman."

"Yeah, sure. That's— Ah. Whatever."

While Masachika was rolling his eyes at Ayano, Yuki was spreading her legs in front of

him and squatting as if she were about to charge like a wild boar.

"Let's do this, bro! I'm ready to do away with my shame and revert back to an infant

for you!"

"What the…?! You had shame?!"

"Of course, you little punk! Uwooooooh!!"

A powerful aura emanated from Yuki's body. It was like the power a warrior would

release while charging their special move. She clenched her fists by her chest, roaring like a

beast and slowly bending her upper body back until eventually stopping and falling silent.

"…Yuki?"

"…"

"Hey, you okay?"

"…Dear brother?"

"Gwah?!"

Yuki lifted her body back up and looked at her brother with beautiful, innocent eyes,

making him clutch his chest and bend forward as if he had been shot in the heart. Yuki rushed

over to his side in concern.

"What's wrong?!"

"Gwah! S-stop…! My old wound…! It's…!"

"You're hurt? Oh no! I'll call for a doctor!"

"No…! I-it's those beautiful eyes! Stop doing that!"

"Beautiful eyes? But your eyes are the same as mine."

"They aren't! Our eyes may have the same shape, but my eyes have been tainted!"

She placed a hand on her brother's lap and tilted her head inquisitively as he sat on the

bed. If you coupled that with her petite body and pretty face, then threw away the rest of her,

she would be as cute as an angel. However, that innocence of hers was like poison to the

eyes of a boy with a deep, tainted sadness.

"Are you feeling ill?"

"H-hey, uh…Yuki? I'm sorry… So do you think you could go back to normal?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"I can't! Ayano! Do something about your master!"

Unable to take it any longer, he turned to Ayano to save him, but Ayano had turned

herself invisible as she took in the sacred sight.

"Hey, wait! Don't turn into air now! Get back here!"

"Masachika?"

"Stop looking at me like that! Your eyes are too pure!"

Yuki had evolved into an angel and Ayano, air. The bedroom was beyond recognition,

twisted into chaos, and their original plan of studying together never came to fruition.