Chapter 4: Paradise, Where They Became One! (1)

"Well, it would be a pity to throw this item away…" Haru muttered after he calmed down.

Putting… the eccentric requirement to use the item aside, the fabric was a potent luck-boosting item. Besides, Haru could use it to increase his fortune when he tried the Mysterious Lottery.

It wasn't as if he must use it in front of other people. He could use it in a secret place when no one saw him wearing panties on his head like a desperate pervert.

"By the way, who is the owner of these panties? I am curious."

Haru mumbled as he pinched his chin with his free hand. His other hand was holding the panties in front of his chest.

From other people's perspective, Haru seemed like a real connoisseur of panties because of his solemn expression as he watched the underwear in his hand.

"Let's see, it said the owner's name is Eris, and she is a Goddess of Fortune from another world… Well, the result of Appraisal said so… Anyway, the clues are Eris, Fortune, Panties, Luck… Hm? Wait for a moment. Don't tell me…"

Finally, Haru connected the dots in his mind. He was at a loss for words when he realized the identity of the owner of the divine panties.

Haru released a dry laugh.

"Poor goddess. Not only she became a victim of Kazuma when she graciously taught him a skill, but she also became a victim of my dubious ability. Wait…"

Haru abruptly paused when he realized something. He closely and carefully inspected the panties while clenching and unclenching his hand to feel the temperature and texture better.

"I guess I got a better catch than Kazuma. It's obvious that she wore these panties when she was doing her godly job." Haru then gave the panties a deadpan. "What the hell am I doing?!"

Haru shook his head in a self-admonishment and then stored the divine panties in the Item Box. He looked at his surroundings and realized that he got distracted.

Admittedly, the distraction helped him. Beforehand, he was experiencing an intense longing for Sora and Suzuka. Well, he still missed them dearly, but it wasn't as bad as before.

"AAAARGH! I REALLY, REALLY MISS SORA AND SUZUKA, GODDAMMIT!"

Haru's frustrated scream echoed in the empty Paradise.

The next moment, Haru exited the world of Innovate Clear and returned to his bedroom. He immediately smelled Sora and Suzuka's unique fragrance. The former was stronger because Haru knew her body well.

When Haru smelled their smell from his bedroom, the intense yearning returned. It urged Haru to unleash his longing as quickly as possible.

Of course, Haru wouldn't allow the great, mysterious urge to control him. Maybe, it affected him a tiny bit as he exited his room in a hurry and went to find Sora in the living room.

Haru's hurried footsteps grabbed Sora's attention. She was reclining on the sofa while reading Haru's script and snacking without a care in the world.

"Sooooora~cwaaaaan! I miss you~!"

Just like a specific perverted cook who was thirsty for real women, Haru loudly declared his arrival, shocking Sora.

"Eep!"

Haru ignored Sora's confused yelp, smooched her lips for several seconds, and then hugged her soft body tightly. He then rubbed his face on Sora's head as if she was a cute, fluffy animal.

"H-Haru! W-What are you doing?! Stop! It's stifling and uncomfortable, you fool!" Sora tried to resist Haru's hug to no avail.

Admittedly, there was no way Sora could resist Haru's strength because his physical strength was above fifty times of ordinary man in his twenties.

Haru ignored Sora's desperate attempt to release herself from his grip while rubbing his face on her hair and sniffing her fragrance. He really missed Sora after staying in Paradise for several days. It was pure hell when his fragile heart toyed by the insidious and cruel dark side of Plot Armor.

Because Haru was too focused on Sora, he missed Suzuka's arrival. She had gone to the living room because of the uproar she heard from her bedroom. At the very least, Suzuka had missed it when Haru boldly smooched Sora's lips. It would end ugly quickly if she saw that.

Suzuka became dumbfounded when she saw Haru hugging the flailing and blushing Sora. She then snapped out of her shock and shouted at them in jealousy.

"ONII-CHAN! WHAT. THE. HECK. ARE. YOU. DOING?!"

Right after registering Suzuka's scandalized and jealous scream, Haru stopped hugging and fluffing Sora, much to Sora's silent disappointment. She was actually enjoying the contact in spite of her resistance.

Haru turned his body around and went to Suzuka. His movement was inhumanely fast that it seemed like he was teleporting. In Suzuka's perspective, she just finished shouting at Haru, and the next moment, she found herself getting smooched by Haru before he embraced and fluffed her.

"Ah~ Suzuka~cwan~, I miss you too~" Haru had a blissful expression as he rubbed Suzuka's head with his face.

Suzuka had become frozen like a statue, her mind unable to catch up. When she finally caught up, her face and ears turned extremely red, and her eyes turned glazed.

"On…Ki…Onii…Ki…O-Onii…K-Ki…Bweh!"

Suzuka fainted as her mind crashed.

At the side, Sora watched everything with a deadpan. Then, with an unreadable blank look, Sora approached Haru, as well as the fainted Suzuka in his arms before separating the latter from the former. At the very least, she tried.

Unfortunately, Sora couldn't separate Suzuka from Haru's fluffing hell. For the first time since she could remember, Sora felt real pity for Suzuka.

"Haru! That's enough!"

"Wait, Sora! I still need to recharge!"

"You idiot! Look! She has fainted!"

"Huh?!"

Haru finally realized Suzuka's state from Sora's words. As he supported Suzuka's limp body with his left hand, he turned his attention on her. He then saw the blissful expression on her extremely red face; her grin was so silly that it almost split her face; her eyes had rolled back, showing only the sclerae.

Although Suzuka was out of commission, she seemed so happy.

"Ah! Da-rn!"

"Haru! Language!"

Sora scolded Haru when she heard him cursing. However, Haru ignored her scolding and moved his free hand in front of Suzuka's face. "Huh?!" Sora was stunned when she saw Haru's hand glow pale golden.

"Haru," Sora called him, catching his attention. "Was that magic?" She sounded amazed when she asked.

Haru turned his head to Sora and saw her wide-eyed, surprised expression. "I have told you that I am a total awesome magician in my past life, right?"

"Well, I haven't seen real magic, okay? So, what kind of magic is that?" Sora peevishly replied before she realized that she'd gotten sidetracked. "Wait! That's not it! How is she?"

"It looks like nothing bad happened to Suzuka. She just fell unconscious from a sudden spike of stress and mental strain. I think her mind got overloaded by stimulation. By the way, it's just a simple Holy Element spell called Diagnosis. The name is self-explanation, don't you think so?"

Haru released a relieved sigh after ending his spell. He then carried Suzuka's body in a bridal carry and brought her to the sofa.

Sora had envious eyes when she saw that. But, she put her envy aside and followed him.

"I see. Well, about that poor girl, her reaction is understandable. You kissed her, you know. In front of me, as a matter of fact." She seemed so annoyed when she said that.

"My bad!"

At the very least, Haru had the decency to show an apologetic expression as he said that. At the same time, he put Suzuka's body on the sofa.

"All right. I forgive you," Sora said as she stopped next to him. She flitted her gaze between Haru and Suzuka. "So, are you going to wake her up with your magic, or what?"

Haru nodded his head without looking back at Sora. He raised his hand on top of Suzuka's face and silently cast another spell.

"N…!" Sora restrained her sound when she saw Haru's hand release pale golden glow again. She didn't want to interrupt Haru with her voice.

Although Sora had no knowledge of mysticism, she had an inkling feeling that casting magic wouldn't be that simple as how Haru demonstrated.

From Haru's hand, pale golden gaseous substance poured down on Suzuka's body and quickly covered her from head to toe. Sora watched the process in fascination. It seemed so fascinating in her perspective. Then, Haru moved his eyeballs slightly, glancing at Sora.

"If you have something in your mind that you want to ask out, don't hesitate. We are not strangers, so you needn't show reservation."

"Well," Sora turned her head to him and said, though she still sounded unsure. "Don't you need to focus on your spell?" She finally forced something out of her mouth.

"I was called as a genius magician not only for show, you know. Not trying to toot my own horn, but small matter like this doesn't need my full concentration."

"Is magic easy?" Sora asked and seemed genuinely curious.

"No. It is not easy." Haru replied.

"Could I learn magic?"

Haru saw Sora's eager eyes and became silent all of a sudden.