At 8:45 p.m., Shirase walked Nakano Nino to her apartment door.
The girl's face still glowed faintly, pink patches of shy color lingering as if they refused to fade. She stood by the entrance, head turned slightly aside, clearly reluctant to go in.
Seeing that, Shirase teased, "You're stalling on purpose… what, you wanna come home with me?"
"…You've got one wild imagination."
"Well, if I'm going to imagine things, I might as well make them good."
Thrown off by his joke, Nino gave him a flustered glare, then quickly turned and slipped into the building.
Only after she disappeared into the elevator did Shirase finally head home.
The living room was empty. From Kana's slightly open bedroom door came a faint glow.
He glanced inside—she was hunched over her computer, fingers tapping quickly, murmuring to herself now and then.
"I'm home," Shirase said casually as he passed by.
Kana jumped, spinning in her chair. When she saw it was just him heading toward the bathroom, she exhaled in relief.
Had Shirase looked closer, he would've seen the browser tab open on her screen: a forum thread titled—
[Anyone good with Photoshop? Please remove this annoying girl from the photo. Thanks.]
The photo, of course, was their group shot from today's convention.
Kana had already found that lolita-dressed girl irritating in person. After staring at the picture for hours, she'd only grown more convinced.
Too bad she didn't know how to use Photoshop herself.
If Shirase ever finds out, he'll never let me live it down.
Casting a nervous glance toward the bathroom, she stood up, shut her door, and locked it.
Her worry, however, was unnecessary.
Because after showering, Shirase had zero interest in bothering her—he had a more pressing matter:
Time to use his [Wheel-of-Fortune Lottery].
He'd deliberately waited until late, convinced the system couldn't possibly drag in anyone he knew again. At this hour, everyone was home; surely it wouldn't send him running around Tokyo in the middle of the night.
But when the wheel began to spin, four options appeared—and one in particular made his eye twitch.
[Nakano Nino's worn thigh-high stockings]
"Are you kidding me? Do I even need a lottery for that? If I wanted them, I could just ask her myself."
No response.
The wheel slowed. The glowing cursor stopped—right on the stockings.
[System is acquiring the prize for host as quickly as possible.]
Shirase's body moved on its own.
He wasn't too worried, though. Nino was surely already in her room; as long as none of her sisters saw him, he could explain things later.
The system steered him straight out the door, slipping easily into Nino's apartment building among returning residents. Damp hair still clung to his forehead, but nobody spared him a second look.
Arriving at the Nakanos' door, the system rang the bell.
It was Ichika who answered.
"Oh? Shirase-kun? What brings you here?"
She blinked in surprise, noting his empty hands. "No snacks or desserts? Then what—?"
"I'm looking for someone," the system said flatly.
Ichika sighed in relief, smiling faintly. "For a second I thought you came to expose me. Good thing you didn't."
Ignoring her, the system stepped inside, swapping shoes.
The TV was still running a workplace drama, but the living room was empty.
Ichika reclined on the couch. "Coming here this late… who are you looking for?"
The system's gaze drifted toward Nino's room.
"Ohh," Ichika said knowingly. "Nino, huh? But Yotsuba mentioned she skipped dinner. Weren't you with her?"
No reply. The system walked straight to Nino's door.
Ichika tilted her head. "What's with the mystery act?"
A knock. Then the door opened.
Nino blinked. "What are you doing here?"
Without a word, the system strode in, snatched the white thigh-highs draped over her chair—the ones she'd worn earlier—and bolted.
"Shirase, you pervert!"
Nino lunged after him, but he was far too quick. The system darted past her, sped by a stunned Ichika, changed shoes, and vanished.
Nino stood frozen in disbelief.
From the couch, Ichika asked hesitantly, "Uh… did Shirase just leave holding your stockings?"
"I don't know!" Nino snapped, slamming her door shut.
You damn pervert! Why my stockings?!
Then her face darkened with realization. Wait… could it be because I promised him those leg photos and never sent them, so he's taking revenge?
Glancing down at her pale, smooth legs, she bit her lip.
Forget it. Bath first, text later. Please don't let him do anything weird with them… or ruin them!
...
[System has successfully acquired the prize.]
[Please refrain from leaving one-star reviews in the future.]
[Bonus reward: manual dexterity greatly enhanced.]
"Manual dexterity?"
Holding the still-warm white stockings, Shirase eyed his hand warily.
Surely it didn't mean that.
Setting the stockings aside, he opened an instructional video by a certain famous Kato-sensei online.
"Oh? Human fingers can bend like that?"
"Huh. I can do it too."
"…Wow, even that?"
After a few minutes of practice, he finally understood—the upgrade meant pure finger control, nothing indecent.
He flexed his hand thoughtfully.
With precision like this… what if I tried spell-casting?
...
The next morning, Monday.
Shirase hadn't tested his new "ability" yet, though he was itching to.
Right after stepping through the school gates, he ran into Yukinoshita Yukino.
"Congratulations on your victory," the cool beauty said, unexpectedly initiating conversation.
Walking beside her, Shirase raised a brow. "Don't you think that's a bit late?"
"Late, yes—but at least it's sincere. You should appreciate that."
"Why should I?"
"Because I rarely praise anyone," Yukino replied evenly. "But your performance that day was truly impressive. I'm beginning to think your earlier claims weren't all talk."
"Yukinoshita-san, that sounds awfully backhanded. I never boasted in the first place."
"It sounded like boasting," she said with a faint, teasing smile. "And for the record, Yuigahama-san only half-believed you at the time."
"That just proves Yuigahama-san has good taste—better than yours, anyway."
"You…" Yukino drew a slow breath. "Never mind. I won't argue about something so childish."
Shirase grinned. "So anything I say goes, then?"
Her eyes narrowed. "If you dare say something indecent, I'll kick you."
"Yukinoshita-san, your mind really isn't pure. I haven't even said anything yet, and you're already imagining the worst."
He sighed theatrically but couldn't hide his smile. Somehow, starting the week by bickering with a beautiful girl didn't seem like such a bad way to begin Monday.