"I just remembered I have a crisis to manage! I'm heading out first!" Stella offered Ryoji a smile that was far too polite to be sincere. With a stiff, awkward bow, she tried to sidle past him, her movements frantic.
"What's the rush, Crimson Princess? Let's see what you've got there." Ryoji chuckled, shifting his weight to block her path.
The mailroom was designed as a narrow, one-way corridor, and Ryoji was currently holding the bottleneck. Stella found herself trapped, unable to advance or retreat. To make matters worse, Ryoji was wearing a look of sheer, unadulterated smugness, the kind of expression usually reserved for low-level street thugs looking for trouble.
"W-what are you planning, Ryoji?!"
Whatever flashed through Stella's mind in that moment, it wasn't good. Alarm bells screamed in her head. She pulled her hands to her chest in a defensive posture, eyeing him with pure suspicion.
"I'm warning you, if you try anything funny, Ikki will never let you hear the end of it!"
Ryoji tilted his head, a literal question mark practically hovering over his messy hair.
"Try anything? On you?"
He looked at her with genuine disbelief, as if she'd just suggested the moon was made of blue cheese. "I just got back from Apothecary Kiriko's place. I'm in a great mood, I've got a haul to brag about, and I'm about five minutes away from becoming a billionaire. I just wanted someone to witness my moment of glory. Is that a crime?"
"Wait… you mean you aren't…?"
Seeing the utter lack of predatory intent on his face, Stella's shoulders slumped in relief.
'Right. She was overreacting'. Despite his foul mouth and questionable personality, Ryoji wasn't that kind of guy. Plus, his bromance with Ikki was so rock-solid it made her jealous sometimes; he wouldn't dream of crossing that line.
'I'm just paranoid', she thought, her face heating up. 'Ever since I clicked 'buy' on that item, my brain has been in the gutter.'
"Wait, Okamoto…?"
Suddenly, the air left Stella's lungs. A cold shiver raced down her spine, and her hands began to tremble.
It's over.
In her panicked attempt to protect her chest, she had inadvertently shifted her grip. The small, palm-sized package was now perfectly visible. It was just a nondescript cardboard box with a shipping label, but Ryoji's Magician-enhanced eyesight caught the brand name printed in the corner: Okamoto.
"Oh ho…"
Ryoji's eyes narrowed into slits, a wicked, knowing grin spreading across his face. "Quality choice. Any good?"
"I wouldn't know!"
Stella whipped the package behind her back, her face turning a shade of red that rivaled her hair. She looked like she wanted the floor to swallow her whole.
"How can you not know? You bought the box."
"…We haven't actually done it yet!" She hissed, bowing her head in sheer mortification.
Ryoji's expression shifted from mockery to genuine, stunned admiration. "No way. You've been living together for how many days, and he still hasn't made a move? I actually respect the guy. If I were in his shoes, I'd have caved on day one. He's a saint, Stella."
"It's called respect!" She squeaked. "He's a gentleman!"
"Wow, you can actually speak like a human being when you're flustered," Ryoji teased.
"Don't you dare… if you tell anyone…"
"Oh? You mean like taking a photo and dropping it into the school's group chat?"
"Please have mercy!"
With a dramatic thud, Stella dropped to her knees, grabbing his pant leg like a condemned prisoner. "I should have waited! Why did I come to the mailroom now?! If I'd just waited ten minutes, I'd be safe!"
She looked so genuinely devastated that a passerby would have assumed she was confessing to a felony.
"Get up, would you? It's just a box of condoms. It's not a state funeral," Ryoji said, rolling his eyes.
He shook her off and stepped deeper into the room to claim his own loot. One. Two. Three. Four... five packages in total.
Stella wiped her eyes, mostly dry, despite the drama, and let out a shaky breath. He hadn't pulled out his phone. She was safe. But then, curiosity got the better of her. You saw mine, so it's only fair I see yours, she reasoned, sneaking a glance at his labels.
Her jaw dropped.
"Bunny Girl Outfit – Black Silk Fishnet…" "Bestseller – High School Uniform (Classroom Edition)…"
She looked up at Ryoji, her eyes wide with shock.
"See this? I bought five of them," Ryoji said, tucking the boxes under his arm with the pride of a conquering hero. "And you don't see me acting like I've been caught in a sting operation."
"Y-you… what on earth are you planning to do with those?!"
Even as she asked, Stella felt a strange, traitorous spark of interest. Her gaze lingered on the boxes, her imagination already sketching out what she might look like in something similar for Ikki.
"Want the links?" Ryoji asked, catching her lingering gaze. He leaned in with a conspiratorial smirk, looking for all the world like a shady merchant selling forbidden scrolls.
"…Maybe just to look," Stella whispered, nodding shyly.
A few minutes later, Stella slipped out of the mailroom with the stealth of a secret agent, her student handbook now filled with a list of "mysterious" URLs.
Ryoji, meanwhile, practically floated toward the dorms. His heart was light, his pace brisk. He could already envision Nene-nee in those outfits, and the thought was enough to make him break into a sprint.
He reached the flowerbeds near the dormitory entrance when he suddenly froze.
The air grew heavy. It felt as if a predator was watching him, a lioness stalking a gazelle, tasting the air before the kill. A chill raced down his spine. He knew this sensation. He had spent over a decade being the "prey" to this specific gaze.
"Hehehe… welcome home, my dear~ little~ brother~"
A crimson blur manifested behind him like a vengeful spirit. The voice was a breathy, dangerous whisper right against his ear.
Ryoji didn't wait. He didn't look back.
He exploded into motion, every muscle coiling and releasing like a high-tension spring as he launched himself forward.
"Jibakujin!"
A sharp, feminine shout rang out, followed by the snap of a metal folding fan.
The world suddenly felt like it was made of lead. Ryoji's boots crunched into the pavement as his effective weight skyrocketed. His speed plummeted, his legs feeling like they were encased in concrete.
'That legal loli'! He cursed internally. She'd hit him with at least ten times normal gravity in a single burst.
But he wasn't the same weakling he used to be. Gritting his teeth, Ryoji lowered his shoulder and charged forward like a wounded bull, tearing through the invisible weight with sheer, stubborn will.
(End of Chapter)
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