"I see… Thank you for the information."
Melusine gave a small nod to the group.
The moment those noble, gold-colored eyes locked onto them, all three girls felt their faces flush red.
So cool…!
Since the details she'd gathered didn't lead to any useful conclusions, Melusine turned to the Yamai twins and asked, "I'd like to speak with you in private. Does your school have any secluded place, somewhere people rarely go?"
But it wasn't the Yamai sisters who answered—it was one of the girls who had been utterly smitten by Melusine's charm.
"M-me! I know one! There's a storage room behind the school filled with old PE equipment. It's too far from the main building, so no one really goes there."
It fit her requirements perfectly.
So, with Yatogami Tohka and the Yamai sisters in tow, Melusine made her way toward the storage room.
Even after she left, several girls couldn't tear their eyes from that captivating figure.
"She's seriously so cool…"
"Like a prince, right?"
"What prince? She's totally a knight."
"Ahhh~ I want to be her princess… Let her protect me forever…"
Her dainty, adorable looks aside, it was Melusine's dignified, knightly aura that made people take notice. Though her appearance had only caused a brief stir so far, it was clear Melusine would be the hot topic among the school's girls for quite some time.
"…Come to think of it, where's Origami?"
Yamabuki Aii glanced around the area, finally realizing what had been nagging at her.
"You're right," said Hazakura Mai, equally slow on the uptake. "It felt like something was missing… I guess it's because we didn't get our daily Tohka vs. Origami argument."
Fujibakama Mii added thoughtfully: "Ma Ji washes pantyhose."
---
"…Ugh…"
Itsuka Shidou let out a soft groan and slowly opened his eyes.
"…Where… am I…?"
His vision was blurry. He instinctively tried to rub his eyes—but frowned.
His arms wouldn't move.
No, to be precise, both wrists were bound behind his back. He couldn't bring his hands forward at all.
As his senses returned, he realized he was sitting on something soft—not a chair. More like a cushion.
His feet weren't restrained, but he couldn't see anything. Something was covering his eyes.
What… happened?
He tried to recall what had led to this and assess where he might be.
From arriving at school with Tohka and the others… to sitting at his desk… and then—nothing. He had blacked out.
There wasn't a single clue in his memory.
Where was this place? Who had brought him here? Why?
Those questions stacked up in his mind, each more confusing than the last.
The first person that came to mind—was the mature-bodied Spirit named Natsumi, a.k.a. "Witch."
That time, she'd gone from bashfully delighted over a compliment to suddenly threatening to end his life before disappearing without explanation.
So… Natsumi's finally making her move?
For someone to knock him out and bring him here without raising any alarm… they had to possess some kind of special ability.
His anxiety grew in the pitch-black silence.
Until—someone yanked the blindfold off his face.
"…Origami?"
Though the lighting was dim, his eyes had already adapted to the darkness. He immediately saw the figure in front of him.
Silvery hair. A beautiful face devoid of expression, almost doll-like. Her emotionless gaze gave her an unapproachable air.
"Origami!" Shidou's eyes widened, relief in his voice. "You came to rescue me, right?"
She tilted her head slightly, as if question marks had popped up over her head.
Shidou didn't notice.
He tried to stand. "Quick! Untie me—we need to get out of here! Whoever brought me is dangerous. We have to leave before she comes back—"
Before he could finish, something grabbed his shoulder.
The next moment, Shidou was forcibly shoved back onto the cushion.
"Origami, you…!"
He didn't get up again—because Origami had now straddled his abdomen.
"I believe you've misunderstood the situation."
She stared down at him, her flat voice betraying no emotion.
"I'm the one who knocked you out and brought you here without anyone noticing."
The revelation stole the breath from his lungs.
"Why…?"
His face was full of confusion. "Why would you do this…?"
Origami didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she pulled out a bottle of water and held it to his lips.
"Drink."
Shidou's expression turned awkward.
"Um… what's with this?"
"Water. Aren't you thirsty?"
She said it as naturally as someone asking for the time—which only made it feel more unnatural.
He was thirsty… but accepting a drink from his captor felt wrong.
Of course, he didn't think Origami would poison him—but there were other things, worse things, than poison…
He remembered the first time he visited her house. She'd served him tea laced with so many aphrodisiacs he'd nearly gone into shock.
Maybe sensing his hesitation, Origami unscrewed the bottle, took a sip, and held the water in her mouth.
Then she leaned in.
That's when Shidou realized—she was going to mouth-feed it to him!
"W-wait! Okay! I'll drink it! Just give it to me normally!"
"…Is that so?"
She swallowed the water with visible disappointment, then passed him the bottle again.
"Drink."
"Uh… r-right. I'll… glk—!"
Before he could finish, she jammed the bottle into his mouth and forced him to drink.
Caught off guard, he had no choice but to chug the entire thing.
Satisfied, Origami pulled the bottle away.
Then, for reasons Shidou dared not ask, she licked the bottle's opening before screwing the cap back on.
Don't think about it, he told himself. Just… don't.
"I've been thinking a lot since my talks with Sensei," she said.
Shidou perked up at that title.
"Sensei?"
"Your Lancelot."
Origami's eyes glinted with a flicker of emotion—complicated, hard to read.
"She told me: 'Shidou is the kind of man with a strong sense of responsibility. If you want to make him yours, all you have to do is force him into a situation where he must take responsibility as a man.'"
It took Shidou a few seconds to fully digest that.
Then his face contorted in horror.
"W-wait! Origami—!"
"It's no use. I'm stronger than you. You won't be able to resist whatever I choose to do."
She kept him pinned, face blank.
"Also… that technique I used to bring you here without anyone noticing? She taught me that, too. Some sort of spell that erases presence, making others subconsciously ignore the caster. I couldn't get it to work until I merged it into my Reality Field. Thanks to Sensei's technique, even Tohka didn't notice."
Lancelot! This is all your fault!
Shidou screamed internally.
"Now… shall we begin?"
"Begin… what?"
The ominous undertone in her voice sent his mind into overdrive. His head was hot, thoughts spiraling.
Then, with alarming speed, Origami stripped off his shirt and unbuckled his belt. She undid the top buttons of her own shirt, then tied his belt around her neck like a collar.
Her cold hands slid across his fevered chest as she leaned closer. Through her open shirt, he caught sight of a perfect curve. Her scent—soft, feminine—clouded his mind.
A shiver ran through him from the sudden exposure, but everywhere she touched now burned.
His heart pounded violently, like it might burst from his chest.
He tried to struggle, but with his hands still tied and Origami physically stronger, he couldn't resist.
"Come, Shidou. Let us share a deep, soul-binding kiss. Let our bodies remember one another forever…"
Her breath, hot against his neck.
Shidou's chastity—a national emergency!
"W-wait! Origami! Please—just wait!"
He squirmed in desperation. "If… if someone sees us like this—"
"Don't worry."
Her breathing was heavy now, tinged with quiet confidence.
"The spell doesn't last long—I've only recently learned it—but this place is far enough from the others. No one ever comes here…"
But before she could finish her sentence, the door behind her creaked open. Sunlight poured into the room.
"Query: If you just wanted to talk, why not do it outside the storage room?"
"Yuzuru, you have no sense of romance. This place is a forbidden sanctum, a tomb of forgotten secrets and shadows. As royalty, I cannot ignore such a place. I know my dear ally feels the same way."
Leading the charge were Kaguya and Yuzuru. Following them were Tohka—and Melusine.
And then, the four girls came face to face with the sight of a bound, half-dressed Shidou pinned beneath a nearly undressed Origami.
The air froze. Heavy, stifling. A calm before the storm.
Ah… what a pain. Can I bolt?
Melusine narrowed her eyes, but she knew—of all the people present, she had the least right to flee.
Because—
BOOM!
A massive column of Spirit energy exploded upward, reducing the entire storage room to rubble.
The blast vanished as quickly as it came. The spacequake alarm didn't even have time to activate.
"Have you calmed down now?"
...
In the Spirit Apartment—
Melusine stood tall, arms crossed, posture straight as a spear. Her armored bracers and short blade were visible, her presence sharp yet contained.
Before her, Tohka, Kaguya, Yuzuru, Shidou, and Origami knelt in a line, heads bowed like chastened children.
Hearing her cold voice, the group gave small, synchronized nods.
One glance at the swollen lumps on their heads made it clear why they were being so obedient.
The strong command the weak. Melusine had once again proven that philosophy through action.
Why me though…? I'm the victim… So why did I get beaten up the most?
Tears of injustice welled in Shidou's eyes. He slumped, wilted like a dying plant.
Everyone else had one bump on their head.
Shidou had four.
---
Every 100 Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter.
100ps = 1 chp
200ps = 2 chp
300ps = 3 chp
etc.