Unfortunately, just as the hem of her skirt reached its absolute limit, her hand froze and didn't lift any higher.
"Even if I just show it to Kuroba-kun like this, it'd be fine… but it'd be even better if Kuroba-kun could promise me one thing first."
"Tch… I knew it…"
Of course. The view under a beautiful girl's skirt was just like a scam waiting to happen—if he "bought in" now, poor Kuroba Akira would probably end up like TOM, completely taken advantage of.
If she actually turned out to be a schemer, she could use it as leverage, blackmailing him to give up all his high school years in exchange.
All that just to see a pair of panties? The cost was far too high. So, without hesitation, Kuroba Akira said:
"I won't look."
"Not looking? Really not looking? These are the panties of a current high school girl, your classmate, the class president! Aren't you even a little curious about the color, the style?"
Hitomi Anri, adding extra value to her panties with every prefix and flourish, waved her short school skirt like a magician teasing a trick under a cloth.
The hem swayed, naturally drawing the eyes of anyone nearby, tempting humanity's innate curiosity for the unknown.
No wonder people said that a beautiful girl's skirt hides the mysteries of the universe… Before it's lifted, it's like Schrödinger's cat in a box—no one can say whether there's a little bird inside or not.
Still, Kuroba Akira's gaze felt magnetically drawn to her skirt. It was as if he could almost see, yet not quite—her subtle, teasing control was comparable to the cafeteria lady's shaky scoop hand, hitting every nerve of an adolescent boy.
In the end, Kuroba Akira resisted his curiosity by rolling his eyes and pinching the sides of his nose at the temples, holding up a finger in front of the class president:
"Looking for one second is looking. Staring for a minute is looking. Pressing it up to my face is looking. Seeing it from three meters away is looking. The power to lift the skirt is in your hands, not mine, which puts me at a huge disadvantage."
Hitomi Anri paused and lowered her skirt, a contemplative expression on her face.
"I see… Time and distance really do affect the quality of the view. If Kuroba-kun felt tricked, he definitely wouldn't want to help me."
"The most important thing is, I still can't be sure what's under there. If it has teddy bears or strawberries on it, I'd be at a serious loss."
Some people might like that kind of thing, but Kuroba Akira wasn't really into childish patterns.
"Teddy bears and strawberries count as a loss… then what kind of panties would make Kuroba-kun feel like he got a good deal?"
"Black, cut-out, semi-transparent, lace."
"So… H! That's your personal preference?"
"Not at all. It depends on the 'character setting.'"
"Character setting?"
"For example, if a shy, innocent high school girl falls over on flat ground and accidentally flashes her panties, and then realizes someone saw them, her face instantly turns red. She shyly grabs her skirt to pull it down, but pulls too hard and ends up revealing the whole thing… That's when plain white panties without decoration are the best!"
Hitomi Anri seemed to imagine what he was describing and nodded in full understanding.
"I see… When you put it that way, I agree that pure white is the right choice. Actually, it has to be pure white."
"Exactly."
"Then why would I be better suited to black, cut-out, semi-transparent lace, adult-style panties? Please guide me, Kuroba-kun."
Though she said "please guide me" politely, her tone left no room for refusal—basically telling Kuroba Akira, You're not going anywhere until you answer.
"Because for the class president, a contrast in character works better."
"Contrast in character?"
"Yeah. She should look dignified, but actually be secretly bold. Because schoolwork stresses her out, she craves daring, thrilling ways to relieve tension. At home, after taking off her glasses, she posts revealing selfies online… So, the high-exposure, sexy panties fit her perfectly."
"But I'm the class president, and I don't wear glasses."
"See? That's why you don't feel like a class president."
"And I don't feel stressed about studying."
"Impressive, impressive."
With an "A" in academics, schoolwork should be easy and even fun for Hitomi Anri.
"Anyway, if we go by your bold-but-hidden character idea, it'd make more sense for the class president not to wear any, right?"
"Then she'd be a nympho, not just secretly bold."
"But for a guy, wouldn't seeing none be even more exciting?"
"Well… you're not wrong."
Hitomi Anri had just been thinking about how to increase the temptation under her skirt. Since Kuroba Akira admitted it himself, it was time to raise the stakes!
"So, Kuroba-kun, you really don't want to see? To check whether this class president matches your contrast idea… You could even lift it yourself."
She was practically offering him the power to lift the skirt.
They say a man's greatest desire in life is to lift two pieces of cloth: the skirt of his first love and his wife's veil.
And in her offer was an unspoken bonus: look as long as you want. For Kuroba Akira, who had never lifted either cloth in his previous life, the temptation was enormous.
"So… class president, are you saying that you really aren't wearing any?"
"Hmm… there's a possibility?"
"The moment you hesitated, the vacuum possibility vanished."
"Kuroba-kun… you're too sly."
"Since it's obvious there's no jackpot, I won't take the risk without knowing the terms of the deal."
In other words, if they were really going to use this as a trade, Hitomi Anri would have to reveal the color and style of her panties herself.
But having a teenage high school girl expose her panties? That's far more humiliating than most punishment games.
No matter how mature she acted, she was still a fifteen-year-old first-year, half Kuroba Akira's age, and hadn't experienced the real world yet. The key difference was the thickness of the skin.
"Fine… As I thought, Kuroba-kun isn't the type to be swayed by just a little temptation. Or maybe my panties just aren't attractive enough…"
Hitomi Anri seemed to give up trying to tempt him further, sighing as she walked past him to the vending machine.
"What a shame… I was thinking, if Kuroba-kun helped me, I'd buy him a drink."
Hearing this, Kuroba Akira leaned against the side of the vending machine, arms crossed:
"Class president, while a current high school girl's panties are undeniably tempting, I'm a materialist. Compared to pursuing spiritual fulfillment, I'll prioritize material fulfillment first."
"Kuroba-kun, I'm devastated."
"Why?"
"Does that mean my panties aren't even as good as a bottle of drink?"
"I never said a drink alone could buy me… Anyway, let's hear what it is you want to ask me first."
"That's exactly what you should have asked first!"
You first, though…