Isn't This Child Abuse?
Isn't This Child Abuse?
One autumn day. My room.
Mar was straddling me, and I lay pinned beneath her, groaning helplessly.
My discarded top lay crumpled in a corner of the bed, looking rather pitiful.
"Nnngh... Sis, you're tightening it too much..."
"Stay still and you'll get used to it. Should I keep going?"
"W-Wait... Eeek!?"
My sister cinched it roughly. The intense pressure tore a scream from my throat.
But Mar kept moving regardless of my suffering, her face flushed.
"Don't squirm like that. You'll touch somewhere you shouldn't."
"But it hurts... Can't I just take it off...?"
"Does it hurt that much? Should I loosen it a little?"
"Please... I feel like I'm going to get crushed..."
At my repeated pleas, my sister let out a sigh, as if she had no choice...
-Slide.
"There. Better now?"
"Whew... I thought I was going to die from the pain."
The corset that had been squeezing my chest mercilessly. She loosened the laces just a bit. Only then could I breathe properly.
...Why was I wearing a corset, you ask?
To explain that, we have to go back about ten minutes.
* * * * * *
About ten minutes before my sister put the corset on me.
My morning had been consumed by magic lessons, followed by a lunch I'd overeaten because it was so good. Then, to digest, I'd practiced my dancing more vigorously than usual.
After finishing all of that, I was heading to bed, overcome by drowsiness.
I lay down, and just as I was about to drift off in the crisp autumn air...
-BANG.
"Little brother~! Oh, are you sleeping?"
"Mar?"
Mar burst in, flinging the door open.
"What's up? Is your training all done for today?"
"Ah, I didn't train today. I went to the capital for a bit to meet a professor."
"A professor?"
"Yeah. See, it was..."
Mar went on to explain the purpose of her visit to the imperial capital. It was the story of her meeting with the old knight professor she'd once beaten in a one-on-one sparring match.
"...A teaching assistant?"
"Uh-huh. I graduated early, right? So the professor said, 'It's a shame I couldn't give you more hands-on experience while you were here. A position has opened up, and I was wondering if you'd consider becoming my assistant.' She said it'd be a good opportunity because I could lead students on dungeon training expeditions and such."
"No way..."
The reason the professor had asked to meet her was to propose that Mar become her student and teaching assistant.
Something clicked in my head when I heard that.
"Isn't that basically a graduate student?"
"Oh. You know about that too, little brother? The official title is Master, but for some reason everyone calls them graduate students. Anyway, she told me that if I ever want to become a professor at the academy later on, it's basically a must-do."
"So, are you going to be... a graduate student?"
"Are you crazy? Of course I turned her down. Just the salary I get as Deputy Knight Commander is ten times what a professor makes. A grad student probably makes way less than that. I've got no reason to be some professor's errand girl just to run a few dungeons."
"Phew. That's a relief."
I'd been worried about how I'd talk her out of it if she was actually considering becoming a graduate student, but luckily, my sister had made a wise decision.
Truthfully, in the game's academy, the grad student NPCs used to crawl around like zombies, always muttering about how tough it was.
It was a relief to know my sister wouldn't end up like that.
"Anyway, that's not the important part. The thing is, on my way back today, I bought a present for you."
"A present?"
"Yep. Ta-da~."
After finishing the small talk, my sister pulled out an article of clothing.
"Clothes?"
"Yeah. It's really trendy in the capital right now. It's called a corset. All the young noble boys are wearing them these days."
"A corset? What a weird name."
I took the garment, eyeing it from front to back with deep suspicion. But I had absolutely no idea how to put it on, especially with the rows of laces in the front, just like sneakers.
"How do you even wear this...? I've never seen such a bizarre piece of clothing in my life."
"You pull it up around your waist and then tighten the front laces to fix it in place. As tight as you can, ideally."
My sister then proceeded to list the corset's many advantages.
"Wearing this makes your waist look slim and way more stylish. It would've gone perfectly with that maid outfit you wore the other day, you know."
"Hmm... Really? So it's like underwear. Something you wear underneath."
"Exactly. I heard that not just young noblemen, but even the young ladies are all wearing them these days. There's no downside to looking handsome."
It looked so strange I'd initially assumed it was women's clothing, but according to Mar, it was apparently unisex.
At that, my opinion shifted from "Why would anyone wear this crap?" to "Maybe I'll give it a try?" To be honest, it did look like it'd be suffocating, but wearing it as a base layer under my formal suit... no, under the maid outfit during the Founding Festival should be bearable.
Mark of a Manly Man: Putting up with a little discomfort for fashion.
"Alright, I'll try it on."
"Okay! I'll wait outside the door, so call me once you've got it on~."
My sister walked out, grinning from ear to ear.
I took off my top and put the corset on. I roughly pulled it over my stomach and chest, tied the laces, and it was on—surprisingly simple.
But there was a problem.
"Sis~."
"You're dressed? Let's see... Hey. What's that supposed to be?"
The corset was practically hanging off my body, so much so that any slight movement would send it sliding down and expose my upper body.
My extremely precarious state brought a look of panic to my sister's face.
"Is this really how you wear this? It doesn't feel right."
"Of course it's not. You have to tighten the laces more. Until it's fixed in place."
"Tight? ...Like this?"
"That didn't even budge a claw's width. Much tighter."
"Ugh... You tighten it for me, sis. I can't figure it out."
"Haa... Fine, I guess there's no choice. Just this once, okay?"
* * * * * *
And so my sister tightened the corset for me. With all her strength at first. But when she saw how much it hurt me, she loosened it a bit.
Only after my sister had loosened the laces could I finally catch my breath and go limp on the bed.
"Whew... I thought I was going to die from the pain."
"Sorry, sorry. I yanked it as tight as possible. I didn't realize it would hurt you that much."
"I thought my waist was going to snap like a cookie."
After that, I carefully looked down at my abdomen. My waist did indeed look slightly cinched. It would definitely look good with the maid outfit like this. The maid outfit's key feature is the slightly tapered waistline, after all.
But I had to give up way too much just for that effect. It was suffocating and painful. I doubted I could even eat a meal while wearing it.
Honestly, making kids wear something like this practically seemed like child abuse.
"Urgh... It's so stuffy. Do people really wear these things?"
"I told you so. Even knights wear something similar under their metal armor."
"Really?"
"Yep."
Just as I was regretting it, thinking, 'If I'd known a corset was this kind of monstrous contraption, I never would've agreed to try it on,' my sister began to coax me gently.
"Oh my, our little brother looks so dashing~ All the young ladies in town will only have eyes for you~."
"...Do I look like a kid? You think you can sweet-talk me like that? I'm taking it off. It's suffocating."
"Oh, come on~! Just think of your sister's thoughtfulness in buying it and wear it for one day! I really did buy it with you in mind, okay?"
But when I ignored her and insisted on taking it off, my sister resorted to whining. Sheesh, what a handful this sister is, seriously.
Normally, I would have let her win and pretended to be persuaded, figuring there's no point in beating my family at everything.
But this was truly too much. It had gone beyond simply feeling stifling to the point where I felt my physical freedom was being suppressed.
So I was about to refuse, declaring I'd never wear such a thing, but...
Mid-sentence, I felt a sneeze coming on.
"No..."
'Ah, I'm about to sneeze.'
"Achoo— HIIIEEEEK!!!"
I tried to sneeze but ended up screaming instead, as a pain like my ribs were shattering washed over me.
"Wh-What..."
'It hurts. It hurts. It really hurts!'
"Little brother!?"
My sharp scream echoed through the room, my face contorted in agony.
I ripped the thing off irritably and threw it at my sister, whose eyes had gone wide with shock.
"Are you trying to kill me!? I nearly died from the pain! Why would anyone wear this!!"
"...Brother! Cover yourself! Your chest is completely exposed!"
"Who cares about my chest!!"
Oddly, my sister looked flustered, but I ignored it and glared at her.
"Sis. Be honest. You did this to make me cry again, didn't you? It seriously hurt, you know? I'm getting mad, you know? It's scary when I'm mad, you know?"
"No, it's not like that, so just put some clothes on first! How can a boy be so immodest, honestly!"
But my sister didn't seem to care about my anger and just picked up the discarded clothes and handed them to me.
After I snatched them and put them on, she spoke.
"Brother, I'm sorry. I didn't know it would hurt you that much."
"Hmph... Why are all the presents you give me like this? First you brought home Chloe, claiming she was a cat, and now you bring me a death-trap outfit you claim is fashionable that nearly kills me if I sneeze. Are you just trying to torment me?"
"I said I'm sorry. I really just wanted you to have a successful debut this winter."
"Hmph. I don't like you, sis. ...No, I don't dislike you. But I like Albert a hundred times more than you, Mar."
"I said I'm sorry~ Forgive me~."
And so my sister began to soothe me while I sulked hard...
Ultimately, we reached a dramatic reconciliation after she promised to buy me cookies from a famous bakery.
Can't resist cookies. Nope.
* * * * * *
That evening, during a routine communication with Nibuer, the head of the Steinadler Merchant Company.
"Can you believe that happened? Nibuer, isn't Mar way too much? I'm telling you, this is child abuse."
Even though we'd made up, the day's events felt so unfair that I couldn't stop complaining.
-I see. It seems Lady Margarete cares for you deeply, Young Master Yune.
"How is that caring for me? She was completely set on making me cry."
-Wouldn't you say she did that with your best interests in mind? It's true that corsets are currently all the rage in the capital.
"..."
Nibuer subtly defended my sister.
I was about to sulk, disappointed that she wasn't taking my side, when—
-But I do not believe you need a corset, Young Master. You are already very handsome, even without relying on such things.
"...Right? Heh. I'm a manly man, after all. I'm plenty handsome without that stuff. Even the formal suit... no, the maid outfit you brought me looked great, didn't it?"
-I have no doubt about that. Because you are a manly man, Young Master.
"Ahem!"
This time, she launched a bombardment of compliments. Just just what I'd expect from Nibuer, she didn't overly flatter me but picked exactly the points I'd like to hear.
...Come to think of it, ever since that incident, Nibuer had become much closer to me.
When we first met, it felt like she was dealing with a business partner. Did she open up a bit because I saved her from having her fingers cut off?
"Anyway. That's all the info I had to pass along this time."
-Yes, understood.
"Then I'll see you tomorrow."
Having steered the conversation back on track, I was about to end the communication.
-Young Master Yune. Please wait a moment. I, Nibuer, have one request to make of you.
"A request? What do you need?"
-Yes.
Since this was the first time Nibuer had ever asked me for a favor, I grabbed the communication orb in surprise.
Wow. Nibuer, asking me for a favor? When it's always been me asking her for things?
"Yeah! Tell me anything! If it's something I can grant, I will!"