[No title provided]
“So you barged in here just in case?”
“Yes...”
Amid the women glaring at me with half-lidded eyes, I knelt there like a criminal, unable to lift my head and just staring at the floor.
While I was screaming in agony from Prazia's full-power eye poke—too blinded to even see ahead—they'd quickly changed clothes and forced me to my knees, launching into an interrogation about the whole mess.
Fortunately, the Saintess's swift healing had restored my eyes perfectly, but the dizzying sensation from the poke still lingered, bringing tears that flowed no matter how hard I tried to stop them.
“W-why are you crying?! Y-you're the one who messed up first! Bursting in while we were changing...”
A couple of tears trickled down, and the princess—flustered by what must've been her first time seeing me cry—reminded me whose fault it was.
Well... no real excuse. It was my bad, so I figured I deserved it.
Not that I felt wronged or anything—it was just a natural bodily reaction. As I was about to explain that it was a lingering physiological response—
“Hmm... Were you that desperate to see us in our underwear? Enough to cry over it?”
“Princess! What are you even saying?!”
“No, boys that age are supposed to be obsessed with stuff like this, right? So maybe Mars is no different. Truth be told, when he helped us out, we paid him off with money but never showed any real, personal gratitude.”
“Well... that's...”
Sensing the conversation veering into dangerous territory thanks to the princess's speculation, I snapped my mouth shut.
I didn't know the details, but if I opened my big mouth here, every alternate-universe version of me would curse my name.
“B-but...! We're not engaged or married or anything—showing our underwear is...! Kinda embarrassing!”
“Fair point, maybe. But we can trust Mars with it. If things work out with him down the line, we'll be showing swimsuits anyway—what's underwear compared to that?”
“Hmm... You really want to see it that bad...?”
An inexplicable pounding surged through my entire body at the princess's and Prazia's casual exchange.
I couldn't see from staring at the floor, but I felt the Saintess—who'd been channeling holy power into my eyes from beside me—discreetly lifting her clothes to check her underwear color. And Prazia started boldly undoing the buttons on her uniform top.
lolwut, is this for real?!
My brain rebelled against processing the situation, but I decided to roll with the chaos and embrace the cognitive dissonance.
Truth was, I'd already clocked all their underwear with my superhuman dynamic vision the moment I barged in. But if they were offering to show me of their own accord? No reason to turn down that glorious sight.
Any guy rejecting this honor had to be either impotent or gay—and since I was neither, I had zero reasons to say no.
“Hold on a sec.”
Luna's voice sliced through the air like a cold blade against my eardrums.
Ever the quick one, Luna had picked up on the weirdness and halted the other women's actions.
“Hey. Lift your head.”
She strode right up to me and commanded it.
Raising my head now would reveal my still-watery eyes from the poke's aftermath, potentially exposing my crocodile tears.
I tried my best to keep my head bowed deep, buying time somehow—but—
“Hey.”
“Y-yes.”
Maybe from all the harsh lessons after ignoring her in the past, my head shot up on reflex.
I was surprised by my own conditioned response, but Luna stared straight at my face and quickly realized the tears were just physiological.
“This idiot's just crying 'cause the poke pain hasn't fully faded. Saintess, your healing fixes the wound, but can the sensation linger?”
“Ah, yes. My holy power basically restores the body to its pre-injury state, so some sensation might stick around.”
With the Saintess's confirmation, Luna whipped her head back to me and glared daggers.
“Anyway, that drug's way too suspicious. My guess? It's got deep ties to the Heaven God Cult.”
“Changing the subject, huh?”
But what could I do? Survival first.
I brushed off Luna's incredulous glare and switched to a serious expression, recapping the situation.
“So the professor asked you to check if this 'Drak' drug is spreading through the academy?”
“Yeah. A temporary massive power boost sounds amazing, but if it turns you into a monster at the end? Better wipe it out fast.”
No matter how great the upsides, pushing users toward a slow death made it no different from poison.
And even knowing all that, the primal desire to grow stronger was fertile ground for these scumbags to fatten their wallets. I fully agreed we needed to crush that evil quick.
“Since it's gotta be a covert op, I figured I'd ask trustworthy folks like you to help out. Keep an eye out for anyone acting shady in the academy or reacting weirdly to mentions of Drak.”
If it tied back to the Heaven God Cult, we had to uproot their influence now. Developing a ruthless drug that turned people into monsters and spreading it across the Empire? That screamed bad omens.
The women listened quietly, grasping the gravity, and fell silent for a moment.
“Mars.”
Prazia spoke up—her uniform loose with a button or two undone, thanks to Luna's intervention. I hadn't expected her to step up so boldly, so I leaned in to hear her out.
“So... you don't wanna see?”
“...”
Not the answer I'd hoped for, leaving me speechless. Next up was the princess.
“And after ignoring our feelings all this time, you suddenly want our help? Plus, you just suspected us of using the drug.”
Fair. No comeback there.
I'd sorted my feelings after talking with Polo a few days back, but their absence had left some anxiety brewing—and dragging it out had made me act rashly, leading straight here.
“...”
At a loss like a sinner, I stayed quiet—until the Saintess approached with a gentle smile.
“Hehe. The princess is just teasing. Truth is, she missed seeing you too—big time.”
“Hey! Since when?!”
“You're gearing up to fight them again, right, Brother? To claim the future you want, you have to sever that bad blood with the Heaven God Cult.”
Her soft, steady voice held no doubt or fear—just pure understanding. That transcendent tone melted the tower of hidden anxiety I'd built up inside me.
“Us not sticking together lately? We were finding our own ways to uncover the cult's secrets and fight back. We couldn't just dump it all on you, Brother.”
“Sorry. I had no idea.”
“Then let's call it both our faults. You for hiding your heart... and us for prepping behind your back.”
Her beaming smile drew a smirk from me in return.
So much had happened, but I vowed right then: I'd end this cult grudge with my own hands and give them my honest answer.
“So... whose underwear did you wanna see the most?”
“...”
And on that question, I stayed no-comment to the bitter end.
* * *
“It's actually come up in student council as an agenda item before. Rumors of illegal drugs circulating among students, trickling in bit by bit.”
As student council president, the princess was hyper-sensitive to academy rumors and gossip.
Her hearing about it meant the drug's spread was already pretty active.
“It didn't blow up into a big deal, but the merit of even temporary power amplification makes it catnip for students. With no official word from the palace on side effects yet, it's tough to rein them in.”
“Announcing the side effects now might provoke extreme reactions from them. Hiding it suggests they're prepping something on their end.”
Better to keep our knowledge under wraps and strike their weak spots later.
“Buyers seem mostly students with slipping grades. Guessing they're turning to it to patch up their performance.”
“Then we approach them... but none of us have the right background to get close without raising flags.”
“Hmm...”
“Um...”
A small voice piped up amid our pondering.
“Luna? What's up?”
“Well... for a pretext to score the drug, there's one person who fits perfectly.”
“Huh? Who?”