A 30 Year Old Virgin (One Who Haven’t Even Interacted with Women) Took an Exam to Become a Wizard.

Chapter 02: 12 Panties

“The exam has already started. Retraction is not allowed. The deadline is one year. If you achieve it within that time, you will become a wizard and obtain eternal love. If you fail…”

“…… Then?”

I swallowed the thick lump on my throat, though it was clearly just for show.

This had to be a joke. Regardless of whether she was truly a goddess or not, I had to admit that this mysterious woman existed. But the trial she had set was absurd—to put on some panties on a woman? The reward did not seem worth the task.

“Your soul will be destroyed, and you will wander in pitch darkness outside the cycle of reincarnation.”

Say what!?

For a moment, I didn’t understand, but then it hit me, and my face drained of color.

“Pass! I say Pass! I’m not doing this! I don’t want to take this test!”

“If you wish to know more, please read the instructions on the window. Good luck.”

“Wait!”

I reached out to stop her, but my lack of experience with women hindered me. My fingers stopped mere millimeters away from her clothes.

The goddess laughed triumphantly and disappeared without a trace, leaving no scent or mark on the futon to prove she had been there. It was as if she had only existed in my memories. I exhaled and lowered my gaze.

However, on the futon lay undeniable evidence—women’s underwear, bearing the image of the goddess, was scattered about.

“Ugh, if she comes again, I’ll refuse decisively.”

Things that happen twice are likely to also occur thrice. So I expected her to appear again. Like a dog that has been teased with a treat, I waited. I waited for a while, but the goddess did not return. Was she not going to come back?

I realized that waiting wouldn’t help, so I decided to examine the remnants she had left behind.

“Hmm, women’s underwear certainly has a lot of variety.”

I picked up a few pieces and was impressed by the unique size, design, and material of each one.

The first time I saw a naked woman in real life, was the image of my mother going to shower, which was when I was still young. And like any normal young man, I had watched countless erotic videos already too. But this was the first time I had seen women’s underwear up close.

I had no idea how big a woman’s hips could be, and I didn’t want to imagine it. It was possible that among the underwear, there could be some belonging to elderly women.

Although the size didn’t indicate their age, I was relieved to guess that the designs belonged to women around my age at most.

“Please don’t tell me these are for elementary school students.”

These were dangerous goods. The smallest ones were incredibly tiny, adorned with embroidered anime characters that even I recognized. As a 30-year-old man, I had no business being in contact with elementary school students.

However, such worries were unnecessary. Whether the owner was elderly or a child, the difficulty of putting on their underwear was on par with passing the entrance exam for Tokyo University—I could confidently make that declaration.

Nevertheless, there was a way out. That goddess had forgotten something crucial—she hadn’t left a list of the women I needed to put the underwear on to.

“It’s her fault for forgetting. If I don’t know who the owners are, I can interpret it as a pass as long as I put them on any twelve women. If that’s the case, there’s a way.”

I could send them to someone anonymously online without revealing my name. The recipients would probably find it creepy, so I could think of ways to decorate the packages elaborately. There was a high possibility that they wouldn’t wear them, but I could use an anonymous service and assume they would be returned. I named it the “Haphazard Gun” strategy. At the very least, the hurdle had been lowered.

Just then, there was a soft knock on my room door. In a panic, I gathered the underwear and stuffed them under my futon. The door opened slightly, and a suspicious-looking woman peeked in with half of her face showing.

“Akira-san, I heard a voice. Are you okay?”

This woman is Satou Mari, my father’s mistress, well more like a wife already by now. They had a de facto marriage. My biological mother had passed away when I was five years old. After that, my father and I lived together for a while until I was in my third year of high school, when this woman, who was my father’s trusted subordinate, moved in with us. Although they were a married couple, she kept the surname Satou out of consideration for me. Being ten years older than me, she must have been around forty now.

“Ah… it’s… just me sleep talking. Don’t just suddenly come in though.”

“I’m sorry. President will be back the day after tomorrow. Please let me know if you need anything.” (T/N: She’s referring to his father.)

“There’s nothing I need. Good night.”

“Good night.”

Satou Mari scanned the room with her eyes and, seeing nothing amiss, closed the door.

Phew… That woman always opens the door as soon as she knocks. And here I told my father to always keep it locked, but he never listens.

Thirteen years of living together, and their relationship still felt somewhat distant. The fact that they called each other by their last names, “Satou” and “President,” even when at home, was a clear indication of their formality. They also slept in separate rooms.

“I guess I’ll go to bed too.”

I was exhausted. As I picked up a pair of the underwear to figure out where to put them, a transparent acrylic board appeared, hovering 40 centimeters in front of my eyes.

・――――――――――――――――――・

364th day, 23:18

[Panties Photo]

Satou Mari

Age: 40

Address: ○○○○○

・――――――――――――――――――・

“Huh??”

The display resembled the status screens often seen in games. In VR games, such information would float in front of the player’s eyes. It was also similar to the setup in anime about people trapped in deadly games. Although I had only seen such things in two dimensions, the accounts I had read in people’s experiences matched this situation.

I could only be astonished. This was so cool—the cutting edge of virtual technology. The goddess’s world was incredible, despite the underwear images ruining the whole thing.

“So this is the list she mentioned. I guess I should check the other pairs of underwear too.”

I touched the other underwears, trying different methods like pinching, poking, and even putting them on my head, but the display didn’t change. Only the bottom headline was linked to Satou Mari’s underwear. When I moved the underwear to the right, the line moved to the right as well, and when I moved it to the left, the line followed suit, much like a comment in a document editing software.

Apparently, Satou Mari was the first target.

“A relative, huh? Well, it’s easier than looking for a stranger, I guess.”

Although we lived in the same house, we barely spoke to each other. Ever since my father introduced her as my new mother when I was in my third year of high school, I had been ignoring her. She would try to initiate conversations, but I rarely responded. There wasn’t a particular reason for this; we just had nothing to talk about. Twelve years had passed like this, and it would be difficult to change our dynamic now. (T/N: Author specifically said 12 here, despite the 13 being mentioned earlier.)

Well, at least I could send them to her anonymously online. I decided to be happy about having this additional option and finally went to bed.

***

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock. I had slept soundly, dreaming of the goddess’s trial or test or whatever she had called it.

However, something about the alarm sound felt off. It was a song I had set myself, but it didn’t feel right for the present moment. It was an energetic anime song I had chosen back when I was in my third year of high school, studying hard for my college entrance exams.

I opened my eyes.

“I don’t recognize this ceiling… or wait, yes, I do.”

I had always wanted to say that line, so I said it, but it turned out to be the familiar ceiling from my third year of highschool. And, as expected, there was women’s underwear scattered all over the room.