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

Chapter 03: My Stepmother, Satou Mari

Knock, knock. The door opened immediately after a knock, and Satou Mari poked her head in. She never changes. I felt relieved that it was a typical morning. It must be breakfast time.

“Akira-san, good morning. You’re going to be late for school…?”

I furrowed my brows at the suggestive intonation, but something else caught my attention—a strange word.

I don’t understand the meaning behind those words. Being late for school? Me, a 30-year-old working adult? I can understand if it’s training, but school? Well if she did say that, it’s even more mysterious that this person knows about my company’s internal matters.

I couldn’t help but ask,

“What year and month is it today?”

“Eh… Eh?!”

For some reason, Mari looked surprised. Did I say something strange? Is it weird to ask about the year and month? No, that’s not it. Maybe she thinks I’m strange… Well, I don’t really care about that now. Mari stammered and finally answered, looking flustered.

“Umm, it’s… May 2012.”

Wait, what did she just say?

“Could you say that again?”

I sat up in my futon, reaching for the alarm clock in front of me. I also searched for my phone on the bedside table but couldn’t find it, so I decided to check it later. Staring intently at the date on the clock, I waited for Mari’s response.

“Ah… It’s… May 2012, the 11th. Friday.”

2012-5-11 (Fri). The date on the clock matched what she said.

“It’s correct… Damn.”

Reflected in the glass of the alarm clock was a younger version of myself without the unkempt beard. My hair was longer, reminiscent of the style I had during my job-hunting days, not the short haircut I had kept since then. A wave of nostalgia washed over me, similar to when I looked at my old graduation album. I wondered if I was still dreaming, but the seconds ticked away on the digital clock with unwavering precision. There was no denying that this was reality.

“Well, breakfast is ready. Also, it might be better if you don’t display your, um, unique hobbies too openly.”

With that, Mari closed the door. I heard her rushing down the stairs. The way she ran suggested that she was in a real hurry. I wondered what the rush was about.

“Unique hobbies? Oh, she must be talking about this.”

Women’s underwear was scattered all over the place, and I had slept with only my boxer briefs on, leaving my lower body exposed. On top of that, the way I was…

It was a complete misunderstanding… or rather, the problem was that it wasn’t a misunderstanding. Being seen like this was the worst-case scenario.

As I gathered the scattered panties, a status screen appeared on one of them, and it was, of course, about Satou Mari.

・――――――――――――――――――・

364th day, 17:06

[Panties Photo]

Satou Mari

Age: 40 > 28

Address: ○○○○○

・―――――――――――――――・

I felt like something was different about the display, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I stared at it intently, trying to link it to my not-so-good memory.

“Satou Mari’s age is 40 > 28. Did it decrease?”

The term “time loop” immediately came to mind. Or rather, how could it not? I was back in time, 12 years in the past.

“I guess I have no choice but to accept this and come to terms with reality.”

I muttered to myself as I held onto Satou Mari’s panties. I had to put these on her. Until I accomplished this task, I wouldn’t be able to return to my original time.

***

I went downstairs to the first floor.

“Good morning.”

In the 20-tatami mat living room, there was a breakfast of vegetables and sunny-side-up eggs set for two people. My father must have been away on another business trip.

“G-good morning, Akira-san.”

Mari’s eyes widened in surprise. She seemed to be looking at me as if she couldn’t believe what she just witnessed. I wondered what was so surprising. Had I still been half-naked? I panicked and quickly checked my lower body, but thankfully, I was covered.

I double-checked to make sure I was wearing both my boxer briefs and my pants, and I was dressed in a tracksuit—the king of casual home attire. At least I wasn’t completely exposed, meaning I should be at least presentable.

However, Mari was still staring at me intently. I asked,

“Is something wrong with me?”

“No, not at all. I’m sorry.”

I wondered what was going on. Was she worried about my behavior? This woman used to exude confidence, but now she seemed hesitant and unsure of herself.

As I thought about it, I realized something. It wasn’t that she was acting differently; it was that we had never really talked to each other before. My father introduced her to me in March, and she moved in with us in April. We had been living under the same roof for two months, yet we had never had a proper conversation. Putting panties on her seemed like an even more daunting task now.

If that was the case, what would happen? Would I be stuck in this time forever, or would I get a fresh start from here? The latter didn’t sound too bad, but the goddess had said that if I failed the trial, my soul would be destroyed. Did that mean I would die once the year was up?

This was bad, really bad. Becoming a wizard didn’t matter anymore.

I needed to get to know this woman better. I had to observe her carefully, figure out her personality and behavior patterns, and look for an opportunity to put the panties on her. This felt like a survival game.

As I sat down at the dining table, Mari put two slices of bread into a retro-style vertical toaster. I realized that our seats were facing each other. We had never shared a meal at this table before. The panties felt even more out of reach now.

“Are you okay?”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

I wondered if she was referring to the panties. After all, she had seen them in my room. If she thought I was a pervert, there was no way she would accept the panties from me. In fact, even if she didn’t think I was a pervert, it would still be challenging to get her to take them. This task was more difficult than I had anticipated.

“The time… Will you make it in time?”

“Ah, you mean that.”

I appreciated her concern. She was being kind. The Mari I knew from 12 years later had a colder tone in her voice.

Now, at 28 years old, she was technically younger than me by two years from the original timeline. She looked young and cute, a stark contrast to the sharp and pointed impression she had given me back there. Perhaps I was the one who had changed, as I had still been a child back then.

“I’ll be fine if I just rush there with my bike. What about you, Mari-chan? Will you make it in time?”

As I said this, I realized she must be referring to high school. How nostalgic. After entering the workforce, I had come to appreciate the importance of studying hard. I hadn’t seen my classmates since high school… and now I was going back to that same high school. It felt complicated.

The toaster popped, and the bread slices jumped out, perfectly toasted and smelling delicious. There was a long-established bakery near our house, and my father always bought bread from there. It was a taste of consistency.

I took one slice of toast, spread some butter on it, and took a bite.

“Mmm, delicious.”

Mari stared at me, frozen in place. I wondered if there was something on my face.

“What’s wrong, Mari-chan… Ah.”

I realized my mistake.

Mari was shocked because I had called her “Mari-chan.” It was disrespectful of me to use a nickname for someone ten years older than me, especially since she was my father’s wife, even if they weren’t legally married. There were boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed.

I needed to call her something more appropriate. What did I usually call her? Mother? No, that didn’t feel right. Satou-san? No, that wasn’t it either. I tried to remember but couldn’t. I had to apologize. How do I apologize again?

“Calling you ‘chan’ was disrespectful of me.”

That wasn’t an apology. Why couldn’t I say “I’m sorry”?

“It was indeed rude of you. Thank you for the meal.” (T/N: She isn’t taking her, it’s kind of a traditional gesture of thanking the one above.)

Mari stood up from her seat, took her breakfast plate to the kitchen, and threw the food into the trash before washing the dishes. She then rushed to her room on the first floor and closed the door with force. I was taken aback by her reaction, and as I sat there in a daze, I heard her changing into her suit and putting on her bag. Soon after, she left for work in a hurry.

They say that a beautiful woman’s anger is scary, and they’re right. But I didn’t have time to dwell on that now.

What did this time, this space, or this time zone mean to me? Was it an alternate dimension, a parallel world, or something else? The most likely possibility was that I was in the past on the same timeline. If that was the case, my actions here would have consequences in the future. However, I knew that pondering this wouldn’t get me anywhere. There was no point in agonizing over something I had no control over.

I glanced at the wall clock in the living room. It was 8:15.

“She also mentioned high school. My memory cheat is exploding.”

I quickly finished my breakfast and went back to my room to get ready for school. I decided to come up with a plan for dealing with the whole Mari panty thing once I get to school.

I rode my bike, determined to make it in time.