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

Chapter 06: And Then Stepmother Raised Her Right Leg

I followed the same procedure as before, lifting the bottom of the accordion curtain and sneaking into the utility room where Mari was taking a bath.

All I needed was for her to wear the panties, and I would be transported back to the present.

I was about to return to the world where the modern-day Mari, with her stern expression, awaited me. It was sad to part ways with the smiling Mari I had gotten to know over the past month, but it couldn’t be helped. I would have to adjust to the previous state of our relationship.

Chop.

I heard the sound of water being scooped from the bathtub.

Mari liked to take long baths, sometimes even reading a book while soaking. She wouldn’t be out for at least another 30 minutes. I had to take this opportunity to get things done.

I lifted the bath towel and grabbed the panties that were on top of her discarded clothes. I would put these back in her dresser later. In their place, I would leave the panties I had been holding, and the mission would be complete. I’ll leave the utility room and return to the living room, waiting for the moment where the time-leap occurs. The leap when I came was while I was sleeping, so I definitely wanted to experience the time-leap this time.

I squatted down to get under the accordion curtain. Suddenly, my butt bumped on something.

“Akira-kun, could you hand me that bath towel over there?”

“Ah, yeah? The bath towel… Huh?!”

My neck creaked like the head of a poorly assembled Gunpla model as I turned to look. Through the slightly open bathroom door, I caught a glimpse of Mari’s hand and half of her face. Steam and warm air escaped from the utility room.

“I’m disappointed. So, you really did come to peek.”

“No, it’s not like that…”

“Don’t look at me! Give me the T… O… W… E… L!”

“S-Sorry.”

I crouched down and reached behind my back to grab the bath towel from the laundry basket. I handed it to her, and she quickly wrapped it around herself. I heard the door close fully, signaling the end of our built-up relationship. Mari must have retreated back into the bathroom.

My failure was confirmed, and as I sulked, I started to leave the utility room, opening the accordion curtain. What should I do now? My plan, if you could even call it that, had completely fallen apart. It was utterly ruined. There was no going back to that time now.

But that wasn’t the only problem. It was also decided that my soul would be destroyed, and I would wander outside the cycle of reincarnation in pitch darkness. I would have to spend a year here, living in fear of death in this house that had become a bed of needles…

My legs wouldn’t move. I couldn’t even take a single step forward, even though I just needed to return to my room.

“The panty too. You put them in my drawer, didn’t you? Why?”

I was startled by the unexpected voice that almost made me lose my balance, and then I turned to see Mari standing there, her wet hair wrapped in a bath towel. She had left the bathroom and entered the utility room from the inside.

“Why…?”

I asked why she was in the utility room, but Mari furrowed her brows and tilted her head, looking at me questioningly.

“I’m the one asking the questions here. Why did you put that panty in my dresser?”

“Because… I wanted you, Mari-chan, to wear them.”

“It’s rude to call me ‘Mari-chan.’ “

“Sorry.”

“If it was a gift, you should have just said so, since I’ll at least be happy if so. The fact that it’s a panty is, well, very much like you, Akira-kun. But as a precious gift from a family member, I won’t refuse it.”

I see. A month ago and now, the circumstances were different. Back then, I—the old me—hardly spoke at all. On the contrary, I just ignored Mari the whole time and didn’t even eat meals together with her. That hasn’t changed much even now. Over time, we’ve gotten used to it, so we at least exchange everyday conversations, but we’re not close. It’s not that we got used to it, but rather, we’ve just worn each other down.

“Why did you do something like stealing my underwear?”

“Because… I was embarrassed…”

“Hee~. You are at the age I guess. It wouldn’t be weird if you couldn’t be honest with the Onee-san that you like so much about those things~”

She said it! Without even being embarrassed, she said that I like her. Well, I didn’t dislike her anymore, and it was undeniable that I had developed some feelings for her.

“So, what’s the reason?”

“The reason for the gift…”

Hmm. It would be so much easier if I could just tell her about the exam to become a wizard. The Mari of the present would probably laugh it off but still accept it.

I racked my brain for an excuse. I had hidden the panties in her dresser around mid-May, and around that time…

“It was Mother’s Day…”

Mother’s Day was on May 13th a month ago. As soon as I said that, Mari fell silent and froze.

It was fine to blurt that out in desperation, but that was a bit of a stretch, wasn’t it? I had barely gotten away with calling her ‘Mari-nee,’ and now I’m bringing up the fact that I treat her as a mother so I did that? It’s pretty harsh to dig this up again after all this time.

Mari remained silent for a while, her eyes fixed on the utility room floor. Her lips were trembling, and droplets of water from her damp hair fell onto the floor. I worried that she might catch a cold from the cooling bathwater, but then she finally spoke.

“If it was a hat, I would be happy to wear it for you. If it was a scarf, I would be even happier if you were the one to wrap it around me. If you want me to accept these panties as a gift, please put them on me yourself.”

I couldn’t quite grasp what she meant. Did she just ask me to put the panties on her? Was I hearing things? Was my mental state so fragile that I was hearing hallucinations? After all, I had time-traveled and experienced a time leap, thanks to that goddess and her trial. It wouldn’t be surprising if I was going crazy. It might be easier to spend this year with a slightly unhinged mind rather than facing reality head-on.

But Mari repeated herself.

“Akira-kun, I want you to put these panties on me.”

Mari picked up the panties from the laundry basket and pressed them into my palm. Her cheeks were flushed, and her face, illuminated by the dim 35-watt light in the utility room, was crimson, if not scarlet. And she was smiling through her tears.

“You’re seriously asking me to put them on you?”

“Yes, I am. I won’t say it again.”

With that, she lifted her right leg.

Is this okay? It is, right? It’s such a perfect turn of events, almost too good to be true. But it’s okay, right?

I knelt down and gently touched her soft calf, supporting her leg with both hands as she placed her foot on my knee. I looked up at her one last time to confirm her intention.

“Final answer…?” (T/N: he said this in english.)

Mari nodded slightly. Okay, let’s do this. As I made up my mind, a drop of water fell onto my outstretched arm. It was followed by a series of raindrop-like droplets. The water soaked my shoulders and pants. It was the cold bathwater dripping from her hair, which she hadn’t dried properly.

“Yikes.”

“Sorry. I just got out of the bath.”

“Let’s dry your hair before putting on the panties. Where’s the towel…?”

I reached up to the shelf above and grabbed another towel, using it to dry her hair. Her hair, which reached her shoulders, was short for a woman but had more volume than mine. Drying and styling her hair was more challenging than I expected. Throughout this process, she remained still and let me do as I pleased. When my amateurish hair care was finally done, she took my fingertips in her hand.

She didn’t respond when I asked what she was doing, so I just followed her lead. She led me through the accordion curtain and into her bedroom, which was right across from mine. She sat on the bed and released my hand, but this situation felt dangerous.

“Akira-kun, take off your clothes, too. It’s unfair for me to be the only one naked.”

“Huh? Why? I just need to put on the panties on you. We’re not going to, you know, cuddle or anything.”

“It isn’t fair! It’s discrimination against women! If the man is still dressed while the woman is naked, the woman will feel like she’s being taken advantage of, and I don’t want that.”

Whoa. Has her personality changed? The fear of being scolded harshly in that hushed tone is real. When she speaks so assertively, I start to think, ‘Is that really how it is?’. Which is why being beautiful is an advantage. Ah, but even thinking this way might be considered male chauvinism. Male chauvinism is outdated, isn’t it?

“At least say it’s sexual harassment.”

In the dimly lit room, illuminated only by moonlight, I took off my damp clothes and stood naked in front of her. I kept my boxer briefs on, a small act of defiance. Mari lifted her right leg again. I knelt down and gently touched her soft calf, supporting her leg as she placed her foot on my knee. It was like reaching a save point in a game.