Volume 1 Chapter 5: The Bath

A bath, a bath, it’s a bath, a bath.

Man, it’s been a while. Bucket-san. Shower Head-san. Stool-san. Bathtub-san. Seriously, I just have to add ‘-san’ to everything, and I feel like I could burst into song.

Without even trying to hide my giddy mood, I started washing myself in the washing area.

The Cleansing spell keeps my body at a predetermined level of cleanliness, but the act of actually washing myself in a bath was something else entirely.

How do I put it… It’s like the process itself cleanses my soul. Or saves me. Like it’s some kind of sacred ritual.

Then again, I suppose I’m having these thoughts because it’s been so long since I’ve washed myself. One of the girls usually washed me back there.

After dinner, while my stepsister was in the bath, I passed the time looking at photo albums, scrolling through my phone, reminiscing about all sorts of things, and verifying what my current level was.

My physical abilities are the same as when I was first summoned. Level 1, in other words. But the magic I’ve learned is the same as it was for the Demon King fight. In other words, maxed out.

There was no such thing as MP over there. It was more like, I had magic, and I could use it until I sort of felt myself hitting a limit.

What they had there was rank—in other words, only levels. I guess you could call it a weird version of New Game+. Not that I really know.

The one person who distrusted my current self the most was none other than me.

I mean, I was fighting the Demon King just a few hours ago. I can’t relax unless I put some kind of restraints on myself.

I’m pretty sure I’m still running on adrenaline.

For the final battle, I had to align my body’s peak performance to that exact moment. It was to raise my chances of victory, even by a little.

The fight with the Demon King was no exception; I predicted the time of the decisive battle and set my peak for it.

And that peak probably hasn’t ended yet.

If I stay like this, I’ll kill someone on reflex. Gripped by that sense of crisis, I started by getting a grasp on my current condition.

I close my eyes, let my mind tremble, and remove the limiters on my brain. This isn’t a buff spell for body reinforcement, but the pure, raw way of using my physical self.

Okay, I can remove them.

It was the first skill I learned after being summoned.

With this, I could easily take on even the strongest people in this world.

I know I can do it.

Which means, then.

It means I can do the opposite and apply restraints to myself.

Up until now, I’d just grin and bear it if someone hit me, but now, if I get punched, I’ll probably dodge on reflex and punch back.

And I’d probably aim for a vital point.

And it would probably be a fatal wound.

Even if I’m only Level 1, I can just feel that I’m capable of that much.

Accidentally punching someone to death is the last thing I want.

Honestly, I was wondering what I was going to do starting tomorrow, but as long as I know how to restrain myself, I think I can manage. Alright!

Sigh. What a pain of a world this is.

But it has baths, so I’ll forgive it.

I know this has nothing to do with the bath, though.

Now that I feel a sense of relief, I can’t wait to get in.

As soon as I heard my stepsister was out, I made a beeline for the bathroom.

My fight is just beginning.

Volume 1 Chapter 6: Childhood Friend

“Ngh, haah…”

I’m sorry, Kyo-chan. I’m so sorry.

At the very least, I burned the sight of him standing there into my memory. To carve it into my mind as my own sin.

Kyosuke Todou. Kyo-chan.

My childhood friend and the love of my life.

I met Kyo-chan in the spring when I was seven. I had just moved to this town for the new school year, and when I didn’t know my left from my right, he was the one who took my hand and played with me. Back then, I was shy and withdrawn, and I relied on him for everything. He always helped me without ever looking annoyed. That made me so, so happy, and I was always clamoring for his attention.

Before I knew it, he had become my first love. He was the only one. My focus was solely on Kyo-chan.

In the winter of my fifth-grade year, Kyo-chan’s father passed away. After his dad died, Kyo-chan changed a little. The sudden loss of someone he loved so much must have been a severe shock. Troubles at school were piling up for him, too.

I wanted to be there to support him, so I asked him to be my boyfriend. I hoped it would ease his loneliness, even just a little. He looked embarrassed, but he said okay. That was the spring of my sixth-grade year.

From then on, every moment was heartwarming.

But it didn’t last for long.

The turning point came in the winter of our first year of middle school. I heard Kyo-chan’s mom was getting remarried. He seemed conflicted. But he loved his mom, so in the end, he accepted it.

But something even more problematic happened. He got a stepsister his own age. And she was cuter than me… For the first time, I came into contact with the black, violent passion inside of me.

It was jealousy.

After all, he was now living under the same roof as this girl he wasn’t even related to by blood.

I didn’t let it show on the surface, but I was intensely jealous. The emotion had nowhere to go, and it just simmered inside me.

I couldn’t say anything directly to Kyo-chan, and I certainly couldn’t say anything to his stepsister, Mihane-chan. My desire for him to want me warped into a desire to make him jealous.

One day after school in our second year of middle school, I made Kyo-chan from another class wait for me at the school gate while I stayed behind to talk alone with some guy I was vaguely friendly with. It was just a little bit of mischief.

I can still vividly remember Kyo-chan’s face when he came to the classroom, worried because I was taking so long. He was stunned to see me, the girl who was always stuck to his side, talking so happily with a guy he didn’t know.

On the way home, he wanted to ask, but he couldn’t. I acted all nonchalant. He looked frustrated, but still, he couldn’t ask. It was a pathetic look I’d never seen on him before.

In that moment, a sweet, electric shiver shot down my spine, and I got wet. The way I touched myself that day was the best it had ever been.

I was completely and utterly hooked.

After that, I started doing things like that periodically, and eventually, the only expression he ever wore was one of exhaustion.

But I still wanted more. I finally told him I wanted to take a break from our relationship. And, as I expected, I came again while looking at Kyo-chan’s pathetic face. That was right before we started high school.

When I enrolled in the same high school as Kyo-chan, people said I was in the top three of the school’s popularity ranking. Apparently, it was on the school’s message board. I have no interest in that kind of status or ranking, but I thought it might be an easy way to get material to stir up Kyo-chan’s jealousy. That was the only debased thing on my mind.

A little while later, the boys’ ranking was updated, too. The girls’ judgment is harsh, so their ranking was apparently reviewed after some time had passed. It wasn’t just about being handsome; things like your actions, your charm, and what others thought of you were also part of the evaluation.

Kuzukawa, who had a reputation as the most handsome first-year, started approaching me. Apparently, he ranked high.

I had hoped that being with this guy would make Kyo-chan look at me with that pathetic expression again, but this guy was just cheap plating.

When you’ve been around the real thing, Kyo-chan, for so long, you can tell. The way he uses the school’s social hierarchy to surround himself with allies, the way he sticks with other handsome guys—it’s so obvious he can’t fight without backup. Kyo-chan would see right through that, too.

He hadn’t confessed to me yet, but I figured he wouldn’t do anything until his own safety was guaranteed. Or maybe his personality is the type where his pride won’t let him be the one to confess.

Amidst all that, today happened. He committed the ultimate taboo. He used violence. I just felt so sorry for Kyo-chan.

I led Kuzukawa away from the park with the other gals. His three cronies followed right along, probably because they were hoping to hook up with the gals. I was worried and wanted to go back, but first I had to get him away from the violence. In the first place, Kyo-chan isn’t the kind of person who can use force for some vague, pointless reason.

After singing karaoke for a while, I said I had a curfew, slipped away, and went back to the park. Kyo-chan wasn’t there. I was relieved.

His actions today… was it because he was getting irritated that I wouldn’t bite? He just suddenly resorted to violence. I will never forgive him.

“This isn’t right…”

As I thought, something like that doesn’t get me worked up at all, I muttered, rubbing myself with the mechanical pencil Kyo-chan gave me as a promotion gift when we moved up a grade in fifth grade.

Just then, I got an email from Mihane-chan, which was rare. That had never happened before. It must mean something happened to Kyo-chan, but she couldn’t ask him about it.

The rift between the siblings had grown even wider.

This is good. Whatever her methods, Mihane-chan’s behavior is just a cry for attention. It’s painful to watch. A tsundere is just someone with a communication disorder. I won’t become like that. I’ll change, starting tomorrow.

“Yes, that’s what I’ll do.”

Starting tomorrow, I’ll be nice to Kyo-chan. I’ll reflect on everything I’ve done and devote myself to him. Kyo-chan is kind, so I’m sure he’ll just say it can’t be helped and forgive me.

My grip on the mechanical pencil tightened.

“Ah. Hehe…”

That’s right. I haven’t seen him smile in so long. Tomorrow, I’ll walk to school with him. We haven’t done that since we started high school. I’m sure he’ll be happy.

His pathetic face, and his wonderful smile. I adored them both equally.

“Ah!”

The moment I remembered Kyo-chan’s smile, I came.