Chapter 403: My mission is complete! (Patreon)

"Big Brother likes me more!" Makina Irisu was like a kitten guarding her food. The moment she heard Chisato, she bared her teeth at Takina. "I won't let you get away with it!"

"I only see Store Manager as a mentor."

Takina's explanation did nothing. If anything, it put Makina even more on guard. "I don't believe you. Big Brother says the prettier the woman, the better she is at lying!"

Don't go repeating everything I say...

Jhin reached out and ruffled Makina's little head. She turned around, looked up, and nuzzled her cheek into his palm.

"Let's put the question of my tastes aside for now. Since Takina's awake, let's head back. Sagiri's still waiting for us in the café."

"Oh? You mean that weird girl who spends all day in the basement wearing a mask?"

"Makina, when did you see her?"

"Hehe, I secretly followed you and took a peek a couple of days ago."

"Don't go bothering her, okay? She's very shy."

"Okay~!"

Makina said yes, but in practice, the moment Jhin and Chisato went out to buy ingredients, she slipped down to the basement door and knocked. "Cartoon Mask, are you in?"

"W-who is it?" A gruff man's voice came from behind the door.

Her eyes went wide with delight, and she knocked even harder. "Wow, how do you even do that voice? Open up and let me see! Oh, right! Big Brother sent me over to play with you!"

Izumi Sagiri tilted her head, question marks floating over it.

Big Brother? Could she be his real little sister?

Trusting Jhin, Izumi Sagiri opened the door bit by bit. Behind it stood Makina Irisu, as exquisite and adorable as a doll, and the drawing pen in Sagiri's hand took over her brain at once.

So cute! I want to see her panties!

So without a moment's hesitation, she made exactly that request.

"You want to see my panties?" Makina looked troubled. This girl was so strange, asking to see her underwear. Besides, what she had on today was a little risqué, so it probably wasn't suitable to show her.

Her eyes rolled, and she hit on a good idea. Her small hand dipped into her pocket and pulled out a pair of plain white panties printed with a hamster, which she held out in front of Izumi Sagiri. "Here, you can look at these."

"Eeeh!!!" Izumi Sagiri's face turned bright red and she let out the loudest shriek of her life. If the panties were in this girl's hands, then underneath her skirt, wouldn't she be...

"In exchange, let me see your face!" Makina stuffed the panties into her hand and put on a deceptively innocent smile.

She showed me her panties, so it would be wrong not to let her see my face, right?

Strangers still frightened her, but pretty girls were the exception, and even more so a pretty girl willing to show her panties. After a brief hesitation, Izumi Sagiri took off the cartoon mask, revealing a neat, delicate, pitiable face.

Makina decisively snapped a photo with the personal terminal she had received not long ago. With that mission accomplished, she chatted with Sagiri for a few lines and left the basement.

[Mihama Academy Girls' Group Chat]

Big Brother's Body Pillow: "Look, look! This is the beautiful girl Big Brother keeps in the basement! [Image]"

Amane: "The basement!?"

Yumiko: "That must be the adopted little sister. Didn't Kazuki say she's basically the illustrator version of Hitori Gotoh?"

Dora-Sachi: "A basement training play. What a fresh new style."

Explosion Magic Is Art: "Aaaaah!!!! That guy! He has me and he's still keeping another woman on the side!"

Plain and Unremarkable Kato Megumi: "It sounds like Classmate Megumin just said something outrageous."

Kasumigaoka: "By now, nothing surprises me anymore."

Miyake Hinata: "...Should I just pretend I didn't see the messages in this chat?"

Jhin had no idea Makina Irisu had stirred up yet another huge mess for him. At that moment he was turning down Chisato's fourth attempt to drag him to the cinema. "We came out to shop. If we go see a movie, we won't be able to get back and make lunch."

Lunch was really just an excuse. He truly didn't want to sit through another romance film about repaying a debt of gratitude. Instead of that kind of movie, he'd rather watch New Legend of Madame White Snake, which at least has Fahai and the Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon to look at.

"Can't you just treat this as a date? Jhin-nii, you're so unromantic. Be careful, or you won't find a girlfriend."

Jhin stopped in his tracks with a helpless look and glanced at Chisato, whose fingers were laced with his. "Do you hear what you're saying? Do I really have to repeat, several more times, that I already have a pile of girlfriends?"

"A-ah, aaah, I can't hear you. Chisato's Super Defense Field is up, so I can't hear any news that might make me sad."

"Fine. Let's go to a clothing store."

Stars lit up in Chisato's eyes. "Are you buying me clothes?"

"Not just you. Kurumi, Takina, Makina and Sagiri need some too."

She pouted, unhappy, and kicked at the air. "At a time like this, you could have left everyone else out and doubled my affection points, you know."

"Then do you want me to pick out your clothes?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Chisato switched to a bright smile at once and eagerly pulled Jhin toward their usual clothing store.

She was a regular, so after she greeted the clerk, no one came over to push any clothes on them.

"Jhin-nii, why are you suddenly buying clothes for us?"

"Think about it. Kurumi and Sagiri squat at home all day and never go out. You and Takina spend most of your time in the café uniform or your Lycoris uniforms. If you're going out in the future, you need a proper outfit, don't you?"

"What about Makina?"

"Her... More than new clothes, I think she cares about the act of me giving her something." As he spoke, Jhin pulled a pale pink dress with lace trim off the rack and asked Chisato, "What do you think of this one?"

"Is it for me!?"

"Yeah. I think this sweet-girl style suits you pretty well."

"I'll go try it on right now!" Chisato was overjoyed. She grabbed the dress and dashed into the fitting room.

Jhin-nii actually called me sweet. Looks like my image in his eyes isn't bad at all.

She tugged off the blue ribbon bow at her collar, then took off her Lycoris uniform, revealing her lovely figure wrapped in red lingerie. When she put on the dress, she was surprised to find it fit perfectly, and her cheeks flushed a little.

Why does Jhin-nii know my measurements so well...?

Chisato patted her cheeks lightly a couple of times to settle her bashful feelings, took a deep breath, and pulled back the fitting-room curtain. "So, how do I look?"

"Not bad. It suits you." Jhin nodded, then stepped forward and tightened the red ribbon on the left side of her hair, where it had come a little loose. He tidied the bangs on her forehead and, for good measure, pinched her soft cheek, and only then looked satisfied. "Why don't you just wear this home?"

Chisato pressed her lips together and stared down at her toes. A shy pink dyed the tips of her ears red. This atmosphere, so much like that of a couple, left her at a loss for a moment.