“Is it really okay to take off your socks in front of someone… I’m watching, you know…!”
“It’s fine if it’s you. You’re practically my servant anyway.”
Kashino-senpai sat on the sofa, pulling off her socks—a sight so sensual it could awaken desires even in those without such preferences. The image was striking enough to be used for a knee-socks promotional campaign.
Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes moist. To put it bluntly, she looked like she was in heat, but that was just an illusion. Everything was bait to lure me in.
“Now, kneel… down…?”
Kashino-senpai raised her foot as if to step on me, showing off its beautiful shape—but in that moment…
“Wha—wait a sec… When did you…!”
I had already freed my wrists and ankles—using a skill I learned when I reached level 18, a sort of trump card.
The skill ‘Rope Technique,’ learned by a ‘Baggage Carrier,’ is normally used for packing and securing items, but its effect of ‘improving one’s ability to handle ropes’ isn’t limited to just that purpose.
“Don’t take it personally. You distracted me by taking off your socks, didn’t you? That’s when the spirit’s binding power weakened a bit.”
“Wha—! I told you all to tie him up properly! How could you get careless… Ahh!”
In no time at all, Kashino-senpai’s hands and feet were bound by ribbons, leaving her sprawled on the sofa. My ability to handle ropes seemed to have outmatched her spirit’s ability to manipulate objects.
“You think you can get away with this…?”
“I don’t think someone who tried to tie me up and step on me has any room to talk.”
“But… it’s not my fault! If you hadn’t reacted like that when I stepped on you…”
“I didn’t expect you to enjoy it so much, Senpai. I thought it was just punishment.”
“You… You’ve been acting kind of scary since earlier… Are you mad at me?”
“I need to break this illusion, so I have to take you down, Senpai.”
“Wha—what do you mean…? Are you drunk or something? If you touch me even a little, I’ll tell everyone you did something lewd to me!”
That hit me with a sudden jolt. Even though it’s all part of the illusion, her behavior felt so typical of Kashino-senpai that my conscience started to prick at me.
“…Hmph… A cowardly guy like you really is nothing. I just gave you a little warning, and you got scared right away. Weakling, pathetic man. Now untie me and… Ah… W-wait, I didn’t mean that! It was just a little joke, you know, a cute joke from your Senpai. Come on, forgive me… Forgive… me…”
《Skill ‘Fixation’ activated. The target’s spatial coordinates are now fixed.》
《’Fixation’ deactivated.》
《Skill ‘Fixation’ activated. The target’s spatial coordinates are now fixed.》
《’Fixation’ deactivated.》
“…Huh.”
I zoned out while listening to Kashino-senpai talk. Letting my emotions take over like that—seems I still have a lot to learn.
“I’m sorry… Please forgive me… If you do anything more, I’ll break…”
“You’re making it sound way worse than it is…”
In this dream dungeon, electric massage devices are more useful than normal weapons. All I did was massage the pressure points on Kashino-senpai’s feet—foot massages can be effective, though they can be quite painful for some people depending on individual sensitivity.
And just in case, I had Kashino-senpai give me a couple of ribbons imbued with the ‘Lethargy’ spell.
《Contents of the chip: 2 ribbons with ‘Lethargy’ enchantment》
“Y-you’ll have a tougher time with everyone else… You’ll get crushed for sure…”
Senpai slumped in defeat. This time, the dark aura didn’t appear—but I still had the feeling I was being watched.
(Who’s next… Oh, no…)
Watching from the shadow of the door leading to the courtyard was Amagi-senpai.
She wore a white kendo uniform—though there was something decidedly different about her.
“Hey, underclassman… If you plan to continue this misconduct, I’ll have to stop you right here…”
“It seems you’ve finally embraced it. I can’t afford to lose either.”
“I see… Then there’s no choice. I challenge you to a match, Fujiwara.”
Another pattern? It seems this illusion is coming at me with all sorts of tricks. I was led into the garden, facing Amagi-senpai, who held something like a practice sword.
“I’ll use this foam shinai as a handicap. You can use this regular bamboo shinai.”
“Uh, no… If you hit me with a bamboo shinai without any protective gear, you’ll get hurt, Senpai.”
“Heh… Do you really think you can hit me…?”
A shiver ran down my spine.
“Let’s begin… I have to discipline bad kids who bully their senpais!”
She was fast—faster than I could even comprehend.
Before I knew it, the foam shinai had already passed by my face.
(A swordsman skill…? Is she suppressing her preparatory movements, or is she messing with my perception…?)
In this illusion, I’m clearly at a disadvantage. But giving up that easily would mean there’s no chance for victory.
“That was just a warm-up… The next one will hit.”
If this keeps up, she’ll strike a vital spot and knock me out—she’s skilled enough to do that even with a foam shinai.
(I didn’t want to use this, but I have no choice…)
I focused on her footwork instead of the tip of her sword—after all, she has to step forward to make a strike, so I can’t afford to miss that moment.
“You’re on the right track, but… You can’t defeat me with logic like that.”
(She’s right. I can’t win with a straightforward approach… But…)
Even though she’s under an illusion, Amagi-senpai is still a ‘warrior.’ If she declares an attack before striking, I just need to stop her the moment she declares it.
《Skill ‘Fixation’ activated. The target’s spatial coordinates are now fixed.》
No matter who the opponent is, this skill can fix them in place without exception—if I had used it from the start, there would have been no struggle.
But that idea quickly proved to be flawed.
(…W-what… My magic is draining fast. Fixing a strong opponent consumes more magic…!)
Even though ‘Joker’ could move while fixed, Amagi-senpai couldn’t move but was draining my magic.
She’s an impressive fighter, but my goal wasn’t to defeat her with the bamboo shinai—I just needed to neutralize her for now.
◆◇◆
“Ugh… How frustrating… My strength… it’s gone…”
The ‘Lethargy’ ribbon worked even when I used it. Unlike when Kashino-senpai used it, once the effect wore off, it turned back into a regular ribbon, but it should last a while.
“…That lightning-fast technique… You really have an extraordinary talent…”
“I’m sorry, I know it feels like a sneak attack… Even though it’s within an illusion, I would have liked to face you in a proper duel.”
“Yes… So, I am just an illusion, am I? It’s a bit sad to lose and disappear like this.”
“I’d love to spar with the real Amagi-senpai in the future. It might be difficult since you’re busy, though.”
“…You’re so nice to me… You wouldn’t do to me what you did to Erisa earlier, would you…?”
Kashino-senpai had a dominant side, but maybe Amagi-senpai was the opposite—or maybe this illusion didn’t reflect their real personalities. It was a finely crafted illusion, though, as there were hardly any discrepancies in behavior.
Still, where was the person casting this illusion? After searching through the dorm, there was only one place left—Shizunami Dormitory’s bathhouse.
