The background of this side story takes place shortly after chapter 362. And something lewd is out of the question!
*
Waking up to a strange ceiling greeting me right away wasn’t an everyday occurrence, but it did happen every now and then.
Excluding the first day of my reincarnation, there were instances where I woke up kidnapped inside someone’s vehicle, or enjoyed a good sleep in a hospital bed… It wasn’t exactly mundane, but as soon as my vision cleared, I could sense that something was definitely off…
Ah, Kivotos is at it again. It’s not hard to comprehend this, so I found myself entering a stage of resignation right away.
“I was wondering when you’d wake up, but you really did, huh?”
As I was trying to grasp my surroundings, a familiar voice pierced my ears.
“…Aco-chan?”
Turning my gaze towards the sound, there stood someone I honestly never expected to see.
Last night, I fell asleep in my home at Trinity. So, if someone was welcoming me in the morning, it would normally be a student from Trinity.
But this girl, for some reason… judging by her expression, she looked really uncomfortable. My freshly woken self definitely wasn’t at fault here…
“Please, for the love of all that’s holy… explain this situation clearly.”
“…What situation?”
“Are you trying to pretend you don’t know? That over there on the wall! You did this!”
With a screech, Aco pointed at a sign hanging on the wall.
When I checked it out while surveying my surroundings, I couldn’t believe it.
Surprisingly, Aco and I were trapped in a cubical space that looked to be about 10 pyeong.
On the wall Aco pointed toward, there was a huge iron door with that same sign hanging above it which read…
[A ROOM WHERE YOU CAN’T LEAVE UNLESS YOU HAVE SEX]
Oh?
So, you’re telling me… I have to have sex here…? With none other than Amau Aco?
The girl who made me face the reality that my love failed and that there’s no chance of the one I love looking at me with those eyes… have sex with her?
…Am I out of my mind? There’s no way I’d do that.
If I were to explain how utterly messed up this is, I’d be the one getting a headache.
Honestly, this felt like the worst kind of prank.
The biggest problem was that I didn’t know a single person who would think of pulling a stunt like this…
Well, not that there aren’t any wackos out there, but their direction seems a bit skewed.
“So, what do you have to say?”
“Um… That I have absolutely no idea what this is about?”
“That’s not convincing at all! Who else could possibly pull off something like this except someone who tries to hit on girls left and right?”
I can’t say I completely don’t understand Aco’s position, but honestly, I feel a bit wronged here. What gives? Labeling me a sex-crazed weirdo?
“Ah haha… But that’s beside the point. I’ve never tried to hit on anyone.”
“Yeah, right.”
“There’s no way I’d put that kind of effort into concocting some scheme, right? Just last night, I was with Kirihouji Nagisa…”
“Stop! Don’t need to share that!”
Hmm. Looks like my intentions were conveyed well enough.
Yet, as I watched Aco grimace at my devilish TMI, I had this sudden urge to tease her more and make things worse.
But in this situation, I had a priority. Just this once, I’ll let it slide.
What mattered now was figuring out if this situation was real or just a hoax.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t trust Aco. I can’t picture her messing around with me like this.
Still, the priority is to sort out the situation.
So… let’s start by getting out of this bed I’m currently lying in.
I wonder if Aco was lying next to me when she woke up? I’m kind of curious about how flustered she must’ve been.
Underneath the bed, which I estimated to be a queen size, were two pairs of fluffy slippers—just the right size for gods. I slipped my feet in and stood up, stepping toward the wall with the iron door.
“No matter how hard I try, it won’t open… Can you do anything?”
“Ahaha, how would I know? ☆”
“Ugh… please. There’s nothing else here. I spent a long time looking for hidden doors or devices, you know? But nothing was there. If Misono Mika can’t open it, we’ll be truly stuck here.”
“Ugh… I’ll do my best, but…”
“Your best isn’t good enough! You have to have the mindset that it will open! Got it?!”
“Ugh… haha…”
With Aco’s desperate urging behind me, I stood in front of the iron door. It felt like one of those elevator doors without a handle…
…It doesn’t look like this is going to work out, huh?
Hmm. I guess I should at least give it a try to convince Aco.
I started by pushing against the door with my body, then tried sliding it to the side, and even kicked it a few times… but, of course, the door didn’t budge an inch. I didn’t expect much anyway.
I braced myself for pain and hit the door hard with my fist, but…
“Ouch… sigh…”
As expected, my fist hurt like hell.
If opening a steel door like this was actually possible, I’d say that would be a bigger problem.
To be more precise, feeling like a Quis ut Deus situation… doesn’t that just sound way too OP?
“Yeah, this isn’t happening. Aco-chan, sorry, but I can’t open this either.”
“Don’t joke around! Seriously, we have to… do that to get out? I refuse to accept this!”
“Honestly, I don’t want to either… sigh. Is there anything we can do here instead? Maybe something simple to play with?”
“There’s nothing. Just the bed and… the shower booth.”
“Ahaha… Doesn’t that sound too determined that we can’t leave unless we do it?”
At least the shower booth was something, but seeing that transparent glass makes it blatantly obvious that someone is trying to make us engage in some kind of relationship.
With that kind of environment set up, just bathing would make us aware of each other, wouldn’t it?
Anyway, if we consider that both Nana and Aco are beautiful with stunning figures… well, I’m not sure about Aco, but for me, holding back in this situation doesn’t seem like it would be easy.
“Just to say it again, I’m absolutely not doing it with you.”
“Ugh… I also wouldn’t mind if there was another way out.”
“…Which means if there’s no other way, you’d do it, right? Because if you try to force yourself on me, we’ll die together. Just so you know!”
“Ugh, that’s a bit harsh… sigh.”
Still, that was a bit too much to say…
Now, there’s nothing to eat, nothing to do… what should we do now?
It’s hard to just wait, believing someone will come to rescue us, knowing we won’t have enough food to last until then. Sure, that mystical power within us protects us, but dying from suffocation or starvation is still a possibility.
At least we can drink water from the shower booth, right?
“This must be the private revenge by the troublemakers from Gehenna against the Student Council… since they can’t target the ‘Head’ directly, they must have picked a target that could strike a good enough blow to the council… and I must be that target.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
“…What kind of reaction is that, devoid of any soul?”
“Just thought Aco-chan might secretly think, ‘It’s impossible to target Hina-chan, but I might have a chance~’ How cute is that?”
As I laughed, Aco’s face started to turn bright red. I guess she couldn’t deny my words even to herself.
“…Y-you’re loud. Do you have anyone in mind as a target or identity?”
“Nope, nothing like that? I don’t really live my life making enemies.”
“You?”
“Is that surprising?”
“…No, considering your personality, that sounds about right.”
Honestly, the only “enemies” I have are the Kaiser President and Beatrice. Just those guys.
Even with Makoto, we’re practically rivals at best, not enemies.
“If the door won’t break, there’s no way the walls will.”
“…It definitely won’t. Just don’t hurt your hands and let’s give up for now. The ‘Head’ will come to rescue us, I’m sure of it.”
“…Ugh, wait a minute. Aco-chan, you said you’ve checked everywhere, right?”
“Yes, I’ve looked wherever I could. It’s certainly a sealed space.”
Just like Aco said, except for a small vent on the ceiling, there didn’t seem to be anything else, and we were trapped like rats in a cage.
But… I knew there was one place Aco hadn’t checked.
“Wait a second! Why is the bed… I-I swear I will never— gag?!”
I gripped the corner of the bed and lifted it up. Under the bed, which Aco definitely didn’t check, there was surprisingly… a hatch!
“Whoa—”
“What, what is this? A hatch? This means we can finally get out, right?!”
I hate to break it to Aco, whose mood had surged with the prospect of escaping, but I couldn’t easily agree. A hidden passage? Too convenient!
And sure enough…
“…Huh?”
As soon as Aco strained to open the hatch, what appeared before our eyes was, unbelievably, an assortment of snacks and drinks.
I had no idea who locked Aco and me in here, but it seemed like they knew I’d lift the bed.
“Whew, at least we won’t starve to death waiting for help!”
“This… this is hell…”
