Chapter 18: Strip
“—I see. So that’s why Eito-kun rushed in. If it’s you, then naturally you’d only act when you knew you had a good chance of winning.”
Maria-san’s drawn-out tone disappeared, and she began speaking in a calm voice.
Her voice was lower and colder than anything I had ever heard before.
Honestly, even I don’t think I would want to be in the same place as her right now.
She approaches the bathtub.
“Mother—!”
Emera sensed what she was about to do and tried to stop Maria-san.
However, Maria-san simply glanced at Emera and silenced her.
Her eyes carried a chill so intense that it was hard to believe they were directed at her own daughter.
“Around 70°C, I’d say.”
Maria-san plunged her arm into the boiling water and, without even breaking a sweat, calmly guessed the exact temperature.
Forget keeping a straight face—I can’t even stop myself from sweating. What she did is completely impossible for me.
“Hitomi”
“Is that alright…?”
“Yes. A punishment is necessary. They need to understand what happens when someone lays a hand on what’s important to me.”
As Shirayuki’s mom asked hesitantly, Maria-san responded with a cheerful smile.
But of course, her eyes weren’t smiling.
Those are serious eyes…
“M-Mother, please wait…! We didn’t know anything…!”
She must have realized what she was about to experience.
Emera desperately tries to make excuses.
“I’m a little disappointed in you two.”
Amidst all this, Maria-san returns to my side and looks down at her own daughters with cold eyes.
“Indeed, you probably didn’t know anything. And I’ve been ordering Eito-kun to hold back during school tests and physical assessments, so he wouldn’t cause trouble by shattering the school records.”
As she said that, Maria-san gently stroked my cheek.
With her killing intent still fully unleashed, being touched like that felt like being caressed by a demon—my soul practically tried to flee my body.
“But you two were in the same class as him during your first year. You should have noticed how out of place he was. He kept just the right distance from you two—never so close that you’d feel uncomfortable, yet never showing any traits that would make him stand out. And more than anything, if you’d simply watched his movements or his footwork, you would’ve seen he had absolutely no openings. Anyone could tell at a glance that he’d trained in the martial arts. So why didn’t you even try to look into him?”
Apparently, the fact that Emera, Furei, and I ended up in the same class in our first year wasn’t a coincidence after all.
She probably avoided putting Hina in the same class as well—since that would’ve been suspicious enough for even me to notice something was off.
“This boy is a member of the Tenjouin conglomerate. If you had bothered to look into him, you would have immediately understood what kind of person he is. I even made it so that his information restrictions would be lifted only when you two tried to investigate him.”
From what I’ve heard, whether or not Emera and the others would notice my relationship with Maria-san was a test.
But Furei, who hates doing anything troublesome, and Emera, who does nothing but look down on others, both neglected to do even that much.
If an incident like this hadn’t occurred, they might have had more time—but since they failed to notice even in their first year, they probably never would have realized it.
Well… since there was a plan built on the assumption that neither Emera nor I would notice our shared connection to Maria-san, I don’t think this was meant to be some grand, serious test.
That’s why she’s only slightly disappointed.
“One thing you need to understand. Attacking someone when you don’t even know who they are—when you’re only looking at the surface—is something only third-rate people do. When you make a move, you investigate your opponent thoroughly and never show a single opening. That is the absolute requirement for remaining strong. And because you neglected that, this is why you’re being cornered like this now.”
And naturally, she didn’t stop at just that—what she said next made me doubt my own ears.
“So, you two will be punished. Strip off everything you’re wearing. Immediately.”
Character Summary (non-official)
- Aima Eito (愛真 英斗) — A second-year high school boy and twin brother of Hina. Level-headed and cautious, he knows more about the Tenjouin sisters’ cruelty than most after being in their class last year. He tries to stay quiet and unnoticed to avoid trouble, especially from the Tenjouin sisters who despise men.
- Aima Hina (愛真 雛) — Eito’s twin sister, a tiny 148 cm girl who’s adorable, clingy, and very attached to her brother. Sweet-natured and polite, but easily frightened—especially upon learning she’s placed in the same class as the Tenjouin sisters.
- Tenjouin Emera (天上院 翠玉) — One of the school’s notorious “twin queens.” A beautiful girl with long straight hair: a single streak of her bangs is white while the rest is gold. She has heterochromia—right eye red, left eye blue, and a flat chest. Cold, arrogant, and dangerously influential thanks to her powerful, wealthy family. Devoted entirely to her sister Furei.
- Tenjouin Furei (天上院 風麗) — Emera’s twin sister, with opposite hair colors—one golden streak in her bangs, the rest pure white—and mirror-image heterochromia: right eye blue, left eye red. She has a bob cut and a voluptuous figure like a gravure idol. Quiet, expressionless, and mysterious, yet incredibly dangerous beneath her calm. Furei doesn’t care about anyone except for Emera and the girls she favors, and even then, she treasures them more like pets than equals.
- Maria (真莉愛) — Maria is the foster parent who took Eito and Hina in from the orphanage when they were in second grade. An unbelievably beautiful woman who looks to be in her twenties—and still insists she is in her twenties—she has striking half-gold, half-white hair parted cleanly down the middle, brilliant blue eyes, and an ample chest. Though she appears elegant and composed, Eito describes her as a “demon in human skin,” having put him through countless extreme punishments whenever he failed to meet her expectations. Yet despite her terrifying side, Maria is helplessly weak to cute things, which is why she absolutely adores Hina and has spoiled her since they were little.
- Shirayuki Koori (白雪 氷) — Shirayuki Koori serves under the Tenjouin twins. She is a petite girl with pale blue twin-tail hair and an adorable, youthful face, paired with an icy, emotionless gaze. Despite her doll-like appearance, she is a highly trained combatant raised under special training since childhood. Competitive and proud, she hates losing and becomes flustered or emotional when things don’t go her way, revealing a childish side beneath her cool exterior.