The one who had fallen asleep right in the living room slowly opened his eyes while letting out a yawn.
His brows furrowed right after, as if he'd just been pulled out of a pleasant dream.
Was it… that idiotic goddess who disturbed him?
Still feeling a bit sleepy, Yazuki decided to doze off again, hoping to reconnect with that beautiful dream.
Just as he was about to close his eyes, he heard a soft rustling sound very close by—and also felt the heat of another presence right next to him.
Sitting beside him… was that Ikaros?
His half-closed eyes stalled from shutting entirely, instead becoming a squint.
And then, something pale and smooth entered his blurry vision. It looked like… a foot. A leg was lifted, and its owner was holding a pair of black socks—no, sheer thigh-high stockings—ready to slide them onto what could only be described as a sculpted piece of art.
At that moment, Yazuki's sleepy eyes widened slightly, and his pupils sharpened.
Those weren't ordinary cotton socks—no, they were silky smooth thigh-highs, ones you could tell felt amazing to the touch.
"Ikaros~"
He mumbled groggily, his sleepiness gradually fading as he bore witness to this scene—this masterpiece of a leg being wrapped in a silky black stocking.
This was far better than any dream.
"Mm? Oh—good morning, Master~~"
The voice sounded a little different from usual, but Yazuki wasn't paying that much attention to the details just yet.
"Master, can you help me put them on?"
Apparently, Ikaros wasn't too skilled at putting on thigh-highs. She hadn't rolled them up properly first before trying to wear them.
Upon hearing this request, Yazuki's squinting eyes were now nearly wide open.
"You can't?"
The soft, airy tone of the voice made it hard to refuse.
"No problem~"
He tried to respond as casually as possible, though his voice came out slightly hoarse.
As his answer landed, that piece of leggy artwork lifted slightly toward him. He could now clearly see the delicate, round toes beneath the ankle—so smooth and flawless they practically glistened.
The urge to suck on them bubbled up instinctively.
No, no—was he turning into some kind of pervert!?
Even so, unable to tear his gaze away, he accepted the stocking from "Ikaros" and carefully rolled it up, gently slipping it over that fine, silky, delicate foot.
As the sheer black stocking slid on, the radiant beauty of the bare skin was slowly concealed, replaced by a new kind of allure.
If the bare leg was sacred and pure—this was something darker, sultrier, more seductive.
He pulled the stocking up further, brushing over the ankle, calf, and finally reaching above the knee—into the forbidden territory of the thigh.
His heart was racing several times faster than usual, pounding so hard it felt like it would leap out of his chest.
His blood boiled, and his body temperature soared like a fever.
A nearly inaudible "snap" sounded as he reached the top of the stocking—the so-called "absolute territory." It was a dangerously bewitching area, and also the end of the stocking.
The moment his fingers released the fabric and the tight hem hugged the skin with a slight inward dip, the sound was made.
That slight dip between stocking edge and untouched thigh created a wickedly enticing contrast.
As he reluctantly withdrew his hands and gaze, another flawless leg extended toward him.
"This one too, please, Master."
This was happiness. Pure bliss.
His long-held fantasy of putting thigh-highs on a 2D anime girl had finally come true. Maybe this was still part of that dream? If so, he didn't want to wake up.
He moved to encase the other beautiful leg in that same silky wrapping, reaching halfway up when—
"What are you two doing?"
The icy voice that suddenly cut through the air felt like it could bring about the Ice Age. A sharp, piercing glare followed, colder than a look you'd give to trash on the street.
Who was it?
Of course, Yazuki recognized the voice.
It was none other than Yukino.
Just ignore her.
"Don't mind her, Ikaros."
"Hm? What was that, Master?"
"Just—"
Yazuki froze. That voice… it wasn't coming from next to him, but from a little distance away.
Wait—what?
He finally looked up with a blank expression, and the sight that entered his vision was—
A figure in an elegant purple evening gown, like she was headed to a fancy date. The owner of the feet he had just been pampering… was Haruno.
Ikaros, the real one, was still in the hallway behind Yukino.
"Hello~ Yazuki~~"
Haruno smiled sweetly as she waved at him. But that smile… was teetering on the edge of bursting into laughter, full of mischievous malice.
"Hi~ Master! So? How was it? Didn't I do a great impression?"
Impression?
Now that he thought about it—yes, it did sound kind of off.
If he'd been fully awake, there's no way he would've fallen for it.
But he had just woken up, groggy and convinced that the only other person in the house was Ikaros. So of course, he assumed that the one next to him was Ikaros.
Realizing all this, Yazuki's mouth twitched as his face gradually darkened.
Sensing the danger, Haruno didn't hesitate—she leapt over the sofa in an attempt to flee.
"Ikaros, execute command—capture her!!!"
"Understood, Master!!!"
Without hesitation, Ikaros moved to grab Haruno, who had tried to dash away. Her grip locked onto Haruno's wrist like a vise.
Haruno's face changed slightly.
As she was pulled toward Ikaros, she shifted into her blind spot, trying to disrupt her balance—and followed up with a fluid joint-lock move to counterattack.
Her movement was sharp and well-practiced—definitely not something a normal girl could pull off. She must've trained in Aikido… and not just casually.
Unfortunately for her, she wasn't facing a normal opponent.
Even if Ikaros couldn't unleash her full power in the surface world, her physical capabilities still far exceeded human levels.
In the blink of an eye, Haruno was pinned to the floor.
Then came the sound of footsteps—heavy, deliberate ones—thudding across the floor.
Yazuki was approaching.
His face, normally nonchalant, now radiated danger. His black eyes weren't stormy with emotion—they were deathly calm.
Too calm.
The darkness within them felt like it connected to something deep and terrifying.
Anyone would instinctively feel fear.
"I-I'm sorry! Please stop looking at me with such terrifying eyes!"
Cold sweat dripped down Haruno's face. Her voice trembled, hoarse from tension.
But Yazuki said nothing. He just stood silently before her, then slowly closed his eyes.
"Yukino, Yukino…"
"Huh?"
At that moment, Yukino snapped out of her daze. The energy coming off Yazuki's body had changed. It was as if… she was seeing something even the gods feared.
She panicked.
Her sister had gone too far. Was she going to be killed?
"W-Wait—!"
Too late.
Yazuki opened his eyes and, without a word, extended his index finger.
He tapped Haruno just below her belly button.
And just like that, the suffocating aura vanished, replaced once again by his usual lazy otaku energy.
Nothing happened?
Could it be that nothing would happen?
No way.
This was Yazuki.
He was not someone to be trifled with that easily.