174. Did Yumeko lower her guard early on?
The rules of [Voyeur Strip Rock-Paper-Scissors] were very simple.
Within a tic-tac-toe grid made from partition screens, each space was numbered 1 to 9 from top-left to bottom-right. One number would be chosen as the starting position of the target (the one being photographed).
After that, two teams would take turns: their photographers would roll dice outside the screen, and the target would move up, down, left, or right based on the die roll. The dice rolls were made publicly.
After every round, the target had to remove one item of clothing, and this would continue until the photographer guessed which number the opposing team's target was currently in.
In other words, sometimes the target might be photographed in a state needing a censorship light, or maybe just with a jacket removed—depending on timing.
Unfortunately, after two rounds of play, Ougatou Naoko and Aiura Kokoro both lost at the last moment.
"It's a bit of a tongue-twister, but…" said Rokujou Eneru as she licked her lips, "this is a game about trust and reading minds~ As long as you can guess where the opponent's target is hiding, you win. It's just too bad for them... their luck wasn't so great."
She explained this to Hikigaya Hachiman, who had just arrived.
"Who would've thought that the new executive would lose so quickly."
"But it doesn't matter anymore. I've already got photos of Aiura Kokoro and Ougatou Naoko. And next—Jabami Yumeko!"
Hikigaya's gaze shifted toward the two girls huddled on the sofa, trembling. Clearly, having their censored photos taken had struck them hard.
"Hikigaya-sama!"
Seeing him arrive, Miharutaki Sakura felt like she had finally found someone to rely on.
If it weren't for him, her mistress's purity would have been entirely in her hands, and she wasn't yet prepared to shoulder such a heavy responsibility.
"What's going on?" Hikigaya asked, having heard Rokujou's explanation. He turned to get Miharutaki's version of the events.
"There's something fishy. I think they're using some trick we can't figure out."
"Every time we get to the fifth round—just as all the clothes are removed—they correctly guess the location and snap a photo."
Sakura spoke like she had just been grounded in reality. She now realized that she had underestimated Rokujou's cunning.
The sudden gamble had thrown her off. Even after two rounds, she couldn't figure out what trick the opponent was using.
Maybe trying to curry favor with Hikigaya, or perhaps just indulging her own twisted fetish, Rokujou Enuru said,
"Hikigaya~ Yumeko is in the screen now, you know~ Want to personally protect her purity?"
Hikigaya's expression turned serious. He didn't speak but took the remote camera from Miharutaki's hands. The buttons on it corresponded to the nine numbers inside the screen. Pressing a button would take a snapshot of that space.
Even now, he was in the dark.
From Miharutaki's description, the opponents seemed to always know the target's exact location—and yet waited specifically for the moment holy light would be necessary to take the winning photo.
'This is bad. Really bad,' Hikigaya thought with furrowed brows. Now wasn't the time for hesitation. He turned to Rokujou and said:
"I have a request."
"Hm? What is it?"
"This round, you be the target."
"Oi, oi, oi—what the hell? We agreed on the lineup from the beginning!" Rokujou immediately protested the unreasonable condition.
Hikigaya calmly replied:
"In exchange, if I lose this round, you can have Miharutaki and Houko be the targets for two more rounds of gambling. You've been wanting photos of them, haven't you?"
He deliberately left out Saotome and Yumeko—because among all the girls present, only they weren't his personal livestock.
"Eh...? Is that so? Then..." Rokujou's face looked conflicted. It wasn't a bad deal, honestly. But it did mean she had to accept the risk of being photographed with holy light.
As a mentally healthy girl, she instinctively recoiled from such a risk. She wasn't like Shimizu, who had a public exhibitionism kink.
"Count me in too!" said Saotome Mary, stepping forward with a stern expression, hand pressing against her not-so-full chest.
There was a golden "holy light" flickering in her eyes. Rokujou was a despicable woman who loved trampling on fellow females' dignity—so Mary would face her head-on!
'This kind of person... I won't forgive her!'
Seeing Aiura Kokoro curled up and weeping on the sofa, something deep inside Mary was stirred. This green twin-tailed monster before her—she was the one Mary genuinely wanted to defeat.
Mary's burning resolve left Rokujou momentarily stunned.
Not because she was scared—but because—
Amaaazing~
Drool nearly dripped from beneath Rokujou's mask. That kind of unyielding expression... it would make for the most delicious photograph! It was the ultimate flavor—the very thing she'd long been chasing!
Rokujou lunged forward without thinking, hugging Mary tightly from behind. Her hands slipped under Mary's arms and forcefully groped the area that would soon need censoring.
"Oi—what the hell are you doing?" Mary blushed furiously at the sudden assault.
"I agree~ I can't say no to that expression on your face, Saotome~ Since that's the case, I'll be the target for this round!"
"In the next round, I'll capture every inch of your irresistible body, Saotome-chan!"
Rokujou released her wandering hands and called out in a high voice:
"Shimizu~ you sit out this round, okay? I'll be the target this time!"
The screen's curtain was pulled back. Shimizu stepped out expressionless, completing the role switch.
At that moment, Yumeko also poked her head out from behind the screen, her face lighting up with joy as she looked at Hikigaya.
"Hachiman~"
"I'll leave my purity in your hands, okay~?" she said sweetly.
Her entire body below the neck remained hidden behind the curtain—only her head poked out. This strange posture made Hikigaya pause for a moment.
But he didn't overthink it. He simply nodded solemnly.
"Don't worry, Yumeko."
What he didn't know was that, behind the screen, Yumeko had already removed every outer layer of clothing.
Right now, exposed to the air, was her purest, most twisted desire.
'To be captured in a holy-light photo... by another girl... under Hachiman's control...'
"Amaazing~"
Yumeko's eyes glowed red. Her drool floated in the air. It was as though she'd learned some kind of light-elemental magic—her hands were already radiating censorship beams.
People with this fetish... weren't limited to Shimizu.