The Mandate of Khaos: Panties (ch. 11)

These are the rolls (mainly that last one) that made me post the receipts on the QQ thread. Jesus fucking Christ Shinji. What God did you piss off?

- - -

Tsubaki spread her obsidian wings wide, catching the dying sunlight as she executed a slow, triumphant circle around my armchair. I took a measured sip of lukewarm tea. "That happy?"

"I'm effectively immortal," she declared, continuing to fly with preternatural grace around the room, making nary a sound. "My body feels several times stronger than it did before, and I have access to magic fueled by imagination. What is there not to be happy about?"

I smirked, dropping another sugar cube into my cup with a soft plink. "I trust you no longer harbor any doubts about your decision?" Tsubaki shook her head firmly, a small, relieved smile playing on her lips.

"Thank you, Shinji." Her voice was softer now, sincere.

I snorted, waving off her gratitude. "Don't go heaping praise. There was a solid minute where I thought I'd shat the bed and permanently torpedoed Sona's social life along with your future." The memory of Sona's face, barely holding her tears back, flashed briefly.

Tsubaki alighted on the thick armrest beside me, the leather creaking softly. Her body lowered until she was perched beside me, her gaze softening. "But you immediately sought to fix it, right? Even though I was the one who came to you initially, and no one would have faulted you for inaction."

I cringed, feeling like she was putting more thought into it than she should. Before I could retort though, my mouth found itself silenced by a pair of soft lips pressing against it. The kiss was brief and chaste. Confident, yet holding a hint of lingering uncertainty. Over before I could react, she pulled back, a faint blush coloring her cheeks despite her newfound boldness.

"I also heard," she murmured, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper as she slid gracefully off the armrest, "that it's quite common for influential male Devils to cultivate… expansive harems." Her gaze held mine, challenging, playful. "Just something for you to… ponder."

Then, with a deliberate sway in her hips that was both enticing and clearly, adorably practiced, she sauntered towards the door. Paradoxically, the slight awkwardness only amplified the effect. Before she left though, her hand brushed mine, leaving behind a small, folded bundle of black lace.

Feat: Acquire a pair of Tsubaki Shinra's used panties

Rewards: One Bronze Item Ticket

[Music Player]

|Common Item|

Not just an ordinary music player, this player is indestructible and has excellent sound quality, with built-in speakers and headphones. It is capable of playing any song the holder has heard of before and records it inside its archive.

Neat (and above average in terms of rating, 1.6 to the 1.3), but the next notification managed to occupy so much space in my mind that I completely forgot about the music player.

Feat: Through your direct action, Fate has changed. The one destined to become Sona Sitri's Queen has become her Bishop instead, six months before their pact was originally struck.

Rewards: One Silver Random Ticket

Queen? The word echoed. Tsubaki was supposed to be Sona's Queen? Yet Sona had made her a Bishop instead this time around?

Sigh, shit really can never be simple, can it? Does this change much?

[Holy Light]

|Uncommon Ability|

Allows you to conjure and emit holy light, while utterly useless against any normal beings it is incredibly useful against any dark or unholy beings.

…Are you trying to tell me something, my Power?

As usual, my question went unanswered by whatever fickle God ruled over my existence.

For once, something remained consistent with my last life, I suppose.

- - -

"You want something?" Sona's voice cut through the quiet rooftop dusk without her turning around.

I grunted, abandoning my half-hearted attempt at sneaking up on her. The young Sitri heiress, perched on the roof’s edge, had obviously heard me approaching. I walked over and sat beside her, knees dangling over the precipice.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" Sona asked, her tone carefully neutral.

I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. "You know."

It was Sona's turn to sigh. "I really don't. What do you possibly have to apologize for? Informing me about Tsubaki's family's debt, something I should have predicted? Smoothing over our talk and helping her make her decision? Tell me, Shinji, what did you do wrong?"

She turned, her sharp gaze pinning me. "Are you in the habit of having to apologize despite doing nothing wrong?"

I shrugged, avoiding eye contact.

Sona sighed again, a weary sound, before she leaned sideways, resting her temple against my shoulder. The weight was light, but grounding.

"If it wasn't for you, I most likely wouldn't be here now." Her voice was barely a whisper.

That, I knew was true. I had wondered, after receiving the ticket for making Tsubaki Sona's Bishop, why I hadn't received a similar reward for helping guide Sona into becoming the Occult Research Club's vice president.

It could be, as Sakura had said when I talked about it to her in private a few minutes ago, that my Power was as chaotic as its name implied, including on the rewards it doled out. I thought the theory had some merit, but I didn't believe it was the whole story.

The reason was that it wasn't official yet. Neither the club itself, nor Sona's commitment to the vice-presidency.

"Hey, Shinji, what do you think of devils?"

I sucked in a breath. "Pretty nifty species, I suppose. Hard to deny that biological immortality coupled with a magic whose limits are literally just imagination isn't at least somewhat cool."

"Not for you, though?" Her voice held a knowing softness. I didn't need to look to picture the faint smile that was becoming less and less rare to see her sporting. It hadn't even been a full week since I met these people, and yet if I had to choose between them and almost anyone from my past life, they would win every single time.

"I have some… reservations."

Sona nodded and got up. We danced around the core issue, yet it was pretty obvious what we were both truly talking about. "I suppose I'll just have to show you how far above somewhat cool I am then, and get rid of all your reservations along the way. I am Sona Sitri after all!"

I almost laughed at her sudden shift, the way she struck a theatrical pose with a touch of self-conscious embarrassment. The awkwardness made it even more endearing.

"Woah—!" Suddenly, she seemed to lose her balance, her footing slipped on the sloped tiles. She tumbled backward with a gasp, vanishing over the roof's edge before I could react. Instinct screamed. I lunged, throwing my upper body over the parapet, arm outstretched—

Only to find her floating in mid-air, suspended a few centimeters below the edge, parallel to the ground. Her face was inches from mine, flushed crimson. "Wow, uh, you really threw yourself into that, hm?"

I sighed, fighting back a grin. "It was a cool idea." I said, trying to salvage her pride. She had clearly expected me to carefully peek over the edge before she surprised me, not to dive headfirst into a rescue attempt.

Without a word, Sona righted herself and, with a soft beat of her thin, bat-like wings, she gently guided us back to a more dignified position.

"Your power is pretty weird." She said, bluntly changing the subject.

"Tell me about it." I answered, intent on helping her with it.

"Here," she said, shoving a neatly folded bundle of simple, blue polka-dot fabric into my hands.

Feat: Acquire a pair of Sona Sitri's used panties

Rewards: One Silver Item Ticket

"Seriously, to have a power where the user benefits from being given pairs of used panties and keeping them—" Her face scrunched, and she stopped what she was saying.

She noticed. I don't know how, why or when but my expression must have given something away.

"Is that… not how it… no, I'm certain—wait. You… you do have to keep the panties, right?"

"Hm. Would you look at the time?" I took a deliberate step backward. "Seems like we should be heading—"

"Shinji." Her voice turned dangerously calm. "Shinji, stop walking. Shinji, get your ass back here! Shinji, I can fly! Get your goddamned perverted ass back here this instant and tell me you need to keep those panties for the power to work and that's why you're still holding onto Rias' pair!"

Truly—

"Hey, I'd be careful how high you fly, you know?" I warned, a smirk tugging at my lips.

Sona's hand flew down to clutch at her skirt as she let out the cutest 'kyaaa' I had ever heard upon realizing she was dangerously close to giving me a full view of her bare pussy.

Truly, these girls were the best.

[Super Absorbant Sponge]

|Common Item|

Terraria - A sponge that can hold approximately 1,000,000,000 liters of water inside of it, don't ask how it doesn't change in size or weight regardless of how much is inside of it.

- - -

Soaked to the bone, I hurried to get my backpack and meet Sakura, who was already waiting by the school entrance.

On the way, I ran into Akeno Himejima, who laughed – not unkindly, but with a definite edge of amusement – at my dripping state.

"Ah, I suppose this is but the fate reserved for the type of man that trifles with multiple maiden's hearts." She tutted, shaking her head in mock disapproval.

I stared at her expectantly, waiting for her to move aside so I could grab my backpack and escape before Sona caught up. But she simply stood there, smiling serenely, seeming only to grow more amused the longer I waited, leaving a trail of damp footprints on the floor.

Fucking sadists.

I took a step forwards, intent on sidestepping her and grabbing my bag, but—be it due to the water slicking the floor, the uneven tiles, or just the God watching over my life being itching for a laugh—my feet slipped.

I can't believe this.

"Ara ara~"

I absolutely cannot fucking believe this.

Akeno stood directly below me, her expression a mixture of surprise and wicked glee. One of my hands was resting squarely on the soft, borderline impossible swell of her left breast. The other—guided by cruel physics or divine comedy—had slid straigh up her skirt, my fingers tangling in the soft silk of her panties.

"Everything alright, Ake—?!"

Rias' voice boomed down the hall. Akeno, with a speed that belied her languid demeanor, burst out in the most exaggerated, theatrical falsetto I had ever heard.

"Rias! Please help me! I fear the panty monster has come for me now!"

There was no way I was coming out of this with my reputation unscathed.

I could already hear Tsubaki's and Sona's voices approaching, and Akeno, pinned beneath me, seemed to have no intention of easing my suffering, especially if the way her own hand was gripping my wrist, keeping my wayward hand firmly in place between her legs, was any indication.

If that's how it's going to be…

"Indeed, it has."

Akeno’s eyes widened, a flicker of genuine surprise crossing her face. She didn't have much time to ponder what I meant, though, because I swiftly moved my free hand onto her other hip. Fingers hooked into lace, and I pulled.

"AH—?!"

Feat: Acquire a pair of Akeno Himejima's used panties

Rewards: One Bronze Item Ticket

Her face appeared genuinely shocked for a moment, and I suppose I would discover how mad she truly was tomorrow once I came back to the clubroom. Still, can't say she didn't have it coming though.

[Boar Vessel 600-500 BC Etruscan ceramic]

|Trash Item|

It is a Boar Vessel 600-500 BC Etruscan ceramic, no further explanation needed.

I scrambled to my feet, grabbed my backpack, summoned the Boar Vessel from my inventory, hurled it directly at Akeno's face, and fled.

The sign over the clubroom entrance—*Babelonia Institute*—was new. Unknown to me, once I returned tomorrow, there would be a subtle, temporary addition just below it.

- - -

Feat: Acquire a pair of used panties of all of the Occult Research Club Founding Members on the same day.

Rewards: One Advantage Silver Item Ticket

I can't believe Sakura's totally not jealous 'gift' ('I'm just giving these to you because it may trigger a Feat!') had actually paid off. Unbelievable.

[Poltergeists Pillow]

|Uncommon Item|

Hunter x Hunter - This card allows the user's spirit to explore the world at your own will, providing that you sleep on it first. This card can be useful for spying on other people or just plain exploring the world in a different way. Whilst in your astral form, you are able to pass through solid objects and you can't be seen by other creatures. You will turn into a real ghost though if you don't return to your body within 24 hours.

OR

[Shadow Perfume]

|Common Item|

A bottle of pitch black cologne that, when applied, erases all scent from the user and muffles their movements to an extent for 1 hour.

Not a very difficult choice, I supose.

- - -

Sona felt a familiar pressure building behind her temples as she watched her best friend's Queen meticulously carve the new ‘message’ beneath the freshly hung club sign. It appeared that the sadist had pushed too far and been caught off guard, but the source of Sona's migraine was the way the girl was blushing as she wrote the message down.

Her gaze dropped to the crisp, official document in her hands – the finalized paperwork officially establishing the Occult Research Club and cementing her position as Vice-President. Against all odds, a warm bloom of pure, unadulterated happiness unfurled in her chest.

She looked around her nascent domain: the chaotic energy radiating from Rias as she fussed over Charlie, the quiet, steady presence of Tsubaki beside her, the direction where Shinji had fled dripping and triumphant, and even Akeno, now admiring her handiwork with that infuriatingly pleased blush.

Sona Sitri had never felt more certain of a choice.

Still—

"Tsubaki," Sona said, her voice perfectly level but carrying an edge that froze the taller girl mid-step. "I found him first. Back off."

Tsubaki turned, adjusting her glasses, a picture of practiced innocence. "I haven't the faintest clue what you could possibly be referring to, Vice-Prez. Besides," she added, a ghost of a smirk playing on her lips, "I wouldn't advise using that particular argument. It would, by logical extension, favor his sister most strongly."

Yes, Sona had never felt more certain of her choice to be here, to lead this chaotic, frustrating, utterly unique group. After all—

Without me here, she thought, the migraine reasserting itself as Akeno finally stepped back to admire the carved words 'Building the greatest tower, one pair of used panties at a time,' who on Earth, Heaven, or Hell is going to keep this band of utterly incorrigible degenerates from descending into complete, irredeemable anarchy?

- - -

Feat: Through your direct action, Fate has changed, and Sona Sitri has become the vice president of the Occult Research Club. A significant change that is bound to change the set course of the world.

Rewards: One Gold Random Ticket

[Liquor Spring]

|Common Item|

Hunter x Hunter - An ornate spring fountain that flows with water perpetually, any water taken out of the spring turns into a high-quality alcoholic drink of the user's choice. The water will only transform if it has been taken out of the spring for an hour. Returning the transformed alcohol to the spring will return it back to its water state.

ARE YOU SERIOUS?! ON A GOLD TICKET?!!!

REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE—