Chapter 57: The Vacuum Magician, Marisa.
....
After spending the entire night acting as living filler on the roof, Izayoi Sakuya brought Remilia back to the Scarlet Devil Mansion before sunrise and neatly repaired the roof in the process.
As for Marisa, who had fainted inside the bedroom, Sakuya simply ignored her. After all, the black-and-white thief had sneaked into the underground library to steal things more times than she could count. Letting Kihara deal with her was the perfect way to teach her a lesson.
Anyone who could come up with the idea of using two girls to plug a hole in the ceiling would surely have even more sadistic punishments in store for a thief.
Before leaving, Izayoi Sakuya "kindly" reminded Kihara that there was a famous thief from Gensokyo currently in his bedroom.
"Isn't this Marisa? Why did she suddenly faint in my room?"
Remembering how she had teamed up with Shameimaru Aya to slander him last time, Kihara's original plan to wake her up for work instantly vanished. A wicked grin spread across his face.
[Your idea is pretty twisted, Master… but I like it!]
…
Warm morning sunlight pierced through her eyelids and woke Marisa. She stared blankly at the ceiling, which was now perfectly intact with no sign of the eerie pale legs from last night.
"Was it an illusion? Or did Kihara-kun set up some kind of spell?"
"Oh no, it's already this late! If he finds me in his bedroom, I'm done for!"
Marisa sprang up like a carp leaping from the water — then froze in a strange horse stance, her face turning deathly pale. Her usual pumpkin shorts that protected her modesty had completely disappeared.
Even worse, her panties had vanished along with them. Under her skirt, there was now nothing but a cool, breezy emptiness. "A draft from an empty hole" perfectly described her current state.
"Could last night have been one of Gensokyo's 100 horror legends — the Panty Thief Demon?"
She had read about that terrifying urban legend in a gossip pamphlet Aya gave her as an apology. It was said that even Remilia and Flandre of the Scarlet Devil Mansion had fallen victim to it and lost their favorite little panties.
She used to scoff at such stories, but now that she had experienced it herself, cold sweat broke out all over her back.
"I'd better hurry home and put on a new pair…"
Clutching the hem of her skirt, Marisa tiptoed out of the bedroom. The fact that no one was in the room meant Kihara had spent the night at one of his other 'girlfriends' houses. That gave her plenty of time to leave and come back later.
However, things didn't go as planned. Just as she reached the front door, the doorknob slowly turned under her despairing gaze.
Kihara pushed the door open and greeted her with a smile. "Well, if it isn't Marisa! You're here pretty early today!"
"Y-Yeah, of course! I'm a very responsible person!"
Even in the middle of a crisis, Marisa didn't forget to polish her own reputation.
Kihara unusually refrained from teasing her. He patted her shoulder with a smile. "Keep up that enthusiasm for work. Go water the crops."
"Right now?"
"Hm?"
He frowned in confusion. "Of course right now. The early bird catches the worm. Or are you actually here to steal things instead of working?"
"Of course not! Even if you hadn't come back, I was planning to water the fields!"
"Good. Then go ahead. Work hard — maybe I'll be able to afford a Lamborghini next year."
Marisa took the watering can with a troubled expression. She felt trapped in a dilemma. If she admitted she was here to steal, she could run home and put on panties, but the price would likely be extending her two months of free labor to three or four.
If she didn't admit it, she would have to abandon her usual easy method of riding her magic broom and instead walk around carrying the heavy watering can.
"Anyway, there's no one else here. The fastest way is to finish the job quickly and then go home!"
Gritting her teeth and throwing away what remained of her dignity, Marisa decided to ride her broom and finish as fast as possible.
The usually comfortable magic broom felt strangely alien today. The rough wooden texture rubbed against her delicate skin, creating an uncomfortable sensation similar to sitting on a chair with pebbles in her back pocket.
"Tsk, maybe I should have just admitted I was here to 'borrow' things and run…"
Thinking about how she had to come here every day for free labor while her research on that otherworld potion had stalled for so long, Marisa could only suppress the urge to flee.
"Marisa, why are you just standing there?"
"Kihara!? What are you doing out here?"
"Sunbathing. And supervising your work, of course."
Kihara pointed at the lounge chair under the eaves, complete with snacks and drinks.
"Wait… you're planning to lie there… and watch me water the fields?"
Marisa panicked. She was currently in a completely vacuum state. If she flew into the air, wouldn't Kihara see everything?
"Of course I won't stare the whole time. I just want to make sure you don't slack off. Why are you squeezing your legs together? If you need the toilet, go ahead — just don't delay the watering."
Marisa looked at him suspiciously. "You're not planning to peep at me, are you?"
Kihara scoffed and lay back in the chair.
"What's so interesting about pumpkin shorts? I'm not interested."
After confirming multiple times that he really wasn't interested in her, Marisa rode her magic broom into the air with extreme discomfort, frequently glancing back to check if he was looking.
"Ugh… this feels so weird…"
The rough texture under her was unbearably irritating. Marisa tried leaning her upper body slightly backward to shift her weight and avoid concentrating pressure in one spot.
Because she needed one hand free to hold the watering can, her control over the broom wasn't as steady as usual. That small adjustment nearly caused her to do a full 360° spin in mid-air.
"Uwaa… that was close…"
After breaking out in cold sweat, she didn't dare try anything risky again. She obediently rode her broom back and forth, sprinkling water from above.
[Watching Marisa fly around watering the fields in vacuum mode… are you imagining that the water isn't spring water, but slightly yellowish holy water?]
[I don't have any exotic hobbies. I just enjoy tormenting beautiful girls.]
[Then tonight, should I imitate a witch riding a broom too?]
[100% welcome!]
From Kihara's perspective, he actually couldn't see anything under Marisa's skirt — no sane person would stare directly into the sun the whole time. But Marisa herself had no idea.
The entire watering session felt excruciatingly long and torturous for her. The dual torment of her body and mind nearly caused her to lose what little dignity she had left.
After finally finishing the task, she rotated her stiff neck (from constantly twisting to check on Kihara), landed far away from the fields, dropped the watering can, and shot off like a rocket, fleeing Pelican Town.
Once she had put on two proper pairs of pants, Marisa headed straight to the Hakurei Shrine. She stuffed a 100,000 yen bill into the donation box. The moment the cheerful ding-dong music played, Reimu walked out with a greedy smile.
"Well, if it isn't Marisa. What brings you here today?"
"Here's the money. After this, don't interfere when I go cause trouble for Kihara."
"Of course. But remember — you only get one free chance. The second time will cost money too."
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Thank you for reading.