What was that all about?
What do you mean?
Oh, just so we're clear,
we're siblings, so this isn't weird.
Brother rejected me...
I don't care about that!
If you knew she was cheating,
why didn't you tell me what she was doing?
I could've won if you had!
Pledge eight: "Being caught cheating during a game is grounds for an instant loss," right?
That's right.
And thanks to you, I lost!
I lost my chance to become king, and everything is over!
In other words...
She's mad that she lost, so she's taking it out on us?
She fell for it.
I see.
You couldn't even figure out a simple trick like that,
so you lost everything you owned and now you're taking it out on us?
What a joke.
What?
And when a child calls you on it, you blow up in rage at every little thing.
You're simple-minded. Easily riled.
You can't control your emotions,
and you're too conservative to take risks.
To be blunt, you never had a chance.
If it's the foolish king's blood in you,
it's no wonder you lose all the time.
Take that back.
Say what you want about me,
but I won't let you insult my grandfather!
You take that back this instant!
If you're getting mad, that means I'm right again.
Obviously the granddaughter of a foolish king.
You think I'll put up with this?!
Then let's play a game.
A game?
Yup. "All conflicts are resolved through games."
Challenger
That's the rule in this world, right?
So let's play rock-paper-scissors.
Rock-paper-scissors?
Yup. But...
I'll only play paper.
If I play anything besides paper, I lose.
If I beat you with rock or scissors, you'll lose too, so it's a tie.
Tie
What happens if we tie?
If I use paper, and so do you, it's a tie.
Of course, anything else, you win.
Simple, right?
I see.
So that's it.
So what are we betting?
If you win, I'll comply with your every demand.
I'll tell you how she cheated,
and if you don't like the fact that I called your foolish grandfather a fool,
then you can tell us both to die.
And if I win, you will comply with my every demand.
Three: Each player will bet something that they agree is of equal value.
I'm risking my life for a game of rock-paper-scissors.
You understand, right?
And if we tie?
Four: As long as it doesn't violate pledge three, anything may be bet, and any game may be played.
I'll give you a hint about how she cheated.
In exchange,
you can do me a little favor.
To be honest, once we use all of this,
we've got no means to get food or a place to stay.
You want me to give you a place to stay?
Understood.
Then I swear by the pledges...
Six: Any bets made in accordance with the pledges must be upheld.
Aschente!
Aschente, it is!
Aschente (I swear by the pledges)
Tie
He may think I fell for his trap,
but while these rules appear to give me an advantage,
there's actually a one in three chance of a draw.
In other words, he wants a draw, so he can get a place to stay.
But I won't let him have his way!
With these rules, if I play rock, I have a two in three chance of winning.
With scissors, I also have a two in three chance of winning.
But if I play paper, I have a one in three chance of winning.
My options are scissors or rock.
But he's said that he'll only play paper,
to try and make it harder for me to play rock.
In other words, he's trying to make me play scissors!
You'll fall for anything! Way to go~
I've got you all figured out.
Do you really think I'll fall for that misdirection?
I'll foil your plans
and go with rock!
No!
Calm down, Stephanie Dola!
If I play rock, there's a one in three chance I'll lose!
That's right.
Like he said, he can only play paper!
If he does, he'll have a one in three chance of losing,
as well as a one in three chance of winning!
With the other two, he'll have a two in three chance of losing,
and no chance of winning!
It's obvious. He's got no reason to pick anything else.
In other words, he'll pick
paper!
Let's go.
I hope you're ready to lose!
Rock, paper, scissors...
...shoot.
You clearly put some thought into that,
but not enough.
You almost let me taunt you into playing rock,
but when you saw my expression, you came to your senses
and understood that if I played anything but paper, I couldn't win.
You eliminated my chances at winning. That was good.
Still, you should've picked paper.
But... with scissors, I'd have twice as high a chance of winning as with paper!
That's how I was able to predict you'd pick scissors!
If you'd been able to figure out that I had figured all that out,
you would've been able to play paper instead of scissors.
That's why I said: you're not good enough.
This game was going to end with me winning anyway.
It was over from the start.
You mean you were after a tie, right?
I understand.
I can find you a place to stay.
Nope.
Little sister, what did I say?
She would grant you a little favor.
And what did I say that would be?
You didn't say.
W-Wait!
That's not true!
I checked!
I asked if you wanted a place to stay!
Yup.
But did I respond?
No way... That can't be...
I only convinced myself that he'd want a place to stay?
In other words, the biggest trap in this game was the fact
that you carried the same risk whether you lost or tied.
But... that's fraud!
I obeyed all the pledges when I challenged you.
It's your fault for not checking.
I guess it's time
to tell you what my "little favor" is.
Fall...
...in love with me!
Huh?
...in love with me!
What do you think of your brother's perfect plan, little sister?
"Pledge six: Any bets made in accordance with the pledges must be upheld."
if I make her fall in love with me,
she'll give me all her money and a place to stay!
Brother, if you'd said "you now belong to me,"
you would've had all of that.
Huh?
Brother, did your own desires take over?
It can't be...
Did my fear that I'd never get a girlfriend for the rest of my life
if I let this chance pass dull my judgment?!
Did I do that?! Me?! Impossible! How could I make a mistake like that?!
You said you didn't need a girlfriend.
You said all you needed was me.
Shiro...
It was just a tough front! I'm so sorry!
I mean, I can't go after my sister!
Plus, you're like, eleven!
I'm a healthy young man, you know?
I've got sexual needs, and sexual needs, and sexual needs!
And even sexual needs!
That's important, you know!
You said it four times...
I know the ten pledges are absolute,
but the fact that I feel jealous as he ignores me to talk to his sister...
I refuse...
I refuse to accept it!
Steph-a-Scope
No! This isn't right!
Falling in love isn't supposed to be a permanent thing!
In other words, if I can just maintain a strong will...
Hey.
Yes?
Can I call you Steph?
Of course!
No! No! This isn't me!
Hey, Steph.
Yes?
Let me live in the palace with you.
With pleasure!
No! No! Noooo!
I see. So this is the power of the pledges.
Brother...
Congratulations on graduating from being a virgin.
What is she saying? I can't...
No, no! I'm not letting anything R-rated happen in front of you!
I don't mind.
Your brother minds!
It has to be healthy!
To*** City Raising Healthy Young Adults Law
Let's obey the ethics laws!
Then keep it just to this side of "healthy."
Fondling breasts for reasons beyond his control!
It was beyond my control!
Steph-a-Scope
Boobs...
Lots of boobs...
H-How wonderful!
Off
And then her skirt lifts up, leading to...
A panty shot.
N-Not... right... now!
Sora! Are you oka—
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry!
Forgive me!
I thought, if I missed this chance,
I'd never get to touch boobs in my whole life.
I'm a guy, you know, and we want these things.
What's going on—
I'm horrible, I know! I'm a pervert!
I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!
Where are you, brother?
Don't leave me alone.
Is this what happens when you two are apart?
Brother!
Shiro!
Whew!
What is wrong with you two?
Elkia Palace
You're from another world?
Yeah.
So that's why you don't have a place to stay.
You believe we came from another world?
There is such a thing as summoning magic.
It's possible.
It really is a fantasy world.
More importantly, what is going on here?
Oh, Shiro doesn't like to take baths.
She says I'm not allowed to watch,
because that would be child porn, so she never takes one.
So we've invited our good friend Mr. Steam to help out.
I don't like you, brother.
Then why don't you just go outside?
Shiro and I can't be more than a certain distance apart.
Thus, Mr. Steam's presence is an absolute necessity.
But, Steph, I will make sure I get a good look at you naked!
Sorry, Steph, my hand slipped. Can you pick that up for me?
What is this?
A secret tool from another world.
From another world?
If Steph picks up the smartphone,
I can see her naked without getting Shiro in the shot!
Well? Did you pick it up?
Yes...
And she's perfectly in the shot.
It's really frilly. It's hard to move in.
I wore it when I was a kid.
It fits you perfectly.
It's a little formal,
but it's like cosplay, so it's kind of fun.
Steph-a-Scope
A butler outfit! I love it!
Steph-a-Scope
You look good too, Steph, in that dress.
New Bedsheet Dress Made by Sora
I'm honored!
Honored
No! No!
What is she fighting?
Herself, I think.
I'll go make some tea!
What's with her?
You don't understand how women think, Brother.
Um...
Miss...
We'll make the tea.
It's all right.
Where did you get that outfit?
I'll bring him some cookies I made, too...
What should we do?
Oh, my...
Steph-a-Scope
It's delicious, Steph.
You have quite the domestic side.
You should marry her, Brother!
Your wife? Oh, I'm so embarrassed...
So very, very embarrassed!
Miss!
Keep your will strong, Stephanie Dola.
I won't let that guy from another world use me anymore!
Sorry for the wait!
Huh?
Sora?
Looks pretty empty, considering there's a tournament going on
to determine the next king.
The place is lifeless.
This isn't Japanese?
I don't think so.
It's in Imanity.
Elkia was once the biggest of the Imanity nations.
What's Imanity?
The human race.
The human race?
There used to be many Imanity countries,
but they were already on the decline when my grandfather took power.
Elkia was the only one left.
We had to bet the country's territory if we wanted to expand.
Which means you weren't betting against humans— I mean, Imanity.
Of course.
What is there besides humans?
Let me see...
There are sixteen sentient races in all to whom the ten pledges apply.
We collectively call them the Exceed.
#1 is the Old Deus, the gods who were defeated by the One True God.
The Phantasma are #2.
The Elementals are #3.
The Elves, #7, are good at magic, and made Elven Garde the largest
nation on the planet.
On the lower end, #14 are the Warbeasts,
and #15 are the Sirens...
Wait, wait.
What's this #1, #2 stuff?
Their ranking.
It's determined by their affinity for magic, I've heard.
The Imanity aren't on that list?
We're #16.
The lowest, huh?
It can't be helped.
We have zero affinity for magic.
Zero?
So Imanity can't use magic?
Indeed.
Imanity lacks the Spirit Circuits
that let them connect to the source magic.
Not only can we not use it, we can't even tell if it's been used.
And that's why you can't win.
If that's what you think, no wonder you keep losing.
Steph,
is there a library here?
There are books in the study...
But...
They're in Imanity.
I'll have to learn it.
Yeah.
Brother.
I learned it.
That's my girl.
Praise me more.
That's my little sister! I'm so proud, you little genius, you!
Wait, you learned it? You don't mean—
You just learned an entire language?
That's right.
That's impossible.
In this short time?
It's simple because the spoken language is identical.
You're just slow, Brother.
It's better for a man to be slow than fast.
S-Simple?
That's very small of you, Brother.
I'm not small!
Those two...
His negotiation in rock-paper-scissors...
Their genius-level intelligence...
The teamwork that comes from complete trust in each other...
You're just special. You can speak 18 languages, including their classical forms.
Is it possible that
these two could save Elkia?
The winner of this match is Kurami Zell!
Steph, why did you want to be king?
I stayed up all night reading, and I've learned a lot.
About this kingdom,
and about your grandfather.
I see.
Were you scared of losing your position in the royal family?
No.
You wanted to save Elkia?
That's right.
Of course, that was the biggest reason...
But my grandfather was forced to gamble our country's territory, and he kept losing.
He was called a foolish king.
But my grandfather believed in the potential of Imanity!
Even if we're the lowest ranked,
even if we can't use magic,
he honestly believed we could beat the other races.
I wanted to prove my grandfather was right.
If I could become king and take our territory back,
I could prove my grandfather was right about what Imanity could do!
Steph...
Do you like this country, and this world?
Yes.
Of course I do.
That's nice.
I'm really jealous that you can say that with such certainty.
But...
That wish won't come true.
To make things worse,
on its current course, this country is doomed to fall.
It's doomed the minute the next king takes over.
K-Kurami...
It's finally time for the coronation, isn't it?
Stephanie Dola.
Have you been dressed like that ever since I beat you?
You said your wonderful grandfather gave this dress to you, correct?
You can have it back.
Listen. You lost.
Don't make the same mistake as the foolish king who gave you that dress.
That's why people call you the granddaughter of a foolish king.
The game's
already begun.
Sora?
Pledge six:
Any bets made in accordance with the pledges must be upheld.
This is yours.
For the moment.
I see the granddaughter of a foolish king has foolish servants, too.
Hey, little sister.
Will you follow your big brother, no matter what he does?
Yes.
Just like I promised. I'll follow you anywhere.
An instant answer, huh?
I had to work myself up to—
You're lying.
You look like you're having fun.
Well, I guess I'll take you somewhere more fun than our old world.
Steph, how long are you going to sit there?
You want that dress back, right?
Steph, hurry.
Let's go.
Go? Where?
We're going to prove your grandfather was right.
Sora!
What's going on?
Huh? What happened to that vision I was seeing?
Oh, right.
Those cookies were really good.
Thank you.
Thanks!
It took you long enough!
My goal...
For now, I'll become king.
I'll say, for now, it's to become king.
Expert
"You sure that's enough armor?"
It is most definitely not!