"Then let's see what the [Onsen Village] looks like…"
Kitahara Makoto was also very curious.
After infusing it with mental power, the miniature onsen garden immediately floated into the air. With a flicker of light, it suddenly vanished from sight.
"Eh, why is it gone?"
Shiina Maki widened her eyes, searching everywhere.
"It hasn't disappeared; it has unfolded into a different dimension."
Kitahara Makoto closed his eyes and sensed it.
Although his eyes couldn't see where the Onsen Village was, because he was the one who activated it, he could naturally sense the location of the [Onsen Village] in the ethereal realm and could enter it at any time.
"Give me your hand," Kitahara Makoto said, extending his right hand. "I'll take you in."
"Okay~"
Shiina Maki happily stepped forward, about to take Kitahara Makoto's hand.
"Sister, you can just hold my hand."
Taki quickly stepped forward half a pace, firmly grasping Kitahara Makoto's right hand, then looked at Shiina Maki.
"Eh…"
Shiina Maki blinked, a hint of disappointment appearing on her pretty face. Then she suddenly turned around, gracefully moving to Kitahara Makoto's other side, and quickly hugged Kitahara Makoto's arm.
"Sister, what are you doing?!"
Taki immediately furrowed her small brows.
Shiina Maki tilted her head and looked over:
"Taki, you wouldn't be caring about Kitahara-kun so much that you're jealous, would you?"
The provocation was simple but effective.
"I don't care about this guy at all!"
As expected, Taki immediately blurted out a denial.
Jealous?
How could she possibly be jealous of this guy? She just didn't want to see her sister go astray and regret it with tears later!
Shiina Maki's eyes curved into crescent moons, and her voice was sweet as she said:
"Since Taki isn't jealous, and you said before that you weren't dating Kitahara-kun, then there's no problem with me hugging Kitahara-kun's arm, right?"
Taki: "…"
"Whatever you have to say, save it for later," Kitahara Makoto said, looking straight ahead. "Let's go to the [Onsen Village] first."
With that, he took a step forward, the space slightly distorted, and the figures of the three instantly vanished.
The next instant, the three appeared in an ancient Japanese-style garden.
Pavilions, towers, and buildings stood in order, cherry blossoms fluttered, and the grass was fresh and beautiful.
"Ah, it's so dark…"
Shiina Maki gasped lightly, quickly hugging Kitahara Makoto's arm tighter.
Kitahara Makoto: "…"
Although the feeling of being pressed by a slime was quite nice, you're a university student; you can't be that afraid of the dark, can you!
"Maki-nee, there's no need to panic," Kitahara Makoto said softly. "We just arrived from a brightly lit room. Just let your eyes adjust for a bit."
The space opened up by onsen Village wasn't large, so naturally, there couldn't be any celestial light sources like the sun, moon, or stars. Fortunately, there were quite a few stone lanterns in the courtyard.
These are one of the most common landscape features in Japanese gardens, scattered throughout the courtyard. They contain flickering candlelight, providing illumination and creating a Zen-like atmosphere.
The three of them were at the entrance of the courtyard, with a path paved with white sand and stones underfoot. It looked chaotic, but in fact, there was order within the chaos.
After standing quietly for a while, waiting for Taki and Maki's eyes to adjust to the environment, Kitahara Makoto softly suggested:
"Shall we take a quick stroll?"
"Yes, let's!"
Shiina Maki's voice was filled with anticipation.
"Sister," Taki bit her lip and looked over, unable to resist reminding her, "You can let go of this guy's arm now!"
"Eh?"
Shiina Maki blinked and said with a smile:
"I forgot."
Did you really forget?
You clearly held onto him on purpose!
A sense of crisis quietly surged within Taki's heart.
Back in the stadium, Kitahara-kun saved her sister, which greatly increased her sister's favorability. Now he's dealt with the perverted stalker, so her favorability must be even higher... If this continues, her sister might just give herself away like Mutsumi!
No!
She absolutely couldn't let her sister continue to interact with the scumbag Kitahara!
"So... what should I do?"
Taki furrowed her small brows, seriously considering a countermeasure.
(Should I just tell my sister the truth that this guy is a harem scumbag?)
(...No, forget it.)
(Speaking ill of someone behind their back is too much.)
(Should I tell my sister that this guy actually has a girl he likes?)
(My sister has never been one to give up easily. Even if she knows Kitahara has a girl he likes, she probably still won't give up...)
After a moment of thought, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck Taki's mind.
(Wait a minute!)
(Although my sister is not the type to give up, she definitely wouldn't compete with me. Just like before I accidentally blurted out that Kitahara and I were fake dating, my sister always kept her distance and wasn't as enthusiastic and proactive as she is now.)
(So... if I really start dating the scumbag Kitahara, my sister will naturally give up, right?)
Upon realizing her own thoughts, Taki's small face quickly flushed red.
(D-darn it!)
(What on earth am I thinking?!)
(I swore before that I would never join this guy's harem no matter what!)
Unfortunately, once certain thoughts arise, they can no longer be cut off.
A moment later.
The three of them quickly toured the onsen courtyard.
The courtyard wasn't large, but it was quite exquisite, with small bridges and flowing water, cherry blossom trees and red maple trees, as well as bamboo water basins and stone lanterns. The environment was quite pleasant.
Although there were houses, they couldn't be entered, which was a slight pity.
The most captivating spot, however, was the large outdoor onsen pool, which occupied one-third of the courtyard's area. The miniature model naturally didn't have onsen water, but once expanded into a small space, it was filled to the brim with onsen water.
"Mmm, the water temperature is just right."
Shiina Maki half-squatted, dipped her right hand into the onsen, gently swirled it a couple of times, and her eyes quickly brightened as she said expectantly:
"It's been a long time since I've soaked in an onsen, Kitahara-kun, can we take an onsen bath?"
"Of course," Kitahara Makoto was never a stingy person. He nodded and said, "This onsen happens to have the effect of nourishing the spirit, allowing one to relax and beautify themselves."
Taki crossed her arms over her chest, trying her best to object:
"Sister, it's already very late. Let Kitahara-kun go back and rest first. We can soak in the onsen another time."
"Eh?"
Shiina Maki blinked, then said understandingly:
"It is indeed very late. We shouldn't trouble Kitahara-kun..."
Then her tone changed:
"Kitahara-kun, are you free tomorrow? I'll come to your house tomorrow, okay?"
"Huh?!"
Taki immediately became anxious:
"Sister, what are you going to his house for?"
"Of course, it's to pay a visit and thank him," Shiina Maki replied righteously. "Kitahara-kun drove away that stalker. Such a great kindness, of course, I have to go to his house to thank him. After thanking him, we can also take an onsen bath together."
Taki gritted her teeth:
"You can leave that kind of thing to me..."
"No!"
Shiina Maki flatly refused, her expression serious:
"Kitahara-kun helped us so much; only by thanking him personally can I express my sincerity."
Taki: "..."
Are you trying to go thank him, or are you trying to give yourself away for free?!
"Taki, you have to go to your part-time job tomorrow, right?" Shiina Maki's eyes shifted. "Don't worry about me, I can go to Kitahara-kun's house alone tomorrow to thank him."
Kitahara Makoto looked innocently at the legal loli, his eyes asking:
"What should I do?"
"Refuse! Refuse him!"
Taki gritted her teeth, constantly signaling with her eyes.
Kitahara Makoto said softly:
"Maki-nee, I have something to do tomorrow and probably won't be home."
Shiina Maki clasped her hands behind her back, her voice sweet: "I can come over in the evening too, you know."
Taki couldn't listen anymore:
"Sister, you're actually going to a boy's house at night? That's very dangerous!"
Shiina Maki tilted her head and said:
"Taki, have you forgotten my identity?"
"Huh?"
"I'm a university student, you know," Shiina Maki smiled. "Kitahara-kun is just a high school student. When I play with Kitahara-kun, the dangerous one should be Kitahara-kun."
Kitahara Makoto: "..."
Taki: "..."
The situation became increasingly critical.
Her intuition told Taki that she couldn't hesitate any longer, otherwise her sister would definitely give herself away.
Since that's the case...
"It's fine for sister to go thank him, but you can't bathe with him."
"Eh, why not?"
"Because..."
A hint of shame flashed in Taki's eyes, but she quickly made up her mind, turned to look at Kitahara Makoto, and said, looking up:
"Bend down."
Kitahara Makoto wondered: "For what?"
Taki said with a tense face:
"Don't ask so many questions, hurry up!"
"..."
Kitahara Makoto bent down in confusion.
"Hmph..."
Taki took a deep breath, her small face quickly showing determination, and then she suddenly stood on her tiptoes, raised her arms to wrap around Kitahara Makoto's neck, and directly kissed him with her lips.
A moment later.
A soft popping sound was heard.
Taki quickly retreated half a step, wiping her lips expressionlessly, but her small face was blazing red, clearly about to drip blood.
"Sister..." Taki suppressed her shame and said resoundingly, "This guy is already mine!"
Tomori, I'm sorry.
Other than doing this, there's no way to stop my sister from falling deeper.
Kitahara Makoto: "..."
Just a few days ago, he was called a scumbag by the Taki in front of him, and in a blink of an eye, she was declaring her ownership over him. His mood was inevitably a little subtle.
Shiina Maki was silent for a moment, then sighed softly and said:
"Taki actually went this far... Alright, then I won't compete with Taki. However, I still need to go thank him, but I won't take an onsen bath with Kitahara-kun."
"Hmph..."
Taki immediately breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
Good.
Her sacrifice of chastity to kiss the scumbag Kitahara was finally not in vain.
Kitahara Makoto wiped the corner of his lips, looked down at Taki, and said seriously:
"Taki-san, please take responsibility and date me."
"Huh?"
Taki looked at him with disdain.
You took such a big advantage of me, and you still want to date me?
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
"Taki, after you kiss someone, of course you have to take responsibility," Shiina Maki's voice sounded from the side. "Otherwise, I'll tell Mom and Dad."
Taki: "..."
There's no need to say more about what happened next.
To silence her sister, Taki could only swallow her anger and agree to take responsibility.
As for dating?
Of course, it would continue to be a fake relationship!
Kissing is kissing, and dating is dating. The two things, of course, cannot be confused!
Immediately after, Kitahara Makoto brought the two girls back to the real world, and after waving goodbye, with Tomori's help, he returned home by fast travel.
"Makoto-kun, welcome back."
The girl's beautiful, unperturbed voice rang out.
Kitahara Makoto looked over with a calm expression:
"Mutsumi isn't asleep yet?"
Mutsumi said expressionlessly, "I can't sleep."
Kitahara Makoto put down his backpack: "Let me take a shower first."
"..."
After quickly tidying up, Kitahara Makoto returned to the bedroom. Mutsumi was lying on the bed, looking over quietly, seemingly not sleepy at all.
After Kitahara Makoto lay down, Mutsumi clung to him like a cat, her voice slightly curious, and asked:
"Makoto-kun, did you catch the stalker?"
Not bad.
To actually ask someone a question voluntarily, it seems Mutsumi's lost emotions are slowly recovering.
"It's already taken care of…"
Kitahara Makoto briefly explained what happened.
"That's good." Mutsumi looked up, saying expressionlessly, "Mom messaged me tonight, saying Dad locked himself in his room again and isn't eating or drinking."
The 'pain' that Tomori borrowed last time, it's normal for depression to relapse, I just didn't expect it to be this fast.
Kitahara Makoto said softly:
"Then we'll go over tomorrow."
"Thank you, Makoto-kun." Mutsumi's eyes sparkled, "Tomorrow, it's my turn to make Makoto-kun happy, just like Soyo…"
Kitahara Makoto quickly stopped her:
"You don't need to go that far."
It's just to alleviate your dad's symptoms, you don't need to sacrifice your virginity!
Mutsumi's tone was puzzled:
"Makoto-kun was clearly very happy at the time."
Being happy is true, but I promised Sakiko before that I wouldn't let you overtake her!
Kitahara Makoto said seriously:
"When girls are out, they must protect themselves and be careful not to be deceived."
Mutsumi: "Will Makoto-kun deceive me?"
Kitahara Makoto: "...No."
Mutsumi: "So it doesn't matter."
"..."
Kitahara Makoto cleared his throat twice: "In short, that kind of thing isn't allowed now."
"Okay." Mutsumi said softly, "Then I'll help Makoto-kun with the [beep—] method."
Hey, hey, what did you even say? Why did it turn into a censor beep!
Kitahara Makoto looked over in shock:
"Where did Mutsumi learn these things?"
"On Makoto-kun's bookshelf." Mutsumi said expressionlessly, "When I was cleaning the room, I saw a black box at the bottom of the bookshelf. When I opened it, there were adult comics inside, and the content was…"
"Stop! You don't need to say what the content is!" Kitahara Makoto quickly interrupted, "Sleep, sleep!"
"..."
The night passed without a word.
The next day.
At 6:30 AM, Kitahara Makoto woke up on time. After a simple wash-up, he was about to go to the kitchen to cook when his phone suddenly vibrated.
He picked up his phone and saw it was a message from Yamada Ryo.
First, there were several cat praying emojis, and finally, the text content:
"God, hungry, food~"
Kitahara Makoto silently replied: "Just woke up, haven't prepared food yet. Ryo-senpai, are you coming now, or later?"
Yamada Ryo: "Sorry, I'm sealed by the quilt. God, please call me later."
Kitahara Makoto: "Quilt?"
Yamada Ryo: "Set the air conditioner to twenty degrees, then sleep under the covers. This is a unique joy of summer!"
Kitahara Makoto: "..."