In the silent Onsen Village.
For some reason, ripples spread across the onsen, as if unending.
Accompanying them were mournful sounds, like resentment and yearning, like weeping and lamenting, lingering and echoing without end.
After an unknown period, the ripples and the weeping sounds finally dissipated together.
"Togawa-chan, I'm sorry…"
The red in Kitahara Makoto's eyes had quietly faded at some point, returning to their usual clarity and brightness.
Sakiko no longer had the strength to move. Her eyes were teary, and her voice was hoarse:
"It hurts…"
"It's all my fault." Kitahara Makoto apologized earnestly, and said gently, "I'll bring Hana-chan in and let Hana-chan borrow your pain."
Although Kitahara Makoto tried his best to restrain himself, his sanity was still too low, and his actions were inevitably a bit rough. Sakiko clearly couldn't bear it and had now turned into a melted ice cream Togawa.
After settling the ice cream Togawa, Kitahara Makoto temporarily left the Onsen Village.
"Very good, still on the cruise ship."
Kitahara Makoto let out a sigh of relief, then contacted Hana in his mind.
Two hours had passed in the Onsen Village, but only about ten minutes in reality. He could clearly hear various chaotic sounds and crying outside the bathroom.
During the previous bizarre attack, although most people were rescued, a few unlucky ones still lost their lives.
Before long.
Hana appeared, taking small steps. Through their shared thoughts, it was clear that Hana had already devoured the kaidan in the sea.
"Father."
"Let's go to the Onsen Village first."
Kitahara Makoto picked up Hana, and his figure flashed and disappeared.
The rest goes without saying.
Upon returning to the Onsen Village, Hana quickly 'borrowed' the pain. As the pain disappeared, Sakiko's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed, and she then fell into a deep sleep.
Kitahara Makoto left Hana in the Onsen Village, so Togawa wouldn't be scared when she woke up, while he himself went out to check the situation.
After encountering the bizarre attack, no one was in the mood to continue watching the fireworks. They all demanded that the cruise ship dock as soon as possible.
When facing danger on a ship, there's no escape, so being on solid ground naturally feels much safer.
As soon as the cruise ship docked, police cars and ambulances came roaring.
Bang bang bang.
The fireworks festival was still ongoing.
Brilliant fireworks bloomed in the night sky.
Pedestrians on the shore watched the fireworks while holding up their phones, curiously gossiping.
Facts once again proved that people's joys and sorrows are not interconnected.
After Kitahara Makoto got ashore, he found an opportunity to quietly slip away; the subsequent events were no longer related to him.
A moment later.
Kitahara Makoto appeared in a restaurant, used the bathroom, and quietly entered the [Onsen Village].
After taking a few steps, he saw a blue-haired girl sitting on a chair by the onsen, with a hint of laziness and charm still lingering in her brows.
"Togawa-chan, you're awake?"
Kitahara Makoto's eyes lit up as he looked at the girl who had already sat up, and he quickly walked over.
"It shouldn't hurt anymore, right?"
Recalling what had happened earlier, Sakiko's pretty face instantly flushed, and she turned her head to look elsewhere:
"It's fine... I'm okay now."
Even though they hadn't officially agreed to be in a relationship, they had already done the most intimate thing, which was indeed super embarrassing.
However... she didn't regret it at all.
Because besides Kitahara Makoto, it was impossible for her to fall in love with any other boy in this life.
Kitahara Makoto walked over and sat down, gently put his arm around Togawa, held her in his embrace, and softly spoke about the situation outside, then asked,
...Togawa, are you hungry?"
Sakiko pursed her lips:
"A little."
They had actually eaten dinner on the cruise ship, but they had consumed a lot of physical energy during their activities, so they were indeed a bit hungry.
"Then let's go out now," Kitahara Makoto suggested. "The restaurant is right outside, how about another meal?"
"Okay."
When he was bullying Togawa earlier, he had shared the [Kidneys brave] ability with her, and then let Hana borrow the pain. Now that she had woken up, Sakiko had basically recovered her ability to move, only feeling a little weak in her legs.
The two of them left the [Onsen Village] with Hana, ate another meal at the restaurant, and by the time they were full, it was already 8:30 PM.
"The fireworks festival is over..."
Kitahara Makoto glanced at the night sky outside the window, then looked at Sakiko:
"Are we staying in Kagoshima tonight, or going back?"
Sakiko raised her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and softly said:
"I've seen rotten old man, and I've seen the fireworks festival. Everything that needed to be done is done, so let's go back to Tokyo."
"Okay."
...
After paying the bill, Kitahara Makoto took Togawa and Hana to the bathroom, then quickly traveled back to Tokyo.
According to Togawa's request, the landing spot was the house Togawa rented.
"Mirror travel is indeed super convenient."
Kitahara Makoto turned to look at Togawa, his gaze burning:
"Do you want to soak in the onsen a bit longer?"
Sakiko's pretty face instantly flushed, and she took a half-step back, covering her chest:
"No way, Kitahara-kun, hurry up and go back!"
Do you genuinely want to soak in the onsen?
You clearly just want to take advantage of me!
"Alright then." Kitahara Makoto looked utterly disappointed. "Let's soak in the onsen together tomorrow."
Sakiko's pretty face was burning hot, and her voice was embarrassed:
"Not tomorrow either."
Although they had already had the most intimate contact, the girl's modesty still remained.
Kitahara Makoto spoke earnestly, seemingly considering Togawa's feelings:
"If Togawa-chan keeps not going to the onsen, everyone will surely be suspicious, right?"
Sakiko: "..."
After talking with Togawa for a while, and before leaving, Kitahara Makoto also ambushed and kissed the soft and weak Togawa, then he left with Hana.
"Makoto-kun, good evening."
The long-haired girl sitting on the sofa turned to look, and although her expression remained emotionless, a clear sense of anticipation could be heard in her pleasant voice.
Evidently, Mutsumi's emotions were quietly growing.
"Good evening." Kitahara Makoto responded warmly, "Mutsumi-chan has waited a long time."
Mutsumi stayed at home all last night, had breakfast with her parents in the morning, and then came over—her mother is a famous actress, and her father is a comedian, all of them extremely busy people. Now that the pain of depression has disappeared, they naturally returned to their busy work.
After her parents went out to work, the house became an empty shell; instead, the place where Kitahara Makoto was felt more like home.
So ever since she came over in the morning, Mutsumi had not left, staying at home waiting for him to return.
"Makoto-kun, want some fruit?"
Mutsumi's eyes were filled with anticipation as she held up a tender, small cucumber in her hand.
Kitahara Makoto: "..."
Having just finished with Togawa, eating fruit now would inevitably feel a bit bland.
However, facing the girl who had been waiting for him to come home, Kitahara Makoto certainly wouldn't disappoint Mutsumi.
"I actually do want some fruit."
Kitahara Makoto walked over to the sofa and sat down beside Mutsumi.
However, the girl who was supposed to offer fruit suddenly lowered her gaze, resting it on Kitahara Makoto's shoulder.
"What's wrong, Mutsumi-chan?"
Kitahara Makoto asked, puzzled.
"Hair." Mutsumi extended a finger, pinched a blue hair from Kitahara Makoto's shoulder, and said with certainty, "It's Togawa-chan's hair."
Kitahara Makoto: "..."
It seemed that when he was bullying Togawa earlier, he accidentally dropped a strand of hair.
Crunch.
Mutsumi bit off a piece of the small cucumber, tilted her pretty face slightly, and offered the fruit.
"Lacking emotions is pretty good, at least I won't get jealous..."
Kitahara Makoto sighed in his heart.
If it were Anon, when she was about to kiss him, and suddenly found a strand of another girl's hair on Kitahara Makoto's shoulder, she would definitely be fuming like a rolling beast by now.
Crunch crunch.
The two of them ate the small cucumber together.
"Hmm..."
Mutsumi pursed her lips:
"It tastes like Togawa-chan."
No, the hair is one thing, but how did you taste it?!
Mutsumi's tone seemed to gain a hint of resentment:
"The scent on Makoto-kun's body is all Togawa-chan's scent."
"Don't say anymore." Kitahara Makoto silently got up. "I'm going to take a shower right now."
...
Ten o'clock at night.
The girls traveled over one after another, preparing to take a mixed-gender onsen bath together.
Japanese people already have a habit of bathing; as long as conditions permit, bathing every day is not a problem. A bathtub is such a small space, of course, it's not as comfortable as soaking in an onsen.
So in just a few days, the girls had already developed the habit of coming to the onsen together.
Yamada Ryo, Nijika, Kita, Anon, Soyo, Tomori, Mutsumi... As usual, Hitori, Mai, Taki, and Togawa still didn't want to come.
"Everyone hold hands." After confirming that everyone was present, Kitahara Makoto said loudly, "We're ready to go to the [Onsen Village]."
The light distorted slightly.
Kitahara Makoto and the girls vanished into thin air.
"Soaking in the onsen~ soaking in the onsen~"
"My skin really does feel better."
"My sleep is better too."
...
Although the light in the [Onsen Village] was still dim, with so many people now, the girls were naturally not afraid at all, chatting as they walked towards the onsen.
"Poke--"
As Soyo passed by Kitahara Makoto, she extended a finger and quietly poked him in the waist, then quietly slowed her steps, and before long, she fell to the very back of the group.
"Soyo missed me?"
Kitahara Makoto tacitly fell behind, asking softly.
"No way." Soyo's pretty face was slightly red, and she raised her hand to tuck the hair falling over her chest behind her ear, lowering her voice, "Mutsumi-chan has come over, why isn't Togawa-chan coming to soak in the onsen too?"
Kitahara Makoto: "..."
I'm sorry.
Togawa has already given me a gag order, forbidding me from telling you the secret of being eaten clean.
"Why isn't Kitahara-kun speaking?"
Soyo cast a puzzled look.
Kitahara Makoto lowered his voice and said:
"Togawa-chan won't let me say."
"Eh?" Soyo blinked, and her pretty face quickly showed an intrigued expression. "A secret you can't tell me... It seems something very important happened when Kitahara-kun went to Kagoshima with Togawa-chan today."
Kitahara Makoto recalled today's experience:
"Indeed, many things happened."
Soyo asked curiously:
"How's Togawa-chan's rotten old man?"
Kitahara Makoto whispered:
"That man doesn't have a job; he's a homeless person in the park."
"How awful, to have been deceiving Togawa-chan all this time…" Soyo clasped her hands behind her back. "Togawa-chan must have been very disappointed when she found out, right?"
Kitahara Makoto nodded, "Exactly."
"Hmmpf~" Soyo snorted softly. "Now it's certain. Togawa-chan not coming definitely has nothing to do with that rotten old man."
"How so?"
"Togawa-chan is actually someone who is very afraid of loneliness. After finding out she was deceived by rotten old man, she would want her friends by her side even more." Soyo extended a slender, doll-like finger and gently shook it. "Since it has nothing to do with rotten old man, then it must definitely be related to Kitahara-kun."
Kitahara Makoto: "…"
Although he really wanted to refute it, Soyo was completely right.
"Hey~"
Soyo suddenly stood on her tiptoes, leaned close to Kitahara Makoto's ear, and in a sweet, charming voice, softly called out:
"Master, what exactly happened between you and Togawa-chan today? Tell me."
"…"
Facing Soyo, who suddenly became coquettish, Kitahara Makoto couldn't help but shiver, quickly taking half a step back to create distance:
"Don't do that, I'm scared."
"Hmph." Soyo snorted softly, raising her long, swan-like neck, her pretty face flushed, and made a promise, "As long as Kitahara-kun secretly tells me what happened with Togawa-chan, you can make me call you anything you want."
Kitahara Makoto: "…"
You're really going all out to find out Togawa's secret!
"I'm sorry." Kitahara Makoto's expression was serious. "That's a secret that cannot be told."
"Eh?"
Soyo hugged her left arm to her chest, resting her right hand on her chin:
"I've offered such generous conditions, and Kitahara-kun still isn't willing to tell me. It seems like it's something you're very guilty about… Did Kitahara-kun eat Togawa-chan?"
Kitahara Makoto: "…"
"Eh eh eh? Kitahara-kun's gaze flickered for a moment just now, so that means I guessed correctly?"
Soyo's eyes widened quickly, an incredulous expression appearing on her pretty face.
Kitahara Makoto still wanted to struggle a bit:
"Soyo, you guessed wrong…"
"Liars will be impotent for life!"
Soyo quickly interrupted his words.
Kitahara Makoto was immediately speechless and couldn't help but retort:
"How can you say something so terrifying? Don't you care about your own happiness, Soyo?"
"Kitahara-kun, don't change the subject." Soyo's eyes were wide, her pretty face full of curiosity. "Kitahara-kun's points haven't been maxed out yet, so how could Togawa-chan skip dating and directly do that kind of thing with you?"
Girls, when they are smart, are indeed super smart.
At this point, it was clearly impossible to hide it, so Kitahara Makoto could only tell the truth:
"Because a lot happened today…"
"Hurry up and tell me, hurry up."
"After we met Togawa-chan's rotten old man at the park, we started touring Kagoshima, and then went to a sea cruise to watch the fireworks festival…"
"And then? Kitahara-kun, hurry up and tell me."
Soyo urged him anxiously.
As for jealousy… there was only a tiny bit, and more of it was curiosity.
After all, strictly speaking, Togawa and Kitahara Makoto knew each other before her; she was the one who was secretly taking advantage.
Kitahara Makoto said seriously:
"The rest is paid content. Soyo, stay tonight, and I'll tell you slowly."
Soyo: "…"
Next was onsen time.
Kitahara Makoto immersed himself in the onsen, exhaled contentedly, and then opened his ability panel.
Earlier, when he eliminated the octopus monster in the sea, Kitahara Makoto used [Goddess of Love's Blessing], consuming all his love points, and dealt hundreds of true damage with one punch, instantly deciding the battle.
But now, looking at it, his love points had directly surged to a thousand, which was clearly due to eating Togawa.
"Bullying Soyo last night only increased it by two hundred points… Is it related to eating Togawa-chan for the first time?"
Kitahara Makoto couldn't figure it out, so he simply closed his eyes to rest and unknowingly fell asleep.
After an unknown amount of time, a girl's soft call echoed in his ears.
"Kitahara-kun, wake up, don't sleep."
"Hmm?"
Kitahara Makoto groggily opened his eyes and saw Anon pinching his nose.
"Everyone has already finished their onsen, we can go back now."
"Okay…"
Kitahara Makoto took a deep breath and stood up.
Splash.
Water splashed.
"Eh eh eh?"
The girls all looked over, then all shyly averted their gaze.
"Lewd!"
"Awful!"
"Pervert-kun, hurry up and wrap the towel around yourself!"
"Mutsumi-chan, don't look!"
"…"
Kitahara Makoto looked down and only then realized his towel was missing. It seemed it had been washed away by the onsen after he fell asleep. His body, however, had basically recovered to peak condition under the ability of [Kidney's Brave].
Simply put, he was super energetic.
A moment later.
Kitahara Makoto and the girls returned to real world together.
"Let's go back, let's go back." Nijika stretched, her voice gentle as she said goodbye to Hana, "Hana-chan, see you tomorrow."
Hana looked up with her small face:
"Mom, see you tomorrow."
"Wait a moment." Yamada Ryo suddenly spoke. "Shall we all go on an adventure in the Dream World tonight?"
"Eh?"
Nijika immediately looked over warily.
Yamada Ryo's expression was unperturbed, as if she hadn't noticed anything, and continued:
"The new game 'Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Great Circle' has been released. It looks very interesting. Shall we all go to the Dream World tonight to play real-life treasure hunting?"
Chihaya Anon was the first to agree:
"I also saw news about this game. They say it's really good."
Going back to sleep like this would inevitably be a bit boring. Adventuring in the Dream World allows for rest and is super fun, naturally making it appealing.
With Anon leading, Kita quickly said in a clear voice:
"Then let's go on a Dream World adventure together."
Kita was originally a playful and lively person. Now that there was a large group, she didn't have to worry about being eaten, so she happily chose to stay.
Tomori said softly:
"I'm fine with anything."
When everyone went out to play, Tomori was basically always the one walking at the very back. Simply put, she rarely made decisions and often followed behind others.
Mutsumi, naturally, didn't need to be mentioned; she hadn't planned on going back in the first place.
Only a hint of regret flashed in Soyo's eyes:
"It seems I won't be able to spend time alone with Kitahara-kun tonight…"
Seeing that everyone had agreed to stay, Yamada Ryo then turned her head and looked at Nijika as if nothing had happened:
"Not a single person can be missing. Nijika, you can stay now, right?"
"…"
Nijika had no choice and finally agreed to stay, but she made up her mind that tonight, no matter what, she would not fall for it again.
"Kitahara, I'm thirsty, I want water."
Yamada Ryo leaned back on the sofa, her voice lazy.
"Again?!"
Nijika instantly tensed up.
The same trick won't work anymore! I won't fall into the same trap twice!