After Mutsumi couldn't hold on any longer, Kitahara sent her into the Onsen Dimension and brought Hitori out.
"Hitori, are you scared?"
Kitahara asked gently.
Hitori had been a shut-in since childhood and had never traveled far from home; now suddenly plunged into the depths of Otherworld with no idea when she could return, her heart was bound to be bewildered and uneasy.
To his surprise, Hitori shook her head gently and whispered:
"I'm not scared."
Now without the 'stranger' Uika Misumi beside them, Hitori could finally speak again.
Kitahara said softly:
"It's just the two of us now. Hitori doesn't need to force herself—if you're scared, just say it."
"I'm really not scared." Hitori tilted her face up, her peach-blossom eyes shimmering brightly as she looked over, her voice soft yet without the slightest hint of bravado, "Because... because Kitahara-san is right beside me."
Although this wasn't sweet talk, it sounded countless times sweeter than ordinary sweet nothings.
Kitahara's heart softened, recalling the moment they plummeted into Otherworld: even though Hitori had already hidden safely in a corner, she had still charged out without hesitation.
Did Hitori not know it was dangerous?
Of course she knew.
It was just that compared to danger, Hitori clearly wanted to save him more.
"I can't hold back anymore..."
Kitahara exhaled softly, looking down with a burning gaze.
"Ah?"
Hitori looked up blankly, her voice nervous:
"Is Kitahara-san hurt?"
Spreading his arms, amidst the girl's soft gasp, Kitahara pulled Hitori firmly into his embrace:
"I'm not hurt; I just couldn't resist wanting to kiss Hitori."
Earlier with too many eyes around and Hitori's super shy personality, it hadn't been convenient to make a move. Now that they were alone together, he could finally tease Hitori properly.
"Ah..."
Hitori's face flushed red instantly, both hands bracing nervously against Kitahara's chest, her head drooping shyly toward her chest.
"Lift it up," Kitahara instructed. "Hurry up and lift your head, or besides kissing, I'll do even more teasing things."
"N-No..."
Not daring to resist, Hitori could only raise her face aggrievedly; before the kiss even landed, a rosy blush had already suffused the girl's snow-white skin.
Kitahara lowered his head, gently sealing the girl's soft, moist cherry lips.
"Mgh..."
Hitori's long eyelashes fluttered shyly as she hurriedly and flusteredly closed her eyes.
The cool sensation quickly turned scorching.
Sensing Kitahara's intention, Hitori shyly parted her teeth, letting Kitahara invade, before retreating bashfully; unfortunately, her mouth was tiny to begin with, and before long she was easily caught by Kitahara, left to be teased in grievance.
A moment later.
Accompanied by a soft pop, Kitahara lifted his head.
"Haa... haa..."
The girl's hurried pants instantly sounded.
Hitori's lips parted slightly, her breathing rapid, a glistening trace of moisture resting at the corner of her lips. Her watery peach-blossom eyes looked over dazedly as she blurted out subconsciously:
"W-Why did you stop?"
(Clearly we usually kiss for so long...)
Kitahara said in all seriousness:
"Hitori needs to know when to stop and not be too greedy."
"Eeeek?!"
Hitori blinked blankly, white steam puffing out rapidly from the top of her head.
(N-Noooo!)
(To actually say something so awful, Kitahara-san will think I'm a per-per-perv... Absolutely not that sort of thing!)
(For someone who is merely a paramecium to be so greedy, I am truly a million times sorry!)
(The world is too dangerous; one slip of the tongue and you say the wrong thing. I want to go back inside Mama's tummy...)
Seeing Hitori's eyes turn into spirals, dumbfounded and silent, clearly lost in her mental theater once again, Kitahara could only extend his right hand and gently pinch her cheek.
The faint sting quickly brought Hitori back to her senses, and she hurriedly apologized in shame.
"S-Sorry...!"
"Why are you apologizing?"
Kitahara reached out with a swift scoop, tossing Hitori directly onto his shoulder, then stepped forward:
"Let's make this clear first: I like Hitori the most. What I said earlier didn't mean I dislike Hitori at all."
Without waiting for Hitori to speak, Kitahara continued explaining:
"The reason I stopped is because our time is almost up. Hitori still remembers the duration given by the Book of Answers, right?"
Suppressing her embarrassment, Hitori slowly calmed down:
"I remember... seems like five minutes?"
"Correct answer," Kitahara said as he walked. "The kissing time just now was about to hit five minutes; we had to stop and keep moving, otherwise our position would be reshuffled... Or should we try kissing while walking?"
"N-No way!"
Hitori's head shook rapidly like a rattle drum.
"Sit tight and hold on. Lady Hitori's energy is fully replenished, and now my whole body is full of strength." Kitahara took a deep breath, tuned into the guidance of the real-world anchor, and began to sprint. "I'm going to accelerate."
"T-Too fast..."
"Don't worry, guaranteed safe."
"S-Slower..."
"If you want me to slow down, that's fine too—call me boyfriend."
"..."
Spacetime in the depths of Otherworld was chaotic; mechanical watches and hourglasses had all lost their meaning, so Kitahara could only count silently in his heart to judge time.
Estimating that he had sprinted in one breath for half an hour, Kitahara's stamina could still hold out, but Hitori reached her limit first, auditory hallucinations returning as she heard her mom calling her home for dinner.
Kitahara had no choice but to stop, send Hitori back to the Onsen Dimension, and bring Taki out to continue the journey.
"Taki, sit tight and hold on."
Kitahara reached out and tossed Taki lightly onto his shoulder.
"Huh?"
Taki's eyes widened, hurriedly wrapping her arms tightly around Kitahara's neck, unable to hold back:
"You perverted Makoto, did you put Sakiko and Mutsumi on your shoulder earlier too?"
"It's completely reasonable, okay?" Kitahara said self-righteously. "The scale of this pool is exaggeratedly huge; if you walked by yourselves, your hair would turn gray before you ever got out."
"Hmph~"
Taki huffed softly, her face taut:
"You are not allowed to take advantage of Uika!"
Mutsumi, Sakiko, Hitori, and herself were one thing, but Uika was completely innocent; she absolutely would not sit by and watch Uika fall into a fiery pit.
"Rest assured, Taki," Kitahara answered with ease while sprinting forward at high speed. "In a bit I'll have Sakiko come out to relieve you, and Misumi-san can just stay in the Onsen Dimension the whole time."
Taki let out a soft huff, her tone resentful:
"Talk is cheap right now. Now that Uika has come to Otherworld, she's definitely been marked with a curse brand just like us and won't ever be able to shake it off. Over time, who knows what will happen."
Kitahara was full of righteousness: "Taki, trust in my character."
"Sorry, I don't trust it one bit," Taki retorted, then sighed helplessly. "We'll cross future bridges when we get there... Right now, who knows how long it'll take before we can return. Mom and Dad, and my sister, must be super worried, right?"
"Finding out I'm missing, mom and Dad will definitely report it to the police; when we get back to the real world, who knows how we'll explain it..."
"No need to worry about that," Kitahara comforted her softly. "With Soyo and Tomori outside, they will definitely be able to reassure your parents."
"Reassure them how?" Taki bit her lower lip gently, her voice sullen. "Phone calls won't connect, no one can see me, and relying solely on Soyo and Tomori's one-sided claims—mom and Dad might not mind for a short while, but over time they'll definitely worry, right?"
Kitahara said composedly:
"If 'Taki' personally appeared before your parents and said she was going into seclusion for training, there shouldn't be any problem, right?"
"Huh?"
Taki widened her eyes, scrutinizing Kitahara's profile:
"Is it that dream-entering ability? But who knows when mom and dad will dream about me."
"Taki guessed wrong," Kitahara shook his head. "It has nothing to do with entering dreams."
Taki couldn't resist asking:
"Then what is the method?"
Kitahara stopped in his tracks, looking over with a smile:
"If Taki takes the initiative to kiss me, I'll tell you the method."
"Indecent," Taki huffed softly. "Hurry up and say it, don't be a riddle master."
"Nope," Kitahara made up his mind to tease her. "If Taki doesn't agree, I won't tell."
"...Damn it!"
Taki clenched her fists, so angry she wanted to punch someone.
Unfortunately, a person under someone else's roof has no choice but to lower their head; in the end, she took a deep breath and leaned in resentfully to kiss him.
Planting a quick, loud peck onto Kitahara's cheek, a smug look appeared on Taki's small face:
"I've already kissed you. You only said to give a kiss earlier; kissing the cheek naturally counts as a kiss too."
Kitahara wiped his cheek: "That's true enough."
"Then hurry up and... Mmph!"
Before she could finish her sentence, Taki's tender lips were abruptly sealed.
(D-Damn it!)
Taki widened her beautiful eyes, glaring back with a mix of shame and rage.
(Clearly I already kissed him, yet he still resorted to deceit and sneak attacks!)
Seeing the 'villain' breach the gates, Taki was not like Hitori who only knew how to retreat; possessing a fiery personality, she chose to counterattack instead.
Unfortunately, sheer willpower could not bridge the gap in strength between them; she was defeated in no time, left only to be taken advantage of aggrievedly by Kitahara, only occasionally finding an opening for a tiny counterattack.
"Thank you for the feast."
Estimating that the time was about right, Kitahara released Taki with satisfaction.
"Haa... haa..."
With her small face flushed crimson, Taki glared over in sheer embarrassment and anger:
"Y-You bastard... Hurry up and tell me how I can appear in front of mom and Dad! If you were just joking around, you'd better be ready to go to prison!"
"The method is simple," Kitahara picked Taki up, tossed her back onto his shoulder, and continued running forward. "The insect girl Aoi is outside; Soyo and Tomori can take on your appearance at any time. As long as 'Taki' shows up in front of your parents, you can have as many excuses as you want."
"..."
The real world.
The Kitahara residence.
With Hana's help, the girls had already fast-traveled to Kitahara's house, and immediately following that, Nijika had Hana bring Manager-san over as well.
"What?! That brat was banished to Otherworld?!"
Seika leaned forward, clutching Nijika's arm in agitation.
"Ow..."
Nijika sucked in a gentle breath of cold air:
"Onee-chan, my arm hurts."
"Sorry..."
Feeling guilty, Seika coughed twice and quickly let go of Nijika's arm.
"How did Onee-chan get so strong?" Nijika looked over in confusion. "It felt like my arm was about to be crushed."
Seika crossed her arms over her chest: "The insect girl Aoi is on me, so my strength increased a bit."
"Eh?"
Nijika's eyes suddenly lit up with tremendous excitement:
"Aoi is on Onee-chan?"
"That's right..." Seika looked puzzled. "Why is Nijika so happy?"
"Since Aoi is on the manager, lying later won't be exposed," Ryo chimed in leisurely from the side.
Seika furrowed her brows, looking over: "What do you mean by lying?"
"Kitahara-san isn't the only one pulled into Otherworld; there's also Hitori-chan, Mutsumi, Sakiko, Taki, and Sakiko's friend," Kita explained from beside them. "No one knows when Kitahara-san will be able to return, so everyone's parents will definitely be super worried."
"So we decided to visit everyone's parents tonight and say that they have matters to attend to and can't come home for a while, keeping it covered up for as long as possible," Kita's voice turned clear and bright. "Who knew Aoi would actually be with the manager! We can completely transform into Hitori-chan and the others' appearances—that way, the lie will never be uncovered no matter what."
"...I see."
Understanding the plan, Seika extended her right hand, letting the insect girl Aoi crawl out from her palm:
"Aoi is yours to use then."
Soyo pursed her lips, feeling a little worried:
"Although we can use Aoi's transformation ability, if the gap between the disguise and the real person is too large, it will still arouse suspicion."
"Leave it to me," Anon raised her right hand, volunteering herself. "I have plenty of confidence in my acting skills."
"Then we'll leave it to Anon," Nijika exhaled softly, her golden side-ponytail swaying gently, her eyes firm. "What we need to do now is resolve everyone's worries back home, and then quietly wait for Kitahara-san to bring everyone back."
"Um..." Umiri Yahata, who had been listening quietly the whole time, suddenly spoke up, muttering a soft retort, "What if Kitahara-san can't make it back?"
Stare—
Every single girl in the living room turned their heads in unison to stare at Umiri Yahata.
"I take back what I just said," a drop of cold sweat ran down Umiri Yahata's forehead, and she hurriedly raised a hand to cover her mouth. "Please continue, pretend I said nothing."
Nijika's voice was very soft, yet her gaze was exceptionally resolute: "Kitahara-san will definitely return."
"That's right," Kita nodded in agreement. "Kitahara-san would never abandon us."
Tomori said in a calm tone: "I believe in Makoto-kun."
Soyo said in a gentle voice: "Kitahara-kun has never once let everyone down."
"..."
Looking at the girls whose trust gauges were completely maxed out, Umiri Yahata suddenly understood why these girls were willing to swallow their pride just to date Kitahara together.
Even trapped in the depths of Otherworld, Kitahara was still trusted and waited upon by the girls; aside from being handsome, he definitely possessed even more dazzling qualities.
Meanwhile.
Deep within Otherworld.
Kitahara, who was sprinting, suddenly halted his footsteps.
"Why did you stop all of a sudden?"
Taki asked in confusion.
Kitahara did not hide anything on purpose, speaking the plain truth:
"I saw a sinister ghost face appear ahead."
"There's clearly nothing in front of us..." Taki widened her eyes looking ahead, quickly realizing what it meant, her voice nervous, "You haven't rested for too long, so you're having visual hallucinations?"
"Most likely."
Kitahara nodded slightly without arguing.
Taki looked over with worry:
"Let's hurry back to the Onsen Dimension to rest."
"We can't," Kitahara shook his head, speaking in a calm voice. "Even if we enter Otherworld's sanctuary, our condition won't recover in a short time—for instance, Sakiko still feels somewhat unwell right now. Besides, once we stop, all the effort from before will be completely wasted."
Even as he spoke, Kitahara had already resumed sprinting.
Taki bit her lower lip worriedly: "But what if your body... can't hold out?"
"Don't worry, I can take it."
Kitahara had absolute confidence in himself.
For one, his ability [Sage Time] had not been used yet; secondly, none of the affix effects of the [Evolution Badge] had been activated.
Now that auditory and visual hallucinations had emerged, the [Infinite Adaptation] affix should be triggered, right?
As it turned out, Kitahara's guess was spot on.
As the hallucinations grew quietly worse, Kitahara soon felt the [Evolution Badge] warming slightly, followed by a cool sensation surging into his mind. An indescribable sense of pleasure swept across his entire body, and the effects of the hallucinations began to fade away bit by bit.
However, the cost was just as noticeable.
Adaptive evolution had to obey the law of conservation of energy; Kitahara could clearly feel his mental and physical energy depleting rapidly.
"Don't push yourself too hard; even resting for just a little while is fine..."
Taki was still worriedly trying to dissuade him.
"..."
Kitahara turned a deaf ear and kept sprinting.
Ninety miles is only half of a hundred-mile journey; stopping now would render all previous efforts useless.
Kitahara would rather face monsters head-on than remain trapped in such a solitary and bizarre pool structure.
Seeing that her persuasion was futile, Taki could only bite her lower lip and cling tightly onto Kitahara's neck, silently praying in her heart that they could leave as soon as possible so Kitahara could stop and rest.
Perhaps some unseen existence heard Taki's prayers; just as the worry in Taki's heart was about to reach its peak, she suddenly felt as though they crashed through an invisible barrier. With a crisp crack, the world before their eyes changed drastically, shifting in an instant from the eerie, deathly quiet swimming pool into an endless desert.
"Phew..."
Kitahara exhaled softly and came to a stop. He could clearly feel that he had taken a significant step forward toward the real-world anchor; although the total distance was still very vast, it was nonetheless something to celebrate.
"Eh? We left the pool?"
Taki's eyes lit up as she excitedly took in her surroundings, finding that the two of them were standing on a dilapidated highway that stretched out indefinitely. The sides of the road were littered with rusted, abandoned vehicles as far as the eye could see; although there was no sun overhead, the air was filled with an unbearable, scorching heat.
"Thank goodness, we're finally out..." Taki looked happily toward Kitahara, but the smile on her face suddenly froze. "You perverted Makoto, why have your eyes turned red?"
"Red?"
Kitahara paused slightly; feeling his somewhat groggy thoughts, he quickly understood that it was likely a side effect of the Evolution Badge.
"I told you not to push yourself!" Taki's small face tightened, her tone brooking no argument. "Hurry back to the Onsen Dimension with me right now!"