"Commence operation."
"Codename... Beating Otherworld starting from scratch!"
Knowing that Hana couldn't make a 'divine descent from the heavens', Kitahara decisively chose to initiate self-rescue mode.
Having finished resting and recuperating in the [Onsen Dimension] and changing into a clean set of clothes, Kitahara prepared to leave the Onsen Dimension and punch his way through Otherworld all the way back home.
If Joel and Ellie, two ordinary people, could cross the entirety of America, it wasn't too much for him to beat his way through Otherworld, right?
"I'm ready to head out," Kitahara sorted out his backpack and luggage, looking toward the girls. "You all stay in the Onsen Dimension and get some good rest."
"I will act together with Kitahara-kun."
Sakiko stepped forward decisively, saying softly:
"With an extra pair of eyes observing the surroundings, it'll be safer after all."
Having this sentiment was enough, but bringing you along might not necessarily make things safer—it could very well hold me back!
Mutsumi simply stepped forward, wrapping both arms tightly around Kitahara's arm, her gaze resolute:
"Makoto-kun, I want to go too."
As she spoke, she lowered her voice, murmuring her innermost thoughts:
"It's the perfect chance for Makoto-kun to punish me..."
Give it a rest! Don't let your whole head be filled with lewd thoughts!
Seeing Sakiko step out to help, Uika Misumi naturally wouldn't stay behind all alone, raising her right hand and speaking in a small voice:
"I-I can help too."
Helping is an excuse; wanting to stay glued to Sakiko's side is the real truth, right!
Taki crossed her arms over her chest, the teardrop mole at the corner of her eye looking quite adorable, forming a gap-moe contrast with her serious, earnest tone:
"Don't be careless and conceited; we'll be right beside you to supervise you."
Supervision wasn't needed, but being able to provide emotional value was more than enough to satisfy him.
"U-Um..."
Hitori looked over pitifully; although she didn't dare speak loudly, the meaning in her peach-blossom eyes was exceptionally easy to read—she clearly wanted to move together as well.
"Then let's go out together to check out the situation."
After hesitating for two seconds, Kitahara finally agreed.
He had originally intended to move alone, but now it seemed that wasn't going to happen; extending his right hand, he led the girls out of the Onsen Dimension together.
As far as the eye could see, everyone seemed to be inside a gigantic swimming pool filled with spiral staircase structures stretching endlessly beyond sight, the surface of the walls covered in completely identical white ceramic tiles; clearly there were no lighting fixtures, yet the space was permeated with a gentle luminescence.
An artificial structure and gentle luminescence undoubtedly provided a considerable sense of security.
"Phew~ We're out."
Sakiko exhaled lightly, quickly pulling herself together and surveying the surroundings with vigilance.
Hitori, on the other hand, quietly wrapped her arms around herself: "The temperature outside feels even lower than in the Onsen Dimension."
Taki widened her eyes, looking around in all directions: "In the depths of the dangerous Otherworld, there's actually a giant swimming pool that was clearly built by humans; it's obviously super bizarre... but I don't feel the urge to roast it at all."
"Um..." Uika Misumi said in a small voice beside her, "Taki is roasting it right now, you know."
Kitahara switched to a serious state, solemnly instructing:
"This place looks safe, but after all, it is Otherworld; no one knows what lurks in the dark. If anyone discovers anything abnormal or feels physically unwell, do not hesitate—make sure to tell me immediately."
"Understood~"
Hearing the girls' synchronized reply, Kitahara closed his eyes slightly, sensing the coordinates of the girl anchor in the real world, and then took a step forward:
"Keep up, let's head home."
"..."
The girls stepped forward to follow one after another; at first, their moods were quite relaxed, chatting in low voices from time to time, but after walking for who knows how long, the atmosphere quickly grew somber.
First was the silence.
The massive space was exceptionally quiet—it could even be described as dead silence—with only the occasional drip-drop of water falling from high above; aside from that, only the sound of everyone's breathing remained.
Next were the emptiness and boundlessness.
Although they weren't sure exactly how long they had walked, the swimming pool seemed endless; water slides, diving boards, lifebuoys and inflatable beach balls floating on the water, alongside nearly identical massive staircases—everything appeared very normal, but as time dragged on, it grew stifling enough to make one breathless.
"Kitahara-kun, there is more and more graffiti on the walls."
Sakiko said softly.
"Noticed it," Kitahara nodded lightly. "For now, the meaning of the graffiti remains unclear; let's keep observing."
When they first started moving, the walls were pristine and smooth, but as they walked, graffiti of indeterminate meaning began to appear; at first, the girls observed carefully, wanting to analyze the meaning of the graffiti, and Taki even suggested sketching the graffiti into a notebook, but as the amount of graffiti grew larger and larger, they could only give up helplessly in the end.
Mutsumi knitted her delicate brows slightly: "Staring at the graffiti for too long makes my head dizzy."
Kitahara stated solemnly:
"From a scientific perspective, when humans view a large quantity of patterns with unknown meaning, psychological stress increases rapidly, thereby causing symptoms of dizziness and nausea."
"U-Um..."
Hitori's stammering voice suddenly sounded.
"Hitori, what's wrong?"
Taki turned her head to look over.
"The light has dimmed," Hitori looked around nervously, whispering, "There were shadows on the ground earlier, but now the shadows are gone."
"Eh?"
Taki's eyes widened in surprise:
"The light really did dim... How did I not notice at all?"
Kitahara said in all seriousness:
"From a scientific perspective, human perception does not originate from oneself, but from feedback provided by the surrounding environment; a monotonous, dull environment numbs our brain, causing us to slightly lose our perception of time."
"Everyone, look back quickly," Uika Misumi's voice was tense, "The stairs we just climbed up... have vanished!"
Kitahara and the girls turned their heads to look behind them, only to find that the stairs behind them had already disappeared without a trace, turning into a wall painted with bizarre graffiti.
"How could the stairs mysteriously vanish?" Taki nervously swallowed her saliva, looking up toward Kitahara, "This couldn't still be explainable by science, could it?"
"There actually is a scientific explanation," Kitahara scanned his surroundings, "This place is very likely a non-Euclidean space."
"Eh?"
Taki's face was full of bewilderment.
"I've heard of it," Sakiko crossed her arms over her chest, speaking softly, "It's a chaotic and disordered space where many two- and three-dimensional theorems known to humanity are overturned."
"To give two simple examples," Kitahara added from the side, "Parallel lines might intersect here, and the Pythagorean theorem might not hold true; you might be walking in a straight line, but could very well end up back at the starting point."
"That sounds so terrifying..."
Uika Misumi wrapped her arms tightly around herself in fear.
"Stay steady, don't panic," Kitahara looked calm, his voice not loud yet inexplicably reassuring, "Spacetime here may be volatile and unpredictable, but as long as we follow the guidance of the anchor, we can definitely walk our way out."
In truth, Kitahara had long discovered the chaos and disorder here; no wonder the only way out was following the guidance of the real-world anchor—even Hana would likely lose her way if she came.
While they spoke, the surrounding light grew increasingly dim.
If before it was like a room on an overcast day, now it was an evening blanketed by twilight; as the light darkened rapidly, an ever-stronger sense of oppression surged forth.
"The light is getting dimmer and dimmer," the environment became increasingly sinister and oppressive; even Sakiko, who possessed the most resilient mind, could not help feeling nervous at this moment, "Kitahara-kun, share your ability with us?"
"Alright."
Kitahara nodded in agreement.
Sakiko had originally planned to step forward directly, but suddenly catching sight of Mutsumi staying silent beside them, she lifted her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, saying softly:
"Mutsumi, you go first."
"Thank you, Sakiko."
Mutsumi thanked her softly, took a step in front of Kitahara, and then stood on tiptoes to kiss him directly.
"Eh, eh, eh?!"
Shocked, Uika Misumi raised her hands to cover her face, though the gaps between her fingers opened up inquisitively on their own:
"What is Mutsumi-san doing?!"
Taki crossed her arms over her chest, explaining softly to her best friend:
"The sky is too dark, so Kitahara-san plans to share the ability of [Supernatural Vision] with us... Kissing is the necessary ritual to share abilities."
"There's actually such a thing..." Uika Misumi suddenly realized, turning to look at her best friend, lowering her voice, "Um, isn't Taki dating Kitahara-san?"
Taki: "..."
Although she wanted to deny it out of embarrassment, no one knew how long they would have to stay in Otherworld; being together day and night, it was impossible to keep it hidden after all.
So after hesitating for two seconds, Taki ultimately chose to expose herself.
"That fellow Kitahara is a harem scumbag!"
"Eh?"
"A great deal of things happened in between, but in short... everyone currently acknowledges the fact that we're dating Kitahara-san together."
Uika Misumi widened her beautiful eyes, raising a hand to cover her mouth in shock.
"With Taki's personality, she actually agreed to that sort of thing..."
Taki's small face burned hot; exposing herself naturally still brought shame after all, so she turned her head to change the subject:
"Sakiko was already completely devoured long ago."
Pfft—
Uika Misumi clutched her chest with her right hand, feeling as if an arrow had pierced right through her heart.
Learning the secret that Taki and Kitahara were dating together had only made Uika Misumi curious, but hearing at this moment that Sakiko had already been completely devoured by Kitahara, Uika Misumi felt like the whole sky had collapsed.
(N-No way!)
(Why would someone as noble and pure as Sakiko agree to such an absurd thing?)
(Could she have been forced into the harem by Kitahara-san?)
Uika Misumi even tried to forcefully comfort herself.
Unfortunately, before long, she saw Sakiko step forward, her pretty face blushing slightly as she took the initiative to stand on her tiptoes.
Kitahara lowered his head, lightly planting a peck on Sakiko's lips.
Watching the two of them kiss with her own eyes, the last sliver of hope in Uika Misumi's heart finally shattered.
Without a shadow of a doubt.
Sakiko had not been forced; she was dating Kitahara-san together of her own free will...
With the ability sharing complete, Kitahara turned to look at Taki:
"Taki, it's your turn."
"Humph~"
Taki let out a soft huff, walking over with a flushed face.
"Make it quick."
Being kissed right in front of her best friend was indeed embarrassing, but compared to the self-exposure just now, the embarrassment was nothing anymore.
Next was Hitori.
Hitori had indeed grown a lot during this time; in the past, whenever a stranger was present, she wouldn't even dare to speak, let alone obediently letting Kitahara share his ability like this now.
"Only the last person remains..."
Kitahara wiped the corner of his lips, subconsciously looking toward Uika Misumi.
Uika Misumi's pretty face flushed red in an instant, hurriedly shaking her head:
"I-I don't need it!"
Sharing abilities required kissing—how could she possibly agree!
A girl's first kiss is a super, super important thing! She wasn't going to give it away so easily!
"Keep your hands off Uika!"
Taki spread her arms, swiftly shielding her best friend like a baring-teeth kitten.
"I have zero interest in Misumi-san whatsoever," Kitahara raised both hands, "I just wanted to ask if Misumi-san wants to head back to the Onsen Dimension."
Hearing the first half of Kitahara's sentence, Uika Misumi subconsciously puffed out her cheeks; having her charm denied naturally made her unhappy.
"I'm not going back," Uika Misumi shook her head hurriedly, "Even though my eyes can't see clearly, I... but I can hold onto Taki's arm!"
Taki looked up at her friend, her tone lingering:
"Uika clearly hesitated just now... You actually wanted to hold Sakiko's arm, didn't you?"
Feeling guilty, Uika Misumi looked away: "I-I didn't at all."
Taki: "Still saying you didn't—guilt is already written all over your face!"
"..."
The journey back continued.
Kitahara led the girls forward, originally intending to punch their way out, but unfortunately after walking for so long, they hadn't encountered a single monster.
Instead, as time went on, the darkness grew increasingly dense.
After having the ability shared, the girls successfully unlocked night vision, and the nervousness in their hearts was significantly reduced, but Uika Misumi couldn't.
Even though she was holding onto Taki's arm, the tension in her heart never faded, to the point where visual hallucinations soon emerged.
"D-Don't come over..."
Uika Misumi suddenly cried out in panic, immediately drawing everyone's gaze.
"Uika, what's wrong?"
Taki hurriedly asked.
"There's a monster..." Uika Misumi pointed a finger, her face pale, "A grimace ghost face is floating over there!"
Kitahara and the girls looked over together; not far away was only a wall full of graffiti, with no ghost face in sight.
"Something feels off," Sakiko held a flashlight in hand, her delicate brows knitting slightly, "It hasn't been dark for long, and everyone is right by her side—there's no reason for Uika to have visual hallucinations."
Kitahara looked toward the other girls:
"Have any of you seen or heard strange things?"
"Um..." Hitori stammered, raising a small hand, "I heard my mom calling me home for dinner."
Kitahara: "..."
"It seems the surrounding environment not only affects our perception of spacetime, but also causes auditory and visual hallucinations," Sakiko pursed her lips, suggesting in a soft voice, "Kitahara-kun, let's head back to the Onsen Dimension to rest for a bit; if this goes on, the situation will definitely get worse and worse."
Uika had already developed visual hallucinations, and Hitori heard her mother calling her home to eat... proving that even with night vision, sanity was still continuously dropping.
"Let's go, back to the Onsen Dimension to rest first."
Kitahara nodded slightly, leading the girls back to the Onsen Dimension together.
A moment later, Kitahara and the girls received some good news.
After eating, drinking, and soaking in the onsen, the sanity values of Uika Misumi and Hitori were successfully replenished, and they no longer suffered from symptoms of hallucinations.
However, bad news immediately followed.
After Kitahara led the girls out of the Onsen Dimension, the location they emerged in was not the safety exit on the second floor, but beside the pool on the first floor; the darkness had vanished, turning back into bright daylight.
"Not only was there a switch between night and day, but even the location changed," Kitahara frowned slightly, "It seems the spacetime chaos is even more severe than imagined."
Taki looked over with worry: "What should we do then?"
Kitahara said decisively:
"Wait in place."
"Eh?"
"Wait for the Book of Answers to finish cooling down, and then ask for a way to leave."
"..."
Kitahara's proposal quickly received unanimous agreement from the girls.
The surface area of the swimming pool was far larger than imagined, and now that everyone's location had shifted again, even with the anchor guiding the direction, whether they could walk out before darkness fell remained an unknown.
Time trickled by silently minute by minute, and amid the quiet waiting, the Book of Answers finally finished its cooldown.
"Great, it's question time again."
Kitahara took out the Book of Answers and handed it to Sakiko.
"Sakiko, you go first."
"Okay."
Using several question attempts, Kitahara and the girls finally figured out their environment and the method of escape.
Here, sanity would continuously drop as time passed; once it dropped to a certain level, auditory and visual hallucinations would occur, and if one stayed in a single location for more than five minutes, the space would reorganize.
"In other words, the only way to leave this place is to keep moving without stopping until we walk out in one continuous go."
Kitahara exhaled softly, looking at the girls beside him, speaking warmly:
"You guys go to the Onsen Dimension first, and leave the rest to me."
With the ability [Sage Time] and the Evolution Badge in hand, Kitahara was confident he could walk all the way out in one breath.
"No," Sakiko shook her head quickly, her gaze firm, "There isn't a single sound here; it's far too oppressive for Kitahara-kun to move alone. Someone must stay by your side."
Before Kitahara could refuse, Sakiko said softly:
"We can take turns accompanying you. For example, I'll stay to accompany Kitahara-kun first while letting Taki and the others rest in the Onsen Dimension; when I can no longer hold on, someone else can come out to replace me."
"This is a good idea," Taki's eyes lit up, "Taking turns is the best way."
Mutsumi: "I agree."
Hitori: "I-I agree too."
The girls cast their votes in favor one after another.
Pondering for two seconds, he ultimately agreed:
"Then I'll be troubling you all."
"..."
Discussion concluded.
Taki, Mutsumi, Hitori, and Uika returned to the Onsen Dimension first, leaving only Sakiko behind.
"Walking is really too slow..."
Kitahara stretched his limbs slightly, then decisively picked up Sakiko and slung her over his shoulder.
"Sit tight and hold on, I'm taking off."
Sakiko's face blushed slightly as she hugged Kitahara's neck tightly:
"Let's set off."
"..."
Kitahara carried Sakiko forward along the way; after who knows how long, Sakiko began having auditory hallucinations, so he decisively swapped partners.
The second girl to come out as a companion was Mutsumi.
"Makoto-kun, there's no one around now," Mutsumi's eyes sparkled, "Hurry up and punish me."
The corner of Kitahara's mouth twitched slightly: "It's too dangerous here; at least wait until we get out."
"It doesn't matter, Makoto-kun can hold me," the blockhead classmate uttered bold, shocking words with a deadpan face, "I saw a position in a manga..."
"Stop talking! In the future, do not read doujinshi alone!"
Kitahara scooped Mutsumi up, tossed the blockhead classmate onto his shoulder, and sprinted forward following the direction guided by the real-world anchor.