We won our first match.
We need two more wins to claim the event reward.
Shouko mounted Mashiro, and I and Senyuu rode Micron, and we began moving.
It’s a huge relief that Mashiro can detect the enemy’s location through her sense of smell.
Otherwise, we would have wasted time trying to find them. After walking for a while, Shouko shouted.
“Souma, Mashiro says something’s off!” “Off…?”
“Like, ‘there’s a lot of the same smell’?” “Mashiro, what does that mean—” “Kyaa!”
Just as a cute voice was heard, a figure appeared nearby. The phantoms abruptly stopped.
Looking closer, it was one of my female classmates.
Her black two-sided updo revealed a pink inner color. She was a delicate-looking girl with a youthful face and a sweet voice.
Shion was the kind of beautiful girl that boys would fall for and confess to her, but this girl was the type to actively talk to boys and lead them on.
Since first year, I’ve seen many boys who thought they were in love with her crushed. “Oh, it’s Momo-chan.”
「Shouko-chan. It’s scary, so why don’t you get down and talk for a bit?」
With tear-filled eyes, the girl called Momochi pleaded.
“Eh, eh…? Umm, sorry, I don’t think I can do that.”
The girl quickly scanned her surroundings and found me.
“A-ah, Kouno-kun. You’re Shouko-chan’s friend, right? Thanks for everything you gave me last time. I heard you made it too—” “Sousuke, it’s a waste of time. Cage.”
“…C, Chiyu-chan? You see—” “Sousuke, cage.”
Feeling the pressure from Chiyu, I dropped the stone cage over the girl’s head. “Hey, wait—!”
The girl was enveloped by the stone cage and disappeared from sight.
“Whatever you do, don’t fall for that kind of trick. Be careful.” “Y-yes…” “Chiyu-chan, you’re so unforgiving…”
I tried to regain my composure and start moving again, but something strange happened.
“Hey! Kouno-kun, that’s mean!”
The girl reappeared from the nearby shade. “Eh!?” Shouko stared in disbelief. “Sousuke, next time it’ll be a grid cage.” “A-ah.”
Chiyu’s calm voice responded, and the stone cage with bars was dropped.
“Come on…! You should have hesitated a little!” The reason was immediately understood. It was to figure out the girl’s ability.
The first stone cage had only air holes, so the inside couldn’t be seen.
It was impossible to tell if the same girl had appeared twice or if she had avoided it through high-speed movement.
“Ugh!""I didn’t want to do it!""Ryouka-chan made me do it!""And anyway, wouldn’t it be better to just get along with Mashiro’s team!?”
Several girls with the same appearance appeared.
—Illusionary ability…? No, considering she brought it to the desert island, it was probably a clone ability.
In the case of a shipwreck on a desert island, having the ability to secure manpower on your own was useful.
Moreover, since clones were copies of oneself, there was no fear of them betraying you.
“Momo-chan, clone technique!? Souma! What do we do!?”
“I don’t know how many clones she can make! Can you ask Mashiro to deal with them so none of them head towards our base!?”
Here, Mashiro’s sense of smell was needed to take down all the clones without missing any.
「Y-Yeah…! I don’t like hurting beautiful girls, but this time I have no choice!」
「Wh-What!?」「You’re making such a cute girl fight a giant dog!?」「Momo, you’re so beautiful!？」
She seems to think her cuteness is quite valuable.
I personally prefer her to be a bit more humble, but…
「I don’t want to lose, Yūko.」
「Don’t call me Yūko…! I’m not cute!」
The girl was furious after being called by her first name by Chiyo.
「Shouko, get on Micron.」「Okay!」
After confirming that Shouko had gotten on Micron, Micron began to ascend.
「Ugh…! This is impossible from the start!」
The girl’s cries could be heard from the ground, but they quickly faded away.
Since the location of the enemy base was already roughly determined and the first match had shown that bases were set up in open areas, Masiro was able to find the enemy base even without her sense of smell.
We managed to capture two girls who seemed to lack abilities in cages during the journey. ”…Here I am, Kwan-Asako!”
A beautiful girl with wavy golden long hair and small buns on both sides of her head.
This is Seiha Ryouka, the leader of an all-girl party. “You’re here, Ryouka-chan!”
“Ah, you’re here too, Kouya Souzoku? How about joining my party?”
“Your offer is kind, but I’ll pass.”
“Grngh… So you prefer Kwan-Asako, huh!” Seiha grumbled in frustration.
“Really, Souzoku… You don’t have to be so mushy here.”
Asako scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed.
I wonder where the mushy part was in that. “Sou-kun” “I know.”
The last member of the enemy team is the girl who wished for “immortality” in the first white dream.
This is an extraordinary ability, but if the event rules are followed, it can be handled by immobilizing her.
Like the other enemies, she can be rendered powerless in stone cages.
「Wait a moment. If even Yuuko Hyakugyou’s disruption failed, there’s no way this party can win. I surrender.」 Jouka dramatically raised both hands.
If you don’t want to fight, then I won’t attack you either…
「Jouka, this party isn’t about winning, is it?」
At my words, Jouka opened her eyes in surprise.
「Oh, why do you think so?」
「Well… there are many reasons, but the main one is… you don’t look upset about losing.」
When I refused to join her party, Jouka was full of competitiveness against Shouko.
But now, she’s accepting her party’s defeat so gracefully, which is a bit strange.
Also, since I didn’t see Kageha, who was in a position like a confidante during her previous visit, I thought she might have created another party.
「…I see. You’re right. This party is, in a way, a backup. Depending on how the match unfolds, we can share information between the main and backup parties, increase the number of matches to add mental strain on the enemy team, and if the main and backup parties face off, we can rig the match. There’s no downside.」
Indeed, even if her physical condition has recovered, it’s not like her mental fatigue has been healed.
Considering how mental state affects physical activity, it’s a valid strategy.
Besides, after fighting enemies with different main and sub members, you can exchange information about the enemies you fought when you finally face off against each other.
After that, you can just let the main win, so as Shouka said, there’s no loss.
At most, there might be concerns about which members are together or worrying about abilities being revealed.
“And also, an appeal to Kouzo Souzoku.” “An appeal?”
“There are many attractive girls here as well, aren’t there?”
Shouka showed a seductive smile that she rarely showed. I couldn’t help but feel a flutter in my heart. “So-kun?” “Souzoku?”
The pressure from the two behind me was intense, and I was afraid to turn around.
“W-well, my current teammates are important.”
“Oh, that’s a shame. But it’s okay, I won’t give up.” Shouka chuckled.
Then, she and the remaining one retreated to the side of the base.
“Please destroy it. Our objective has been achieved.”
Then, Miron shook its tail unhappily and pounded the enemy base with its paws, making a “bech bech bech” sound.
It seems that not only Chiyu and Shouko, but also Miron’s mood has been ruined. But, victory is victory. The enemy’s base has been destroyed.
Our vision turned white, and we were once again thrown into a completely white space.
The match was a complete victory.
But I couldn’t help but feel that “Chouka is a formidable opponent.”
-------A Request to All Readers------- If you read this work and felt even a little bit
“Interesting!” “I want to know what happens next!” “Write more!!!!” please
add it to your bookmarks
and change the ☆☆☆☆☆ button at the bottom of the page under the “Support the author by giving points” section to ★★★★★
This will be a great encouragement for future updates!!!!!!! Please do!!!!!!!