I head to the living room with Chiya.
It doesn’t matter where, as long as we’re alone.
Using my [Craft Ability], I generate a cashmere muffler and finish up the preparations.
“Could you close your eyes?”
“Mm. It’s totally okay to kiss me anytime, even without this setup.”
“No… well, whatever.”
With her eyes closed, Chiya really did look like she was waiting for a kiss, making my heart skip a beat.
But that wasn’t my goal.
I positioned the cashmere muffler so it wrapped around Chiya’s neck.
”…?”
“You can open your eyes now.”
”—. So, Sou-kun, this is…”
Chiya’s eyes widened slightly.
“Look, didn’t you say on the first day that you wanted one of these? This is genuine cashmere from a cashmere goat.”
Chiya checked the texture of the muffler wrapped around her neck.
Then, in a small voice, she said:
”…You remembered such trivial conversation?”
“Even I was surprised by that… Was it really that noticeable?”
“Mm. Back when we were in Japan, Sou-kun must have been the insensitive protagonist type.”
“Well, first of all, I’m not the protagonist.”
Being the main character was something that could only happen in fiction.
I mean, sure, we were being dragged into a situation that felt like fiction…
“I’m just joking around. So-san-kun’s hearing isn’t bad, you remember all the old stuff fine, and you don’t ever misread a room. If I’d confessed to my safe, guaranteed childhood crush, I would’ve done it before we hit high school.”
“Ugh…”
It was true that I hadn’t fully trusted Chiya’s feelings.
If I had been certain I could be with her, I would have confessed long ago.
In other words, I wasn’t just slow on the uptake; I simply lacked the resolve.
Getting stranded on a desert island was what finally allowed me to express my feelings.
Before I knew it, a harem had formed, turning things into something far from normal.
“So-san-kun.”
“What’s up?”
Hiding the lower half of her face with her muffler, cheeks flushed and eyes glistening, Chiya stared at me. “Thank you. I’m really happy.”
Just seeing that look on her face made all the hard work of shaving off my hair seem worth it.
“You’re welcome. Everyone else helped out, too.”
“Mm. But So-san-kun, you should give these to everyone else, too. For a harem, you can’t treat the girls any differently.”
That was very much like Chiya to say.
He is immediately mindful of keeping this group together and considering the feelings of the women present.
“Aha, haha… That works out perfectly. I was just about to start making scarves for everyone anyway.”
“That will do. For me… the fact that Sou-kun remembered, and that it was the first gift he ever gave me, is more than enough. It maintains the dignity of my status as the principal wife.”
I tried not to touch on the matter of her being the principal wife.
“Leaving the scarf aside for now, I actually have enough material left over for one sweater. I was planning to fulfill Chiiru’s request and generate something for her, but does she have a specific design in mind?”
“Yes.”
“Oh? Then let me hear it.”
“‘A Sweater That Kills My Virginity.’”
My childhood friend said it with their usual blank expression.
I froze on the spot without thinking.
”———”
“You want me to say it again?”
“No, it’s fine. I heard you clearly.”
“I see.
I fully expected you to say, ‘I’m not a virgin anymore, but…’” “I wouldn’t be that arrogant.”
“That was just a joke.”
“Right, right. So then… um, that’s the thing? The sweater Chiiru wants is the kind with a short hemline, off-the-shoulder cut, open back, and some designs even lack fabric covering the chest area, right?”
“Mm. I desire a design where not just the cleft, but the skin above and below the breasts is visible.”
Why does this conversation always steer towards fulfilling a man’s dreams?
It was a pleasant surprise, but the sheer convenience of the situation left him at a loss.
“If Chiyu wants one, I’ll make it… But hey, don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”
“The fact that Sou-kun is happy brings me the greatest joy. Sou-kun also tried his best for my sake.”
“Ah… Well, fair enough. I did imagine seeing you happy when I hunted the goat’s wool, but……”
“It’s the same thing.”
“Is it really?”
“Sou-kun should wear anything if I told you to, right?”
“Nah, I’d want to accommodate you as much as possible, but there are limits.”
“Like wearing a dress or doing reverse bunny girl outfits, you’d definitely do those.”
“I’m sorry, but it seems our feelings for each other differ in intensity. I don’t have that kind of resolve.
“That’s not true.”
“I’m not wearing one.
Absolutely not.”
Besides, Chiyu shouldn’t have had that kind of fetish.
“Sousuke-kun~. I’m making lunch, so could you come out and bring Fukuma-san and Chiyu? Since we’re going anyway, maybe we should eat outside for lunch too?”
Shion’s voice came from the entrance.
“Ah, got it~”
So, I called back with a slightly louder voice.
“I’ll go get Fukuma.”
“Mm. Miorin’s ass might be attractive and all, but try not to keep everyone waiting for too long, okay?”
“I, I understand…”
It seemed that our sexual encounters were being shared among the women, apparently used to refine their movements to better suit my quirks and preferences. Still, the fact that any of those acts had been caught out remained a source of profound embarrassment for me.
I went up to the second floor to call out to Fukaho, and we headed outside together.
For lunch today, we were served cutlets made from venison and wild boar.
There was also miso soup and pickles—apparently fermented for just one night.
If only we had rice, it would’ve been the perfect katsudon set meal.
Shion had at least prepared some of the bread she’d baked as a backup.
Well, katsu sando did exist in the world, so I supposed the combination wasn’t exactly incompatible.
I wanted rice badly, but since wheat had been chosen over it last time when given a binary choice, I had no idea when the opportunity to get some would come around again.
“Shi-chan is the best~”
“Roa-chan helped out too, you know.” “Roa-tee is the best~” “That’s… humbling.” “It really is delicious.” “Mm. The bread’s good too.”
“It’s really delicious, though. But… is there some unwritten rule that the menu has to be stuff guys would like during the day, and something different at night?”
He flinched.
Yumekai’s remark made Shion’s shoulders tremble.
It seemed Shion had been tilting the menu slightly in my favor when planning out the meals.
It seemed some of the members had been sizing her up, too, as Fuminori and Roa wore smug little smiles.
“Hm? I think it’s fine with me.”
“Shouko, haven’t you gained a bit of flesh? It was supposed to be brutal life on a desert island, but have you been eating too much good food?”
“N-Now, now, don’t say things like that! …No, well, maybe a little. But it’s okay because there exists this ‘Senju-style’ diet method that makes you lose weight rapidly!”
“Haa…? There’s no way such a thing exists.”
“Actually, it does, Yume-sensei.
Sojusou-san’s body has actually gotten toned up using it,” Fuminori explained.
“Ahh, right. If you apply ‘Strength Enhancement’ and then move your body, it makes you tired to the point of death. But if someone applies a ‘Basic Heal’ there, your stamina recovers. So by repeating that process, you can achieve an insane amount of exercise in a short period.”
Yume, who had looked incredulous at first, now fell into a pensive expression after hearing the explanation.
”…So, by exercising efficiently and removing the limits of physical endurance, it means I can do several months’ worth of training in a single day? …If ‘Healing Magic’ can also cure muscle fatigue, then it’s feasible. It seems like I could even train my cardiopulmonary function.”
“Mm. The downside is that it hurts to the point of death. You handled it well, Sou-kun.”
“Aha ha ha. Well, back then, winning the event was part of it, too.”
At school, there are times when long-distance running times are measured, but humans with zero physical endurance end up completely spent. The old me was no different.
The pain from back then was intense enough to curse the world, but the fatigue I felt after using Strength Enhancement for high-speed movement was several times worse.
That said, things were manageable because Chiyu had Beginner Healing.
Honestly, without Beginner Healing, I couldn’t even perform consecutive actions.
“I see. And Sayoko, are you truly prepared to endure the diet?”
“Of course! After eating, I was planning to have Chiyu-chan accompany me! I just… need to resolve this by today.”
“By today?”
“N-Nothing!”
Yume turned her head in confusion as Sayoko covered her embarrassment with a flushed face.
My own cheeks grew slightly warm, too.
Right, Sayoko is on night duty today.
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