The Four-Staff Deep Method.
She was the earnest class monitor, shaking her dignified, long black hair tied in a ponytail as she struggled daily to maintain order in the class.
Perhaps feeling an air of approachability due to her strict and upright attitude, she didn’t seem to have many friends, but I had developed good feelings for her.
The path she chose was—“Elemental Magic.”
I had no chance to know it at school, but it seemed she harbored the same dream of becoming a wizard as anyone else.
We reunited on this island and rapidly closed the distance between us, and today, we were about to cross that final line.
After lights-out, she came visiting my room.
She held a lantern in her hand, its light casting a thin glow over her face.
Her eyes glistened with moisture, her cheeks were flushed, and her lips gleamed.
From her body wafted the faint scent of flowers.
“Did you use the lip balm right away…?”
“Eh… yes. Is it strange?”
「No, it suits you. Honestly, my heart skipped a beat when I saw you in it」
For some reason, Fumihō seemed to lack confidence in her own appearance, so I made sure to convey my true impressions clearly to her.
「R-right. Thank you. I’ll be careful to take good care of it」
「If it ever breaks or disappears, just tell me and I’ll make another one. Don’t hold back using it」
“Heh, I’m not saying we should skimp on it.”
“I know.”
She probably wanted to convey that she would use it with gratitude in mind.
Fumihō smiled softly at my joke.
Had the tension eased up a little for her?
「I only got a brief glimpse, but this room is really spacious」
My room is uniquely divided into a private area and a bedroom, but beyond that, each of my rooms is significantly larger than anyone else’s.
「Ah. I guess coming back to Japan now, the other side of the room is likely to feel cramped in comparison」
“Yes. Being cast away on a desert island and now living in a room bigger than before… it’s odd, I guess.”
“Indeed.”
They glanced at each other and laughed.
And then, Shinpou’s expression turned serious.
“It’s all thanks to Sounosuke.”
「Securing the timber and stone was thanks to Fukaho’s magic. I, for instance, had to use an axe and take my time to fell trees at first」
I remember that right after we teleported here, I managed to cut down a single tree, getting my hands covered in blood in the process.
But now, thanks to Fukaho’s wind magic, I can slice through them left and right. It’s been a huge help.
「……I’m glad if I’ve been useful」
Fukaho let out a small voice, looking genuinely pleased.
“Shinhou is knowledgeable, level-headed, and hardworking. I’ve really been helped a lot in so many ways.”
“S-so…”
Fukaho fiddled with her ponytail, blushing with embarrassment.
For a moment, about ten seconds, the silence stretched between them.
“Hey, Fukumi.”
“Y-Yes?”
Her voice was thin with tension.
”……As I’ve told the three of you, right now, I’m dating all of them—Sena, Shion, and Moyoko.”
“W-What?”
Fukaho nodded, her face wearing a worried expression.
「On top of that…
I like you too」 「――――」
Confessing feelings is nerve-wracking no matter how many times you do it.
Shinhou opened her eyes wide, then blinked several times in quick succession.
”……It’s not that you’re just being considerate or accommodating, is it?”
“I’m not like that. Sure, if I had stayed in Japan, I probably wouldn’t have thought this way. But we actually came to this island and spent time together, didn’t we? It’s only natural for our thoughts and feelings to be different from how they were when we were back home, right?”
“T-That is… true. I think if I hadn’t come to this island, I wouldn’t have been able to get so close to everyone else. A-and doing all those things with you, Soshu-san, that probably would have never happened either.”
Perhaps recalling their previous intimacy, Shinhou’s face turned red.
“I can tell.”
“T-Then, is it true?”
“Of course.”
Deep Law trembled violently, and in the next instant, she crashed into my chest.
“Wah!”
I gently caught her.
Our lanterns swayed back and forth, causing the shadows in the room to ripple wildly.
As I felt the warmth of her body against mine, she looked up at me through her lashes.
“I like you too, Soshu-san.”
She had told me she liked me during our previous encounters, but this time was far more intense than anything that had come before.
Struck by a shock as if my heart had just been pierced through, I was left speechless.
After gazing at each other for a few seconds, we unconsciously leaned in and closed the distance between our lips.
As soon as his lips left hers, he pressed them together again, as if craving more.
Chuu… chuu… The sound continued for a while, until the faint rasp of each other’s breathing grew a little heavier.
It was then that I realized something.
Until now, my bedroom and sleeping quarters had been one and the same, so even after a girl came to visit, things would naturally flow into that direction.
After all, we’d usually start our conversations while I was already sitting on the bed.
But with the sleeping areas now separated, I needed to add an extra step: inviting her to the bed.
I realized anew just how much I had relied on girls’ proactivity up until now.
Pulling away slightly from her, I took her hand in mine and gently tugged her toward the bedroom.
“Fukumi, is that okay…?”
“Y-Yes.”
Accompanied by Fukumi, I made my way to the sleeping quarters.
Inside the bedroom sat a bed so massive it invited the urge to ask which king it belonged to.
Though, since I was the one who built it, self-deprecating humor hardly counted.
We placed our respective lanterns on the bedside table, and I blew out one of the flames.
In the meantime, Fukumi had moved to the center of the bed.
With a soft thud, she lay back, staring up at me solely with her eyes.
“Being behind the other two felt a bit frustrating, but… maybe this was for the best.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’m the first one to be on this bed.”
The alluring aura emanating from earnest, upright Shinhouo made me involuntarily swallow hard.
I gently climbed onto the bed and approached her.
Tomorrow was…
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