We had defeated two unique monsters and returned to base.
The Seiou party ended up setting their base in the same grassland as we did, but the two locations were separated by Serina’s barrier, preventing any unauthorized individuals from crossing between them.
Our first priority was to drop off the members of the Seiou party, so we headed toward their side.
“Kudo So-suke!”
No sooner had we dismounted our phantoms than Seiou lunged into my arms.
“Whoa—! W-w-what’s wrong, Seiou?”
The breasts pressed against me, the swaying beautiful blonde hair, and the scent of her perfume were all too much to process; I was too confused to register anything else.
“That’s so unfair, Suzuka-chan! Isn’t that Momo’s job!?”
The real Momo, waiting at the base, puffed out her cheeks in irritation.
“Thank you! Thanks to you, we didn’t have to lose Hakuara Yuuko!”
Her words, accompanied by tears brimming in her eyes, made everything click into place.
When the slime had engulfed Momo’s clone, it became impossible to dispel that clone.
What’s more, all the clones had collapsed from breathlessness, dropping to their knees.
It must have shared its state with the captured clone, and if that’s the case, it stands to reason that the main body remaining in this area would also suffer the effects.
Seeing a comrade suddenly overcome by such agony right before you—how anxious and worried would one not become?
Even though the Great Slime was taken down quickly, a matter of only a few minutes, it must have been incredibly shocking.
When Momo regained consciousness, she no doubt felt a profound sense of relief.
She was surely shaken to her core more than any of us who were present, or at least as much as we were.
Everyone doesn’t just follow Sumikaze because she possesses “Charisma.”
Independent of her leadership skills, it is precisely because she possesses such a humane side that she can unite the girls as one.
I felt I had come to understand another facet of Sumikaze’s allure.
Gently, I patted her back a few times.
“It’s okay.”
”…Mm-hmm.”
“Also, Shinfuu and Inzai did the bulk of the hard work, so I’ll leave it to you to give them the hugs.”
“Fufu. Yes. But, this is only for you. That’s how it works with you, after all.”
Sumikaze said so with a laugh, wearing her usual confident expression, and that radiance made my heart skip a beat. “Mm. Caught in the act.”
「Seriously, I think it’s only a matter of time before Sōsuke lands all twenty-four women at once.
Chiya and Serina say this in their cold, flat tones.
Twenty-four? That’s every single woman on this island.
「Hmm. I’m certainly not averse to that future myself, but in that case, I aim for the title of primary wife.」
Seihō, having stepped back from me, stood before Chiyu with a provocative smile.
“I accept your challenge.”
Chiya closes the distance with a single step, looking up at Sumifuu.
Caught in that moment, their chests collide. Neither backs down, and as a result, their breastlines merge together into a soft, squishy mound.
The two were showering sparks, a sight that was intensely painful on the eyes for me to behold.
“Open!”
Unable to pull my gaze away, I find Momoko herself clinging to my arm.
On my other side, Serina has appeared without a sound.
「Sōsuke-kun, thank you so much for real.」
Blushing with tears welling in her eyes, Momoko offered her gratitude.
She wasn’t radiating the little devilish charm she used to have, but instead, she was overflowing with the appeal of an equal-sized, genuine girl. 「Y-You’re welcome…」
「Just like I said earlier, Sō-suke. The first cats in should get the priority, right?»
Yorina, who had been projecting an air of lone-wolf coolness, was now pouting cutely with her cheeks puffed out.
The girls of the Seiō party were taken aback by this behavior, which was completely unimaginable for Yorina before the transfer.
«Buu buu.
If you keep talking like that, the kids who moved in later will never be able to catch up!» «I don’t care.» «Oho-ho!
That’s rich coming from you!»
Momone was likely trying to call it out as tyrannical or unfair.
«Th-That… if that’s how it is, then I…»
Saying this, Fukaho threw her arms around his back from behind. She held him in a tight, modest but firm embrace.
His heart rate spiked at the feel of Fukaho’s chest and body heat against his back.
The surprisingly proactive move by Shinhō, the earnest and proper class monitor, drew shocked gasps from several of the girls in the Seiho Party.
“S-Sshinhō……?”
«I-I’m the cat who lived here longer than Yorina-san, right…?»
Turning his head back without moving his body, he heard her say this while her face was bright red.
I hallucinated cat ears sprouting from her head.
It was a move so unexpected that the surrounding crowd was taken aback, something truly inconceivable for Fuka in her former incarnation.
If this change was due to having become my lover, I wondered whether it was a good thing or a bad one.
The only thing that was clear, however, was that personally, I found it delightful.
“W-Well, if I could possess even a fraction of that kind of proactiveness… ugh, but if someone like me, who dwells in the shadows, tried to do the same, it would just look pitiful…”
“I really need to step up my game, I have to… but right now, everyone is watching me… gah!”
Yinshin and Genchu were whispering something in low voices, though it was hard to make out the words.
“My, my, you certainly seem quite popular.”
”…Looking at this scene again, it truly makes for a striking picture.”
“If you watched Ino’s actions, you’d understand. He’s different from the typical men who just look at girls with lecherous eyes.”
Shinuji, Matoba, and Hayate, who had fought alongside us, offered these remarks one after another as they passed by.
“And uh, Momo might have already heard this, but I defeated two Unique individuals. I plan to hunt for the remaining ‘Red-Black Avank’ after lunch.”
For now, that creature would be the last of the Unique individuals deployed on this island.
“That one belongs to us as prey, but does that mean you’re going to help us out?”
I returned the nod to Seihou’s words.
“You’ve been a lot of help too.”
“Heh, well then, count on it,” she said with a light laugh.
“Mm. Once that’s done, do we kick off the Boy Purge Plan?”
Chiiyu interjected into the conversation.
“Damn, what a terrible name for a plan.”
“Oh? I rather like its simplicity.”
Returning rights can be held in multiples and transferred to others free of charge.
Apparently, this ‘free of charge’ means you cannot make the recipient do anything in exchange for the transfer.
To be more precise, it is stated that one must not force someone to do something using the returning right as a ‘reward.’
This was what Seihou and the others had looked up in the mystery blackboard dream.
In short, saying, “It’s yours for free. Go back to your normal life,” is permissible.
However, something like, “You want to go back to normal life, don’t you? Well then… ghehe,” is strictly forbidden.
The post-transfer recommendation to return that we are attempting does not seem to violate the conditions.
After all, we give it away for free and simply encourage them to use the ‘Returning Right’…
“If the monster population keeps increasing, the males will be at risk too. We should deal with this as soon as possible.”
“Once their numbers drop, I can surround them with my barrier to keep them safe. That would actually save us the hassle.”
Terina’s tone was cold, but it was a generous offer nonetheless.
However, if that happened, our current strategy—providing supplies to the males in exchange for gathering materials and scouting—would have a very short lifespan.
But that wasn’t really an issue. I just didn’t like being used as a convenience; helping my classmates was perfectly fine with me.
Besides, a major part of the reason we were doing this was to ease the minds of the boys worried about their girlfriends and Professor Luminous, who were concerned about the students. So long-term sustainability wasn’t that important.
On top of that, thanks to that situation, I gained an ally: Tenshinrin.
The situation on this desert island was changing by the minute.
Perhaps the Mystery Blackboard was watching to see how we would adapt. “Well then, see you later.” “Yes. See you later.”
Black Dragon Micro grabbed Momo, who refused to let go of me, by the scruff of her neck and hauled her off with a poof. “Ah~!
Sou-suke-kun!”
“M-Momo, see you later too!”
“Isn’t it okay if just one person brings Momo along? Every family needs one cute Momo, right?”
Multiple clones lined up in a row, making their case.
I felt a lingering reluctance to let go, but I didn’t mind.
“No, I don’t need it right now.”
“Hmm, you should confess before going back on your word.”
Seina and Chiyu brushed me off coldly.
So, without hesitation, we headed for the border of our respective parties and returned to our own bases.
Sorry for the delay. I will gradually update the backlogged chapters.
Here is today’s portion.
I will make up for the 4/25 and 4/30 installments somewhere down the line!
Also, regarding the special edition of Volume 2 with a gamers-nerf (book cover stand) attachment, I will post an activity report.
Please feel free to check it out if you’re interested!
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