"How about this?" Natsuki pointed to his left cheek, "Kiss me again, and I'll forgive you."
"No, don't..."
Komi was flushed with shame, shaking her head incessantly.
"If you don't, I'll take advantage of you," Natsuki said sternly, "Don't regret it when I can't stop."
After speaking, Natsuki started the countdown again.
"Ten, nine, eight... one!"
Hearing the countdown suddenly turn to one, Komi immediately panicked, anxiously stood on tiptoe, and kissed him.
Natsuki adjusted his angle and leaned in, their lips instantly meeting.
"Shoko, I told you to kiss my cheek, but you kissed my mouth?"
Natsuki took half a step back, covering his face, looking utterly shocked.
"I, I didn't..."
The the timid girl almost cried, with only one thought in her mind.
The wicked complain first!
You clearly leaned in on purpose, yet you're blaming me... Take advantage of!
It's too much taking advantage of!
"Since you kissed me, you have to take responsibility," Natsuki said seriously, "I'm not clean anymore, you have to date me."
"..."
Facing Natsuki's shamelessness, Shoko was speechless, only shaking her head continuously, indescribably pitiful, weak, and helpless.
Seeing a misty haze well up in Shoko's eyes, Natsuki knew when to stop and said:
"This time, we'll let it go for now, but if there's a next time, Shoko must take responsibility no matter what."
Taking advantage of Shoko, know when to stop.
This the the timid girl is already super thin-skinned; if he takes advantage of her any more, she'll probably really cry.
"Let's go, let's jump down."
Natsuki took two steps forward, picked up Shoko, and turned to the edge of the cliff.
The the timid girl was so scared that she tightly closed her eyes, her arms instinctively wrapped around Natsuki's neck, and then she felt the wind whistling past her ears, and a strong sense of weightlessness surged over her.
Thump.
The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground came from her ears.
Then came Juju's shout: "Shoko, we've landed safely, you can open your eyes now."
Komi's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she cautiously opened her eyes. After seeing Juju in front of her, she confirmed that she had reached the bottom of the cliff, immediately breathed a sigh of relief, then her pretty face flushed, and she quickly jumped out of Natsuki's arms.
"Strange..." Juju looked suspicious, "Is Shoko's face a bit too red?"
Hearing this, the the timid girl immediately lowered her head, looking at her toes in shame.
"...Even more suspicious!"
Juju's eyes grew more suspicious, and she turned to Natsuki, lowering her voice to question him:
"You took so long to jump down just now, were you taking advantage of Shoko up on the cliff?"
"Evidence, the court only deals with evidence," Natsuki said with a thick skin, "If Lady Juju wants to judge me, then produce the evidence, otherwise..."
Juju nervously took half a step back, wary:
"Otherwise what?"
Natsuki said meaningfully:
"Juju knows Setsuna, the Ice Wolf girl from Redo of Healer, right?"
"Eh?" Juju was startled, then subconsciously denied, "No, I don't know who you're talking about at all."
"You don't know her?" Natsuki conjured a camera out of thin air, smiling, "This Setsuna looks very familiar."
Juju immediately felt something was amiss, couldn't help but lean forward, standing on tiptoe to look at the camera, then her beautiful eyes suddenly widened.
In the camera, there was a picture of herself, fully equipped and cosplaying Setsuna, kneeling on the ground.
"You, you, you... why do you have a photo like this?!"
Juju's small face flushed red, and she couldn't help but shout.
Why did she take such a terrible photo?
Also... what exactly was her relationship with this guy?
Because Juju's reaction was too intense, Shoko even looked up, casting a curious gaze.
"Of course, it's because you cosplayed Setsuna in reality," Natsuki held the camera up, dodging Juju's small hand, and said seriously, "Juju, you just slandered me without evidence, and I'm very angry. If you don't kiss me, this isn't over."
"Huh? What did you say?"
Juju's beautiful eyes widened in disbelief.
Natsuki sternly said:
"I, from childhood to adulthood, have always acted properly, and I hate being wronged the most."
Komi: "..."
You didn't wrong him!
You were clearly taking advantage of her on the cliff!
Natsuki continued:
"Now if you don't kiss me, I'll show your photos to others... Lady Juju, you don't want your photos to be exposed, do you?"
Juju: "..."
Wait a minute!
Why does this feel somewhat familiar?
Hmm, I remember now...
Taking candid photos, using photos to threaten others, and finally forcing girls to submit... Bastard Natsuki! Isn't this clearly the terrible plot from those doujinshi!
"There are many more photos later, even more excessive than the Setsuna cosplay, so..." Natsuki pointed to his cheek, threatening, "Lady Juju, hurry up."
Juju's body trembled: "Th-there's more?"
"Of course there is," Natsuki wagged his finger, "I'm worried you can't handle it, so I won't show you for now."
"D-damn it!"
Juju nervously clenched her small pink fists.
What does he mean, she can't handle it?
How terrible could those photos be for her to not be able to handle them?!
Juju's small face was crimson, and her mind uncontrollably wandered.
In a dimly lit basement, there was a cold and hard iron cage, and she was locked inside, with a collar around her neck...
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Juju quickly shook her head, dispelling the shameful images from her mind.
Her real self was still herself; she couldn't possibly do such shameless things!
"Hurry up," Natsuki urged, "If you kiss me yourself, the matter of you wronging me can be resolved, but if I kiss you, it won't be as simple as kissing your cheek."
"You, you scoundrel..." Juju's small face flushed, she wanted to resist, but was worried Natsuki would pull out even worse photos, so she could only endure the shame and whispered, "Not in front of Shoko... L-let's go somewhere else!"
Natsuki smiled slightly and looked at the the timid girl, saying:
"Kaguya and the others are still excavating the cave, Shoko, you go over first."
Who knew the the timid girl would actually shake her head, gather all her courage, and nervously stand in front of Juju, her voice weak as she said:
"D-don't take advantage of Juju..."
Natsuki raised an eyebrow and said:
"You want to take Juju's place?"
The the timid girl became even more nervous: "Y-you just now..."
Natsuki took half a step forward, looking down at her:
"What about me just now?"
Komi took a deep breath, clearly trembling with fear, yet still chose to step forward instead of standing by and watching Juju be taken advantage of:
"You…you're taking advantage of Juju…!"
"…"
Natsuki was silent for two seconds, then slowly raised his right hand and extended it towards Shoko.
The the timid girl closed her eyes in a panic, thinking she was about to be hit.
However, she felt no pain on her body, only a hand pressing on her head, gently rubbing it.
"Hmm?"
Komi's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she opened her eyes in confusion.
"Shoko is truly super righteous." Natsuki said with a smile, "I did indeed take advantage of Shoko on the cliff earlier. I was wrong, I am very sorry."
"And Juju." Natsuki turned around and looked at Juju, "I was also wrong for taking advantage of Juju just now. Please forgive me."
"You really were deliberately taking advantage of people…" Juju clenched her small fists, "If you're apologizing, hurry up and delete the photos from the camera!"
"I refuse." Natsuki shook his head, "Those are precious memories between me and Juju, of course I have to treasure them."
"Bah!"
"…"
After comforting Juju and Shoko, Natsuki led the two girls towards the distant cliff.
From a distance, the young ladies and others were starting from scratch, excavating a cave.
When Natsuki first suggested excavating a cave himself, everyone thought it was too crazy and impossible, simply impossible.
But at this moment, after actually getting started, the girls realized that their strength was much greater than they had imagined, and the pickaxe did not seem to be an ordinary item; one swing always managed to break off a few pieces of rock.
It didn't take long for a tire-sized pit to be excavated into the seemingly hard cliff face.
"Kaguya, you rest for a bit, let me do it, let me do it!"
Chika excitedly took the pickaxe.
Many girls actually have a knack for construction, for example, in "My World," the number of female players is actually greater than male players.
Natsuki saw that he wasn't needed and was happy to be idle, so he began patrolling nearby, responsible for keeping watch. During this time, he used the Water Bullet Technique once again to create fresh water for everyone to drink.
Of course, fresh water was limited, and everyone could only have one sip.
"Wait a minute…" Chika suddenly realized, "We've drunk all the water, Natsuki hasn't had a single drop of water since before."
Natsuki looked over with relief, finally someone noticed he hadn't had any water.
"You drink the fresh water." Natsuki smiled, and a bottle of milk appeared out of thin air in his hand, "I'll drink milk."
The girls: "…"
"How mean!" Chika puffed out her cheeks and couldn't help but shout, "Hurry up and give my worry back!"
"You continue digging the cave." Natsuki drank his milk, turned and left, "I'm going on patrol."
"…"
A moment later.
"Natsuki-kun…"
A Senpai suddenly walked over, speaking hesitantly.
Natsuki looked over and said gently:
"Senpai, what's wrong?"
"That…" Tsubame raised her hand to tuck the strands of hair behind her ear, feeling a little embarrassed, and whispered, "Aoi-chan has been saying she's thirsty pitifully since just now."
"That's normal." Natsuki nodded, "Aoi-chan is a child after all. It's already very good that she hasn't cried or made a fuss and has been obedient. It's just that the Water Bullet Technique hasn't cooled down yet, so the only thing to drink is milk."
Tsubame quickly said:
"Milk is fine too, thank you, Natsuki-kun."
"Senpai, don't thank me yet." Natsuki extended his right hand, then said, "Senpai, do you know why I didn't take out the milk earlier?"
Tsubame was startled, and asked in confusion:
"Why?"
"Because the amount of milk is limited." Natsuki said, "If everyone drinks freely, no one will even get one bottle. It's not about scarcity but inequality. The team will immediately become disunited, and once morale is lost, the team will be difficult to lead."
Tsubame lowered her eyes, her tone inevitably a little disappointed, but she wasn't angry, and softly said:
"Natsuki-kun is very right, I understand…"
As Tsubame spoke, she was about to turn and leave.
"Wait a moment." Natsuki held Tsubame's right hand, "I didn't say I wouldn't give you milk, why are you leaving?"
"Eh?" Tsubame looked over in confusion, "You just said if you gave it to Aoi-chan, others would feel it's unfair."
Natsuki whispered:
"Just call Aoi-chan over and let her drink it secretly."
"Thank you, Natsuki-kun." Tsubame thanked him gratefully, "I'll go call Aoi-chan over right away."
"I haven't finished speaking." Natsuki held Tsubame, and said meaningfully, "Milk and fresh water are not the same. One bottle less when you drink one. Senpai, you wouldn't think milk can be drunk for free, would you?"
Tsubame blinked, her eyes blank, momentarily unable to grasp his meaning:
"Natsuki-kun…what do you mean?"
"It's simple." Natsuki smiled, "I can give you milk, but, Senpai, you have to pay the corresponding price."
Tsubame couldn't help but become nervous:
"The price…what is it?"
"Don't worry, Senpai, I'm not a bad person." Natsuki comforted her softly, then slowly said, "I just want you to kiss me."
Tsubame: "…"
And you say you're not a bad person!
A decent person wouldn't say such shameless things!
Tsubame felt Natsuki's image in her mind suddenly crumble.
Before, he was clearly righteous and kind, helping others, a hero bearing the fate of everyone. Now, he's clearly an evil person taking advantage of others!
"Of course, Senpai, you are free to choose." Natsuki spread his hands, "Although I'm not a good person, I never force others."
"…"
Tsubame took a deep breath, bit her lip, and was about to turn and leave.
Kissing was, of course, impossible.
She hadn't even dated a boyfriend, maintaining her purity for so many years, how could she just casually kiss a boy!
Natsuki looked at Tsubame's back and said faintly:
"Senpai, you don't want Aoi-chan to be disappointed, do you?"
"…"
Tsubame's footsteps paused.
Natsuki continued:
"Aoi-chan must be really looking forward to drinking milk right now. If you say there isn't any, Aoi-chan will probably cry, right?"
Tsubame: "…"
Devil!
Natsuki is a devil!
She had thought Natsuki was a hero before, she was truly so wrong!
Tsubame clenched her fists, her pretty face showing an expression of struggle and conflict.
Logically, it told her she should leave quickly and not exchange her innocence for milk.
But thinking of Aoi-chan's expectant and longing eyes, she couldn't take another step no matter what.
"I've already promised Aoi-chan, if I go back like this, Aoi-chan will definitely be super disappointed, right?"
Tsubame bit her lip, struggling endlessly.
This Senpai actually had an obsessive compulsion to help others. Anything she promised to do for someone, she would do her best to achieve it. It was like this in school; if someone asked Tsubame for help, as long as she agreed, she would wholeheartedly try to fulfill it. She actually lived a very tiring life in school, which was probably why she always grew lazy mushrooms.
"Senpai, make your choice quickly." Natsuki urged, "I'm about to go patrol other places."
"Ahhh! I should really be a cold and ruthless person, not always thinking for others!"
Tsubame bit her lip tightly, her pretty face flushed, and she turned around.
Natsuki smiled:
"It seems Senpai has made her choice."
Tsubame's pretty face was flushed, she turned and walked in front of Natsuki, and whispered:
"You…you have to keep your word!"
"Of course I will." Natsuki raised his right hand and swore, "If I don't keep my word, then may I never be able to touch Senpai again."
Tsubame covered her chest and looked over with annoyance and embarrassment: "You still want later?"
"Of course I do." Natsuki smiled, "One of my few virtues is honesty."
"…"
Facing Natsuki's shamelessness, Tsubame sighed helplessly, having nothing more to say.
"Senpai." Natsuki pointed to his lips and urged, "Hurry up."
Tsubame took a deep breath, stood on her tiptoes, and leaned in for a kiss.
Her soft, warm lips just touched, then quickly pulled away.
"I kissed you."
Tsubame's pretty face was flushed like fire, she wiped her lips with the back of her hand, and quickly turned her head to look elsewhere.
Natsuki took out a bottle of milk and handed it to Tsubame, saying seriously:
"I've decided not to wash my face for the next month."
"You…that's enough!"
Tsubame glared at him with embarrassment and anger, took the milk, and turned to leave.
Natsuki withdrew his gaze and continued patrolling.
Half a day passed in a blink of an eye.
Under the girls' continuous digging, a cave barely large enough to accommodate them had been successfully excavated.
"Natsuki-kun." Haruno looked over and suggested, "The basic shape of the cave is there, but it might not be stable. I've watched many videos of building shelters bare-handed in the wilderness. Should we go cut some wood to support the rock walls?"
"Haruno is right, it does need support." Natsuki nodded, "There's a forest ahead, we can go there to cut trees."
Chika said with some worry:
"Will there still be spiders in the forest?"
Natsuki said speechlessly:
"You just ate them so deliciously, why are you still afraid of spiders?"
"Eating is eating, fear is fear." Juju retorted, "No girl isn't afraid of spiders, right?"
"Then you just haven't eaten enough." Natsuki said, "Eat a few more spiders, and you naturally won't be afraid."
The girls all objected.
"Sorry, I absolutely don't want to eat that kind of thing again."
"I'd rather go to sea to pick up seashells."
"No, we won't eat."
"…"
You said you wouldn't eat, but when you were hungry before, you all ate with great relish!
Everyone quickly split up.
At the cliff, under Haruno's supervision, everyone continued digging into the cave, starting from scratch to excavate a shelter. Although it was hard work, the sense of accomplishment was immense.
Natsuki, on the other hand, took Haruno and Yukino to the forest, preparing to cut down trees.
There was no conversation along the way.
A moment later, a gloomy forest appeared before the three of them.
"Since the environmental protection law was implemented, even trees planted by oneself cannot be indiscriminately cut down anymore." Natsuki took out an axe and said enthusiastically, "But there's no problem in this world. Here, one axe for each of you, experience the joy of being a lumberjack."