"Kitahara-san!"
"Taki!"
"Why did you two only return just now?"
"..."
Seeing Kitahara and Taki appear out of thin air, the girls in the Onsen Dimension hurriedly stepped forward one after another.
Taki breathed a sigh of relief, hugging Kitahara's arm tightly, and spoke rapidly in one breath:
"Just outside, Kitahara-san began suffering from auditory and visual hallucinations as well. I told him to come inside and rest, but he refused. The good news is that we've finally escaped that bizarre pool, and outside is now an endless, boundless desert; the bad news is that Kitahara-san's eyes have turned red again."
"Eh?"
Hearing this news, the girls had no time to celebrate at all, looking toward Kitahara one after another.
Hitori looked over worriedly: "The symptoms of Red Eye Syndrome have appeared again."
Mutsumi stepped forward, holding onto Kitahara's other arm: "Makoto-kun, how is your body feeling now?"
Although Uika Misumi had no idea what had happened, she could naturally sense the girls' anxiety:
"Eyes turning red... Is he sick?"
"..."
Facing the girls' deep concern, Kitahara merely stood quietly in place, remaining completely silent.
During the latter half of escaping the swimming pool, the affix of [Infinite Adaptation] had been continuously active; his physical constitution could still withstand it, but his sanity had dropped quite heavily, making his thoughts feel sluggish right now.
"He isn't sick; it's Kitahara-kun's powers losing balance," Sakiko explained in a steady tone, taking over leadership of the group. "Let's first give Kitahara-kun a bath and let him get some proper rest."
The girls naturally had no objections, nodding in agreement one after another.
Hitori was super socially anxious, Mutsumi was a silent little cucumber, Taki was prickly and awkward, and Uika was an outsider; the position of head matriarch naturally belonged to none other than Sakiko.
The girls stepped forward together, quickly escorting Kitahara to the entrance of the bathroom.
"Leave the rest to me," Sakiko lifted a hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "I will help Kitahara-kun take a bath."
As soon as her voice fell, Mutsumi raised her right hand expressionlessly:
"I want to help Makoto-kun take a bath too."
"Then Mutsumi can come with me," Sakiko remained silent for two seconds before accepting, glancing at the others. "Is there anyone else who wants to help?"
Taki crossed her arms over her chest, her face blushing slightly, and turned her head away:
"The bathroom is only so big and can't hold many people anyway; having you two help is more than enough."
"U-Um..."
Hitori stammered; although she wanted to help in her heart, it was far too embarrassing, and she was truly too shy to speak up.
"Then we'll head inside," Sakiko said softly. "Taki, please prepare some food and drinks. Kitahara-kun must be starving; once he returns to normal, we'll go eat."
Taki naturally agreed crisply:
"Understood, leave it to us."
"..."
The girls split up to take action: Taki, Hitori, and Uika—the three girls went to prepare food and drinks. A considerable amount of food was stocked inside the Onsen Dimension, completely adequate for meeting basic daily living needs; there were even pots, pans, bowls, basins, and an induction cooker—all supplies Kitahara had prepared in advance, which now came in handy.
Sakiko and Mutsumi, on the other hand, brought Kitahara into the bathroom and began washing up.
The bathing process went without saying. Kitahara still maintained a taciturn silence, speaking only a rare word, spending most of his time combating the negative emotions in his heart while letting Sakiko and Mutsumi attend to him as they pleased.
"Phew..."
Sakiko let out a soft breath, lifted her right arm to wipe away the thin sheen of sweat on her forehead, turned toward Mutsumi beside her, and said softly with blushing cheeks:
"Mutsumi, step outside first; leave the rest to me."
While taking a bath helped, its effects were limited; to truly cure Red Eye Syndrome, one still had to rely on methods capable of providing massive amounts of pleasure in a short period of time.
"No."
Unexpectedly, Mutsumi, who was usually very obedient, shook her head flatly in refusal.
"I want to stay behind and help too."
Sakiko bit her lower lip gently:
"Mutsumi doesn't know what this help entails..."
"I know," Mutsumi replied with composure, showing no trace of embarrassment on her pretty face. "Sakiko wants to secretly [BEEP—] with Makoto-kun, right?"
"Cough, cough..."
Sakiko's face flushed crimson in an instant, coughing uncontrollably.
"M-Mutsumi!" Sakiko hurriedly covered her lips with her hand, her voice a mix of shame and annoyance. "Girls aren't allowed to utter such terrible words!"
Mutsumi tilted her head in confusion: "Yet clearly we can do it..."
"Enough, that's quite enough!" Sakiko hurriedly crossed her arms over her chest. "In short, you simply cannot say it out loud!"
"Then I won't say it," Mutsumi straightened her posture, her gaze resolute. "But I must definitely stay behind to help."
"Phew..."
Sakiko sighed helplessly, softly trying to persuade her:
"The environment in the bathroom isn't good; Mutsumi's first time might end up being very terrible..."
The gloominess in Mutsumi's eyes quietly surfaced, her voice low and distant:
"Does Sakiko intend to monopolize Makoto-kun all to yourself?"
Sensing the shift in Mutsumi's gaze, Sakiko pressed her soft lips together, knowing she couldn't talk her out of it; if she stubbornly stood in her way, Mutsumi's second personality might jump out again to cause havoc.
"Since Mutsumi is determined, I naturally won't stop you," Sakiko looked over earnestly, holding Mutsumi's right hand. "But at least let's change the setting."
"Eh?"
"The bathroom floor is too hard; it will definitely be very uncomfortable when the time comes, perhaps even leaving behind an indelible, awful memory," Sakiko's face blushed faintly as she shared her experience as someone who had been through it. "At any rate, let's first wipe Makoto-kun dry, and then head over to the lounge."
Mutsumi's eyes quietly brightened: "Sakiko really is experienced after all."
Sakiko: "..."
I definitely don't want to hear that kind of compliment!
The two girls wiped Kitahara's body dry and led him into the lounge.
Laying Kitahara down on the bed, Sakiko exhaled softly, her cheeks flushed rosy:
"Mutsumi, you go help him first."
Mutsumi happily thanked her:
"Thank you, Sakiko."
What is there to thank me for in this kind of situation!
"If you can't hold out, just call me," Sakiko's cheeks burned scalding hot, holding back her shame as she gave her instructions before pushing the lounge door open to leave.
"I'll step outside first."
"..."
Reaching the hallway outside, Sakiko naturally didn't walk far, quietly waiting with a flushed face.
Although she had teamed up with Soyo and Anon before, playing games together was still intensely embarrassing after all; now that Mutsumi had volunteered herself, letting Mutsumi go first was the natural choice.
Sakiko even nurtured a tiny, faint hope: maybe Mutsumi possessed a special constitution and could single-handedly cure Kitahara-kun's Red Eye Syndrome, meaning she wouldn't need to help at all?
Meanwhile.
Inside the lounge.
Clack.
Kitahara grabbed Mutsumi's wrist, halting her next move.
"Makoto-kun?"
Mutsumi bit her lower lip, an aggrieved look appearing on her small face:
"Why won't you let me help... Does Makoto-kun hate me?"
Kitahara's sanity had recovered just a tiny bit, but his eyes were still red, his voice deep and raspy:
"I can't control myself right now and might be very rough. I don't want to hurt Mutsumi."
Hearing that Kitahara wasn't stopping her out of rejection but out of care, Mutsumi's eyes lit up immediately; opening both arms, she wrapped them around Kitahara's neck, whispering softly into his ear:
"It doesn't matter. I want Makoto-kun to punish me roughly."
Kitahara: "..."
Giving you a way out and you won't take it—in that case, I'll let you see just how terrifying rough can be!
Outside the lounge.
Hearing the soft whimpers coming from within the room, Sakiko's face burned scalding hot, her cheeks puffing out involuntarily.
Claiming she didn't care would be a lie; whether male or female, everyone naturally harbored a strong possessiveness, barring certain perverted individuals. Yet before long, Sakiko let out a faint, melancholic sigh.
They had gone through so much together and were already inseparable; besides, even if she wanted to monopolize him, her body simply couldn't handle it...
Time ticked by quietly.
Sakiko's face burned hot, her legs pressed tightly together, listening to her own rapid heartbeat while counting the seconds in silence.
"Five minutes have already passed; Mutsumi seems to be far stronger than Anon..."
"Wait, no."
"Rather, Anon's weak-as-a-grunt constitution is the exception."
"If everyone weren't dating Kitahara-kun together, Anon would have been broken long ago, right?"
Amidst her runaway thoughts, Mutsumi's intermittent sobs suddenly drifted out from inside the room:
"Sakiko... s-save me..."
"..."
Hearing Mutsumi's cry for help, Sakiko's body trembled slightly, her pretty face burning scalding hot. Forcing down the overflowing shame in her heart, she pushed the door open and stepped into the lounge.
Meanwhile.
On the other side.
"Strange, we've already finished cooking the dishes, so why haven't Sakiko and the others finished bathing yet?"
Uika Misumi's face was completely filled with confusion.
"Uika, don't ask so much." Taki crossed her arms over her chest, her small face blushing faintly, clearly having guessed what was happening. "There won't be any danger inside the Onsen Dimension anyway; once they're finished, they'll naturally come over to eat."
"Alright..."
Uika Misumi pursed her soft lips, able only to suppress her worry and continue waiting.
Time trickled away second by second.
Uika Misumi stood on tiptoes and gazed with longing eyes, but unfortunately still didn't see Sakiko's figure.
"Um... Should we go over and take a look?"
Uika Misumi couldn't resist looking toward Taki.
"Don't go." Taki decisively shook her head in refusal. "There definitely won't be any danger, so Uika doesn't need to worry."
Uika Misumi looked over suspiciously: "Does Taki know something?"
Feeling guilty, Taki turned her head to look elsewhere:
"We were just cooking together and haven't separated the entire time, so how could I possibly know?"
Her heart still suspicious, Uika Misumi turned to look at Hitori beside them:
"Hitori-chan, do you know why Sakiko and the others still haven't come over?"
"Ah..."
Startled, Hitori's small face flushed as red as fire, and she hurriedly lowered her head in shame to stare at her toes.
"Sorry, I-I don't know either..."
"Alright, then let's wait a bit longer."
Uika Misumi sighed helplessly, able only to silently comfort herself in her heart:
"After all, I'm an outsider, so it's completely normal for them to hide things from me..."
Time continued to drift by.
Seeing that the food was about to get completely cold while Sakiko, Mutsumi, and Kitahara still hadn't returned, Uika Misumi finally could sit still no longer. Clutching her stomach, her delicate brows knitted slightly:
"Taki, I need to use the restroom."
Care leads to chaos.
Sakiko had 'vanished without reason'; even though she knew there was no danger in the Onsen Dimension, she was still super concerned after all, and only seeing her with her own eyes would put her heart at ease.
Taki looked up: "I'll go with Uika."
"No need, I know where the restroom is." Uika Misumi turned and walked away. "I'll be back soon."
"..."
Arriving at the restroom entrance, Uika Misumi feinted, then sneaked quietly over to the bathroom.
"Eh? There's nobody inside the bathroom?"
Quietly arriving at the bathroom doorway and discovering the room completely empty, Uika Misumi couldn't help furrowing her brows.
"Where is Sakiko?"
"How did she suddenly disappear?"
"Could a monster have invaded the Onsen Dimension...?"
Growing increasingly worried, Uika Misumi left the bathroom to continue searching for Sakiko. Before long, intermittent whimpering and sobbing drifted into her ears.
"This crying... is Sakiko's voice?!"
Uika Misumi halted abruptly in her tracks, hurriedly pricking up her ears to listen closely. Once she pinpointed the direction the sounds were coming from, she tracked them down in a rush, quickly arriving before a building.
"It looks like the lounge?"
Uika Misumi's heart pounded wildly. She had vaguely guessed something, but what she felt more was worry.
(Kitahara-san, Sakiko, and Mutsumi-san all disappeared; it's impossible for three people to do that kind of thing together, right?)
(I'm definitely overthinking it!)
(Besides, Sakiko's crying sounds so aggrieved; she must have encountered something very painful...)
Uika Misumi took a deep breath, nervously grabbed the doorknob, and then quietly pushed the door open a crack.
The next second.
"Eeeek?!"
Uika Misumi's entire body shuddered, her eyes widening in disbelief, an exclamation almost blurting out of her mouth.
(Th-That's... Tetris?!)
Uika Misumi had never dated a boyfriend, nor had she ever seen goblins scuffling, and she hadn't even looked at an R-18 doujinshi before; her sole source of knowledge was health class at school. Suddenly peeping on a live broadcast right now, the spiritual shock she received could easily be imagined.
Right at the instant her gasp was about to burst out, a small hand darted over swiftly, firmly covering Uika Misumi's mouth.
"Shh..."
Taki raised a finger, silently making a gesture for quiet. With her small face flushed crimson, she glanced into the lounge; seeing the situation inside clearly, she hurriedly pulled back her gaze:
"Move, quick, let's go."
"..."
Uika Misumi was now thoroughly docile. Not only her face, but even the skin on her neck was dyed pink, faint steam seeming to rise from the crown of her head; completely dizzy, she let Taki lead her away.
"Didn't you say you were going to the restroom?" Reaching a safe zone, Taki crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at Uika Misumi in exasperation. "Peeping is an illegal act, you know."
Uika Misumi finally came back to her senses, her pretty face scalding hot. Lowering her head, not daring to look at anyone, her mind was completely crammed with the terrifying scenes she had just witnessed as she stammered:
"I-I was just worried about Sakiko..."
"You aren't worried anymore now, right?" Taki grumbled in a low voice. "Good thing I felt uneasy and followed you in time, otherwise you would've been in danger."
(Actually, I'm still a little worried...)
Uika Misumi responded softly in her heart.
(Kitahara-san is clearly a terrifying great monster; Sakiko will be broken, won't she?)
"Eh? I would be in danger?"
Uika Misumi blinked, looking at Taki in confusion.
"When Kitahara-san develops symptoms of Red Eye Syndrome, his sanity drops and he acts very impulsively," Taki explained in a low voice. "If he spotted you outside the door, he might have dragged you right in along with them; by then, you wouldn't even have a place to cry."
Uika Misumi wrapped her arms around herself in shame: "S-Sakiko would save me..."
"Sakiko can't even take care of herself right now." Taki turned around, saying, "Let's go, let's go—in short, we need to stay far away."
"..."
The two returned silently to the kitchen, continuing to wait quietly.
Hitori quietly raised her gaze, her peach-blossom eyes curiously taking in Taki and Uika upon their return; seeing both girls' bright red cheeks, she hurriedly swallowed her curiosity back down.
The air fell quiet just like that.
After an unknown amount of time, footsteps finally sounded outside.
The three girls hurriedly turned their heads, only to see Kitahara walking over all by himself. The red hue in his eyes had quietly receded, regaining its gentleness and clarity.
"...Lewd!"
Taki's eyes deliberately put on a look of disgust.
Uika Misumi, on the other hand, hurriedly averted her gaze, not daring to look Kitahara in the eyes at all, much less speak.
Instead, it was Hitori who stammered in a small voice:
"Kitahara-san, the meal has already been prepared..."
"Thanks for your hard work." Kitahara walked up to the dining table and plopped down, appearing completely oblivious to the subtle atmosphere as he said calmly, "Sakiko and Mutsumi fell asleep while washing up. Let's eat first without waiting for them."
As long as you aren't embarrassed, the ones embarrassed will be others.
"Hmph," Taki snorted softly. "Did they really fall asleep?"
Kitahara turned to look over:
"Then what did Taki think happened?"
"You know very well yourself."
"I don't know."
"Oh."
"..."
Aside from Taki daring to voice complaints, neither Hitori nor Uika dared to say a word.
The meal was finished very quickly. Kitahara devoured the spread like a whirlwind sweeping through clouds, finishing five people's worth of food all by himself to finally fill his stomach, before sinking into a deep sleep on a lounge chair; upon waking up, his energy and stamina were completely replenished.
"The stamina ability really is super useful..."
Kitahara stretched lazily, feeling as though he could ride seven times in and out through a ten-thousand-strong army once again.
Standing up to head toward the lounge, Sakiko and Mutsumi were still asleep; evidently it had been too exhausting earlier, so even after sharing the stamina ability, they wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.
"Kitahara-san, you're awake?"
Hitori was sitting by the table boredly reading a book; seeing Kitahara come over, she hurriedly stood up.
"I'm up," Kitahara said in a low voice. "But I haven't rested enough yet."
"Ah?"
"I urgently need to recharge my Hitori energy."
"N-No..."
Hitori's face flushed red instantly, hurriedly shaking her head in shyness.
Seeing Taki and Uika Misumi walk over, Kitahara extended his right arm:
"Taki arrived right on time."
"Huh?"
Taki's small face tightened instantly.
Kitahara said solemnly:
"Taki, come over and ask the Book of Answers to see what the clear condition for the desert world is."