It took a while for the girls to build their beds. Most were rectangular, like actual beds, with little Hitori being the only exception. Little Hitori built a completely enclosed fortress in the corner using light novels, even leaving a loophole to observe the outside world! In her mind, little Hitori imagined holding a gun behind the loophole and shooting all the normies outside!
Outside the loophole, although Eri Sawamura claimed they were staying for research, they were instead reading books together. Eri Sawamura had a flash of inspiration after seeing Utaha use her comics as a butt pad... Elf could use a similar excuse. So now, it turned into a light novel competition between Utaha and Elf. After reading the first volume of their debut works, they would vote on whose was better. If Elf won, the excuse would be the victor's humiliation of the loser. If Elf lost, the excuse would be revenge... Perfect!
But not only Eri Sawamura, even Utaha didn't have high hopes for her own novel. Readers vote with their money, and Elf's sales were clearly better than Utaha's. As for why Utaha agreed... even if she lost, she would lose standing. Losing without even daring to compete would be truly shameful. However... with a large sample size, Utaha would definitely lose, but now the sample size was small, and they were all girls. It's important to remember that most of Elf's readers were male, so the outcome was uncertain with female judges!
Time always flew by when reading novels. After finishing the two volumes, it was past midnight, well into the night. Utaha and Elf sat side-by-side, with a box between them. The girls took turns tossing their folded votes into the box. Elf stood with her hands on her hips, looking smug, while Utaha folded her arms, her expression serious, tapping her arm with her fingers, and her leg constantly shaking.
Seeing Utaha's expression, little Hitori breathed a sigh of relief... Fortunately, they hadn't forced everyone to vote; otherwise, facing both their gazes, little Hitori wouldn't know who to vote for. It was great to be able to observe quietly through the loophole... The voting soon ended, and it was time to count the votes.
Utaha and Elf both sat on the table. Elf picked up the hem of her pink Gothic skirt, revealing a section of her fair thigh. Utaha rolled up her battle-damaged black sheer tights, also exposing a section of her fair thigh. Utaha was slightly plump, while Elf was more slender, but both their legs were the "play with for a year" type.
Rin Ito walked between them, picked up the ballot box, cleared his throat, and started counting the votes.
"Utaha, one vote...." Rin Ito picked up a pen and wrote the tally mark '正' (Zheng/Correct, used for counting) on Utaha's thigh. Normally, it would be one stroke per vote, but since there were so few participants, he just used one full tally mark per vote.
"Utaha, one vote~" A second tally mark appeared on Utaha's thigh.
Rin Ito wrote the tally on the person's thigh as he read their name. Since there weren't many people present, Rin Ito quickly finished counting the votes. As for who won, it was immediately clear from the number of tally marks. Elf lifted her skirt, proudly showing off the tally marks on the Zettai Ryouiki between the hem and her white garter stocking.
"Hehe, cannon fodder is cannon fodder indeed~ Your body is cannon fodder, and your novel is cannon fodder too~"
"Hmph...." Although angry, the result was within Utaha's expectations... she knew Elf and Eri Sawamura were trying to provoke her.
However... Utaha glanced at Rin Ito, then looked at Elf provocatively. "So what if I'm cannon fodder? Girls who are cannon fodder are more popular, aren't they?"
"True." Rin Ito agreed deeply. It was indeed true. If the man was cannon fodder, it would be unsatisfying, but if the girl was cannon fodder, it offered a greater sense of conquest. After receiving an affirmative answer, Utaha gave Elf a triumphant look.
"Hmph hmph~ Anyway, you lost today~ It's late, time to sleep~" Elf didn't press her advantage further... The contest was just an excuse.
The bookstore only had a restroom, no shower room, so the girls simply wiped themselves down with wet tissues. While Elf and Utaha were having their novel competition, Shion had already prepared the bedding for everyone.
As for Rin Ito... Rin Ito didn't build a bed but chose to sleep on the table. It wasn't that Rin Ito didn't want to build one, but Eri Sawamura had brushed him off with the excuse that there wasn't enough space. Sleeping on the table wouldn't normally bother Rin Ito, but this table had been used as a dining table earlier. Sleeping on it made Rin Ito feel like a dish himself. Moreover... judging by the subtle glances exchanged between Eri Sawamura and Elf, Rin Ito felt they were secretly plotting something. He wanted to see what they were planning to play.
Turning off the lights, Rin Ito lay on the desk covered with bedding and feigned sleep, but... as he waited, Rin Ito felt his body growing heavy, and sleepiness gradually crept in...
The bookstore's roller shutters were locked, and it was pitch black after the lights were turned off, with no moonlight visible. The only source of light came from the dim glow of phone screens.
"Shh...." Eri Sawamura glanced at her phone screen. It was already 2 AM. Eri Sawamura gently nudged Elf, who was not far away. She was also awake. By the light of the phone screen, they could see each other's sly, wicked smiles.
Without needing to speak, Elf and Eri Sawamura tiptoed and put on their shoes quietly. Then, using the faint light of their phone screens, they passed the sleeping girls and crept toward Rin Ito's location.
But....
"...."
"...."
They hadn't taken two steps when they noticed Ami and Maki, also holding phones and tiptoeing. The four looked at each other.
Without needing to say anything, they all knew what the others intended to do. So they tacitly agreed to....
"Mph!????" Just as the four were about to move together for the night raid, Maki's wrist was suddenly grabbed. Fortunately, Ami next to her quickly covered her mouth; otherwise, the whole bookstore would have woken up. Maki cautiously looked down... Sagiri had grabbed her hand.
Ami, Maki, and the other petite girls' beds were not far apart. Although they hadn't consulted Sagiri beforehand, as sisters who had shared their first time and whose bond was "blood-deep," Sagiri immediately saw that they were planning a night raid. She had waited for two hours for this moment.
[I want to go too!]
The four saw Sagiri mouth these words. There was nothing they could do; they couldn't leave Sagiri behind now. So, the night raid party grew to five people.
The five little thieves lined up and crept to Rin Ito's side. After confirming that Rin Ito was sound asleep, Elf quietly lifted the bedding. Since he didn't bring pajamas, Rin Ito was only wearing a pair of shorts under the blanket. Elf pointed to Rin Ito's sleeping groin. Ami and Sagiri raised their hands simultaneously. The two looked at each other, their raised hands turning into fists. And then... Rock, paper, scissors!