Vol 11 Chapter 2 (1/2)

Chapter 02: The Flower that Bloomed in the Rain

—Stop raining.

Looking up to the rainy sky through the window, the little girl mumbled quietly in the broad room without any warmth.

The little girl had received cheers from the villagers. She no longer could play with her friends like before. The villagers wors.h.i.+pped the little girl, made her wear pretty clothes and gave her a gaudy residence.

But hardly anyone came near her residence, so it was a partly shut off world of solitude. The one and only place, where she was allowed to belong. Unable to go back to her real home, the little girl didn’t show any tears despite that and kept granted the wishes of the villagers.

When she felt sad all by herself, the little girl watched the children through the window. The children, who were allowed to play around innocently. Her friends. Even if she couldn’t join them, the little girl really liked to see their smiles.

Therefore she hated rainy days, where the children didn’t come outside. She kept hating them and even after she broke out of this shut off world at some point in time, the little girl eventually kept crying all by herself on rainy days even now…

Since when was Elni considering to leave our house?

I can’t become your family, s.h.i.+n.o.bu. Someone like me can’t become Machina’s older sister. I won’t come back to a place that I once left— Many of Elni’s words crossed my mind.

I was sure it was different from Hijiri, Kaorun or Machina’s case.

When Kaorun tried to leave Hijiri, when Hijiri tried to take her distance from me and when Machina tried to go back to the demon realm, in either case the girls had hesitation themselves. And I was able to sense that. However, I couldn’t really sense it with Elni.

She might have planned to leave us from the very beginning.

It was nonchalant early afternoon on a holiday. I came to Machina and Elni’s shared room to check upon them. Machina sat happily on the bed together with me and eagerly talk to me with a fas.h.i.+on magazine in one hand. On the other hand, Elni wore her usual expression and built a plastic model on the table, showing triumphantly showed off the finished model to Machina.

“Look, Machina! Isn’t it done cool? I’ll give it to you!”

“Eh? I don’t really want it. Anyway, come talk to s.h.i.+n.o.bu too.”

Machina easily ignored the plastic model, whereas Elni puckered her lips and replied dissatisfied.

“s.h.i.+n.o.bu this, s.h.i.+n.o.bu that. My model is really well made, you know? You really don’t want it?”

“I mean, you already forced— cough, gave me various plastic models. I don’t have enough s.p.a.ce for it. If you want to boast with them, why don’t you set them up at the front door?”

“…I’m not giving it to you when you want it afterwards.”

As she wanted to present it to Machina, Elni mumbled “I’ll ask Tomoe-san, so that I can put them up at the front door” somewhat sulking and also a bit regretful.

However, on a closer look, the room had quite a lot plastic models for a girl’s room. The models took all kinds of poses. Did Elni make all of them?

While such thoughts crossed my mind, I casually s.h.i.+fted my gaze back, whereupon Elni excitedly took out the game console and now Machina puckered her lips a bit upon seeing that.

“Elni, you can play that game anytime. But s.h.i.+n.o.bu came all the way here to play with us. Don’t you want to talk with him?”

“I’m happy with just having him here. So it’s fine. Besides, I’m burning for some gaming right now! I’ll become a master monster hunter! Then boast about it to the kids!”

“A master monster hunter? Boast to the kids? What the?”

Machina t.i.tled her head doubtfully, whereupon Elni put the game console aside for a moment and explained with her arms crossed.

“I believe I already told you, Machina, but I’m working part-time at a nursery school these days.”

“Reminds me, you said ‘I graduated from being the personal guard!’. I think my sister’s Boss referred it to you…”

“Yeah, right. But there’s another girl besides me working part-time at the nursery school. Her name is Minami. She seems to be your cla.s.smate, s.h.i.+n.o.bu, Machina.”

“…Minami is working part-time at the nursery school?”

Minami Ouka. Having huge b.r.e.a.s.t.s that were rumoured to be F-Cups, she was a slightly erotic girl with adorable features and my childhood friend. But I never knew that she worked at a nursery school. When I interjected a bit surprised, Elni nodded with a serious expression for some reason.

“All the kids call her ‘Minami-sensei’ and love her. In contrast, I’m simply called ‘Elni’ by the kids and there’s even a mean boy that says ‘Hey Elni, you have forty seconds to buy me some fried noodle bread’.”

“Could it be, they’re taking you for an idiot?”

“Or rather, they believe I’m an idiot. Yesterday a kid flipped my skirt and the other boys reacted like this: ‘Hey! What’re you doing! You can’t do that! If anything, do it with Minami-sensei!’…”

“…That’s too sad, I’m at a loss for words.”

“I feel sad too. I want to get along with the boys like Minami too, not just the girls. Therefore I need to become a master monster hunter.”

“Mh? How does a game come into this?”

When I doubtfully interjected again, Elni lightly held out the game console to me and replied.

“As a matter of fact, a hunting game is popular with the boys right now. They once let me join them, but one mean boy told me ‘You suck! I’m not playing with you anymore, Elni! We’re through!’ and got angry.”

Looking sad again, Elni raised a bright voice with “But” and the console in one hand.

“Once I raise my skills in the game, I’m sure I can play happily with the kids. We might get really close. I’m good at RPGs, but not with action games, so I’m training now. s.h.i.+n.o.bu, watch me grow from over there.”

“I can help you, if you want?”

While saying so, I leaned forward, whereupon Machina pulled on my sleeve for some reason.

“Ehm, what’s up, Machina? Do you want to play the game too?”

“N- No. You’re only caring about Elni. Weren’t you reading a fas.h.i.+on magazine with me right now? I guess you aren’t interested in these?”

“To be honest, I don’t know much about girl’s clothes, but… I think these clothes would look good on you.”

“Really? Actually, I liked them too. You have a good eye.”

When I pointed to a page of the magazine with a crease, Machina animated her voice with “What about these clothes? Do you like this kind, s.h.i.+n.o.bu?”, as her mood was fixed right away.

But even while I listened to her, I unconsciously snuck a peek at Elni.

Elni was engrossed in her game. She wouldn’t change. What would I have to do to stop her? …Such thoughts crossed my mind and at some point, I kept coming up only with reluctant answers. Due to that, Machina peered into my face a bit worried.

“What’s the matter, s.h.i.+n.o.bu? You’re so absent-minded for a while now. And you’re making such a serious face.”

“W- Woman fall for this face.”

“…You stammered a bit just now. Why’re you trying to brush it off? Are you worrying about something? If you like, I can hear you out.”

Apparently I couldn’t flinch from it anymore. I certainly was worrying about Elni. But, was it alright to reveal that Machina, to the others?

—For the last expression to be a crying face… that’s too much for me.

Suddenly Elni’s words floated in the back of my head. When I slowly s.h.i.+fted my gaze, Elni stopped playing her game and looked at me straight while putting on a somewhat sad smile.

What would happen… if I were to speak about everything? Elni might disappear then without waiting for Christmas, so that she wouldn’t have to see everyone’s saddened expression.

Befallen with that worry, I was stuck for words, whereas Machina alternative looked at Elni and me, then puffed up her cheeks a bit for some reason.

“s.h.i.+n.o.bu, why’re you only looking at Elni? Are you two hiding something?”

“No, we’re not hiding anything…” I lied so right away, but not believing it, Machina leaned over her body further and brought her face closer.

Upon that, her long eyelashes and glamorous lips were really close and furthermore, her sweet fragrance tickled my nasal cavities, so my heartbeat accelerated regardless of the inappropriate situation.

At that time, I could hear the faint DING DONG of the front door’s intercom.

“M- Machina, someone’s at the door.”

“Right. But my sister will get it. Anyway s.h.i.+n.o.bu, why’re you averting your eyes? If it’s not something you feel guilty about, look into my eyes and tell me.”

“O- Okay, I just have to look you into the eyes, right?” with that I looked into Machina’s amber eyes as prompted to, whereupon Elni, who had stayed quiet so far, faintly flushed her cheeks and commented.

“Somehow, it feels like you’re going to kiss.”

“H- Hey, Elni! That’s not what I got close to s.h.i.+n.o.bu for! Don’t get any weird ideas! I was just worried about him…”

Shaking both her hands, Machina denied, whereas suddenly a small knock resounded and following, Luna showed up in the room. She seemingly fully recovered from the cold she had the other day and opened her mouth with a smile.

“Ehm, Hijiri-san and Kaoru-san came over to play just now… But why are you three all red?”

Luna tilted her head midway in her sentence, whereas Machina pointed at me with still red cheeks and replied.

“Listen to this, Sister. s.h.i.+n.o.bu seems to be hiding something, but he won’t tell me what. Elni even covered for him by making a weird joke. The two of them might be plotting something.”

“Is that so, s.h.i.+n.o.bu-san?”

“Ehm, well, what can I say…”

When I was stuck for words again, Luna mimicked Machina for some reason and got close to me with a smiling face. The sweet fragrance doubled involuntary. Moreover, Luna stared at me, then kissed my ear, as she just wanted to play around unlike Machina.

“…Hey, stop it. Why would you— wait, why’re you kissing me as well, Machina! Don’t do it if you turn this bright red! Actually, you two just want physical contact, don’t you?”

“I am sorry. That is actually true.”

“Th- That’s not my intent. I thought it would be the most efficient way to make you confess. If you don’t tell me, well… I’ll kiss you again.”

I got the feeling that Machina partly forgot about the initial goal. I leaned back to escape from them, but due to my agitation, I lost my balance and flopped face-up onto the bed like that. In regards, Luna and Machina looked at me by hanging over me.

In front of my eyes and nose tip were clear emerald green and deep amber eyes. Pink and light red lips. Their voluminous b.r.e.a.s.t.s at a hair length. Their sweet fragrance that chipped away at my reasoning.

I had fallen into a pinch in no time. While my face became hot at the same time I panicked, suddenly a shutter sound resounded. When I glanced over, there stood Elni holding a digital camera.

“…What’re you doing?”

“Mh? Imitating Kaorun. It’ll be a nice keepsake.”

The keepsake of being pushed down by two beautiful girls. I wasn’t too sure about that.

Replying to my question indifferently, Elni pressed the shutter once again, whereupon both Luna and Machina turned red and I used that chance to escape. I got off the bed, rushed out of the room and down the stairs, whereupon I could hear Luna and Machina’s voices with “Please wait, s.h.i.+n.o.bu-san” and “We’re not done with the physical contact yet!” from behind, but I moved to the living room unconcerned.

There were Hijiri and Kaorun sitting on the sofa, as they had come over to play like Luna had said earlier. As soon as Kaorun noticed me, she tilted her head doubtfully.

“What is the matter, s.h.i.+n.o.bu-sama? You look a bit fl.u.s.tered…?”

“Yeah, I’m being chased by Luna and Machina right now. Can I hide somewhere? I want to wait for their feelings to calm down.”

“Your question troubles me a bit, since this is not my house, but I do have an idea.”

Kaorun beckoned me with her hand while smiling roguish for some reason. A bit of worry spread in my chest, but urged by Kaorun with “Over here”, I crouched down at Hijiri’s feet, whereupon

“K- Kaoru-san? What are you— Yahn!”

At the same time Hijiri raised an adorable shriek, my vision fell into light blue panties. Kaorun had flipped Hijiri’s long skirt with att.i.tude, only to put her hands onto the back of my head right afterwards. Next she pushed my head into Hijiri’s skirt.

“This ain’t working, Kaorun! They’ll find me! For sure!”

“Uhn… s.h.i.+n.o.bu-kun, if you rub there… Iyah…”

Leaking a bewitching voice and twisting her body, Hijiri tried to press her thighs together.

However, it ended up pinching my cheeks in-between her smooth thighs.

Upon that, a proper elasticity was transferred from her thighs and I felt fluffy sensation on my nose tip through her panties. A nice sweet-and-sour fragrance. Moreover, every time I took a breath, Hijiri s.h.i.+vered her body with “Mm…”, gradually increasing the pressure of her thighs.

“…This might have been too much for the sensitive Hijiri-chan.”

Before that, it was strange for a hiding place anyway. Retorting to Kaorun in my mind, I tried to get out of Hijiri’s skirt at once, but at the worst timing faint footsteps reached my ears and next I could hear Luna and Machina’s voices.

“Hey Hijiri, Kaoru, have you seen s.h.i.+n.o.bu?”

“He does not seem to be here… wait, huh? Hijiri-san, your face is somewhat flushed. Is something wrong?”

“It’s… Mm… nothing… Mm… Don’t worry, I’m fine…”

“Really? Like my sister said, your face is really red. Maybe a cold?”

“M- My body… Uh… certainly feels a bit hot… But I’m fine…”

Even while replying to Luna and Machina, Hijiri leaked seductive moans. Moreover, from her thighs I could sense that she was wriggling her body… It might be only a matter of time until I was found.

Even I was about to tremble from the fear of getting found and the guilt towards Hijiri, whereupon Kaorun interjected helping.

“You two, Hijiri-chan is only feeling a bit h.o.r.n.y, so you do not need to worry. Anyway, about s.h.i.+n.o.bu-sama, he was mumbling ‘Why are b.o.o.bs round?’ earlier, then blurted out ‘I’m going to look for and find the true b.o.o.bs.’ and rushed out without paying any attention to the confused us.”

“…I don’t think s.h.i.+n.o.bu would say something like that, but is it true that he left the house?”

“Maids do not lie. I have a lead, so let us have a date while we look for s.h.i.+n.o.bu-sama. You accompany us as well, Luna-san.”

“Eh? But I have plans with Hijiri-san— wait, Kaoru-san, please do not pull!”

Apparently Kaorun dragged out Machina and Luna. Their voices gradually became more distant, so I slowly peeked out my head from Hijiri’s skirt.

Upon that, Hijiri had dampened her eyes a bit, flushed her cheeks and was breathing roughly. Feeling guilty, I timidly reached out my hand towards her with “Ehm, are you okay?”, but

“S- Stop, s.h.i.+n.o.bu-kun! Don’t come closer!”

“…I am sorry, Hijiri-san. I was a fool. Please forgive me.”

She must have been angry after all. My extended hand was completely rejected and I inadvertently lapsed into respectful speech all depressed, whereupon Hijiri hastily shook both her hands.

“N- No, s.h.i.+n.o.bu-kun. I’m not really angry. It’s just that I think I’ll leak a weird voice if you touch me now…”

Weird voice? Like what? A bit interested, I tried touching her ear, whereupon

“IYAHN! HAHN…”

Aw, now I have done it. I had only touched her lightly, yet Hijiri s.h.i.+vered her body by bending backwards as soon as she leaked a bewitching voice and laid down face-up on the sofa, dampening her eyes even more.

“Hah, Hah, s.h.i.+n.o.bu-kun you meanie. Don’t do it again or I’ll leak an embarra.s.sing voice again.”

…Not good. My prankish nature was awakened. But I somehow managed to stop my extended hand, whereupon there was yet another sudden shutter sound. When I turned around surprised, there stood Elni with a smile like expected.

“This’ll be a great keepsake, s.h.i.+n.o.bu.”

The keepsake of pus.h.i.+ng down a beautiful girl. It made me want to cover my eyes. Returning to my senses, I lowered my head and repeated apologies to Hijiri…

After that, Elni started to talk with a smile while getting under the heated table when Hijiri had calmed down.

“So, Hijiri, why’re you here today?”

“Ah, right. I wanted Luna-san to teach me knitting, but… that’ll have to wait until the three of them are back. Luna-san, Machina-san and Kaoru-san went out together.”

“I see. But why do you suddenly want to knit?”

On Elni’s casual question, Hijiri faintly flushed her cheeks and replied while sneaking a glance at me for some reason.

“Y- You know, it’s Christmas soon.”

“Yeah, it means chicken. The Holy Night of chicken.”

“Ehm, isn’t it more like a night of death for the chicken? And while there’s certainly chicken for dinner, Christmas means giving presents, right? So I want to knit m.u.f.flers or gloves for those that have been taken care of me…”

“So that’s the reason. You’re amazing, Hijiri.”

Elni grinned, then suddenly crossed her arms and pondered with “Presents, huh”. Watching her with a side-glance, I continued to chit-chat with Hijiri for a while.

Then Elni pulled out the game console from her pocket, as she was done with her pondering, and started to play again. Hijiri must have been a bit curious, as she reserved peeked at Elni’s hands.

“That looks fun, Elni. What game is that?”

“Fufu, it’s an action game, where you enjoy pa.s.sionate battle against monsters.”

Elni replied with a bright tone to answer Hijiri’s question.

According to Elni, in the game the player was a hunter in a fantasy world and could hunt monsters or animals on plateaus, in the desert, on snowy mountains or even in the water. Moreover it had a multiplayer modus, where skilled players good help out other players.

Listening to these game explanations, Hijiri said “Sounds fun” and dropped her gaze onto the game console, whereupon Elni said with a smile and her still bright tone.

“Do you want to try it, Hijiri? I’ll teach you how it’s played.”

“Really? Then I’ll give it a try, but I have rarely been playing any games, so I might be really bad at it. Could you please not laugh at me?”

Hijiri flushed her cheeks, whereas Elni gave an instant “Of course” answer and handed her the game console. Hijiri started playing right away, but she really wasn’t used to games.

“Wah, Uwah. Wh- What do I do, Elni? I can’t get out of the water anymore…”

While holding the game console, the fl.u.s.tered Hijiri kept moving her hands restlessly left, right, up and down. Her behaviour was just so cute that both Elni and I couldn’t suppress a small outburst of laughter.

Hijiri instantly turned bright red on our reactions and looked down embarra.s.sed.

“D- Don’t laugh, you two. I said I wasn’t good with it.”

“…My bad. I’m sorry, Hijiri. But it’s an interesting game, albeit a bit difficult, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. It’s really fun. So I can play with it for a bit longer, Elni?”

“Don’t be so reserved and play all you want. I’ll tell you a trick now that will let you enjoy the game some more. Listen, Hijiri, this monster is…”

Surely she was happy that Hijiri showed an interest in the game she liked herself.

While giving advices to Hijiri, Elni smiled really pleased. That expression bloomed like a large-petalled flower, smiling really vivid. So… So I wanted to see that smiling face forever. I wanted to please her more, make her wear this smile.

But I still hadn’t found a way to stop Elni. At the same time I pain suddenly ran through my chest, an impatience spread. But I put on a smile like I didn’t notice it and watched over Elni and Hijiri for a while, then I left my seat, telling them I was going to the toilet.

…If I were to make a gloomy face, Machina might get suspicious of me again.

Glancing at the mirror, I washed my face and left the bathroom with renewed feelings. Speak of the devil and she shows up. The front door opened in that very moment and everyone came back. Luna, Machina, Kaorun and even my mother. Most likely my mother met the others midway.

For now I called out to them with “Welcome home”, but for some reason, Luna and Machina wordlessly embraced me and gentle stroked my back in sequence, then disappeared into the living room together.

Just what was that? I doubtfully threw my glance at Kaorun.

“Did you say something to these two?”

“Yes. The two seemed concerned about your worries, so I told them: ‘s.h.i.+n.o.bu-sama seems to have awoken to cross-dressing from the repeated experiences. But he is confused about himself, since he feels pleasure from cross-dressing, and surely is worried about that.’.”

“…Don’t tell me, Luna and Machina accepted that?”

“Yes, through my eloquence. Now they will not question you any further, I believe. Good for you, is it not, s.h.i.+n.o.bu-sama? Well, you do not need to thank me…”

“I‘m troubled how I can‘t thank you honestly. Even if you were deceiving them for me, couldn’t you have found a better way? How am I going to face these two from now on?”

“I believe you should just act like always. Once your worries are solved, you can laugh it off as a joke. And, s.h.i.+n.o.bu-sama—”

Midway in her sentence, Kaorun tightly embraced me and kept stroking my back gently just like Luna and Machina had done.

“Should you be unable to resolve your worries by yourself, please rely on me. I will always lend a hand. While I am Hijri-chan’s maid, I like to think of myself as your maid as well, s.h.i.+n.o.bu-sama.”

“You’re already cute enough… yet you get even cuter sometimes. That’s not fair.”

I couldn’t utter the least complaint. When I petted her head out of grat.i.tude, Kaorun turned red and got away from me right away, heading to the living room in an escape. On the other hand, my mother, who had watched silently, looked at me and smirked teasingly.

“Lately, you’re starting to look more and more like your father.”

“Don’t group me together with that gigolo. If anything, I want to resemble you.”

“You surprisingly have a mother complex, huh.”

While saying so, my mother softened her expression and adjusted her tone a bit.

“So, it seems you’re worrying about something, but how’s it going? Think you can manage?”

“…I’m afraid I haven’t come up with an answer yet.”

I replied with a sigh, whereupon my mother lightly shrugged her shoulders and replied.

“Even if you’re looking for it, answers aren’t something so easily found.”

“Then what should I do?”

“It’s simple. Set out with your own feet to find the answer. Hammer out a plan by opening a path with your own hands or something. Of course you can always ask someone for help too.”

“…Set out, open a path, that sounds like Buddhist concept.”

When I answered with another sigh, my mother softly embraced me like the others and leaving me only the words “I’ll always help you too if you need it”, she then slowly headed for her own room.

…The meaning behind my mother’s words. It wasn’t like I understood everything of it. But I believed it was important now to try everything possible. For now I was looking for what I could do.

Watching after my mother’s back, I went to the living room too, where Luna, Machina and Kaorun were peeking at the hands of Hijiri, who enjoyed the game, while listening to the advices from Elni, as they were probably filled in about the game from Elni and Hijiri…. The living room was flouris.h.i.+ng with smiling faces.

My vision fell on Elni, who had the happiest smile from all of them. While I watched her expression, the feeling in my chest that had sprouted earlier began to well up.

…I really wanted to please her more and make her smile.

I didn’t know if that would lead me to a way to keep Elni here. But if that was what I could do right now, then I had no time to waste. I hurried over to the girls and started to talk as soon as I entered the living room.

“Hey, wanna have a game tournament with everyone next time?”

Most likely due to the sudden proposal, the girls asked back “A game tournament?” like a parrot, whereas only Kaorun slapped her hands together to whatever conclusion she came.

“I see, certainly. In other words, s.h.i.+n.o.bu-sama, you want to say: ‘It’ll be a treat from the great me! The winner will get a reward from me! Rejoice and partic.i.p.ate, girls!’, correct?”

“Yeah, a party sponsored by the great me!”

“An unexpected full approval!?”

“…No, wait, Kaorun. I didn’t agree to everything.”

Retorting to Kaorun, who had widened her eyes, I looked at everyone’s faces with “But”.

“It’s certainly better to have some kind of bet for it, right? A time attack or a team battle, any way’s fine. The winner or winning team can order the loser anything— how does that sound?”

While saying so, I threw a glance at Kaorun, smirked and cracked a joke.

“By the way, if I win, I plan to make you wear cat-ears instead of your maid headband and let you end your sentences with ‘meow’.”

“I do not want that, meow. Please refrain from doing so, meow. It is embarra.s.sing, meow.”

It was no longer a penalty. Kaorun ended her sentences with “meow”, softly rested her hand on Hijiri’s shoulder and filled her tone with pa.s.sion.

“Hijiri-chan, this is a good chance.. If we win at the game tournament, let us make s.h.i.+n.o.bu-sama cross-dress. And then he will be the maid at our house for one day.”

“Sh- s.h.i.+n.o.bu-kun will be a maid at our house? We can do that? Then is it possible too that I pet his head all I want?”

“Not just that, you could also embrace him, kiss him and sleep next to him at night.”

“It’s like a dream coming true…”

Th- This had gotten out of hand. Whatever they were imagining, not just Hijiri, but even Kaorun started to look dreamful. When I felt an impatience, Machina timidly called out to Luna in the corner of my vision.

“Hey, what would you do if you win, Sister?”

“I want to take a bath together with s.h.i.+n.o.bu-san.”

“Th- Then let us three take a bath together if we win.”

…Now I couldn’t afford to lose anymore. If either Hijiri’s team or Luna’s team were to win, I feared that my reasoning wouldn’t last.

I even started to get a cold sweat, but Elni laughed with “Sounds fun!” while listening to everyone, so I prepared myself for the possibility of my loss and after we discussed it with everyone, we decided to have a game tournament in the living room of Hijiri’s house around this time next week…

—A lot had happened from the day last week, where I proposed the organisation of a game tournament, until today.

First, Nazuna and her best friend— Miichan aka Sakurarai Mizuki had heard the story from Elni and showed smiling faces that said that they wanted to partic.i.p.ate in the tournament too. Then Miichan, surprisingly skilled with games, gave Luna, who was bad with machines, Hijiri, who was a beginner at games, and Elni, who was fired up for some special training, some fierce coaching, but… would that really pay off?

Finally we welcomed the day of the game tournament. In the broad living room of the Gogyou Household, Luna, Machina, Elni, Nazuna, Hijiri, Kaorun, Miichan and I had gathered with each a game console in one hand.

However, since we were so many, we decided after a short discussion that we would split into two teams and compete about which team would finish the same quest faster. We formed the teams by drawing lots.

Also, the team battle would produce too many winners, which would increase the penalties on the losers, so only the surviving players of the winning team were given the privilege of the winner. Furthermore the condition was added that the members of the team, which cleared the quest, that died during the compet.i.tion would be treated as losers.

And the result of the lots was the set-up: “Elni, Nazuna, Miichan, Me VS. Luna, Machina, Hijiri, Kaorun”. Kaorun exchanged looks with Hijiri, Luna and Machina, then they secretly started their strategy meeting with small voices.

On the other hand, Elni, Nazuna, Miichan and I formed a circle to push up our morale and when both teams had finished their preparations, the game started.

I was worried about what kind of scheme Kaorun had plotted, but my team had no beginners like Luna or Hijiri. Just playing normally, we should have the game in the bag.

And in fact, my team smoothly advanced the quest, whereas Kaorun’s team probably had a hard time. Kaorun suddenly raised a panicked voice during the match.

“Kuh! This does not look good. Hijiri-chan, Luna-san, Machina, we have to use that now! Like we have discussed— Please protect at least me with your lives!”

“Got it, Kaoru— wait, I never heard of this! What’re you thinking?”

“It is a joke to boost our teamwork.”

After replying brazenly to Machina’s tricked&retort combo, Kaorun said “Operation, start!” with vigour, whereupon the girls from our opponent team suddenly started to raise bewitching voices.

“Yahn, the monster’s thing is really stiff, Iyahn” said Machina.

“Uhn, if you do that, Ahn, I’ll be done for right away.” said Hijiri.