When I woke up in the morning, Shouko was beside me.

She opened her eyes a little «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» after I did. At first, her face was dazed, but then she seemed to remember what had happened before we fell asleep, and her cheeks flushed.

Then she gave me a shy little “ehehe” smile.

“Morning, Sousuke.”

Her pronunciation was sweet and soft, almost less like “Sousuke” and more like “Souchuke.”

Up until now, Shouko had always seemed a little hesitant to take that final step, or maybe a little embarrassed. Last night might have helped her get past that.

My heart gave a little jump at the sight of her, but I answered her greeting.

“Morning, Shouko.”

She scooted closer like a puppy and lightly pressed her lips to mine.

“You’re everyone’s boyfriend now, Sousuke, so make everyone happy, okay? I don’t want you favoring just one of us.”

“...I’ll do my best.”

“Yeah. I’ll do my best to make you happy too.”

“...I’m already more than happy enough.”

We had built a relationship so dreamlike that I never could have imagined it back in Japan.

If I complained about anything, I would deserve divine punishment.

But Shouko grinned and said, “It’s only going to get even more amazing from here.”

“...Now that’s something to look forward to.”

Would I eventually dry up completely?

Even if I did, I would probably be forcibly revived by my childhood friend’s Healing Magic.

Still smiling, Shouko sat up—and then grimaced.

“Ugh, my back hurts... Chiyu’s magic might’ve worn off.”

It seemed to last longer than Strength Up, but apparently even Painkiller could not hold for an entire night.

“Sorry. I pushed you too hard.”

“Nah, I was egging you on too, so that part’s fine...”

After saying that, Shouko got down from the bed, slipped into the uniform she had left on the floor, and then, for some reason, put on her underwear.

Then she gave her hips a teasing sway as if to show me.

Under ordinary circumstances, there was nothing strange about putting on your own underwear.

But right now, the evidence of last night was still vividly attached to it.

In short, she had turned the aftermath into a display so blatant that even I was shocked by the sheer amount.

And she did not stop there. With no room left to hang anything else, a few extras remained, so Shouko tugged at the fabric and added them too.

The half-embarrassed, half-provocative sight was more than enough to stir me.

“What about this? Does it get you excited?”

Being shown something like that first thing in the morning and not reacting would have been impossible.

“Yay. You totally reacted.”

Her voice was bright, but Shouko’s face was red.

Still, it was not only embarrassment. There was also something like triumph mixed into her expression.

“...I was planning to discuss Ms. Tanbi with everyone.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ll make this quick.”

“Quick...?”

Shouko lifted her chest in both hands.

My eyes were caught by the soft bounce before I could stop myself.

“I’ll use what Sousuke loves so much, so it’ll be quick.”

“N-no, wait, that’s...”

“You did it with two of the others right after waking up, didn’t you? I’m doing it too.”

I see. She did not want to lose to Chiyu and Shion.

She had only just told me she hated favoritism.

This was not a situation I should run from.

“Got it. I’m counting on you.”

“You got it. I’ll make sure these soft, squishy boobs take good care of you.”

The innocent Shouko was adorable.

But an assertive gal was also wonderful in her own way.

◇

And then, just as she had declared, I was defeated almost instantly. I hurriedly cleaned up and went down to the first floor.

Shouko needed a shower, so she was in the bath area.

She had at least said, “I’m all for helping the teacher!” so she had already cast one vote in favor of the rescue.

After greeting everyone, we each sat down on chairs in the living room.

“I’m in favor too. Increased gains are a good deal.”

“I think I’m in favor too. As girls, having an adult woman teacher around would make it easier to consult her about all kinds of things.”

“Yes. And Ms. Tanbi is a math teacher too, so personally, I think she would be dependable in that sense as well.”

“I will leave the decision to all of you.”

“Same here. If that teacher properly joins us, then the longer she stays, the more we benefit. I do think it’s worth considering.”

There were three clear benefits to making Ms. Tanbi one of our companions.

Our survival bonus would double, our monster-defeat points would double, and the number of Rights to Return gained would increase by one.

That last one, especially, was a major advantage.

On top of that, there was also the reassurance the girls would feel from having an adult woman around, and the fact that a teacher could help us study. Those were probably worth counting as benefits too.

“...All right. Then let’s search for Ms. Tanbi right away.”

Shouko came out of the bath area not long after, so all of us went outside.

“But how are we going to find her?” Yumekai asked.

“Leave that to me! Our Mashiro should be able to sniff out the scent of a grown woman!”

Once Shouko summoned Mashiro and explained, he snorted as if to say, Leave it to me.

“I see. With Mashiro’s sense of smell, he can even search that way...”

I would no longer be surprised.

A girl-loving Fenrir could probably distinguish that much by scent.

“What do we do, Sousuke? All of us going?”

“No. Me, Shouko, Chiyu, and Minori. The four of us will go. Everyone else, stay at the base.”

With Yumekai’s barrier and the black dragon Micron here, they would be safe no matter what happened.

“Okay. Then I’ll make breakfast while we wait.”

“Safe travels.”

“No one but you guys will be allowed inside, so leave this place to me.”

Seen off by Shion, Roa, Yumekai, and Micron, the four of us climbed onto Mashiro’s back.

Then Mashiro took off like the wind.

When we reached the river drawn on our map, Mashiro kept running upstream.

“I don’t think we’ve ever gone this way.”

“Me neither.”

It was in a different direction from the soybean field and melon field.

“Afancs should appear in rivers as well, so stay alert.”

“Mm. I’ll be ready to strengthen and heal whenever needed.”

We continued like that for a while.

Then—

“Eek!”

A scream rang out, and all of us tensed.

“Mashiro! Full speed!”

At Shouko’s command, Mashiro abruptly accelerated.

And then we saw her.

A female teacher in a white blouse that looked fit to burst and a black tight skirt.

Her long, yellowish-brown hair was gathered into a bun near the back of her head.

That woman was fleeing from a pack of Afancs. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Pale-faced, she ran from the Afancs with her abundant chest bouncing dramatically.

“What, what, what!? D-don’t come near me...!”

Maybe she had not been given any explanation about monsters.

Maybe she still thought this was a dream.

Or maybe she had been transferred near the water from the very beginning.

We could ask about the details later.

We were about to help Ms. Tanbi—

“Enough already...!”

When Ms. Tanbi pointed her finger, a ball of light appeared there. The next instant, it fired as a beam.

There was a sizzling sound, then a hole opened in an Afanc’s body, and it vanished almost immediately.

“I said don’t come near me...!”

Beams of light fired one after another, and the Afancs were shot down in succession.

But they learned quickly.

Instead of attacking from one direction, they surrounded Ms. Tanbi from all sides and gradually closed the distance.

Ms. Tanbi fought desperately, but she could not cover every direction alone forever.

“Minori!”

“Yes, let’s go!”

I protected Ms. Tanbi by dropping a stone cage around her.

Meanwhile, Minori showered the Afancs with magic and wiped them out.

Once all the enemies had vanished, I stored the stone cage.

“You’re safe now, Ms. Tanbi.”

“Huh? ...Oh, you’re...”

Ms. Tanbi had been looking around in confusion, unable to understand what had happened, but then she noticed us.

“Wait, Lumi! Mashiro is our friend, so don’t attack him, okay?”

Shouko said that in a hurry.

She had a point. It would be bad if a beam came flying our way.

“...Kanna, Kuno, Iyama, Shijo?”

Although her eyes went wide at the sight of Mashiro, Ms. Tanbi did not attack.

Since we were clearly riding Mashiro, maybe she understood that he was not hostile.

“Wh-what is going on? This feels far too real for a dream... Don’t tell me this isn’t a dream after all...”

Apparently, she had still not fully believed this was reality.

“Ms. Tanbi, have you run into any students other than us?”

“No. Um, d-don’t tell me... Are all the students in the class really stranded on a deserted island?”

She asked it fearfully.

“Yes. We’ll explain the details, so could you come with us?”

“O-okay... Also, Kanna, please stop calling me Lumi. I asked you to call me Ms. Tanbi, didn’t I?”

“What’s the big deal? It’s cute.”

“It is not cute...!”

Tears gathered in Ms. Tanbi’s eyes.

Her name was Asahi Luminous Tanbi.

She was a rookie teacher with an incredibly flashy name.

Maybe she had gone through all kinds of things over the course of her life, because she was extremely sensitive about being called by her given name.

“Whatever. Let’s go, Luminuss.”

“Luminuss!? Iyama, please don’t give your teacher strange nicknames!”

Only the serious Minori pressed a hand to her forehead in distress.

“Well, come on. It’s a pretty name, isn’t it?”

I decided to interject.

“...Kuno. Can you look your teacher in the eye and call her by her given name without laughing?”

Ms. Tanbi stared at me with half-lidded suspicion.

“Let’s go, Ms. Luminous. The waterside is dangerous because monsters appear there.”

For an otaku, a name like that was nothing unusual.

Besides, I liked to think I was not rude enough to laugh at someone’s name.

“............All right. I’ll set aside the issue of what you call me for now.”

Maybe she believed I was not lying, because Ms. Tanbi let out a sigh as if pulling herself together.

“Yaaay. Come on, Lumi, let’s go. Our place is amazing.”

“However, joining us comes with strict rules. Whether a newcomer can handle them remains to be seen.”

“Chiyu, don’t say things that make this more confusing.”

Organizations with strangely severe atmospheres were a standard trope in fiction, though.