I had been so focused on exchanges and trade between teams that I had completely forgotten.

If someone was reunited with a close friend, of course some people would want to move to that friend’s team.

Maybe I had failed to think of something so obvious because I had so few friends in class.

Or maybe it was because I had already met up with the people closest to me, like Chiyu and Shouko.

It was probably both.

“Come on, Shoukooo.”

“Ah, ahaha. I mean, I want to do that too, but...”

I took another look at the girl.

Long gray hair. What stood out was that part of the hair on the right side at the back of her head was tied with a scrunchie. Her healthy dark skin, short skirt, and loosely worn uniform were all the same as they had been back in Japan.

She was as voluptuous as Shouko, so with her clinging to her friend like this, their chests were pressed together and shifting against each other.

Her name was... Shoubu Urume, I was pretty sure.

I had just barely remembered it because she was one of Shouko’s friends.

“It’s fine, right, Shouko? You’re the leader, aren’t you?”

“No, Uru-chii. There are circumstances...”

Shouko’s gaze wandered in obvious distress.

“We have a strict admission exam.”

Chiyu threw her a lifeline.

Actually, maybe it was not a lifeline.

“Oh, hey, Chiyu. What? There are conditions to get in?”

“Mm.”

“For real? If it’s studying stuff, I’m dead. So, what are the conditions?”

“If you have So-kun generate something for you, you have to thank him with something lewd.”

I nearly choked inside the basket.

I had never done anything that villainous.

...No, I knew it was just an excuse to turn down Shoubu’s request.

“Ahaha, that’s a lie, right?”

“...Why do you think so?”

“I’m not close with Kuno, but there’s no way a guy Shouko fell for would be that much of a scumbag.”

Shoubu said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Uru-chii...”

Shouko’s eyes grew wet.

“Well, but yeah, I don’t really have anything I can give Kuno in return. If I’ve gotta do something, then I guess that’s how it is.”

“W-wait, Uru-chii? What’s with that positive attitude?”

“I mean, if I have to do it, that means Shouko and the other girls are doing it too, right? Then I guess it’s fine.”

“You have to think about that kind of thing more carefully!”

“I am, I am. My first time’s expensive, you know. Seriously, you shouldn’t sell yourself cheap. But being able to make anything in a place like this is worth a lot, isn’t it?”

“Well, yes, Sousuke is amazing, but...”

“Right? Like, people buy food at festivals even when it’s expensive, don’t they? The situation changes what something is worth, and everyone accepts that when they buy it, right? On this deserted island, isn’t Kuno basically the most amazing guy here?”

“Mm. This dark-skinned gal understands more than expected.”

Chiyu nodded in approval.

Buying a bottled water at a convenience store in town and securing water after being thrown into a desert were completely different things.

But some people could not understand that, so I understood why Chiyu was impressed by how quickly Shoubu adjusted her thinking.

“Dark-skinned gal? It’s Urume. Urume.”

“Got it. Urumeh.”

“You made it sound like an animal noise. Whatever, though.”

“Um, shouldn’t we discuss this with Ryouka’s team first?”

Ms. Luminous cut in hesitantly.

“I don’t mind. However, we would like to confirm her safety as well, so could you have Shoubu accompany you again during the next trade?”

Suou, who had been standing nearby to see us off, said that with a smile.

—She is absolutely planning to use her as a scout...

I nearly laughed at how shrewd she was.

Even if Shoubu herself had no such intention, if Suou asked her various questions and she answered them, information about our base would pass to Suou’s team.

Whether it would go that smoothly was another question, but there was no downside to trying.

No, I could not say there was no downside.

“Are you sure, Ryouka? Once she sees how comfortable our team is, more people from your team might want to move over, you know?”

Right. There was a chance people would leave her group.

“That is for each person to decide.”

If she was thinking of her members as combat strength or labor, she should want to prevent people from leaving.

But Suou was simply gathering the students together and doing everything she could to survive life on this deserted island.

On top of that, she had a rivalry with Shouko.

She was not some dictator or anything. She was just one girl doing her best.

Just as we were gathering information, she understood the value of information too.

“I’m sorry. I may have misunderstood you, Ryouka.”

Shion apologized.

“That’s all right. When we return to Japan, I’ll welcome you into my group.”

“No, I wouldn’t go that far?”

“What was that?”

Suou puffed up in anger.

“Hehe. Shouko is my friend too.”

“You certainly are popular, Kanna Shouko. So? Are you leaving Shoubu ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ behind?”

Suou looked at Shouko.

I did not know whether she had intended it, but with the conversation flowing this way, it would be extremely hard to refuse.

—No choice, then.

I was in the basket hanging from Micron, so as long as I spoke to Micron, the people around us would not catch on.

“Micron, tell Shouko she has permission to bring her back.”

Micron nodded and moved closer to Shouko.

“Whoa. What’s up, Micron? Hm? Oh. Yeah, yeah, good girl. You’re so cute, Micron.”

Shouko could understand what phantasmal beasts wanted to tell her.

After hearing my message, Shouko’s expression changed for an instant, but she immediately covered it up by petting Micron.

“Okay, got it! Come with us, Uru-chii!”

“Huh, for real?”

“Of course!”

“Waaah! Shouko, I love you! I’ll work hard at anything I can do!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“So for starters, what makes Kuno happy?”

Shoubu said it with a grin.

“So-kun’s tastes are—”

Chiyu started to answer. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

“W-wait! Sousuke doesn’t force that kind of thing on anyone, so don’t worry about it!”

Shouko shouted.

“Hahaha, you worry too much, Shouko. He’s not your boyfriend yet, right?”

“............”

Shouko’s face turned red.

“............Seriously? Huh? Wait, tell me everything.”

“He isn’t Shouko’s exclusive boyfriend.”

“I mean, boyfriends are exclusive or they’re not boyfriends, right? Huh? If that’s not it, then no way...”

“For now, let’s head back to the base.”

Shion forcibly cut off the conversation and pushed Shoubu toward Mashiro.

...Ah. How were we supposed to explain this once we got back to the base?