Free Web NovelChapter 486: BCL Chapter 482: Sleeping Tea, One Cup and You’re Out
"Thank you, Soyo."
Mutsumi thanked softly.
"You don’t need to thank me so specifically..."
Soyo responded gently.
(So, was what I said before too harsh, causing Mutsumi to ask for my opinion before doing anything?)
(I really should care more about this child...)
At the same time.
Mutsumi quietly came to Ryo’s side.
"Ryo-senpai, I want to borrow something."
Mutsumi spoke calmly.
"Hmm?"
Ryo drank her drink, tilted her head slightly, her expressionless face rivaling Mutsumi’s:
"What do you want to borrow?"
"The bracelet."
"Eh..." Ryo blinked, a look of interest appearing on her face, "Is it the band bracelet that allows people to share their five senses?"
"That’s right."
"Since Mutsumi-chan asked directly, no problem."
Ryo waved her small hand and agreed.
She was never a stingy person. Although she often freeloaded food and drinks and borrowed money without returning it, when she had money, she was equally generous and rich.
In the following time, the girls arrived one after another.
Kita, Anon, Tomori, Nijika... and even a black-haired loli.
"Taki?"
Kitahara looked over in surprise:
"You actually came to soak in the onsen too?"
Taki crossed her arms over her chest, her small face taut, and said:
"Tomori called me to come, that’s why I came. Is there a problem?"
"Of course, no problem." Kitahara smiled, "Rather, Taki is welcome to come and play anytime."
"Hmph~"
Taki let out a soft snort, noticing the strange looks cast her way, and tried her best not to show any signs of guilt:
"Don’t talk to me for no reason, I don’t want people to misunderstand!"
This is a typical case of protesting too much; the more you say that, the more people will suspect you!
"I knew it... After Shiina-san mistakenly entered Otherworld, she would definitely not be able to escape the clutches of Kitahara."
In the corner, Kita’s cheeks puffed up, and she couldn’t help but whisper:
"Is Kitahara going to date a hundred girlfriends, just like in that manga?!"
"It is indeed too much."
Anon nodded in agreement beside her.
When it came to privately criticizing Kitahara, the two girls had already formed a united front.
Anon raised her right hand, secretly making a scissor gesture:
"We should just ’snip’ him directly!"
"Ah..."
Kita’s eyes flickered:
"It’s not that serious, is it?" freewёbnoνel.com
"Only then can he truly repent and turn over a new leaf." Anon’s eyes gleamed slyly, clearly wanting to tease someone. She raised a hand to cover her mouth and whispered, "Just like last night, Kita didn’t come to soak in the onsen. I suspected at the time whether Kitahara-kun was bullying Kita, which made Kita-chan too embarrassed to come and play."
"N-no, not at all!"
Kita’s face quickly flushed, her eyes darting around as she guiltily retorted.
"Eh, really now..."
Anon’s rosy lips curved upwards, and she tilted her head, looking over with a feigned expression of confusion:
"How strange, why did Kita suddenly blush?"
"That’s because the weather is hot, alright..." Kita stammered, her gaze flickering, "I really had something to do last night, Anon, don’t make wild guesses."
To avoid Anon’s continued interrogation, Kita quickly changed the subject:
"Oh, by the way, I saw the game screenshots Anon shared on Ins. You actually got so many golden legends in a ten-pull, that’s amazing, your luck is really exaggerated, isn’t it?"
Kita’s random guess hit the mark, and this time it was Anon’s turn to feel guilty:
"It’s nothing, everyone has good luck sometimes, right?"
(It’s just that her good luck was exchanged for bad luck, and then she was taken advantage of for so long in the Onsen Village...)
Thinking of the things that happened in the Onsen Village, Anon’s face quickly heated up.
"Huh, why did Anon suddenly blush too?"
Kita asked curiously.
"Cough, cough." Anon coughed twice guiltily, instinctively saying, "That’s because the weather is hot, alright."
"..."
After speaking, Anon suddenly felt something was amiss. She seemed to have just heard that sentence, and a strong sense of déjà vu flooded her mind.
Anon: "..."
Kita: "..."
The two girls, with flushed faces, subtly exchanged guilty glances, then simultaneously turned their heads, tacitly ending the previous conversation.
In a flash, it was half past nine in the evening.
The girls had arrived.
Kitahara led everyone into the Onsen Village to begin today’s pre-sleep onsen.
There’s no need to elaborate on what happened during that time. With the girls outnumbering him, he could only sit obediently in the corner, not daring to act recklessly at all.
After soaking in the onsen, the girls returned to the real world, and then left one after another.
"Makoto-kun."
Tomori came up to Kitahara and said softly:
"Taki’s room air conditioner is broken and won’t be fixed until tomorrow, so she wants to stay overnight."
Kitahara looked at Taki upon hearing this, only then realizing why Taki had come to soak in the onsen today.
"Of course, no problem." Kitahara said decisively, "Taki can stay as long as she wants, even for a lifetime."
"Pfft~"
Taki’s face quickly flushed, and she glared at him, both shy and annoyed:
"I’m just staying overnight today, I won’t stay for a lifetime!"
The summer vacation was ending soon, but the weather was still scorching hot. Without air conditioning in such weather, one would truly die.
Although she could go to her sister’s room... ever since third grade, Taki had never slept with her sister again.
That’s right.
In Taki’s mind, rather than bothering her sister, it was better to trouble Kitahara... Anyway, with Tomori accompanying her, there definitely wouldn’t be any danger, right?
Kitahara sighed, a troubled expression on his face:
"Then I can only pray that Taki’s room air conditioner breaks down every day."
Taki’s face temperature rose again, and she shouted in annoyance:
"Worst!"
"Terrible!!"
Tomori and Mutsumi are still here, what in the world is this guy talking about! You don’t care about your image, but I do!
Kitahara looked at Tomori and said softly:
"Is Tomori staying tonight too?"
"Mm." Tomori nodded lightly, "Taki said she was a little scared and asked me to accompany her."
Kitahara looked at Taki speechlessly.
Scared?
If she were truly scared, she wouldn’t come to a boy’s house to stay overnight!
So, being scared was most likely an excuse, and her goal was simply to bond with Tomori.
Kitahara saw through it but didn’t expose it, lest Taki become angry and embarrassed, and said softly:
"Then Tomori will share a room with Taki tonight."
"Okay."
Tomori softly agreed.
Soyo had already gone home to cover their tracks, so in the large living room, only Kitahara, Mutsumi, Taki, and Tomori remained.
According to the previously agreed time, Soyo wouldn’t come until after eleven. With nothing to do at the moment, the four of them, plus a silver-haired, red-eyed Hana, sat on the sofa and watched an animated film together.
Time flew by.
In a blink of an eye, it was eleven o’clock at night.
Kitahara stretched, then said:
"It’s getting late, everyone should go back to their rooms to rest."
Before returning to their rooms, the girls inevitably went to the bathroom for a simple wash-up.
After they had all finished washing up one by one, Kitahara had already gone upstairs ahead of them. Taki was about to go back to her room with Tomori when she suddenly saw Mutsumi bending down, looking under the sofa.
"What is Mutsumi-chan looking for?"
Taki asked curiously.
Mutsumi looked up and said:
"Looking for a bracelet, it was just here, and in a blink of an eye, it’s gone."
"Don’t worry, Mutsumi-chan, we’ll help you look." Tomori said softly, "What does the bracelet Mutsumi-chan is looking for look like?"
"A black bracelet."
"Got it, Taki, let’s help."
"Okay." ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
"..."
The three girls began searching for the band bracelet together, but unfortunately, they couldn’t find any trace of it even after searching the entire living room.
"How about we ask the answer book tomorrow morning, Makoto-kun?"
Tomori suggested.
Taki said from the side:
"Sometimes the more you force it, the harder it is to find. It’s like a bookmark I really liked went missing before, and I searched for a long time but couldn’t find it, but then one day it suddenly appeared."
Mutsumi had no choice but to silently agree.
The three girls went upstairs together, each returning to their rooms.
Time quietly flowed by.
In a blink of an eye, it was eleven twenty at night.
Kitahara’s phone vibrated lightly, and a message popped up on the screen:
"Kitahara-kun... If Mutsumi is asleep, then how about another day?"
Click.
Kitahara held up his phone, directly took a photo of Mutsumi, and then sent it to Soyo:
"Mutsumi-chan is waiting for you."
"..."
Soyo had no choice but to reply resentfully:
"Got it... I’ll be right over."
It’s like getting it over with quickly or prolonging the agony, so she could only grit her teeth and go for it. Although it was embarrassing, at least she wouldn’t have nightmares tonight.
Kitahara stood up and said:
"Mutsumi-chan, I’ll go down first, I’ll call you downstairs later."
"Okay."
"..."
Kitahara quietly left the room and went downstairs, just in time to see Soyo-chan, wearing pajamas, emerge from the bathroom with a flushed face.
"Did you drink the Sleeping Red Tea?" Kitahara smiled, "If not, I can provide it to Soyo-chan for free."
Soyo’s pretty face flushed slightly, and her bright eyes couldn’t help but glare at him:
"This is a one-time thing, never again."
Kitahara’s expression was innocent:
"You should be saying that to Mutsumi-chan, right?"
Soyo, however, was quite clever, seeing through the phenomenon to the essence, and snorted lightly:
"Mutsumi-chan is usually without desires or demands, so suddenly making such a bad wish must have something to do with Kitahara-kun, right?"
Kitahara: "..."
Girls, these creatures, might not be good at studying, but their sixth sense is incredibly sharp.
Kitahara suddenly felt grateful for his past self from half a year ago. Announcing his intention to start a harem seemed like a suicidal move, but in reality, it was a desperate measure that led to survival. Otherwise, he would have been cut down by a cleaver long ago!
"There’s something I need to tell Soyo..." Kitahara lowered his voice, changing the subject, "Taki’s room air conditioner is broken, and she wants to stay over. Taki and Tomori are resting in the guest room upstairs now."
"Eh?"
Hearing this news, Soyo immediately panicked.
Mutsumi was one thing, but if Taki and Tomori found out as well... No! That kind of thing must not happen, no matter what! She would never be able to face anyone again!
"I just remembered I have something else to do, so I’ll head back first..."
Soyo turned to sneak away.
"Don’t panic." Kitahara reached out and grabbed Soyo’s soft hand, whispering, "We can go directly to the Onsen Village. They definitely won’t be discovered by Tomori and Taki."
"Let’s not..."
Kitahara said decisively:
"Since you’re already here, Soyo, you don’t want to return empty-handed and continue having nightmares tonight, do you?"
Soyo: "..."
The Onsen Village was super safe, with indeed no risk of being discovered, so after a moment of hesitation, Soyo finally agreed.
"Then I’ll send Soyo to the Onsen Village first."
Kitahara first sent Soyo in, then quietly went upstairs to get Mutsumi.
At the same time.
On the other side.
"Tomori, I drank a bit too much water earlier, and I need to go to the bathroom..."
Taki spoke softly, breaking the silence in the room.
Tomori said softly:
"Should I go with Taki?"
"No need." Taki quickly said, "I just wanted to let Tomori know. I can go by myself, and I’ll be back soon."
The reason she wanted to be clear with Tomori was mainly that Taki was worried Tomori would misunderstand and think she was going out to meet Kitahara privately.
Quietly stepping out of the room and into the hallway, Taki glanced at the bathroom on the second floor. After a slight hesitation, she chose to go downstairs with her phone.
Although the bathroom on the second floor was convenient, there was a chance of running into Kitahara... It was hard to say if she would be taken advantage of then, so the first floor was the safest.
Taki descended the stairs and quickly reached the first floor. After taking care of her needs, she prepared to wash her hands and return to the room.
"Eh?"
Upon reaching the sink, Taki was surprised to find a bracelet in the corner. Because the sink was made of black marble, the bracelet looked inconspicuous.
"A black bracelet... Could it be the bracelet Mutsumi-chan was looking for just now?"
Taki picked up the bracelet, quietly returned to the room, and then told Tomori about it.
Tomori took the bracelet and said softly:
"It’s already very late. Mutsumi-chan is probably asleep. How about we return the bracelet to Mutsumi-chan tomorrow?"
Taki nodded:
"Then we’ll give it to Mutsumi-chan tomorrow... It’s just a very ordinary bracelet, I wonder why Mutsumi-chan cares so much about it."
Tomori held the bracelet up to her face, a curious expression on her small face:
"I have some impression of this bracelet. It seems to be..."
To verify her guess, Tomori curiously put the bracelet on her right wrist.
The next second.
The Five Senses Sharing entry activated.
It had been verified before that even if one party was in the Onsen Village and the other in the real world, they could still communicate through the bracelet.
"Mmm...!"
Tomori, who was usually calm, suddenly opened her eyes wide and involuntarily let out a low hum. Her small face rapidly turned red at a visible speed.
"Tomori, are you alright?"
Seeing that Tomori was not in a good state, Taki quickly went forward to ask what was wrong. Unfortunately, Tomori could only gasp for air and was unable to speak.4
"Is it that bracelet?"
Taki held her breath nervously and quickly took the bracelet off Tomori’s wrist.
The moment the bracelet was removed, Tomori’s body finally stopped trembling, and she collapsed softly onto the pillow.
"So, so scary..."
