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"We're safe."
Looking at the impotently raging vines behind them, Kitahara Makoto sighed softly and stopped.
"Mm…"
Nagasaki Soyo, who was clutched under his arm, groaned in distress:
"D-don't squeeze…"
Kitahara Makoto looked down and realized that he was gripping a soft, dough-like mass in his hand. He quickly let go of the Tsundere Young Miss:
"I'm sorry, I really didn't notice just now."
"It's not Kitahara-kun's fault." Nagasaki Soyo sighed in relief, her pretty face flushed and hot, and she quickly stepped back half a pace, covering her chest. "If it weren't for Kitahara-kun, I would have been in danger."
It must be said, Soyo-san is quite sensible.
A flash of black suddenly caught his eye.
Kitahara Makoto's gaze involuntarily drifted downwards, and he coughed twice, saying:
"Soyo-san, your skirt seems to have been left in the forest."
I didn't realize your underwear style today was quite daring.
Nagasaki Soyo's pretty face flushed crimson, and she quickly used her other hand to cover her lower abdomen: "It was too sudden just now, those vines came down silently, and my skirt wasn't even fully on before it was swept away…"
Kitahara Makoto retracted his gaze and looked at the forest behind him: "This forest is indeed very dangerous. To get the skirt back, we can only wait for those vines to quiet down, and then go in and look for it."
"Don't go in." Nagasaki Soyo quickly shook her head upon hearing this. "The forest is too dangerous. The skirt… I don't want it anymore."
Anyway, there were no outsiders in the Otherworld, and if it was just Kitahara Makoto, it didn't matter if she didn't wear a skirt.
Kitahara Makoto said softly:
"Soyo-san, do you have a spare change of clothes?"
"No."
Nagasaki Soyo gently shook her head.
She came only to exorcise, and she didn't plan to stay overnight, so of course she wouldn't bring a change of clothes.
"As expected, you don't…" Kitahara Makoto pondered for a moment, then took off his shirt and said gently, "Then wear my shirt like yesterday."
Looking at Kitahara Makoto's distinctly muscular upper body, Nagasaki Soyo's pretty face flushed. After two seconds of hesitation, she still reached out to take the shirt and thanked him in a low voice:
"Thank you, Kitahara-kun…"
Just wearing panties was indeed too embarrassing; a shirt could reluctantly barely be worn as a skirt.
"Put on the shirt first." Kitahara Makoto turned his body and looked towards the village. "Nijika-senpai and Ryo-senpai are about to return."
"Mm…"
Nagasaki Soyo lightly responded, turned her back, and began to put on the shirt.
As the shirt slipped over her neck, Nagasaki Soyo instinctively sniffed, quickly catching a scent of fresh laundry detergent and a faint hint of sweat. She inexplicably found it quite pleasant, even secretly sniffing it again…
"W-wait!"
Nagasaki Soyo suddenly realized, immediately feeling utterly mortified:
"What was I just doing?"
"I actually secretly sniffed a boy's clothes… That's something only a pervert in a manga would do!"
"Do I have a hidden pervert attribute?"
The Tsundere Young Miss hastily shook her head in a panic.
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
It must still be the suspension bridge effect at play. That hateful boomerang, not only did it not disappear, but it got even worse!
After putting on the shirt, Nagasaki Soyo lowered her gaze and followed behind Kitahara Makoto, preparing to return to the edge of the village. After only two steps, she suddenly let out a low, distressed groan.
"What's wrong?"
Kitahara Makoto turned to look.
"My knee…" Nagasaki Soyo bit her lower lip. "It hurts a bit."
Kitahara Makoto looked down and saw that one of the Tsundere Young Miss's knees was a bit red and swollen, and the other knee even had a small cut: "You must have been injured when you fell just now. Don't worry, I have disinfectant and band-aids in my backpack… Do you want me to carry you?"
"No need." Nagasaki Soyo shook her head, blushing. "I can just walk slower."
"Alright then."
Kitahara Makoto slowed his pace, walking ahead, while Nagasaki Soyo shuffled along awkwardly behind him, one step at a time.
"Kitahara-kun…" Ijichi Nijika and Ryo had returned. Seeing Nagasaki Soyo's disheveled state and awkward walking posture, Nijika-senpai's tone couldn't help but become suspicious. "…Are you bullying Soyo-san?"
Kitahara Makoto said speechlessly, "This is the desolate Otherworld. If I wanted to bully someone, would I need to do it secretly?"
Yamada Ryo was expressionless. "Doing it secretly is more exciting."
Kitahara Makoto: "…"
"Kitahara-kun didn't bully me. I was just a little too rushed earlier…"
Nagasaki Soyo explained softly, her face red.
"I see." After hearing the whole story, Nijika quickly took her backpack and squatted in front of Soyo. "There are bandages and disinfectant in the backpack. Let's clean Soyo-san's knee wound first."
Nagasaki Soyo pursed her pink lips. "Nijika-senpai has already worked so hard. I can do it myself…"
"It's troublesome to do it yourself. Let me help." Ijichi Nijika said softly, "It might hurt a little. Bear with it, okay?"
"Thank you, Nijika-senpai."
"…"
There was no need for help with treating the wound, so Kitahara Makoto looked at Yamada Ryo next to him and raised an eyebrow. "Ryo-senpai, you two weren't parasitized by bugs this time?"
"No." Yamada Ryo's tone was flat. "Nijika and I walked for a while, and no Samurai Armor appeared."
"It seems there aren't many monsters left in the village…" Kitahara Makoto pondered for two seconds. "We can enter the village together now."
"Eh?" Ijichi Nijika looked up, "Isn't that too impulsive?"
Kitahara Makoto said gently, "Don't worry, Nijika. As long as the monsters don't rush at us all at once, I can take on ten in a one-on-one fight."
"…"
After treating the small wound on Nagasaki Soyo's knee, the group rested briefly and then walked into the village together.
As the parasite were successively lured and eliminated, the entire village became quiet again.
"Cousin, we're here to find you!"
Everyone began calling out in turns again, but after walking through most of the village, no one heard any response.
"So tired, my throat is starting to hurt too…" Ijichi Nijika wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Shall we rest for a bit longer?"
Kitahara Makoto nodded. "Let's rest for a while."
"Could the answer book be wrong?" Nagasaki Soyo pursed her pink lips, slightly out of breath. "We've searched most of the village, and we followed the method in the answer book, so why can't we find her?"
"I thought of a possibility…" Yamada Ryo was expressionless, pressing her thumb against her lower lip. "What if Nijika's cousin isn't in this village?"
"Eh?" Ijichi Nijika widened her eyes and instinctively retorted, "How could that be…"
Before she finished speaking, Ijichi Nijika suddenly stopped.
That's right.
This possibility could not be ruled out at all.
The two questions everyone asked were about the direction to go and how to find the cousin, but from beginning to end, no one had asked if the cousin was in this village…
Kitahara Makoto's lips twitched slightly, and he immediately took out the answer book and handed it to Yamada Ryo.
"Ryo-senpai, you ask."
"Mm."
Yamada Ryo took the answer book, using the last question opportunity.
"Is Nijika's cousin in this village?"
Whoosh.
The answer book flipped rapidly without any wind.
A moment later.
A line of answer appeared before their eyes:
[Not here]
Ijichi Nijika felt a sudden darkness before her eyes:
"Cousin isn't really here… Did I sacrifice my chastity for nothing?!"
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