"So magical, my body feels lighter."
"My skin seems to have gotten whiter?"
"Eh, the little pimple on my forehead is gone!"
"..."
An Eden Fruit shared among several people naturally wouldn't achieve eternal youth, but it could indeed allow one to genuinely experience its miraculous effects.
"Kitahara-kun, let's eat the other one too."
Yamada Ryo's eyes sparkled.
Although the other girls didn't speak, they all looked over expectantly.
Each person only got one piece, which was far from enough.
"Then let's eat them all."
Kitahara Makoto naturally wouldn't refuse and simply picked up the fruit knife to cut the second Eden Fruit.
The method of obtaining the Eden Fruit had been verified, the risk was controllable, and it was indeed feasible. Since they could get two Eden Fruits now, they would naturally be able to get more in the future, so there was no need to feel bad.
Slaughtering cattle and sheep for pleasure, one must drink three hundred cups.
After eating the second Eden Fruit, the girls were finally satisfied.
"~"
"It feels like taking an onsen."
"I'm even sweating."
"..."
The Eden Fruit contained immense vitality. After eating it, the girls felt as if their entire bodies were soaking in an onsen, feeling indescribably comfortable all over.
It was just that everyone had sweated a lot, and their bodies felt sticky and uncomfortable.
"I heard sweating is a detoxification process. Could it be that we're expelling toxic and harmful substances from our bodies?"
Kita's imagination ran wild.
Hearing Kita say that, everyone suddenly felt very uncomfortable with the sweat on their bodies.
"Let's go swimming at the beach and take a bath while we're at it?"
Ijichi Nijika suggested.
Rinko nodded in agreement:
"I really want to take a bath, my body feels sticky and uncomfortable."
"Then let's go to the beach." Seeing the girls all vote in favor, Kitahara Makoto immediately said, "Let's go back and get our swimsuits first."
The duration of the Hero template had ended, so there was no chance to pick the Eden Fruit again.
To pick it again, they would have to wait at least twelve hours to regain the Unyielding Will of the Hero template. Now that they were unburdened, they could completely go swimming in the sea to pass the time.
A moment later.
Kitahara Makoto carried the girls over the cliff and arrived at the beach.
"There's a very large rock over there," Kita surveyed the surroundings and quickly spotted a huge rock not far away, saying in a clear voice, "Shall we go change into our swimsuits behind that rock?"
"Mhm."
Gotō Hitori quickly nodded in agreement.
Although this was a deserted island with no other boys besides Kitahara Makoto, changing into swimsuits in front of Kitahara Makoto was still super embarrassing. Having a rock for cover made it much more relaxing.
"That rock..."
Ijichi Nijika blinked, her pretty face rapidly reddening at a visible speed.
After waking up from Ryo's body, she was clearly behind that rock!
Kitahara Makoto looked at the rock, his expression also somewhat subtle.
That rock was precisely where he and Yamada Ryo had 'fought'.
"Nijika, does that rock look familiar?"
Yamada Ryo whispered into her ear.
Ijichi Nijika bit her lower lip with her pearly teeth, turning her head away in embarrassment:
"I don't know it at all!"
"Ryo-senpai, Nijika-senpai, stop whispering," Kita, who had already reached the rock, turned and called out, "Hurry up and come change!"
"..."
Ijichi Nijika had no choice. She wanted to stop them, but she couldn't find any reason to, so she could only walk over with a flushed face, gritting her teeth.
As she walked behind the rock, the scene of being 'bumped' by Kitahara Makoto earlier immediately flooded her mind.
(N-No, don't think about it anymore!)
Ijichi Nijika quickly shook her head, trying to forget the terrible scene in her mind.
But she couldn't forget.
The impression was too deep; she would never be able to forget it in this lifetime.
At the same time.
As the scene in her mind clearly resurfaced, Ijichi Nijika suddenly felt a strong urge to pull Kitahara Makoto over and reenact the scene.
This urge was so strong that Ijichi Nijika let out a muffled groan, her heart rate suddenly accelerated, her legs went weak, and she quickly reached out to support herself against the rock so she wouldn't collapse.
(W-What's going on?)
(My body suddenly feels so strange...)
Ijichi Nijika couldn't help but become nervous; an unknown change in her body naturally made her extremely concerned.
(What exactly happened?)
(Why would I want to do such a thing...)
After much thought, Ijichi Nijika suddenly widened her eyes.
(Wait... Could it be the Eden Fruit?! )
(Kitahara-kun said before that the Eden Fruit has side effects, making the consumer's original sin especially strong...)
(The sin of lust is one of the original sins, isn't it?)
Although there was no evidence, Ijichi Nijika's intuition told her that her guess was not wrong.
The problem was that it was too late to regret now.
Compared to eternal youth, no one had paid attention to the side effects at the time...
"Ryo-senpai, your face is so red," Gotō Hitori asked worriedly in a low voice, "Are you having a fever?"
Ijichi Nijika raised her hand to touch her cheek, and indeed, her fingertips were burning hot. She stammered and turned her pretty face away:
"N-Nothing, it's probably just my body inexplicably heating up after eating the fruit..."
"Kitahara-kun brought a thermometer." Gotō Hitori was still a little worried. "Ryo-senpai, if you're not feeling well, you should say so early."
"I know." Ijichi Nijika took a deep breath, and a forced smile appeared on her pretty face. "Let's change our clothes quickly."
"…"
When the girls changed into their swimsuits and walked out from behind the reef one by one, Kitahara Makoto had already changed into his swim trunks and had been waiting for a long time.
"Although we haven't encountered any monsters in the sea yet, we can't let our guard down." Kitahara Makoto reminded seriously, "Everyone, just swim by the beach, don't swim too far, and if you encounter any accidents, remember to call me immediately."
"Got it, got it~"
"…"
The girls successively went into the sea to swim, even Hana was no exception. Her clothes automatically transformed into a swimsuit, and she floated on the sea, looking carefree. She even held a box of small cakes in her hand, taking a bite from time to time.
While no one was paying attention, Kita Ikuyo quietly swam to Hana's side and whispered:
"Hana, why did you call Ryo-senpai 'Mom' just now?"
Regarding the secret between Yamada Ryo and Nijika, Kita Ikuyo still wanted to find out. The best way was naturally to ask the answer book, but the answer book could only be asked five times a day, and each question was very important, so she couldn't waste the questioning opportunities casually.
Hana seemed to know the truth, so she could easily be swayed with small cakes.
Hana tilted her head and looked over, speaking in a fragmented manner:
"She is Mom."
"Strange, didn't Hana always call Nijika 'Mom'?"
"That's right."
"Then why did you call Ryo-senpai 'Mom' just now?"
"She is Mom."
"…"
Kita felt like she had asked for nothing; she really couldn't understand Hana's thought process. She could only take a deep breath and say:
"Hana, do you know why Nijika and Ryo-senpai became so strange? If you answer correctly, I'll buy you two small cakes."
Hana's eyes lit up:
"Bracelet."
"Eh?"
Kita blinked, and a scene suddenly appeared in her mind.
When Yamada Ryo and Kitahara Makoto left the cave to patrol the island, Yamada Ryo raised her right hand and waved it in front of Nijika. If she remembered correctly, Yamada Ryo had a Kessoku Band bracelet on her right wrist at that time.
"Is it a Kessoku Band bracelet?"
On the weekend before summer vacation, everyone studied together at Kitahara Makoto's house. At that time, Nijika gave a bracelet to Kita, and Kita had naturally experienced the effect of the bracelet.
"Strange, it's just a bracelet, why did Nijika and Yamada Ryo seem to become different people?"
Kita Ikuyo racked her brains but couldn't figure it out. She could only choose the most foolish way to ascertain the truth.
"If Ryo-senpai and Nijika only became strange after putting on the bracelet…"
"Then."
"If I also put on the Kessoku Band bracelet, I'll know the truth, right?"
"…"
Seeing that she couldn't get any other information, Kita Ikuyo prepared to swim to Bocchi-chan's side.
However, the next second.
A rip current suddenly swept over, with strong undertows, causing Kita Ikuyo to lose her balance and be carried away by the current.
"Hmm…"
Kita Ikuyo suddenly let out a soft hum, and her slender, dark eyebrows furrowed sharply.
"It, it hurts so much…"
She didn't know if she had bumped into something or been stung by some creature, but a sharp pain suddenly came from her backside.
Kita Ikuyo bit her teeth lightly, swam back to the shore, and after turning her head to see the wound, she immediately panicked.
"Eh, eh, eh?"
"Why is it purple?"
"Even if it's an accidental injury, the wound should be red, right?"
Kita Ikuyo's imagination ran wild:
"Could it be… I'm poisoned?!"
Thinking that she might be poisoned, Kita Ikuyo immediately panicked and quickly looked at Kitahara Makoto not far away, calling out pitifully in a low voice:
"Kitahara-kun, help!"
Kitahara Makoto heard the call, quickly swam back to shore, and came to Kita's side:
"What's wrong?"
"That…" Kita Ikuyo stammered, too embarrassed to explain the situation in front of everyone. She could only say in a low voice with a red face, "Shall we go behind that reef to talk?"
"Okay."
Kitahara Makoto followed Kita behind the reef where he had fought with Yamada Ryo.
"Kita can speak now."
"Just now, when I was swimming in the sea, I don't know if I bumped into something or was stung by something…" Kita Ikuyo said in a low voice with a red face, "The color of the wound seems to be purple…"
"Purple?"
Kitahara Makoto immediately frowned:
"Where is the wound? Let me see."
"Th-that…"
Kita Ikuyo's face was flushed, and her gaze drifted:
"It's on the back."
Kitahara Makoto's gaze shifted downwards, and he finally understood why Kita was stuttering. He immediately said:
"Let me see."
"B-but…"
"But what? It's not like I haven't seen it before."
"Ugh—"
Kita Ikuyo immediately puffed out her pink cheeks, blushing and pouting.
"This is not the time to be shy." Kitahara Makoto frowned and ordered, "Quickly turn around. There are too many strange things in the Otherworld. Let's confirm safety first."
"So, so forceful…"
Kita Ikuyo mumbled with a red face, but her body obediently turned around.