"Purple scars have appeared around the wound."
Looking at the purple marks on the girl's snow-white skin, Kitahara Makoto immediately frowned and said in a deep voice:
"You stay behind the reef, don't move. I'll go back and get the answer book."
Kita Ikuyo looked over pitifully:
"Kitahara-kun, come back soon."
Although she always thought Kitahara Makoto's harem-building behavior was extremely excessive, when faced with danger, the first person Kita wanted to rely on was still Kitahara Makoto.
"I'll be right back."
Kitahara Makoto quickly walked to the vine ladder and then climbed up.
This time, he didn't need to carry anyone, so Kitahara Makoto moved even faster. In just two minutes, he had already returned to Kita's side with the answer book.
"How can Kita be cured?"
Kitahara Makoto's expression was serious as he placed his hand on the answer book and asked the question.
Rustle, rustle.
The answer book flipped pages rapidly.
Not long after, a line of text quietly appeared on the page:
[Suck out the poison].
"Eh, eh, eh?" Kita Ikuyo's eyes widened, and her face quickly turned red. "You actually have to suck out the poison… that's too awful!"
Kitahara Makoto, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief:
"It's best if it can be sucked out. If we had to find something like an antidote, we wouldn't be able to find it in a short time."
"That's true…" Kita Ikuyo's face was flushed. "But that spot, you can't suck it out at all!"
Kitahara Makoto said seriously:
"Of course you can't suck it out yourself. I'll help."
"No!"
Kita Ikuyo shook her head quickly, her face burning hot.
"I don't want Kitahara-kun to help!"
If it were an arm or a leg, it would be fine, but the wound was on… How could she let a boy help her!
Kitahara Makoto exhaled lightly and said:
"If you don't let me help, then let Hitori come and help. In any case, we can't delay any longer. The longer we wait, the more dangerous it will be."
"If it's Hitori…"
Kita Ikuyo's face was flushed; she also didn't want Bocchi-chan to come and help.
(The injured part is too awful. If Hitori helps, it will definitely be super awkward later, right?)
(What should I do, what should I do?)
(Nijika or Ryo?)
(Or… should I let Kitahara-kun help?)
Kita Ikuyo hesitated, indecisive.
No matter who she chose to help, it felt super awful.
And that particular spot, she couldn't reach it herself no matter what…
"Don't waste time."
Kitahara Makoto spoke decisively, making the choice for Kita:
"I'll do it."
"No…"
Slap.
Kitahara Makoto reached out and gently patted, ordering:
"Quickly turn around, don't waste time."
"So, so mean…"
Kita Ikuyo's face was flushed red like fire. While she said it was mean, her body obediently turned around.
A man must be assertive when necessary.
If you keep asking Kita 'can you' or 'do you want to,' a girl's modesty will make Kita say no, but if you become assertive and don't ask if it's okay, but rather tell her directly what to do, most girls will choose to obey.
"Support yourself on the reef with both hands and bend down at the waist," Kitahara Makoto commanded again.
Kita Ikuyo's small face was flushed crimson, and she said pitifully, "That pose is too awful…"
"Compared to life, a little awful is fine."
"But…"
"There are no buts, hurry up," Kitahara Makoto said, raising an eyebrow. "It's not like I haven't seen it before."
…
Kita Ikuyo had no choice but to blush and obediently bend down.
"The scarred area has indeed gotten larger again."
Kitahara Makoto spoke while extending his right hand, placing it on Kita's swimsuit bottom.
Among the girls, only Bocchi-chan was wearing a blue school swimsuit; the rest were all wearing two-piece swimsuits.
Kita was naturally no exception, but her swimsuit style was more conservative, with many decorative fluffy ruffles.
"Wh-wh-wh-what are you doing?!"
Feeling Kitahara Makoto fiddling with her swimsuit, Kita Ikuyo immediately turned her head, looking flustered.
Kitahara Makoto said righteously, "Of course, I'm moving the swimsuit aside. I can't exactly help you detox through your swimsuit, can I?"
Kita Ikuyo: "…"
That's true, but no matter how she thought about it, it was too awful!
However, the injury was slowly getting worse, from initial pain to numbness. Kita Ikuyo couldn't help but worry, so she could only bite her teeth and turn her small face away.
At this point, she could only let Kitahara Makoto help.
"By the way, why is there a string? Is it decorative?"
Kitahara Makoto spoke while curiously tugging at the bowknot string on the swimsuit bottom.
"W-wait a minute…"
Kita Ikuyo's eyes suddenly widened, and she frantically tried to stop him.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
The next second.
The pink fabric floated down silently like a cicada's wing.
"Well, it turns out it wasn't decorative. Kita is unexpectedly bold."
Kitahara Makoto broke the silence.
"You're still talking!!!"
Kita Ikuyo's small face was already exploding with redness, as if about to drip blood, and she was so ashamed and angry that she was about to get up:
"Go away, I don't need your help anymore…"
"Wait," Kitahara Makoto suddenly extended his right hand, pressing down on Kita to prevent her from getting up, while speaking with a serious expression, "The purple poisoned scar is rapidly expanding."
"Wh-why?"
Kita Ikuyo panicked at the words, as if she truly felt the pain spreading rapidly.
"It might be because Kita was too agitated just now, causing her blood circulation to speed up, which then affected the spread of the toxin," Kitahara Makoto said with a grave tone. "There's no time to put your swimsuit back on; I'll detoxify you now."
"Wait a minute…"
Kita Ikuyo shook her head quickly, about to refuse.
Her swimsuit had already fallen off, and her current posture was truly too awful!
"At-at least let me put on… Ugh!"
Accompanied by a muffled groan, Kita Ikuyo's slender neck arched high, one hand propped against the rock wall, the other hand frantically raised to her face, tightly covering her pink lips with the back of her hand.
The subsequent detoxification process needs no further explanation.
The answer book did not lie. As Kitahara Makoto continuously sucked, the area of the purple scar began to shrink rapidly, quickly returning to its clean, white state.
Just then, the sound of footsteps approached.
"Wh-who is it?!"
Kita Ikuyo jumped in fright and quickly called out.
"Kita, it's me," Gotō Hitori's voice sounded from the other side of the reef, with a worried tone. "I was a bit worried since I hadn't seen Kita come over to swim."
"I-I'm fine…" Kita Ikuyo took a deep breath, trying hard to keep her voice from sounding unusual. "I'm feeling a little unwell, so I came here to rest a bit… Ugh!"
The girl's trembling, low groan suddenly sounded, her voice soft and tingling, as if instantly turning the air pink.
(You, you, you, you, you… where are you touching!!!)
Kita Ikuyo's small body suddenly tensed up, and she turned her head shyly to look at Kitahara Makoto, steam billowing from the top of her head, her small face even redder to the point of exploding, almost dripping blood.
Kitahara Makoto wiped the corner of his mouth and responded with an innocent look in his eyes:
"I'm helping to expel the toxins."
"Kita, what's wrong?"
Bocchi-chan's footsteps nervously approached.
"Don't, don't come over!"
Kita Ikuyo regained her senses and quickly shouted to stop her, embarrassed.
If Bocchi-chan saw what was happening behind the reef, she would only be able to hold her breath and commit suicide, never daring to live again!
"Kita, are you alright?"
Gotō Hitori's voice was worried:
"Should I call Nijika and the others over…"
"No! Absolutely not!"
Kita Ikuyo hurriedly and frantically denied.
"Eh, why?"
"Because… I'm not convenient right now…" Kita Ikuyo was already tearfully embarrassed, yet couldn't faint. She could only tightly cover her lips and stammer, "I was bitten by an insect just now… in, in an inconvenient place… I'm applying ointment…"
"Kita was bitten by a poisonous insect?" Gotō Hitori's voice immediately became anxious. "I'll go call Kitahara-kun over."
"Don't call him!"
Kita Ikuyo quickly spoke to stop her.
He's right behind me; there's no way to call him over.
On one side was Kitahara Makoto bullying her from behind, and on the other was Bocchi-chan, separated only by a large reef. Shame and a sense of impropriety surged through her entire body, and Kita Ikuyo felt like she was going to break down.
Yet, she couldn't faint. If she fainted, who knew what would happen.
Kita Ikuyo could only bite her lower lip tightly to stay conscious:
"I'm fine, Hitori, don't worry. You go back to swimming first, I'll be there right away… Ah!"
The girl's trembling gasp sounded once again.
Kita Ikuyo's slender neck suddenly arched backward, and she almost fell over.
"Kita, your voice sounds so strange…"
Gotō Hitori's voice was subtle.
For some reason, hearing Kita's voice just now made her heart race and her body feel warm.
(Of course, it's strange!)
(If our roles were swapped, Bocchi-chan's voice would definitely be even stranger right now!)
Kita Ikuyo was teary-eyed, only able to swallow her grievances:
"I-I'm really fine… I'll go to the beach to swim right away… Bocchi-chan, don't ask anymore, hurry back to swim, please, boo-hoo…"
"O-okay then…"
Hearing that Kita was almost crying, Kita Ikuyo could only look back three times with each step, turning around and leaving worriedly.
Hearing Bocchi-chan's footsteps fade away, Kitahara Makoto finally stood up straight and wiped the corner of his mouth:
"I've fulfilled my mission. All the toxins have been sucked out."
Plop.
Losing Kitahara Makoto's support, Kita Ikuyo immediately went limp and fell to the ground, looking up with tearful shame:
"Stupid Kitahara!"
"Pervert!"
"Ecchi!"
"Bocchi-chan almost found out just now!"
Kitahara Makoto apologized sincerely:
"I'm sorry, I was wrong. I'll be more careful next time…"
Kita Ikuyo's pink cheeks puffed out:
"There won't be a next time!"
…
After resting for a while and regaining her strength, Kita quietly slipped out of the reef's cover and continued soaking with Bocchi-chan.
The rest of the time passed safely without any incidents. After playing for a while at the beach, the girls all came ashore, and Kitahara Makoto carried them up the cliff.
Twelve hours later.
The game disc's activation cooldown quietly reset.
Kitahara Makoto and the girls entered the game space again, but unfortunately, their luck was bad this time. They couldn't defeat the slime Boss in the first level, so they couldn't get the Unyielding Will, and naturally, the Eden Fruit couldn't be picked.
"It's fine if we can't pick the fruit," Ijichi Nijika suggested. "It's been a long time, should everyone go back to the real world first?"