"So, Seika, do you want to drink the universal medicine?"
Kitahara asked softly.
"..."
Seika parted her lips, wanting to refuse firmly as before, but the words reached her mouth and ultimately remained unsaid.
There was nothing she could do. After a series of unfortunate injuries, she really couldn't be firm anymore.
"If Seika doesn't speak, I'll take that as a yes," Kitahara smiled. "But I don't have the universal medicine right now. I'll come back tonight."
Seika gently hummed: "Let's be clear first, if any strange side effects appear, you must remove them immediately!"
Kitahara said seriously:
"Of course, Seika-nee's future life is in my hands."
Seika's face flushed slightly, and she glared at him angrily:
"Perverted brat, you wish!"
Kitahara held up two fingers:
"This is the second time."
Seika: "..."
Damn it!
This perverted brat is too arrogant!
Seika made up her mind that she would definitely not call him 'Perverted brat' a third time... At most, she would only call him that in her heart.
"Seika's clothes are soaked. Do you want me to carry you to the bathroom to wash, or should we go directly to the Onsen Village?"
Kitahara asked.
"Let me think..."
Seika pursed her lips at his words, falling into a dilemma.
She felt cold and wet and very uncomfortable right now, so she definitely needed a bath. But whether to go to the bathroom or to the Onsen Village, she had to consider carefully.
The bathroom was her territory, but there was no bathroom in the store. To bathe, she could only go to her home upstairs, which meant passing through the store. She would definitely be seen along the way... Just thinking about it made her feel like she would die of embarrassment on the spot.
If she chose to go to the Onsen Village to wash, she wouldn't have to worry about all sorts of embarrassing social situations, but she always felt it would be very dangerous... If that perverted brat suddenly wanted to be lewd and take advantage of her, screaming until her throat was hoarse wouldn't help, would it?
After hesitating for a few seconds, Seika's pretty face flushed slightly, and her eyes quickly firmed:
"...Let's go to the Onsen Village to bathe."
Kitahara raised an eyebrow in surprise:
"I thought Seika wouldn't dare to go to the Onsen Village."
"Just a high school kid, what do I have to be afraid of?"
Seika gave a light snort, her mouth being the only part of her still stubborn.
Although this perverted brat was sometimes too much, his character was actually fine.
If it were anyone else, after possessing various magical abilities, they would have long since become a Homelander who doesn't eat beef, and then fast-forwarded to eighteen-plus scenarios like hypnosis and coercion, right?
But no matter if it was Nijika or Ryo, or even Kita and Bocchi, they were clearly all willing...
Kitahara nodded:
"Let's go, we're going to the Onsen Village."
"..."
The light in the storeroom distorted slightly, and the two figures vanished into thin air.
"The bathroom is a bit far. Should I carry Seika-nee over?"
Kitahara asked for her opinion.
"You don't need to carry me." Seika looked at him warily, "
I can walk by myself."
Kitahara said speechlessly:
"It's just me and Seika here. No one will know what we do, so Seika doesn't need to pretend to be strong."
"I'm not pretending to be strong, don't look down on me."
Seika was as stubborn as ever, holding her waist with one hand and walking forward stubbornly.
After only a few steps, she came to a flight of stairs, biting her lower lip, her face showing a troubled expression.
Seeing Kitahara tilt his head and look over, Seika gritted her teeth and prepared to go down.
"I've never seen anyone as tsundere as Seika."
Kitahara couldn't help but complain, reaching out and gently scooping her up in a princess carry, holding Seika in his arms.
"Pervert, what are you doing?"
Seika glared at him angrily.
"Quiet."
Kitahara strode towards the bathroom, his voice calm:
"Otherwise, I'll make Seika cry from kissing."
Seika: "..."
A moment later.
"We've arrived at the bathroom."
Kitahara looked down at Seika in his arms:
"Do you want me to help Seika bathe?"
Seika's pretty face was crimson, and she glared at him angrily:
"Lewd..."
Kitahara raised an eyebrow slightly:
"What does Seika want to say?"
"Being lewd is shameful!" Seika coughed twice, pulling back from the brink and swallowing the 'Pervert,' her voice annoyed, "Hurry up and put me down, I'll bathe myself!"
Kitahara still wouldn't give up: "Are you really okay?"
Seika glared at him angrily:
"I only have back pain, I'm not paralyzed. Of course, bathing is no problem."
"Alright." Kitahara sighed regretfully, putting Seika down. "Then Seika can bathe first, I'll go get you a towel."
"..."
Soaking in the onsen before bed had become a daily routine for the girls, and coupled with Kitahara often bullying people in the Onsen Village, all sorts of bathing supplies were readily available, and he even prepared exclusive lockers for everyone.
Kitahara walked to his locker, took out a towel, bathrobe, and shampoo, then returned to the bathroom door.
"Seika, open the door."
Kitahara called from outside the door.
"...What do you want me to open the door for?" Seika's voice was wary.
Kitahara said righteously, "Of course, it's to hand you the towel and bathrobe. Seika wouldn't want to come out with her bare butt later, would she?"
"Bah!"
The bathroom door opened a crack. Seika stretched out her right hand, quickly took the towel and bathrobe, and then scurried back inside.
Kitahara said, "I'll be guarding the door. If Seika needs help, call me immediately."
Seika's tsundere snort came from the bathroom: "I'm not a three-year-old child. I don't need you to guard me. You go do whatever you need to do."
Kitahara said slowly, "Alright, then I'll tell you the truth."
"Eh? The truth?"
Kitahara said without changing his expression, "Actually, I want to use Seika-nee's bathing sounds to accompany my meal."
"..."
Hearing Kitahara's brazen words, Seika's pretty face immediately flushed crimson.
Use my bathing sounds to accompany your meal?
Pervert!
This perverted brat is too much of a pervert!
I'm Nijika's sister. This kind of talk is practically criminal!
In her shame and anger, Seika blurted out, "Perver..."
Unfortunately, she stopped halfway, and there was no follow-up.
Kitahara said leisurely, "Seika-nee, why did you stop talking halfway?"
Seika bit her teeth, her voice both embarrassed and angry: "You want me to say it, but I won't!"
"Tsk~"
Kitahara let out a soft 'tsk': "Seika-nee has finally learned to be smart. I'm very pleased."
Seika: "..."
You're just a high school perverted brat. Don't lecture me with an adult tone!
"Don't talk!" Seika's voice was full of shame and anger. "I'm going to take a bath!"
Twenty minutes later.
Seika finally finished washing up, wrapped in a bathrobe, and pushed open the door to exit the bathroom. During this time, everything was safe and sound, and no accidents occurred.
"Seika-nee, give me your clothes." Kitahara extended his right hand. "You go soak in the onsen for a bit first."
Seika covered her chest with her right hand: "I'll wash my own clothes."
"Don't push yourself." Kitahara pointed a finger. "There's a washing machine there. Just throw them in and use the washing machine. Seika-nee, go soak in the onsen first. By the time you're done, your clothes will be dry, and then we can get dressed and leave the [Onsen Village]."
Seika looked at the washing machine curiously: "There's electricity here?"
"Of course there's no electricity, but we specifically bought a battery pack," Kitahara explained. "Daily electricity use is no problem at all."
Seika gave a soft snort: "I'll put my own clothes in the washing machine."
"Alright, Seika, as you wish."
Kitahara naturally wouldn't force her.
Seika turned and went back into the bathroom, took out the changed dress, underwear, etc., and then slowly walked to the washing machine.
The washing machine was a common front-loading type. To wash clothes, she needed to bend down to open the drum lid on the side. Normally, Seika would do this easily, but at this moment, she had old injuries compounded by new ones. As soon as she bent her waist, she didn't know which nerve was compressed, and she suddenly gasped.
"It...it hurts so much..."
Seika gasped while frantically reaching to support her waist. As a result, she stumbled, her head hit the washing machine with a 'thump,' and the clothes in her hand scattered all over the floor.
"I told you not to push yourself."
Kitahara stepped forward speechlessly, picked up Seika in one swift motion, and glanced at the scattered clothes on the ground:
"But speaking of which, Seika-nee's dressing style is quite unique. It's actually the blue and white bowl pattern that only elementary school students would choose..."
Thump!
Seika gave Kitahara a direct headbutt, clearly somewhat exasperated with shame: "You actually called me an elementary school student?!"
No, for blue and white bowl patterned panties, besides elementary school students, middle school students wouldn't choose them!
"I'm sorry, I was wrong." Kitahara was flexible. "What I really wanted to say was that Seika-nee has a very childlike heart."
"...You brat, you really want a beating, don't you?!"
"Seika, go soak in the onsen first."
Kitahara carried Seika and simply turned to walk towards the onsen pool.
Seika said in embarrassment, "Wait, there are still clothes..."
"I'll put the clothes in the washing machine later."
Kitahara continued walking towards the onsen pool without stopping.
"..."
Seika parted her lips but ultimately remained silent, her pretty face flushed.
The color and style of her underwear had already been seen clearly. Her dignity was already gone, so it didn't matter anymore if Kitahara helped wash them.
Kitahara quickly walked to the side of the onsen pool and set Seika down: "Seika, can you get in by yourself?"
Seika snorted softly: "Of course, no problem."
Kitahara said faintly, "Someone just said there was no problem washing clothes, but then..."
"Are you still talking?!"
Seika angrily clenched her fists and glared at him.
"I'm going to wash the clothes." Kitahara simply took half a step back and reminded her, "The ground is a bit slippery, Seika-nee, please be careful."
"..."
Kitahara turned and left, walking to the washing machine. He picked up the black dress, the elementary school-style blue and white bowl panties, and the medium-thickness pantyhose, then stuffed them all into the washing machine, poured in laundry detergent, and started washing.
At the same time.
Seika walked behind the screen, quietly took off her bathrobe, and then carefully entered the onsen pool.
"Hoo..."
As the onsen water soaked her entire body, the sharp pain in her waist seemed to disappear by more than half instantly. Seika narrowed her eyes slightly, exhaled comfortably, and a look of bliss involuntarily appeared on her pretty face.
"..."
"After a day of exhaustion, soaking in an onsen before bed is indeed one of the happiest things in the world."
A sense of comfort and happiness welled up in her heart. Seika became completely languid, not wanting to open her eyes at all. Before long, even her breathing became even.
"Is she asleep...? It seems she's really been working hard these past few days."
Kitahara finished washing the clothes and came over to see that Seika was asleep, so he quietly turned to take a shower in the bathroom.
He had been carrying Seika around earlier, and his body was covered in a lot of alcohol, which felt sticky and uncomfortable. Naturally, he needed to shower and change clothes.
After tidying up, Kitahara also entered the onsen pool and began to soak quietly.
Time quietly passed like this.
After an unknown amount of time, Seika, in her sleep, turned over, and her face accidentally submerged in the onsen, causing her to suddenly choke awake.
"Ugh..."
Seika had just struggled in panic when, the next second, she felt herself being lifted from the water by someone, and a familiar sense of security instantly enveloped her body.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Seika wiped the water from her face and quickly realized she was half-sprawled in Kitahara's arms, and Kitahara was naked, without clothes.
"W-what's going on?"
Shame instantly surged into her heart, and Seika hurriedly tried to get up from Kitahara's embrace.
"Ugh... Mm~!"
The next second.
A low hum with a tremor instantly sounded, and the air seemed to turn pink.
Under the friction of skin against skin, an electric shock-like tremor instantly swept through her body. Seika looked down in panic and realized that she, too, was completely naked.
Splash!
Seika frantically covered her chest and quickly squatted down into the onsen pool.
"Seika-nee fell asleep while soaking in the onsen. You suddenly turned over and choked on water just now. I just picked you up."
Kitahara raised his hands and explained first.
Seika bit her lower lip tightly, quickly recalling what had happened.
The facts were as Kitahara said; she had indeed fallen asleep, and that's why the subsequent events occurred...
Seika was about to speak when her gaze fell on Kitahara's body. Her breathing suddenly hitched, and her heart rate involuntarily accelerated sharply.
Kitahara was shirtless at this moment. When he was wearing clothes, she hadn't noticed anything, but after taking off his clothes, she realized his entire body was muscular, and they weren't the dead muscles developed in a gym, but rather muscle lines that perfectly conformed to the golden ratio of the human body.
Seika couldn't find many adjectives, but her body's reaction was exceptionally honest.
First, her eyes, fixed on Kitahara's eight-pack abs, couldn't move away at all.
Then, her brain. A thought involuntarily arose in her mind:
"They must feel really good to touch..."
Not only that, but the images that Seika had sealed deep in her mind, those experiences from when she had 'accidentally' joined the shared carpool and felt 100% empathy with Nijika, also surged uncontrollably.
'Gulp'~
Seika unconsciously swallowed her saliva.
Kitahara: "..."
Seika: "..."
The air suddenly fell silent.
"That...that was onsen water that accidentally got into my mouth just now!"
Seika's pretty face quickly flushed explosively. She couldn't help but want to dive into the onsen and hold her breath to commit suicide, explaining in a mix of shame, anger, and panic.
"I trust Seika-nee," Kitahara said seriously. "Seika is an adult, so she wouldn't drool over a high schooler's body, right?"
Seika: "…"
This perverted brat really wants to die, doesn't he!
Seika clenched her small fists, suppressing the urge to hit him, and glared at him with embarrassment and anger:
"You hurry up and leave. I need to get up and get dressed. There's a lot to do at the store, and if I don't go back, Nijika will definitely worry."
"Seika-nee only slept for a little over an hour. With a ten-to-one time flow, not much time has actually passed… but the clothes are already washed and dried, so we can indeed go back."
Kitahara stood up as he spoke.
Splash.
Water splashed.
Seika frantically turned her head away, raising a hand to cover her eyes, and shouted in embarrassment:
"Perverted brat! You really want to die, don't you!"
Kitahara's tone was innocent:
"Before Seika curses, please open your eyes and look."
"I don't want to see such disgusting things!"
While Seika was cursing, her right hand involuntarily opened a small gap between her fingers.
It definitely wasn't out of curiosity!
It was simply because Kitahara was so self-assured; there might be a misunderstanding…
"Eh, a towel?"
Seeing the towel wrapped around Kitahara's waist, Seika let out a surprised gasp.
"Of course, there's a towel," Kitahara said righteously. "Seika is Nijika's older sister; how could I possibly show Seika something like that?"
Upon hearing this, Seika immediately flared up. 'Now she remembers I'm Nijika's older sister?'
'When you were kissing and hugging before, how did you completely forget!'
"However…"
Kitahara stepped in front of Seika, looking down at her.
"What are you going to do?"
Seika immediately became vigilant. She had a feeling she might have just violated some taboo.
Kitahara extended a finger, looking down and saying:
"That was the third time."
"Eh?"
Seika paused slightly, then quickly reacted.
(N-not good!)
(I just called him perverted brat again; that's three times!)
(Is he going to… again?)
"Third time's the charm, Seika-nee. You've called me that so many times, you must accept the punishment." Kitahara looked down. "I'll give Seika two choices: either you kiss me first, or I kiss you first. But if I make the first move, who knows when it will end."
"I choose none of them!"
Seika's pretty face flushed, and she glared at him, putting on a brave front despite her inner fear.
"If you dare to mess around, I'll break all five of your limbs!"
Faced with Seika's threat, Kitahara treated it as a mere breeze, not taking it to heart at all.
He had already kissed her so many times; if he were going to get beaten, he would have been beaten by now.
"Tsk~"
Kitahara gave a soft click of his tongue, then half-squatted down:
"It seems Seika has made her choice."
Seika's heart rate quietly accelerated, and she glared at him in a panic:
"Brat, don't push your luck!"
Kitahara continued to press on: "There are only two of us in the Onsen Village. Even if Seika screams her lungs out, no one will come to save her."
Seika: "…"