"Eh, saw the future?"
"It's that [Foresight] ability, right?"
"I almost forgot Kitahara-san had such an incredible ability."
"What kind of future did Kitahara-kun see?"
"..."
The girls cast curious glances his way one after another.
"The future, huh..."
Kitahara fell silent for two seconds, giving an evasive answer:
"With me here, there's no need to worry. I will protect everyone."
"..."
"How could we not worry?!" Kita couldn't resist complaining. "Refusing to say a single word about it makes people super curious, alright!"
Saying this, Kita turned her head toward Ryo beside her:
"Ryo-senpai, hurry up and activate your earth-shattering wisdom to deduce why Kitahara-san is keeping secrets from everyone."
Soyo: "..."
Earth-shattering wisdom?
Why does it feel like that title ought to belong to me?
"Well..." Ryo raised her right hand, pushing up the non-existent glasses on the bridge of her nose as she entered deduction mode. "Kitahara's reluctance to speak proves that the future is even worse than the present, and in all likelihood, it's a future we cannot accept."
"Eh, eh, eh?"
Covering her chest with both hands, Anon couldn't help crying out:
"It's already super terrible right now, and the future is even worse than this... No way! I super want to happily go to school and hang out shopping with everyone!"
Ryo blinked, tilting her head toward Kitahara:
"However, Kitahara said just now that he would protect everyone, which means in Kitahara's plan, we shouldn't be in danger."
"Eliminating one option leaves only the remaining one..."
"A future we cannot accept... Is Kitahara planning to sacrifice himself?"
Kitahara: "..."
She could actually deduce even this?
If you're this smart, why on earth do you score zero on exams!
Staaaare—
The girls turned their heads in unison, looking straight at Kitahara.
"Kitahara-san, why aren't you saying anything?"
"Did Ryo-senpai hit the mark?"
"Sacrificing yourself to protect everyone—that's totally what an idiot would do!"
"Idiot Kitahara, hurry up and say something!"
"..."
Faced with the girls' concerned questions, Kitahara remained silent throughout, showing no intention of revealing the future, his voice merely sinking low:
"Three days remain."
"In three days, the Lord of Calamity will completely descend upon the mortal plane; when that time comes, you will naturally understand everything."
Anon: "What the heck, saying that is the same as saying nothing at all."
Kita: "Riddlers are the worst!"
"Sakiko, did Makoto-kun say anything to you?"
Tomori inquired with concern.
"No," Sakiko shook her head gently, her brows knitting slightly. "Even about Kitahara-kun seeing the future, this is the first time he's mentioned it."
"Didn't you say you hated riddlers the most?" Anon attempted to use reverse psychology, her cheeks puffing up slightly. "Kitahara-kun, don't become the very kind of person you hate most."
Nijika looked over worriedly, her face full of concern:
"Bearing it all alone must be very hard, Kitahara-kun. Why not tell us, and we can help bear it together with you?"
"Indeed," Soyo said gently, her eyes brimming with concern. "We aren't as fragile as Kitahara-kun imagines."
Mutsumi spoke expressionlessly: "If Makoto-kun tells us, Taki and I will team up tonight to let you..."
Before she could finish, a hand darted over swiftly, instantly clapping over Mutsumi's mouth as Taki flushed with combined bashfulness and fury:
"Mutsumi! Stop spouting nonsense!"
To actually have the nerve to blurt out teaming up to play games in front of everyone—believe it or not, I'll hold my breath and die of embarrassment right in front of you!
"Three days until the Lord of Calamity descends..." Sakiko pursed her soft lips, refusing to simply lie flat and surrender, instead seeking a proactive path forward. "Could we cooperate with the Administration Bureau to ambush the Lord of Calamity?"
"That's right, let's all buff Kitahara-kun together and launch a sneak attack on that guy!"
"And the Tree of Eden—remember before the school festival, the Book of Answers gave a hint saying the Tree of Eden and that Lord of Calamity were mortal enemies? Could we make them fight each other?"
"..."
The girls offered their respective suggestions one after another. After listening in silence, Kitahara said softly:
"Before The Three-Body Problem, sci-fi had aliens flying space-time jumping starships to planets to plunder grain, and the starships were powered by coal... The divine-tier Lord of Calamity can be visualized as the Trisolarans; It is a hyperdimensional existence in the truest sense."
"Just as weapons within a two-dimensional plane cannot harm humans in a three-dimensional world, humans in a three-dimensional world cannot harm hyperdimensional gods either. Even humanity's strongest weapon, nuclear warheads, cannot breach Its defenses."
"As for launching a sneak attack now..."
Kitahara fell silent, merely shaking his head.
Launching an ambush now, while having some effect, was ultimately of little significance.
In Otherworld, the Lord of Calamity and the Tree of Eden were not the only divine-tier entities; other hyperdimensional presences existed as well. If they merely ambushed the Lord of Calamity, at best it would grant the real world a fleeting moment of respite, entirely unable to alter the final destiny of annihilation.
Even hiding inside the Onsen Dimension would eventually result in being ferreted out by the Lord of Calamity.
Kitahara's gaze shifted downward, settling on his wrist, as he softly gave his pledge:
"In short, I will definitely protect everyone."
"..."
After finishing the onsen soak.
Draped in bathrobes, the girls went ashore to rest.
"Kitahara, I want to drink Meiji milk."
Sitting casually on a beach lounge chair, Ryo bossed Kitahara around without a shred of hesitation.
"I'll go get it."
Kitahara nodded, turning toward the refrigerator.
When dealing with Ryo, the first girl he had conquered, pampering her was only natural.
Watching Kitahara walk away, Ryo suddenly clapped her hands, announcing with a placid expression:
"Shall we draw lots, everyone?"
"Eh?" Kita looked over in bewilderment. "What is Ryo-senpai talking about? Why draw lots out of the blue?"
"Drawing lots makes it easy to allocate the thing everyone cares about most..."
Ryo crossed her arms over her chest, the corners of her delicate lips turning upward into an amused smile.
(Oh no!)
Seeing that amused smile on Ryo's face, a bad premonition abruptly surged in Nijika's heart.
(Ryo is definitely about to stir up trouble again.)
"What is the thing everyone cares about most?" Anon asked curiously. "Ryo-senpai, don't be a riddler too."
"Well, then I'll just say it plainly..."
Ryo's gaze swept across the girls as she airily dropped shockingly bold words that made everyone's face burn:
"Now that Kitahara has returned, everyone wants to do some naughty things with him, right?"
"Night raids carry risks; it's very likely people will bump into each other just like before."
"So let's draw lots to decide the usage rights to Kitahara. In a moment, I'll prepare a deck of playing cards; everyone draws one card, and according to the numerical order, we'll determine each person's date time with Kitahara."
The girls: "..."
Kitahara: "..."
I only stepped away to fetch Meiji milk, I didn't go deaf! Keep your voices down when discussing this, will you!
The girls exchanged glances in stunned silence, nobody uttering a peep for a moment; the thin-skinned girls, like Hitori, had already blushed crimson across their entire faces.
(I knew it...)
Nijika raised a hand to her forehead in exasperation.
(Sending Kitahara-san away was actually just to bring up this sort of thing—doesn't Ryo feel even an ounce of shame!)
As it turned out, Ryo's sense of shame was indeed extraordinarily thin; the proof being that her expression remained entirely nonchalant, showing neither embarrassment nor a flush of red.
"What does everyone think of the lottery proposal?"
Ryo glanced around, speaking as if it were the most natural thing:
"Counting down five seconds. If no one objects or offers a better suggestion, then we happily settle on this."
"Five..."
"Four..."
"Three..."
The countdown concluded swiftly.
The girls' eyes wandered all over the place, yet not a single one spoke up to veto it.
Kitahara had endured untold hardships to return from Otherworld; the girls' yearning had long swelled like a torrential tide on the verge of bursting the floodgates of their hearts, but with everyone gathered together, no one had the face to step forward and monopolize him.
It was entirely foreseeable that once they left the Onsen Dimension, someone would inevitably sneak over for a night raid, and bumping into each other would be mortifying beyond belief.
Now that Ryo had proposed drawing lots to decide the 'order of use,' shameless though it was, it truly was a brilliant solution.
"Wait a minute." Gritting her teeth, Seika stepped forward, her delicate face taut as she tried to detach herself from the situation. "I have nothing to do with that brat. If you all want to draw lots, go ahead and draw lots; I'm opting out."
Looking around, all the other girls were high schoolers, whereas she was twenty-nine years old—there was no way she would let herself be seen as some perverted adult robbing the cradle!
Seika cared immensely about appearances, so she would rather pull out just to preserve her pride.
The girls: "..."
Nothing to do with him?
Not even an elementary schooler would believe that line!
Everyone remained silent, and no one called her out on it; only Seika believed she had successfully pulled off the bluff and fooled everyone.
"Is there anyone else who wants to opt out?"
Ryo looked around at the group.
"..."
The girls exchanged glances, all blushing without saying a word.
"Very well, it seems everyone has decided to take part in the lottery, then." The corners of Ryo's lips curved upward slightly. "The tentative usage time for each person is two hours—no objections, right?"
Anon cleared her throat twice, her delicate face flushed crimson:
"No objections; two hours isn't short at all..."
While two hours in the real world wasn't long, staying in the Onsen Dimension the entire time meant twenty hours—rounding up, it was practically a whole day alone with Kitahara.
Besides that, Anon had her own little calculation—the lottery only decided the right of usage, and no one said it could only be used by one person alone.
If she teamed up with Kita, wouldn't the usage time be indirectly doubled?
"Well then, let's begin drawing lots, everyone."
Pulling out a deck of playing cards from who-knows-where, Ryo drew out number cards corresponding to the number of girls, flipped them facedown, and laid them out in a row across the table.
"One card per person, the exact right amount."
"..."
"I'll go first."
Mutsumi broke the silence first, stepping forward and picking a card.
"Ahem, then I'll pick one too..."
Anon cleared her throat twice, her cheeks slightly flushed, as she followed suit and chose a playing card.
With someone taking the lead to draw, what followed naturally fell into place; cards were turned over one by one, deciding the order in which the girls would 'use' Kitahara.
"Eh, I got the Three of Diamonds; not bad luck." Kita's eyes sparkled. "Converting the time, my slot is tomorrow morning from six to eight—just in time to have breakfast together."
"Ahhh, my luck is so terrible! It's actually the Ten of Clubs, meaning I have to wait until tomorrow night before I can be alone with Kitahara-kun..." Looking at the playing card in her hand, Anon felt utterly ruined. "How could anyone possibly hold out that long!"
Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, Anon hurriedly scurried over to Kita's side, quietly pulling Kita into a corner:
"Kita-chan, shall we team up?"
"Eh..."
"Kita-chan won't be able to hold out on her own anyway; you might break down, you know." Anon said with an air of pure righteousness, "I'll help Kita-chan share the burden."
Kita: "..."
You can't even last five minutes yourself, how do you have the nerve to talk about helping share the burden!
Seeing Kita hesitate, Anon hurriedly looked over with a pitiful, puppy-dog gaze:
"Please, pretty please?"
Exasperated, Kita crossed her arms, unable to resist muttering a complaint:
"I'm not Kitahara-san; Anon-chan, don't act spoiled with me."
"Ehehe~"
Anon poked out the pink tip of her tongue, clasping her hands before her chest:
"In any case, Kita definitely won't leave me behind, right?"
"Alright, alright." Kita pressed a hand to her forehead in resignation. "I agree, okay?"
The two were close friends to begin with, and having often fought side-by-side, teaming up was hardly an issue.
"By the way, who got the first card?"
Soyo looked around curiously.
"Well, it's right here in my hand..."
Ryo opened her right hand, where the Ace of Hearts lay prominently in her palm.
Nijika raised a hand to cover the side of her mouth, unable to stop herself from asking in a whisper:
"Ryo, you didn't cheat, did you?"
"I didn't." Ryo said with utter righteousness, "As long as I wasn't caught in the act, you can't rule that I cheated."
Nijika: "..."
Saying that is practically confessing to it!
No wonder you were so eager to propose using playing cards to draw lots—it was clearly an inside job from the start!
"Help me keep it a secret." Ryo raised a slender index finger, placing it against her lips. "I can share the usage rights to Kitahara with Nijika, you know."
Her face flushing red, Nijika looked away guiltily:
"No need! I have zero interest whatsoever!"
"Eh..." Ryo tilted her head toward her. "If Nijika really isn't interested, why did you take part in the lottery?"
Nijika: "..."
"And the Manager..." Shifting her gaze, Ryo looked toward Seika sitting all alone in the corner. "Later, let's call the Manager along to play the game together. If we truly leave her out and ignore her, the Manager will definitely cry, won't she?"
"Onee-chan won't cry at all!" Nijika couldn't resist retorting. "Besides, how could Onee-chan ever agree to doing that kind of thing as a trio!"
"Nijika isn't the Manager, so how do you know the Manager wouldn't want to?"
"Of course I know my own sister!"
"Then let us wait and see..."
"..."
Seeing the girls finally divide up their 'usage rights,' Kitahara walked over quietly holding the Meiji milk, speaking in a faint tone:
"Ryo-senpai, your milk."
"Ah..."
Ryo tilted her delicate face up, revealing a slender, snow-white swan neck:
"My arms are so tired, I can't lift them."
Saying you can't lift them is a lie; wanting someone to spoon-feed you is the real truth!
Kitahara silently held up the Meiji milk, bringing it to Ryo's lips.
"Mmh, Meiji milk fed by someone else really does taste better..." After taking a sip of milk, Ryo turned around as if nothing had happened and said, "It's already very late; everyone can go back and rest now."
"Ahem." Anon cleared her throat twice. "It really is late, everyone let's go back and rest."
The girls agreed one after another, leaving the Onsen Dimension together under Kitahara's lead, before heading off to their respective rooms.
"Manager, wait a moment."
Stepping forward, Ryo called out to Seika, who had turned to leave.
"What is it?"
Biting her lip, Seika looked back, doing her best to suppress any look of grievance.
Everyone else had drawn lots, leaving only herself excluded... Even though it had been her own choice, she was still thoroughly unhappy about it after all.
"Manager, hold out your hand."
Ryo said softly.
"Hmm?"
Raising an eyebrow in suspicion, Seika extended her right hand.
"Here."
Ryo placed an object into Seika's palm.
An oddly familiar texture brushed against her palm, causing Seika's heartbeat to quicken quietly:
"Could it be..."
Looking down nervously, a familiar black wristband entered Seika's vision.
"It really is the wristband... Ryo, what are you giving me this kind of thing for?!"
Her face flushing red, Seika pulled her right hand back as if struck by an electric shock.
"Well, originally I wanted the Manager to 'accidentally' pick it up, but thinking it through, that seemed too troublesome, so I just handed it to the Manager directly." Ryo smiled at her. "Is the Manager surprised?"
"How on earth could this be a pleasant surprise?!" Gritting her teeth in bashful anger, Seika snapped, "Take the wristband back right now! I don't need this kind of thing at all!"
Tucking both hands behind her back, Ryo casually took half a step backward:
"Keep it for me for now, Manager; give it back to me tomorrow."
Seika kept her face taut: "Take it away right now, or else I'm throwing it away."
"Then throw it away, Manager~" Ryo waved her hand, smiling delightfully. "I'm off on my date with Kitahara; Manager, look forward to it, okay?"
Seika: "..."
Throw away the wristband?
This is an extremely important magical artifact; throwing it away directly is definitely not an option.
"Head back to the room first." Taking a deep breath, Seika tried to calm herself down. "Once I'm back, I'll toss the wristband straight into the drawer, and absolutely, positively never take it out again!"
Back then, it was precisely because she had accidentally misused the wristband that she fell into the abyss—she would never commit the same mistake a second time!
A short while later.
Kitahara was in his room passing the time on his phone.
Knock, knock.
The sound of knocking soon rang out.
Kitahara got up to open the door, smiling at the two girls standing outside:
"Ryo-senpai, Nijika-senpai, good evening."
"Good evening, Kitahara."
Ryo's expression was as calm as ever.
Nijika, on the other hand, had a face flushed crimson, her eyes darting away in sheer embarrassment:
"I-I suddenly feel a bit unwell..."
Reaching out with his arm, Kitahara pulled Nijika straight into the room, speaking with an expression of upright righteousness:
"Life lies in movement; moving around plenty will naturally make you feel better."
"Bah~"
Casting a bashful, reproachful glare at him with her bright eyes, Nijika couldn't help spitting softly.
"Stop always thinking about lewd things..."