"Makoto… Do you like Nijima?" Sakura muttered. Her head rested on my chest.
"Well. She is cute. And we already helped her, right?. but her personality is the worst. She also hated men, right? Unlike you, i don't like being mocked on. I am not a masochist. What? Why would you ask? Do you want me to make a move on her?" I grinned as my brainwashing seemed to have excited her.
"No! Um… I mean… Most adventurers tend to have women to flaunt their riches, right? Instead of random women… I thought…" Sakura stopped.
"Well. If you don't want it, I won't touch Nijima either."
"…I see." Sakura sighed. A wave of disappointment and relief washed over her. On one hand, she was relieved that I wasn't going to cheat. On the other, she seemed disappointed that I wouldn't cheat. She can't exactly tell me to cheat, right?
Hm… I can't get a good grasp on her. Should I go on with Nijima? No. I don't want my harem to hate each other. Women's jealousy is the worst thing that could happen to men. How should I phrase this carefully so as not to damage our relationship?
Then, an idea popped into my head.
"Say, what about we play a game? Nijima seemed to get touchy with you lately, right? What if I did it with her using your body? That wouldn't count as cheating, right?" I whispered.
"..." Sakura turned to me. She was stunned. But a tinge of red flushed her cheeks. Was she excited?
"You can watch it if you want. What if you and Nijima stay over in my guest room? I will install a camera. Then, at night, you can watch the recording," I whispered.
I could feel her body twitching. Yes. If I do it in her body, it won't be considered cheating. She could test the waters. Whether she was excited after seeing me with Nijima. This is a safe netorare experience.
Damn. I am a genius today.
"Or… do you want to watch it directly? I could hide myself in a wardrobe. Maybe we could find some cardboard boxes?"
That was the finishing blow. Sakura grabbed me by the collar and hugged me. Her heart was pounding.
[Bond: 75]
Just a little bit more, and I will pass the next mission threshold with Sakura. If I let Sakura watch us having sex, I am sure we will pass the bond threshold. I wonder what mining shards is like. I assume from the name that it could get me shards from my girls.
"Tomorrow, okay? I want to watch," Sakura said as she finally gave in to the temptation. "But only from the camera.
I grinned from ear to ear. Tonight, we shall have a party. "I see. Alright. Enjoy the show." I kissed her on the cheek.
At night, I slipped into Nijima's dream. This time, she didn't seem eager to have sex with me. She scowled.
"Your suggestion was totally useless. Thank goodness I can stay at Sakura's home right now."
"Aren't your parents worried? What about Sakura's aunt and uncle?" I asked.
"Sakura made excuses, like saying I was a school friend and planned to stay in her house until I graduated from the same university as her. You don't need to worry about my parents. My mother will move out about a month from now. Since she didn't need to worry about my tuition, I guess she would manage," Nijima said. A tinge of worry still plastered on her face. I guess I need to address her mother soon, huh? I wonder if I could kick Sakura's aunt and uncle out of Sakura's house. They were parasites anyway.
Nah. Nijima's mom wasn't any better.
"I see. Well, it turned out to be the best result, right? You don't have to make love with Makoto, whom you hate."
"No… I didn't hate him that much. I just hate men in general. Makoto… He is actually fine. He didn't take advantage of me and seemed genuinely worried about my condition. Well, I guess not every man was as vile as my father."
"Great! I suppose the plan is off for now? You don't need my house anymore, do you?" I smiled from the bottom of my heart. Seeing her, I saw myself in her. I am not as hateful toward the opposite sex as she is, but I too had a complex about women because of my mom. I wonder if I could work toward appreciating them without thinking of them as my hateful mother who left me.
"Well. Um… but how should I put this… I think Sakura has been hinting at me lately to make a move on Makoto. She said something about moving into your house with her forever. And strangely, I think I welcomed the idea. I mean… Sakura is not bad."
Sakura. What a fearful girl. And you too, Nijima. What a fearful girl. To get everything with just that comment. As a guy, I wouldn't notice such social cues. The world of women was scary.
"I see. If you go with Makoto, you can have your way with Sakura too. Isn't that what you are aiming for?" I smirked.
"No!! That's not… true…" Nijima hesitated. Her face was red to her ears. "Well… maybe… but…"
As expected, she leaned in that direction, huh? Too bad. Her body was already under my control. With Sakura's help, she would soon fall as my sex slave. Hehehe.
"Alright. See you, Nijima. Don't forget. If you happen to be with Makoto…" My hand massaged her stomach. Nijima moaned. Her body stiffened as a sudden jolt of pleasure invaded it.
"Yes… I must be careful. Damn… sex is terrifying," Nijima muttered. Her heart raced. "Um… do you think we could do it once?" She eyed me heatedly. I could almost see heart marks in her eyes.
"Sure." I embraced her. Now, with that settled, I released the dreamscape after we did it once.
"Watch out! You idiot!" Yuuno yelled, and I sprang away as a humongous club smashed the ground.
"Sorry!" Damn, that was dangerous. I was so distracted about tonight that I forgot about the dangers of the dungeon. I almost lost my life there.
"What happened? You are not on your usual game, Makoto!" Yuuno cocked her hips.
"Yeah. You blanked out a lot today." Noelle nodded.
"…I guess I am getting too used to this. I thought it wouldn't matter if I dozed a little."
"Tck! Tck! Tck! That's the most common mistake any beginner can make, Makoto! I guess since you have a trump card, you thought orcs are already beneath you, huh?"
"Sorry." I bowed down. It was totally embarrassing. I was a bit too excited about the play I will perform with Sakura and Nijima tonight.
"Well. I sometimes forget that you are a beginner, Makoto. All of us make mistakes once in a while. But just because I forgive you doesn't mean it was okay, alright? People could get killed because of your negligence!"
"Yes. I'm sorry. That was stupid of me." I bowed. That was totally my mistake. I have no excuses.
"Alright. Let's move on. Get your head in the game," Yuuno said. "Just like always, I will bait the orc while you flank it."
"Alright!!"
Hours after that, we headed to the deepest part of the dungeon, expecting to see the floor boss, but there were none. The boss room was empty with the exception of two guild officers guarding the entrance. A thought came to me as I gazed at the boss room.
"Say… what happens if we destroy the dungeon core?"
"Hm? Dunno. The effect varies depending on your blessing. Most of the time, you will either get a new skill or level up."
"I see."
"Don't even try. That's why they posted guild officers there. They are not adventurers, but just because you can get past them doesn't mean the guild doesn't have any means of finding you. There are countless investigative skills other adventurers have that might help them, you know," Yuuno said. Her voice quietened, fearing the guild officials might hear them.
"I see." I nodded. "I guess we should go home for today?"
"Sure."
"Hah… I want to find a chest. We have gone weeks without finding one." I sighed.
"Hahaha. I guess we are in a drought season, then." Yuuno laughed. "This sort of thing happens."
"I guess we should start looking for another dungeon? Is finding a chest this bad in a higher-ranked dungeon?"
"It's worse since there are more adventurers. But the drops from monsters are better. We can get colored stones from them," Yuuno said, and Noelle agreed with her. Then she continued. "But the chests are more valuable as well. It's like one rank above. If we only find common bows or spears here, we could find enchanted ones with skills there. What, are you finally interested in going to another dungeon?"
"…Yeah. But let's give this dungeon another week. I want to smooth out my movements."
"Understood. Slow and steady wins the race. Everything would be in vain if we died," Yuuno said. "And don't make that mistake again. Even goblins are dangerous. I have heard stories about B-rank adventurers dying because of goblins."
"Look!" Noelle pointed toward a wall.
"Oh my. Finally. It's about time we found something," Yuuno said. "It's a secret path."
"A treasure chest?" I asked, grinning. Both girls nodded.
"Let's raid it." I raised my longsword. With a treasure chest before my eyes, my mind had swept the thought about tonight's activities out of the window. Battle first. Treasure chests are a man's dream. A gamer's dream.
The path was narrow. Then, at the end of the path, a treasure chest lay still, guarded by four orcs. We held our breath.
"Hmmm. If we use your ability, this would be a cinch."
"No. My ability is sealed for now. Should we run?"
"Eh? Why?" Yuuno gasped. Without Makoto's bodyswap ability, crowd control was infinitely harder.
"Hm… That's a secret. I will tell you next week when we find a new dungeon."
"It's just 4 orcs. I think we can do it," Noelle said.
"…Tch. Alright. Let's do it. It is a bit more than I am comfortable with, but I guess we can do it if we push ourselves. Let's go." Yuuno led the charge against the orcs. The orcs, baited by them, surrounded her like idiots, forgetting that Noelle and I were there. I thrust my greatsword from the back, killing one with a single blow while Noelle stabbed another through the neck.
Then, the rest was easy. It's three versus two. Noelle was a beast with her spear. There were three orbs inside.
"Whoa! A skill orb! We just hit the jackpot!" Yuuno said.