According to official protocol, every Anti-Demon Corps member is strictly required to transport survivors immediately to headquarters so they can be repatriated to the real world through a stabilized Gate.
However, Ryunosuke made a special request; he wanted to see Yuuki, their long-lost friend.
Naoki granted the request. This was the perk of having "inside connections." He promptly spun the jeep's steering wheel, changing course toward the Seventh Unit headquarters.
The reason Naoki didn't simply use teleportation was due to his friend's refusal. Ryunosuke reasoned that this might be his first and last time setting foot in Mato, and he didn't want to miss a single inch of the scenery. It was a logical enough excuse, and Naoki didn't mind indulging his friend's small bit of selfishness. He had a strong hunch that after today, their paths would likely diverge for good.
It was the common fate of high school friends who slowly become strangers due to the friction of their separate lives—something Naoki had already experienced in his previous life.
Midway through the journey, Sahara, who had been awake for a while, suddenly tapped Naoki's shoulder.
"Naoki-san, please stop for a second. I can't hold it anymore... I need to pee!"
The jeep pulled over in a desolate area. Sahara immediately hopped out and ran toward the cover of some large, distant boulders.
Suddenly, Naoki felt the urge to play a prank. He turned to Ryunosuke with a mock-serious expression.
"Ryunosuke, wait here for a bit. I suddenly need to go, too." He lied smoothly. "Don't worry, it's safe. I've already scanned the area; no Shuuki are going to pop up around here."
Ryunosuke swallowed hard, glancing at the eerie Mato surroundings.
"Eh? You too? Just don't be long! I don't want to be left alone in this creepy place. But fine, since you're taking me to see Yuuki, I don't have the right to stop you. Just hurry back, okay?"
Naoki climbed down from the vehicle and strode away. However, as Ryunosuke watched him, he noticed something strange. Naoki was walking exactly toward the large boulders where Sahara had disappeared.
"Huh? Didn't Wakasa-san go that way? Why is Naoki heading to the exact same spot?" He muttered suspiciously. "Don't tell me... he's planning to do something lewd behind my back while she's... Ah, no way, right?"
Ryunosuke shook his head violently, trying to dismiss the dirty thought.
But the seeds of doubt and envy had already taken root. In the end, curiosity trumped his fear. He decided to sneak out of the jeep and tail Naoki from a distance.
Ryunosuke crawled slowly through the gaps of the cold rocks, holding his breath to avoid making the slightest sound. His burning curiosity overrode his common sense. When he managed to peek through, his gaze was instantly fixed on a sight that made his heart pound so hard his ears began to ring.
There was Sahara, squatting with her pants and panties pulled down.
Ryunosuke's eyes widened, his pupils trembling. For the first time in his life, he was seeing a woman's anatomy in person and uncensored—the pale skin and her most private areas exposed as a clear stream hit the ground. His blood ran hot; he couldn't help but feel aroused.
But the shocks weren't over for Ryunosuke. From the corner of his eye, he saw Naoki casually approach the vulnerable Sahara.
Ryunosuke held his breath, expecting Sahara to scream or at least chase Naoki away in a fit of rage. Unfortunately, things didn't go as he imagined.
It was true that Sahara's face instantly flushed crimson down to the base of her neck from embarrassment, but what followed was the opposite. The girl didn't scream; she only looked at Naoki with a confused, submissive gaze.
"Ah, sorry... I couldn't hold it either." Naoki devoid of any guilt.
Without waiting for permission, Naoki unzipped his pants right next to Sahara.
Ryunosuke watched with a sinking heart as his friend began to urinate side-by-side with the beautiful Anti-Demon Corps member. The sound of the streams hitting the earth became a melody that tortured his ears.
That highly unusual sight—a man and a woman relieving themselves together in the open without any barrier—was displayed clearly before Ryunosuke's eyes. His heart, previously filled with lust, was now being poisoned by jealousy.
(How is this possible... If they didn't have a very special and intimate relationship, what normal woman would let something this embarrassing just happen?)
Ryunosuke gripped the rock in front of him until his knuckles turned white. He realized one bitter truth: in this cruel world, Naoki wasn't just "lucky"—he had transcended the boundaries of normalcy that an ordinary man like him could only imagine. The fact that Naoki could act so dominant and relaxed in front of a woman like Sahara made Ryunosuke feel small, insignificant, and very, very envious.
(Dammit... why them? Why Naoki and Yuuki? I want it too!)
His dirty thoughts began to wander, imagining himself in Naoki or Yuuki's shoes—living a life of passion surrounded by strong, beautiful women.
(What if... what if I ate a Peach too? Who's to say I'm not special like Naoki? You don't know the result until you actually try, right?)
The notions of power, authority, and unlimited sexual gratification began to gnaw at his sanity. Ryunosuke imagined himself standing tall, no longer peeking from behind a rock, but commanding beautiful women with a wave of his hand.
But a second later, reality hit him again. He knew perfectly well that obtaining a Peach was no easy feat. Their numbers were strictly limited, and they only grew in the dangerous Mato Dimension. The Japanese government maintained a tight monopoly on their distribution; only a handful were shared with other nations for diplomacy, while the rest were reserved for young women who met specific criteria.
(Even if I had a lifetime's worth of hard-earned money, it wouldn't be enough,) Ryunosuke thought dejectedly.
On the black market, a single Peach was rumored to sell for tens of millions of dollars. It made sense—the fruit was a golden ticket that provided instant superpowers to a woman. Its price was equivalent to changing the fate of a nation.
Ryunosuke looked down at his trembling hands. To him, the Peach was a real but unreachable myth—a jewel that could only be possessed by the chosen or the incredibly lucky like Naoki. His envy was now laced with deep despair, realizing he might remain a spectator behind a rock while his friends lived lives like fantasy protagonists.
Ryunosuke was jolted from his reverie by the sound of wet smacking. He peeked again, breath hitched, and the scene before him had turned significantly more heated.
At some point, the two had lost themselves in a passionate kiss, seemingly forgetting the outside world existed.
With her eyes half-closed in intoxication, Sahara wrapped both arms around Naoki's neck, pulling him deeper into her warm embrace. Because their lower garments hadn't been fixed after their previous business, their close proximity created highly intimate skin-to-skin contact.
Ryunosuke swallowed hard as he saw Naoki's turgid manhood pressing directly against Sahara's moist and open heavenly gate. The subtle friction between their most sensitive points made Sahara's body quiver, yet she only pressed herself harder against Naoki.
(Oppai!)
Ryunosuke's internal scream exploded as he saw Naoki's hand greedily hike up the rest of Sahara's uniform. Instantly, a massive pair of G-cup masterpieces spilled out. Ryunosuke was forced to cover his nose as it grew hot and leaked red—he was having a nosebleed from the extreme visual stimulation, which was far too much for a virgin like him.
Under his helpless, lust-filled gaze, Ryunosuke could only play the role of the voyeur. He watched as Naoki leaned down, burying his face between those soft valleys and acting like a large baby hungry for affection, while Sahara merely let out soft moans, stroking the man's hair lovingly.
An unbearable heat surged from his chest to his own groin. Ryunosuke felt as if his blood was boiling. With hands trembling violently from a mix of envy, hatred, and overflowing lust, he slowly unzipped his own pants.
Keeping his eyes glued to the intimate scene ahead, Ryunosuke began to move his hand in a fast, jagged rhythm.
He imagined he was Naoki; he imagined his palm was Sahara's smooth skin; he imagined the scent of her body filling his lungs. In the silence of the Mato rocks, only the sound of Ryunosuke's frantic breathing and the friction of his hand bore silent witness to the frustration of a background character who could only satisfy himself in the shadows of his friend's glory.