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"Finally, we're alive~"
Kita Kita covered her stomach, her face full of happiness.
She had already prepared for the worst. If she really couldn't find a single drop of water, she would have no choice but to close her eyes and choose Yamada Ryo's 'desert island water extraction technique.' There was no other way; the feeling of a dry, parched throat was simply too unbearable.
Now, not only was her stomach full, but she also didn't need to drink strange, awful liquids for survival.
Happiness.
The happiness in life is that simple!
"Ah, I suddenly remembered a saying." Yamada Ryo lay on the grass, arms outstretched, her tone flat, "When a person is hungry, they only have one worry, but after eating, they have countless worries… It turns out there's no truth to it at all."
"Eh?" Ijichi Nijika tilted her head and looked over, her eyes puzzled, "That saying sounds very reasonable, doesn't it?"
"No reason." Yamada Ryo said expressionlessly, "Because I have no worries at all right now, I just want to sleep."
Ijichi Nijika: "…"
The time everyone entered the Otherworld was evening. After entering, the time on their phones had not moved since. It was unknown how much time had passed, but it was definitely very late.
Now, having eaten and drunk their fill, drowsiness quickly surged over them.
"Hoo…"
Gotō Hitori raised her hand to cover her mouth, secretly stifling a yawn, her eyes already starting to blur.
It proved that yawns are indeed contagious.
As Bocchi-chan yawned, the girls quickly followed suit, one after another, and even Kitahara Makoto felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him.
Rubbing his face hard, Kitahara Makoto looked at the tired-faced girls and said softly:
"Nijika-senpai, you all sleep for a while. I'll keep watch."
"Eh?" Kita Ikuyo looked over in surprise, "Do we still need to keep watch?"
"This is the Otherworld after all; who knows what we might encounter." Kitahara Makoto said seriously, "It's safer with someone keeping watch."
"That makes sense…" Ijichi Nijika nodded gently, raising her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, and suppressing her drowsiness, said, "It's too hard for one person to keep watch alone. How about I keep watch with Kitahara-kun?"
This Nijika-senpai naturally possessed an exceptionally strong sense of responsibility. Even when her eyelids were heavy with sleep, she still wanted to take care of others.
"I'm enough on my own." Kitahara Makoto decisively shook his head and refused, "Nijika-senpai, get some rest early. I can manage. We'll switch shifts when you wake up."
Keep watch together?
How could I possibly agree to that!
If something accidentally happened in the middle, my favorability might increase again. I definitely don't want to enter a bad future!
"Alright then…"
Ijichi Nijika bit her lip lightly and agreed.
The grass on the ground was quite soft, but it was uncertain if there were any insects, so the girls sat together on the long bench, snuggled up against each other, and fell asleep.
The girls' breathing quickly became even, and the sight of them snuggled together for warmth was especially comforting. Kitahara Makoto couldn't help but pull out his phone, ready to take a commemorative photo.
Click, click.
The sound of the shutter echoed in the Otherworld.
This was the only downside of Japan's phones; the camera shutter sound simply couldn't be turned off. The law mandated that all phones, whether domestically produced or from other countries, must comply.
Of course, the emergence of this law was not due to rampant candid photography in Japan but was related to a photographer. Its initial purpose was not to target mobile phones.
As is well known, the law stating 'all photographic equipment must have sound and cannot be silent' was enacted in the 1990s. At that time, there were no smartphones, it was the era of brick phones, and mobile phones hardly had camera functions.
In the 1990s, a professional photographer took a series of silent candid photos with a camera, named 'Silent Mode.' As a result, he won multiple awards, and the women who were secretly photographed collectively sued for invasion of privacy, which ultimately led to the amendment of the law.
"Kitahara-kun, candid photography is illegal, you know."
A clear, cold voice sounded nearby.
"Laws are man-made social rules, so there are no laws in the Otherworld. Photography is not a crime." Kitahara Makoto put away his phone and turned to look at the Bunny Girl not far away. "Mai-senpai, why aren't you resting for a bit?"
"Not tired." Sakurajima Mai held her hands across her chest, her fair, fragrant shoulders and subtly rising curves particularly alluring. On her exquisite, jade-like, calm face, there was a clear sense of loneliness and aloofness, as if she were isolated from the world. "I just slept not long ago, before you all appeared."
Kitahara Makoto originally didn't want to talk, fearing that his favorability would increase again, but the visions of the future also affected him, and he couldn't help but say softly:
"Mai-senpai, why did you come to the Otherworld?"
"I don't know." Sakurajima Mai shook her head gently, "One night, I passed through an alley, and then I came here."
"It must be very hard to be alone, right?"
"You get used to it." Sakurajima Mai's eyes drooped slightly, her long eyelashes trembling gently. "Life is inherently a solitary journey across a lonely wilderness. Only by getting used to loneliness can you truly see yourself clearly."
Kitahara Makoto couldn't help but retort:
"When Mai-senpai said she wanted to retire from the literary world, I strongly objected."
"…"
Time quietly slipped away in their sporadic chatter.
After an unknown period, Ijichi Nijika was the first to wake up. Her eyes were hazy for a moment, then gradually cleared. She raised her hand to cover her mouth and yawned, then quietly walked over to Kitahara Makoto's side and whispered:
"Let me take over the watch, Kitahara-kun. Go get some rest."
"Okay, then I'll leave it to Nijika-senpai."
Kitahara Makoto nodded, looking at Bocchi-chan and the other two girls who were sleeping close together.
"No way!"
Noticing Kitahara Makoto's gaze, Ijichi Nijika quickly raised her arms and crossed them over her chest: "Kitahara-kun, find a place to sleep by yourself! You can't go and sleep with everyone else!"
Kitahara Makoto said solemnly:
"When you're surviving in the wilderness, it's normal for everyone to huddle together for warmth, isn't it?"
"That's true, but after all, there's a difference between genders, so it's still not allowed." Ijichi Nijika hesitated for two seconds, her pretty face slightly flushed, and she whispered, "If, if Kitahara-kun feels too cold alone, you can..."
Kitahara Makoto asked curiously: "Can what?"
Ijichi Nijika slightly turned her pretty face away, her earlobes red: "You can lean on me and sleep for a while... Everyone else isn't awake yet, so it's not appropriate for Kitahara-kun to go over."
"I'm sorry, I'm fine, I suddenly don't feel cold at all."
Kitahara Makoto decisively refused three times in a row and quickly walked to another empty bench to rest.
Huddling back-to-back for warmth?
Absolutely not!
To avoid a future with a cleaver, I don't want any physical contact with you at all!
Ijichi Nijika: "..."
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