Bathing together, then staying together in the same room—what comes next, sharing the same bed?
This thought kept circling over and over in Fujiwara Chika's mind, unable to settle down no matter what.
Up to now, less than a single day had actually passed.
In just one short day, she had first struggled through a labyrinthine cave, having to communicate along the way with those extremely terrifying-looking things, then been thrown into a bizarre security guard booth, then nearly scared to death by a person who had been almost crushed flat, and after that, with Takumi's help, used the Rescue Team uniform to move into yet another new area, finally arriving at this strange research institute and becoming a so-called Explorer.
Everything she had experienced so far could still be considered an adventure story.
But what followed after that felt, in every sense, far too off.
The two of them bathing together in the same room—this was clearly something only couples or married partners should do, yet she had done it with a member of the opposite sex she had only met not long ago.
Even if it had been forced by circumstances, an unavoidable move under pressure.
Even so, this kind of thing was still really not right, wasn't it?!
Even now, Fujiwara Chika would still recall the scene from not long ago when she had secretly looked at Takumi, and the flush on her face simply refused to fade.
Speaking of which, Takumi-kun really is quite a forceful person.
Chika's legs began to sway slightly.
At the very start of the game, he had put on a cold attitude, demanding that she not drag him down, otherwise he might abandon her or something like that. Yet later, when real trouble actually occurred and the Explorer outfits began to erode the two of them, he had saved her without the slightest hesitation—and had even directly torn the clothes off.
The later change into security uniforms, his efforts to contact her side for investigation, and his help in changing her into the Rescue Team uniform and the yellow-and-white striped outfit—all of that as well. It was clear that he was someone with a very strong personality and his own ideas, but at the same time someone who cared about and paid attention to others. Mm, like one of those survival experts in horror games—strong, forceful, with a serious and cold side as well as a gentle side. No, not "like"; he truly was a veteran who had cleared stages in this Horror Story game. Without his help, she definitely would not have survived until now.
How should she put it… he seemed to fit her preferences quite well. If only he were a bit more forceful…
No, no, what am I even thinking about? Now is clearly not the time to be thinking about things like that, right?
Fujiwara Chika suddenly shook her head several times, breaking free from her wandering thoughts.
Only then did she realize that Takumi had already lain down by the wall, his back to her, facing the wall as he went to sleep.
Sleeping directly on the floor? That does not seem very good, does it?
After hesitating for a moment, Chika still called out to Takumi in a soft voice. "Takumi-kun, sleeping like that will make it easy for you to catch a cold."
"No need to worry. My physical condition is very good. Even lying on the floor for more than ten hours would not be a problem."
Takumi, who had not yet fallen asleep, replied very calmly, waving his hand toward Chika as he spoke.
Takumi's answer made the girl freeze for a moment, but after a brief period of thought, she still gathered her courage and continued persuading him. "...Even if you say that, it still does not seem very good, does it? There is still a bed in the room. You should come up and rest."
Takumi had not expected Chika to insist like this. He had to admit that he was somewhat tempted, but in the end he still chose to refuse decisively. "That's just a single bed—barely enough for one person. I can't exactly make you sleep on the floor, can I? My body is stronger than that of an average person, so sleeping like this for a while wouldn't be a problem for me, but your body definitely wouldn't be able to handle it, right?"
The shared bath earlier had already been stimulating enough. At this point, it would be better to avoid further contact with the other party as much as possible.
Although it was not to the point of letting lust cloud his mind in this bizarre game, such a lovely girl repeatedly offering him benefits and stimulating both his mind and body was still a very uncomfortable experience. He did not want to leave Chika with any bad impression, and considering Maki, Takumi felt more or less guilty, thinking that doing this was still not very appropriate.
"It is fine. Um, if we sleep on our sides, it should not be too much of a problem. It will be fine. Takumi-kun has helped me a lot along the way. No matter what, I cannot let you sleep on the floor. Come on, it will be fine. I trust Takumi-kun."
But Chika was clearly not the type to give up easily. After taking a deep breath, the girl finally cast aside her sense of shame and extended a solemn invitation to Takumi.
Inviting a boy to sleep on the same bed with her and all—ugh, one could only say that it was fortunate no one she knew would see this scene.
The girl felt that even her ears were beginning to burn.
Takumi was very tempted, but after hesitating, he still chose to refuse. "Uh… this might not be very appropriate, after all, you are quite pretty too."
"It's fine. Back in the shower room just now, didn't Takumi-kun do nothing at all?"
Having already mustered her courage, the girl naturally was not about to back down easily, and she insisted on her stance with great seriousness.
"Ah, haha… that's true…"
Takumi's laughter sounded somewhat dry.
"Hey, just now in the shower room, Takumi-kun, you didn't do anything, right?"
Relying on her intuition and quickly noticing the change in Takumi's attitude, Chika frowned and immediately asked.
"I didn't turn around to sneak a look. That much I can guarantee. I did not break what we agreed on."
Takumi then said very seriously, the solemnity of his attitude making Chika freeze once again.
"T-that's so…"
The girl felt a bit guilty.
Although she and Takumi had agreed that neither of them would turn around, she herself could not help but look back several times. Throughout the entire shower, she had indeed not noticed Takumi having even the slightest intention of turning around to peek—he was completely a gentleman.
Although there was something in Takumi's answer that was somewhat worth examining more closely, because Chika herself had been dishonest and broken the agreement, she felt guilty and did not think too deeply about his reply, quickly letting the matter pass.
This finally allowed the equally guilty Takumi to relax his state of mind.
Not turning around to peek—that was the truth.
But releasing an invisible Blood Puppet and, on the way to look for Maki and Kaguya, incidentally sneaking a few glances at Chika—there was really no way to deny that.
Of course, he did not dare to get close and look carefully; he only took a look from some distance at the outline of her body. That girl's curves, ones that even Shinomiya Kaguya and Shijō Maki combined could not match, had to be said to be astonishing in every sense.
Perhaps only that monstrous worldview of Azur Lane could overpower Fujiwara Chika's particular "model," right?
Takumi, who had openly admired Chika's figure through the invisible doll more than ten minutes earlier, had already sighed like this in his heart back then.
Incidentally, that doll was actually carrying more than one note. Takumi had anticipated various scenarios and had prepared notes for both Kaguya and Maki in advance. While controlling the invisible doll, he noticed the conversation between Maki and Kaguya in a certain room and became aware of Maki's emotional state. As a result, he discarded the other notes, kept the one meant for Maki, and then deliberately had the doll lie down at the doorway, pressing the note beneath its body.
Being well-behaved during the shared bath had indeed been the correct choice. He had not expected Maki and Kaguya to be staying in this place in the capacity of researchers, much less that they had actually watched the entire shared bath between him and Chika through the surveillance system.
It had to be said that it was rather awkward.
But now, there was no longer any need to worry about that.
Although there were also surveillance cameras in this lounge, through the doll that Maki carried with her, Takumi knew that the two of them were currently heading to the research room to handle some work, and would then return to the second-floor dormitory area to rest. They would not be going back to the monitoring room.
So, in fact, he could now completely agree to Chika's request.
"In any case, I trust Takumi-kun as a person. Come on."
Chika made the invitation once again.
This time, she even stood up and walked in front of Takumi, reaching out to grab his arm as she tried to pull him up.
"That kind of trust really is quite heavy…"
With a sigh, Takumi finally stood up, then walked over and lay down on the small bed. Facing the wall and turning onto his side, he lay on the single bed fixed to the wall, leaving only his back to Chika.
Takumi was fairly large to begin with, and the bed itself was very small. Even though he adopted a side-sleeping position and tried his best to leave some space, Chika was still left with only a small portion of the bed on which she could lie down and sleep.
However, considering that the girl was only about 1.54 meters tall, that width was still sufficient.
"Heave-ho…"
Following a faint sound, as if she were cheering herself on, Takumi felt a warm sensation gently press against his back.
A sinking sensation came from the other side of the bed.
"Hoo… mm…"
The girl's breathing followed, sounding by his ear.
Fujiwara Chika, extremely nervous, lay down on the single bed like this as well, with her back to Takumi.
She even seemed to be trembling slightly.
Despite having displayed excellent qualities far surpassing those of ordinary people during their earlier actions, at this very moment Chika still showed a shy, girlish side.
It had to be said—he really wanted to turn around and hold her, watch her flustered and struggling appearance, and then… calm down, calm down, my friend. Human reason should stand above desire. In the face of a life-and-death crisis, you should not waste your energy on such things. Even if she really did smell nice, really was soft, clearly so small, yet somehow so big, and completely unlike Maki with her strong tsundere demeanor—soft and cuddly, especially cute, with a bit of natural air to her, and—
Enough, enough. Do not let your resolve become unsettled. Sleep, sleep…
Takumi did his utmost to maintain his composure, closed his eyes like this, and forced himself to fall asleep.
At this moment, he could not help but feel puzzled deep down. The enhancements and blessings he had obtained after passing through the Shirakawa Apartments had clearly strengthened his willpower—so why was he still unable to calm down now? Was this enhancement somewhat incomplete?
...
As for Maki on the other side, her mood had improved slightly at this point. She hung the doll at her waist and, together with Kaguya, the two of them passed through the heavy door and stepped into the room before them—a space the size of a basketball court, filled with various complex instruments as well as some large machines.
[Analysis Workroom]
At the doorway behind them, a metal plaque reflected a cold glint.
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