"Where do you think he is right now?"
While the Hoshizuki twins and the Nakano sisters were in the middle of a love-war standoff, the protagonist of the drama, Rin, was currently at Fairy's house.
Early that morning, after the quints fell asleep, Rin had helped Kaede out of the closet. Kaede had told him to lay low for a bit, knowing the quints would likely come looking for trouble. Since he had plans to hang out with Fairy and the others for the weekend anyway, Rin decided to head over to Fairy's early.
When Rin arrived, he found the beautiful light novelist, Fairy, exactly as he expected: definitely not writing her novel.
The "Deadline Warrior" Yamada Fairy only wrote fast when she was trying to spite Utaha. Normally, she was a professional slacker. She had just finished her new project and had zero desire to work. Since the publisher hadn't set a hard deadline yet, why bother?
Lately, she'd been home playing games with Sagiri or wandering outside in her favorite school uniforms. As a "uniform fetishist," she could identify almost any school in the country just by the skirt pattern. Ironically, Fairy hadn't been to a real school since she graduated elementary.
"We were supposed to meet tomorrow afternoon. Why are you here today?"
Fairy, dressed in a pink and white lolita-style dress with white over-the-knee socks, looked at him curiously. Even though she lived alone, she always dressed up—except for when she played her piano naked after a bath. Seeing Rin, a playful smile spread across her face.
"Can't I just come to see you?"
"Hmph... Hehe..." Fairy's lips curved upward. "Just coming to see me? Teehee... Just admit you're hungry for my body, and we'll call it even~"
As she spoke, she playfully lifted her skirt, revealing her tiny panties decorated with pink lace.
Rin gave her butt a light slap. "I think you're just itching for a spanking, aren't you?"
"Hehe~" Fairy giggled. "Since you're free today... why don't we head out now?"
"Without the others? Are you trying to get me on a private date?"
Hearing Rin's words, the mischievous Fairy suddenly became shy and fidgety. "Is... is that not okay?"
"Of course it's okay." Rin smiled at her blushing face, but he was still a bit curious. "But if you wanted a private date, why did you invite Sagiri and the others?"
"Sagiri and Erimi need to settle their duel, don't they? They've been battling online for so long without a winner. I figured we'd let them have an 'offline' showdown."
"What about Yami, Maki, and Megumi? What are they doing?"
"They... they're going to be models for Sagiri and Erimi." Fairy looked away guiltily.
"A showdown doesn't require a private island, does it?"
Rin looked at her with a knowing smile. Her excuses were paper-thin. He believed she wanted to be alone with him, but that was probably a thought that only occurred to her after he showed up today.
But the whole "Erimi and Sagiri duel" and the models? He didn't buy it. If they wanted to duel, they could do it here. If they needed models, Maki and the others could just stop by after school. Fairy had her own place; they could have a party anytime. Why go to a sea island?
Rin knew she was hiding something, but he didn't mind. If she wanted to go to an island, they'd go. It wasn't like she was going to chop off his head on a boat and sail into the sunset, right?
"The flight you booked is for tomorrow, right? Can we even get tickets now? Let's just go tomorrow. By the way... where is this private island of yours?"
"Okinawa."
"Okinawa... Hiss... Okinawa."
Seeing Rin's pained expression, Fairy was confused. "What's wrong with Okinawa?"
"Nothing. Okinawa just brings back some... bad memories."
Though Rin had never been to Okinawa in this life or his previous one, and he didn't have a prejudice against it, he usually wouldn't react this way if he were going with Kaede or Suzu.
The problem was the lineup: Maki, Ami, Fairy, Sagiri, Megumi, and Erimi. All six of them were petite, loli-type girls.
Any two of those factors together would be fine. But all three? Okinawa + Lolis + Private Island.
That combined into the infamous "Okinawa Loli Island" meme!
It was an impression burned into his soul from an internet legend in his past life. He was just glad that in his past life, he had closed the "game" almost immediately after realizing what it was. If he had actually played it, the psychological trauma would have been unbearable.
"Bad memories? It's okay~" Fairy stood on her tiptoes and hugged Rin with her light, petite frame. "Let me, your Lady Fairy, heal all your wounds~"
"It's not that serious." Rin patted her head. "It's just an internet joke you wouldn't get."
"Hmph... What a waste of my emotions. But as long as it's not a real trauma~" Fairy put her hands behind her back and arched her neck mischievously. "So, you're free all day today, right?"
"Yeah. What's up? Want me to help you pack?"
"I already sent the luggage to Okinawa. I sent the others' stuff, too." Fairy excitedly pulled Rin toward her bedroom.
She pushed him into a chair and pointed at the computer screen. It was covered in character stats and skill descriptions. At first glance, he thought she was designing characters for a new novel, but upon closer look, it wasn't for a story.
It was just "Job: Mage," along with stats and skills. It looked like a tabletop RPG character sheet.
"Are you... starting a new project?"
"Not a novel. Have you ever played a TRPG?"
"I've heard of it. 'Running a campaign,' right?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Fairy nodded eagerly. "These are character sheets for the campaign. We can play together once we reach the island... I've already designed four characters and wrote a basic background. You design the rest—at least two. You can do more if you want."
"You did four, and I do two... that's six. What about me?"
Maki, Ami, Fairy, Sagiri, Megumi, and Erimi—that was six girls. According to Fairy, the sheets were for them. She didn't mention a sheet for Rin.
"Teehee~" Fairy smirked, putting her hands on her hips and puffing out her tiny chest. "Your role is the GM—the God who holds the ultimate authority over the game world!"