Finally escaped that hell and made it back to the room. Man… I'm exhausted.
But back in the room, Shiro, Chive, Munieka, and the Witch were all glaring at each other.
Each had staked out one of the four beds—sitting or leaning against them—locked in a standoff.
"Uh, um…"
"Well, well, young Wof. Welcome back."
"Welcome home, Master."
"So you're back."
"Waaelcome baaack~"
"I-I'm home. Shiro. So you came back too, huh."
"Yes, I put you through some trouble. But even so—seeing right through the 'Thousand Faces' transformation…"
"No matter how you slice it, you really didn't look like Shiro."
"…I see. So it really wasn't me."
"Yep. That's how I knew right away."
"………R-right."
Something was off with Shiro. She'd hung her head.
"Whoa, I've never seen that side of Shiro before~"
"Somehow… I'm a little jealous."
"Haha, ha—well, if you put it that way, even Kon would get all bashful~"
The Witch smiled wryly.
"Huh? What do you mean? More importantly, what were you all doing?"
"Hmm-hmm, Wof-kun. Didn't you notice something?"
Something... Four beds. All the same design.
From the right: the Witch, Chaive, Munieka, Shiro. Four people.
"Huh, isn't one missing?"
"That is correct."
"Then I'll just sleep in my sleeping bag."
"Sure, sure. Young Wof. You already know that's not going to fly, right?"
The Witch said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Wait, why not?
"Wof-kun. It's already been decided that you'll be sleeping in on a daily rotation with the 'Great of Browns' until it ends."
"Decided...?"
"Yes. It's already been settled."
"Ehhh..."
I don't recall agreeing to any of this!
"Ah, don't worry—Wof is still a minor, so nothing weird will happen. Everyone's here, too."
"Nothing weird..."
What flashes through my mind is the tail-grooming incident.
That is something I can never forget.
"Ahem. There is absolutely nothing untoward about this."
Then shouldn't I be allowed to sleep on the floor in my sleeping bag?
I thought that, but I didn't say it. Either way, I didn't stand a chance.
I'd just have to let them do what they wanted.
It wasn't like I wanted to sleep alongside them or anything.
If you asked me whether I didn't want to — well, of course I did.
Even someone like me could tell they had feelings for me, at this point.
But why they had such strong feelings for me — that, I couldn't figure out.
That uncertainty was exactly why I couldn't take the initiative.
Beyond that, there was the question of whether I even had the right to make a move.
Of course, I didn't mind being liked. And if there was something I could do for them, I wanted to do it.
I wanted them to smile. To have fun. To be happy.
To that end, I wanted to be kind. I wanted to be strong. I didn't want to make them sad.
"So, so — you were in the middle of deciding who gets the first night with him, huh?"
"Are you actually deciding that?"
"First night" — what a way to put it.
Weren't they just glaring at each other?
"A head-on clash of presence and pressure."
"…No, let's just decide this normally with rock-paper-scissors."
All four of them stared blankly.
"Janken?"
"What's that?"
"Huh? This world doesn't have rock-paper-scissors?"
Come to think of it, I don't remember playing rock-paper-scissors with anyone here.
They don't have it? Rock-paper-scissors!?
I'm genuinely surprised. To think there's no rock-paper-scissors.
"Oh my, oh my. How interesting. So you can settle things with just this?"
"Can you?"
I'll answer without hesitation.
"I can."
So I promptly explained rock-paper-scissors.
The thing is, from my past life memories, the rules of rock-paper-scissors differ by country.
But since this world doesn't have rock-paper-scissors, that doesn't matter.
So I taught them the most standard version from my past life memories.
Teaching rock-paper-scissors — it just feels weird.
"Hmm, hmm. This is interesting."
"You can decide the outcome peacefully."
"This will sell."
Sell...?
Can rock-paper-scissors actually sell?
"Hurry up and let's get started already."
"Mm-hmm. This is a tool of political strategy. The winning move — rock, of course."
Well, it's not like there weren't any elements like that.
"I'll show you just how serious I can be."
"Rea-dy, set — rock!"
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
Incidentally, I briefly considered joining in myself — if I won, maybe I could score a sleeping bag or something.
But I dropped the idea. That would be way too petty. Besides, I'm not quite that good of a kid.
Yeah. While I was bewildered, and honestly a bit annoyed about it too—
I was partly enjoying the situation. That much was clear even to me.
After a draw, one person threw scissors and three threw paper.
The winner was Shiro-san, who had gone with scissors.
She turned to me with a bright smile and flashed a peace sign.
"Th-thank you in advance."
I said that, already feeling nervous, and Shiro-san suddenly leaned in close and tapped the tip of my nose with her finger.
"Calm down. We're not sleeping yet."
"R-right, of course."
Behind us, the other three giggled softly.
Embarrassing.
To my surprise, the room had a bath.
This Hydrangea Grand Hall lodging facility was seriously impressive.
I'd heard a witch might join me in there, but I flat-out refused that.
Right. I should tell Munieka now while I have the chance.
"Munieka. Do you have a moment?"
"What is it?"
"Actually, I was approached by the Tasan family's villa. They asked if Minosdor and the others would be interested in working as maids."
"Tasan?"
"Yes. They said they wanted to hire them as maids and bodyguards."
"Hmm. And what does Master think about this?"
"Honestly, both my house and the witch's house are small with not much to do. If Munieka is willing to take in Shaldina and the others as maids, I think this arrangement would be perfect."
It was a mansion, so it should be spacious enough to give them plenty to do.
Munieka gave a slight nod.
"I will accept the offer. However, there is one condition."
"What is it?"
"I would like you to connect a gate between your home and the villa."
"Mine?"
"Yes."
"We should at least discuss it with them first."
"That is fine with you, Master?"
"If they're on board, then I have no objections. But why?"
"First, I want to be able to regularly clean your home, and second, if anything were to happen to Minosdor and the others, it would provide the shortest route to the lab."
"I see... Either way, let's set it up after we confirm with them first."
"Yes. Got it."
"They'll probably be fine with it."
I had a feeling the permission would come that easily.
Tasan. Speaking of Tasan, what caught my interest was Chuuzyuu-san.
Why was she with Ainveld? Sheshu-san too.
The witch came out of the bath.
Next, Chaivu-san went in, then Munieka-san, then Shiro-san.
I was last. Comparing this to the witch's bath was cruel, but I was starting to miss the pot bath.
After that, we played card games and read books, and I gradually got sleepy.
I realized it was already well past midnight. A yawn slipped from my mouth before I could help it.
"Wof, are you sleepy?"
"Y-yes. I am... Oh, where are the witches?"
"Those three said they were going down to drink and headed out."
They weren't going to sleep yet? I was. I was starting to drift off.
"Shiro-san, let's go to sleep."
"Sure, over here."
Shiro-san. At some point, she had changed into what looked like a pure white one-piece slip.
It was thin enough to be nearly see-through. Even so, hmm. She really was white from top to bottom.
Also... it might have been my imagination.
It felt like she wasn't wearing anything underneath the one-piece.
No way. No way.
"Come on, come over here to Shiro, Wof."
Shiro got into bed first and held the futon open, calling me over.
Lying on her side, Shiro had an inexplicable air of sensuality about her.
"Y-Yes. Please take care of me..."
When I climbed in, nervous, Shiro closed the futon around us. Ah, something felt cool.
The bed was narrow, so... Shiro's body heat... our bodies... pressed together.
Slightly cool, yet gently warm against the skin. Lukewarm.
I kind of liked the lukewarmness. It was like the sensation and air of a warm bath — nice, somehow.
There was a faint, sweet smell. The scent of flowers.
"Good night... Shiro."
"Good night. Wof."
As Shiro stroked my head, I drifted off to sleep in that pleasant lukewarmness.