"...Don’t tell me you’ve eaten the forbidden fruit?"

Ghost-senpai had only said it casually, but it made the temperature on Sakiko’s face rise rapidly.

(Calm down!)

(Quickly calm down!)

(I absolutely cannot show any flaws, otherwise, Ghost-senpai will tease me every time we meet from now on, right?)

Sakiko quickly took a deep breath, raising her hand to tuck back the hair that had been blown messy by the wind, using it to cover the guilt on her face:

"I’m just feeling unwell, Senpai, please don’t make wild guesses."

"But Togawa-chan is indeed very suspicious today..."

"The typhoon has made landfall, Senpai, goodbye, we need to go home quickly."

"Alright then."

Ghost-senpai had only guessed casually, and seeing Togawa flatly deny it, she naturally wouldn’t dig deeper. After waving her hand, her figure quietly disappeared.

"Hoo..."

After Ghost-senpai left, Sakiko finally breathed a sigh of relief, and couldn’t help but turn her head, looking at Kitahara Makoto with a resentful gaze.

Thankfully it was the open-minded Ghost-senpai; if it were Soyo, she would definitely have guessed the truth, right?

"It’s all my fault." Kitahara Makoto said simply, "Please, I must take responsibility."

Sakiko quickly turned her pretty face away, avoiding eye contact with Kitahara Makoto. There was no way; now, as soon as their eyes met, the scenes of being taken advantage of yesterday would involuntarily appear in her mind...

Lewd!

It was truly too lewd!

"Stop talking, let’s go back quickly." Sakiko crossed her arms over her chest, "The typhoon has already made landfall."

The wind howled.

The scorching heat had disappeared, and there was even a hint of chill in the wind; the typhoon had officially arrived.

Kitahara Makoto extended his right hand and naturally took Togawa’s soft hand:

"It’s probably going to rain soon. Should I quickly travel back with Togawa-chan first?"

Sakiko bit her lower lip lightly, her pretty face flushed crimson as she said:

"Kitahara-kun is not allowed to do anything else!"

Soyo was outwardly gentle but inwardly a bit mischievous, while Togawa was outwardly aloof but inwardly quite reserved and conservative, even believing that such things should only be done after marriage, which made her particularly shy at this moment.

Kitahara Makoto raised his right hand, his face full of righteousness as he said:

"I swear, after I send Togawa-chan home, I definitely won’t do anything else. If I lie, I’m a puppy."

Sakiko pursed her lips, feeling that the oath was a bit off.

But before she could speak, Kitahara Makoto urged:

"Hurry up, the wind is getting stronger. Hold your skirt down, be careful not to expose yourself."

Sakiko’s attention was immediately diverted, and she covered her skirt with one hand, unable to resist giving him a glare:

"I won’t be exposed."

"..."

Kitahara Makoto led Togawa into a roadside fast-food restaurant, went into an unoccupied bathroom, and then summoned Hana, directly fast-traveling back to Togawa’s home.

"Hana-chan, you go back first." Kitahara Makoto rubbed Hana’s little head. "This is the small cake I bought for you. Go back and eat it slowly."

"Daddy, thank you."

Hana happily hugged the small cake and disappeared into the mirror. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Seeing Kitahara Makoto send Hana away, Sakiko immediately became alert:

"Kitahara-kun, don’t forget your oath just now."

"Rest assured, of course I haven’t forgotten." Kitahara Makoto’s face was full of stern righteousness, and he openly played with Togawa’s soft, boneless hand. "Let’s help Togawa-chan dispel the negative energy from her body first."

"You... don’t touch me randomly!"

Sakiko couldn’t help but glare at him.

"It may look like I’m touching randomly, but it’s actually a hand massage." Kitahara Makoto said with a righteous face, "Togawa-chan plays the piano every day, so her hands must be very tired, right? I’m helping to relieve the fatigue."

Sakiko helplessly covered her forehead, having nothing more to say about Kitahara Makoto’s thick skin.

A moment later.

Feeling her body relax, Sakiko urged again:

"You can let go of me now, Kitahara-kun, hurry back."

Kitahara Makoto said with a serious expression:

"Togawa-chan still has a bigger crisis that hasn’t been resolved."

"Eh?"

Sakiko tilted her head and looked over:

"A bigger crisis... What is that?"

Kitahara Makoto said sternly:

"Even Ghost-senpai could tell that Togawa-chan’s state wasn’t right, so she definitely can’t hide it from others... Togawa-chan still doesn’t want everyone to know our secret of eating the forbidden fruit, right?"

"You..."

Sakiko’s pretty face flushed, and her gaze immediately became evasive.

That’s right.

She really didn’t want everyone to know about their secret escapade; it was too shameful no matter how she thought about it.

Kitahara Makoto leaned forward, sniffing the quiet scent on Togawa’s body, and whispered:

"I have a way to prevent others from discovering the secret."

Sakiko’s long eyelashes trembled slightly, and her pretty face flushed as she looked over:

"What way?"

Kitahara Makoto smiled:

"Togawa-chan, have you heard of ’desensitization therapy’?"

"Of course I’ve heard...

...

Togawa was actually quite smart. Halfway through her sentence, she understood Kitahara Makoto’s ’sinister’ intentions and quickly wanted to escape.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Ever since she ’let the wolf into the house,’ tonight was destined for her to be devoured.

Kitahara Makoto reached out and pulled Togawa into his embrace, his eyes burning as he said:

"Anyone who has learned to drive knows that only novice drivers are tense all over and stiff in their limbs. In such a situation, there is no other way but to practice more in real combat. So, let’s go to the Onsen Village for desensitization therapy. The more times we go, Togawa-chan will naturally not be nervous anymore."

"No."

Sakiko’s pretty face was burning, and she said in a shameful voice:

"You just swore that you wouldn’t take advantage of me..."

Kitahara Makoto simply interrupted:

"Woof woof woof."

Sakiko: "..."

"Let’s go, we’re going to the Onsen Village."

Kitahara Makoto picked up Togawa, ready to get up.

"Wait, wait a moment..."

Knowing that she couldn’t escape tonight, Sakiko could only give up struggling, her pretty face burning as she said:

"Go to the room first..."

"We might disturb the neighbors..." Kitahara Makoto hesitated.

Before he could finish, Kitahara Makoto received a headbutt.

Sakiko’s voice was shy: "I told you to go to the room to get something!"

"Get what?"

"You’ll know when you go..."

"Let’s go together."

Kitahara Makoto simply held Togawa and walked upstairs.

A moment later.

Kitahara Makoto opened the drawer by the bed and looked at the two boxes of safety supplies inside, his expression subtly changing.

It was clear that although Togawa kept saying no messing around, she obviously guessed that Kitahara Makoto wouldn’t give up easily, so she had prepared for both possibilities in advance.

"Very good, I’ll take them."

Kitahara Makoto lowered his head, looking at the girl in his arms who had her eyes tightly shut, pretending to be an ostrich. He simply took the items, and then entered the [Onsen Village] with Togawa.

Thirty minutes later.

The light distorted slightly, and their figures quietly returned.

Kitahara Makoto was still energetic and stood upright, but Togawa was already teary-eyed, having turned into melted cream ice cream, with a faint ’just’ character appearing on her thigh.

"Have a good rest tonight."

Kitahara Makoto placed Togawa on the bed and poured a glass of Shimizu, placing it on the bedside table:

"Tomorrow, we’ll continue with the desensitization training."

Sakiko was originally so tired she didn’t want to move a single finger, but upon hearing Kitahara Makoto’s words, a look of fear instantly appeared on her pretty face:

"I-I’m really going to break..."

At this moment.

Sakiko suddenly understood why Soyo wanted to invite her to play duo with her, because one person really would break.

After settling Togawa, Kitahara Makoto quick-traveled back home.

"Makoto-kun, welcome back."

The girl’s cool and indifferent voice entered his ears.

"I’m back."

Kitahara Makoto took off his backpack and handed it to Mutsumi.

Unknowingly, he had become accustomed to Mutsumi’s voice; if he didn’t hear it when he returned one day, he would feel somewhat lonely.

"Sniff sniff~"

Mutsumi’s exquisite nose twitched slightly, and she said expressionlessly:

"Makoto-kun smells entirely of Togawa-chan."

Kitahara Makoto: "..."

No, before leaving the [Onsen Village], he clearly showered with Togawa, so why could she still smell Togawa!

"I’m going to take a shower."

Kitahara Makoto decisively grabbed his change of clothes and headed to the bathroom.

After showering and freshening up, Kitahara Makoto walked to the balcony and looked out the window, where he could see lightning flashing and thunder rumbling, with a fierce wind and heavy rain outside.

While bullying Togawa in the [Onsen Village], the typhoon had officially swept through Tokyo, and the entire city was submerged by the heavy rain.

"What a storm..."

Kitahara Makoto sighed softly and turned back to the living room.

As the typhoon swept through Tokyo, the hot temperature quietly dropped, and there was no need for air conditioning now.

"Makoto-kun, ice cream?"

Mutsumi’s pretty face was as expressionless as ever, but a hint of anticipation was clearly audible in her voice.

"Just one."

Kitahara Makoto sat on the sofa, picked up his handheld console, and opened "Dave the Diver."

Before long, Mutsumi came over with an ice cream, while Hana quietly watched "Chibi Maruko-chan" while eating cake.

Outside, wind and rain lashed, lightning flashed, thunder roared, and the typhoon raged.

Inside, the room temperature was just right; eating Mutsumi’s ice cream while playing "Dave the Diver," and occasionally stroking Hana’s beast ears, at this moment, Kitahara Makoto felt as if happiness had suddenly materialized.

In a blink of an eye, it was ten o’clock at night.

Kitahara Makoto saw that he still had ten kilograms of weight capacity and was about to challenge the tiger shark when he suddenly heard his phone vibrate with a ’buzzing’ sound.

"Hmm?"

Kitahara Makoto glanced over and raised an eyebrow slightly:

"A message from Hitori?"

Handing the handheld console to Mutsumi, Kitahara Makoto picked up his phone and opened the message.

Hitori: "Th-that... Kitahara-kun, do you have time now?"

"Now?"

Kitahara Makoto silently sat up straight.

Asking if he had time now, it was 100% something she wanted to talk about, and it was something very important.

Kitahara Makoto: "I have time, I was just bored and zoning out. What’s wrong, Hitori?"

Hitori: "Um... the power suddenly went out at home."

Kitahara Makoto: "The power hasn’t gone out here yet, but I don’t think it’ll last much longer."

Power outages were normal.

The typhoon was raging, and coupled with the many exposed power lines in Japan’s residential areas, it often caused widespread power outages.

Kitahara Makoto: "If Hitori is scared, let Hana-chan pick you up."

Hitori: "No, Mom and Futari are still at home."

Kitahara Makoto: "So Hitori misses me?"

Hitori: "Actually... actually, something scary flew into the house, I don’t know what it is, and Dad hasn’t returned from his business trip..."

Kitahara Makoto said decisively:

"I’ll be right there."

Having unlocked Quick Travel, no matter how much the typhoon raged outside, it wouldn’t hinder him from going to Hitori’s house.

Hitori: "Um... will it be a bother for Kitahara-kun?"

Kitahara Makoto: "Hitori just needs to prepare the reward."

Hitori: "Eh, what is it?"

Kitahara Makoto: "Let me kiss you ten times."

Hitori: "Th-that’s too much..."

"..."

Putting his phone in his pocket, Kitahara Makoto briefly explained the situation to Mutsumi, then called Hana, and quick-traveled to Hitori’s house.

A moment later.

Kitahara Makoto quietly appeared in Hitori’s room, and with a glance, he saw the bulging duvet on the bed, clearly with something inside.

Good heavens.

She said she wasn’t scared, but in fact, she was already hiding in the duvet, trembling!

Kitahara Makoto walked to the bedside. At a time like this, he naturally wouldn’t scare Hitori; he just gently patted the duvet:

"Hitori, I’m here."

"..."

The duvet quietly opened a slit, revealing a pair of teary peach blossom eyes:

"Ki-Kitahara-kun?"

"It’s me." Kitahara Makoto gently pinched Hitori’s small face, "Didn’t you say you weren’t scared?"

Hitori’s small face quickly flushed, and she stammered:

"Th-that... I wasn’t hiding, actually, I was sealed..."

Flap, flap.

A strange sound suddenly echoed in the room.

"Ah..."

Hitori was startled and quickly tried to hide back under the duvet.

"Don’t panic." Kitahara Makoto rubbed Hitori’s little head, "It’s a sparrow."

"Eh?"

Hitori carefully widened her eyes:

"There’s no light, how does Kitahara-kun know?"

After the power outage, the room was naturally pitch dark, with only occasional lightning flashes from outside illuminating the room.

However, Kitahara Makoto had only gained the ability [Extraordinary Vision] today, allowing him to see clearly even in the dark.

"Wait a moment."

Kitahara Makoto stood up and, in a short while, easily caught a small sparrow.

"This is it."

Hitori carefully peeked out, and upon seeing the small bird in Kitahara Makoto’s palm, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief:

"So it’s just a small bird... Strange, how did it fly in?"

Kitahara Makoto casually said:

"It was probably scared by the wind and rain outside, and then squeezed in through a crack or something... I’ll throw it out."

"Kitahara-kun, wait a moment."

Hitori quickly sat up and whispered.

"What’s wrong?"

"Um... the little sparrow is so pitiful." Hitori’s expression was hesitant, "There’s a typhoon outside right now, if we just let it out like this, it’ll die, won’t it?"

Just now, she was so scared of this sparrow that she was teary-eyed, and in a blink of an eye, she was concerned about its life and death. Being too kind is truly hard!

"What does Hitori plan to do?"

Kitahara Makoto’s gaze shifted downwards, falling onto Hitori’s body.

It was already ten o’clock at night, and Hitori had naturally showered, wearing a little bear pajama. The pajama buttons were not fully fastened, revealing her ice cream faintly, which was especially...

"Ah..."

The room was dim, and although Hitori couldn’t clearly see Kitahara Makoto’s expression, she keenly sensed the lingering fiery gaze, and quickly covered her chest with a flushed face:

"Um... how about temporarily putting the little sparrow in a cardboard box?"

"As long as it doesn’t fly around, it’ll be fine. Once the typhoon passes, we can release it back into nature."

Hitori stammered softly, "I finally found a hiding place, but then I was driven out. Outside is a terrifying world of strong winds, heavy rain, lightning, and thunder... Even a little sparrow would be scared, right?"

"If I ever encounter a terrifying storm, I hope I can be like a little sparrow and be taken in by a good person..."

Sparrows don’t have brains, so don’t empathize with a sparrow!

Although Kitahara Makoto was noncommittal, since Hitori was being so kind-hearted, he naturally wouldn’t insist on throwing the sparrow out:

"Then let’s find a box to put it in."

"Mhm, mhm." Hitori nodded hastily, "I remember Mom received a package today, there’s a cardboard box outside, let’s put it in there."

At this moment, Mrs. Goto should still be awake. Hitori was worried Kitahara Makoto would be seen if he went out with her, so she asked Kitahara Makoto to stay in the room and went out herself to settle the little sparrow.

Kitahara Makoto naturally had no objections and quietly played on his phone in the room.

A moment later.

Hitori quietly returned:

"Kitahara-kun, I’ve already put it in the cardboard box."

Kitahara Makoto looked up:

"Does Hitori need help with anything else?"

Hitori: "No."

Upon hearing this, Kitahara Makoto put away his phone and said with burning eyes:

"Then let’s pay the reward now."

"Eh?"

Hitori blinked, quickly remembered what the reward was, and her small face instantly flushed.

"Come here quickly." Kitahara Makoto reached out and pulled Hitori into his arms, lowering his voice and saying, "The reward definitely can’t be less, but I can give Hitori a 50% discount."

"Fifty percent off... What does that mean?"

Hitori looked up in confusion.

"It’s simple." Kitahara Makoto leaned close to Hitori’s ear and whispered, "If it’s me kissing Hitori, then the reward is ten kisses, not one less. But if Hitori actively kisses me, then I can give you a 50% discount, Hitori only needs to kiss me five times... How about it, isn’t it a good deal?"

Hitori: "..."

(Although taking the initiative is super embarrassing, Kitahara-kun gave a 50% discount, so it really feels like a good deal...)

Math has always been Hitori’s weakness. Before Kitahara Makoto tutored her, her math test scores were often single digits. Now, hearing Kitahara Makoto offer a 50% discount, her heart was immediately swayed.

"I, I’ll choose the 50% discount..."

Hitori’s face was burning as she stammered her choice.

"A smart choice, it would be a shame not to use the 50% off coupon." Kitahara Makoto smiled, "But let’s be clear, Hitori must be as proactive as she was that afternoon in the Onsen Village."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Hitori recalled her bold actions that afternoon in the Onsen Village, and her small face instantly turned explosively red.

"Hurry up." Kitahara Makoto urged, "I won’t leave until you’ve finished kissing."

Hitori had no choice. She covered her chest with one hand and propped herself up on the bed with the other, nervously closing her eyes and actively offering the reward.

(I’m using a 50% discount... It shouldn’t be a loss, right?)