We were lying next to each other inside the hut, on the woven grass mat.

To be more precise—we were holding each other as we slept.

I’d crafted another mat to use as a makeshift blanket, but it was more of a “better than nothing” situation.

With no lights and the window shut, the room was pitch black.

The only things we could feel were each other’s body heat and breath.

Just lying next to my cute childhood friend was already enough to make me tense, but on top of that, she was giving off this dizzying scent—and even through our uniforms, her soft breasts were pushed tightly up against me, shifting shape on my chest.

There was no way not to react in a situation like this.

I just kept praying she wouldn’t notice.

“So-kun.”

“...!”

Chiyu whispered my name.

My heart jumped with a violent thud.

“Dinner’s over, but are you still serving up mushrooms?”

It was a dick joke.

The kind of joke that, coming from a guy, would probably get a girl to shoot him down.

Part of me thought it would be more gentlemanly to pretend not to notice, but maybe, knowing her, Chiyu was throwing me a bone by making a joke out of it instead.

“...Sorry. Uh... If I ignore it, it’ll go back into Inventory.”

I went with a joke in return, figuring that’d be the end of it.

But instead, the arm Chiyu had wrapped around my back slowly unwrapped itself—

—and, unbelievably, reached down toward my crotch.

Then she started to move.

Rub rub... rub rub...

“C-Chiyu...?!”

“I heard holding it in hurts.”

“Uh, well, I mean—yeah, it does, but...”

I stumbled over my words, totally unprepared for her to initiate anything like this.

Ignoring my panic, her hand moved to unhook my pants, pulled down the zipper, and—

It came out.

Fully erect, standing tall in the open air, totally exposing just how turned on I was.

“So-kun is...”

Her fingers—smooth and pale like porcelain—moved slowly up and down.

“...obviously in love with me.”

The way she moved made it clear she wasn’t experienced, but I could feel how genuine she was.

“But you’re kind, So-kun.”

Her breath tickled my neck—somewhere between a shiver and a thrill.

“You’re probably thinking it’s not fair to confess now... and that we should stay just childhood friends. I get it.”

Of course she did. We’d known each other since preschool. She knew exactly how I thought.

And apparently, my feelings were obvious to her all along.

...So this must be her way of responding.

*****

“Confessing... we can save that for when we’re back on Earth...”

Shff... shff...

Her soft, warm fingers moved more smoothly now, thanks to the slick fluid already leaking from the tip.

“But I want you to know I’m okay with... doing this kind of thing with you.”

In the darkness, I leaned toward the sound of her breath, trying to find her face.

She seemed to sense it and tilted her head.

The first time, I missed—brushed her cheek.

But even that felt warm, maybe from excitement, or nervousness, or both.

The second time, our lips met.

Her lips were impossibly soft and dewy—

like touching a cloud.

We kissed a few more times—just lips touching softly—

then the kisses grew more eager, nibbling at each other bit by bit—

and finally, we were practically devouring one another.

It wasn’t planned or discussed. We just moved together, perfectly in sync.

All the while, Chiyu’s hand never stopped.

Shff... shff... Smooth, rhythmic strokes.

“Nnh... fuh... So-kun, you’re burning hot...”

She wasn’t exactly skilled, but that didn’t matter.

The fact that she was doing it—that alone drove my excitement to its peak.

Maybe it was because it was my first time.

Or maybe it would always be like this from now on.

But the pleasure was so intense, so sweet, I couldn’t hold out for long.

“Chiyu... I’m gonna...”

I could tell she was smiling—a sweet, delighted smile.

A voice more sensual than I’d ever heard from her followed.

“Go ahead, So-kun. Let it all out... in your beloved childhood friend’s hand.”

Her voice brushed against my eardrums like a gust of wind—

and just like a bolt of lightning down my spine, I exploded.

Thick, white fluid burst across Chiyu’s hand.

“I already know your kinks, So-kun.

Squirt, squirt, squirt.”

She gave a playful chant, milking the rest out of me with matching strokes of her hand.

Even though it had to have sprayed all over her hands, her wrists, maybe even her stomach,

she didn’t seem to care at all.

I lay there dazed, practically paralyzed with pleasure—

but eventually my brain rebooted and started thinking rationally again.

—Right, we can just store the mat and clothes in Inventory to clean them.

—Chiyu can wipe her hand with a towel, or wash it with Soap.

Clean-up wasn’t really a problem.

As I was thinking that, I heard wet sounds—probably her fingers opening and closing.

Squish... squish...

“So this is what it’s like...

Really thick... warm... weird smell... and there’s so much...”

“Sorry, Chiyu.”

When I apologized, she leaned in to kiss me.

But in the dark, she must’ve misjudged—her lips bumped into my nose.

Still, she didn’t give up. She kept trying until she found my mouth.

Smack.

Finally landing the kiss, she whispered—

“Shouldn’t you be saying ‘thank you’ instead?”

Her tone was her usual flat one.

“...Thanks.”

“‘As expected of you, Lady Chiyu,’ maybe?”

And just like that, the usual vibe returned between us.

“You # Nоvеlight # were amazing for your first time, Lady Chiyu.”

“Imagination practice.”

“You practiced in your head?”

“Roughly the same number of times you fantasized about being with me.”

“That’s... a lot.”

I said, and I could tell she nodded in satisfaction.

We teased each other like that for a while—until—

“Hey, So-kun.”

“Yeah?”

“...Can it be my turn now?”

Only then did it hit me: I’d been the only one to feel good so far.

“Y-yeah, of course.”

I answered quickly—but mentally, I was freaking out.

I had no idea what the ideal “next steps” were.

“It’s okay. Just touch me.”

“R-right.”

“But first, I want to wipe your hand.”

“R-right...! I’ll get a towel. Want water and a bucket too?”

“For now, just the towel. We can do the rest later.”

I placed the towel by her hand and passed it to her.

She wiped herself off, then grabbed my hand—guiding it under her skirt.

“You probably want to smell it, right? Next time.”

“Why is the version of me in your head such a hardcore scent fetishist?”

And just as my fingers touched her underwear—

A gust of wind swept through the trees.

Leaves rustled loudly above us.

『Mashiro, we made it!? Whoa, what’s this—stone walls?! This is nuts...』

『Shouko-chan, maybe save the amazement for later? Shouldn’t we check if Kuno-kun’s here? Probably that hut, right?』

『Huh? Lemme see—whoa, you’re right, he even built a hut. Did he really plan all this out?』

『Ask him yourself later. Right now we just look like creepers.』

『Oh, yeah. Kuno—! You in there? It’s me!』

『At least introduce yourself, Shouko-chan...』

『Nah, Kuno and I are close. He’ll recognize my voice.』

『But in the dream, didn’t he grab Iyama-san’s hand even though you were nearby...?』

『...Well, Chiyu is his childhood friend. A-and she was closer, anyway.』

The conversation came through loud and clear—so identifying the voices wasn’t hard.

One of them was the ultra-sociable gyaru, Kanna Shouko.

The other I couldn’t quite place, but probably another girl she was close with.

And “Mashiro,” presumably, had something to do with her ability.

No clue how the girl with the Fluffy Summoning Ability got here—or why—

—but it’s not like we could ignore them.

“Uh, Chiyu...?”

“Soap. Water. Bucket.”

“Roger.”

Her voice, short and clipped, sounded oddly cold.

She clearly saw them as intruders.

But they were fellow transfer students—and friends.

I quickly pulled my pants back on, got everything arranged,

opened the window to let the moonlight in for Chiyu’s sake,

told her, “I’ll make it up to you,” and quietly stepped outside.