We had experienced Afanc extermination in the morning.

Since we had plenty of materials stocked up, we decided to take a longer stretch of free time today.

While everyone spent the time however they liked, Shion, who served as our head chef, and Roa, our maid, baked cookies for us.

We ate them with whichever drinks we wanted, such as sheep’s milk, herbal tea, or juice chilled in the refrigerator.

They seemed to have made a large batch today, so I had them let me store about half in Inventory before they cooled.

Now we could eat freshly baked, crispy, crumbly cookies anytime.

I went back in front of the TV and enjoyed my game for a while, nibbling cookies as I played.

It was not as though we had a one-hour-a-day rule, but I saved at a good stopping point.

“Done for today?”

Chiyu, who had been watching beside me, asked.

“Yeah. There are other things I want to do too.”

Back when I lived in Japan, games had been pretty high on my list of priorities, but in this deserted island life, they had dropped one step lower.

Was it because I had obtained a mysterious power called the Crafting Ability?

Games were still just as fun, but testing what I could do with my own power was fun too.

“Sousuke? Sorry, could I have a little of your time? I want to talk about ingredients.”

Shion called to me from the kitchen.

“Got it. I’ll be right there.”

“...Then I’ll go check on the chickens.”

Chiyu stood too, and for the moment, we went our separate ways.

Shion seemed to be alone in the kitchen.

From upstairs, I could hear a vwoooom... sound, so Roa was probably using the rechargeable electric vacuum cleaner we had just obtained.

She had started charging it downstairs right after waking up, so apparently it was already usable.

“So, Shion. What should I take out? Or do you want me to make something?”

“Yeah. Well, I want to make something you want to eat, Sousuke. Do you have any requests?”

“Everything you cook is good, Shion... The ginger pork was great too.”

“Hehe, thank you. But I want to be even more useful, so if there’s something you want to eat, tell me.”

“Something I want to eat... Hmm—oh.”

“What, what?”

“Hmm. I don’t know if we can make it, but—ramen, maybe?”

“I see. Boys do seem like they’d like that. I think Shouko likes it too.”

“There aren’t many people who hate ramen. Chiyu likes it too.”

Though depending on the kind, some people might dislike the smell, or feel uncomfortable going into shops full of male customers.

“Yeah, yeah... But what should we do about the soup?”

“It’s broth and sauce, right? We have enough ingredients now that we can probably do something about the sauce, but the broth is the problem... We can’t use the chickens we have for cooking, so chicken bones are out.”

“Ah! Come to think of it, I saw a boar-bone ramen shop featured on TV once.”

“Boar! We have boar bones in Inventory, and if we need to drain the blood or anything, I can handle that perfectly.”

“Yeah. Maybe I’ll try making the soup.”

“But pork bones... or boar bones, I guess. Either way, it seems like it’d smell pretty intense.”

“Hehe, true. Then maybe I’ll simmer it outside. Soup has to simmer for hours, right? Roa and I can take turns watching the pot.”

“Ah, then I’ll help too.”

“Thank you.”

“First, we need to prepare a lot of things outside.”

“Yeah. But before that, come over here for a second.”

You could see the living room from the kitchen, but that did not mean the whole kitchen was visible from the living room.

Some parts were hidden.

Shion led me behind cover, then kissed me.

“Kiss... kiss... Hey, should we continue from this morning?”

When she pulled her lips away and said that, she lowered herself in front of me.

“Wait... Is that why you called me?”

“It’s not like I lied. Wanting to make something you like is true too. But if I waited any longer, it felt like you might end up with another girl first, so I thought I should hurry.”

Shion began giving me private attention with practiced gentleness, looking up at me with affection the whole time.

Shouko and Yumekai were still in the living room.

If someone came to the refrigerator to get a drink, they might see us.

That forbidden situation only made it harder to stay calm, and before long, Shion had drawn me all the way to my limit.

“Mm... Hehe. Thank you for the meal, Sousuke.”

She said that with a satisfied, happy look.

The joy of being useful and the sense of accomplishment from pleasing someone she loved were written all over her face.

Faced with Shion’s pure, unfiltered affection, I found myself reaching out without thinking.

When I touched her cheek, she rubbed against my hand like an affectionate dog.

She had always been a beautiful girl, but that was an outward assessment.

The loveliness I felt from Shion now was something that came from inside her.

“Thank you, Shion.”

“Yeah. Tell me anytime, okay? I really mean anytime.”

Once she had neatly helped me straighten myself out again, Shion even fixed my belt for me.

She was taking care of everything. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Just as Shion stood up, Roa appeared in the kitchen.

“I apologize for interrupting your pleasant conversation. I do not wish to trouble you, Master, but there is something I would like to ask of you...”

Roa said it with one hand against her cheek, looking troubled.

“Ah, yeah. Wait a bit. Shion says she’s going to cook outside, so I was thinking I’d help carry things.”

“Understood. Is there anything I may assist with?”

“Ah. In that case, Roa, we’re going to make ramen soup. Could you take turns watching the pot?”

“Of course. Once I finish cleaning, I will come right away.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Leave it to me. Also, Master, I will be heading to my room on the second floor first.”

“Yeah, got it.”

I quickly finished preparing what we needed for the soup and headed upstairs.

Before I could knock, the door to Roa’s room opened.

“I apologize. A maid relying on her master is terribly improper...”

“No, no. If you called me, that means you need either manpower or my ability, right?”

“Yes. I thought it would be faster to borrow your strength when moving furniture to clean.”

“I see. If it’s something like that, you can call me anytime... But I don’t think the room is dirty enough yet to need that kind of large-scale cleaning.”

I thought back to when I was in Japan.

When you cleaned places like the gaps around a bed or behind a bookshelf, they turned out to be full of dust. Unexpected things sometimes fell back there too.

That said, even counting our entire deserted island life, this was only Day 8. It had been even less time since we placed the house. And since it got cleaned every time we placed it again, I did not think there was enough dirt to worry about.

“You are quite right.”

Roa nodded.

“Huh?”

Then what had that conversation even been for?

The thought barely had time to cross my mind before Roa moved closer to me.

“I apologize. I lied because I wanted an excuse to be alone with you, Master.”

Then she smiled mischievously.

“...Don’t tell me you saw what happened with Shion.”

“Yes. When I saw how good you looked, Master, I found myself wanting to provide service that could draw out the same expression from you...”

As she said that, Roa brought her lips to mine.

I did not resist, and I kissed her deeply.

Even though Shion had just satisfied me a short time ago, my body was already responding so strongly it almost hurt.

“Ah, as expected of you, Master. Such stamina, truly worthy of the master of a harem... Then, if you will excuse me.”

Roa carefully helped me undress, then began providing thorough, devoted service of her own.

“Guh...”

◇

After receiving the maid’s service for a while...

“Please make use of me again anytime.”

Still smiling, Roa wiped the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief.

Overcome by that pleasant, drained feeling afterward, I left Roa’s room.

Then my eyes met Minori’s just as she was stepping out of her own room.

“S-Sousuke. Perfect timing. I was just about to go call you.”

“You were?”

“Yes. Um, there’s something I want you to look at on the map.”

“Got it. Your room, then?”

“Of course. Come in.”

I entered Minori’s room.

Textbooks were open on the desk, and beside them was a stack of paper I had created.

Apparently, she really had been studying properly.

“Um, I believe the map was around here...”

Minori said that and began rummaging through a drawer.

But with her back turned to me and her upper body bent forward, it looked as though she was presenting herself.

Was I imagining the way she was swaying gently from side to side?

“Um... Where did I put it... I-I can’t seem to find it.”

No, I probably was not imagining it.

I moved closer to Minori.

“Don’t tell me you heard what happened with Roa.”

Her shoulders jumped, and then her ears turned bright red.

“Ugh... I-I’m sorry. I lied to call you into my room.”

“No, that’s fine. But, if I’m not misunderstanding... are you inviting me?”

Without turning around, Minori nodded.

“What about studying?”

“D-don’t tease me... Or has a new girl joining us made you stop getting excited by me...?”

Her voice sounded uneasy.

“That’s not true. If you’re inviting me, Minori, then... I can, right?”

When I put my hands on her hips, Minori trembled happily.

“...Yes. Please.”

Minori swayed more boldly than before.

I could not hold back, and I gave in to her invitation.

“Ah...”

The situation itself was too much: the serious ponytailed Class Rep skipping her precious study time because she wanted me.

Caught up in it, I lost myself in her until I reached my limit with her too.

◇

“This is bad... I’m sure there was something I actually meant to do...”

With my body feeling completely light, I left Minori’s room.

As I was about to head downstairs, the door to Chiyu’s room opened, and someone’s hand reached out.

“Whoa...”

I was startled for an instant, but the culprit could only be Chiyu.

My childhood friend pulled me into her room, then pushed me straight onto the bed.

“Advanced Heal. Energy Up.”

“W-wait, Chiyu—”

“No questions. I wondered what you were doing after stopping the game, and it turns out you were enjoying the harem. That itself is not a problem. But proceeding while ignoring the legal wife is unacceptable.”

Chiyu had already undone the upper half of her school uniform buttons, leaving her bra visible.

“No, I didn’t mean to...”

“Lotion.”

“...Yes.”

Pressed by Chiyu as she thrust out her hand, I placed a glass container of lotion.

She used it without hesitation, then began her own forceful kind of intimate payback.

Even at a time like this, my body responded honestly.

“I have the right to say this to So-kun. ‘After you lost your virginity to me, too.’”

“Yes...”

I could tell Chiyu was sulking because she loved me, so I could not get angry.

If anything, from her perspective, I had left during our time together and proceeded to do intimate things with several other girls in a row, so I even felt guilty.

And after getting angry, the action she chose was still one meant to please me, so I had no way to # Nоvеlight # resist.

“This is not service. This is, so to speak, extraction.”

That sounded like a term I had only ever seen in dirty books.

“I won’t stop until So-kun learns to properly respect the childhood-friend heroine.”

Her body pressed close, and the overwhelming sensation left me with nowhere to run.

“Sorry... But you’ve got it wrong, Chiyu.”

“Mm. I believe you. But I’m draining you dry.”

“Guh...!”

◇

“Haa... haa... I thought I was going to die.”

Though I could also say it had felt good enough to kill me.

If not for the stamina I had rapidly built up through deserted island life, and Chiyu’s magic, my body would never have lasted.

After somehow earning Chiyu’s forgiveness, I escaped her room and headed outside.

“Oh, Sousuke? If you mean taking over the soup, I’m still fine.”

Shion, who was simmering the boar-bone soup in a large pot, called out to me.

“Yeah, let me know when it’s time to switch. Right now, I’m looking for Shouko.”

“If it’s Shouko, she went for a walk on Mashiro to clear her head. Ah, she’s inside the barrier, of course, so you don’t need to worry.”

“I see. Then she’ll probably be back if I wait a while.”

Black dragon Micron pounced on me, so I played with her for a while.

Before long, Shouko came back.

“Sousuke? What’s up?”

“I’ve got a favor to ask you, Shouko.”

Her cheeks flushed pink.

“...Wow, you’re in that kind of mood, huh? You can’t wait until tonight?”

“No, don’t misunderstand... Though I realize I have no credibility saying that, but the favor is not that kind.”

“Oh. Then okay. What do you need me to do?”

“There’s a living creature I want you to summon.”