"Ehehe, it wasn't that fast." Goto Hitori scratched her head shyly.
Yet the silly grin on her face was impossible to hide, and there was even a trace of smug pride in it.
I finally have a chance to show off! I can finally brag about my boyfriend to all the single losers, hahahaha!
Goto Hitori was already floating on air.
"..."
Hiratsuka Shizuka looked at Tsukikawa Shu, then at Goto Hitori, and for some reason, she felt rather sour inside.
She did not know why, either.
In short... she was Tsukikawa Shu's teacher, so she was practically half a mother to him... They had gotten along pretty well before, and now that she saw him with someone else, she just found it a little hard to get used to...
"Hitori, there's actually one more thing I need your consent for." Tsukikawa Shu looked at Goto Hitori, his expression suddenly turning very serious as he met her eyes.
Tsukikawa Shu no longer intended to hide the conditions of his system quests, but he still needed to consider Goto Hitori's opinion on this matter.
"I want a harem!"
Tsukikawa Shu said it bluntly.
"Huh?" Goto Hitori was a little confused.
Hiratsuka Shizuka's eyes gradually widened as well.
She had read plenty of transmigration novels, where harems were commonplace, but in modern society, that still was not something people could accept...
"My strength can only be unleashed through this method." Tsukikawa Shu directly explained the situation to Goto Hitori.
He laid everything bare before Goto Hitori, including the requirements of his system.
"I don't know how many dangers still exist in this Inner World. Although we can still survive for now, there's no telling whether we'll be able to keep living safely."
Tsukikawa Shu said, "Next, we'll be facing stronger animals. We might even come into conflict with other players. Later on, we may even have to fight groups made up of multiple players."
"Strengthening ourselves is essential. I won't let any opportunity to grow stronger slip away."
"And my main method of becoming stronger is this. Every time I form a contract with someone, I can receive a large number of rewards and benefits from the system."
"Perhaps there are other ways to become stronger, but I don't want to be at someone else's mercy in the future because I'm too weak, nor do I want to be unable to protect the people around me."
Goto Hitori quietly listened to Tsukikawa Shu, holding his hand as the two looked into each other's eyes and waited for him to finish.
"So, I want to become stronger. I want to protect the people I care about."
"But I also want to hear your opinion."
Tsukikawa Shu took a deep breath and tightened his grip slightly around Goto Hitori's hand.
"I won't give up this special advantage I possess."
"And we haven't yet done the things that spouses should do. If you don't agree, I won't touch you again, and I won't hold your life back."
"Although the Destiny Contract is difficult to dissolve, I'll still look for a way to break it."
Hiratsuka Shizuka quietly listened to Tsukikawa Shu as well, staring fixedly at the two of them. Her gaze shifted from Tsukikawa Shu to Goto Hitori, watching to see how the other person would react.
As Teacher Hiratsuka's student, she knew Tsukikawa Shu had always been straightforward. He was the type to say whatever was on his mind, and if something displeased him, he might even resort to violence. Still, she had not expected him to be this direct about such a matter.
If you'd just kept it from her and formed contracts with other people, then judging from how airheaded Goto Hitori is, she probably wouldn't find out for a long time. By then, it would already be a done deal. If you just made up some excuse, she probably couldn't do anything about it anyway, Hiratsuka Shizuka thought.
Yet Tsukikawa Shu had still laid it all out in the open.
He was a scumbag, but not completely one. He had not even taken her body yet.
Hiratsuka Shizuka was fairly interested in gossip, but today's gossip had truly exceeded her expectations.
"Um..." Goto Hitori's expression did not change much. She merely lowered her head slightly and tightened her grip on Tsukikawa Shu's hand.
She thought for a while longer before finally smiling.
"There's nothing we can do about it, right? We need to survive, after all."
Goto Hitori paused before continuing, "And you saved me too. Without you, I probably wouldn't have been able to team up with anyone at all. Even if I did, I'd quickly be abandoned... Either way, it would have been a dead end."
Goto Hitori had been startled when she heard Tsukikawa Shu directly confess this to her.
But on second thought, this was the Inner World. Every rule was set by the system. Murder, arson, looting, and plundering were all commonplace. Having a harem seemed fairly normal too... After all, strength was king. That was the iron law of this world.
And if she had not met Tsukikawa Shu, with how foolish she was and how terrible she was at sports, even if she had luckily hidden away and survived the first time, she would definitely have died during this entry into the Inner World. She simply could not face those terrifying monsters. On the contrary, she would become an Experience Pack for someone else to hunt.
Then there was also... the stronger Tsukikawa Shu became, the more benefits there would be. She had also grown stronger thanks to his system condition. She was basically riding his coattails.
And then, the Destiny Contract was not just empty words. Both parties had to treat each other well, so she did not need to worry about him bullying her or anything...
Before she knew it, Bocchi had been won over.
"So, you agree?" Tsukikawa Shu gently kneaded Goto Hitori's small hand in his palm.
"Mm." Goto Hitori thought about it again, then nodded firmly.
After all, the rules of the Inner World could not be judged by the values of the world she came from.
"Great!"
Tsukikawa Shu was overjoyed. With a hard pull, he drew Goto Hitori into his arms.
"Wah!"
Caught off guard, Goto Hitori found herself lying in Tsukikawa Shu's arms by the time she came back to her senses.
Even though her level and physique had increased, Goto Hitori's dull nerves and slow reflexes had not changed.
"But it's settled, okay... You have to take proper responsibility for me."
Goto Hitori said timidly.
Tsukikawa Shu smiled.
Even if Goto Hitori had not said it, Tsukikawa Shu would never abandon anyone willing to entrust their fate to him.
"You two... are just doing this?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka stared blankly at them, still unable to shift away from the values of the original world. "And is it really okay for an outsider like me to hear all this?"
"Mm..."
Tsukikawa Shu thought for a moment, then said, "Actually, I like Teacher Hiratsuka too..."
Before he could finish, his head was struck by a rolled-up newspaper.
Hiratsuka Shizuka smacked Tsukikawa Shu on the head with a newspaper rolled into a tube.
"You even dare to have designs on your teacher?" Hiratsuka Shizuka said angrily. "And don't you see how big the age gap between us is?"
"Teacher is so beautiful. What boy wouldn't be tempted? I'm just willing to say it while others aren't."
Tsukikawa Shu rubbed the spot where he had been hit. "Besides, Teacher Hiratsuka has always refused to tell us her real age."
"..."
Having been called beautiful by Tsukikawa Shu, Hiratsuka Shizuka wanted to be angry, only to realize that she was not angry at all.
Looking at Tsukikawa Shu's warm, refreshing face, she instead felt a little happy?
Being handsome really did let someone get away with anything.
"Forget it. Since the circumstances are special, I won't pursue your disrespect toward your teacher." Hiratsuka Shizuka said,
"I see that Goto's level has been rising pretty quickly, almost as fast as yours. Do you have some skill or talent you can use on your teacher too?"
"That's also the result of the Marriage Contract," Tsukikawa Shu said.
"The Marriage Contract grants Double Experience, and after killing a monster, both parties can obtain all of that monster's experience."
"Huh? That also needs marriage to unlock?" Hiratsuka Shizuka froze.
"Is there any other way besides forming a contract?" Hiratsuka Shizuka continued asking.
She knew martial arts, but in this Inner World, those skills only gave her a slightly better chance of survival. To truly become stronger, she still had to follow this world's rules.
"If you're lucky enough to find Experience Cards while exploring, then leveling up can be quite fast," Tsukikawa Shu said.
"I still have a few Experience Cards here." Tsukikawa Shu opened his backpack.
Yet several large words were clearly displayed on it.
[Experience Cards may only be used by the owner and contract signatories]
This setting was probably like how support characters in games could only be used by friends, and only friends could gift characters to each other.
Except in this Inner World, friends had been replaced by contract signatories.
"..."
Hiratsuka Shizuka read through the system description, unsure what to do for a moment.
Tomorrow, Tsukikawa Shu would set out for the dungeon in the eastern outskirts outside the city to farm materials and experience. But the farther one got from the city center, the more dangerous it became. Hiratsuka Shizuka definitely could not accompany him to this dungeon. If she went, she would only hold him back.
"I'll do my best to help you, Teacher," Tsukikawa Shu said. "When hunting monsters, the finishing blow grants more Experience Points. I'll help Teacher control the prey."
"Would that take much time?" Hiratsuka Shizuka thought for a moment and asked.
She had never hunted monsters in this Inner World before, so she still had no concept of Experience Points.
"Wait a moment." Tsukikawa Shu thought about it too, then left the room.
A moment later, Tsukikawa Shu came back carrying something. Hiratsuka Shizuka looked closely and saw a massive spider that had already had all eight of its legs removed.
"Teacher Hiratsuka, try killing this kind of monster and see how much experience you get."
Even though it had lost the ability to move, the spider was still the size of a washbasin and continued twisting its body.
Hiratsuka Shizuka looked around, then picked up a kitchen knife. She swallowed and slowly approached it.
Although she was physically fit and skilled in combat, she had never even killed a chicken before. This was her first time facing real killing.
She hesitated for a moment, then closed her eyes, raised the kitchen knife in her hand, and viciously stabbed it into the monster's abdomen.
With a squelch, green fluid flowed out.
[You have gained 60 Experience Points]
Hiratsuka Shizuka looked at the system notification, then at her experience bar.
Her experience bar had indeed risen somewhat, but it was still not enough to level up.
Was leveling up this difficult? Hiratsuka Shizuka estimated that she would need to kill one or two of these monsters by herself just to gain a level. And if Tsukikawa Shu helped her, while killing monsters would become easier, it would also take more time. She would have to kill even more monsters.
And if she wanted to raise her level enough to support herself, she would need to eliminate quite a few monsters, and it would take quite a lot of time.
"How much did you get?" Hiratsuka Shizuka asked.
Tsukikawa Shu looked at his experience bar. Since he had also participated in hunting the monster, he could receive a share of the experience.
"Eighty points."
Tsukikawa Shu said, "I have a Double Experience bonus."
This monster was worth a total of one hundred Experience Points. Hiratsuka Shizuka had originally received sixty points, while Tsukikawa Shu received forty. But Tsukikawa Shu had the Double Experience bonus, so he gained even more experience than Hiratsuka Shizuka.
"..." Hiratsuka Shizuka felt a little helpless.
"This time, the Inner World will be open for five days. I think we can spend half that time helping Teacher Hiratsuka."
Tsukikawa Shu made a rough calculation. "In two and a half days, Teacher Hiratsuka should be able to reach around level six or seven."
At level six or seven, she would barely be able to survive among the weakest groups of level one to five monsters near the city center.
"Okay." Goto Hitori nodded as well.
Only Hiratsuka Shizuka pursed her lips, feeling somewhat sour inside.
She was an adult who had been through society for years, yet now she was being led around by Tsukikawa Shu, a student she saw as still green. It felt rather awkward.
Before you continue