She did not want to accept anyone's kindness, yet she was powerless to refuse.
"Let's do it this way, Teacher Hiratsuka. For the first two and a half days, Hitori and I will help you level up and clear out the monster nests in the surrounding area. After that, we'll check out the dungeon."
Monsters had nests of their own and would not leave them easily. As long as the nearby monster nests were wiped out, they could establish a safe zone.
This was on the edge of the city, and the other players were not yet high enough level to set foot in this area.
By now, night had grown deeper. For safety's sake, the three of them slept in the same room.
Tsukikawa Shu still held Goto Hitori in his arms, their bodies pressed tightly together.
For some reason, Tsukikawa Shu held her more tightly than usual tonight.
Her heart kept pounding, and a tranquil feeling she had never experienced before spread through the air. Goto Hitori felt inexplicably nervous.
Neither of them was asleep. Seconds ticked by, and the surroundings grew quiet.
Their soft breathing was especially clear in the silent room.
"Is Teacher Hiratsuka asleep?" Tsukikawa Shu suddenly asked beside Goto Hitori's ear.
"I don't know..." Goto Hitori glanced toward the other side of the room.
Hiratsuka Shizuka lay on the bed on the other side of the room, turned on her side with her back to them.
There was no movement and no sound.
"She should be... asleep, right?" Goto Hitori said.
"Yeah, she should be asleep," Tsukikawa Shu said.
"..."
The two faced each other, and the air fell quiet again for a while.
"Thank you so much for today," Tsukikawa Shu said. "Making you agree to those conditions was selfish of me."
"There was no helping it," Goto Hitori said. "After all, we're in this world..."
After that, neither spoke. It remained quiet for a while, but the atmosphere gradually became more suggestive.
"Y-you... what are you trying to do?"
Goto Hitori's heart beat faster and faster.
It felt as though something was about to happen... and she became extremely nervous.
"Hitori!"
Tsukikawa Shu suddenly grabbed Goto Hitori's hand.
"Y-yes!"
Goto Hitori was incredibly tense.
"We're spouses, right?!"
"Ah... I guess so," Goto Hitori stammered.
"Then..."
Tsukikawa Shu suddenly made a move...
"Ah... wait... wh-what are you doing... ngh..."
Goto Hitori was suddenly pulled beneath the blanket by Tsukikawa Shu. Amid the rustling, only her cries could be heard.
Yet, seemingly afraid of waking Hiratsuka Shizuka, she kept suppressing them.
"..."
On the other side, Hiratsuka Shizuka's face had already turned bright red.
She was not asleep at all. She could hear everything happening at the other end of the room perfectly clearly.
At first, the resistance had been rather fierce, but as time passed, it gradually seemed more like reluctant encouragement.
Hiratsuka Shizuka's face grew redder and redder.
These two youngsters are actually going at it at a time like this?!
"I'm still a virgin..."
Hiratsuka Shizuka hugged her little blanket. Listening to the rustling sounds behind her only made it more impossible for her to sleep.
She listened to the sounds behind her, from the initial rustling to increasingly louder movements, until she could clearly hear panting, and finally, it gradually died down and returned to silence...
She could not sleep at all...
The blossoms fell from spring's red, far too soon; helpless before the morning's cold rain and evening wind.
Rouged tears, a parting heart drunk with grief; such is life's enduring sorrow, like eastward-flowing water.
It was another beautiful morning.
Over the course of one night, the long spear had swept through all opposition, invincible wherever it went.
After several fierce battles, Bocchi-chan's eyes were watery.
After a night of exhaustion, the two embraced, skin against skin, each able to feel the other's truest warmth.
Goto Hitori woke from Tsukikawa Shu's embrace. She looked at his chest, then at her own body...
Beneath the blanket was still a striking stain of crimson.
She froze, then remembered what she had done last night. Her cheeks immediately began burning again.
"When did I become this bold..."
For a moment, she felt like she was no longer herself.
Not only had she gotten into a relationship before her friends, she had even lost her first time so quickly... This was nothing like her at all!
Waaah... I'm not going to get pregnant, am I? I only just became an adult!
Though legally, she really was old enough to get married...
Remembering the details of last night, she once again felt helpless about her own personality.
At first, she had wanted to refuse, but she was completely terrible at turning people down. Even with something like this, her stammering attempts to refuse had looked more like coy reluctance, only spurring Tsukikawa Shu on.
Then she had been pushed down outright. Her resistance grew weaker and weaker, until she simply closed her eyes and lay there...
Still, it had seemed rather comfortable, though it hurt quite a bit at first...
"My clothes, my clothes..."
Blushing, she found the clothes that had been tossed beneath the bed.
By the time Tsukikawa Shu woke up, Goto Hitori had already hurriedly gotten dressed.
"Are you okay?" Tsukikawa Shu hugged her from behind.
"Mm." She nodded, then paused before adding, "Be gentler next time..."
But when she saw the meaningful smile on Tsukikawa Shu's face, she immediately changed her words. "There won't be a next time!"
"Okay!" Tsukikawa Shu laughed, selectively ignoring what she had said afterward.
When the two finally finished getting dressed and walked out of the room, Hiratsuka Shizuka had already been waiting for them in the hallway.
"Teacher Hiratsuka, why do you have dark circles under your eyes?" Tsukikawa Shu asked, looking at his teacher.
"Heh, did you really think I wouldn't know what you two did last night?" Hiratsuka Shizuka put one hand on her hip, looking somewhat annoyed.
"Teacher Hiratsuka knows?!" Goto Hitori instantly tensed up. "We won't get expelled, will we?"
"I can't be bothered to manage you two." Hiratsuka Shizuka lit a cigarette. "Keep it down next time."
"Hehe, we won't wake Teacher up next time." Tsukikawa Shu still wore a cheeky grin, showing no sign of reflection whatsoever.
That only made Hiratsuka Shizuka even more irritated.
It was not just because of Tsukikawa Shu's attitude, either. There was something else...
More importantly, she could not stand seeing her junior lose her virginity before she did—and with that brat Tsukikawa Shu, no less...
If she had been a few years younger, she probably would have chased after him herself.
The three ate breakfast together. Goto Hitori had changed noticeably again, quietly leaning against Tsukikawa Shu the whole time.
The Inner World was only open for five days. They had to race against time to level up during those five days.
Well, while everyone else was nervously figuring out how to survive those five days, Tsukikawa Shu was already complaining that five days was too little time.
Before taking Hiratsuka Shizuka out to level up that morning, Tsukikawa Shu took a moment to log into the forum.
Then he made a post.
"Widely Recruiting Virtuous Wives!"
He gave it a few huge headings, followed by all sorts of benefits.
"Sincerely seeking high-quality wives. Interested parties may contact me now."
"A level 20 player will lead the team. Simply sign a Marriage Contract to enjoy Double Experience benefits, plus one Class Card and two Skill Cards. Upgrade materials are unlimited!"
"Additionally, we can run the East Suburb Dungeon together and farm Epic Grade items."
"If you have any unspeakable concerns, that is fine as well. I will guarantee absolute privacy and will not reveal anything about the Inner World to the original world."
"My energy is limited, so first come, first served!"
He also attached a handsome photo of himself.
After looking it over, Tsukikawa Shu nodded in satisfaction. Then he opened the System Backpack, tapped a few times, and listed a large pile of useless materials, along with several Skill Cards and Class Cards he had collected.
"Recruitment requirements are as follows:"
"Under thirty years old."
"Young and attractive. Those with special talents will receive priority."
"Click private chat to speak face-to-face through the system chatroom. Every applicant will receive an Experience Card as compensation."
"If it is inconvenient to move around in the Inner World, interviews can also be held in the original world. Everyone who comes will likewise receive one Experience Card as compensation, which can directly raise you by one level after use."
"My contact information: xxxxxxx"
After finishing the post and checking it over to make sure there were no problems, Tsukikawa Shu clicked send.
"Let's go. We'll help Teacher Hiratsuka raise her level first over the next two days," Tsukikawa Shu said.
"Mm." Goto Hitori was quiet at the moment, carrying herself with the air of a proper Japanese wife.
In reality, though, she simply did not know how to speak because of her social anxiety...
"You actually posted something like that?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka, who practically watched the chatroom and forum twenty-four hours a day, quickly discovered Tsukikawa Shu's new post.
Everyone used their real names there, so there was no way to hide.
"Aren't you afraid your reputation as a scumbag will spread across the entire world?" Hiratsuka Shizuka asked.
"People who have never entered the Inner World wouldn't believe something like this anyway." Tsukikawa Shu smiled. "And among those who have entered it, quite a few might be resenting the fact that they weren't born women."
The forum did not reveal players' information from the original world, but if a player was willing to disclose it, their Inner World information would be clearly displayed.
[Tsukikawa Shu: Level 20] [Honors Obtained:] [Spider Killer: Killed more than ten spiders in one day] [Giant Rat Killer: Killed more than ten Giant Rats in one day] [Killing Frenzy: Killed more than 20 monsters in one day] [Exploration Frenzy: Opened more than 20 treasure chests in one day]
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