"This blanket is so soft," Ren thought.
It was also warm. He wished it was always like this. Opening his eyes, he saw Iris's sleeping face right next to him.
"!?"
He fought hard to suppress a gasp. It would be a shame to wake his sleeping junior. It was good that he had the presence of mind to be considerate, but the problem was that Ren was thoroughly hugging her.
He had slept with Iris last night.
It was literally just sleeping in the same bed. He thought sharing a bed with a girl would be unsettling, but they had fallen asleep quite easily while exchanging innocent conversation. It felt like the security of having a large dog next to him.
However, when he went to sleep, he was holding the blanket. Now, the blanket was on the floor, and both of them were relying on each other's body heat for warmth.
"This is not okay, is it?"
It wasn't good to be pressed against each other, even if they were just sleeping together. Should I separate now and pretend nothing happened? Just as he thought that, the girl slowly opened her eyes with a soft "Nn…"
She stared at Ren with a sleepy expression.
"Good morning, Ren-san."
Her smile was defenseless. Her cuteness made him want to gently stroke her head.
"Good morning, Iris. Sorry about that, were you uncomfortable?"
He asked, pulling out the arm that had been trapped underneath her. The girl thought for a moment before shaking her head.
"It felt very nice. …It reminded me of when I was little."
"When you slept with your father?"
"No, my mother."
He wished she had said her father.
"Let's get up. …It's inconvenient not knowing what time it is."
"It's fine. I can tell roughly by the height of the sun."
Was that what happened when you lived without clocks since birth? He wondered if people who didn't rely on the conveniences of civilization actually had higher biological capabilities.
In any case, Ren got out of bed, stretched his body and wings, and said,
"Today's finally the day we open the lake."
"Yes!"
They had to leave right after breakfast.
--------------------
"Wow…! It's amazing! It looks like a real lake!"
"Yeah, big sister, that's awesome!"
"Yes, it is beautiful. Thank you, Iris. You worked very hard."
"It's so pretty… The water is sparkling and reflecting the light."
"It looks like fun to swim here! We didn't get to go swimming this year!"
The creation of the world using the fragments happened in an instant. Iris held the small pouch containing fifty fragments and her drawing, and focused her thoughts. Immediately after, the fragments were sucked into the darkness with a flash of light, and the terrain, exactly as she had drawn and imagined, gradually took shape.
A clear lake with curving edges and low-lying grassland. It would serve a great purpose as a feeding ground for herbivores and a watering hole for the forest, and it was large enough for swimming.
The cheers came from Fuuri, Iris's sisters, her mother, and the girls who were their former classmates who had also been transferred. They were the people who had gathered for the lake's inauguration ceremony. Mariabel and the women from the brothel also stood nearby, smiling at Ren.
"A good place has been created."
"Truly. We're the first ones to get to use it, that's a privilege. Thanks, Ren-chan."
"Oh, it's nothing. If anything, I caused you all trouble before."
He had, of course, apologized to them after the Takuma incident. Since he hadn't been able to make any physical amends, he felt this was the least he could do. Since Iris was the one who worked hard, he couldn't take too much credit.
"Since it's a no-boys-allowed zone, let's have fun, Ren-chan."
"But if that's the case, my presence here is strange."
"It's fine. No one minds Ren-chan."
A woman embraced one of his arms, not letting him escape. As she said, everyone present (except Ren) was female. There wasn't a single male, including Iris's father. Takuma's group was apparently at home, being made to do a thorough cleaning by bodyguards hired from the town in place of the prostitutes who were out.
The reason they were so thorough was simple:
"Come on, Iris-chan! Let's go swimming now!"
"Yes! Fuuri-san, please teach me how to swim!"
"Of course!"
Fuuri and Iris stood by the lake and put their hands on their clothes, getting down to their underwear. The girls, clad in black and white fabric, one looking delighted and the other slightly embarrassed, dipped their feet into the water.
"Wow, it's cold!"
"That looks fun. Hey, Fuuri, can we come in too?"
"Yeah! Come on, everyone, let's swim!"
The other girls, too, quickly stripped off their clothes and ran into the lake in just their underwear.
"…Well, I suppose it would cost too much to make swimsuits just for this."
Ren involuntarily looked distant. He prided himself on being able to remain composed around girls, but being surrounded by this many, including those who were not his party members, in their underwear, made him flustered.
And Iris's mother was also participating in the water play… she looked only "slightly older" even mixed with the high schoolers.
No one was paying attention to Ren, and in fact, Fuuri and Iris were waving at him, urging him to join them. Mariabel chuckled and took his other arm.
"Shall we join them, Ren-san?"
Her breath tickled his ear, making him shiver slightly.
"Maria-san, you're teasing me again, aren't you?"
"My apologies, it was irresistible. Seeing the fresh, young reactions is quite endearing."
"Well, I've already given up on being treated as a man, but…"
"Then it's fine, isn't it? Come on, come on."
He was urged by the two older women to take off his clothes. What appeared underneath were a black bra and panties. He had been forced to wear them because boxer briefs were considered unacceptable among girls. As he experienced with the camisole, female clothing was comfortable on the skin, and these undergarments were also comfortable to wear.
However,
"This is incredibly embarrassing, you know?"
"I see. Maybe we should have made a swimsuit just for Ren-chan."
"No, honestly, a swimsuit and underwear are just different materials, right?"
The boundary was ambiguous depending on the item. He had always thought it was slightly ridiculous that the only difference between being presentable in public and not was the label—or rather, the fabric.
Mariabel tilted her head.
"Then, Ren-san, if you were complimented by the same gender, calling you 'cool,' would you react the same way if you were in underwear versus a swimsuit?"
"No, being complimented in my underwear would be kind of creepy."
I see. State of mind is everything.
"Well, since we're here, we should at least swim a little before we leave."
"Exactly. And you look like a cute girl, even in that outfit."
"Your level has also increased quite a bit."
He had checked his status this morning and found that his level had increased again, probably due to the Energy Drain while sleeping. As a result, his feminization had progressed further. He thought that Fuuri pushing him last night might have been perfectly timed.
"Actually, I haven't needed to go to the toilet since I woke up this morning."
He had tried to force it just in case, thinking his senses were off, but nothing came out. The prostitute woman blinked.
"Succubi don't need to use the toilet? That's cheating."
"Since they are a species that lives by absorbing essence, their energy decomposition method may differ from ours. If they absorb one hundred percent of the nutrients, there is no need for excretion, making them a much cleaner species than humans."
"Well, at least I don't have to worry about bursting if this is the case."
Saying this, he walked to the water's edge with the women.
"Ah, they finally came. Fujisaki-kun… calling you Fujisaki-kun feels strange, doesn't it?"
"Ren-chan is fine, right? He's cute."
"Right. Ren-chan, come on, let's swim together!"
"Whoa, hold on…!?"
He was mobbed by his former classmates. Since his wings and tail made swimming difficult and required practice, he couldn't escape the circle of girls. As he retaliated against the girls splashing water at him,
"Looks like fun, Ren!"
"Whoa, Fuuri!?"
"I'm here too!"
"Ren-oneesan, let us join in too!"
Fuuri, Iris, and even Iris's sisters had come over. The wet underwear clung to their bodies, making them little different from being naked.
"It'll be hard to swim if they cling to you!"
"It's fine, it's fine! Playing in the water is fun!"
"That's right!"
As if to say, It's okay to let loose today, the afternoon continued with a moment of relaxation for the girls, broken only by a lunch break, until the sun began to set.
--------------------
The eighth-floor boss room.
The space, which Ren's party was visiting for the first time, was occupied by six Goblins. Three Soldiers formed the front line, and a Goblin carrying a staff and wearing a robe stood protected by two Archers. As soon as the combat started, the Goblin Mage let out a strange incantation and conjured a flame in its staff.
This is tough, Ren thought, as he conjured forty Magic Arrows, the maximum number he could create.
Two arrows and a fireball flew toward them, replacing the Magic Arrows in the air.
"Firebolt!"
A flame shot from Ren's torch collided with the enemy's flame, canceling it out. The other one headed toward the Mage, who jumped back in a panic.
"Nice one, Iris-chan!"
Iris's ability to increase the range of her Spirit Magic didn't seem to work well while shooting an arrow, but blocking the enemy's magic and distracting them was a huge success. Fuuri knocked down one of the enemy's arrows with her knife, and the other—pierced Ren's shoulder.
"Ren-san!?"
"I'm fine. It's just a scratch. Keep attacking!"
"R-right!"
Some of Ren's magic was blocked by the Soldiers' shields. If all the enemies rushed Fuuri, their formation would instantly collapse.
"Magic Arrow!"
"Firebolt!"
Ignoring the pain in his shoulder, Ren cast his full-power spell again. Iris also fired two Firebolts in quick succession, and the boss, the Mage, was the first to fall. The cost was the approaching Soldier, who had survived the damage.
"Ugh, I hate these guys because they're hard to hit in the vitals…!"
Fuuri groaned, glanced at Ren, and then decisively leaped into the arms of one of the Soldiers.
"—Magic Shell!"
The enemy's attack was repelled by the defensive barrier of light. The effect only lasted about 0.5 seconds, and the MP consumption was considerable, but the defense was quite high. And gaining even a moment was enough time for Fuuri to thrust her knife into the Soldier's heart.
Now it was three against four. Mariabel, who was in the back, judged that they were still "fine" and hadn't moved. She only defended against the Archers' arrows (though even that was extremely helpful). While Iris held off the remaining two Archers with magic,
"Manabolt!"
Ren shot at the Soldier who had turned its side to him. After that, it didn't take long for the enemies to be completely annihilated. The only attack they had taken was the single arrow in Ren's shoulder. Fuuri and Iris only suffered minor cuts from the enemy's attacks.
"Alright, we managed. Let's heal Iris first."
"Don't be stupid. Heal your own wounds first!"
"Ouch!?"
Fuuri slapped his head. He reluctantly cast Heal on himself.
"It would be terrible if a girl's skin was scarred."
"Then Ren has to be careful too!"
"I'd rather welcome the lower evaluation from men, actually."
"It's bad for me too, so no."
Incidentally, all three of their wounds vanished without a trace. Magic was a lifesaver in situations like this. Even if Ren's magic couldn't completely heal them, they could rely on a high-level healing mage. All they had to do was avoid injuries that would kill them before they could be treated.
And then.
"New record," Fuuri said.
"Yeah. Look! So many fragments!"
Sixteen fragments for Iris, and sixteen more for Ren and Fuuri combined. It was more than double the number from the previous floor.
"We can expand the lake with this much."
"Wait, do we need a new drawing already!?"
"Haha, it's okay, Iris-chan. We don't have to use them right away. You can take your time drawing."
"We could even start drawing the final plan. Once the lake is done, we can make a path to the mountain."
"That's a good idea. Ah, but I wonder when we'll be able to reach the sea."
Since the number of fragments increased with each floor, they would eventually be able to reach it. …But then again, they might descend to the bottom floor before that. If that happened, they could return to Japan and go to the beach without worry.
"Come on, let's copy the inscription and go home for a celebration."
"Yeah. We don't know how long we can go to that restaurant every week. We should eat there while we can."
The path to the tenth floor, which they thought was long, was now almost within reach.
============
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