Clack.
The door closed gently.
Immediately after, quiet footsteps sounded in the dim room.
Kita and Anon hid under the blanket, holding their breath, secretly interacting with their eyes.
Kita: "Anon-chan, who do you guess is coming to night-raid Kitahara this time?"
Anon: "Mm, could it be Ryo-senpai?"
Kita: "It's definitely not Ryo-senpai. Although Ryo-senpai would night-raid, she would definitely not tread lightly; she'd walk in fair and square."
Anon: "That sounds so reasonable... Could it be Nijika-senpai?"
Kita: "Feels like it isn't..."
While the two girls were whispering and communicating with their eyes, Kitahara had already spoken up and called out the newcomer's identity:
"Tomori, why did you come over?"
At the same time.
A girl's quiet, pleasant, and detached voice sounded:
"Kitahara-kun, I couldn't sleep."
"..."
Hearing this, Anon and Kita under the blanket widened their eyes, every single one of them showing a shocked expression.
(Eh-eh-eh, it actually turned out to be Tomori!)
(I totally didn't expect that Tomori would also actively come over to night-raid a boy.)
(That, maybe she's just like us, only coming over to comfort Kitahara?)
Don't ask about the specific way of comforting; anyway, there was only one purpose in coming over to night-raid: to comfort Kitahara, not for lewd things.
At the same time.
On the small balcony of the bedroom.
"Mm, so cold..."
As a cool wind blew past, Soyo hugged herself and shivered slightly, while tilting her ear to listen to the commotion inside the room.
(To think the person coming over to night-raid would actually be Tomori. Such an obedient child would actually do this kind of thing too...)
Thinking up to here, Soyo's pretty face turned slightly red.
Before meeting Kitahara, whether at school or at home, she was likewise a super obedient child, yet now she had similarly snuck over to night-raid, so she had completely no right to judge others.
(By the way, who could the person hiding under the blanket be?)
(Mutsumi... Impossible, Mutsumi wouldn't hide out of shyness.)
(Could it be Saki-chan?)
(Also impossible, Saki-chan is so reserved and self-pitying, she definitely wouldn't do sneaky things.)
"Is it insomnia?"
Kitahara had already sat up, asking gently about the situation.
Tomori walked to the edge of the bed wearing bear pajamas, her clear eyes reflecting the moonlight outside the window, bright and gentle:
"After going back and lying down, I kept thinking that if I swapped identities with Kitahara-kun, I would definitely be suffocated by depression. Yet Kitahara-kun still wanted to hide it from everyone—it must be super hard on you alone, right?"
Tomori had an introverted and sensitive personality. Sometimes a careless remark from someone else would make her suffer internal conflict back and forth for several days. Now learning that Kitahara was bearing immense pressure alone, she naturally couldn't rest easy. After thinking it over, she ultimately decided to come over once.
Although she couldn't truly empathize completely, she still couldn't resist wanting to come over and comfort him.
"It's not that exaggerated, my mindset is actually super good." Kitahara reached out his right hand and gently rubbed Tomori's small head, "If Tomori hadn't come over, I would've already been asleep."
Tomori leaned down closer, her lips shining with a jelly-like alluring luster under the moonlight, her small face slightly red, her voice bashful:
"Kitahara-kun, I want a kiss."
Kitahara: "..."
There were two hiding under the blanket, and another one hiding on the balcony. Going to kiss Tomori now would inevitably make someone jealous.
But if he refused, Tomori would definitely overthink things, right?
So after hesitating for just a single second, Kitahara simply kissed her.
Jealousy could be easily coaxed out of, but making Tomori sad would be very difficult to handle.
Lips touched.
Soft and delicate, with a trace of cool and sweet wonderful touch reaching straight to the bottom of Kitahara's heart.
Ever since turning into a carnivore, Kitahara was never well-behaved when kissing. It was the same right now; even though his brain hadn't issued an instruction yet, his right hand had already raised subconsciously and started measuring Tomori's conscience.
"Ah..."
The girl's bashful soft groan sounded lightly, exceptionally clear in the quiet night.
The next second.
Kitahara felt two hands reach to his waist, then twist together in perfect tacit understanding.
"Hss~"
The pain at his waist made Kitahara quickly cool down.
Stop right here!
Kita, Anon, and Soyo were hiding right in the room. Just kissing and hugging Tomori was fine, but if he took it a step further, the jealousy jars would definitely tip over!
"Mm... Kitahara-kun?"
Tomori's small face was crimson as she opened her eyes in confusion, looking over puzzledly.
Although embarrassed to say it out loud, the meaning in her eyes was very clear:
"Why... not continuing?"
Kitahara coughed twice, currently thinking about how to explain, when the door suddenly let out a soft 'clack' sound.
"Eh, someone's here?"
Tomori was startled, hurriedly standing straight, nervously trying to hide toward the inside of the bed.
"Inside won't do." Kitahara stopped Tomori, pointing a hand toward the balcony, saying in a low voice, "Tomori, go hide on the balcony for a moment."
"..."
Tomori didn't dare make a sound, hurriedly turning around to hide on the small balcony.
However, after arriving on the balcony, Tomori suddenly saw a figure standing in the moonlight. She was instantly startled, about to cry out in surprise out of instinct.
The next second.
A hand stretched over swiftly, quickly covering Tomori's mouth, followed by Soyo's voice sounding quietly:
"Tomori, don't shout."
Tomori instantly quieted down, opening her eyes wide and looking toward the girl hiding on the balcony with the help of the moonlight:
"...Soyo?"
"It's me." Soyo's pretty face was burning, shy enough to want to jump down from the balcony, "Um, the air conditioner at home broke down, so I wanted to come over and stay overnight... That's how it is."
"..."
Very clearly, Tomori didn't believe Soyo's excuse at all. A stretch of awkward atmosphere quietly spread on the balcony.
"Shh~"
Soyo raised the index finger of her right hand to her lips, changing the subject:
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"Tomori, stay quiet, someone came in again."
Tomori nodded subconsciously, then quickly reacted.
(Wait, why did Soyo say 'again'?)
(Also... why didn't Kitahara-kun let her hide under the blanket just now?)
Clack.
The door closed gently.
Yet another girl walked quietly toward the side of the bed.
Kitahara had already closed his eyes in 'despair'.
Three monks have no water to drink, four monks will turn into a jealousy battlefield, and now another one came—a world war was about to break out.
"Is Kitahara-kun not asleep yet?"
A girl's sweet, pleasant, reserved, and elegant voice sounded softly.
The instant they heard the voice, whether it was Kita and Anon under the blanket, or Tomori and Soyo hiding on the balcony, all opened their eyes wide.
(Eek-eek-eek, it's actually Saki-chan's voice!)
(Totally unexpected that the young lady would also come over to night-raid.)
(Saki-chan is already the fifth girl coming over to night-raid, will there be more people coming over in a bit?)
(Don't know, but feels very likely...)
Kitahara opened his eyes, looking at Saki-chan whose hair reached her waist, standing prettily by the bedside, and said in a faint tone:
"I am contemplating life."
"Eh?"
Sakiko tilted her head and looked over, a touch of curiosity showing on her pretty face:
"Kitahara-kun is a bit strange... What are you contemplating?"
Kitahara's voice was deep: "I am contemplating whether I'm about to be divided into five equal parts in a moment."
"Divided into five equal parts... What does that mean?"
Sakiko blinked her eyes, not understanding at all.
"Saki-chan will know in a bit." Kitahara's tone was gloomy; according to Murphy's Law, the worst possible thing will eventually happen, and there's no dodging it, "Saki-chan, why aren't you sleeping so late, what did you come over for?"
Now five girls had already come over to night-raid him; dividing him into five equal parts would be exactly one piece per person.
"Couldn't sleep, a bit worried about you." Sakiko pursed her lips, "Is Kitahara suffering from insomnia?"
"It's not insomnia."
"Then why aren't you sleeping yet?"
You guys are night-raiding me non-stop one after another, there's no chance to sleep at all, okay!
Sakiko was just about to sit down by the bedside when she suddenly felt the sensation under her feet wasn't right—she had inadvertently stepped on slippers on the floor.
"Eh...?"
Sakiko subconsciously looked down, and soon realized the number of slippers wasn't right.
One pair, two pairs, three pairs... Why were there so many pairs of slippers?
"Wait, there are people in the room?!"
Sakiko was clever and quick-witted; opening her eyes wide to take a clear look at the bulging blanket, she quickly guessed the truth, and the temperature on her pretty face rose rapidly.
(Oh no, originally I just wanted to come over to comfort Kitahara-kun, but now it seems someone had the exact same idea as me...)
(What to do?)
(I can only pretend not to have noticed, finish talking about 'official business' with Kitahara-kun, and then leave as soon as possible.)
Sakiko's thoughts spun rapidly, and she quickly thought of a proper matter:
"Kitahara-kun, now that the plan has been exposed, does Band Saki-chan still need to substitute for me to go to school tomorrow?"
Pausing, Sakiko immediately added as an explanation:
"Chatting on the phone isn't safe, so I came over specifically to ask."
"..."
Hearing these words, Kitahara knew that Saki-chan had already discovered the presence of the other girls.
Although the reason sounded fairly reasonable, there was a huge flaw—chatting on the phone wasn't safe, but coming over tomorrow morning would have been fine; it wasn't so urgent that she had to come in the middle of the night to ask clearly.
"Tomorrow let Band Saki-chan continue going to school." Kitahara pondered slightly and quickly answered, "Shimizu-san definitely still possesses much intelligence that we don't know about. She remains a very valuable target, so Saki-chan will have to work hard for a few more days."
"Understood, then I'll stay home for a few more days." Sakiko nodded gently, "Goodnight Kitahara-kun, I'm going back."
Kitahara breathed a sigh of relief, forcing a brave front on his face:
"Should I give Saki-chan a body massage?"
"Completely unnecessary."
Sakiko flatly refused, her bright eyes glaring back resentfully, and then turned straight around to leave.
Only, having just walked two steps, a soft 'clack' sound suddenly came from the door.
"Is someone opening the door?"
Sakiko's expression changed slightly, becoming nervous despite herself.
Although she hadn't done anything, a night raid was still a night raid; bumping into someone head-on would definitely be super shameful, right?
"No, I need to hide as fast as possible."
Sakiko bit her lower lip lightly with her pearly teeth, quickly stepping toward the balcony. Under the blanket was bulging, clearly with someone hiding underneath, so she could only choose the balcony.
However, after arriving on the balcony, Sakiko was shocked to find two figures actually hiding on the balcony, nearly letting out a soft cry out of instinct.
"Saki-chan, don't shout."
A hand reached over swiftly, quickly covering Sakiko's mouth.
"Eh, Soyo?"
Sakiko quickly judged who was speaking:
"Who is the other person?"
A girl's embarrassed voice sounded low:
"Saki-chan, it's me."
Sakiko: "..."
Soyo and Tomori were actually hiding together on the balcony, so who were the people under the blanket?
Just how many people night-raided Kitahara-kun tonight!
On the tiny balcony, the three girls looked at each other, their faces all burning, full of shame.
After soaking in the onsen, everyone even said goodnight to each other, saying see you tomorrow, only to end up meeting on a boy's balcony in the middle of the night...
Terrible!
No matter how you think about it, it's way too terrible!
Thump, thump, thump.
Fortunately, loud footsteps soon sounded, quickly drawing the girls' attention.
Soyo: "The footsteps are so loud, not intending to hide themselves at all."
Tomori: "To actually walk in so fair and square, wouldn't they feel shy?"
Anon: "If it's not Ryo-senpai, it must be Mutsumi-chan, right?"
Kita: "I choose Ryo-senpai."
"..."
Kitahara naturally couldn't hear the girls' inner thoughts. If he could hear them, he could only give the girls half credit.
Because the girls coming over to night-raid this time weren't acting alone, but raiding in a team.
"Kitahara, you're not asleep yet, right?"
A girl's relaxed and calm voice sounded.
(Ah, it's Ryo!)
(As expected, only when Ryo night-raids would she walk in fair and square.)
(Ryo actually came too; in the end, isn't everyone going to come over and night-raid Kitahara?)
Kitahara's voice inexplicably carried a feeling of having lost all hope in life:
"Not asleep, completely unable to sleep."
"Then that's just right." Ryo's voice continued to sound, "Nijika was very worried about you, tossing and turning unable to sleep, so I came with Nijika to check on you."
"It was clearly Ryo who was very worried about Kitahara, insisting on calling me to come along, okay?"
Nijika refuted bashfully; compared to Ryo's free-spirited and indifferent voice, Nijika's voice was noticeably much more embarrassed.
Ryo tilted her head and looked over: "People who lie don't grow tall."
Nijika: "..."
Too much!
Saying [she] can't grow tall is way too much!
Among the four girls of Kessoku Band, although Nijika is the leader and senpai, her height is actually the shortest at only 154 cm, so Nijika has always wanted to grow a bit taller.
(Ah, it's Nijika!)
(To think it's not just Ryo coming over alone to night-raid, but teaming up together with Nijika—won't they really feel embarrassed?)
(Oh no, if I had known earlier I wouldn't have come over.)
(I didn't expect everyone wanted to secretly come over to comfort Kitahara-kun...)
Hearing the voices of Nijika and Ryo, the girls had different feelings in their hearts, but there was only one emotion connecting everyone.
And that was shame and regret.
If they had known earlier that everyone held the same idea, they wouldn't have come over no matter what!
Especially Kita, whose mood was the most panicked and flustered.
(No no no... no matter what, don't let Nijika and Ryo discover us! Otherwise, I won't have the face to face everyone in the future!)
"Kitahara, why aren't you talking?"
Ryo's eyes turned, looking over in confusion.
Kitahara's tone was gloomy: "Nijika-senpai and Ryo-senpai took the initiative to come over and care about me—I'm so happy, so happy that I forgot how to talk."
"Sorry, the answer was too stiff, I can only give a passing grade."
Ryo crossed her arms in front of her chest, complaining while walking toward the bed, but her foot suddenly stepped on a slipper on the floor.
"Eh?"
Ryo shifted her gaze downward. After seeing the number of slippers on the floor clearly with the help of the moonlight, she blinked her bright eyes, and immediately after, the corners of her lips curved up gently, revealing a standard little devil smile.
Kitahara: "..."
Once Ryo revealed this expression, it was 100% that she wanted to tease someone again.
"Kitahara, asking you a question." Ryo crossed her arms in front of her chest, her lips slightly raised, outlining a pleasant arc, "As long as you answer it, I'll give Nijika to you as a gift, okay."
"Ryo, don't talk nonsense." Nijika looked over bashfully, unable to resist complaining, "I'm not a gift."
Kitahara raised his vigilance to 120 percent:
"What does Ryo-senpai want to ask?"
"Well, very simple..." The pleasure on Ryo's face grew three times stronger, her hands placed behind her back, "Excluding me and Nijika, who is the girl Kitahara likes the most?"
Kitahara: "..."
A death quiz, isn't it?
You clearly just want to stir up trouble and don't care if it gets too big!
Ryo slowly continued to speak, turning around to walk to the side of the door, reaching out her hand toward the light switch, her voice joyful:
"Kitahara only has ten seconds of thinking time; once the time is up, I'm turning on the light."
"Eh, turning on the light?"
Nijika was stunned upon hearing this, quickly sensing something was wrong, opening her eyes wide to look around.
(Eek-eek-eek, Ryo wants to turn on the light?)
(Don't! Please don't turn on the light no matter what!)
(Oh no oh no oh no, once the light turns on, won't everyone be exposed?)
At this moment, all the girls raised their hearts into their throats together.
In pitch-black darkness they could barely bluff their way through, but once the light turned on, it would definitely be awkward to the point of exploding.
"The question Ryo-senpai asked is very good, but you forgot one thing..."
Kitahara didn't panic at all, looking calmly toward Ryo.
"What?"
Ryo looked over with curiosity.
"The night is my home field..."
Before his voice faded, Kita, who was closest to Kitahara's side, felt a cold wind strike. Subconsciously reaching out to wipe her hand, she found that Kitahara had instantly vanished without a trace.
Kitahara's attributes would gain extra enhancement during the night; in just a single second, he appeared in front of Ryo as if teleporting, raising a hand to pat her, directly sending Ryo off to an onsen town.
"Eh, why did Ryo disappear?"
Nijika opened her eyes wide, searching everywhere.
Kitahara's speed was too fast, plus the light was dim, so Nijika wasn't able to react for a period of time.
"Ryo-senpai went to an onsen town."
While explaining, Kitahara held Nijika's right hand and then said:
"Nijika-senpai, let's go too."
"Wait a second..."
Before Nijika could finish her words, her voice came to an abrupt end, and the entire room suddenly became quiet, with only the sound of chirping insects outside drifting quietly along with the night breeze.
"Saki-chan, there is someone under the blanket..."
Soyo whispered into her ear.
"I know." Sakiko's pretty face was crimson; seeing that there had been no movement under the blanket all along, she guessed the other party's thoughts, lightly biting her teeth and setting off to leave, "Tomori, Soyo, let's leave quickly."
"Okay."
Tomori nodded with a red face, and the three girls left quickly and stealthily.
"Phew..."
Hearing the sound of the door closing, Kita secretly poked her small head out from under the blanket, breathing heavily twice, and then looked toward Anon beside her with a crimson face:
"Anon-chan, let's go too, maybe someone else will come over in a bit."
"Why..." Anon put on her black-framed glasses, her pretty face similarly full of crimson, unable to resist complaining gloomily, "Why did everyone choose to night-raid today!"
"..."