Chapter 29: An Upgrade For These Portals!
Part 1
When I got home, I was greeted by the sight of Aqua and Sena sharing a large bottle of wine in the living room.
"Hic! How is a minor… hic… outdrinking me!"
Sena was already flushed all over as Aqua laughed at her, although she looked just as wasted.
"Kishishi! Trying to outdrink a goddess who governs over water… You should know that's a waste of time!"
What did being a goddess of water have to do with her capacity to hold liquor?
Or was she saying that liquor is like water to her?
Aside from those two, Darkness, Megumin, Rin and Mitsurugi were playing on the Switch, one of the many forms of entertainment the government stocked the house with. We had every console, a bunch of games to go with it, as well as more traditional games like chess and card games. They were playing Mario Party, and Megumin was winning with Rin not so far behind. Darkness was in third place, while Mitsurugi…
"Damn it! How did I land on that stupid tile again?! How is this fair?!"
Out of everyone playing, I didn't expect Mitsurugi to start raging first. I thought it would be Megumin, for sure. He looked like he was just one more bad turn away from throwing his controller on the TV.
Megumin chuckled and gave him an annoying, smug smirk.
"Heh. What's the matter, Mitsu? You were so nice at the start, the perfect gentleman. You even let me use Toad when you wanted to play him. And you let Darkness have Donkey Kong, who was your second choice. You even said, 'Let's just have fun and not get too into the game', didn't you?"
Mitsurugi gave her a thin smile.
"...I did say that, didn't I? Haha…"
Mitsurugi was a better man than me. If Megumin did that to me, I'd use [Steal] on her and have fun with her panties.
Also, I noticed what Megumin called him.
"Oh? Are we calling you 'Mitsu' now?"
I said, as I watched them play their game.
Mitsurugi spared a glance at me before explaining.
"It was a compromise. I asked them to just call me Kyouya, but they weren't comfortable with that yet, so we settled with Mitsu."
Darkness placed her controller down since it wasn't her turn yet and said,
"Um, we don't really have the concept of formalities back where I'm from when it comes to first and last names, so I've just been calling you Kyouya since the start. Sorry about that…"
"No, no, it's fine! I'd prefer it if we were all casual with one another. We're all friends right, Satou?"
That got Rin's attention, she said,
"Um, Mitsurugi-senpai, you said that you want us all to be casual with one another, but why are you calling Kazuma-senpai by his last name?"
Mitsurugi actually blushed a little once Rin corrected him.
"Well, Satou is Satou, so…"
I decided to take this chance to mess with him a little.
"You don't get it, Rin. This guy is a natural playboy. He wants all the girls to be on a first-name basis with him, but the same sentiment doesn't apply to guys like me."
This time, Mitsurugi dropped his controller and blushed even more.
"N-No way! Oi, Satou, I can tell from that sadistic grin on your face that you know for a fact that's not true! Stop lying!"
I decided to have mercy on him and raised my hands in surrender, walking away from the couch.
Then, I went over to the girl who was just watching everyone else having fun from the kitchen.
"So… Why aren't you joining everyone else?"
She ducked her head, but I already saw her peeking her head from the corner. She sighed and said,
"Um… I got here late, and I never found the right time to go in."
As troublesome as she was, Yunyun was incredibly cute as well. She was such a little cinnamon bun.
I patted her head, then pulled her in for a quick hug, which made her practically melt in my arms.
"Aw, don't be like that, Yunyun."
Seriously, I'd die from how sweet she was at some point.
"P-Please help me find an opening, Kazuma-san!"
"I got an idea."
I took some ingredients out of the fridge and used [Cooking] skill to make an easy no-bake fudge.
"Alright, all you gotta do is come out and serve this to everyone. That way, you can naturally join in."
"W-What a genius idea!"
I didn't think it was that impressive, though.
But I suppose to a super introvert, these little social tricks seemed like masterful techniques.
"The easiest way to involve yourself in any social situation is to just bring food."
"I see… Please let me take notes!"
"No, go in and stop stalling already."
"R-Right…"
I urged her to face her fears and go in, tray of fudge in hand.
"U-Um, there's fudge if you guys are hungry!"
"Ohh, that looks good!"
They paused the game to eat the fudge, and even Aqua and Sena held off on the drinking to try it, although I had no doubt they'd come right back to drinking after.
Megumin grabbed a piece, then walked over to me.
"...You helped her, didn't you, Kazuma?"
This one sure was sharp.
"I don't know what you mean."
"Hah… Do you really expect me to believe Yunyun can come up with that on her own?"
I didn't really have anything to say to that.
"Why didn't you help her out? She's your best friend, after all. And remember, you promised to be less mean to her."
"...That wasn't exactly what I said, but yeah, I get your point."
Megumin went back as the others were thanking Yunyun for the fudge. I noticed that Megumin was helping Yunyun whenever she stumbled with her words. Thankfully, the others were more than willing to help Yunyun as well.
Aside from the strategic advantage of having everyone in one place, I also appreciated the opportunity to get closer with everyone. Even Sena, who was older than us, managed to hit it off with Aqua.
I made sure to treasure this moment.
Especially knowing that the demon king army could attack us at any second.
Part 2
I was about to head to the dungeon and meet up with the soldiers, when…
The Vanir-style pager rang in my pocket.
I alerted Sena, then switched destinations to head over to Wiz's shop.
"Vanir! This better not be a prank!"
Instead of seeing Vanir's usual smug face, I saw an uncharacteristically serious expression.
"As much as I'd like that, this is real. I foresaw the portals opening tomorrow."
That wasn't a lot of time to prepare, but it was better than nothing.
"Do you have any further details?"
"...It seems that they found a way to open multiple portals, although it will take a while for them to recharge before doing this again. But they might not need to invade a second time, since they can send a small army now, along with Hans and Sylvia."
This was the worst possible outcome.
"Where will they attack?"
"The portals will open in a place called Shibuya."
Shibuya… huh?
I thought the pagers were a scam at first, but they really saved our ass.
Wiz looked at me apologetically. She said,
"I'm sorry, Kazuma-san. I'd like to help, but…"
I chuckled and smiled at her.
"If you want to help, then give me another big discount."
"T-That's a separate matter!"
Wiz was an adult woman, but she sure acted childish. I found that incredibly charming.
The captured demon chuckled quietly to himself. I turned to look at him.
"...What are you so happy about? You think you're gonna get rescued at this rate?"
He crossed his arms and gave me a smug smile.
"That's the case, is it not? There's no way you can withstand an assault from Hans-sama and Sylvia-sama! Maybe you stood a chance back when our portals were limited, but we've improved them now. All hail the Demon King!"
He turned to Vanir hatefully and glared at him.
"As for you, traitor! Wiz-sama gets a pass since she's a neutral party, but you're actively helping the humans! Shame on you!"
Vanir laughed at the demon and swept his hair back.
"There's a lesson to be learned here. Never trust a devil! Moihahaha!"
Vanir seemed to really like switching sides.
…
…
Once I gave all the information to Sena, I went back to the dungeon, where my team was waiting.
"I'm sorry for the delay, everyone. I assume you received the news?"
They nodded as they stared gravely at the ground.
"The worst case scenario, huh…?"
"I hope Shibuya can handle the attack…"
"Even if we deter the invasion, the property damage is sure to be devastating."
I clapped my hands to get their attention.
"Oi, you're all supposed to be badass soldiers, aren't you? What's with all the negative talk? If you've got enough energy to sulk, then you have enough energy to hunt some monsters!"
That cheered them up. They stood straighter and saluted me.
"Sir, yes, sir!"
I gave them the equipment from the lizardmen, then we went through the first floor.
They were getting better with unit formations and easily dealt with the monsters along the way. They had higher stats than me when I started, and if I could get through the first floor on my own, then a group of trained soldiers could do it as well.
That was, until…
"W-What is this thing?!"
The only female soldier of the group, Sgt. Fujimoto Marika, got taken off guard by a slime with a transparent body. I also didn't notice it, since it was hidden so well.
"Ah… This must be the cloth eating slime that Yunyun mentioned before."
"Cloth eating slime?!"
She tried to rip off the slime that stuck itself to her, and yelped in surprise when her armor and uniform started to melt.
"Eeeek?! What's going on?!"
It was hard to take our eyes away from her, but Sgt. Fujimoto was a very attractive young woman who had a fit body from all her training. She also had a rather large pair of breasts.
"Men, turn away! As the field commander, I will burden myself with the task of helping her…"
The men all gave me blank, unimpressed looks.
"Sir… No one is falling for that BS."
"We were trained to always help a comrade in danger!"
"She clearly needs help!"
Sgt. Fujimoto glared at us as her clothing was slowly melting. She said,
"Then why isn't anyone helping?! You're all just staring at me!"
"Calm down, Sergeant. My [Lore Reading] skill is telling me that cloth eating slimes aren't harmful. They just eat your clothes and armor as a form of sustenance, but they will leave your actual body alone."
She looked down at her skin, which the slime was intentionally avoiding.
"C-Come to think of it, this doesn't hurt at all."
"So just calmly let the slime eat your clothes. Don't worry, I'll supervise to make sure nothing is wrong."
"...Why do you need to supervise?"
"Like I said, in case something goes wrong."
"You're just staring at one place in particular…"
She said, while covering up her chest.
"Don't mind me."
"Of course I'll mind! And you lot, why are you watching, too?!"
The others hurriedly turned around once she started yelling at them.
Finally, the cloth eating slime had its fill and slithered away.
"And of course it doesn't attack the men…"
She muttered bitterly, as I took out spare gear and handed it over to her.
"Good work, Sergeant. You handled that well."
"...Thanks, I guess."
She did seem pretty grateful, since if I didn't tell her about the harmless nature of the cloth eating slime, she might have done something drastic to peel it off.
After that, we trained some more in the dungeon, until they reached level 5.
Quest completed! Train the JSDF soldiers to level 5!
Quest Reward: You learn the [Teaching] skill!
[Teaching] Skill Rank: 1, Passive Skill
When you're teaching someone, they will understand concepts better according to their 'Intelligence'. They will gain increased stat increases depending on the success of your lessons, which also depends on your own 'Intelligence' stat (78).
Your bond with the Satou Kazuma Squad has deepened!
Satou Kazuma Squad (JSDF Forces), Bond Rank: 2
At Rank 2, this squad will already obey all your orders and your command. However, this doesn't mean that you have earned their loyalty and respect yet, although they acknowledge that you are knowledgeable and dependable when it comes to matters about the dungeon. Marika thinks that you're a pervert, while the men appreciate your perverted nature. They are merely following your orders out of professional obligation, but a sense of camaraderie is forming.
Bond Reward: You learn the [Leadership] skill!
[Leadership] Skill Rank: 1, Passive Skill
If you are leading a group in combat, all members aside from yourself will receive 1 to their physical stats. Your 'Charisma' stat (78) determines whether they follow your instructions or not.
Part 3
Everyone already received the news when I got back to the mansion. Aqua had Emperor Zell resting on a pillow on her lap as she laid her hands over the egg. She said,
"It's time to show those lowly demons what my precious app-users can do, huh?"
She viewed her app-users as followers, even though I didn't really hear anything about them worshiping Aqua.
Aside from Mitsurugi, maybe.
"I've been saving up my explosion for this moment…"
Megumin said, chuckling to herself as she nodded.
I stared at her and said,
"Your explosion might be the key to this battle. Make sure you use it at the right moment."
"You don't have to tell me if all people, Kazuma! I know best when the best time to use explosion is!"
"If your answer is 'anytime', you're wrong."
"It should be fine with all the app-users who are going to be present, right?"
Darkness asked, with a worried frown on her face.
"We're dealing with some real heavy hitters this time. Besides, those app-users won't listen to anyone."
Mitsurugi raised his hand.
"I'll try my best to organize them. They're normal people, at the end of the day. I'm sure they'll do what's right to protect everyone."
He sure was optimistic about our fellow app-users, despite seeing what the typical app-user was like in the tournament. One guy was even ready to shoot off a fire tornado in a crowded stadium.
Maybe if this were another world, where the public accepted things like magic and divine weapons, these app-users could have been more reliable. After all, they could enjoy their edgy power-fantasy however they wanted. But in our current world, the knowledge of the app and the other world would only cause unnecessary panic to the general populace. Not a lot of them seemed to care about that too much.
"I can only hope that everyone will be OK…"
Yunyun had a worried look, which made Rin pat her on the shoulder comfortingly.
"It's fine! I've been training a lot in the dungeon, too. I'm sure it will all work out in the…"
"Hold it, Rin."
"Don't finish that sentence."
Both Aqua and I had the same idea.
"Eh? Did I say something wrong?"
Rin was confused why we stopped her.
"Try to avoid setting any flags. Avoiding cliches and flags is our number one priority."
Mitsurugi remembered that discussion we had before, when I lectured him about the same thing. He sighed and said,
"You know, I've been reading all the manga you recommended to me, Satou, but I still don't get how any of those flags and stuff would actually affect or influence any outcome. Unavoidable events will happen, no matter what you say. Even if you say that you're gonna get married after the battle, it doesn't mean you're gonna die, nor will it mean that you'll survive. It's all just up to chance."
Even though Aqua was agreeing with me, Mitsurugi still didn't accept my logic. I guess he wasn't a total kiss-ass.
"Listen, Mitsurugi. We have just recently learned that goddesses and fate are real, tangible things in our reality. In a world where one's personal luck can be quantified by a number, why would you risk saying or doing things that could influence your karmic fate?"
There was even a goddess who governed over luck, Eris-sama. Clearly, luck was a force that could be measured and manipulated.
He finally started to understand it, realization dawning on his face.
"I-I see. That does make sense."
It was quite foolish to not believe in superstition or the existence of the divine, when there was one living with us, after all.
"Then, maybe we should go to a shrine for good luck?"
Rin suggested, which made Sena smile.
"I can drive everyone to the local shrine tonight. It should be a good way to clear our heads before the battle tomorrow."
"What a lovely idea. I've always wanted to sightsee in one of Tokyo's famous shrines."
Darkness said, which made me feel a bit bad, since I never offered to take her sightseeing, even though she was essentially a tourist here.
"Maybe after the battle we can…"
"Kazuma, don't say it!"
"Ah!"
I stopped myself before I triggered a flag. That was a close one.
Thankfully, Aqua stopped me.
…
…
We arrived at a shrine after Sena drove us there in the bus, which was parked outside of the mansion after it was used to help us move in. The place was empty, since the government already ordered an evacuation order for the earthquake. However, we saw that there was still an old man there, who looked like the head priest.
Sena gave her best smile and approached the old man, thinking that he didn't receive the evacuation orders.
"Um, excuse me, but there was an evacuation order that was issued…"
"Don't care."
The old man dismissed her right away. He was sweeping the grounds of the shrine with a broom. He was bald and had a stubborn, hardset air about him.
"Um, but, there's going to be a massive earthquake, and…"
"Then, I guess I'll just die!"
He was one of those old folk who ignored evacuation warnings.
Sena went back to us, looking frustrated.
"What are we going to do about him?"
I rubbed my chin and said,
"I suppose we can't just kidnap him, right?"
"Of course not."
Whether he wanted to evacuate or not was his right. I guess we couldn't just force him to leave.
Aqua smiled and went up to the old man.
"Hey, old man, is there a reason why you wanna stay here? Do you not have insurance on this shrine, or something?"
What the hell was she saying? Was she trying to get on his good side, or piss him off?
The old man glanced at her and said,
"My wife died when we were still in our twenties, and we never had any kids. My only source of happiness in this life is this shrine, and if it's just gonna be destroyed by some earthquake, then I might as well die with it."
We didn't expect to hear such a heavy answer, so we were struck silent.
"Wait, why are you younguns here, if there was an evacuation order?"
This old guy was pretty sharp.
Sena used the cover story we agreed on.
"We're helping people who haven't evacuated yet find the nearest shelter. Please, come with us."
"Don't wanna. Now buy some charms or go away."
Seeing how he wasn't intent on moving, we just took his suggestion and bought some charms.
"Eh? Bad luck? Why did I get bad luck?!"
Aqua always seemed to forget that she had a horrendous luck stat.
Meanwhile, for me…
Your luck stat increased by 1!
The luck stat that hasn't increased all this time finally got an increase.
I tried to buy another charm, and although I got the same draw, I didn't get a stat increase.
Only certain shrines will give a luck increase! Try to find them all!
It was like a scavenger hunt questline in a game.
Part 4
"What are we gonna do about that old man?"
Mitsurugi said, as we made our way back to the mansion. He sat next to me, wanting to talk about the old man.
"There's probably others who refused to evacuate, as well."
I said, as I watched Megumin and Yunyun playing janken, with Yunyun somehow losing all the rounds because of Megumin's mind games.
"There must be something we can do…"
"There's a lot of area to protect, and we can't leave our station just to protect those stubborn fools. Just treat this like an ordinary natural disaster. If people choose not to evacuate, it's their choice. But we should prioritize protecting the people who do choose to evacuate."
It may seem like a cruel choice, but it was even crueler to leave behind the people who did choose to properly evacuate, for the sake of those who stayed behind.
"It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but I guess you're right."
It made me feel bad, too, especially since I received a rare luck stat upgrade from the old man's shrine. But it'd make me feel even worse if we lost the battle, just because we gave in to the guilt.
When we got back to the mansion, the others split up to do their own thing. They didn't outright show it, but I could sense the nerves.
I was trying to relax in my room, listening to music, when I heard a knock on the door.
"Come in."
Rin walked in, wearing her pajamas, which was of course, magic tanuki girl themed. She smiled at me as I sat up on the bed, taking off my earbuds.
"Watcha doin', senpai?"
"I'm just trying to relax."
"Sorry, am I bothering you?"
"Not at all. Something on your mind?"
She sat down next to me, resting her head on my shoulder. I enjoyed the contact, feeling her slim body against mine. I let my hand circle around her waist. She giggled and took one of my ear buds, putting it on.
"You know, we never really discussed what kind of music we like. Oh, this is a popular song, isn't it?"
"Yeah. I don't really know what to listen to, so I guess I just listen to whatever's currently popular."
"Yeah, I'm kinda the same. It makes us kinda uncultured, doesn't it?"
"Maybe."
She leaned into me even more.
"Senpai, I'm scared."
I wasn't surprised. Rin was the least experienced app-user among us, even if she was the only cheat item user aside from Mitsurugi. I stroked her hair, trying to comfort her as much as I could.
This whole time, I wasn't trying to think about it, but I was thinking that maybe I made a mistake. Maybe Rin would have been safer if she didn't know anything about the dungeon, if she just stayed in the evacuation center, along with everyone else. If something happened to her, and Aqua wasn't around to resurrect her, I wouldn't know what to do with myself.
Was I ready to face that kind of grief? Rin was special to me. Even before I started realizing my feelings for Aqua, it was Rin who first showed an interest in me.
I was about to cave in, tell Rin to just stay at the evacuation center. I'd tell her that her role was to protect the citizens inside, in case the demon king army managed to get through. But then I saw determination filling her eyes, until she smiled and met my gaze.
"I'm gonna be like the Magic Tanuki Girl, senpai! I'm not gonna cower away in the face of evil!"
That made me chuckle. I shouldn't have worried so much. Rin was strong and brave, perhaps even more than me.
"I'll protect you, Rin. I promise."
"Senpai…"
She closed her eyes and tilted her head. I leaned in and we kissed.
Rin had never been the type to take charge. That was why it surprised me when she deepened the kiss on her own, and I felt her small tongue meeting mine, sliding along the tip of my tongue, then underneath.
I cupped the side of her face, feeling her soft skin and the perfect contours of her cheek bones. I smelled strawberry shampoo on her hair. I felt her neck, then her collarbone, before holding her shoulder and gently shifting her away.
I looked at her flushed face, and the shimmering look of desire in her eyes.
"Senpai… I don't wanna have any regrets, so…"
It could be our last night together, our last chance to do this. That was what her words meant.
I wanted to tell her that she didn't need to rush things, but I also didn't know what was going to happen. Not even Vanir had a 100% success rate when it came to predicting the myriad paths leading to the future. I nodded and leaned in to kiss her neck. She gasped from the contact, her back sliding along the headrest of the bed.
"I want you, Rin."
She nodded and closed her eyes again as I trailed kisses down her neck, my fingers going up to her pajama top, unbuttoning it.
She was blushing when I saw her wearing some rather bold underwear, a green lingerie bra.
"You seem to like the color green, so I chose this out with Aqua. Do you like it?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Sorry, my chest isn't as big as Aqua."
"Don't worry, you're perfect."
I kissed down from her collarbone, to her cleavage, earning a shiver of pleasure from her.
"Does it open at the back, or the front?"
"From the front."
I nodded and easily unlatched her bra from the front hook. She pouted for some reason.
"...I know it's stupid of me to get jealous, but senpai, you seem way too experienced at this."
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"I mean, you're unhooking my bra so easily with one hand."
I suppose it was a bad time to tell her that I once unhooked Aqua's bra with my teeth.
I looked down at her petite breasts. They were so cute, but the perkiness and erotic curve they added to her delicate figure also elevated my arousal even further. I took one of her pink nipples in my mouth. She squealed adorably, hands finding their way to my head.
"Geez, senpai! At least warn me before you do that!"
I smiled sheepishly, reluctantly letting her nipple out from my mouth with a pop.
"Sorry, I couldn't help it."
"You can keep doing it, but warn me next time."
I nodded and enjoyed her pert nipple in my mouth again. She moaned this time, a lower, more comfortable moan. She untensed, laying back against the headrest as I attended to her. This time, I let my hands hover over her panties and looked up at her with an unspoken question in my eyes. She bit her lip, before nodding.
My hands found her slit under her panties. I used my thumb to gently feel the shape of her entrance, circling around its perimeter. Her face was awash with pleasure as she let out small moans. Once she was comfortable, I slipped her panties down, seeing her womanhood directly for the first time, seeing her naked for the first time.
"You're beautiful, Rin."
Her cheeks were a lovely red.
"Senpai, you're such a playboy…"
"Yeah. Sorry."
"You don't have to apologize. I knew what I was getting into."
"I want you, Rin."
"I know."
"Can I?"
"Yeah. Take me, senpai."
I stripped naked as well, letting her see my cock for the first time. She stared at it, curious lust in her eyes. No matter how innocent she was, Rin was a highschool girl. She had her own wants and needs.
"You wanna touch it?"
I didn't tease her about it, since I had been at her place once, when all I could think about was what the opposite gender would feel like. And I knew I wasn't the same NEET from before. I was ripped now, toned muscles with little body fat. I couldn't blame Rin for wanting to touch me, wanting to indulge in her teenage curiosities.
She didn't answer, but she reached out and felt my cock. I gave her a moan, letting her know that I enjoyed having her touch me for the first time.
"You're so hard, senpai…"
"That's because of you, Rin."
She stroked me a few more times, and once her curiosity was satiated, she placed her hands to her sides again, and I knew that she was ready for the next step.
It had been a while since I took Aqua's virginity, and that was a bit of a disaster. To be fair, I didn't know Aqua was a virgin to begin with. With Rin, there were no doubts about that. I carefully rubbed my glans along her entrance, rubbing along that pink line. She twitched and let out a long moan when I found her clitoris and rubbed circles along it with my glans. Her clit hardened up, her lips swelling as well. She was wet, warm, and I wanted to enter her so badly.
I held her waist with one hand, the other steadying my shaft as I carefully inserted myself in her. I drew close, bit-by-bit, until I felt resistance. With careful prodding, I found the right timing, piercing through her hymen with purpose. She flinched from the pain, hands reaching for my wrists for support.
"Want me to heal you?"
"No, it's fine. I wanna do this properly."
I let her rest for a few minutes, finding myself almost losing my patience as Rin's tight, warm pussy wrapped around me with a clinging embrace. Her small frame added to the cramped tightness of her insides, her defloration pain making her walls squirm and undulate around me. It felt good just staying still, and I wanted to know how good it'd feel to move inside her.
Once I received her permission, I let her hold my wrists as I placed my arms on either side of her head. She gripped them like handlebars on a roller coaster. With careful, deliberate movements, I started grinding inside her.
"Ah, senpai… Mnn!"
The sting was gone, and she was starting to feel the pleasure. Her face was completely flushed, eyes bleary and wet. Her nipples stood in attention as her petite breasts bounced along with my slow thrusts. I didn't focus on my pleasure, choosing to prioritize her comfort. This was her moment.
She looked at my face, then at my muscular body, and I could practically see multiple fantasies and wishes fulfilling themselves in her eyes. She was having sex with her first lover, her dependable senpai. It probably helped that I recently got abs and defined shoulders and biceps.
It was a strange feeling for me, having a girl look at me as attractive. I only really cared about how girls looked. I never really thought about it from their perspective. Once I realized that Rin found me as attractive as I found her, I intentionally flexed my muscles–not in an obvious way–just subtle enough for it to look like an accident. It helped that I was moving, thrusting inside Rin, which made my muscles naturally flex.
Rin was an open book. Her eyes widened, mouth widening, eyes flitting all over different muscle groups. She seemed to especially like my abs. I made a point of switching my angle, lowering my hips, intentionally rubbing my defined lower abs against her clitoris.
"Ahhh… Senpai! This is… Ahh… Ahhh!"
I recognized the change in the pitch of her voice, the way her whole body tightened even more around me, how her breathing sped up. I kept thrusting, rubbing myself on her clit.
"I love you, senpai! Hnnnnnnghhh!"
A love confession left her lips just as she climaxed.
I stayed in her, letting her come down from her high, before carefully pulling away. She was breathing hard, eyes half-closed as she stared at the ceiling, back of her arm resting against her forehead.
"Ahhh… Wow… That was…"
I chuckled a little, enjoying how good I made her feel during her first time. I knew that wasn't always the case.
And then, she remembered what she said to me,
"I-I think I said something crazy in the heat of the moment…"
She blushed, covering her eyes with her hands.
"I love you, too, Rin."
It surprised me how easy and natural it was for me to say. But at the same time, I didn't feel any regret or hesitation.
We were just experimenting at the start, a no-pressure kind of highschool relationship. We even agreed on an open-relationship.
But maybe it was the craziness of this war looming over us, or the fact that we just made love, that I could finally say that I wanted something more with Rin than our current arrangement.
She giggled, making me laugh as well.
And then I realized that we set a flag.
"..."
"Senpai, what's wrong?"
"Rin, you shouldn't fight tomorrow."
"Ehh?! What brought that on?!"
"Well, if you wanna fight, just don't have any flashbacks about this moment. Oh, and don't mention that you have a lover waiting for you back home."
"Senpai, I don't get it…"
Perhaps she was starting to regret confessing to me now, after I said a bunch of weird otaku stuff after sex.
Your 'Charisma' increased by 2!
Your bond with Rin has reached the maximum rank!
Hinamori Rin (Librarian on Duty), Bond Rank: 7 (MAX)
At Rank 7, Hinamori Rin has fallen in love with you! You have become inseparable lovers! She accepts the fact that there will be other girls who love you, and she doesn't want to deprive them of your affections. You can make love to her anytime you two feel like it. You are now true lovers.
Bond Reward: You learn [Intermediate Magic]!
[Intermediate Magic] Skill Rank: 1, Active Skill (15 mp)
Unlock the ability to use the intermediate magic spells, [Fireball, [Wind Blade, [Freeze Gust, [Lightning, [Wind Wall].
[Fireball]
Throw a ball of fire with a range of 20 feet. Creatures within a 10-foot radius sphere receive 15 fire damage plus your Magic Power modifier (7).
Spell Attack Accuracy: Intelligence modifier = 74% chance of hitting
[Wind Blade]
Release a blade of wind with a range of 40-feet. Creatures hit by the 10-foot wide blade receive 15 wind damage plus your Magic Power modifier (7)
Spell Attack Accuracy: Intelligence modifier = 74% chance of hitting
[Freeze Gust]
Create a freezing fog that occupies a 15-foot cube. Creatures within contest their Willpower stat against your Magic Power stat. If they fail the contest, they will receive the 'Frozen' condition for five seconds. If they fail the contest, they will receive the 'Slowed' condition for three seconds instead.
[Lightning]
Summon a bolt of lightning. A target within an 80 feet radius centered from yourself takes 15 lightning damage plus your Magic Power modifier (7).
Spell Attack Accuracy: Intelligence modifier = 74% chance of hitting
[Wind Wall]
Summon a barricade of wind within 10 feet of yourself. It is 10 feet wide and 10 feet tall. Reduces the accuracy of incoming projectiles by your Magic Power modifier (7).
Rin's final bond reward allowed me to learn intermediate magic.
We were both on the same level of magic now. Just like how our feelings were on the same wavelength.
Part 5
When you think of Shibuya Crossing, you probably think of streets packed with tourists, the Hachiko statue and cars stopping as the crosswalks are filled with a parade of flashing camera lights. When the traffic lights go green, the sightseers sprint to safety as the cars resume their trek.
What you probably don't expect to see is a bunch of Japanese youth dressed in armor, surrounded by JSDF ground forces marching behind a row of Type 10 MBTs. There were F-35s sweeping in the cloudy skies overhead. Military drones formed a scouting perimeter around the district, watching for any citizens left behind, as well as any sign of portals from another dimension opening.
"Hey, what gives? What the hell is the military doing here?!"
An app-user said, not expecting to see government involvement.
"You guys should just leave it to us app-users! We're the only ones who can save the world!"
"Yeah, you can just give us awards and money later!"
Just like I suspected, the app-users got pissy once they learned the government was aware of the
invasion. They were really intent on just fighting the demon king army in Shibuya without even
alerting the government, or at least giving them a chance to evacuate people.
They were probably looking forward to fighting in front of the citizens, getting cheers from the crowd, rescuing beautiful girls from the invaders.
I didn't have any interest in whatever juvenile fantasies they might have had. I took a megaphone from Sena and said,
"This is First Lieutenant Satou Kazuma speaking! The government has been aware of the involvement of the app-users from the start! We have also developed weaponry to deal with the incoming threat! We have chosen to leave app-users alone, since you have proven yourselves useful thus far. You will be given free-reign to act as you wish, but we ask that you do not interfere with government operations. Thank you for your cooperation."
By pretending like the government was aware of them from the start, it made the government seem more competent in their eyes, a force that they shouldn't mess with. But rather than straight up antagonizing them, I stroked their ego a little bit by telling them they had permission to do as they wished.
It worked as expected, since they were quite the predictable lot. They went right back to their jovial mood, somehow excited even though their country and world was in danger of falling to invaders from another world.
"These guys sure are something, huh?"
I turned around when I heard Chris's voice. She waved at us while sauntering over.
"Chris! I'm glad you could make it!"
Darkness said, greeting her old friend.
"Yeah, sorry I couldn't come over to the mansion this whole time!"
She glanced at me, before looking away, a hint of a blush on her cheeks.
Don't tell me… She made up an excuse to not show up because she felt awkward about last time?
I wanted to talk to Chris, but she was busy catching up with Darkness. Instead, I headed over to my JSDF trainees.
"How are you guys?"
I asked, watching them do equipment checks. Along with their guns, they also had short swords from the dungeon on their tactical belts. They had more tools available in their inventory, too.
Fujimoto-san sighed, sweeping her short hair back behind her ear.
"We're nervous, sir, but it's just pre-game jitters. I'm sure we'll be ready and focused when the fighting starts."
"Here's a word of advice. Just let the app-users charge in first, so we can ascertain the capability of the enemy."
"W-We can't just let teenagers charge in first, sir!"
"Those teenagers are pretty much superhumans at this point, with a whole bunch of unfair abilities and items. Don't treat them like normal teenagers, just like how you don't treat me like a normal teenager."
"Understood, sir!"
They saluted me, which I returned with my own salute, before returning to the others.
"Yooo… Kazuma, who was that hot chick you were talking to? Think you can introduce me?"
Dust appeared out of nowhere. I didn't think he'd actually show up, but he was probably just motivated by the money.
"I don't think I'm in a position to give you her number."
"If you're gunning for her, just say so, dude. I'm not gonna cockblock you."
This guy was awfully confident in his stupid assumptions.
"Hm? Senpai, who's this?"
Rin said, noticing me talking to someone she didn't recognize. Rin was probably the last person I wanted Dust to meet.
Surely enough, he looked at Rin and whistled.
"Whoa, this girl's cute, Kazuma. You hit that yet?"
Was sex the only thing he had going on in his brain?
"...That's none of your business."
Rin wasn't amused, giving him a dark glare.
"Whoa, scary. She seems like the type who'd cut your manhood off if you snuck up on her at night."
"Speaking from experience?"
"Of course I am."
He almost seemed proud to say that.
"Senpai… Why is this gentle… Who is this man?"
Rin couldn't even bear to call Dust a gentleman.
"His name's Dust. Don't worry, he's relatively harmless. He's gonna help us during the fight, so please get along."
"...It's a pleasure to meet you, I guess, Dust-san."
"You can give me pleasure, alright…"
I didn't really feel jealous or protective, but I knew I had to say something or Rin might get mad at me for not protecting her honor.
"Oi, Dust, that's not the right way to talk to girls…"
"Eh? I thought girls like that kinda stuff."
"No way."
It was Rin who answered this time.
"Senpai, I'm concerned about this guy. Is it OK if I exchange numbers with him?"
I shrugged and nodded.
"Yeah, sure."
I trusted Rin, and I couldn't exactly use the whole jealous boyfriend card, considering all the stuff with other girls she lets me get away with.
Besides, I couldn't imagine her falling for Dust.
Dust was ecstatic about getting Rin's number, though, even when she made it clear that she was just worried about him since he seemed so hopeless.
"I can't leave hopeless guys alone. They're like stray puppies to me."
I found it amusing at first, but then I thought about it.
Did she view me the same way at the start? Was that why she befriended me?
"..."
"Senpai? Why do you have that worried look on your face? Are you nervous about the battle?"
I was worried about something more important.
I decided to clear my head from such troubling thoughts by leaving Rin to chat with Dust. I went to the others, namely, Megumin, Aqua, Yunyun and Mitsurugi, who were chatting in a group. Megumin was animatedly swinging her arms around, trying to illustrate something with her movements.
"...And that's how I'll finish the fight! With a mighty explosion!"
"I doubt it'd end that easily or spectacularly."
Mitsurugi said, not impressed by Megumin's ideal scenario. Now he knew what I felt, dealing with this girl.
"Perhaps I should start off the assault with a flood-level water magic?"
Aqua said, to which I immediately said,
"No way! Are you planning on flooding the entirety of Shibuya, or what?!"
"...Well, sacrificing one city is better than having the demon king army invade all of Japan, right?"
In a messed up way, her logic made sense. Was it because she was a goddess that she could see things from a larger-scale than me?
No, she was just being a dumbass like usual.
"So… As someone who can use teleport, my task is to find injured people during the battle and teleport them to Aqua-san, right?"
Yunyun asked, confirming the plan with me.
"Yeah, Yunyun's advanced magic is also useful, but it's not like we lack manpower. You and I will act as utility and support. Whenever you run out of mana, I'll use [Drain Touch] to resupply you. If we need to attack, then we'll join the combat."
My dream simulations against Sylvia showed me that, even with all my upgrades, I still couldn't overpower a full-powered general just from my skillset alone. So all I needed to focus on was supporting the OP cheat item users and the military.
"I-I'll make sure to protect everyone!"
I smiled, about to praise Yunyun for being such a team player, when suddenly…
"...! It's here!"
The first portal opened.
And then another.
Until the streets of Shibuya were filled with countless portals from another world.