*

You can come in.
Charge!

　Mako signaled, and the guards came avalanching into the 'Golden Sheep' pavilion.

''It's already over,''

　The killers have been neutralized.
　The bearded man was dead, and the two remaining men would survive if they were lucky.
　There was one man left, Makoto looked at Alan.
　Alan was surrounded by guards.

'Be quiet!'
All right. Okay, okay, don't be rough with me.

　Alan raises his hands to indicate his intention to surrender, and the guards roughly bind his wrists with a rope.
　Backhandedly, so as not to be resisted.
　Shelley stands up, scratching and hugging herself to hide her ample breasts.
　The water potion (potion) has taken effect, and her steps are firm.
　Mako looks down at the bearded man and clicks her tongue.

''........Alan.''
"...Shelly.

　Shelly took a step or two closer, and Alan looked down painfully.
　I think she's a stupid woman.
　He still loves her even after what happened to him.
　On the other hand, I'm reminded of how small I am.
　It's the same as when Fene told me my dream - to pay off my debts and live with my brother.
　At the time, I could only think of negative things.
　This time is no different.
　I don't have the healthiness of Fene or the single-mindedness of Shelly.
　That's why I couldn't accept my parents or my brother.
　Thinking about that, I shake my head.

''........What should I do?''

　I wonder if it was a good idea, Makoto let out a small breath.
　If he had a little more time, he could have done it another way - he could have killed the three of them alone and let Alan go free.
　That way, Shelly wouldn't be hurt.
　Just when the guards were about to take Alan out -.

'Why, you betrayed me!　I, I worked so hard for you!　I was thinking about you even when I was living a shitty life!

　Suddenly, Alan started to scream.
　For a moment, my mind went blank.
　What was this man saying?
　Even Makoto could see that Shelly loved Alan.
　And yet - how could he say such terrible words?

'You traitor!　You're having it with that man!

　--GH!

Ouch!

　Mako held her ears.
　He heard a voice.
　No, it was closer to a sound.
　It was the sound of a heart that had just barely escaped destruction finally reaching its limit and shattering.

''Quiet!''

　The guards hit him and silenced Alan as he tried to hurl more abuse at them.
　Alan stared at Shelly in silence.
　Good thing he had bad eyes, Makoto thought to himself.
　Because his eyes were twisted with hatred.
　It's your fault that I'm in this mess.
　It's your fault that I lost myself in such a miserable situation.
　Why am I doing this to myself?
　It was a familiar feeling, and Makoto had to hold back the nausea.
　Sherry slumped to the spot as if a thread had snapped, and Alan was taken away.

'Excuse me,'

　A few guards come in.
　They were holding a doorplate, perhaps to clean up the body.
　The guards put the body on the doorboard and carried it out of the store.

'Sherry?'
"-Oh!

　Mako called out, and Shelly jerked and cowered.

'I'll take care of it over here, you can go take a shower.
Yes, yes, please.

　Shelly stood up and disappeared behind the counter with a sleepwalker's gait.

'....Mako.

　Liv puts her arm around Mako's shoulder.

What?
Comfort Sherry.
Why the f*ck would I do that?

　I stare at Liv with a start.
　Someone needs to stay with her, but I think that role is better suited to the woman, not Mako.

'You know, if you leave her in that state, she'll die, right?
What are you going to do tomorrow?

　Tomorrow we're going to explore the dungeon - raising Laura's level.

I'll tell Yuka and Laura that I have a meeting.
'I thought Liv wasn't against helping Shelly?'
It's not that I'm against it. I just thought we should just let it go. Same with Fane, right?
Well, yeah.

　Fane bristled.

'Besides, in that state, it's easy to open your crotch, right?　You wanted it too, right, Mako?
I wasn't aiming at you.

　Mako plunged in, feeling disgusted.

'Then why is it?'
I figured if you're going to feel bad either way, you might as well help.
That's my brother.

　Fane's mouth breaks slightly.

'Are you guys, um, okay?'
What?
I didn't know how to respond to you guys.

　He told me he liked me.
　Wouldn't that be a betrayal of that feeling?

'I'll wait for my next chance, that's fine.
She didn't say she didn't like me.
I'm not worth that much.

　I'm so full of myself.
　In the unlikely event that I get into a relationship like that with Shelly, I feel like I can't afford it completely.
　It's hard to be a bad guy for someone like myself.

'Are those values normal here?'
Aristocrats and rich people with concubines.
Yeah.

　Even in our world, though, there are people who surround us," Makoto says, poking his head in.

'But, well, thank you.
What's up with the bushes and the sticks?
You've been with me for a while now.

　You told me to leave it alone, but you're not even close to being a good companion.

'If my brother decides to help you, I'm just going to push for it.
Yeah.
I really don't want to be a part of it.

　Makoto's mouth broke into a small smile.

*

You can't ask me to comfort him.

　Mako lies in her room - room 101, on her bed, and is alone.
　The lights are off and the curtains are closed, but thanks to his night vision (skill), he can see through the darkness.

'Well, well ... he told me to comfort you, but he didn't tell me to hold you.

　It's uncomfortable to crawl into a place where you're mentally weak, and you don't want to get even more shocked and get yourself killed.
　You might call me a slob, but I don't want to take an unnecessary risk.

"Okay, don't hold her.

　Just as Makoto made up his mind, the door opened.
　The light from the lamp - which is also a magic item - illuminates the room in a white light.
　At the same time, the figure of someone who had entered the room.
　The one who entered the room was Shelley, wearing a negligee.
　It was natural since they were the only ones in the 'Golden Sheep' pavilion right now, but I didn't expect them to crawl in the night.

''........Mister, are you awake?''
Yeah, I'm up.

　Mako straightened up and sat back on the edge of the bed.
　Shelley placed the lamp on the desk and stopped a short distance away from the bed.

'What's going on?'
....

　He visited a man's room in a negligee at this late hour of the night.
　The probability of a night crawl is high.
　Even if she wasn't a night crawler, she should be prepared for that.

'What's wrong?'
I just wanted to say thank you to your husband.

　When I asked again, Shelly said, squeezing out her voice.
　Her cheeks were flushed with vermilion from shame.

'Aren't you crawling at night?'
"-Oh!

　Shelly gasped and looked down in embarrassment.
　Maybe it was because she had decided not to hold him, but the hassle was getting to her.

'If you're here to crawl at night, let's stop it. Once you understand, you can get the hell out of here.
....

　Shelly bites her lip.
　'I thought I'd hurt you, but it's Sherry who gets hurt when you comfort her in this way.

''I'm just trying to give you some closure.
I don't like being taken advantage of.

　I look at Shelly with that feeling, "Please, just give up," he says.

'I just need a break,'
I'm going to do terrible things?

　Well, I'm not lying.
　I'm frustrated with Shelly for not taking our intentions into account, and I don't know if I'll be able to stop her since I haven't held a woman in a really long time.

"...let me put a break on it.
Okay.

　Mako nodded quietly.

*

　Shelly is sitting on the bed, combing her hair by hand.
　The line from the nape of her neck to her neck is s*xy and her figure is really sappy.
　If I had a camera, I'd be taking pictures of it.
　What is this sense of defeat, Makoto poked his cheekbones.
　It was held with the roughness that a lover would never do, but Shelley showed that she could endure to the end.
　Every bit of endurance is erotic.
　Honestly, it's posthumous, so please endure is foul.
　I even think she was aiming to say it.
　That's why it is a sense of defeat.
　There is one way to wipe away this sense of defeat.
　Makoto gets off the bed and returns with the cigarette he left on the desk.
　For the time being, smoking a cigarette would give him some breathing room.
　He lit a Marlboro with a Zippo--.

'Geez, geez!'
'Sir, what are you doing?'

　Shelly turned around as Mako choked violently.
　She gave him a dumbfounded look.

'You can't even smoke this stuff,'

　Shelly took the Marlboro from Mako and sucked the filter into her mouth.
　Then she let out a cloud of purple smoke.
　This time Mako was devastated.
　Marlboro has a high tar count, so it's hard for a beginner.

'Do you normally smoke?'
I smoke occasionally.

　Sherry replied absent-mindedly.
　'I've got to take responsibility,' said Makoto, lying down on the bed and poking his cheekbones.

'Mister, don't even think about taking responsibility.
I wasn't thinking.

　Quickly, I spit out a lie.
　He was embarrassed that his younger daughter could see right through him.

'Good,'
What?
He's just a man upstairs.
There's no such thing as a top job.

　The world is a world where even if you have the ability, it doesn't mean you can't move up.

Still, you shouldn't trip over a woman like me.
I don't feel like I'm tripping over anything.

　If you really had the strength to go up, you could go up with Shelly in your arms.
　I'll go up with everything I have.
　That's how I feel.
　The money, the women - I'm really greedy.

'Shelly, let's do it again.
What about the cigarettes?
"Ignition.

　Mako takes the Marlboro from Shelley and turns it into dust with jet black fire.

'That should do it, right?'
I'm at the end of the line, though.
What kind of man gives his first time away?
"-Oh!

　Shelley gasped.

'They said they'd notice if it was that awkward.
'And you did such a terrible thing?
I told you I'd do terrible things.

　It was Shelly who failed to follow my advice.
　Therefore, it's Shelly's fault.

''Please ... be nice to me, okay?''
I'll do my best.

　Mako hugged Shelly from behind.