Ch.128Summer, and the Sea (8)

“Alright. Get in.”

Shotaro gestured toward our group. Leaning against the car with just a finger raised… honestly, it looked cool. There’s a certain adult coolness that kids just can’t imitate.

Except for the large anime character printed on the car, that is.

“Shota, where are you going to sit?” Umi asked me, seizing the opportunity.

“Well… the passenger seat, of course.”

That’s what I said.

“Huh? Why not sit with us in the back?”

Eri seemed displeased about this.

“The passenger seat carries a certain weight…”

I muttered.

The passenger seat has one job: to act as the co-pilot and make sure the driver doesn’t fall asleep.

The mission is to keep talking somehow, ensuring the audio doesn’t go silent, even when there’s nothing to say.

Some might think, “Just listen to the radio.” But that’s completely wrong.

Car radios… they make you drowsy. The anchors’ voices are like sleeping pills. Relying on the radio would lead to the disaster of drowsy driving.

“Gotta stay awake and keep my post,” I said as I sat in the passenger seat.

“Shota… you’re surprisingly not cute. Strangely adult-like, I should say.”

Shotaro muttered with a wry smile.

“Yeah! My boyfriend is super mature!”

Eri immediately bragged about me.

Anyway, the seating was arranged with my three girlfriends in the back and me in the passenger seat.

Vrooooom-!!!

Shotaro immediately started driving.

“By the way… are they your friends?”

Shotaro asked, looking at the three beautiful girls in the rearview mirror.

The three were already asleep. When we took the ferry last time, I noticed they always fall asleep in cars. I considered that when distributing the seating.

“Ah… they’re my girlfriends.”

I confessed. Shotaro probably figured it out already, but I hadn’t officially told him.

Honk-!

Startled, Shotaro accidentally hit the horn.

“G-girlfriends? Not just Eri?”

Shotaro said.

“Yeah… it just happened that way.”

I said, scratching my head.

“We’ve been postponing the competition… planning to reach a conclusion after graduation. Anyway, that’s how it is.”

Yes, there’s a complicated situation that would bring tears to your eyes.

“You’re really living like a web novel protagonist.”

Shotaro said.

I was aware of that myself. Moreover, though I hadn’t told Shotaro, I was also a transmigrator.

Highly advanced web novel writers are indistinguishable from web novel protagonists.

“Eri… is quite jealous. She allowed this?”

Shotaro asked about that point.

“Ah… well, the three of them somehow ended up in a stalemate. They agreed to maintain the status quo for now.”

That’s what I said. Well, it’s a tense situation.

“Haa… I really can’t believe it. Our Eri is quite beautiful herself…”

Shotaro said in a dejected tone. As her real brother, he could have been angry with me, but his bewilderment took precedence.

“But if that’s the case, I’m relieved. Since it’s already a harem setup… one more heroine wouldn’t hurt, right?”

Suddenly, Shotaro was saying something crazy.

“What?”

“Actually… remember ‘Mika,’ the star writer of our platform? She’s looking for a potential partner. She said she wanted a friend, but that was only because Eri was around.”

Shotaro finally revealed his true colors.

“W-what…”

Another heroine at this point? That would be a real problem.

“Please!! Shota!!! Seduce ‘Mika’!!”

Shotaro immediately started begging.

“So that was your intention from the beginning!!!”

Clunk-! Clunk-!

I immediately tried to open the passenger door.

“Help!! I’m being kidnapped!!! If I’m taken like this, I’ll end up dating a woman I don’t even like!!!”

I shouted dramatically, but not loud enough to wake my girlfriends in the back (sweet).

“Sh-Shota!! Calm down!!”

Shotaro grabbed me while driving with one hand.

“No… you’re trying to sell me out! Adding another girlfriend now…”

I protested to Shotaro.

Nothing is more despicable than an adult deceiving a child. And what about Eri’s feelings?! What an outrageous guy!

“My promotion depends on this…!”

Shotaro bit his lip, revealing the weight of adulthood. Does one need to do such nonsense to advance in their career? The publishing industry must be tough. That’s what I found myself thinking.

“Don’t… you have any reason not to? Honestly, from what I’ve heard… you’re quite the ladies’ man.”

Shotaro immediately attempted to recruit me.

“I do… like women.”

After transmigrating, I realized I was quite the womanizer.

“But… she looked too plain in the photo.”

That’s what I said. She wasn’t my type. I preferred flashy gyaru types.

“You… care about looks.”

Shotaro said.

“Face and figure are primary, personality is secondary.”

I stated firmly.

It might sound trashy, but that was my honest feeling. Honestly, those who claim to look at personality first are just taking appearance for granted and not mentioning it. Right? Let’s all be honest here.

“Wow… saying such trashy things so confidently leaves me speechless.”

Shotaro muttered.

“Well… but you don’t need to worry about that.”

Shotaro operated his phone with one hand while driving.

“This… is her recent photo. She changed her image after entering high school.”

Shotaro showed me the picture.

There was a beautiful girl with slightly blue-dyed hair in a free-spirited outfit. A short skirt that looked like it might reveal her lower curves when she moved, and cleavage visible through her unbuttoned school uniform, along with a glimpse of a daring bra…

Yes, she was a classic gyaru.

“Whoa…!”

This might be good?

Before my mind could even process it, my body reacted.

A change occurred in my lower half. I hadn’t reacted at all to the previous plain photo.

I possessed quite an impressive thing down there, and the change was noticeable enough that even Shotaro could read it through my pants.

“Hmm. You’re refreshingly textbook trash.”

Shotaro said.

“Anyway… it’s not a bad deal, right? Just seduce her and pretend to date her. You can do that much. Just help Mika regain her motivation to write.”

Shotaro pleaded with me.

At that moment, my consciousness briefly went dark.

“Kunta!! Did you mess with the inn’s proprietress too?!”

The shrine maiden in my party was angry.

“Ah. She was too sexy. I’ll be her kept man for a month. Gonna get her pregnant. She agreed to it.”

I automatically said something trashy.

“Really… this bastard…”

The mage sighed.

They seemed resigned to it, as if used to it… but I could finally detect it. The hurt expressions on my two party members’ faces.

“I sleep with all sexy women. And I plant my seed. That’s my creed.”

I said with a smile.

I almost unconsciously agreed with those words, but I quickly brought my consciousness back to reality.

I wanted to be someone worthy of Umi, Eri, and Taiga. That was my true heart.

“Doing this behind their backs isn’t ethical. I need to… properly tell the three of them. We’re already like family.”

I stated firmly.

“No, running a harem yet saying such righteous things…”

“Indeed, I’m a playboy and a messed-up man. Even now, all I can think about is doing naughty things with the three of them. The beach! How fun would it be to have sex outdoors… that’s all I can think about.”

I admitted that.

“You don’t need to say such things…”

Shotaro said with a complicated expression.

“But I’m not an animal. I can judge what priorities are higher. Umi, Eri, and Taiga come first. So… I’ll tell them everything.”

That was my resolution.

Whether it was a memory from a past life or a high-quality dream, I didn’t want the three of them to make the same expressions my party members had made.

“Haa… it’ll cause a storm, but… alright.”

Shotaro sighed and agreed.

———

Vrooooom-!!

Speeding down the coastal highway on the outskirts of Tokyo was quite refreshing. Driving has its charm. The three in the back were asleep, so they couldn’t see it.

“I’ll keep driving on… baby… where the blue sky…”

I couldn’t resist the highway romance in this situation. My pterodactyl stance was already fully charged!!

I wanted to belt it out like at a karaoke bar, but my girlfriends were sleeping like angels in the back. I sang quietly.

At least with “Highway Romance” on infinite repeat, the audio wasn’t silent.

Meanwhile, I was browsing web novels on my phone, reading works by the author named Mika.

Her rankings were fluctuating between 1st and 2nd place. Her view count was several times mine.

Damn… she must be making serious money! I’m so jealous!!!

Anyway, since getting close to Mika was the task, I needed to get a feel for what kind of novels she writes. We need common topics to discuss.

‘Pure romance, huh…’

Surprisingly, it was a gentle youth romance. A story about a boy and girl meeting, their hearts fluttering for each other, confirming their feelings, and then dating.

As is typical for male-oriented content, there was plenty of “How would such a super beauty be interested in an ordinary guy like me?” development. Despite being a woman, she had a keen understanding of men’s vicarious satisfaction desires.

‘It’s sweet.’

And it was good. Originally, I was a harem enthusiast who would pursue all attractive heroines, so I didn’t read pure romance, but this was surprisingly tasty.

The reason for her #1 ranking was bone-chillingly clear. The novel was simply delicious.

But… she had been on an unannounced hiatus for three months. Naturally, the comment section was on fire.

‘Mika must be dead lolololol’

‘When are you coming back? I’m cold…’

‘I just deleted and blocked. I loved you, damn it…’

‘At this point, did she transmigrate into her own novel? lolololol’

I understood why Shotaro was trying so hard. Public opinion was terrible.

‘Writing motivation… can it be improved just through friendship?’

While I was thinking about this, the car arrived at the coast.

After parking in the lot, Shotaro received an urgent call.

“Yes. Yes, yes. Yeeees…”

Shotaro’s expression quickly hardened.

“Damn it… looks like you won’t be able to have the place to yourselves.”

Shotaro immediately explained the situation.

“The president of our parent company has come for a vacation.”

Shotaro muttered with a deeply stressed expression. A high-ranking person had suddenly arrived during our trip.

“Wake the girls up. At least for greetings…”

As Shotaro was hurriedly speaking, it happened.

“Huh? Brother Shota. What are you doing here?”

I turned my head at the familiar voice.

There was a little girl with a bun hairstyle, showing her cute forehead.

It was Kujo Madoka.

And behind Kujo Madoka stood another familiar woman.

“Oh my!!! Shota! Good to see you!!”

There was a Western beauty in a casual outfit, just a shirt over a bikini. It was Tina Burst.

“Why are you… here?”

I asked.

“Brother, that’s what I want to ask!”

Kujo Madoka said with a giggle.

At that moment, my three girlfriends woke up in the back seat.

“Ah… the smell of the sea.”

Umi seemed to have woken up to the distinctive coastal scent.

“Mmm… slept well.”

Eri also stretched.

“Really, Umi. You snored so much.”

Taiga grumbled.

“When did I ever snore?!”

Umi shouted.

At that moment, the gazes of my three girlfriends turned toward Madoka and Tina Burst.

My girlfriends seemed surprised too.

Surprised, aren’t you? I was very surprised too.