late at night.

At Lorraine's insistence, Hanabi Haruka, Amagawa Kaoru, and Mizuki Sayo had no choice but to crawl into the tent and go to sleep.

Lorraine, however, remained alone by the campfire, utterly isolated.

He remained fully armed, as always.

With his Benelli M1014 shotgun slung over his shoulder, ready to engage in combat at any moment, the campfire in front of him still danced in the night wind. Lorraine looked up at the starry sky, and although drowsiness was gradually creeping into his heart, he always seemed so clear-headed, constantly alert to everything around him.

——

Inside the tent.

Hua Lingyao was still peeking at Lorraine's back as she sat by the campfire in the distance when Tianchuan Xunzi and Shuishen Xiaoye called her from behind. Only then did Hua Lingyao turn her head back and return to the tent.

Kaoru Amakawa knew that she was still worried about Lorraine, so she lay in her sleeping bag and comforted her.

"Alright, Xiaoyao, Lorraine's mind is made up. No matter what you say now, he won't change his mind. So, you should just come back and go to sleep."

"But I'm really worried. How uncomfortable would it be if I couldn't sleep?"

“Lorraine knows what he's doing.”

"But……"

Okay.

Kaoru Amakawa told her to stop worrying unnecessarily.

After all, they had already tried everything they could to say and offer advice. This was Lorraine's own decision, and they should respect it, even if they couldn't understand it at all.

Hua Lingyao sighed and had no choice but to return to her sleeping bag.

She happened to be sleeping in the middle of the three people.

"It's rare for someone to wear their cutest pajamas, but if this happens, wouldn't it all be meaningless?"

Kaoru Amakawa smiled.

"When it comes to how cute our pajamas are, we're just as good as yours."

"It seems that Kaoru is very well prepared."

"Yeah, it's a shame that some idiot doesn't play by the rules at all. I just can't understand what that man is thinking. Three cute girls wouldn't mind sleeping in the same tent with him, but he insists on standing guard outside all night long. Is that something a man would do?"

Kaoru Amakawa really couldn't understand it.

She had already mentally prepared herself, hoping to unlock some new late-night CGs.

But what was the result?

Not only did she not unlock any CGs, she almost thought she had accidentally chosen a single route.

Damn it!

Which option did I choose wrong? Can I reload the save and start over?

——

Hua Lingyao lay in her sleeping bag, looking at the top of the tent, and said.

"Perhaps, Brother Lin just doesn't want us to be in danger, so he would rather stand guard all night by himself than let anything happen to us."

"I think he's just too paranoid and has a persecution complex. We've already told him that we'll protect him if he's in danger, but he just won't believe us. It's so infuriating!"

"Xunzi, Brother Lin must have his reasons for insisting. We should try to understand and be more tolerant of him."

"Men's minds are always hard to understand. I used to think that men were a bunch of lewd guys. As long as you showed them a little concern or did some ambiguous things, you could bewitch them so much that their IQ would plummet."

"Haha, Kaoru, don't say that. It's very impolite for a boy to say that."

Hanabi Haruka was amused.

Amakawa Kaoru remained silent.

"But what about now? Who would have thought... that I'd run into Lorraine, such a tough nut to crack? He always manages to do things I never expected. How am I supposed to figure out what these men are thinking?"

A long sigh, filled with confusion and weariness.

At this moment.

Kaoru Amakawa turned to look at Sayo Mizuki on the other side and asked, "Hey, Sayo, why haven't you said anything since just now?"

Of the three, who is the most enviable?

Kaoru Amakawa felt that it had to be Saya the Water Goddess, since she was the only one of the three who could live under the same roof as Lorraine every day.

This is almost becoming a major worry for Kaoru Amagawa.

Every time she thinks about it, it makes her feel extremely envious and jealous.

"Huh?"

"I thought you were asleep."

As the topic shifted to the water goddess Sayo, Hanabishi Haruka also turned to look at her, just like Amakawa Kaoru.

The water god Xiaoye, who was almost asleep, had to force herself to stay awake and say something.

"Xunzi, once Lorraine makes a decision, no one can change it. So what we should do now is to rest well and get enough sleep while someone is protecting us, so that Lorraine, who is already exhausted, doesn't have to worry about us anymore."

"Hey, you're pretty enlightened." Kaoru Amakawa chuckled.

"That's called being empathetic and putting yourself in someone else's shoes."

"If I had the same treatment as you, I could be ten times more understanding than you."

Water Goddess Sayo knew what Kaoru was referring to.

to this end.

She started to feel proud and self-satisfied again.

"Is that so? But unfortunately, there are no 'what ifs' in reality. Perhaps... this is just fate's arrangement."

"Damn it, you bastard! One day, I'll take it all back!"

"What you never had was never yours to begin with, so what's the point of talking about taking it back? Haha."

"Ugh... Xiaoye, I'm not going to be able to sleep if I don't beat you up today!"

With her blood rushing to her head, Kaoru Amakawa crawled straight out of her sleeping bag.

A diving tackle.

Then, amidst the screams of the water goddess Xiaoye, he pressed himself firmly onto her, and the two girls began to wrestle together inside the tent.

"Kaoru, what are you doing!"

"What else can I do but beat you up!"

"Let me go right now!"

"Today I'll show you the consequences of being too arrogant. Prepare to die, Yoru!"

"Ahhh! No... don't pull my pajamas! Hey, where are you grabbing? Let go of me!"

"A sinful body, a vile soul, and your shameless deeds, heretic! Repent in the blazing fire of justice, burn brightly, and finally... be completely purified!"

"No! Help! Kaoru, if you keep doing this, I'm really going to get rough!"

"As a heretic, how dare you resist? Your crime is compounded!"

"Aaaaaah!—"

As the 'battle' between the two girls intensified.

Hua Lingyao paced anxiously to the side.

"Xiaoye, Xunzi, stop fighting! You can't fight! You can't fight!"

Unfortunately, the effect was minimal.

Why did it turn out like this?!

Hana Rinko wanted to cry but had no tears.