The food arrived and our little meal break went on as we talked to Roll and Kisaki some more. Kisaki couldn’t eat or drink because of the helmet, of course, and she didn’t want to take it off in front of others. Sure, she could move it enough to where her mouth is in the open and eat it while half of her face is covered, but who knows if someone might knock that helmet off the rest of the way after being loosened so much? She didn’t want to take any chances, not even in the bath, and yes, that meant she literally goes to the bath with the helmet on. Apparently, the helmet’s special that it’s enchanted to provide ventilation and some sort of AC functioning so she doesn’t get heatstroke from wearing it for too long, especially in hot places. After she finishes taking a dip in the bath and is by herself, she would cast [Clean] on her head and hair as well as the inside of the helmet to make up for the place that hadn’t been tended to. Kisaki said—or at least Roll said for her—that she wouldn’t let her ‘insecurities’ get the better of her enough to keep away from enjoying herself in a bath after a long day.

We learned then that unlike Dondegarm, the few public baths in Palocaesy don’t have a side specifically for humans. There is one where the baths are separated by gender, but there’s also one that only has a mixed bath for different demon races and different genders.

While Kisaki’s reasoning for keeping the helmet on was rather dubious, I could definitely tell Kisaki’s a true Japanese woman through and through, and going by the conversation, she and Roll usually go to the public bath that separates into genders. While I could understand her reasoning, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious about how she looks underneath the motorcycle outfit. Sure, how it conforms to the body doesn’t leave much to the imagination for the shape, but speaking as a guy, I wanted to see it all. I don’t think I’ll get that view anytime soon but I’m thankful enough that she’s willing to talk to me despite my scary looks, unlike most other human girls from Earth who tend to avert their gaze from me. It may be the boost in strength thanks to the game-like leveling system of this world that gave her enough confidence to talk to someone like me but hey, I don’t nitpick on the details.

We also learned that those two have been staying in Palocaesy for a while now, training in the dungeon nearby as they went on quests and quickly moved up in the ranks. I don’t know how long Kisaki’s been here specifically before she met Roll, but it was probably best that I didn’t pry on any information about her being a Champion like me. Unless we’re by ourselves and are on really good terms, maybe it’s a sort of unspoken rule for Champions to reveal themselves to each other. Besides, we both decided to come to this world for the sake of taking a second chance. To do something with our new lives that we couldn’t with our old ones and I haven’t heard much about her causing a lot of trouble, so there isn’t any reason for me to put my nose into her personal business.

‘Let sleeping dogs lie, but if you’re the dog getting messed with, bark loudly back; otherwise, bite hard if they get serious,’ as Mom always told me.

Anyway, some time passed and our short meal was long done. Kisaki and Roll had to do some more errands and said we’ll see them around before bidding us off.

Julius went ahead and reserved a room for himself while the short meal went on, and so he decided to do some sightseeing. Eugus, perhaps to give his niece some space, decided to find another inn to spend the night and will also leave. We thanked the two of them for leading us this far and they wished us luck on dinner with Lady Krauss later tonight as they went along as well, but not before putting in a word that both of them will be showing up at the cottage again the next morning to further discuss the quest proceedings.

“Now, how do we go about assigning rooms …” I start off when it was only our group left behind. “Unlike the inn at Dondegarm, it doesn’t look like there’s one large room to house multiple guests. From what the receptionist said, there are ‘Single Regular-Sized (SR)’ rooms for people of my size with one single bed; ‘Single Large-Sized (SL)’ rooms for large-bodied people like Erizora with a bed that could fit one of her or two of me; and finally, these ‘Extra Large-Sized (XL)’ rooms with a bed that could fit two Erizoras or four of me if tucked tightly together, being the most expensive of all.”

“It also seems that we can order separate pillows and blankets for a bit of extra, too,” Kalline adds in. “I usually sleep on the floor so there is no need to worry about me.”

“Let me just ask the question that everyone wants to know,” Ume then says before raising a scaly claw up. “Who here wants to sleep with Jin? Raise your hand if you do.”

And with that, all of the girls in the group followed through.

“Wait, you want to sleep with me as well, Kalline?” I ask.

“My reason … is not too significant,” she says while twiddling her thumbs. “I feel like I have not had the chance to speak or spend time with thee as much as the others have, and … I would like to use that opportunity to strengthen our bonds … as party comrades, of course! Nothing more! I was thinking we could even discuss strategies for tackling the dungeon early on!”

Aaaand my Intuition skill is going off the charts with how much Kalline’s lying poorly right now. Part of it sounded true, but I could see there’s a bigger ulterior motive behind her desires. Not that I find that bad, of course, I do feel like I should spend time and get to know her more.

“And of course, as a fan, it would be a dream come true for me to sleep on the same bed as my idol!” [Sue]

“Hey, I just joined this group! Slave or not, I want to get to know Chief, too!” [Tyvera]

“Really, Mametama? Did you feel you have to raise your paw up?” [Kenaka]

“What? Have you not experienced Milord’s superior petting techniques? I would have to be crazy not to throw my hat in the ring if I could get this opportunity.” [Mametama]

“I can relate to that feeling.” [Ren]

“The more I hear about Master’s petting techniques the more I want to be his submissive pet, too!” [Erizora]

Part of me feels like I should expect this kind of thing, being the main man of the harem and all, but when I hear how much these cute girls (and cougar cub in not a weird way, mind you) wanting to spend time with me so much, it’s difficult for me not to get embarrassed and bashful over it. It’s like when I was younger and getting spoiled by my aunts when they get together with Mom.

“Well, before we can get anywhere, you all can be sure that I won’t be sleeping with Jin this time around.”

We all jolt to the one girl we’d expect to say that the least: my wife.

“While yes, I have privileges being Jin’s primary wife, I also have a responsibility in looking after and getting to know my husband’s other mates as well,” Ume explains. “Not to mention, I’ve spent the most time with Jin out of everyone here and I’ll be spending more of it with him as the two of us have dinner together with ‘you-know-who;’ thus, I’ll be stepping out this time and let you all have a chance to be with him. I have first dibs of sleeping with him tomorrow night, though.”

“Hmm … in that case, if we count out Mametama possibly sleeping on top of him on the bed and Kenaka being in the other room, that would leave five of us left,” Sue said. “I don’t think it would be good of Jinma suffocating under all of that heat and weight, so how about we just have two girls in bed with him tonight?”

“That sounds fair, and we can decide who gets to sleep with him by drawing lots. Is that all right with thee, Master Jinma?” Kalline asks.

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

And so, I take some pieces of paper and draw two of them with a star, indicating the person who picked it up will sleep with me tonight, before folding them up, tossing them in a hat I just made with Darkness Manipulation and shuffled it all inside before letting the girls take one.

The result … Sue and Kalline drew their stars.

“Yes! I got it, I got it, I got it!!!”

“M-Me too? Oh, but, I would be sleeping on the floor, though. Even if I got on the bed, I am afraid my uh … size might be too much for it to handle on top of Sue’s and Master Jinma’s …”

I know nobody can hear you right now but please hush, Nyra.

“All right, then pick one of those who didn’t get it and let her sleep with Jinma and I. While the thought sounds nice, it wouldn’t be fair if I had him to myself in bed.”

I suddenly feel like some important dakimakura that everyone wants to get a hold of. I’m not sure how I feel about that.

“I think … I will let Erizora take my spot. She endured a lot from that battle with the Howlers earlier. I think she deserves at least that much.”

“Really?! Thank you very much, Ms. Kalline!” Erizora exclaims while happily hopping in place, her titanic breasts bounce all the while.

As my eyes notice that, I shift my gaze over to Sue, specifically her own chest, which is also quite impressive in size, especially paired off with her petite stature.

I’m gonna be sleeping in a booby sandwich tonight … Niiiice.

Tyvera’s sigh then snaps me back into attention. “I mean, it is what it is, but I really want … to sleep with Chief, too,” she says while looking down with disappointment.

“Actually, Tyvera,” I then intervene while lifting her head up by the chin. “I’ve been getting pent up from the excitement so far today. I was hoping you could help me with that as we get to know each other and you settle with our group.”

“R-Really?! But I haven’t had a chance to clean myself yet! I might smell funny!”

“For your information, when I got close enough to you earlier, I found your aroma quite pleasant.”

“Ohh … now I know how Roll feels when she’s complimented on her looks.” Tyvera then hides behind her talon-like hands, even folding her wings over her front in flushed embarrassment.

“Master, may I be there to assist as well?” Ren asks. “As the alpha female to your slave harem, I feel I need to be there to offer our new recruit her needed support while showing her the ways a slave properly serves her master.”

“I’m all right with that. I’ve been meaning to give you a sort of reward for your hard work in the battle with the Howlers earlier, too, so that would be perfect.”

“… Master is too generous, but I will anticipate receiving your kindness with high expectations.” Though Ren’s trying to keep herself level-headed, how her tail’s wagging erratically the moment she heard ‘reward’ tells how she really feels.

“Would you be all right with that, Tyvera?” I ask her.

“That’s fine. Since I’m so new at this, I’ll … probably need as much help as I can get. Ren, I’ll be in your care to show me the ropes.”

“Mm! You can count on me!” Ren exclaims with a fist to her chest, eyes sparkling while her tail still wags with the same vigor as earlier. I guess she really likes to be depended on by her junior. While I can sort of relate to that feeling, it’s kind of weird when you know Tyvera’s on a whole other level in battle prowess and adventurer rank from Ren, but I don’t point that out.

And so, we check ourselves in at the reception. We settle with reserving two XL rooms for our party, split between me, Sue, Erizora, Kalline, and Mametama in one, while Ume, Ren, Tyvera, and Kenaka would take the other for tonight.

Once we drop off our things in our respective rooms for the evening, those who weren’t involved with my ‘harem quality time’ decide to go about their own businesses accordingly while Ren, Tyvera, and I get settled in my room.