The third match has ended.

“Party A” versus “Party D.” Winner—“Party A.”

The fourth match has ended.

“Party B” versus “Party C.” Winner—“Party C.”

With our second win secured, we were sent back to the white space.

It seemed that not only our Party A, but the girls’ Team C had also won two matches in a row.

In other words, whichever side won next would be undefeated and receive five Rights to Return.

“Staaare.”

“Staaare...”

While Minori and Mamonaka, the base-defense pair, celebrated our victory, Chiyu and Shouko were fixing me with flat, narrowed eyes.

“A-anyway! If we win the next one, we get the reward! Let’s keep ourselves focused.”

“So-kun, you already have four girlfriends, but Ryouka’s invitation still made you waver.”

“Sousuke, are you planning to make every girl in class your girlfriend?”

Apparently, I couldn’t bluff my way through with momentum.

“...I said this earlier too, but I have no intention of abandoning my precious companions and going to another party. If I had to choose one side, of course I’d choose this one.”

“Mm. I’ll permit harem expansion, but I won’t permit you abandoning your legal wife.”

Chiyu hugged my arm tightly.

“I mean, after seeing Sousuke on this island... I get why other girls would fall for you too, but still...”

Shouko adorably pinched my sleeve.

Watching them, Mamonaka turned red.

Chiyu, who supported the harem’s growth, was only angry about the possibility of my choosing to abandon them.

Shouko, who had apparently had feelings for me since we were still on Earth, seemed to have complicated feelings about the girls who had started noticing me only after we came to the island.

“L-leaving aside whether anyone likes me or not, if you say that, wouldn’t Shion be no good either?”

I had barely interacted with Shion back in the classroom.

But after we came to the deserted island, she was also the person who had become my lover right after Chiyu.

“Ugh. R-right, that’s the thing. That’s why I can’t say it’s not okay... but I’m allowed to feel a little bothered about it...!”

“Y-yes...”

Saying this out loud might make her even more upset, so I kept quiet, but honestly, sulking Shouko was cute.

“...I understand the general situation now. Your opponent tried to recruit Sousuke, didn’t she?”

“Huh? D-during the event?”

Minori and Mamonaka joined the conversation too.

“Mm. I suspect this will become So-kun’s harem island eventually.”

“No, no, no... More importantly, let’s focus on the final match.”

“...Yes. I am curious too, but I’ll ask after the event.”

Thanks to Minori throwing me a lifeline, we were able to end that topic.

Though really, it had only been postponed.

At any rate, we also told the two who had been defending the base about our encounter with Suou Team.

“I see. So Suou’s group split into a main team and a sub team for this event. In that case, our next opponent will be Suou’s party’s main team...” 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

“Can you predict who’s participating? The girls are already split between Kuno’s party and Ryouka’s party, right? There are a lot of them on the other side, so wouldn’t it be hard to narrow down...?”

“No, not necessarily. We recorded who chose what in the first dream. Of the girls on their side, four brought in a ‘smartphone,’ ‘bug repellent,’ ‘sunscreen,’ and a ‘swimsuit.’”

“Mm. The two So-kun just trapped in cages were Bug Repellent and Smartphone.”

Chiyu added the explanation.

Suou’s party had fifteen people in all.

Considering she had put useful ability holders like “immortality” and “cloning” into her sub team, we could assume her main team had members even better suited to victory.

“Aocchi has the ability to keep hair from getting rough from seawater, Toka has the ability not to gain weight no matter how much she eats, and Non has the ability to create food, so those three probably won’t show up either.”

Shouko seemed to remember what our classmates had said too.

Those were the girls who had been influenced into choosing abilities after Shouko mentioned her Fluffy Summoning Ability.

“True. That leaves the girls who never said anything about their abilities. Just knowing that much is valuable information.”

The four who had brought items, the three ability holders we had just fought, and the three ability holders not suited to this event made ten.

That left five people, and they would be our next opponents.

One ability whose holder we did not know was “charisma,” and I suspected that one belonged to Suou.

“Then let’s share as much as we can remember about the remaining five: their personalities, what clubs they belong to, their strengths, and anything else. It may help us infer what abilities they chose.”

“Wow, you’re all amazing... I didn’t remember the first dream that clearly.”

Mamonaka sounded impressed.

“It makes sense you’d forget. We just asked everyone about it early and kept records.”

“Also, thanks to So-kun, we had room to think.”

“Oh, true! At first I was cold and scared and lonely, so I wasn’t in any state to care about information!”

“Yes. I only became able to think calmly after Sousuke and the others helped me.”

“...Everyone’s helped me in all sorts of ways too, so it goes both ways.”

It was kind of embarrassing, but we ended up praising each other.

For a moment, the mood softened.

“...That sounds nice. I’ll work hard so I can properly contribute too.”

Mamonaka clenched both fists.

Maybe she had felt a little left out.

“You already are contributing. Because you and Minori are protecting the base, we can go all-out on offense.”

“Mm. Defense is important too.”

“Exactly! Myao, you’re already one of us!”

“Yes. Let’s do our best together in the final match too.”

“Y-yeah!”

Mamonaka must have been happy, because even as her eyes grew watery, she nodded firmly.

“Both we and our opponents have two wins from two matches. Whoever wins next gets five Rights to Return. Let’s win, then go back to the companions waiting for us at home.”

“Yeah!”

“Mm. For the victory party, we’ll eat the river fish that were just added.”

“Yes. Let’s bring good news back to everyone.”

“I’ll do my best until the very end!”

The final match is ready.

Words appeared on the blackboard, and we headed into the last battle, with the Rights to Return at stake.