Mana’s group and me, then Sumeragi’s party.
So far, we only encountered people in the same class.
But now, we have someone outside, and a freshman to boot.
「 Can we join you guys? Or not? 」
Asakura Meiko asks.
Her little sister, Hinako’s staring this way looking uneasy.
「 If you can work together then we welcome you warmly. We’re lacking in manpower 」
I replied, and the girls nodded.
In this place, those who don’t work don’t eat.
We don’t need NEETs.
「 Then that’s great. Hinako and I can support through handicrafts. 」
「 Handicrafts? Give me an example 」
「 We can make clothes and other fabric products. I have some yarn in my bag, but if I ran out of it, we can still make it out of natural materials. I know how to make silk yarn, not to mention cotton and hemp 」
「 「 「 「 「 Ooooh! 」 」 」 」 」
They’re all impressed. Me included.
「 The girls want a bed, can you make those? 」
「 Of course. It’s easy. We can supply the materials. Shinomiya-kun has knowledge in this kind of thing but it’s low efficiency so please be patient 」
Shinomiya, my surname.
I rarely get called with my surname so I’m surprised.
I had a moment where I thought “Who’s Shinomiya?”
「 I know. That’s why I’m planning to make a Kantoi – A simple piece of clothing with a hole in the middle of the cloth, or a woven mat instead of a mattress. It’s on the later when it comes to priority 」
「 If that’s the case, we will be doing that work. They say that one has to go with the township, and so I don’t mind working on anything else too 」
「 No, I’m going to ask you to do work related to handicrafts. First, clothes for everyone. Next, bedding. Then, if we need anything else, we’ll just ask you 」
「 Leave that to us 」
Meiko smiles with confidence.
「 Asakura-san can talk normally 」
「 It’s my first time seeing Asakura-san talk 」
Mana and Arisa seem to be impressed.
Everyone, including me, holds the same feeling.
Asakura Meiko in school was silent.
「 The situation’s changed. Besides, I have my little sister who is much shyer than me. The big sister has to do her best, right? 」
Our eyes gather at Hinako.
「 Higu 」
Hinako’s startled from our gaze and hid behind her sister’s back.
Unlike her tall sister, she’s small, she won’t even reach 150cm.
If you’re asking me what makes them blood-related, that would be her face looking like her sister.
Her hair’s bob cut, if she makes it straight-cut bangs, she would look like a small Meiko.
「 Hey, Hinako, greet them at least 」
「 Uguu. I-I’m Hinako 」
Hinako looks like she’s about to cry, she states her name while gritting her teeth.
Seeing that, Meiko leaked a sigh, and we showed a wry smile.
「 She’s like that but I guarantee you that her skills in handicraft are the same as me 」
「 Okay. Glad to have you aboard, Meiko, Hinako 」
And that’s how we got the Asakura sisters as our allies.
「 Wait 」
Karin stopped us.
I know why.
The other girls perhaps noticed it too.
They just didn’t mention it.
「 Asakura-san, how did you know that we’re in this cave? 」
As expected, Karin’s question is that.
Seeing from the reaction of the girls, Eri’s the only one who noticed.
Mana and Arisa make a face asking “What do you mean?”
「 What does that mean? 」
Arisa speaks out her doubt.
「 Asakura-san, you came from northeast of the cave, haven’t you? 」
「 Yes, that’s right 」
「 I don’t know where you woke up but that means you met with Reito and Byakuya first? 」
「 「 Ah 」 」
Mana and Arisa finally understood.
「 I mean, there was a beacon at the northeast hill. Isn’t it normal that you go there? 」
Karin speaks her view.
Our cave isn’t that far from the camp of the Sumeragi brothers.
The distance is just about five kilometers.
Then, their base has a beacon of smoke.
Since this morning, white and black smoke has been coming out at a level that’s visible from here.
You’ll go there once you get up, wherever you start from.
Naturally, it’s likely that they didn’t notice the smoke.
The path is overgrown with foliage and it won’t be weird if they didn’t look up at the sky.
「 Fufu, you’re right 」
Meiko laughs.
「 We came to our senses near this cave and Sumeragi-kun. There’s something that seems like a cave in this place and so Hinako and I went here 」
That’s some valuable information.
That means there’s no development in the northeast area.
I’ll ask them about geography later.
I thought on the spot but it’s too realistic.
「 Then, yesterday, we met with Sumeragi-kun. There was a smoke bomb from this cave, right? They were on the way to look at this place. Then, the Sumeragi elder invited us to their base and so we entered 」
When Meiko’s done talking, Hinako trembled.
I can make my guess from that reaction.
「 Asakura-san escaped from them? 」
「 It’s not like we escaped, it’s more like we offered to leave so we left. The younger Sumeragi-kun opposed strongly but the elder agreed easily. The elder seems to be the one making decisions and so he couldn’t stop his consent 」
「 Why did you leave? There are more people there and since there are more males there, the efficiency shouldn’t be a problem. Besides, if you’re with Sumeragi’s group, the helicopter will surely come to rescue you 」
I asked.
I keep it as an idealistic thought for Meiko.
「 It may look good from the outside. That’s what I thought too. But it’s different in reality 」
「 How? 」
「 The younger Sumeragi-kun has a group who can’t help but vent out their lust 」
I knew that’s the reason.
「 Huh, then did he get to you? 」
Arisa asks directly.
「 No, Hinako and I cut them off. But, they were quite stubborn in inviting and even sexually harassed us. Like touching our breasts on top of our clothes, putting their hands inside our skirt 」
「 That’s horrible 」
「 The younger Sumeragi is the aggressive type, isn’t he? His lust would just escalate at a place like this. Telling everyone that they guarantee their lives and so serving them is their duty 」
That sounds like porn.
It’s arousing when you’re just watching a movie but it’s disgusting in real life.
「 Some of them were already violated. It’s only a matter of time for them to violate those who refuse like us. The elder is stopping him but, nearly the whole group supports the younger 」
「 That means, there’s an internal dispute between the siblings 」
「 That’s likely. Since yesterday, the younger seems to be in full momentum. That’s why we asked for the elder’s permission and escaped 」
「 I see. I’m sorry for doubting you, Asakura-san 」
Karin bowed her head.
Meiko replied with “No, I’m the one who should apologize for not saying anything”
「 An internal dispute? I’d like to avoid that if possible 」
A world where there’s no law is the most dangerous place for violence to rule.
Byakuya, the younger of the Sumeragi siblings has superior strength compared to his elder.
If that guy’s an incarnation of rape and lust, then this is becoming a bad situation.
If Byakuya becomes the leader, they will surely come and attack this place.
It will be a stalemate for a while but it might happen in time.
I should prepare for that starting now.
「 Let’s return to the topic, I welcome the Asakura sisters to the group. My best regards 」
That’s how we added the Asakura sisters to the group.