The Matter of My Party Members Being Aware of My Desire to Be Banished - Chapter 22

“Phew, I’m stuffed!”

Rubbing my full stomach, I lay down on the bed. We had our dinner at a certain eatery in the royal capital, and it was quite delicious.

“Though… if I stay like this, I’m going to fall asleep again. We usually have a meeting before bed… so I should take a bath to keep myself awake.”

Knock knock.

Just as I got up, there was a timely knock at the door. There’s no need for Shion, my roommate, to knock. So, that leaves two possibilities, and it’s an easy choice.

“Come in~ And… as expected, it’s Honoka.”

“I’m impressed, Rokkun. You knew it was me coming, quite the detective. Well then, may I come in~?”

Her serious expression lasted only a moment before Honoka skillfully slipped through the door and me.

“Oof! Mmm~!”

Honoka also decided to dive onto the bed. She was now in her nightwear, which made her look even more like a child excited about a sleepover.

“I’m supposed to sleep there with Shion, so don’t mess up the bed too much.”

“I know, I know~. Rub rub~”

“Hey, stop squirming and making a mess!”

“Hehehe~”

Honoka lay on her back, showing an innocent, childlike grin. Despite myself, I smiled and sat down at the edge of the bed.

“I get that you’re here to hang out, but where are Marn-san and Shion?”

“They said they had something to discuss, just the two of them.”

“Hmm. Well, I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

They’re like the brains of our party, probably planning for tomorrow or discussing future strategies. Honoka and I aren’t the type to do the thinking, so we leave that to them.

“Ever since Marn-san and Shion joined, we’ve been able to handle requests more smoothly.”

“Yeah. It was just the two of us at the beginning.”

“Our party began with just us two.”

It’s been about a year since I met Honoka. After being transferred to another world… Naturally, I knew nothing about this foreign land.

With only my “Storage” ability, I started my journey with no clear direction and it didn’t go well… I was at a loss for a while in the town of Erkan Arkan, which is now our base.

There, I met Honoka, a fellow novice adventurer, and we formed a trial party, which was the beginning of everything.

“I was really lucky to meet Rokkun that day. It was like a fateful encounter.”

“Isn’t that a bit too exaggerated?”

“It’s not an exaggeration! It’s true, you know?”

Honoka sat up and leaned in close.

“Rokkun, you underestimate yourself too much. Have more confidence! You’re amazing!”

“O-Okay. Thanks.”

It’s nice to be praised, but…

But, however… As a man, I yearn for an awakened ability more than my plain “Storage” power!

So if I don’t get banished…

“But I’m starting to get tired of how things are between me and Rokkun.”

“Eh?”

Before I could ask what she meant, Honoka pulled me down onto the bed with force. The soft mattress absorbed the impact, so it didn’t hurt.

But the situation had completely changed.

Honoka was now on top of me, as if mounting a horse…

“Honoka?”

I called her name, perplexed.

This wasn’t an accident.

Not a lucky pervert scenario.

This was a situation created by Honoka herself.

That’s why I didn’t push Honoka away and get up, but instead stayed in the position of being pinned down, waiting for her next words.

“I’m fine with a harem… but when it’s just the two of us, I want to have Rokkun all to myself.”

As she stared intently at me, I felt an unusual heat in Honoka’s eyes.

Author note: Next chapter, “Honoka’s Side 2”