The game of Old Maid to decide who would sleep beside me had begun entirely without my consent.
I was the first to finish, followed by Isis-san, leaving Kuro and Alice in a head-to-head showdown... and then an entire hour passed.
No, no, no! Why has the match been going on for an hour when it's down to just one or two cards!? Both of them have been doing nothing but drawing the Joker this whole time!
"...Kuro-san, could you please stop using 'Causality Manipulation'? Let's have a fair and square match."
"...Shaltier, you're one to talk. Stop using magic to swap the card patterns the moment I draw. It'll never end like this."
"..."
"..."
What are these two doing?! How serious can you get over a game of Old Maid?!
Kuro and Alice glared at each other with deadly serious expressions, both of them frozen in place with their hands hovering over the cards. After a moment, a sound like air occasionally popping began to echo through the room.
"Both of them are drawing cards at an incredible speed," Ein-san noted. "They have likely drawn 'a thousand' cards in just these past few seconds."
"...Seriously, what is wrong with them..."
According to Ein-san’s explanation, Kuro and Alice were currently drawing cards at a speed I couldn't even perceive. This wasn't even Old Maid anymore.
"...Ein-san, will this ever actually end?"
"That is difficult to say. If Chrome-sama were to truly get serious, she could draw the cards at a speed Shaltier could not react to... however, if that were to happen, the resulting shockwave would 'obliterate this room'."
"..."
"At a speed that doesn't affect the surroundings, Shaltier is fully capable of reacting. If we wait for one of them to make a mistake... I expect it would end in about 'ten days'."
"The Six Kings Festival will be over by then!?"
To think a game of cards between monsters could be this intense... Well, for my part, I had already given up my resistance to the idea of sleeping together, so I just wanted them to finish quickly. However, Kuro and Alice were the embodiment of competitive spirit, and neither seemed to have any intention of yielding.
"...It can't be helped... Sleeping next to Kaito... is for only... two people... very... precious," Isis-san whispered.
"No, that's a bit of an exaggeration..."
I replied with a sigh to Isis-san, who spoke with such a solemn face. Then, Ein-san put her hand to her chin as if deep in thought, and spoke up after a moment.
"On second thought... wouldn't it be better if 'one person simply slept on top of Kaito-sama'?"
"...Huh?"
""That's it!!""
The moment Ein-san muttered that outrageous suggestion, Kuro and Alice shouted while turning toward me simultaneously.
No, no, "That's it!!" my foot! No matter how you look at it, that is definitely not okay! Being pinned down on both sides by two people, with a third person climbing on top? No, that's bad. For the sake of my own sanity...
"No, that's a bit much..."
"That's a great idea, Kuro-san! If we do that, all three of us can be with him!"
"Yeah, yeah! As expected of Ein!"
"N-No, listen..."
"...Everyone together... I'm happy."
"A-Isis-san..."
Ah, this was hopeless. I knew from experience that this was the point where I'd be overwhelmed and just swept along by the current. Wondering where their previous seriousness had gone, I watched Kuro and Alice rejoice while letting out my heaviest sigh of the day.
And so, bedtime arrived. It seemed Ein-san would stay awake and wait outside the door. Kuro and the others didn't usually sleep either, but they said they would always sleep when I was around. By the way, Kuro and Alice's Old Maid showdown ended in a draw. Since the reason for their fierce competition had vanished, they just called it quits then and there.
"Hmm. It would be better if either I or Shaltier stayed on top, since we can adjust our weight so we aren't a burden for Kaito-kun, right?"
"That's true. However, being on top is a bit embarrassing for me after all... Kuro-san, is it okay if you're the one?"
"Yup!"
I wondered if I had any thicker clothes. This yukata... the fabric was thin and full of gaps. It might have been easy to sleep in, but in this situation, it was the worst possible choice of attire. Or rather, if everyone was going to huddle together like this, didn't the size of this massive bed become completely meaningless? No, I felt like I had already lost if I started nitpicking. I couldn't calm my racing thoughts.
"...Four of us together... fun."
"Indeed. We haven't had many opportunities like this since we moved out from Kuro-san's place... Well then, let's head to sleep right away!"
Form is emptiness, emptiness is form... Emptiness. I would become one with the void. Honestly, I didn't really understand the philosophical meaning, but I felt like I was approaching a state of enlightenment.
"...Kaito?"
"I-I'm fine. Let's sleep."
Empty your mind, make everything void...
Urged by Isis-san, I lay down on my back. Isis-san came to my right and hugged my arm, and the sensation of her soft body reached me through the thin cloth. Begone, worldly desires! Begone, worldly desires!
Alice lay down on my left, clinging to my other arm just like Isis-san. Alice's petite body fit perfectly against me, conveying the sensation of her smooth skin without missing a single inch.
Tell yourself, tell yourself in your heart! I'm fine, I'm not strangely excited. I can endure, I can endure, I can endure...
And finally, Kuro climbed on top of me. Just as she said, she had adjusted her weight; her body was surprisingly light, and I felt almost no pressure. However, even if I didn't feel any weight, the sensation of her body was undeniable. Her face was so close, a wonderful scent wafting from her and tickling my nose. If I turned my gaze even slightly, her chest was visible through the gaps in her yukata... Aaaaah! As I thought, this was impossible! My blood felt like it was reaching a boiling point.
I felt sensations from three different directions, each slightly different. A beautiful girl if I looked forward, a beautiful girl if I looked to either side... Even though I had already cooled off from the bath, I felt like I was going to pass out from the heat.
Above all, the most dangerous one was Kuro. She had a happy smile on her face, but her thighs kept grazing against the Dangerous Zone, creating a truly perilous situation.
"Ehehe, Kaito-kun's is big."
Stop it! That sounds like it means something else, so stop it! Also, don't use that sweet voice right in my ear... Your breath is hitting me, this is bad!
"...Kaito."
"...Kaito-san."
And then, a pincer attack from the sides. Were they trying to kill my rationality?! I had to calm down... Wait, Kuro?! "Don't put your hand inside the gaps of my yukata"! H-How did it come to this...
Dear Mother, Father—Thanks to Ein-san’s terrifying suggestion, the three of them ended up clinging to me while we slept. The sensation of the girls I felt with my entire body was warm and melting—and it melted my rationality at a terrifying speed.