He stared blankly at Kiri, who was standing there fully armed — an M60 machine gun in her hands, several grenades hanging from her belt, looking like she was about to charge straight into a battlefield.
He couldn't help but tilt his head in confusion.
Meanwhile, Tsunade, still lying facedown on the pillow, let out a weird, miserable little whimper.
"…Seriously, could you maybe pick a better time to barge in?"
Ryuji couldn't help but complain.
This woman, Kiri, had an uncanny ability to show up at the most ridiculous times, in the most ridiculous places — and somehow, she always managed to catch some part of the conversation that involved her.
At this point… it was honestly beyond ridiculous. It was almost like a twisted kind of luck.
"Hah! Like I'm the weird one here? Look at you two, acting all lovey-dovey like nobody else exists. Do you even know what time it is? It's way past time to get up and start grinding for skill points and rewards!"
Kiri flipped him off without hesitation, looking absolutely fed up.
"Wrap it up already! I'm waiting to see how you're planning to send Tsunade back!"
With that, she spun around and stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her.
He stared at the closed door in silence.
He gave Tsunade's perfect, flawless backside one last squeeze and let out a long, helpless sigh.
And then… it hit him.
He hadn't heard any footsteps when Kiri came.
And when she'd burst in just now… her face had been bright red.
Which could only mean one thing.
"…Kiri , you damn eavesdropping snake… You were listening from the start, weren't you!?"
His furious roar echoed through the room.
_ _ _ _
Half an hour later, Ryuji stood by the campfire, a lollipop in his mouth, staring at what could only be described as pig slop — lovingly prepared by Kiri, who, among the remaining three, was supposedly the best cook.
Sure, he was going to have to eat it too, but he would gladly call himself a pig if it meant he could complain about just how atrocious Kiri's cooking was.
This stuff... it wasn't meant for human consumption!
Glancing at Rias and Lux, who were both nervously eyeing the bubbling horror in the pot, he clicked his tongue. With a casual flick of his wrist, he pulled a piece of roasted meat out from his inventory and placed it on their makeshift grill.
But really... no one cared about that right now.
After setting the meat down, he looked over at Tsunade, who hadn't said a single word since earlier. Sitting down on the wooden stool they'd made together, he pointed at her with his lollipop.
"I can send Tsunade back, sure... but the thing is—"
Ryuji took a deep breath.
If he was being honest with himself, he really didn't want to send Tsunade back.
Even if she couldn't fight here, Tsunade's skills in basic infrastructure and medicine alone made her incredibly valuable to their little group.
Not to mention... her body was also a very effective stress reliever for him — in more ways than one.
Yeah, he wasn't shy about admitting he enjoyed that curvy, mature figure of hers. And it wasn't like things between them hadn't already gone... well, pretty far.
But ironically enough, if he really cared about Tsunade... then the right thing to do would be to send her home.
But the thing was… Ryuji wasn't even sure if he could trust his own system.
What if this so-called "return function" ended up being a complete disaster?
"I mean… I honestly don't know if it's reliable or not," he admitted, crunching down on the candy in his mouth, "The first time I used it, I didn't even get a chance to check. Erina just disappeared. Back then, I didn't exactly have the time or energy to worry about her situation either… so... yeah."
That was his biggest concern — not knowing what really happened after using the function.
"Don't worry about that."
Tsunade suddenly cut him off.
"There's no need. This is my decision. Even if something does go wrong… that's my responsibility to bear."
She turned her gaze directly onto Ryuji.
"But let me ask you this — are you sure you don't need me here anymore?"
There was a strange glint in Tsunade's eyes — complicated and unreadable. Ryuji crushed the candy between his teeth, deliberately avoiding her stare. The sudden spike in his system's energy readings told him all he needed to know about her current mood.
But it wasn't just Tsunade whose feelings had changed — his had too.
"With Rias around, our combat strength and healing abilities should be covered. And I can barely manage to build basic structures like iron shelters now. Even if you leave, it shouldn't affect our chances of survival too much."
He took a deep breath.
"So yeah... I can send you back right now."
"..."
Tsunade fell silent.
She stared hard at Ryuji for a long moment before finally speaking again.
"Are you being serious right now?"
"Huh?"
"I mean about the energy thing."
"Dead serious," he replied without hesitation, "Last night... the energy between us spiked like crazy."
"Then why didn't you just lie to me?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "After all, you're the only one who really knows how much energy there was."
Ryuji chuckled bitterly.
"I'm done living a life full of lies."
His tone was calm, but unmistakably sincere.
"Flattering demanding clients, admitting fault when it wasn't mine, pretending I didn't mind working overtime even when I hated it. And then going home, forcing a smile, telling myself everything was fine even when I felt like crap. Or running into trouble, knowing someone else could easily help, but watching them just sit there quietly, refusing to say a word. I've had enough of that kind of life."
With that, he casually tossed away the plastic stick from his candy, his expression nonchalant.
"I'm sorry... I like you. Both your personality and your body. I really do. But the truth is — you don't belong here. No one does. This place is hell, and things are only going to get more dangerous from here on out. That's why I can't keep you here."
He took a deep breath.
"We might've gotten a little... intimate just now. But facts are facts. The best thing for you is to go back — the sooner, the better."
Hearing that, Tsunade clenched her fists tightly.
She already understood what he was implying — the factory.
If there was any chance of finding a way home, it would be there. But… the odds weren't good.
And even if they did leave her here, there was another problem.
Her safety.
God only knew what other horrors this world still had in store. Leaving someone behind to protect her wouldn't help if they weren't strong enough — and if they were strong enough, then they wouldn't have enough people left to explore the factory.
There was only one real option left — survive through another Blood Moon and recruit more newcomers.
But just thinking about facing that nightmare again made Tsunade's heart clench with fear. Her whole body felt weak, powerless. She couldn't even imagine how she would endure something like that a second time.
Still, she forced herself to speak.
"…I can stay until after the next Blood Moon," she said quietly.
But Ryuji rejected her without hesitation.
"No. Absolutely not. I'm afraid you'd really lose your mind."
His voice was calm, but firm.
"Ask yourself honestly, Tsunade — with your current mental state… do you really think you can survive here? Even for a few more days?"
He could see it clearly. Tsunade was struggling — barely holding herself together in this hellish place. The constant presence of corpses, the relentless waves of monsters appearing every few days… for someone like her, it was crushing. Overwhelming.
Especially after the Blood Moon.
He had felt it — after that night, Tsunade's mind had become dangerously unstable. Otherwise… she wouldn't have thrown herself at him like that. Wouldn't have lost control of her emotions so completely.
If she stayed here any longer, sure — maybe her fear of blood might recover thanks to their little… activities. But her mind? Her willpower? Those would be utterly shattered.
And this world… was nothing but danger upon danger. There was no telling what other horrors or taboos were still waiting out there.
"Besides," Ryuji said softly, "we agreed from the start, didn't we? I was never meant to be anything more than a passerby in your life. We made a deal — once you had enough energy to go home, I'd send you back."
"..."
Tsunade took a deep breath… then slowly nodded.
"…If you really don't need me anymore."
"I really don't."
He stood up, walking over to stand before her. Staring at that beautiful face of hers, he couldn't help but feel a little complicated.
Such a perfect partner in bed… and now he was about to send her away.
After a brief pause, he acted on impulse — reaching out with one hand to cup her soft breast near her heart, while his other hand slid down to grab her firm, shapely rear. He kneaded both slowly, deliberately.
"...Is this supposed to be part of the 'return process' too?" Tsunade's expression instantly shifted — eyes narrowing dangerously.
Ryuji, completely unfazed, nodded with a dead-serious face.
"Of course it is. It's probably the last time I'll ever get to touch you, after all. Just… a little something to remember you by. Since… barring some miracle, we probably won't meet again. So—one, two, three... time to send you back?"
"…Do whatever you want."
"One."
"Two."
"Three…"
When he counted to three, he opened the interface and clicked the "return" option. But just as he did, Tsunade suddenly leaned forward, gently pressed her lips against his for a brief kiss — and in the next moment, her body began to fade like a mirage before his eyes.
Tsunade staggered slightly, her body passing right through his like she was nothing more than a ghost. The world around them began to blur and distort, taking on an illusory appearance completely different from the harsh reality of this world.
Ryuji turned around just in time to see Tsunade do the same, their eyes meeting across the shifting illusion. She instinctively reached out toward him — but once again, her hand passed right through his body. Her lips moved, as if calling his name, but he couldn't hear a single word.
That dreamlike vision lingered for a full three minutes before slowly beginning to fade away.
He simply stood there, watching quietly as Tsunade was reunited with the people on the other side. He even saw her being hugged tightly by a small, black-haired girl who seemed overjoyed to see her.
This time, he could clearly feel it — standing within that illusion, there was a strange sensation of dislocation. It was almost as if he could control that feeling, use it to step directly into Tsunade's world... but something was still missing. Something wasn't quite right.
Still, as Tsunade's figure completely disappeared, Ryuji realized something else.
"So that's how it works... Erina was like this too, wasn't she?" He murmured to himself. "That means… she really watched me blow up that stockpile of gunpowder? No wonder she thought I was done for."
Thinking about it made he feel a little complicated. But then he remembered — there were only two more girls left to send home before he could go find Erina again.
That thought instantly lifted his spirits.
Turning back, he looked at the three girls standing behind him, all of them watching him with serious expressions.
"So... the returnprocess is real after all," he said casually. "Anyone interested in going next?"
Although he phrased it like a question, his gaze was clearly locked onto Kiri.
Kiri's lips twitched. She could tell this bastard had been itching to get his hands on her for a while now. He had never exactly been subtle about how his eyes would always linger on her long, shapely legs or the way she dressed so boldly. And honestly... to be fair…
Of all the girls he'd spent time with, Kiri was the one he got along with the best. Not even Erina could compare.
Kiri's personality was just that easygoing — wild, free-spirited, and fun.
Still, after a brief pause, Kiri slowly raised her hand.
After all, she did have a reason to return. And truthfully, a part of her was curious — curious to see what this whole "return process" actually felt like.
Chances were, once she went back, she'd die on the battlefield anyway. So she figured... why not try something crazy at least once before that happened?
As for the idea of not going back?
Impossible. Not unless the war in the Celestial Realm somehow ended — and that wasn't happening anytime soon.
Even so, the look on Ryuji's face — that smug, I've totally got you now look — seriously pissed her off.
That's why Kiri had already made up her mind.
She was going to play hard to get — string him along for a bit, build up his expectations... and then, when things got steamy, pull out a little something special from her arsenal to teach this guy a proper lesson.
She'd show him — messing with a Ranger Gunslinger wasn't something you could do without consequences!
Besides... why should she be the only one getting fucked?
Why was it always the person that fucks got to have all the fun?
That wasn't fair at all!
She wanted to fuck Ryuji too!
She was just about to fully raise her hand — just about to lay out her own "terms" for the deal — when suddenly...
A clear, earnest voice cut her off.
"Please use me! And send me back to my world, Mr. Ryuji! I have something very important I must do! I'm begging you!"
It was Lux.
Kiri froze mid-motion, her raised hand hanging awkwardly in the air.
Ryuji blinked in surprise, turning toward the blonde girl with the serious expression, completely different from her usual gentle demeanor.
…Looks like the order just changed.