If everything were just a dream, waking up would probably drive anyone insane.
It's like the rumored ending of 'Doraemon', where Nobita is revealed to be an autistic child, and everything was just his imagination.
Clearly, no one would want to accept such an ending.
Haruya was no exception. On one hand, he wished everything he had experienced was just a dream, but he knew that was impossible…
"Oh, darling, what do you mean by going on a trip? Are you going to do something shady again?"
"I've never done anything shady, okay? When I say I'm going on a trip, it's just…"
"Just what?"
Facing Haruya who was sharing the hot spring with her, Laila, the queen of the Sirens, rubbed her porcelain-like skin against his back as part of their 'bonding'.
Haruya wanted to refuse, but Laila threatened him with 'inhumane actions' if he did, so he had no choice but to bathe with her.
"Papa, want some wine?"
Not only was Laila here, but Haruya's daughter, Mihama, had also joined them in the hot spring.
Mihama, as if testing the depth of the hot spring, dove underwater after speaking to Haruya.
Behind him, Haruya could feel the allure of Laila's provocative body.
Laila: "Though I don't know what you're planning to do, you'll come back, right?"
Haruya: "Of course..."
Laila: "Then let me bathe you. Do you want to use our Siren-exclusive shampoo or the Werebeasts' body wash? Oh, and there's also the Immanity kind, which has hair removal effects. It's a nightmare for the Werebeasts..."
Haruya: "That's true… So, what's the Siren shampoo for? To make the skin smoother?"
Laila, who could move freely in the water, straightened up and began searching for the item she had mentioned.
"It's this."
Laila held up a crystal bottle filled with a sparkling liquid. A slight shake revealed some white foam.
It seemed like the items in this 'Isekai' weren't much different from those in the modern world, except for the materials used to make them... {T/N: Isekai means 'alternate world', 'otherworld', or 'parallel world' etc... depending on the context...}
Thinking this, Haruya realized he didn't need to bathe since he had already washed before entering the hot spring.
Of course, there was no reason to refuse a hair wash.
Standing up from the hot spring, Haruya wrapped a towel around himself and was about to leave when Laila grabbed him, "W-what are you afraid of, darling? It's just us and Mihama here. No need to be so shy!"
With that, Laila climbed out of the hot spring and sat on the floor beside it.
Yes, Laila was now completely naked, her enticing body steaming from the hot spring, her slightly red skin like an alluring flower.
The curves of her human upper body were perfect, while her fish tail wagged slightly like a puppy's.
Smiling, she propped herself up with her hands and lunged at Haruya the moment he let his guard down.
"Hey!"
"Ugh!"
Haruya's lower body was pinned by Laila's fish tail as she used her hands to restrain his arms.
Drool dripped from her mouth, and her eyes turned into heart shapes.
"I've… I've always wanted to do this."
"Calm down, Laila, you dumb obsessive woman! Now's not the time for this– No, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity..." Haruya stopped mid-sentence, deciding to throw his integrity out the window.
After all, this was a great chance to understand the anatomy of a mermaid...
'For science...'
Laila's drool dripped onto Haruya's chest, as if filled with burning passion.
Haruya licked his lips, "It's like some strange switch has been flipped..."
"I'm going to do it, darling… This is… this is the first time… Here I go!"
'Uoooh!!!'
Laila first pressed her body against Haruya's chest, her two soft objects compressed and deformed as they rubbed against his skin..
"This is sublime…" That was the only word Haruya could think of.
Since the room was filled with steam from the hot spring, Laila could stay on land for a while.
Laila bent her body, bringing her mouth to Haruya's abdomen, and bit onto the towel there…
"Pant, I'm going to make a hole." Laila, now speaking gibberish, began moving her head to pull the towel off Haruya.
Her breath brushed against his skin, and Haruya frowned slightly. Was this considered passive?
Then, Haruya broke free and used his right hand to caress Laila's cheek.
"Huh?" Laila, still biting the towel, looked confused.
"Your skin is so smooth because of the shampoo." Haruya 'complemented'.
It wasn't much different from what he had imagined a mermaid to be.
'However, when it comes to reproduction, where are those parts? And how does it work?'
Haruya's thoughts were a mess when Mihama jumped out of the water, "Papa, Mama!"
She landed directly on Laila's back.
"Ugh!"
"Ah!!!"
Laila's head slammed into Haruya's 'mini-me', and then…
A sorrowful cry echoed through the room.
...
In the changing room, Laila stayed in the water, reminiscing about what had just happened, "Though it didn't succeed, I still experienced something unique."
"You sure got your fill..." Haruya rubbed his legs.
It was about time to move.
Looking at the two beside him, Haruya patted their heads.
"I'll be back soon."
This Checkpoint Save would probably remain forever…
With that, Haruya accepted the summons from the 'Supreme Deity'...
....
When he came to, Haruya found himself in the 'Infinite Void' once more. Above him, the 'Supreme Deity' greeted him as usual.....
This being, who was practically invincible to Haruya, could be so friendly... likely out of boredom.
Looking around, Haruya noticed a door in front of him, with no one else in sight.
[Welcome back to my humble abode, Nangou Haruya. Please open that door.]
"Is there a surprise? I'm not the type to be scared by a jack-in-the-box behind a door..."
[Not at all. I just got some test subjects from my friends in other dimensions... And yes, my friends are Supreme Deities.]
"And the test subjects?"
[Simple. They're humans.]
The Supreme Deity casually referred to humans as test subjects…
[Sorry, it's a bit rude to refer to your kind as test subjects, isn't it? It seems I haven't fully mastered your etiquette. Even after reading thousands of years of human literature, I still can't communicate perfectly.]
The Supreme Deity's apology didn't make Haruya feel any better.
"Then let me take a look at these 'test subjects.'"
Haruya pushed open the door...
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