I hate being wed in a fantasy world!

“Uhh...” I feel sick. I open my eyes.

You gain 1 WP.

Sleeping beside your wife is something, that should never taken for granted.

Why am I in the open?

Shit. I fell asleep. But it looks like [Dormurnal] was active at least. I didn't even know that you really can fall asleep, while you're sitting.

Ara-san is still leaning on me and makes some interesting sleeping sounds. But there is snot coming out of her nose.

Mine as well. My head feels heavy, and my body shivers. I think I got a cold. How could that happen?

I check my status. Yes, I got the [Disease: Cold]-condition.

[Disease: Cold]

Source: Illness

Reduces Health and Stamina by 15%. Reduces Strength, Dexterity and Agility by 10%.

Reduces Vitality and Intelligence by 20%. Reduces [Persuasion] by 40%.

Uh, what a bad condition. A bit like the active curse with the debuffs.

Walking a day in the rain, then being in underwear in the rain, fighting in the rain and sleeping in this weather. Seems reasonable to me, that I got a cold.

But oh well, I'm a hero. For training purposes to become a [Herbalist], Kyou-san made an abundant amount of herbal cold medicine. I just take a pill.

[Cold Medicine]

Description:

A medicine made by Momokawa Kyou by an alfr recipe. The herbs were adapted so that this medicine works for humans instead of alfar.

Effect:

Will suppress the effects of the [Disease: Cold]-condition for up to 8 hours, as long as you rest.

Value:

34 Newgold

So it won't cure the condition, right? But I don't like these debuffs, so I have no choice. I swallow the pill, and suddenly, I feel well. It's as if I'd never had a cold in a first place.

That's how strange heroes are. Just use an item, and you're magically cured, or at least  the effects can be suppressed. The wound in my arm is almost gone, the flesh is a bit pinkish, but that will abate soon.

Kyou-san made a lot of these cold medicines. There are some for alfar as well, most likely she began compounding those first and then switched the recipe, after getting some experience under her belt.

Oh, another medicine is taken out. I can hear, how Kyou-san is grumbling, looks like she caught a cold as well. I check her status. Yes, definitely the [Disease: Cold]-condition. Same goes for Ara-san.

Only Rine is fine. Guess the idiom 'Idiots won't catch colds' is true.

Kyou-san leaves the tent and is taking a glance at Ara-san and me. For about one or two seconds. Then she turns to the fireplace, there are still burning embers. “If you're awake, please make something I can work with.” She's the one who makes breakfast, so of course, she wants usable fire.

“Hey, Ara-san.” I tap her head several times. “Wake up.”

“Uuurrgh... *hayachoo*!” What a sneeze! “I feel ill.”

“Here is some medicine.” That's the one for alfar.

“Thank you.” She swallows the pill, and her face gets some color back, even though it's still slightly green. But that's the natural alfr skin color. “Momo, please hurry up and learn [Cure Disease].”

“It's not like I can decide what I learn.”

“To a degree, you can.” While Ara-san is going into her narration-mode, I take some dry twigs out of the [Inventory] and put them into the ember, to feed the fire. Then comes some branches.

“Good Morning, everyone!” Rine comes out of the tent, still with bed-hair, but as fresh and beautiful as ever. “Ah, I'm the last one!”

“Just do your training.” First thing on Rine's morning routine is some exercise. Then comes washing.

That's what Kyou is doing right now. With Ara-san's help, she put up another tarp like a curtain, so that I can't see. But seriously, with my [Perception]-ability, it's almost non-existent. I just decide not to look, hear, or think about what's going on behind that curtain.

At least it's not raining anymore, but it doesn't look like the sun will shine today.

I get the fire going, and start shaving. I'll wash afterward.

It's a normal morning. No squirrels here either.

Breakfast. Today it's some kind of poultry-soup. Time to bring up parts of the conversation Ara-san and I had last night. “I want to spend WP.” I just say it. No reason to be indirect about it.

Rine is as simple as always. “OK.”

Kyou-san, on the other side, becomes wary. “For what? Didn't you wanted to get the next XP-bonus?”

“That was originally my plan, but yesterday's fight was too close.”

“So what are you planning to get? [HP transfer]?”

“That's still outside our reach. I thought about strengthening the [Enhanced Attributes]-tree. To get more range and stronger buffs.”

Kyou-san is thinking about it and looks to Ara-san, who nods. “Agreed.”

“Then let's do it. First the range, since in actual fights it's too hard to stay within one meter (around 3 feet).” I open up the WP-menu, something I rarely do, select the WP-Store and buy [Increased Range]. The three girls approve.

Now we got 3 meters and a new option: [Increased Range II]. This will push it to 6 meters, so I select it as well, and now an [Increased Range III]-options appears. “Six meters is fine for now.” Ten meters would be even better, but before that, I'd like to make the buff stronger.

I select [Increased Effect] twice and already ran out of WP. Further increasing the range is more costly than increasing the effect at this point.

I check my status. It's like having three more levels. It's not much but surely worth it.

But the cost... the work of all the days in Aroahenn are now depleted. So now we got: [Shared Inventory], [Enhanced Attributes: Increased Effect II, Increased Range II], and [Increased XP-gain].  That's what we got after two months of serious WP-grinding. OK, we could've gotten more, but man, that's still two months!

Let's recount the sources of WP.

Kyou-san: Eating her meals, holding hands, lap-pillow to her, lap-pillow to me, sleeping next to each other, calling each other on a first name/nickname basis, 6 WP.

Rine: Sitting on my lap, holding hands, lap-pillow to her, lap-pillow to me, calling each other on a first name/nickname basis, 5 WP.

Ara-san: Holding hands, lap-pillow to her, lap-pillow to me, calling each other on a first name/nickname basis, 4 WP.

So it's 15 regular WP per day. Can I up that somehow, without making more troublesome stuff? Ara-san only got 4 WP per day, and when she joined, there were new items added to the list, but Ara-san is vehemently denying things like putting our ears together.

One of the neutral aspects were putting your hand on each other chests, but even though Ara-san has no breasts, it'd be like feeling her up.

Well, there is another option. Letting her sleep next to me, like today. But I'm the most conscious about Ara-san's sex appeal, which only works on me because the curse made us this way. When Rine sits on my lap, I may also be at the end of my reason, but that's still me, I presume.

If Ara-san did that, I would be forced to feel aroused by the curse. So would it be safe? But if I  let Ara-san sit on my lap and sleep next to me, that would be an additional 2 WP per day.

Now that I have the feeling, that we're hunted by the squirrels, for whatever reason, it'd be best to take the WP-grinding more seriously again. Before my mind was taken by the class-up, so I was confident about my power, but enemy numbers are still worrisome.

Also since the oni can fight with Rine and her demon slaying blade almost evenly, I still won't be a match for her on my own.

The decision is made. “I want to grind more WP, so I swallow the pill and have something to ask you two, Ara-san and Kyou-san. Phew... Please add sitting on my lap to the lists of your daily WP-deeds!”

Uh, Kyou-san is looking at me, as if I just broke my campaign pledges right after getting elected.

Ara-san says lightheartedly, “That won't be problematic, I guess.”

But it's Rine, who talks back, “Sitting on your lap is what I do! If they also sit on your lap, then we have to hug every day!”

“Only when hell freezes over! I hate hugs!” That much body-contact sickens me!

Oh no, she's about to cry. “Then please let me sleep with you and Kyou-san!”

““No!”” Kyou-san and I denied in unison. That's the one thing we will never ever let her do!

“Why!?”

“We told you when you sleep, you're dangerous! To us as well!” Especially me, I once got my balls almost crushed because of you and Kyou-san!

“But... *sob*”

“Ken, just look for something, that is even halfway bearable! Like linking arms.”

I totally forgot, that linking arms was something as well. This would be actually better than sitting on my lap! No, it's linking for at least 30 minutes, so it'd be a waste of time if I do it thrice. Especially with all the hand-holding.

Ara-san chimes in: “I think it would be fair if everyone got the same amount of WP with Kenta-kun as Momo. If we add 'sitting on his lap' to Momo's deeds, then all of us should aim for 7 WP, which will be seven minor activities. And each of us should have something unique.”

“That's fair!” Rine's eyes are still tearing up, but the determination in them is pressuring.

Kyou-san rolls her eyes. “Since I'm the one to cook, I already have one. And I'm okay with sitting on your lap once per day, even though you denied it not long ago. I thought you'd prefer Rine-chan to do that... Never mind. The rest is up to you.” She continues to sip her soup.

“If I sit on your lap, then I'm up to 5 WP.” Ara-san ponders. “For my unique activity, I'd like something alfr, how about hands on chests?”

“And we already explained to you, that it'd be inappropriate.”

“Kenta-kun, for me it's a simple manner, just like holding hands, and we only need five minutes of it, so it's fast and efficient. It's only inappropriate, since Katarine-san and Momo have their utters- I mean, breasts. Which are supposedly made out of fat, which makes them entirely pointless, I might add.” Suddenly, Ara-san squirms.

Kyou-san's eyes are hidden behind the wooden bowl, but I think she just pierced Ara-san with her eyes through it. So Kyou-san is not only a bitch but a witch as well! I better remember that.

Unsure what just happened, Ara-san continues, after looking around. “As long as nobody else is feeling offended by it, it's fine.”

“What about me?”

“Five minutes for 1 WP.”

“Pheeeeew...” That's an argument. Normally, minor WP-actions take more time, even lap-pillows needs at least 10 minutes, and they're supposed to be more intimate. I don't know how the WP-system judges that, but walking and doing stuff for a long time, while one hand is stuck to a chest would be impractical. Maybe that's why there is a difference. “What about the others?”

“I don't care anymore.” Kyou-san was against it when Ara-san showed it to us the first time, but now she's indifferent to it. Things change, I guess.

“What about you, Rine... RINE! Stop dreaming, whatever you do! And take that hand from your chest!” I'm sure she's daydreaming about me putting my hand on her voluptuous chest, which I kinda want to do, but that's a path that will only lead to misfortune.

“I... whatever you say, dear!”

Whenever I feel like hitting that girl, I instantly remember that I shouldn't dare to try.

“So, Kenta-kun?”

“Phew. Whatever.”

“Yes! Now another item for the list.”

“I was thinking about sleeping next to each other at night, like with Kyou-san.”

“Kenta-kun, I like you, but not that way. So please don't create an opportunity, to make it easy for you to night-crawl me.”

Is there a reason, why I can't hurt her a bit? Nope. So I pinch her ear.

“OUCH!” Fast as thought, Rine takes Ara-san's bowl from in front of her feet to safety, for Ara-san is flailing with her arms and legs. That's effective! “Not my ears! There are myriad nerve endings in there, so don't pinch them!”

“I see.” I let loose. So alfr ears are like human lips or fingers. Maybe I should ask Ara-san about what alfr ears actually do. There has to be a reason, why they're so sensitive.

“Ken, wouldn't be the tent too small for it? We barely can put the safety distance between us.” Kyou-san's words are correct.

“We have additional tarps, so I could build it in a way, where we're shelters from three sides while having direct access to the fireplace-tarp and Rine's tent would be at the other end.” And it wouldn't obstruct my [Dormurnal] that much since there is at least one side open.

“I don't want to sleep alone!” Of course that one's complaining.

“Rine, I only have two sides to sleep by, so you have to deal with it.”

“But- *sob*” Oh no, not again!

“Rine-chan. It shows how much Ken trusts you. So be the adult girl you are and show him, that he's right to believe in you.”

That's good, Kyou-san! She will totally buy that!

“In exchange, you may not only link arms with him once a day but also feed him at breakfast. Two things only you will do!”

That's bad, Kyou-san! She will totally buy that!

“OK!” The way she smiles is just like a child's, but it sends shivers down my spine. I want to forbid her to do these things, but I'm afraid to do so. I'm sure that Rine would rather put me under emotional pressure, instead of beating me up, but I never dared to make her really angry at me.

So I accept, I guess?

“I still didn't agree to sleep next to Kenta-kun.”

“Arako, it's one WP for doing essentially nothing. It would be crazy not to do it.”

“...that seems reasonable.” Ara-san is as easily bought as me before. Kyou-san is using the different character traits of the other girls to make them comply.

At my costs, that is.

After everything is discussed, the new plan to grind WP is the following.

Kyou-san: Eating her meals, sitting on my lap, holding hands, lap-pillow to her, lap-pillow to me, sleeping next to each other, calling each other on a first name/nickname basis, 7 WP.

Rine: Linking arms, feeding me at breakfast, sitting on my lap, holding hands, lap-pillow to her, lap-pillow to me, calling each other on a first name/nickname basis, 7 WP.

Ara-san: Putting hands on each other's chest, sitting on my lap, holding hands, lap-pillow to her, lap-pillow to me, sleeping next to each other, calling each other on a first name basis, 7 WP.

…

What a pain.

“Kenta, here it comes. Say 'aaaaaahn'” Rine is already trying to get me to eat a spoonful of soup, it's breakfast after all.

What a big pain in the ass.