The Virgin Hero Who Fought in the Dungeon for 20 Years Returned to the Surface Only to Find the Population of the World Has Dropped Drastically, with a Male-to-Female Ratio of 1:1000 - 69

Chapter 69: Ryuuto’s Youth

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“Oh?”

Ryuuto suddenly noticed Rinka washing the Shiba Inu she had named Johntarou. Instinctively, he ducked behind the tent to observe the situation. Rinka had placed Johntarou in a huge washbasin and was scrubbing him thoroughly. With a splash, she poured water over him. It was quite the torrent. However, Johntarou stood stiff-legged and didn’t move an inch.

“Well, you stink.”

It was true that he smelled—he was a stray, after all—but this was still a battlefield. Rinka didn’t seem to care much about the situation or how people saw her. Was her ability to act so freely, without concern for others’ eyes, something unique to people from another world?

“There, good boy, good boy.”

Rinka scrubbed Johntarou while humming to herself. Johntarou didn’t try to escape and stood tall in the tub, completely covered in suds.

Hmm, you’re a dog with guts, Johntarou.

It was said that Shiba Inu were usually one-owner dogs. Unlike Western breeds, which had been heavily bred and modified, Japanese dogs were known for their loyalty to a single master once they had chosen one. Johntarou, though still young and not yet out of puppyhood, might not have received much love even as a pet. So when Rinka and Ryuuto started taking good care of him, he grew attached to them relatively quickly.

Perhaps thinking no one could hear her (strictly speaking, there were plenty of guards nearby), Rinka happily hummed her tune.

If she claimed to be a dog lover, she certainly wasn’t lying. She doted on Johntarou like he was her own child—sharing her meals with him, using the same blanket when sleeping, showing a depth of affection that left Ryuuto and the others stunned.

I-it’s not like I’m jealous or anything, okay!?

Still, what was with that indescribable expression on suds-covered Johntarou as he stood there?

He’s probably enduring it. Hang in there, buddy.

From the shadows, Ryuuto silently cheered him on.

“But still—why the bloomers?”

Rinka was wearing a gym uniform with tight-fitting navy bloomers as she washed Johntarou. With her usual triangle hat on her head, the overall impression was wildly out of place. On the chest was a white name tag labeled “5-3 Sakazaki”—something that looked vaguely familiar to Ryuuto.

Wait a second, that’s my big sister’s old gym uniform!

Bloomers were a relic of the last century, phased out as the times changed. It had been years since Ryuuto had seen a girl wear that kind of outfit.

“Here we go!”

As Rinka squatted down, a certain part of her body—not just a little, but quite a lot—was accentuated in an entirely inappropriate way for wartime.

“Whoa, whoa, this is bad. Fuhihi…”

Ryuuto’s abnormal eyesight zeroed in on Rinka’s sensitive areas. And this was an all-male battlefield. Even if Rinka was still an immature thirteen-year-old, dressing like that in a place full of men deprived of female company was bound to attract lecherous stares.

Ryuuto was a proper virgin.

He usually thought about things like this all the time, but seeing another man direct that kind of look toward the girl closest to him stirred up a fierce emotion—youthful jealousy and a touch of moral indignation. In fact, several of the guards stationed nearby to protect Rinka were in their teens. They watched the beautiful girl from a distance and whistled at her. Ryuuto’s face turned beet red with a mix of anger and envy.

“A-hem. Hey, Rinka! What are you doing?”

“Oh, Ryuuto. The weather’s so nice today, so I thought I’d give Johntarou a bath.”

She turned and said it with a radiant smile. His chest throbbed with pain.

C-cute.

Ryuuto thumped his chest hard to snap himself out of it.

“What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing. A-hem. I see, you’re giving him a bath. Well, I guess it’s kinda sad if he’s all muddy like that.”

“Right? And listen, listen! Johntarou is so smart. See? Even when I splash him with water, he doesn’t complain at all!”

“Y-yeah. Totally.”

When Rinka squatted down, the most emphasized part of her body was definitely her butt. Ryuuto had brought it up during one of their past arguments, but not long ago, her body really had still been that of a child. Lately, though, her development had become noticeably rapid. As someone who might be called a Rinka maniac, Ryuuto was very aware of this change. Somehow, she was becoming all soft and plump.

Gaaah! Just thinking about other guys seeing that makes my blood boil!

Ryuuto casually stood behind Rinka to block the soldiers’ lines of sight.

“What’s with you, sneaking up behind me like that?”

“Well, uh… What’s with that outfit?”

“This? Kazuki lent it to me. I asked her for something easy to move in that she wouldn’t mind getting dirty.”

“Jeez… Well, whatever. Nee-chan is still stuck in the last century. Her sense of fashion hasn’t updated in forever. Seriously, though…”

“What are you talking about?”

“Never mind. Forget it. Anyway, from now on, I’ll wash Johntarou for you. You should give that outfit back to Nee-chan, like, now.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean, why!?”

“But—but, this is supposed to be the ideal school uniform for girl students in this world, right? Hey, Ryuuto, does this gym outfit look good on me?”

Saying that, Rinka stood up. Then, with eyes as bright as a cloudless blue sky, she spun around once in her gym clothes and bloomers. Ryuuto turned his gaze away for a moment, dazzled by the sight. His face took on an expression that defied explanation for reasons he couldn’t quite say either.

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