The crying Female Ghost, or rather, the little crybaby, was a spirit Natsuki had just recruited in the alternate dimension. Water droplets constantly dripped from her body, and her ability was coincidentally related to water.
"...It's decided then!"
Natsuki pointed to the swimming pool and instructed:
"Go and catch that guy inside."
The crying spirit must have been in the alternate dimension for too long, as her mind wasn't very sharp. After a moment of daze, she finally understood what he meant. She walked to the edge of the swimming pool, carefully extended her hand into the water, and then, as if shocked by electricity, she suddenly pulled it back, shaking her head in a panic:
"So, so scary..."
You are both strange, don't boost others' morale and diminish your own power!
"It seems I can't count on her." Natsuki shrugged helplessly, "I can only wait for Hanako to come back later and see if she has any influence... Hmm?"
Before he finished speaking, Natsuki suddenly let out a soft 'hmm'.
"President, what's wrong?"
Chika asked curiously.
Natsuki narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze falling on the crying spirit, and said softly:
"I seem to have seen a hint of fate."
"Eh?" Chika asked, puzzled, "What's that?"
"..."
As Natsuki continuously watched the crying girl, a prompt quietly appeared before his eyes.
[Unintended actions lead to unexpected success. You have obtained an important clue to a precious treasure.]
[You have stumbled upon the unlock method of a precious treasure. You decide to strip away all impurities...]
"Precious treasure?"
Natsuki raised an eyebrow slightly.
He wasn't sure what the 'precious treasure' was, but it was clearly related to the alternate dimension.
In the second hint, he decided to strip away all impurities… Were the so-called impurities the crying vengeful spirits?
Natsuki turned his head and looked at the child vengeful spirit Chika was holding by the hand.
As he gazed at her, a hint indeed appeared after a moment.
"It seems it's definitely 'impurities'," Natsuki mused.
"In other words… to obtain the so-called treasure, do I need to clear out all the vengeful spirits in the alternate dimension?"
No sooner said than done.
Natsuki quickly spoke about the information he had seen.
By now, the girls already knew he could see strange hints, so there was no need to deliberately hide it anymore.
"Eh, a precious treasure?" Chika asked curiously, "What kind of thing is that?"
Kaguya said softly:
"It seems necessary to go back again."
Mitsui, seeing Momo, said:
"Momo-san's main quest doesn't need to be rushed, does it?"
Momo: "…Indeed, it doesn't."
You've all said so much, what else can I say!
"Then let's go back to the main building first," Chika said, putting her hands on her hips, full of interest, "Let's start treasure hunting!"
"…"
Natsuki waved his hand, sending the crying vengeful spirit back to the staff dormitory, then left the swimming pool with the girls.
A moment later.
The group arrived at the main building, and Chika entered the first-floor restroom to summon Hanako through the ritual.
Thump, thump, thump.
Climbing sounds echoed on the ceiling.
Hanako quietly hung upside down from the ceiling, her dark eyes looking down, impatiently saying:
"Hey, Cow Woman, why did you call me?"
"Eh, eh, Hanako, hurry down," Chika quickly reminded her, "Your panties are showing!"
"If they're showing, they're showing." The Strange Tale had little shame.
Hanako crawled all over the ceiling, "Last time I met a woman who ran around without panties."
"Only a tiny fraction of people do that…" Chika coughed lightly, then turned her head and said, "President, stop looking, quickly tell Hanako to come down."
Natsuki was very innocent:
"I really wasn't looking."
A Hanako with pitch-black eyes and a dirty body, no one would be interested in her!
Kaguya crossed her arms over her chest and said airily:
"President, don't waste time."
"Yes."
Natsuki agreed and told Hanako to come down.
Thump.
At Natsuki's command, Hanako reluctantly jumped down.
"Minnow, quickly say what you want," Hanako looked up, "I was having so much fun!"
Natsuki was too lazy to correct her; training Hanako wasn't something that could be done overnight, it would take time.
"I'm going to the alternate dimension again, you report the location."
"I can report the location," Hanako extended her small hand, "For the previous sushi, give me one sushi for each location report."
"No problem."
"…"
The deal was struck.
Following the location provided by Hanako, the group arrived at the third-floor staircase of the main building.
Then, as before, Natsuki and Kaguya acted together, holding hands as they stepped onto the stairs, and with a flash, entered the alternate dimension.
"We're in again."
Natsuki glanced at the endless sunset outside the hallway, then looked at Kaguya and said:
"This time, the goal is to clear out all the strange entities in the alternate dimension.
Let's go to the first floor, then clear floor by floor upwards."
Kaguya nodded gently:
"Let's go."
The vengeful spirits in the alternate dimension were basically non-aggressive.
Although the pain rule was hidden, it had been broken during the last clear, so there was no danger to speak of.
Natsuki and Kaguya cooperated, acting as porters.
Hanako provided locations from outside, and Chika communicated with Kaguya through telepathy.
The three parties cooperated seamlessly and efficiently.
Before long, most of the vengeful spirits in the alternate dimension were cleared out, leaving a group of dull-eyed, bewildered, reclusive vengeful spirits in the school.
"Still no hint…" Natsuki narrowed his eyes, observed the vengeful spirits in front of him carefully for a moment, then said, "There must be undiscovered vengeful spirits in the alternate dimension.
Let's search again carefully."
"Mm," Kaguya nodded gently, "Continue."
The two entered the alternate dimension again, then continued to act separately.
This time, Natsuki even called out the slacking Sadako, and the crying vengeful spirit.
The alternate dimension had basically been searched once.
The undiscovered vengeful spirits were probably hiding in nooks and crannies.
Many hands make light work, so at times like these, it was naturally best to summon employees to share the burden.
"You two are responsible for this building," Natsuki pointed his hand, giving the command, "Remember, search every corner."
Watching Sadako and the crying vengeful spirit accept their orders and leave, Natsuki retracted his gaze and began searching himself.
A moment later.
"Found it…"
A faint voice suddenly sounded behind Natsuki.
Natsuki turned his head and saw Sadako, her face obscured by black hair, emerge faintly from the darkness.
Tsk~
The ability to instantly appear behind others was indeed terrible.
Let alone ordinary people, even he felt a slight fluctuation in his fear value.
"It seems I need to give Sadako a small reward."
Natsuki stepped forward, came to Sadako's side, completely disregarding the thick black hair hanging down.
He directly put his hand into her black hair, then wantonly rubbed Sadako's face.
Although it was cold and had no temperature, the texture was excellent, both tender and smooth.
After teasing Sadako, Natsuki finally withdrew his hand contentedly:
"Lead the way."
"…"
Sadako tilted her head, and her figure instantly vanished.
"Hmm?"
Natsuki was slightly stunned.
Vengeful spirits do not possess fear, so they cannot be Sadako's teleportation targets.
So… who was the target of the teleportation?
Natsuki silently activated his fear perception and immediately discovered an incredibly strong source of fear in the alternate dimension, like a torch in the dark, exceptionally dazzling.
With curiosity, Natsuki took a step, and his figure instantly disappeared.
"Hanamaki?"
Looking at the disheveled, panicked girl in the corner, Natsuki quickly recognized who she was.
There was no mistake; it was the passerby player he had rescued from Hanako before, who then left without a word, sneaking away.
He hadn't expected to encounter her in the alternate dimension.
No wonder he couldn't clean it up; turns out a slacker had snuck in.
Natsuki spoke:
"Miss Hanamaki, what are you doing here?"
The passerby player's body trembled violently.
She quickly turned her head, and seeing Natsuki behind her, immediately showed a surprised and joyful expression:
"Na-Natsuki-kun?!"
Natsuki said calmly:
"It is me."
Hanamaki breathed a sigh of relief, then an awkward expression appeared on her face as she whispered:
"Um… I had an upset stomach earlier and wanted to go to the restroom, but as I walked, I accidentally ended up here."
Natsuki didn't believe a single word.
Going to the restroom was not something to hide; leaving without a word clearly indicated another reason.
However, Natsuki was too lazy to delve deeper.
He nodded gently, then said:
"This is the alternate dimension of the thirteen steps.
You must have accidentally entered it."
"I-is it really here?"
Hanamaki no longer held any hope.
When she was with Chika earlier, she had heard Chika talk a lot about incredible information regarding the school.
Later, when she secretly slipped away, she accidentally took a wrong step along the way and found the scene before her suddenly changed from a gloomy, abandoned main building to an eternal twilight.
She then guessed that she had accidentally entered an alternate dimension.
Now, Natsuki's words completely shattered her last shred of hope.
Fujiwara had said that once trapped in an alternate dimension, if Hanako didn't provide the location, there would be no way out…
Calm down!
Don't panic!
She still had hope, and that was the young man in front of her!
Seeing Natsuki's cold expression, the passerby player knew her explanation was too far-fetched to be convincing.
So… how could she get the young man in front of her to take her out of the alternate dimension?
Her strength was mediocre, and she didn't have many tools or items on her.
The only thing she could offer seemed to be…
"Come here."
Natsuki beckoned.
Regardless of why the other party ended up here, in order to obtain the precious item mentioned in the hint, he needed to take the passerby player out.
Hanamaki's body trembled slightly.
She quietly clenched her right fist, took a deep breath, and quickly made up her mind.
To survive, there was no other way but to offer her body…
"P-please put a collar on me!"
Hanamaki nervously shouted.
"Hmm?" Natsuki was startled, looking over in surprise, "What did you say?"
Hanamaki's face flushed red.
The words about wanting to be a slave ultimately couldn't be said, so she could only stammer:
"I-I also want to wear a collar like Hanako's…"
Natsuki shook his head:
"That kind of collar is a very precious item."
S-sure enough, he wasn't even willing to waste a collar, clearly intending to treat her as someone to be discarded after use, right?
That's right, Mitsui is so beautiful and has such a good status and position, so she must be in a master-slave relationship. I can't compare at all.
Perhaps he is gentle with Mitsui, but when playing with me, he would be very rough. The steel bars of the security window, the pen on the desk, or even the table leg…
"No, you can't!"
Hanamaki shouted subconsciously.
A table leg or something, that's too much! It will definitely break!
"What can't be done?"
Natsuki looked over in confusion.
"N-nothing…"
Hanamaki quickly shook her head, but the terrible images in her mind still lingered.
As the saying goes, the more quiet a girl looks, the greater the contrast behind her.
Hanamaki in front of her, who appeared quiet on the outside, actually had a soul full of lewd thoughts.
"Um…" Hanamaki's face flushed, trying to change the subject, "I just saw a vengeful spirit with black hair covering its entire face. It was very scary."
"Are you talking about Sadako?" Natsuki reached out and beckoned, "Come here."
"Eh?"
Hanamaki looked up in surprise and saw a white-clothed Sadako with black hair covering her face, floating silently over.
"Th-that's it!"
The fear in Hanamaki's heart soared. As Sadako was affected and her abilities increased, the surrounding wall paint began to peel off layer by layer, as if about to enter the Silent Hill of the inner world.
Slap!
Natsuki extended his right hand and patted Sadako, and the fear and suffocation instantly vanished.
"Continue to search the building for other targets," Natsuki ordered, "Be serious, or the punishment will be severe, and begging for mercy will be useless."
Beg, begging for mercy?
Hanamaki's eyes widened in disbelief.
I didn't expect… I didn't expect him to not even spare the Strange Tale!
That's the super terrifying Sadako, how could you bring yourself to do that?! Are high school boys nowadays so terrifyingly impulsive?!
After learning that Sadako belonged to Natsuki, the passerby female player breathed a slight sigh of relief, but then, her heart fell into even greater tension and unease.
It's, it's over.
I was just thinking that since my looks were a bit lacking and my figure wasn't very good, maybe he would let me go… It really was just wishful thinking.
Even a terrifying Strange Tale like Sadako gets 'tamed,' so I definitely can't escape, right?
Before long, I'll be filled like a cream puff, eyes rolled back, face ahegao, and making a peace sign, right?
Thump, thump, thump.
Their footsteps echoed in the empty, dead silent teaching building.
Because of the passerby player's previous attempt to sneak away, Natsuki didn't want to waste words with her, so he remained silent throughout.
The more he did so, the more nervous Hanamaki became, and the more exaggerated the terrible fantasies in her mind became… In just a short distance, the various lewd thoughts produced in her head were enough to produce dozens of doujinshi.
"President."
A clear, pleasant voice suddenly sounded at the front of the hallway.
Hanamaki poked her head out and saw the black-haired girl standing in the middle of the hallway, and she couldn't help but quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
Good, if there are other people, he probably won't play with me now… But maybe not, maybe this boy's personality is super nasty, and he just likes to play Jenga, it's possible.
"If I can't escape becoming someone who can't be provoked and fall into the hands of the boy in front of me… at least it will be for exclusive use, not public, right?"
"Is this a blessing in disguise?"
…
At the same time.
Natsuki and Kaguya successfully reunited, and they briefly exchanged information about their respective situations.
"I just found Miss Hanamaki. She must have accidentally stepped on the wrong step earlier and fallen into an alternate dimension."
Kaguya nodded gently:
"I've searched everywhere and haven't found any other vengeful spirits."
Natsuki said:
"Perhaps only Miss Hanamaki is left… When Sadako returns, if there are no other vengeful spirits, we will leave."
A moment later.
Sadako and the crying vengeful spirit returned one after another, also with no findings.
"It seems we've cleared them out," Natsuki said, "We can leave."
"I'll contact Chika."
Kaguya, while telepathically contacting Chika, walked over to Hanamaki and grabbed her arm—it had been the same when she was a porter earlier, and she had unconsciously developed this habit.
However, the next second.
Countless lewd thoughts surged forth, suddenly pouring into Kaguya's mind.
Kaguya's steps suddenly stopped. Her beautiful eyes widened, she held her breath, and her pretty face quickly flushed at a visible speed, reaching the verge of explosion in an instant.
"W-what's going on…?"
"Why is my mind filled with… th-these vulgar things…?"
In order to compete with Yandere Kaguya, Kaguya had Hayasaka secretly purchase doujinshi for observation and study, so she was no longer a pure little white flower, but still far from the level of Hanamaki.
At this moment, countless never-before-seen vulgar poses and images flooded into her mind, as if she had used the canned knowledge of the Sumeru, almost causing her brain to crash.
"Kaguya, what's wrong?"
Natsuki asked with concern.
Hearing the question, Kaguya came back to her senses in a daze, her gaze drifting as she said:
"I, I'm fine…"
Natsuki frowned:
"Your face suddenly turned so red. If you're feeling unwell, say so immediately."
"I…"
Kaguya parted her lips, but the words that reached her mouth could not be uttered no matter what.
How could she possibly say such terrible 'knowledge' out loud!
Natsuki turned his head, his expression serious as he looked at the passerby female player.
"I, I didn't do anything!"
Hanamaki panicked and quickly raised both hands to show her innocence.
"I'm really fine…" Kaguya took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, "President doesn't need to worry."
What exactly happened just now?
Why is my mind filled with so much terrible knowledge?
Kaguya thought hard, her gaze quickly falling on the passerby female player.
Could it be related to Miss Hanamaki?
It must be right.
It seemed that the moment I touched her, my mind was flooded with a super amount of terrible images and knowledge.
It's just… why is this happening?
Kaguya quietly bit her lip, and suddenly thought of a possibility, quickly opening her character panel.
Sure enough.
A negative status effect appeared prominently on the panel.