"Eh?!?"
"Not only can it beautify and nourish the skin, but it can also grant eternal youth?"
"Does that mean we'll never grow old?"
"…"
Seeing the text appear in the answer book, the girls' eyes suddenly brightened, even the usually calm Togawa was no exception.
It's well-known.
The way men and women think is different.
Men care more about their own strength and ability, with appearance being secondary. As the saying goes, 'a coarse willow basket, a fine willow bucket, who in the world dislikes a man for being ugly?' Virility is a man's primary pursuit.
But girls are different; beauty is a girl's primary pursuit.
Time is the most indifferent and merciless; no matter how beautiful a girl is, she will eventually grow old and wrinkled under the erosion of time.
Although the girls were still high school students, in the prime of their lives, they also desired eternal youth. Longevity even took a backseat to eternal youth.
As for the final original sin, it was not even worth mentioning.
With the opportunity for eternal youth right before their eyes, let alone original sin, countless people would even commit murder and arson for it!
"Kitahara-kun, should we go pick the fruit quickly?"
Chihaya Anon looked over with eager anticipation.
"Mom recently got another wrinkle at the corner of her eye." Nagasaki Soyo clenched her small fists, "I need to bring the fruit back for Mom."
"Everyone calm down first." Kitahara Makoto quickly soothed the girls' emotions, "The fruit is right there, it won't disappear. Let's figure out the dangers first."
"That's right, safety first." Togawa Sakiko took a deep breath and quickly calmed down, "Everyone, don't be impulsive. Let's use the answer book to get all the information clear."
Once the girls calmed down, they began to ask questions impatiently.
Of course, asking questions wasn't just asking whatever came to mind; instead, after careful discussion, they finally voted on the four questions they most wanted to ask.
"What dangers will we encounter when going to pick the Fruit of Eden?"
Whoosh.
The answer book quickly turned pages.
"The Eden Tree emits a captivating fragrance; once any living creature approaches, its body will lose control and, driven by primal instinct, walk to the tree and become nutrients."
"So that's how it is."
Kitahara Makoto's expression was solemn.
No wonder there wasn't even a single snake, insect, rat, or ant on the entire island. It seemed all living creatures had become nutrients for that tree.
If Kitahara Makoto and the others hadn't had enough self-control, they would probably have become nutrients by now too.
"So dangerous." Chihaya Anon stuck out her tongue, "Kitahara-kun was right after all. It's a good thing we didn't get close, or we would have been in trouble."
After a brief discussion, Soyo asked the third question.
"How can we pick the Fruit of Eden?"
Whoosh.
The answer book turned another page, and a line of text quietly appeared.
"You cannot."
Kitahara Makoto: "…"
The girls: "…"
With the chance for eternal youth right before their eyes, it was naturally impossible for them to give up.
The fourth person to ask a question was Tomori, who asked the question everyone had discussed:
"Can we use a drone to pick the Fruit of Eden?"
Drones certainly have no life. If a drone could pick the Fruit of Eden, they could bring one in the next time they entered the Otherworld, which would be safe and convenient.
"No, the Fruit of Eden must be picked by a living organism."
Alright, alright, so you're not giving us any loopholes to exploit, huh?
Even Ginseng Fruit isn't as difficult to obtain as you!
"Alright, it seems there's no way to cut corners."
Chihaya Anon's tone was disappointed.
"Don't worry, take your time. Just because we can't do it now doesn't mean there won't be an opportunity in the future."
Kitahara Makoto's tone was calm and unhurried.
He could extract a new ability every so often, and perhaps one day he would draw the ability to move objects from a distance.
As for Hand of Deprivation… Kitahara Makoto had just tried it, but the tree and the fruit were a single entity, not separate existences, so he couldn't seize them.
There was one last question opportunity remaining.
Togawa Sakiko chose the safest question:
"Will we still be able to come to this island through the new house in the future?"
"Yes."
The situation was now clear.
The reason Togawa's new house had abnormal phenomena was because it was originally a weak point between the real world and the Otherworld. Living there originally wouldn't have been a problem, but with the evil spirit's self-destruction, it directly turned the weak point into a spatial node.
So there was no need to worry about not knowing where they would be once they left the Otherworld and tried to re-enter.
Once the spatial node was formed, they could always have Hana open the door for them to enter in the future.
As for whether the new house could still be lived in, that could only be asked later.
Today's question attempts were already used up, and it was clear they couldn't eat the fruit. Although everyone was disappointed, they had no choice.
Eternal youth was indeed very appealing, but no one would be foolish enough to rush forward knowing it meant certain death.
Next, each person ate two more biscuit sticks to fill their stomachs. There was no Shimizu, but the ice and snow outside hadn't melted yet, which simply solved their basic survival needs.
"Kitahara-kun, you should rest for a while."
Togawa Sakiko said softly.
"It's already the second day." Chihaya Anon urged, "Kitahara-kun, hurry and ask for help in your dream."
After the bathrobe dried, Anon put it on, then returned the shorts to Kitahara Makoto.
No choice.
Kitahara Makoto wasn't wearing a bathrobe; he was using it to block the wind at the cave entrance. He couldn't stay naked forever.
In other words, this pink-haired girl was now in a vacuum state again, so she was eager to go back.
"Then I'll sleep for a bit."
Kitahara Makoto yawned and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
After an unknown amount of sleep, Kitahara Makoto suddenly felt a faint stirring in the ethereal realm. He quickly transformed into a nightmare, traversing space and entering the Dream World.
Opening his eyes.
What greeted him was a brightly lit living room, and a beautiful figure in an apron with her hair tied up in a bun was busy in the kitchen.
"This is…" Kitahara Makoto looked around and immediately understood, "It's the home where I lived for ten years in a dream with Mai."
Kitahara Makoto let out a soft breath, got up, and walked into the kitchen, embracing Sakurajima Mai from behind.
"Mai, help!"
"…"
He had already told Sakurajima Mai about his ability to enter and exit dreams.
When Mai woke up, she naturally wouldn't treat it as an ordinary dream.
As for bringing Hana, the location of Togawa's new home, the Otherworld's landing point was in the sea, so he needed to prepare life jackets and other items in advance. Kitahara Makoto repeatedly reminded Mai several times to ensure she wouldn't overlook anything.
He opened his eyes.
Next was still endless waiting.
The flow of time in the real world and the Otherworld was not the same; even if Mai departed from Kamakura immediately, she couldn't arrive at light speed.
The waiting process was naturally very boring. The island was only so big, and the Eden Tree was super dangerous and could not be approached. Fortunately, Kitahara Makoto had several textbooks in his backpack.
So Kitahara Makoto and the few girls each took a book and began to read eagerly and seriously, even more diligently than in school.
After an unknown amount of time, Kitahara Makoto's heart suddenly stirred, and he abruptly stood up:
"This feeling… Hana is here!"