Inside the hotel room, Natsumi's costume play session was in full swing.
"Yes, yes, just sit on the table. Lift your head a bit."
"Cross your legs? Rest your chin on your hand. Smile a little."
"Hmm? You want to shoot from the back? That works too. But your curve needs a bit of work. Lean back a little more... yes, yes, that's good..."
Office Lady suit, refreshing summer wear, fur-lined winter attire, qipao, black evening gown, bright red formal dress, and so on.
In about an hour, Natsumi had already changed through seven or eight outfits.
"Wait a minute, how are you so knowledgeable about clothes and photography?"
Even with a Spirit's physique, Natsumi felt her back and waist aching. Staring at Ryuya, her expression was strange.
Ryuya had said he wasn't good at buying clothes or picking women's fashion, so why was he so skilled at helping her choose outfits and accessories? And his camera angles were quite unconventional too.
In the middle of an artistic photoshoot with Ryuya, Natsumi was determined to capture all her charm. She wanted Ryuya to compare her properly with those models from Vogue or Cosmopolitan. She refused to believe her looks truly didn't meet this man's standards.
She had to prove herself, then go to Tengu City and win this bet!
Of course, what the reward would be after winning the bet wasn't something Natsumi had thought about at all.
She just wanted to win, driven by a competitive spirit akin to wanting to hear the opponent say, "Okay, you're good."
"Know about clothes? I'm alright. Two of my wives are quite particular about fashion sense."
The women he referred to were Morgan and Crimson Moon. In terms of aesthetic standards, the Witch of Britain and the Moon King were truly high-end.
Having seen their walk-in closets while with Crimson Moon and Morgan… Morgan was relatively fine, her witch style focusing on elegance, charm, and maturity, but Crimson Moon had a habit of never wearing the same outfit twice.
That's right, except for occasionally wearing Ryuya's shirts, Crimson Moon, the Moon King, never wore her own clothes twice. She would wear something once and then discard it directly.
Under such nurturing, Ryuya naturally learned about photography and such.
Looking at the somewhat lazy Natsumi, Ryuya added, "You're the one who wanted the photoshoot. Stop dawdling and go change quickly."
"You're slow, can't find the right angles. With skills like yours, you still want to take photos? You're far from it."
"Can you even talk properly? If not, just shut up!" Annoyed by Ryuya's attitude, Natsumi rolled her eyes. She really wasn't good at artistic photoshoots, as she didn't interact with other humans much, at most taking selfies by herself. Full-body shots were genuinely outside her experience.
But remembering her declaration to make Ryuya acknowledge her charm, Natsumi mustered her resolve and went to change again.
In Natsumi's bedroom, there were many clothes she liked and a huge walk-in closet.
Searching for outfits she favored, Natsumi, while picking clothes, wondered if Ryuya might suddenly do something she couldn't control.
She wasn't a fool. Her initial favorability towards Ryuya was high, but she also intended to test him. Being alone with Ryuya, she wanted to see if his character matched his outward appearance… mature, steady, and truly unwilling to forcibly seal her spiritual power.
Well, the result was just as Ryuya had said. This man wanted the Spirits to submit willingly.
At least, from her time with him, Natsumi hadn't detected any ulterior motives.
But Ryuya actually ignored her charm, so how could Natsumi's damned competitive spirit tolerate that.
Absolutely unacceptable!
Very confident in her appearance, Natsumi initially felt a bit shy showing herself to Ryuya, but...
"Natsumi, this pose won't do."
"Eyes, eyes! The eyes are important!"
"Angle problem. Wait for the lighting."
Getting increasingly angry from Ryuya's critiques, Natsumi eventually let go of her inhibitions and put her all into it.
'I'll seduce you to death! I must succeed!'
Pondering her next move, Natsumi finally chose her favorite outfit from among the clothes.
"Phew..."
Resting on the living room sofa, accompanying Natsumi for the photoshoot was actually quite exhausting.
After all, Ryuya's nature was to take everything seriously, which made the photography, changing, and appraisal process with Natsumi quite demanding.
It wasn't physical stamina being drained but mental energy. Ryuya thought that Origami hadn't become a Spirit yet, wondering when Mio would bestow spiritual power upon her.
As for the remaining two, Natsumi was already here, and winning over this girl was just a matter of time.
But for the last one, Hoshimiya Mukuro, he truly had no leads at all.
Looking towards the desert, the direction where he and Mio had once lived, Ryuya wondered if absorbing the spiritual power of all Spirits would prompt the Life Simulation System to mark this scenario as complete.
'Or would quasi-Spirits, like Mayuri, also appear?'
While lost in thought, Natsumi emerged in a new outfit.
"Ryuya, how do I look in this?"
Standing boldly before Ryuya, Natsumi's new outfit was simply stunning.
"Where did you get this outfit?"
Looking at Natsumi, Ryuya was surprised.
The reason was simple: Natsumi was dressed in a catgirl outfit, complete with a tail.
"Hey... what are you looking at?!"
Following Ryuya's gaze and realizing it lingered on a certain specific area, Natsumi thought she shouldn't have worn the tail. But for a catgirl, going tailless would lose the essence.
Narrowing her eyes slightly, she glared ferociously at Ryuya, trying to make him properly avert his gaze.
"Nothing, let's continue shooting."
Smiling, Ryuya found Natsumi's personality truly interesting. When mature, she resembled Morgan or Crimson Moon, and when childish, she was like Merlin or Irisviel.
Continuing the photoshoot, capturing Natsumi's aesthetic beauty, it wasn't until three hours later that an utterly sore Natsumi begged for mercy, stating she was truly exhausted.
"Darn it, Takami Ryuya! Do you recognize my beauty now?"
Too tired to even catch her breath, lying on the sofa, Natsumi rubbed her shoulders one moment, her legs the next… basically seeming uncomfortable all over.
"Nope, don't recognize it."
Finding Natsumi's state merely amusing, Ryuya, despite his words, walked over and picked her up.
"You... what are you doing?!"
The moment Ryuya picked her up, Natsumi panicked slightly. Her heart pounding like a startled deer, she looked at Ryuya, inexplicably wanting to say or do something.
But for some reason, feeling weak all over, it seemed she didn't really want to resist. She didn't know if she was making excuses for herself or something else.
Stealing glances at Ryuya's chin, by the time Natsumi regained her senses, she had already been tossed onto the bed by Ryuya.
"Alright, let's get started."
Under Natsumi's expectant, shy expression, Ryuya declared...