[Players "Evil of This World," "Cancer of the Earth," and "Seed of Capital" have cleared the game]
[All players please prepare. The game will close in ten seconds]
"Huh?"
Chika's eyes went wide with amazement. "How did we clear it in the blink of an eye?"
Kaguya's elegant brows furrowed slightly as her gaze fell upon the hospital bed.
"Actually, it's quite simple..."
The ten seconds passed in an instant. Before Natsuki could finish speaking, the world before him suddenly froze.
The next second.
The gloomy, eerie ward transformed into a sun-drenched classroom. The three of them were still in the classroom, as if everything before had been merely a dream.
The game's summoning preparation time was only ten seconds—far too short for anything but mental preparation.
Natsuki and his companions could only stay in the classroom; they couldn't even make it to the board game club.
Some unlucky players had previously complained about being summoned while bathing, entering the game wearing nothing but underwear, nearly being mistaken for perverts.
So preparing weapons in advance was difficult. Everyone had school and daily life—they couldn't exactly carry an arsenal around at all times. Aside from items obtained from mystery boxes, no real-world objects could be stored in the game inventory. The leash and collar from before were examples of this.
Furthermore, it seemed only consciousness or souls entered the game, while bodies remained in the real world. Otherwise, it would be like a magic trick of making people appear and disappear.
...
"We're back."
Natsuki pressed his fingers against his brow and turned to gaze out the window.
The sunlight outside was pleasant.
Members of various sports clubs were out on the field, sweating through their youth.
Unfortunately, a few malevolent spirits were training alongside them on the field.
"Natsuki, what exactly happened just now? How did the game end so suddenly?"
Chika clasped her hands before her chest, her face written with curiosity. "What happened to the boss battle?"
Natsuki interlaced his fingers and turned to look at the butterfly-hairclip girl.
"You want to know?"
Chika's eyes sparkled with anticipation. "I super want to know."
Natsuki leaned back in his chair. "Not telling you."
"...Natsuki is being mean!"
"..."
Opening the game mailbox, Natsuki checked the game clear rewards.
First was the basic clear reward: ten game coins.
Players who just coasted through only received the basic reward—just enough for one mystery box pull.
Then came the side quests. Each ward's vengeful spirit could trigger a side quest. Due to time constraints, Natsuki had only completed Miss Sadako's, the beast-girl spirit's, the mirror spirit's, and the clown girl's card game. The other spirits had been handled with simple brute-force vice squad tactics and yielded no rewards. Total earned: eighty game coins.
Next was the hidden quest [Hydrangea's Wish], rewarding fifty game coins.
Finally, there was the game's hidden worldview [Light of the Tablet]. The girl Sakurai, an ALS patient—for her, the hospital consisted only of the fourth floor.
The girl lay alone in her ward. Only her fingers could still move. Whenever the tablet screen went dark, she would use her finger to wake it, letting the faint light illuminate the ward once more.
[You have uncovered the hidden worldview. You receive a special reward.]
[You have successfully unlocked the Guardian Spirit slot. From now on, you can bind a Guardian Spirit.]
[After successful binding, you can command the Guardian Spirit to fight for you.]
[Note: Guardian Spirit types include malevolent spirits, vengeful spirits, earthbound spirits, and heroic spirits. Before binding, you must obtain the other party's consent.]
Hey, was this note really okay?
Malevolent spirits and vengeful spirits were one thing, but what was the deal with heroic spirits at the end?
So this world actually had heroic spirits too?
What good was unlocking just one Guardian Spirit slot? Why not just reward him with an Artoria directly!
"Guardian Spirit..." Natsuki finished reading the Guardian Spirit introduction and couldn't help but mentally quip, "This is basically a Stand from JoJo, isn't it?"
King Crimson, Star Platinum, Gold Experience Requiem... Even thinking with his toes, he knew Guardian Spirits couldn't possibly be that powerful.
After pondering for a few seconds, Natsuki already had the ideal candidate for his Guardian Spirit in mind.
He quietly turned his head. Chika Fujiwara was happily chatting with friends. As an airheaded girl with nerves of steel, she had already tossed everything from the game to the back of her mind.
"What a shame."
Natsuki sighed helplessly.
The ideal Guardian Spirit was clearly the butterfly-hairclip girl before him, but unfortunately humans didn't meet the requirements.
Once the Vice Squad combo separated, they were nothing.
"Hm?"
Noticing Natsuki's gaze, Chika tilted her head to look over.
The next moment.
Natsuki suddenly felt his pinky twitch slightly.
Clearly, the red string's effect worked in the real world too.
Looking up, he saw Chika secretly raising her right hand beside her face, making a peace sign.
"Ehehe~"
What's with the "ehehe"! Had Barbatos's curse spread across the multiverse?!
The day passed quickly.
Before they knew it, school was over.
The weather had shifted from sunny to overcast at some point, and rain seemed imminent.
Kaguya Shinomiya walked out of the school and approached a black luxury car.
"It's going to rain."
A blonde girl sucking on a lollipop opened the car door. After Kaguya got in, the blonde girl circled to the other side and sat down beside her.
The driver was a gray-haired man with decades of driving experience who had never been in a single accident—a true veteran behind the wheel.
"Don't head back to the villa yet." Kaguya suddenly spoke, her voice cool and composed. "I want to go somewhere."
The driver paused slightly and turned to glance at the blonde girl.
Pop.
The blonde girl pulled the lollipop from her mouth. Her cherry-blossom-pink lips now glistened with moisture as she tilted her head curiously.
"Where does the young lady want to go? The shopping center to buy clothes?"
"I know a really nice lingerie store. I highly recommend their 'victory underwear' line."
"What do you mean 'sexy lingerie'?" Kaguya couldn't help but retort. "Why would I buy something like that?"
The blonde girl said matter-of-factly:
"After reading The Handbook for Training a Loyal Dog Boyfriend, I completely understand the young lady's desire to put theory into practice and train her favorite boy into a loyal dog."
"I only read halfway through that book! I never finished it!"
"And as for a favorite boy..." Kaguya's voice paused for half a second before she said expressionlessly, "There isn't one."
"Tsk~"
The blonde girl put the lollipop back in her mouth. "Young lady, being tsundere is out of meta now."
Kaguya turned her face away. Outside the car window, a misty rain had begun to fall at some point.
"Anyway... I just want to go take a look."
Meanwhile.
Natsuki was on his way home when he happened to run into Miko and her close friend Hana Yurikawa.
"Good afternoon, Natsuki."
Hana Yurikawa greeted him with a blush. The button incident from two afternoons ago still lingered in her mind. The more she thought about it afterward, the more embarrassed she became. Now she blushed whenever she saw Natsuki.
Back then she hadn't thought about it, but... searching for a button under the bed in such an embarrassing position—her panties had definitely been completely visible!
"Good afternoon." Natsuki greeted them and walked over to the two girls. "Why do you only have one umbrella?"
Miko still had dark circles under her eyes. Her listless expression made her look like a salted fish as she said wearily:
"Hana forgot to bring her umbrella this morning."
"I was busy checking my horoscope this morning and accidentally forgot!" Hana patted her chest. "Don't worry, Miko. I definitely won't forget next time."
Natsuki quipped from the side:
"People who say that usually forget again next time."
Hana puffed up her cheeks. "Natsuki is so mean."
"..."
Chatting along the way, they soon arrived at Miko's house. Hana waved goodbye without coming in to read together, borrowing Miko's umbrella and heading straight home.
Natsuki held the umbrella over Miko's head. Looking at his childhood friend with her alluring figure, he said seriously:
"Miko, I need you to help me cultivate."
Miko Yotsuya: "???"