The night passed uneventfully.
The next day.
Kitahara opened his eyes right on time as usual, a sweet and pleasant fragrance lingering softly at the tip of his nose.
With a slight move of his arm, a dazed and sleepy girl's voice came from beside him:
"So sleepy... let me sleep a little longer..."
Kitahara glanced sideways and saw Soyo with her eyes closed, her beautiful hair scattered like clouds, her face full of sleepiness.
"Makoto-kun..."
Turning his head to the other side, Sakiko had opened her eyes, but her expression was adorably dazed, her gaze clear yet foolish, obviously having not fully woken up yet.
Seeing Kitahara look over, Sakiko instinctively raised her chin, wanting a kiss.
Facing Sakiko who was acting spoiled and begging for a kiss, Kitahara naturally would not refuse, lowering his head and kissing her directly.
"Mmh..."
Sakiko subconsciously raised both arms, wrapping them around Kitahara's neck, closing her eyes to respond.
The Eden Fruit had the effect of continuously improving one's physical constitution. Through regular consumption, the girls' physical fitness had already surpassed ordinary humans, and their bodies had become even more pristine and flawless; even without brushing their teeth in the morning, there would be no unpleasant odor at all.
Last night, after finishing their bedtime soak in the onsen, Kitahara kept his promise and offered a formal apology to Sakiko.
Unfortunately, Sakiko's physical stamina was too poor to hold out until the very end. Just as she was tearfully begging for mercy, Soyo happened to call, and in her dazed state, Sakiko tearfully called Soyo over to help.
If it were anyone else asking for help, Soyo might have hesitated or even refused, but right now it was Sakiko who needed outside support... naturally, she would go through fire and water without hesitation.
After a whole night, both girls were utterly exhausted, to the point that they were still in a dazed state right now.
However, Kitahara wasn't worried. Last night, he had shared the ability of the [Hero of the Kidney] in advance, so there was no need to worry about their bodies at all. Instead, he intended to use his actions to make Sakiko remember the lesson...
In the morning, one should properly sleep, not go around kissing all over the place!
"N-No..."
Noticing Kitahara's movements, Sakiko instantly panicked:
"Just kissing is enough."
"A day's planning begins in the morning." Kitahara said with an upright face, "How could just kissing be enough? Naturally, we must exercise properly."
"..."
After bullying Sakiko to the point of teary eyes, Kitahara turned his head and saw that Soyo had woken up at some point, watching secretly from the side with a blushing face.
"Soyo, you wouldn't want Sakiko to break, would you?"
Kitahara smiled and looked over.
Soyo's pretty face was completely flushed crimson. At a time like this, she naturally chose to step up:
"Let go of Sakiko... come at me."
"..."
The morning workout concluded.
Kitahara held Sakiko in one arm and Soyo in the other, and the three of them went to the bathroom together to take a shower.
During the bath, a lot of time was inevitably spent. Fortunately, the three of them were in the Onsen Dimension; otherwise, dawdling for so long, it would probably already be noon.
"Let's eat first, and after eating, we'll start today's questioning."
Refreshed and clean, Kitahara walked out of the bathroom, ate breakfast together with Sakiko and Soyo, and then took out the Book of Answers to start gathering today's information.
"Question: What conditions need to be met for Makoto-kun to achieve symbiosis with the Eden Tree?"
Soyo placed her hand on the Book of Answers, her voice gentle.
Information regarding the Master of Calamity was to be obtained by Kitahara, while other information was naturally left to Sakiko and Soyo.
Whoosh.
The Book of Answers flipped through its pages rapidly without any wind.
Before long, a line of text quietly surfaced on the page:
[At the moment the Eden Tree completely evolves, a perfect symbiosis can be formed with it]
"Complete evolution..." Soyo raised her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes flickering, "So we need to help the Eden Tree complete its evolution first?"
"Most likely, yes." Kitahara nodded. "There are quite a few monsters in that Windless Sea. If they can become nutrients for the Eden Tree, it should probably complete its evolution."
Sakiko pursed her soft lips: "However, the cliffs are too steep, and only a tiny minority of flying monsters can enter the island. Even if we capture them ourselves, we don't know how many monsters it would take to satisfy the Eden Tree's evolutionary needs."
Kitahara pondered for two seconds, and a sudden flash of inspiration crossed his mind:
"What if we make the cliffs disappear?"
"Eh?"
"Thermal weapons are useless against the Master of Calamity, but they will definitely work on the cliffs." Kitahara interlaced his fingers. "We don't need to blow down all the cliffs; we only need to blast open a single breach."
As for the source of the thermal weapons... when in doubt, call the liaison lady.
After the first question was finished, Kitahara and Sakiko followed up with two more questions.
The question Sakiko asked was how long the safety window would be after the Eden Tree completely evolves, and the answer was only three seconds.
Kitahara asked what the 'HP' of the Master of Calamity was. Luckily, even a god-level entity still possessed an HP bar, and the numerical value was an astounding one hundred thousand points.
The amount of HP directly correlated with strength.
Hana was already considered a rather formidable entity. Whether it was ghosts or evil spirits naturally born in the real world, monsters transformed from humans, or even anomalies invading from Otherworld, none possessed a longer HP bar than Hana.
Yet in front of the Master of Calamity, Hana would probably be insta-killed by a single glance.
When he asked two days ago, the reason he had been able to hold out for a minute in front of the Master of Calamity and even drive the other party back into Otherworld was, needless to say, because he had used the ability [Are Kings and Generals Born into Their Nobility?], the price of which was the complete burning out of his life...
"Let's go, back to participate in the School Festival."
Kitahara put away the Book of Answers and left the Onsen Dimension with Sakiko and Soyo.
The two girls departed first via fast travel, while Kitahara took out his phone and called his dedicated liaison lady, asking her to help prepare the needed materials.
After making the arrangements, Kitahara changed into his school uniform and officially headed out.
"Hitori, good morning."
Riding his scooter, Kitahara arrived at the entrance of the Gotoh residence.
Hitori was looking forward eagerly behind the door as usual. Seeing Kitahara appear, she quickly jogged out from the house:
"Kitahara-san, good morning."
Kitahara smiled and looked over: "It's about time to go to school. Shall we head out now?"
"Mm-mm."
Hitori nodded hurriedly.
Kitahara asked softly:
"Did Futari make a fuss about wanting to go to the School Festival?"
"She made a fuss for a long time last night." Hitori sighed helplessly. "She even said she wanted to bring Jimihen along and insisted on attending the School Festival. In the end, I promised to buy Futari a giant panda plushie, plus two ice creams every day from now on, to get Futari to stay obediently at home."
The School Festival was not safe.
Although the eyepatch girl, Shimizu Rin, had become friends with the band's Sakiko, she had not defected and would still carry out the orders issued by the Master of Calamity.
As for blowing Shimizu Rin up with one punch, or capturing and locking her in a basement, all of that was completely meaningless.
She was just a minor minion, not the mastermind. Catching a small fry would only startle the snake. On the contrary, Shimizu Rin's method of 'terrorist attack' had long been clarified, and countermeasures were already prepared; if she were replaced with some other minion now, things would actually become much harder to handle.
Of course, there was no foolproof plan in the world. The whole world was essentially a giant amateur show, and no one knew where a slip-up might occur, so the best way was still to stay far away from danger and have Futari stay obediently at home.
The journey went on without further words.
The two soon arrived at the school.
Ribbons fluttered and banners hung at the school's main gate, with many class hosts drumming up customers at the entrance—the festive atmosphere was maxed out.
Kitahara and Hitori parked the scooter. He first let Hitori head to the classroom, then turned and left the school, strolling over to a nearby alleyway.
Snap.
Kitahara snapped his fingers lightly:
"Domain Expansion."
After activating his Domain, Kitahara's figure flashed and vanished into thin air. When he reappeared, he had already retrieved a full-length mirror from the Onsen Dimension.
"Hana, you can bring Seika-nee over now."
Kitahara communicated with Hana telepathically.
Before long, ripples appeared on the surface of the mirror, and Hana stepped out of the mirror holding Manager Seika's hand.
"Haaah..."
Seika raised her hand to cover her mouth and yawned, her voice sluggish:
"It's been so long since I woke up this early. As expected, I'm so exhausted."
Kitahara looked over speechlessly: "Last night I offered to share the ability of the [Hero of the Kidney] with the manager, but you refused."
"Cut the crap." Seika crossed her arms over her chest and gave a light huff. "I'm just sleepy, it's not like I can't get up."
"Did the manager eat breakfast?"
Kitahara asked softly.
"Not yet." Seika shook her head. "Although Nijika prepared breakfast, right after I finished washing my face and brushing my teeth, Hana dragged me over."
"Then should we go to the Onsen Dimension first?" Kitahara suggested.
"Huh?"
Seika took a wary half-step back, assuming a defensive posture:
"What does a brat like you want to do?"
"Naturally, to take Seika-nee to the Onsen Dimension for breakfast." Kitahara retorted, "What else could I do?"
Seika gave a light huff: "Who knows what's going on in that head of yours."
"I wasn't thinking anything." Kitahara complained, "On the contrary, Seika-nee, don't let your own head be completely filled with lewd thoughts."
"Lewd brat, what are you saying?"
Seika instantly glared over, both embarrassed and annoyed.
"Let's go, to the Onsen Dimension."
Kitahara took hold of Manager Seika's right hand, as well as Hana Hana's. The light distorted slightly, and the figures of the three vanished into thin air.
Inside the Onsen Dimension.
Seika was quite tense at first, but after discovering that Kitahara didn't do anything and truly only prepared breakfast for her, she finally set her mind at ease.
"This is the Mapo Tofu prepared for sale today." Having taken advantage of Soyo and Sakiko not long ago, Kitahara was now as calm as still water. "Manager can eat as much as you want; I prepared plenty of portions, so no need to worry."
"So nagging~"
Seika gave a light huff and began to feast heartily.
"Oh, why does the rice taste so good?"
Seika's eyes lit up.
"Naturally." Kitahara sat down opposite Manager Seika and casually scooped a bowl of rice for Hana. "Cooking rice actually involves a lot of particular techniques, and what I used is top-tier rice... forget it, never mind."
Seika looked up, a grain of rice still stuck to the corner of her mouth: "What do you mean by stopping halfway through what you're saying?"
Kitahara said solemnly: "Because I didn't want to spoil Seika-nee's appetite for dining."
"Tch." Seika gave him a look of disdain, "Tell the truth."
"Fine, Seika-nee is a kitchen killer after all. It's best if you never enter a kitchen for the rest of your life and leave it all to me and Nijika, so there's no need for you to master rice-cooking techniques at all."
Seika: "...I feel somewhat offended."
"..."
"By the way, there's another matter today that needs Seika-nee's help."
When Seika was almost done eating, Kitahara spoke up gently once more.
While washing his face and brushing his teeth this morning, Kitahara checked today's four daily quests. The other three were very simple, but the fourth was still a limited quest, and the limited character happened to be Seika.
"What is it?"
Seika's eyes curved slightly, clearly in an excellent mood. Under the healing power of delicious food, her morning crankiness had already vanished into thin air.
"As I mentioned when soaking in the onsen earlier, I need to complete certain specific events in order to become stronger... Seika-nee still remembers, right?"
Kitahara's voice was tactful.
"If you have something to say, just say it directly." Seika raised an eyebrow and looked over, her gaze vigilant. "Beating around the bush—is it something very awful?"
"It's not awful at all, so I'll just say it straight." Kitahara paused for two seconds, lowering his voice to state the content of the limited quest, "I want Seika-nee to wear a wedding dress and take photos with me."
Seika: "..."
The atmosphere quietly fell silent.
A few seconds later.
Seika clenched her pink fist and struck over with a punch.
Thud.
Kitahara held his chest and stepped back: "Domestic violence! Seika-nee, this is domestic violence!"
"Domestic violence, is it?"
Seika cracked her knuckles, walking over with a murderous aura:
"Stand still and don't move, let me beat you up properly!"
"After the beating, will you agree to it?"
"In your dreams!"
"..."
After some messing around, Seika ultimately agreed to help. After all, the shadow of the Master of Calamity loomed over everyone's heads; though embarrassed and angry, she certainly wouldn't drop the ball at a critical moment.
Having eaten and drunk their fill, Kitahara left the Onsen Dimension with Seika and Hana, put away the full-length mirror, and then pushed out the mobile snack cart obtained yesterday evening.
Returning to the real world, Kitahara took out the poster and put it up on the wall, having the band girls inside the poster carry out a large bucket of Mapo Tofu. As for it still being early and whether it might not sell, there was no need to worry at all; once the aroma of the Mapo Tofu drifted out, ordinary people wouldn't be able to resist it.
"Seika-nee, I leave it to you." Kitahara patted Hana's small head, "Hana, go over and help."
"Nagging, saying such a small thing once is enough."
Seika waved her hand, got onto the automated vendor cart, used Aoi's symbiotic ability to transform into an ordinary high school student, and then entered the campus together with Hana.
Kitahara stood in the distance watching from afar. He saw that Seika was somewhat flustered at first, but soon grew proficient, and customers began to increase rapidly, just as expected.
"Hopefully, the charge can be completed today..."
Relieved, Kitahara withdrew his gaze and headed upstairs.
Upon arriving at the classroom, the haunted house had officially opened for business.
A female classmate handed over a promotional sign used to attract customers, clasping her hands together with a face full of smiles:
"Thanks for your hard work, Kitahara-kun! Please trick more girls into coming over to play, okay?"
Kitahara: "..."
Compared to amusement park haunted houses, a haunted house built by high schoolers using a classroom could truly only be described as 'shoddily made.' Most of the props were made of paper mâché, so calling it tricking people wasn't wrong either.
"Leave it to me."
Kitahara reached out to take the sign and turned to leave.
In fact, his original plan was to play a scary ghost inside the haunted house, which would allow him to slack off easily. Unfortunately, he met with unanimous opposition from the girls in the class, who voted one after another to make him the 'poster boy' to lure girls into the haunted house and generate revenue for the class.
As it turned out, the female classmates' judgment was quite spot-on.
Not long after walking with the sign, Kitahara was stopped by two girls who shyly struck up a conversation with blushing faces. A bolder girl with long hair even asked directly for Kitahara's contact information.
The morning passed in a flash, and Kitahara only felt his face stiffen from smiling. Today was still Friday, so many people had to work or attend school; the liveliest days would actually be the next two days over the weekend, when local residents would be off and bring their whole families along to have fun.
Finally reaching shift-change time, Kitahara decisively slipped away and began strolling around.
Hitori, Kita, Anon, and Tomori were all busy in their respective classrooms. Nijika, Ryo, and the others had school today and would only be able to come over tomorrow.
Kitahara did not step forward to disturb them; after simply checking on everyone's status, he continued wandering around.
"Hm?"
Passing by a wedding dress trial studio, Kitahara suddenly raised an eyebrow and halted his steps.
For no other reason.
Among the row of wedding dresses against the wall, a pure white wedding dress was actually emitting a faint glow.
"An optimizable item?"
Kitahara's eyes quietly lit up.
The last time he found an optimizable item was already a long time ago. He hadn't expected such good luck today, getting off to a flying start right away.
Snap.
Kitahara lightly snapped his fingers, activated his Domain, and walked into the wedding dress trial studio.
The optimizable wedding dress had not been taken by anyone for photos. Kitahara tore off the price tag from it and stuck it onto the brand-new wedding dress in his hand—waking up in the morning and learning that today's limited quest required a wedding dress, he had already called his dedicated liaison to deliver one over.
Now, simply swapping the tag allowed him to complete the substitution without anyone noticing.
[You have discovered an optimizable item. Do you wish to optimize it now?]
"Optimize."
Kitahara silently issued the command in his mind.
Being inside the Domain, there was no need to worry about being noticed by anyone.
Fine starlight poured out from the void, quietly sinking into the wedding dress.
Before long, the faint glow on the pure white wedding dress disappeared, clearly indicating that the optimization was complete.
[Item: Pure White Bride]
[Current Status: Optimized]
[New Affix: Flawless. While wearing the Bride attire, no debuffs can be inflicted upon your body, unless they exceed the load limit of the Pure White Bride]
[New Affix: Kiss of Covenant. Kissing a member of the opposite sex while wearing the Bride attire will forge a sacred covenant; regardless of how far apart both parties are, you will clearly sense each other's presence]
[Note: This item is restricted to female use only]
"The two affixes are pretty nice, but they feel like they aren't of much practical use..."
Kitahara pondered for a few seconds and put away the Pure White Bride.
"Let's go see how Seika-nee is doing."
Arriving at the courtyard, he looked up and saw Seika resting with her right hand supporting her waist. Next to her, the massive thermal container of Mapo Tofu had already been completely sold out.
"Papa." Hana held Pandora's Box beside her, looking up with her small face, "Charge... full."