Charging complete.
"I really want to get stronger by lying down too." Kitagawa Marin planted both hands on her hips and muttered. "Up until now, I haven't gotten a single skill. I'm definitely African, aren't I?"
Natsuki stood and finished dressing, saying offhandedly:
"How many loot boxes have you opened so far?"
"Mmm..." Kitagawa Marin tilted her head and thought for a few seconds, then extended one finger. "About six or seven game loot boxes, I think."
Then what do you have to complain about? You've barely opened any loot boxes—not getting good stuff is perfectly normal!
The setting for a certain game was a guaranteed drop at ninety pulls. Most people got their drops after seventy pulls. So you're not African—you're just ordinary.
"Oh right, I still have a few game coins left—just enough to open one more loot box." The blonde girl's eyes lit up. "Amamiya-kun, let's open loot boxes together!"
"Mm."
After the game update, the shop still operated in two modes.
One was the Daily Surprise Loot Box—only ten game coins, fair to young and old alike. However, what came out of the box was purely luck-based. Getting a box of tissues was quite common.
The other mode was the fixed-price shop items. The merchandise rotated randomly each day with clear pricing. The variety of items was likewise vast—for instance, basic attribute values. Each purchase permanently increased a certain basic attribute by ten percent.
Stamina, endurance, speed, strength, kidney function... Natsuki really wanted to exchange for that last one, but unfortunately, heroes had no battlefield to use it on. In the end, he gave up.
With good luck, you could find amazing items and skills.
For instance, two days ago, Natsuki had seen Kamen Rider Kuuga's transformation belt. Unfortunately, it was a replica—not as capable as the original, with limited uses, and absurdly expensive. Completely unaffordable.
Regarding skills, yesterday in the player mutual aid group, Natsuki had seen a player chatting about finding an incredibly powerful skill from Yu Yu Hakusho.
[Evil King Flame Killing Purgatory Scorch]
Unfortunately, still unaffordable.
Based on speculation, the game might have only just launched not long ago. "Over-spec" players hadn't appeared yet—unless they were those damned Europeans.
Natsuki opened the game shop and first glanced at today's rotating merchandise.
[Item: Endurance]
[Price: 40 game coins]
[Description: Your endurance permanently increases by 10%]
[Note: Stack the thickest armor, take the most vicious beating]
Natsuki's expression remained blank as he silently skipped past it.
He could get stronger just by lying down. Although the rate of growth was slow, he only needed to consume one Miko per day. Basic attributes weren't essential.
The next few items held no attraction either. The Daily Surprise Loot Box likewise had nothing good.
Instead, Kitagawa Marin let out a soft cry.
"Eh eh, I got something!"
Natsuki looked over and saw an orange cloak appear in Kitagawa's hands.
"This cloak looks pretty good."
Kitagawa Marin spoke as she displayed the cloak's attributes.
[Item: Hamster Cloak]
[Origin: Classified]
[Attribute: When you cover your body with the cloak, your presence is significantly reduced]
[Note: Reduced presence does not equal invisibility. Rein in your curiosity]
"Amamiya-kun, what do you think of this cloak?"
Kitagawa Marin looked at him expectantly.
"Very good." Natsuki nodded. "You can put it away now."
"..."
Idle chat concluded.
The three returned to the living room.
"It's only nine o'clock, and the sun outside is amazing." Kitagawa Marin put both hands behind her back, her voice bright. "Why don't we all go out and have fun?"
Natsuki: "I'm playing Elden Ring."
Miko: "I'm going home to do laundry, then read a bit. I have a part-time shift at the convenience store this afternoon."
"H-how can you both be like this?" The blonde girl instantly deflated. "It's Golden Week right now—Golden Week only comes once a year! Playing games at home is such a waste!"
Natsuki walked to the TV and sat down: "I don't feel it's a waste at all."
"What does Miko-chan say?"
Kitagawa Marin turned and sought support from Miko.
"Well..." Miko raised her right hand and tucked a strand of hair falling across her chest behind her ear. "Either way is fine, I guess?"
The blonde girl planted her right hand on her hip and spoke with complete seriousness:
"You never know which will come first—tomorrow or an accident. So you should enjoy life while you can. Who knows—maybe tomorrow will be the apocalypse."
Enough already. The first half of that sentence was fine, but what's with the apocalypse at the end?
That's way too big a leap!
"For example..." Kitagawa Marin snapped her fingers crisply and looked at Miko. "How many major planets are in the solar system?"
Miko froze and answered reflexively: "Nine planets?"
"Wrong answer." Kitagawa Marin tilted her chin up proudly and looked at Natsuki. "What do you say, Amamiya-kun?"
Natsuki didn't even turn his head: "Eight planets."
"Eh eh?!" The blonde girl stepped back in surprise. "Amamiya-kun knows?"
"That's middle school geography knowledge. It'd be weird not to know."
"Wait a second." Miko's tone was confused. "How can there be only eight planets?"
Natsuki said:
"More than a decade ago, Pluto was removed from the list and downgraded to a minor planet."
Miko pressed her hand to her forehead, feeling somewhat dizzy: "The solar system only has eight major planets, and I have absolutely no memory of this whatsoever."
Kitagawa Marin furrowed her brow, deep in thought. She quickly asked another question:
"How tall is Mount Everest?"
"I know—8,848 meters."
Miko almost blurted it out, but thinking of the Pluto question just now, she swallowed the words at her lips.
Natsuki said:
"Mount Everest's current height is 8,844 meters."
Miko: "..."
How did it suddenly get four meters shorter? What happened to the height increasing every year?!
Marin: "What is France's legal currency?"
Natsuki: "The Euro. Francs no longer exist in the world."
Marin: "What does '朝闻道,夕死可矣' mean now?"
Natsuki turned his head and answered with gravity:
"Find out the way to your house in the morning, go kill you in the evening."
"What about '暴虎冯河'?"
"True warriors should ride tigers across rivers."
Miko: "..."
Confucius never said that! Neither did Confucius's son or grandson!
"Amazing—you answered everything correctly."
Kitagawa Marin braced her right hand against her chest, her tone shocked.
"Where was any of that correct?!" Miko couldn't help but retort. "'暴虎冯河' doesn't mean riding a tiger across a river!"
After chatting for a while, Miko soon took her leave: "I'm going home to do housework."
With her father deceased and her mother working hard every day, household chores basically all fell on Miko's shoulders.
In short—though Miko was a salted fish girl, her housewife attributes were actually quite high.
After Miko left, Natsuki continued playing Elden Ring. Kitagawa sat on the sofa beside him, propping up her chin with both hands, watching with great interest.
"If you don't like games, you don't need to force yourself." Natsuki turned to look at her.
"I'm not forcing myself." Kitagawa Marin's voice was bright. The blonde gyaru seemed perpetually full of energy. "Manga, light novels, games—I love them all!"
"I've heard of Elden Ring, but it's too hard. If you keep dying, it's super frustrating."
"I prefer playing galge games..."
When the blonde girl talked about her hobbies, her eyes sparkled with bright light.
"Wait." Natsuki raised a brow and looked at her. "What kind of games did you just say?"
"Galge games." Kitagawa Marin repeated without the slightest trace of guilt or embarrassment, her smile bright. "I played a game two days ago. Little Shizuku in it was super super super super cute."
Kitagawa Marin opened her phone, leaned closer, and held it up in front of Natsuki.
"Look, see?"
Natsuki looked over curiously. On the phone was a short-haired girl wearing a dark gothic-style dress. He had to admit—she did look quite adorable.
However...
"Why does she look somewhat familiar?"
Hearing the question, Kitagawa Marin quickly explained:
"Little Shizuku was a super popular game character a while back. Slippery Girls' Academy: The Young Miss's Shameful and Wonderful Life in the Disgrace Club—two volumes have been released so far. Shizuku is the most popular young miss from the second volume."
"What's with this long and terrible name?" Natsuki couldn't help but ask. "Don't tell me it's an adult game?"
"It is an adult game." Kitagawa Marin answered candidly.
You're a sixteen-year-old high schooler playing adult games—is that really okay?!
The blonde girl spoke with conviction: "Truly good games shouldn't restrict players by age."
Actually, it's quite necessary.
After all, young people are impulsive. Playing adult games could make them waste away daily—even become emaciated!
Kitagawa continued: "I play for the story. The plot inside is super amazing. I highly recommend it."
Natsuki held reservations on that point.
Galge games without a solid plot to support them were generally either trash or just fap material.
"I just happen to have one route left that I haven't finished yet. This afternoon when I go back to get a change of clothes, I'll bring the game over. You should play it too, Amamiya-kun!"
Kitagawa Marin's eyes sparkled, her pretty face wearing the expression of a missionary. "I guarantee—as long as Amamiya-kun plays it, you'll definitely be drawn in by the story and fall completely in love with Little Shizuku."
Smelling the sweet, warm fragrance emanating from the girl, Natsuki leaned back slightly to put some distance between them:
"What if I don't like it?"
"Impossible." Kitagawa Marin rejected the notion outright and said decisively: "If you don't like it, I'll do whatever Amamiya-kun tells me to do."
Making that kind of promise so readily—you don't take your own safety seriously at all.
At the same time.
Elsewhere.
"The two of them are playing Elden Ring..."
Ai Hayasaka sat before her computer, arms wrapped around her knees, continuing to observe the two people in the video feed.
"They stopped."
"They're chatting."
"It seems like they're discussing something very exciting..."
The spy maid furrowed her brow slightly.
She was a spy, yes—but Hayasaka couldn't read lips. She couldn't tell what the two were saying.
"I'll need to go over there again tonight to install some recording devices. For now though... I should get some sleep."
In the blink of an eye, lunchtime arrived.
Natsuki had intended to go out to eat, but Kitagawa volunteered to take on the lunch mission.
"I said so at breakfast—leave lunch to me."
Natsuki asked:
"What are you making?"
Kitagawa Marin made a peace sign, her smile bright:
"Ehehe~"
What are you 'ehehe'-ing about?!
"I said this morning—it's dark cuisine." Kitagawa Marin stretched and urged: "Let's go, let's go! We're going to the convenience store to buy ingredients."
The two changed their shoes and headed out together.
They hadn't walked far when Natsuki suddenly stopped and looked toward a small alley beside them.
"What's wrong?"
Kitagawa Marin looked over curiously, her pretty face immediately showing a hint of tension.
"The scythe spirit—it really did catch up!"
In the dark alley, a Grim Reaper spirit wielding a scythe was using it to slaughter the lesser evil spirits inside.
Natsuki could see clearly—the spirit's robe was indeed missing a piece at the corner. It was the same evil spirit they'd encountered on the train yesterday.
In just one day's time, the missing corner of the Grim Reaper spirit's robe had visibly grown back a section. Clearly, it was recovering rapidly.
Sensing Natsuki's gaze, the Grim Reaper spirit turned to look at him.
Beneath the black hooded cloak were two faint points of red light—looking completely different from ordinary twisted evil spirits.
Natsuki tried walking toward the alley. The Grim Reaper spirit actually retreated, not giving him a chance to approach.
"As I thought—it won't work."
Natsuki furrowed his brow slightly and could only stop. "Let's go—to the supermarket."
"Okay." The blonde girl nodded nervously. "Good thing I discovered it in time last night and ended up sleeping with Amamiya-kun. Otherwise, it would have been really scary."
"..."
The two arrived at the supermarket and began shopping for ingredients. The Grim Reaper spirit didn't follow—it quietly vanished.
"First, buy a bag of Italian pasta..." Kitagawa Marin counted on her fingers. "Amamiya-kun, push the shopping cart."
"Mm."
Potato chips, bananas, sugar oranges, Italian pasta, onions, carrots... Kitagawa Marin bought a whole bunch of things in one go.
"Amamiya-kun, wait here for me. Don't move."
After saying this, Kitagawa Marin sneaked off alone, then returned mysteriously with a bag of something.
"What did you buy?"
Natsuki asked curiously.
"Ehehe~"
Kitagawa Marin made another peace sign: "It's a secret. You'll find out when we get back, Amamiya-kun."
Having finished shopping, the two pushed the cart to the checkout counter.
Natsuki pulled out his points card and watched the constantly rising total with feeling:
"The facts prove this is an era where it's very easy to make money."
"How so?"
Kitagawa Marin tilted her head to look at him.
Natsuki spoke with a somber tone:
"For instance, the money on us is very easily earned by others."
"Eh?"
Kitagawa Marin didn't react at first. After blinking, she finally understood what he meant and couldn't help but burst out laughing.
The other customers in line all turned to look.
"S-sorry!"
The blonde girl quickly apologized, covering her pink lips with her hand. The corners of her eyes and brows were still full of mirth. She raised her fist and lightly tapped Natsuki's shoulder.
"Don't tell jokes while we're in line."
"Your sense of humor is just too low."
"..."
Having slept until noon.
Hayasaka yawned as she got up and sat at the computer to check the surveillance.
With one look, the spy maid was instantly shocked.
"Their lips suddenly turned so black—could they be aliens?!"