"I remember now..."
Tsubame's voice was weary, her whole body unable to move, only her brain could barely function and think. After the Sin Mushroom exploded, Tsubame at this moment was the most apathetic of all apathetic girls, she only wanted to lie flat and had no other pursuits.
"Natsuki-kun turned into Husband... and had a daughter with Natsuki-kun..."
A blush spread across Tsubame's pretty face.
The memories implanted by the nightmare were actually quite fake, lacking details, and upon careful thought, they were full of loopholes. It was just that while immersed in them, one couldn't realize it.
Now, as the apathy dispelled the fear, Tsubame quickly recalled the cause and effect.
Hmm... Natsuki-kun was actually conscious from the very beginning, wasn't he?
Earlier, he carried her downstairs.
He gave her flowers.
He combed her hair.
They ate a candlelight dinner.
He even made her call him Husband...
He clearly didn't need to put in so much effort, yet he still did it. He was completely taking advantage of her!
"...Excessive!"
Tsubame bit her silver teeth lightly, trying to resist the apathy sweeping over her entire body, and couldn't help but complain:
"Why didn't Natsuki-kun wake me up sooner?"
"Because I couldn't," Natsuki looked down at Tsubame and said in a low voice, "When Chika and I explored the room earlier, we didn't plant a Sin Mushroom. I just tried it just now, and I didn't expect it to succeed."
Tsubame puffed out her rosy cheeks slightly and said:
"What if it didn't succeed?"
Natsuki showed a thoughtful expression on his face and mused:
"If it didn't succeed, then I would just have to continue to pursue Tsubame and make her fall in love with me again. Then Tsubame wouldn't be afraid anymore, right?"
"Who likes you?" Tsubame's pretty face blushed slightly, and she averted her gaze, unwilling to admit it, "I don't like you at all."
Natsuki leaned into Tsubame's ear and whispered:
"I like Tsubame-senpai."
Tsubame's body trembled slightly, her ear tips grew hot, her heart rate accelerated, and she bit her lips with her pearly teeth, saying:
"N-No, stop, my ears are ticklish."
"Of course I have to keep saying it," Natsuki said earnestly, "Because I like Tsubame-senpai very much. I fell in love with Tsubame-senpai at first sight at the school gate. If I say 'I like you' ten thousand times into Tsubame-senpai's ear, Tsubame should fall in love with me, right?"
"T-Ten thousand times..."
Tsubame's ear tips became hotter and hotter. Although she knew Natsuki was coaxing her, she still couldn't dislike him at all.
No girl can refuse sweet words.
Of course, the premise is that she likes the other person.
When facing a boy she likes, just one sweet word will make her fall. If it's a boy she doesn't like, even if he says it ten thousand times, she still won't like him.
"Natsuki-kun is so skilled, he must have said this to many people, right?"
Tsubame's tone was resentful.
Natsuki said seriously:
"Today, I've only said this to Tsubame."
"...Ptooey!"
Tsubame couldn't help but spit lightly.
Scumbag!
A super big scumbag!
But there was nothing she could do. Even though she knew Natsuki was a scumbag, she still couldn't dislike him at all...
Natsuki exerted a little force and directly picked up Tsubame.
"N-Natsuki-kun, what are you doing?"
Tsubame exclaimed softly, looking over nervously, wanting to raise her arms to cover her chest. Unfortunately, the apathy sin had not yet dissipated, and she couldn't even lift her arms. Being able to speak was already quite an effort.
Natsuki said:
"Tsubame-senpai, have you forgotten what you just promised me?"
"Eh?" Tsubame blinked, puzzled, "What thing?"
Natsuki said as a matter of course:
"Of course, it's bathing together."
Tsubame: "..."
Deceiving someone into bathing together when they have amnesia, and now that they've woken up, it doesn't count at all, right!
Unfortunately, she was powerless at the moment, and even her mouth was difficult to open, unable to support her saying so many words in one breath.
Natsuki carried Tsubame to the bathtub. Fortunately, it was a double bathtub, perfect for bathing together.
"Hmm..."
Tsubame's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she let out a shameful moan.
Although they had helped each other scrub backs in reality, they had never bathed together. It was indeed quite shameful.
Tsubame wanted to get up, but her body couldn't move at all.
After struggling for a while, the apathy sin finally triumphed over everything, abandoning her modesty and shame, and she softly leaned into Natsuki's embrace.
"W-Wait a moment..." Tsubame suddenly thought of something, "What if Chika-chan and the others use Pickpocket outside and see us like this?"
"Don't worry, Tsubame." Natsuki comfortably placed Tsubame in his arms, "This is a nightmare, not true reality. If someone uses Pickpocket in the hallway, we came in wearing clothes, so of course we'll still be wearing clothes when we go out."
Tsubame breathed a sigh of relief:
"That's good... Oh, right, now that I'm awake, the nightmare will end soon, right?"
"Theoretically, yes." Natsuki naturally measured Tsubame's conscience. Her conscience was so big that one hand couldn't hold it. "Tsubame-senpai, you shouldn't be afraid anymore, right?"
Tsubame shook her head and said:
"Of course I'm not afraid anymore."
In the false memory, she was an ordinary housewife who ended up with an evil spirit husband and daughter, and could only cautiously survive, fearing being killed.
Now that she had regained her true memories and knew that the vengeful spirit husband was actually Natsuki, her fear naturally vanished into thin air.
"Then it should be soon." Natsuki said softly, "As long as there's no source of fear, the nightmare will quickly dissipate."
Tsubame's pretty face unconsciously turned crimson, and she said shyly:
"You... you quickly take your hand away."
Natsuki said seriously:
"We are legal husband and wife now. This is my husband's right."
Tsubame shouted angrily:
"No, we're not!"
They hadn't even gotten married, so how could they be legal husband and wife!
"Alright then." Natsuki sighed, "As long as Tsubame-senpai calls me Husband, I'll take my hand away."
"Eh?"
"No other reason, I just want to hear it."
"...Shameless!"
Tsubame bit her silver teeth, and couldn't help but utter two words through her lips.
Natsuki's expression remained unchanged as he said:
"Since Tsubame-senpai doesn't want to call me, then I'll continue."
"Ah..."
Tsubame couldn't help but let out a soft hum, biting her lips with her pearly teeth in shame: "Natsuki-kun is getting worse and worse!"
Sometimes when a girl says you're bad, it doesn't necessarily mean she dislikes you; it could also mean she likes you.
The two continued to bathe.
After an unknown amount of time, Tsubame only felt that the apathy sin had dissipated and her body had regained its strength. She finally realized that something was wrong.
"Natsuki-kun... why hasn't the nightmare dissipated yet?"
"It is a bit strange." Natsuki also noticed something was off. "Let me think."
"Think outside!" Tsubame bit her silver teeth lightly, her pretty face flushed like fire, and she couldn't help but shout, "How long do you want to bathe!"
"Bathing with Tsubame-senpai, it doesn't matter how long."
"Ptooey~"
"..."
The two put on their clothes and came to the living room.
Although there was no electric light, several candles burning together still made the room bright.
Natsuki sat on the sofa and quickly thought of a possibility, saying in a low voice:
"The nightmare hasn't ended yet, possibly because someone is still providing fear power."
"Eh?" Tsubame was startled and couldn't help but become nervous, "Are there other people hiding in the house?"
Natsuki said softly:
"It's our daughter."
Tsubame's pretty face flushed, and she wanted to refute that it wasn't her daughter, but the words caught in her throat and she swallowed them back.
At least in the nightmare, she was indeed her and Natsuki-kun's daughter...
Ahhhhhh!
They weren't even married yet, and they already had a daughter. Was that premarital pregnancy?
Oh no!
Too bad!
But... would her and Natsuki-kun's future child really be a daughter?
Tsubame's pretty face was crimson, and she couldn't help but fall into wild thoughts.
Natsuki quietly got up, searched the house briefly, and then found their vengeful spirit daughter hiding under the table.
"Sure enough."
Natsuki picked up his daughter with one hand, returned to Tsubame's side and sat down, then said:
"Our daughter is very likely not a false creation of the nightmare, but one of the guests who stayed at the hotel before."
"Eh?" Tsubame looked over in surprise, "She was a previous guest?"
Natsuki nodded and said:
"I saw the guest list before, and I just remembered it."
When Natsuki had just entered the house and caught the resentful spirit daughter from behind the sofa, he felt a sense of familiarity. It was precisely because he had seen this elementary school student on the hotel's guest list that he had an impression.
"So that's it." Tsubame raised her right hand, tucked a stray hair behind her ear, and softly said, "If she was a guest who stayed at the hotel before, it explains why the nightmare hasn't ended."
Without a doubt, the elementary school student in front of them was continuously providing fear energy for the nightmare.
Tsubame softly said:
"Should we plant a Sin Mushroom for her?"
"It's best not to." Natsuki pondered for a moment, then shook his head, "She's just an ordinary elementary school student, not a player. Even if we use original sin to dispel her fear and make her remember her true memories, it might not end the nightmare. Don't forget, we don't know what happened at the hotel before. Perhaps something even more terrifying occurred."
"You have a point." Tsubame nodded gently in agreement, "Indeed, it's not advisable to act rashly. It's better to be cautious."
"So…" Natsuki looked at Tsubame, his gaze meaningful as he said, "Since we can't forcefully plant a Sin Mushroom, we can only let Tsubame use her maternal love to influence her."
"Eh? Eh? Eh?"
Tsubame leaned back, her face flushed as she glared at him playfully.
She's not a real daughter, so of course, she doesn't have maternal love!
Natsuki said earnestly:
"Children don't have a strong sense of right and wrong, good and evil. Whoever treats them well, they will become close to. In other words, even if we are resentful spirit parents, as long as we treat her well, we can dispel the fear in her heart. So… Tsubame, it's time to start the parent-child game."
"Why am I the only one playing with her?" Tsubame bit her lip, unable to resist complaining, "You're the father, you should be playing with her more!"
"Then let's play together." Natsuki looked at the dirty resentful spirit daughter and mused, "Let's take her to the bathroom first to wash up and change her clothes."
Tsubame reached out to stop him, giving him an annoyed look: "I can take her to bathe. You just sit still."
If it were her biological daughter, helping her bathe occasionally would be fine, but the elementary school student in front of her was not her biological daughter, and there's a difference between genders, so of course, she couldn't help her bathe.
Tsubame bent down and looked at the elementary school student, who was obediently sitting in the corner, not having said a word. She didn't know what she had experienced, but she was indeed very dirty all over, and her hair was a bit matted. She definitely needed a good cleaning.
"Um…" Tsubame awkwardly cleared her throat, leaned close to Natsuki's ear, and whispered, "What was her name again?"
Natsuki looked at her in shock and said:
"Tsubame, as a mother, you actually forgot our daughter's name?"
There was no daughter's name in the false memories at all. She didn't know it to begin with, so it couldn't be considered forgetting!
Tsubame straightened her pretty face and said:
"Less nonsense, hurry up and tell me."
Natsuki spread his hands and truthfully said:
"Actually, I don't know either."
"…"
Dong!
Tsubame angrily clenched her small fist and punched Natsuki's shoulder.
Beat him up!
Must beat him up!
She couldn't swallow this anger no matter what!
Tsubame squatted in front of the resentful spirit daughter and softly said:
"Shall we go take a bath?"
The elementary school student's neck slightly recoiled, clearly a bit scared, not daring to speak.
"Let's go."
Tsubame exhaled lightly, took the resentful spirit daughter's small hand, and walked towards the bathroom.
If her daughter were truly a resentful spirit, helping her bathe would inevitably be a bit scary, but since she knew she was a former hotel guest, it naturally didn't matter.
Natsuki stayed in the living room and did not follow them in, waiting silently outside. During this time, he did not receive any prompts from Chika—
Before entering the room, everyone had agreed that once ten minutes passed in the hallway, Chika would notify him with the red string on her pinky finger, and then use Pickpocket to directly pull him out of the room.
But until now, Natsuki's pinky finger had not trembled at all, indicating that the passage of time in the nightmare was completely inconsistent with that in the hallway.
After an unknown amount of time.
The bathroom door was gently pushed open.
Tsubame came out with her daughter, this time not holding her hand, but directly carrying her in her arms.
"We're all clean now."
Natsuki looked over at the sound, seeing that his dirty daughter was now clean and white, looking quite adorable, though her eyes were still ink black.
"If you two didn't come out soon, I'd worry you'd fall asleep while bathing." Natsuki said, taking out a Shiba Inu doll and handing it to the elementary school student, softly saying, "Here you go."
"…"
The elementary school student looked up nervously, not daring to take it.
Natsuki said earnestly:
"This was a gift I bought for you before. I forgot to take it out when I gave flowers to Mama."
Tsubame's pretty face flushed slightly, she gave him an annoyed glare, took the Shiba Inu doll, handed it to the elementary school student, and said gently:
"Aoi-chan, this is a gift from Papa. Take it."
Only then did the elementary school student take the doll, holding it tightly in her arms, and softly said:
"Th-thank you, Papa…"
Natsuki looked at Tsubame and smiled:
"Mama just helped you bathe, did you thank Mama?"
The elementary school student lowered her head and timidly replied:
"I already thanked her…"
"Aoi-chan is actually very well-behaved, not like you at all." Tsubame reached out her right hand, wanting to pat her cheap daughter's small head.
The elementary school student nervously recoiled her neck, instinctively dodging.
Tsubame paused her movement, suddenly remembering something she saw online: being lively and active is a child's nature. If a child is super well-behaved at home, it's actually because they fear their parents.
Her daughter was indeed still afraid of them.
"It's okay!" Tsubame felt a small moment of disappointment for a few seconds, then quickly clenched her small fist and cheered up, "As long as I try hard, I can definitely make my daughter like me!"
"…"
Meanwhile.
On the hallway.
"Kaguya, is it time yet?"
Chika whispered.
"One more minute." Kaguya said helplessly, "You've asked three times already."
Chika put her hands on her hips and said:
"If they exceed the time, President might be in danger."
"Natsuki is actually very powerful." Juju said, crossing her arms, "Tsubame is the one I'm worried about."
"Mhm, mhm."
Komi nodded in agreement.
"Hmm…" Chika tilted her head and thought, "Nightmares only make people sink into them, there shouldn't be any other dangers, right?"
"That's not necessarily true." Hagasaki Ai said from the side, "If you encounter danger in a nightmare, you might also get hurt in reality. The human mind is actually quite mysterious."
Chika couldn't help but become nervous: "Then let's quickly rescue President."
At this moment, Haruno suddenly said softly:
"The door seems to have opened."
The girls on the hallway all looked over and indeed saw the door quietly open a crack, then silently swing wide, revealing Natsuki and Tsubame's figures.
"They're out, they're out."
"President and Tsubame are both fine."
"Huh, why is there an extra elementary school student?"
Chika widened her eyes, looking in surprise at the bob-haired elementary school student beside Natsuki, and asked curiously:
"President, who is this child?"
Facing Kaguya and the others in the hallway, the little sprout was clearly a bit scared, nervously hugging Natsuki's leg, and softly shouted:
"Papa, hug."
Natsuki instinctively stroked his daughter's head and said:
"Let Mama hug you."
The cheap daughter turned around and hugged Tsubame instead, looking up with her small face: "Mama, hug."
"Wh-what?!"
Kaguya's black hair trembled, she took half a step back in disbelief, her composure completely shattered.
What did she just hear?
President is Papa?
Tsubame is Mama?
Kaguya felt dizzy, her whole being was not well.
What on earth did you two do in that room?!
It was only ten minutes, and not only do you have a child, but the child is already this big?!
Other things she could turn a blind eye to and pretend not to see, but how could she pretend not to see a daughter this big?!
"Eh? Eh? Eh?" Chika was equally dumbfounded, saying in disbelief, "This is President and Tsubame's daughter?"
Natsuki cleared his throat and explained:
"She's not our daughter…"
The little sprout immediately looked wronged: "Mama, Papa doesn't want us anymore."
Natsuki: "…"
What happened to being a warm inner layer?
You're actually a black-hearted inner layer, aren't you!
"Don't be afraid, Aoi-chan." Tsubame felt heartbroken, quickly picked up the little sprout, "Papa didn't abandon us…"
"Stare—"
The girls all looked at Tsubame.
Not to mention Kaguya and Chika, even the usually calm and rational Hagasaki Ai couldn't remain composed now.
Papa and Mama… if they're not a family of three, what else could they be?!