"Eh, eh, eh, so much happened?!"
Marin's beautiful eyes widened, her pretty face filled with disbelief.
"We were turned into dolls for breaking the rules, and only now have we returned to normal?" Sayu mumbled, a little dazed, "No wonder everyone looked so strange."
In Marin's and Sayu's memories, their recollection stopped at the moment they turned their heads. As for what was behind them calling out everyone's names, their minds were blank, with no impression whatsoever.
"We experienced so many things in the hotel." Chika hugged Marin's arm, chattering happily, "Especially the final island survival, it was super fun!"
Only you found the island survival fun, no one else did!
Natsuki said gently, "The anomaly has been eliminated, the hotel is safe, let's go out first."
"Mm-hmm."
...
The anomaly has been eliminated.
Returning to the real world, everyone felt an indescribable sense of relief.
Eagerly walking out of the hotel, bright sunshine immediately poured down, and this time there was no invisible wall blocking them.
Natsuki squinted slightly, looking up at the endless blue sky, and felt the sunlight on his body was exceptionally comfortable.
In the nightmare of island survival, although there were day and night, the sky was unchanging, and the sun never appeared. It was fine at first, but staying for too long would easily drive people crazy.
"Ahhh! The sun feels so good!"
"Finally, we're basking in the real sun!"
"So warm, I've decided, I'm going to the sea for a real sunbath!"
...
The girls' feelings were exactly the same as Natsuki's; finally seeing the real sun and midsummer, they were all incredibly happy, cheering and jumping.
Even the usually timid the the timid girl tilted her pretty face and smiled at the sky.
A moment later.
"So hot, the sun is so hot." Chika wiped the sweat from her forehead, looking pitiful, "I want air conditioning."
Natsuki turned to Chika and retorted, "Who was it just now who said they wanted to go to the sea for a sunbath?"
"I don't know." Chika turned her head elsewhere, "Anyway, it wasn't me."
As they spoke, the group had already reached the gap in the corrugated iron fence.
Across the gap.
A group of fully armed people stood ready.
"Natsuki-kun?!"
Seeing Natsuki and his group appear, a young woman in a suit, who was leading them, cried out in surprise and joy, excitedly.
Natsuki smiled politely, "Mitsui-san, long time no see."
I don't know how much time has passed in reality, but for Natsuki and his group, it has indeed been a long time.
"Everyone, welcome back!"
Mitsui took a half-step back, then bowed ninety degrees.
"The anomaly in the hotel has been resolved," Natsuki said softly. "Mitsui, you can send people in now."
It was not easy to eliminate the hotel anomaly; both mentally and physically, they were extremely exhausted. The group did not go to other hotel rooms to check the situation, leaving the follow-up work to the Strange Tales Management Bureau.
"Yes!"
Mitsui stood up straight and said decisively:
"We will send people in for rescue immediately!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a group of medical personnel and Strange Tales Management Bureau members in suits poured into the hotel.
Mitsui breathed a slight sigh of relief, walked up to Natsuki, and said softly:
"Thank goodness, you've been out of contact for nearly twenty-four hours."
"Eh, only one day?" Chika asked curiously. "We stayed in the hotel for many days."
Although Mitsui was very curious about what the group had encountered in the hotel, she also knew that now was not the time to ask. She immediately took out her phone and made a call.
Soon after, several black luxury cars drove over.
"Everyone, you've worked hard. Please go rest first; you can leave the rest to us." Mitsui personally opened the car door. "Natsuki-kun, please get in."
Logically, she was now one of the persons in charge of the Strange Tales Management Bureau, with a respectable status. Ordinary players would be respectful when they saw her, and she didn't need to open doors for anyone, but Natsuki was different.
Firstly, the life-saving grace in the Door of Despair.
Secondly, Natsuki's identity as the strongest player.
Opening the door personally is not shameful!
"These two are hotel guests, right?" Mitsui's eyes shifted to Aoi and the passerby player, then she said, "They can be taken care of by the staff."
As soon as she finished speaking, two staff members immediately came out to take Aoi and the passerby player away.
"Daddy!"
Seeing that she was about to be taken away, Aoi quickly hugged Natsuki's thigh, like a small beast afraid of being abandoned by its owner.
"Eh, eh, eh?" Mitsui was startled and said incredulously, "Why is she calling him Daddy?"
Natsuki stroked Aoi's head and said:
"Because she's my daughter."
Mitsui: "..."
Aoi and the passerby player were both previous guests of the hotel. The passerby player was fine; she was a university student who had just graduated and started working, and had come to Tokyo with her leader for work. She could leave at any time and receive treatment.
Leader?
After experiencing a life-and-death crisis, a leader was nothing.
The passerby player was full of gratitude, bowing ninety degrees to everyone to thank them, and then followed the staff to the Hospital for a physical examination.
But Aoi couldn't.
A child of only six or seven years old would obviously not stay in a hotel alone; she must have been with her real family. Although her memory was a bit confused now, she would definitely cry and make people feel distressed once she woke up.
Natsuki pondered for a moment, then turned to Kaguya and said softly:
"Kaguya, you all go to the hotel to rest first. Tsubame-senpai and I will wait here for a while, until we see Aoi's family before we go."
Kaguya nodded slightly and said:
"Understood. The president will send a message as soon as there's a result."
Everyone was already quite tired, both mentally and physically, and desperately needed rest. Even Chika didn't try to be strong; she hugged Aoi, then got in the car and left first.
"Hoo..."
Tsubame exhaled lightly, looked up at Natsuki, and said softly:
"Natsuki-kun must be very tired too. Do you want to go to the hotel to rest? I can take care of Aoi by myself."
Natsuki turned to look at her, and said in a faint tone:
"Tsubame-senpai, put your hand on your chest."
"Eh?"
Tsubame was stunned, then hesitantly raised her right hand and placed it on her chest.
Natsuki complained:
"Tsubame-senpai, does your conscience hurt a little?"
Tsubame glared at him irritably, and said with a slight pout:
"Of course it doesn't hurt."
Natsuki complained:
"Everyone talked for so long just now, and Tsubame-senpai didn't tell me to rest. Now that the car has driven far away, she says it. Doesn't Tsubame-senpai's conscience hurt?"
"..."
Tsubame's pretty face flushed, she turned her head away and stopped talking.
In fairness, she did want Natsuki to stay and accompany her.
As a "Daddy," there's no reason to leave his daughter and mother and run off to the hotel to rest alone, right?
Aoi looked up, hugged one of Natsuki's fingers, and said coquettishly:
"Daddy, don't take advantage of Mommy."
"I wouldn't dare to take advantage of her," Natsuki complained. "Don't let Mommy's harmless appearance fool you; she's super fierce when we're home and the door is closed, often abusing me."
"I never abused you!"
Tsubame glared at him in embarrassment and couldn't help but shout, "Don't say weird things to Aoi!"
The summer heat was scorching.
The midday temperature was already close to forty degrees, and after standing for just a moment, all three were covered in sweat.
The best solution would naturally be to enter the anomalous hotel.
But everyone already had a psychological shadow from the anomalous hotel, preferring to be exposed to the sun rather than go inside.
"Tsubame-senpai, you watch Aoi," Natsuki said. "I'll go buy a few cold drinks."
"Okay," Tsubame said, holding her temporary daughter's small hand. "Natsuki-kun, go ahead."
Natsuki nodded and went to the convenience store, taking out his phone, which he had left with the staff before entering the hotel.
Power on successful.
Many messages quickly popped up on the phone.
Most of the messages were from sister-beast Fujiwara Moeha.
"Senpai, Senpai, my sister didn't come back last night. I messaged her, but she didn't reply. She said she was on a secret mission. Is she with Senpai?"
"Senpai, Senpai, take good care of my sister."
"If possible, I'd like to know what the secret mission is."
"Senpai, Senpai, it's already the second day, why haven't you replied?"
"Ahhh, Senpai, don't ignore me. As long as you reply, I'll do anything!"
Looking at the string of messages from the sister-beast, Natsuki thought for a moment and decided to reply:
"Mission over, just turned on my phone."
A few seconds later.
The phone buzzed: "Ahhh! Senpai finally replied!"
Fujiwara Moeha: "Senpai, are you with my sister?"
Natsuki: "Chika is fine, everyone is fine, no need to worry. Not replying was probably because I forgot to turn on my phone."
Fujiwara Moeha: "That's good... What mission did Senpai and my sister go on? I want to know! I really, really want to know!"
Natsuki: "Ask your sister."
Fujiwara Moeha: "My sister isn't replying. I want to know now, I can't wait another second! As long as Senpai tells me, I'll do anything!"
Natsuki: "Really anything?"
Fujiwara Moeha: "That's right!"
Natsuki said:
"What if it's lewd things?"
"Eh, eh, eh?!" Fujiwara Moeha was, after all, only a junior high student, and very thin-skinned. When it came to lewd, she could only flee in a panic. "Goodbye, Senpai, I have other things to do, so I'll be leaving now!"
"Finally, peace and quiet."
Natsuki breathed a sigh of relief; the time without text message bombardment was beautiful again.
After Moeha, several other junior high students he had interacted with also sent messages, but they were all polite greetings.
Then there was Miko.
There weren't many messages, mainly photos of her walking the dog. The last message was two hours ago, asking him to reply as soon as he got back.
"Moshi moshi~"
Natsuki dialed the number.
"Natsuki?"
The call connected instantly, and Miko's surprised voice, as if relieved of a burden, came from his ear.
"I'm sorry, I'm a staff member of the Strange Tales Management Bureau," Natsuki said in a low, deep voice. "Natsuki-kun's situation is very bad."
Miko's voice immediately became tense:
"Wh-what happened?"
Natsuki said seriously:
"Natsuki-kun is unconscious due to an unknown reason. A player suggested that he needs a call of love to wake him up, so we hope Miko can cooperate and wake Natsuki-kun up."
Miko said decisively:
"Where are you all? I'll come over immediately!"
Natsuki continued:
"Natsuki-kun's condition is constantly deteriorating, and we need to act quickly to wake him up as soon as possible. So, we hope that Miko can say it into the phone, and we will place the phone next to Natsuki-kun's ear."
"..."
Miko was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly gritted her teeth and said:
"Liar!"
Natsuki said:
"Miko, please calm down. We are not liars. Natsuki-kun's situation is indeed very dangerous right now."
Miko: "If you're not a liar, then video call me."
Natsuki said:
"I'm sorry, Natsuki-kun's situation is very bad right now. Opening a video call rashly might make you uncomfortable."
"Stupid Natsuki, you're still lying to me!" Miko gritted her teeth, her voice full of murderous intent. "You wait until you get home!"
Alright.
It seems his identity has truly been exposed.
Natsuki gave up his voice disguise, returned to his original voice, and asked curiously:
"How did Miko discover the truth?"
Miko complained:
"Kaguya-san just sent a message saying that you have safely left the hotel, everyone is safe and sound, and no one is unconscious!"
Natsuki sighed and said:
"So it's heaven's will to destroy me, not a fault of battle."
"Bah!"
"..."
After finishing the call with Miko, he happened to arrive at the convenience store.
Natsuki bought cold drinks, ice cream, and Cupcakes, then returned to the hotel entrance and ate with Tsubame and Aoi.
Just as they finished eating, Mitsui came over and whispered:
"Natsuki-kun, there's news about Aoi's family…"
At this point, Mitsui stopped speaking and turned to look at Aoi happily eating ice cream.
Natsuki understood, gave Tsubame a comforting look, and then whispered:
"Let's talk over there."
"Okay."
"..."
The two went to a corner.
Mitsui raised her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, then said:
"The advance team players who entered the hotel the day before yesterday have been found. None of them are in life-threatening danger, but their mental state is listless. They should recover after a period of rest."
"But the ordinary guests who checked into the hotel earlier are in a very bad situation."
"It's normal for it to be bad; there really is a nightmare inside the hotel…"
Natsuki described the dangers of the hotel anomaly.
There is a nightmare in every room.
If one falls into a nightmare and cannot wake up, they will remain trapped until they collapse.
"I see." Mitsui gently patted her chest. "No wonder the medical staff said that most guests are mentally confused, completely irrational, and show many typical symptoms of mental breakdown."
Natsuki said:
"What about the other guests?"
Mitsui was silent for a moment, then whispered:
"Another portion of guests have passed away because they had no water or food for a long time in their rooms… It's not Natsuki-kun's fault, please don't take it to heart."
"It was never my fault." Natsuki said indifferently, "Of course I didn't take it to heart."
Mitsui: "..."
This was the truth.
Natsuki did not agree with the saying 'with great power comes great responsibility'.
It's just a slogan; it's enough to just shout it. Only an idiot would take it seriously.
It's like the so-called 'those who get rich first help those who get rich later'. Do those who got rich first really have the intention of helping others get rich?
Not at all.
They even wish they could block all channels and prevent you from getting rich.
If someone dares to stand up and expose information channels for getting rich, these people who got rich first would wish they could crush them.
They constantly tell others to make sacrifices and contributions, to burn for ideals and beliefs, but when it comes to themselves, they don't utter a sound.
Natsuki didn't want to be some superhero; being a despicable person, a shameless person, someone who takes good care of the people around him, was enough.
Mitsui cleared her throat twice, tacitly ending the topic, and continued:
"Aoi's family has been thoroughly investigated. Her mother is Kawakita Saika…"
"Kawakita Saika?"
Natsuki's expression was slightly strange. For some reason, he felt like this name sounded vaguely familiar.
A strange sequence of codes also appeared in his mind: ssis…
"Miss Kitakawa is twenty-nine years old this year. Her profession is a real estate salesperson. She is from a single-parent family, and we haven't found any identity information for Aoi's father yet."
After a pause, Mitsui said again:
"According to the investigation, besides her real estate sales job, Miss Kitakawa also has a part-time job… She was on the fourth floor of the hotel, discussing house sales with a middle-aged male guest."
So that's how it was.
No wonder when he and Tsubame entered the room, there was only Aoi inside; her mother had gone to another room for her part-time job.
Natsuki's expression was calm. Not knowing others' hardships, he wouldn't easily judge a person, and whispered:
"And then?"
Mitsui whispered:
"Miss Kitakawa is also currently suffering from mental breakdown, having lost her ability to judge and perceive the outside world. The medical staff said only conservative treatment can be given, and the recovery time cannot be determined."
Simply put.
Whether she could be cured was completely unknown.
Natsuki was silent for two seconds, then asked again:
"Does Aoi have any other relatives?"
Mitsui shook her head and said:
"According to the information we've investigated so far, there are no other relatives. Otherwise, she wouldn't have brought Aoi to the hotel to take care of her."
"I understand."
Natsuki nodded lightly, then turned and left.
"Natsuki-kun, how is it?"
Tsubame asked softly.
Natsuki looked at Aoi. His daughter was sitting on the long bench, holding an ice cream with both hands, gently licking it like a cat, her short legs swinging back and forth, clearly super happy.
Noticing Natsuki's gaze, his daughter quickly handed over the ice cream and looked up, saying:
"Papa, have some!"
"Munch."
Natsuki took a bite, patted Aoi's head, and said seriously:
"I need to have a private talk with Mama for a while. Aoi, don't eavesdrop."
"Mhm." His daughter quickly nodded. "Aoi promises not to eavesdrop!"
"Natsuki-kun?"
Tsubame looked at him with worry.
Natsuki sat on the long bench, reached out, and pulled Tsubame into his arms.
Suddenly being hugged by a boy in public, Tsubame's pretty face quickly flushed, and she couldn't help but struggle.
"Tsubame-senpai, the situation is not good…"
Natsuki leaned into Tsubame's ear and whispered.
Hearing that the situation was not good, Tsubame immediately quieted down: "Natsuki-kun, hurry and tell me."