Good news.
He obtained a brand new Golden Skill skill, and it was a unique limited skill, one of a kind, that wouldn't clash with others.
Bad news.
To raise a child into the world's strongest would take years...
"How strong is the world's strongest?"
Chika had her left arm wrapped around her chest and her right hand propping up her chin, her face full of curiosity.
"I don't know." Tsubame shook her head, her tone a bit subtle. "But purely in terms of value, it certainly lives up to the reputation of a Golden Skill; it didn't disappoint."
All parents in the world hope their children will have a better life.
Having children who could become the world's strongest was not unacceptable.
Haruno extended a slender, fair finger and said with a bright smile:
"Indeed, the task of saving the world will be handed over to Natsuki and Kaguya-chan. Once they become the world's strongest, they should be able to end the anomalies, right?"
Yukino turned her head and glanced at her sister, whose smile was like a blooming flower, without speaking.
No doubt.
That was a fake smile meant to mislead others.
Her sister's true thoughts right now should be...
(Ahhh! Why isn't it me!)
The little person in Haruno's heart was rolling on the ground, extremely unwilling.
As an adult female university student, whether physically or psychologically, having children was completely fine.
If she had obtained the Golden Skill skill of 'Strongest Descendant,' she would launch a night raid tonight and give birth to the baby as soon as possible!
"What are you talking about?" Mrs. Shimizu couldn't see the skill panel and could only fret, "What happened to Kaguya and Natsuki?"
"It's like this..."
Chika chattered, quickly explaining the situation.
"Eh?" Mrs. Shimizu's eyes quickly brightened, and she smiled, "Kaguya, come on, hurry up and let me be a grandmother!"
"How is that possible!" Kaguya's pretty face was flushed crimson, almost dripping blood, and she couldn't help but exclaim, "The law has been changed; you can only get married at eighteen now, and you can only have a baby after getting married at least!"
Mrs. Shimizu raised her hand to cover her mouth, her face showing a shocked expression:
"You're modern people, why are your thoughts like old antiques?"
Kaguya: "..."
"I saw on Twitter that Japan's newborn birth rate has been declining year after year, and the death toll even exceeds the birth rate. If this continues, Japan will naturally disappear in another one or two hundred years." Mrs. Shimizu extended a finger. "So, even children born out of wedlock can enjoy various welfare policies."
"U-unmarried pregnancy..." Kaguya's head was already steaming. "I would never do something like that!"
Having a baby before getting married, no matter how she thought about it, was too embarrassing!
"What does it matter?" Mrs. Shimizu smiled, "I was pregnant before marriage, that's how I had you, and your third brother too, I remember it was the same, so you see, this is a Shinomiya tradition."
Kaguya: "..."
Such a family tradition was simply too terrible!
"I'm done soaking!" Kaguya really couldn't listen anymore. With one hand covering her chest, she got up and fled, "I'm going back first!"
Natsuki was unsure how long he had slept, but it must have been a considerable amount of time.
As Kaguya fled in embarrassment, the other girls also got up and left one after another.
"If I soak any longer, I'll get dizzy." Marin clenched her fists and stretched with all her might, her graceful silhouette visible under the moonlight. "Let's go back, everyone, and get a good night's rest."
However, as she passed Natsuki, Marin, unnoticed, poked Natsuki in the waist, then closed one eye, stuck out her pink tongue, and mouthed:
"Come to my room tonight."
Natsuki: "…"
What happened to getting a good night's rest?
You clearly don't want to sleep!
After a comfortable bath, Natsuki returned to his room.
The Strange Tales Management Bureau had booked the entire hot spring hotel. For the next few days, he could choose any room he wanted, whether he wanted to stay alone or with others, it was completely fine.
Natsuki returned to his room and took a quick shower in the bathroom, only then remembering that he had forgotten something.
A Skin Card.
Because of the sudden appearance of the Golden Skill skill, many people had forgotten that there was also a Skin Card among the rewards, and even Natsuki had only just remembered.
He casually opened the Blind Box. As expected, after the Golden Skill appeared, the Skin Card's attributes were quite ordinary. The card clearly showed an ostrich pajama.
[Skin Card: Ostrich Set]
[Attribute: Special Item]
[Inherent Ability: Instant Change]
[Attribute Bonus: Stealth Enhancement]
[Ability Two: After equipping this Skin Card, you will gain Ostrich Form. Your presence will be greatly weakened, and most creatures will ignore your existence.]
[Note: Life doesn't always have to be about challenging the storm. Being a stable ostrich is also quite good.]
"This Skin Card is super suitable for Shoko."
After reading the attributes, Natsuki knew who it should be given to.
If you asked who the Ostrich Girl was, everyone would answer in unison.
Natsuki put away the Skin Card, wiped his hair, and walked out of the room, preparing to give the Skin Card to Shoko right away.
It was only a little past nine in the evening, and he had slept a bit in the hot spring, so he wasn't sleepy at all.
He arrived at the hallway.
Natsuki looked up and saw a petite junior high girl, wrapped in a white bathrobe, drinking milk in front of the vending machine.
"Gulp, gulp, gulp~" Juju exhaled contentedly and cast a suspicious glance. "Stupid Natsuki, what are you doing out so late?"
Natsuki didn't speak, his gaze just fell on the milk at Juju's mouth.
"What are you looking at?"
Juju's small face flushed, and she subconsciously stuck out her pink tongue to lick away the milk at the corner of her mouth.
It was just an ordinary action, but in Natsuki's eyes, it seemed to ignite the fuse of the Balkan War. Natsuki felt a surge of heat, and his originally unshakeable rationality instantly became precarious.
Natsuki finally understood why those veterans returning from the battlefield would indulge in alcohol and lewd.
When humans return from a dangerous environment to a safe one, the most primal reproductive desire will expand infinitely, and rationality cannot suppress it at all.
"If I remember correctly, Juju seemed to have chosen a single room, right?"
Natsuki lowered his voice and walked towards Juju step by step.
As for giving Shoko the Skin Card, there would be plenty of time later. Taking advantage of Juju was more important now.
"You, what do you want to do?"
Facing Natsuki's undisguised aggressive gaze, Juju's small face instantly flushed. She no longer had her previous tsundere attitude, and her whole body began to panic.
He actually asked if she was staying alone. Did Stupid Natsuki want to…
"You remembered wrong! I'm not staying alone!"
Juju decisively denied it.
"It's okay if you're not alone," Natsuki said nonchalantly. "Come to my room, and we'll study together."
"Pfft~!"
Juju couldn't help but let out a soft, annoyed snort and turned to run.
Calling a girl to your room to study in the middle of the night, that excuse was too bad!
Natsuki called out from behind:
"Don't run, it's really just studying."
Juju: "I'd believe a ghost before I'd believe you!"
Once caught, she would definitely be carried into the room, and then something very scary would happen!
Bang!
Juju ran into her room, slammed the door shut, and then, with a flushed face, she couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
"I escaped… Stupid Natsuki's eyes were so scary, like he wanted to eat someone…"
Juju covered her chest with one hand, her legs tightly pressed together. While feeling nervous and excited, there was also a hint of regret that she was unwilling to admit.
As someone who had been through it, Juju wasn't actually that scared, after all, she had already experienced what needed to be experienced.
However, Shoko was still in the room. If she didn't come back, Shoko would definitely worry, right?
At this moment, a voice suddenly sounded behind Juju:
"Don't worry, I don't eat people."
"Eh? Eh?"
Juju turned around in a panic and saw Natsuki appear behind her at some point. Her eyes widened, and she said in disbelief:
"How did you get into the room?!"
Without Natsuki needing to explain, Juju quickly reacted, clenching her pink fist in anger and punching him:
"Idiot! You actually used Time Stop for such a small thing!"
Slap.
Natsuki grabbed Juju's small fist, then reached out and picked Juju up, his gaze burning as he said:
"It's not a small thing, it's a very important big thing."
Seeing Natsuki begin to transform into a werewolf, Juju immediately panicked, her small face flushed as she said:
"Wait, wait a minute, in the room…"
However, before she could finish, the rest of her words were choked in her throat, leaving only low, embarrassed whimpers. Soon after, her mind went blank, and her soul seemed to float out of her body, no longer remembering anything else.
At the same time.
In the bathroom of Juju's room.
A girl with long black hair was wiping her slender, long legs with a towel. Under the warm light, the curve from her knees to her toes was exceptionally beautiful.
"Hmm?"
Komi's ears twitched slightly, and she turned her head towards the door in confusion.
"Just now, it seemed like… Natsuki's voice?"
"That's strange, how come he only said two sentences and then there was no sound?"
The rooms in the hot spring hotel could be chosen freely. Shoko had originally decided to sleep alone that night, but after entering the room and discovering a wandering evil spirit inside, she immediately regretted it.
She was too embarrassed to call Natsuki for help, so she could only knock on Juju's door and come over to rest together.
Before, after soaking in the hot spring, she hadn't properly showered, so after arriving at Juju's room, the first thing Komi did was to take a shower in the bathroom.
"No talking, and no sound of the door closing… What are Natsuki and Juju doing?"
The girl's curiosity quickly surged.
After a moment of hesitation, Komi, with one hand covering the towel on her chest, walked cautiously to the door with bare feet. Only then did she hear faint, muffled whimpers from outside the door, clearly very suppressed, and it seemed there were also faint sobs from Juju.
"Eh? Eh? Juju seems to be… crying?!"
Komi's heart immediately tightened, and she bit her lip worriedly.
Although everyone was a team, when it came to relationships, she and Juju were the closest. Now hearing Juju's faint sobs, she couldn't stand by and do nothing.
To avoid mishearing, Komi stood on her tiptoes, pressed her ear to the door, and listened carefully.
"I didn't mishear, Juju is really crying!"
"What exactly did Natsuki do?"
"Why would Juju be so wronged that she would cry…"
Komi bit her lips, quickly clenched her fists, and made up her mind.
No!
I can't stand by and do nothing!
No matter the reason, making Juju cry is too much!
Komi took a deep breath and reached out to open the bathroom door.
As a five-star hotel, the bathroom door was of excellent quality. When she pulled the door open, it made no sound.
However, after seeing the situation outside clearly, Komi's beautiful eyes widened instantly, her face flushed so red it looked like it would drip blood the next second. The courage to stop the atrocity instantly vanished, and she hurriedly tried to close the door.
Juju was indeed crying.
And it was indeed Natsuki who was taking advantage of Juju.
But it wasn't the kind of taking advantage of she had imagined…
Hide!
Quickly hide!
This was not an atrocity that needed to be stopped!
Just as the door was about to close, Komi suddenly reacted.
No!
If I close the door too hard, I'll definitely be discovered peeking, right?
At the crucial moment, Komi quickly stuffed the towel into the door crack, at least managing to prevent the door from making a sound when it collided.
"Phew…"
Komi quietly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if she had run ten kilometers, her legs already weak. She involuntarily slid down the wall to sit.
"Juju and Natsuki-kun probably didn't notice, right?"
Komi covered her chest, her heart tightened again, and she subconsciously turned her head, secretly peeking out. After just one glance, she quickly closed her eyes in a panic and turned her head back.
Terrifying.
That kind of thing was too terrifying!
She had seen lewd books by accident before, but the images in the books and the visual impact of real people were completely incomparable. Steam was even rising from Komi's head.
However, even if she averted her gaze, the sounds still filled her ears.
Before, with the bathroom door closed, she could only hear faint sounds. Now that the door couldn't be closed, they naturally became exceptionally clear.
"No, no…"
Komi bit her lip, her face so red it almost dripped blood. She covered her chest with her right hand, feeling as if her heart was about to jump out, and she struggled to close the door.
However, when she had just slid down, a corner of her bathrobe accidentally got stuck under the door, and now the door couldn't be closed, nor could the bathrobe be pulled out.
Komi could only carefully pull at the towel while biting her lip and silently resisting the assault of the sounds.
But after a while, Komi's action of pulling the towel stopped at some point.
No, never mind…
The door is only ajar, it's fine if it's not completely closed, right?
Komi covered her ears with both hands, but the sound still drilled into her head, and steam billowed from the top of her head, her entire body tinged with a blush.
Not only that.
Komi also felt dizzy and realized that her body seemed to be out of her control, as if she wanted to turn her head and look outside again.
Just one more look…
Anyway, she had already seen it just now, so one more look… it wouldn't matter, right?
"No, you can't!"
A sudden realization dawned on Komi's heart.
In this world, there is only a first time and countless times.
Once she couldn't resist and turned her head to look again, she would likely fall into an abyss, never able to return to how things were before…
Kneeling on the bathroom floor, Komi felt the time pass exceptionally slowly.
After an unknown amount of time, the sound outside, which could torment one's spirit and corrode one's will, finally stopped.
"…I'm going back."
Natsuki's voice was heard from outside.
"Is it, is it over…?"
The the timid girl covered her mouth and nose with her right hand, preventing herself from breathing, her eyes misty, clearly overflowing with moisture.
Juju's hair was disheveled, and she was hugging a pillow, tear stains still on the corners of her eyes, already without the strength to speak.
Of course, with her mind completely blank, she had no idea what to say either.
"Juju, do you want some water?"
Natsuki said softly.
He had intended to leave like that, but then he felt a bit like a scumbag, so he at least wanted Juju to rehydrate herself.
"I want to drink~"
Juju answered subconsciously.
After speaking, Juju realized that her voice was astonishingly sweet, clearly with a hint of coquetry, wanting to feel shy, but unfortunately, she had no strength in her limbs, so she could only let it be.
Natsuki brought over a bottle of Meiji Milk and carefully fed it to Juju, saying softly:
"You can shower by yourself later."
After giving his instructions, Natsuki glanced at the bathroom before leaving Juju's room.
That's right.
Natsuki had actually already noticed the movement in the bathroom.
To be precise, he had already noticed when Shoko pushed open the bathroom door.
But could he have stopped then?
He absolutely couldn't stop.
Not only that, Natsuki even had the urge to carry Juju into the bathroom and shower with Shoko, the three of them together, but he ultimately restrained himself.
The the timid girl was super thin-skinned and had no experience at all; showering with three people would definitely scare Shoko, so he could only try it later when there was an opportunity.
Bang.
The door gently closed.
Komi secretly peered out and, seeing Natsuki's figure disappear, finally completely relaxed.
"He's, he's finally gone…"
Komi bit her lips, feeling especially resentful and regretful.
If she had known something like this would happen, she would never have come to rest here, even if there were evil spirits lurking in the room.
"Get up and shower…"
After resting for a while, and waiting for her strength to recover slightly, Juju gritted her teeth and sat up weakly.
In fact, her mind was still blank, and she just wanted to sleep until morning, but she had sweated a lot, and not washing up felt incredibly uncomfortable.
"Stupid Natsuki, he didn't even carry me to the bathroom to shower…"
Juju unhappily wrinkled her delicate nose, her gaze turning to the bathroom, and suddenly her beautiful eyes widened as she finally remembered the important thing she had forgotten.
"Ahhhhhh!"
"Shoko is still in the bathroom!"
"Stupid Natsuki was too intense earlier, he didn't give me a chance to speak, Shoko-chan must have heard everything!"
Juju's small face instantly flushed, and shame overflowed.
"Eh, wait…" Juju's gaze suddenly fixed, "The bathroom door… when did it open?"
"It's one thing for Shoko to hear it, but why open the door?"
"Could Shoko… be peeking?"