As he spoke, hurried footsteps came from the back of the hallway, clearly the other people in the villa manor coming upstairs.
Kaguya immediately said:
"President, hurry back to the bathroom and change your clothes!"
"Mm."
Natsuki nodded and turned to walk back into the bathroom.
When he came out after changing, he saw Shinomiya Un'yo standing beside Kaguya, a slight look of disappointment on his face. He clearly already knew what had happened, but when he saw Natsuki come out, he couldn't help but ask:
"Natsuki, has the Strange Tale in the manor really not been eliminated?"
Natsuki said calmly:
"I wish, but unfortunately, the other party is just a sub-entity. Currently, it's still unknown how many sub-entities the other party has."
Kaguya said softly from the side:
"If Strange Tales were that easy to eliminate, they wouldn't be so dangerous."
Shinomiya Un'yo's face couldn't help but show disappointment, and he forced a smile:
"Natsuki, you've worked hard… Now, rest well, and let me know if you need anything."
Kaguya raised her right hand, gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and softly said, "Hayasaka just investigated the surveillance footage, and the Strange Tale did not appear in the cameras."
"That's normal." Natsuki nodded slightly. "If the surveillance could capture it, it would have been discovered long ago."
Hayasaka pursed her lips and lightly furrowed her brows, saying, "The President said that the Strange Tale can alter our memories, making us see it as our closest person, and then borrow things from us?"
"Exactly." Natsuki said, "The moment I opened the door, it was a stranger, but the next second it became my hardcore childhood friend, and then it immediately asked to borrow my life. I almost fell for it; it's completely impossible to guard against… No, I need to call for backup."
What to do when encountering a tricky Strange Tale?
Of course, you find someone taller to take over!
Natsuki decisively took out his phone and dialed Mitsui's number.
When in doubt, find Mitsui. Unbeknownst to him, Mitsui had already become the all-purpose secretary in Natsuki's mind; whenever he encountered troublesome situations, handing them over to her would always result in an easy resolution.
The call connected quickly.
"Natsuki-kun?"
Mitsui's clear and pleasant voice rang out from the phone.
"Good evening." Natsuki greeted her first, then went straight to the point, "I'm currently at the Shinomiya's villa estate and encountered an anomaly. It should be the mysterious Strange Tale the Strange Tales Management Bureau is tracking. The game has already issued a hunting quest…"
"Natsuki-kun, please wait a moment." Hearing the news of the mysterious Strange Tale, Mitsui's voice immediately became serious. "I'll have someone record the information right away."
Natsuki waited for a moment, then detailed the information about the 'Evil Neighbor' Strange Tale.
It could alter human memories, making humans perceive it as their closest friend, partner, or neighbor, and it would also borrow your life. More importantly, Natsuki only eliminated a sub-entity, proving that there wasn't just one Strange Tale, and he didn't know how many sub-entities were lurking in the shadows.
The message was conveyed and quickly received high attention from the Strange Tales Management Bureau, becoming one of the highest priority targets. Appearing and disappearing mysteriously, memory alteration, making you surrender your life without resistance… If such a bizarre Strange Tale was not eliminated quickly, the wealthy gentlemen would surely be restless.
Natsuki transmitted the information, and the rest became simple.
"I'll still be resting alone tonight." Natsuki put away his phone and looked at Kaguya and Hayasaka. "The Strange Tale had a sub-entity eliminated, so it might become enraged and come seeking revenge."
As for the hallway and walls damaged during the battle, Natsuki naturally didn't need to worry about them; the Shinomiya would handle the cleanup.
Kaguya lightly furrowed her brows and said, "I'll be with the President tonight."
Hayasaka softly reminded, "The Evil Neighbor only seems to attack people who are alone in their rooms. If Kaguya and the President sleep together, the Evil Neighbor might not appear."
Natsuki nodded lightly and said, "Tonight, I'll observe the situation alone first. You can be in the next room and appear in time if anything happens."
Kaguya then agreed, "The President will sleep in my room tonight."
"…"
Before he knew it, it was already ten o'clock at night.
Natsuki went to Kaguya's room to rest.
The night passed uneventfully.
In the blink of an eye, it was the next day.
The Strange Tale didn't come seeking revenge, and Natsuki slept soundly until dawn.
"President, good morning."
Kaguya raised her hand to cover her mouth, yawning. Faint dark circles had already appeared under her beautiful eyes, indicating she hadn't slept at all the previous night.
"You've worked hard." Natsuki raised his right hand, gently patted Kaguya's head, and softly said, "Tonight, get some good rest in the Theater."
The existence of the Theater's rules was equivalent to an absolute domain, allowing one to rest assured without worrying about being found by an anomaly while asleep.
Kaguya pursed her lips and softly said, "Thank you for your hard work, President."
Natsuki suddenly said, "Last night, I was worried about the Strange Tale coming for revenge and tossed and turned, so…"
Kaguya subconsciously picked up the conversation:
"So what?"
Natsuki looked at Kaguya and smiled, saying, "So tonight, I still need a good bath."
"Eh? Eh? Eh?"
Kaguya's pretty face quickly flushed red. The scene of them bathing together in the bathroom last night flooded her mind again, and her face visibly reddened at a rapid pace. She turned and scurried away in a panic:
"I, I'm going to eat breakfast first!"
"…"
After breakfast, Natsuki returned to his room alone again, attempting to bait the Strange Tale, but it was to no avail; the Strange Tale never appeared again.
In the blink of an eye, it was afternoon.
Natsuki was idly playing on his phone in his room when a message suddenly popped up on the screen.
Tsubame: "Junior, Momo-senpai seems a bit off."
Natsuki: "What's the situation?"
Tsubame: "Just now, when I was having lunch with Momo-senpai, I saw one of Momo-senpai's eyes turn red."
Her eye turned red?
That meant the eerie erosion had deepened again.
Natsuki briefly explained the reason to Tsubame:
"In the apocalypse, after ordinary people merge with an oddity, they will be continuously eroded by the oddity. The characteristic is their body and eyes. The body will grow abnormal parts, and once both eyes turn blood-red, they will completely lose their sanity and become new monsters."
"Eh? Eh? Eh?" Tsubame immediately became anxious. "Then what should we do?"
Natsuki: "Senpai, don't panic. I've helped Momo-senpai alleviate the erosion before. Although it can't be cured, maintaining a stable state is not a problem."
Tsubame couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief: "That's good… Can Junior come over when you have time? Momo-senpai is at my house. Her eye suddenly turned red, and Aoi-chan was startled."
After a pause, Tsubame sent another message:
"And Junior hasn't been here for so long, Aoi-chan already misses you very much. She even said she dreamed of you this morning."
Natsuki thought for a moment, then initiated a video call.
Beep beep—
After two rings, the video quickly connected.
Tsubame's face quickly appeared on the screen: fair skin, bright eyes and white teeth, no makeup, and a heart-fluttering pure sweetness… It had to be said, Tsubame was incredibly beautiful.
One of the four beauties of Shuchiin Academy, she was not famous for nothing.
"Junior?"
Tsubame on the other end of the video blinked, her tone slightly bewildered.
Why send a video invitation suddenly when they were just messaging?
"Good afternoon, Senpai." Natsuki smiled, revealing two rows of white teeth, "Only Aoi-chan misses me, don't you miss me, Senpai?"
Tsubame's fair, doll-like face flushed slightly, and she couldn't help but glare at him:
"Not at all."
No wonder he didn't text but suddenly wanted to video chat; he was clearly trying to tease her!
Natsuki smiled and said, "If Senpai doesn't miss me, then I don't know when I'll come over. Maybe three days, or five days, who knows."
Tsubame puffed out her pink cheeks slightly:
"I just don't miss you."
Natsuki: "Have you ever dreamed of me?"
Tsubame: "Absolutely not."
Natsuki sighed faintly: "When I was struggling to survive in another world, I thought of Senpai every moment. Senpai was my hope for returning… I didn't expect Senpai to not miss me at all. It hurts so much."
"…"
Tsubame's rosy lips curved slightly upwards, then she pressed them together tightly.
Although she knew Natsuki was just sweet-talking and coaxing her, she still couldn't help but feel happy.
Tsubame raised her right hand, her slender fingers twirling the hair by her ear, "Anyway, besides me, Junior must have many others to miss, right?"
Natsuki said without changing his expression, "There is only one unique Senpai in the world, completely different from everyone else."
"Hmph~"
Tsubame's lips curved upwards, and she lightly hummed. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly widened her beautiful eyes, leaned closer to examine the video, then her pretty face hardened, and she said sternly, "Junior, go coax someone else. If there's nothing, I'm hanging up."
Natsuki was stunned, and asked in confusion, "Why is Senpai suddenly angry?"
Tsubame said expressionlessly, "I'm not angry."
She said she wasn't angry, but she was just smiling a moment ago, and in the blink of an eye, she became poker-faced!
Natsuki said innocently, "Even if it's a judge sentencing, shouldn't the suspect be convinced?"
Tsubame lightly bit her lip:
"Junior knows himself."
Natsuki: "I really don't know."
"…I have something to do. Junior, goodbye."
Tsubame bit her lower lip and was about to hang up after speaking.
"Senpai, wait a moment, let me sort this out."
Natsuki quickly called out to stop her.
He always believed in the idea of 'never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.' What to do if there's a conflict?
Of course, resolve it on the spot!
He still remembered reading a manga in junior high where the male and female protagonists had all sorts of misunderstandings. Misunderstandings that could be cleared up with just one sentence were deliberately left unsaid, and eventually, the misunderstandings grew bigger and bigger, leading to two people who liked each other drifting further apart and going their separate ways… In short, it was incredibly frustrating.
If you can't even say a word of explanation, what's the point of having a mouth?
Unlike others, Tsubame's personality was actually very good; she usually didn't get angry easily. Now that she was suddenly unhappy, there must be a reason, and it must be related to him.
Natsuki carefully recalled the details from just now and suddenly remembered that Tsubame had leaned closer to the video, widening her eyes, as if she was carefully observing something.
Looking around, Natsuki finally realized.
No wonder Senpai was angry; it turned out she recognized that he was in Kaguya's room.
If it were him, seeing Senpai in a strange guy's room, he wouldn't just be angry; he'd have thoughts of taking out a knife and killing someone!
"It seems Senpai found out." Natsuki held up his phone and looked around. "I am indeed in Kaguya's bedroom, but Senpai, do you still remember… Kaguya has already run away from home?"
"Eh?"
Tsubame blinked and quickly reacted.
That's right.
Kaguya had already run away from home a long time ago, so why did Junior suddenly appear in her room?
Looking at the size and layout of the room, it's clearly the Shinomiya family's mansion, isn't it?
"I came to the Shinomiya family mansion last night because a maid in the estate encountered an anomaly incident…"
Natsuki didn't hide anything and explained the situation clearly:
"Last night, I eliminated a sub-entity. Now that I'm alone in Kaguya-san's room in broad daylight, I don't know if that Strange Tale will come seeking revenge."
Tsubame finally relaxed her pretty face and said nervously:
"The Strange Tale that alters memories is too dangerous. Junior must be careful."
"I know. I almost fell for it last night." Natsuki nodded slightly, "If something really happens, you'll miss me, won't you, Senpai?"
Tsubame couldn't help but glare at him:
"Don't jinx it!"
"Yes, yes."
"…"
Natsuki walked towards the door: "I'm leaving now to go to your house, Senpai."
Tsubame worriedly said:
"Isn't Junior in danger right now? It's better not to act on your own."
"It's fine." Natsuki said, "That Strange Tale might come seeking revenge, or it might avoid me from afar. I can't possibly stay in the Shinomiya family estate every day… Wait for me, Senpai."
"…"
After hanging up the phone, Natsuki walked out of the room, reported his whereabouts to the Young Miss, and then left temporarily.
The journey was uneventful.
Natsuki bought a souvenir and soon arrived outside Tsubame's house.
"Click."
The door opened.
Tsubame stood behind the door, smiling brightly:
"Junior, come in quickly."
Behind Tsubame, there was also a small child, who was none other than the 'daughter' Aoi. However, after not seeing him for a while, the 'daughter' was clearly much more reserved, hiding behind Tsubame, looking up with a small, timid face.
Natsuki handed over the panda he was holding and smiled:
"Aoi, what is this?"
The little child softly replied:
"It's a panda~"
"I went on a long trip recently and only came back today. This is a souvenir I bought for Aoi." Natsuki said as he handed over the panda plush toy.
The little child timidly reached out and took it. As soon as she hugged the panda plush toy, Natsuki lifted her into the air. After a brief gasp, she quickly started to laugh happily.
Tsubame stood by, watching Natsuki effortlessly coax Aoi, her smile gentle.
"Junior will definitely be a good father in the future…"
Upon realizing her own wild thoughts, Tsubame's pretty face flushed, and she quickly chased the jumbled thoughts out of her mind.
Steady!
Don't let your imagination run wild!
Everyone is still just a high school student right now; that kind of thing is too early!