Although she said she would collect the recipe, it definitely wouldn't be completed in a short time.
As Hayasaka left, the room quickly became quiet.
"The weather is so hot." Natsuki suddenly said, "I only went out to work for half a day, and I feel completely drenched."
Upon hearing this, Kaguya didn't know what she thought of, but her pretty face quickly flushed, and she frantically tried to flee:
"I-I'll go tell Hayasaka to prepare a change of clothes for President!"
"Don't bother Hayasaka." Natsuki reached out to stop Kaguya and said seriously, "Collecting the potion recipe is more important. Drinking it alone can increase mental resistance, and it might be able to resist the Strange Tale's memory modification. Priority MAX… So, Kaguya can just prepare a change of clothes for me."
Kaguya's pretty face was flushed crimson, and steam faintly rose from the top of her head.
President is too much!
He says such serious things, but in reality, he must have ulterior motives!
Now, he wants her to help prepare a change of clothes, then he'll ask her to help wipe his back, then accidentally get her skirt wet, and finally, it will turn into yesterday's situation, right?
Kaguya wanted to refuse in her heart, but for some reason, the words of refusal came to her lips, yet she couldn't utter them, turning them over and over. In the end, she could only stammer with a flushed face:
"I, I'll go get the clothes first…"
Natsuki smiled:
"Then I'll go to the bathroom and wait for you."
Kaguya's pretty face flushed crimson, and she couldn't help but glare at him.
What does he mean by waiting for her in the bathroom?
She was only helping him get clothes!
Just as their eyes met.
Kaguya immediately averted her gaze in a panic, then fled in disarray.
Natsuki got up and went to the bathroom, showering while waiting for Kaguya to arrive.
A moment later.
Bang, bang.
A light knocking sound came from the door.
Natsuki remembered the Strange Tale he encountered last night and raised an eyebrow, saying:
"Who's at the door?"
Kaguya softly said:
"President, it's me… I've placed your change of clothes at the door."
"No," Natsuki said with a serious tone, refusing in a deep voice, "You must bring it inside."
"Eh?"
"This is a special period, we must be vigilant. Who knows if you're hiding outside the door, waiting for me to open the door and get the clothes, and then suddenly jump out to alter my memories? So, you must bring them inside."
Kaguya: "…"
He says he's worried about Strange Tale, but he clearly just wants to trick her into the bathroom, right?
Click.
The door gently opened a crack.
A snow-white wrist holding clothes reached in:
"I've put the clothes at the door, President, don't… Eh, eh, eh?"
Before she could finish speaking, a hand firmly grasped Kaguya's wrist, then suddenly pulled with force, directly dragging Kaguya into the bathroom.
"Pre-President, let go of me." Glancing at the unclothed Natsuki, Kaguya's pretty face quickly flushed crimson, and she said shyly, "I'm angry."
One of a girl's innate passive abilities:
Saying one thing and meaning another.
Girls, these creatures, appear delicate and frail, walking as if a gust of wind could blow them away. But once they get angry, they're impossible to hold down, absolutely impossible to hold down.
At this moment, Kaguya said she was angry, but her body showed no struggle or resistance at all. Whether she was angry or not was completely obvious.
Natsuki said earnestly:
"I'm just helping you wipe your back, I guarantee I won't do anything else."
"No…" Kaguya's pretty face was flushed, and she shook her head, saying, "Hayasaka will be here very soon."
Natsuki said:
"Don't worry, Hayasaka won't come to disturb us. Think carefully, how long did it take Hayasaka to come back yesterday after going to get your clothes?"
"…"
Kaguya had no rebuttal and could only whisper:
"President, you must keep your word. I'll go out as soon as you finish wiping my back."
Natsuki raised his hand and guaranteed:
"I always keep my word."
"…"
An hour later.
The bathroom door quietly opened a crack, and Kaguya's pretty face was beet red as she stealthily slipped out.
"Liar!"
"The President is a big liar, he doesn't keep his word at all!"
The rest of the matter was simple.
Natsuki had dinner, then returned to his room to execute the bait plan.
The night passed without incident.
The Strange Tale still didn't appear, and dawn arrived quietly.
"It's been two days already," Natsuki said during breakfast, "One more day, and if the Strange Tale still doesn't appear, it's highly likely it won't come seeking revenge."
Shinomiya Un'yo said nervously:
"What if Natsuki-kun leaves and the Strange Tale quietly comes back?"
Natsuki said:
"The unfortunate people attacked by that Strange Tale were all alone. Mr. Shinomiya just needs to make sure someone is always by his side."
Shinomiya Un'yo forced a smile and said:
"Then Natsuki, I'll trouble you for one more day."
Although he was still very uneasy, Natsuki was not his subordinate or security guard, so he naturally couldn't demand Natsuki to provide constant personal protection.
After breakfast.
Hayasaka softly said:
"Miss, President, the materials have been collected."
Kaguya said in surprise:
"Eh, that fast?"
Hayasaka clasped her hands over her lower abdomen and calmly said:
"Although the potion ingredients are many, they are all common and there are no special items that are difficult to find."
Although the ingredients for the Witch Potion were numerous and varied, they were not rare. The most important item among them was twin hair, which needed to be burned to ash and sprinkled into the potion. Ordinary people might not find twins quickly, but for Hayasaka, it was a piece of cake.
Natsuki said from the side:
"Since the materials are collected, the next step is to make the finished product and then experience the effect of the potion."
"That's right," Kaguya nodded gently, "Hayasaka, let's go to the kitchen."
The three went to the kitchen together, first sending out the cooks, then closing the door and starting to make the Witch Potion.
Witch Potion, this kind of thing, is full of mystical elements and must be made by hand. Purely technological assembly line production would fail 100%. Fortunately, Natsuki and the other two had all made Night Potion before, so they had some experience. After a long time of effort, they successfully obtained three bottles of Witch Potion.
One of them was a regular potion, and the other two were Twin Potions.
Item: Witch Potion
Source: Player-made
Quality: Medium
Attribute: Effective upon drinking. After drinking, your mind will gain the tenacity attribute, allowing you to defend against a certain degree of mental influence and attacks. The cost is that your emotions will temporarily become indifferent.
Remarks: Clear-headed in this world, heart sealed with concrete!
As for the attributes of the two Twin Potions, there wasn't much change; the 'heart sealed with concrete' effect remained, but they gained a special ability to communicate with each other via telepathy.
"It's finally made successfully," Natsuki said, looking at the three bottles of potion on the table, complaining, "I feel like the success rate is lower than for the Night Potion."
Hayasaka peeled open a strawberry-flavored lollipop and put it in her mouth, saying:
"We just need to verify the potion's effect. Anyway, someone else will make it later."
Kaguya frowned slightly, hesitating:
"Speaking of which… will this potion have side effects?"
Natsuki heard this and said:
"Most likely it will."
All the potion formulas were obtained from the crystal ball, and the manufacturing methods were full of mystical elements. The dosages of various formulas were based entirely on feeling. It would be strange if there were no side effects.
Hayasaka crossed her arms over her chest and said:
"Miss, you need to be careful."
Kaguya: "…"
Her luck was indeed bad, but she wouldn't get hit right away, would she?
Natsuki asked:
"Three finished products, and there are exactly three of us. How should the potions be distributed?"
Kaguya exhaled softly, reached for one of the potions on the table, and said softly:
"President, you drink the regular potion, and Hayasaka and I will drink the Twin Potions."
"No problem."
Natsuki picked up the regular potion and drank it down.
"Tsk ~ I thought it would be hard to drink," Natsuki smacked his lips and commented, "I didn't expect it to be quite smooth, similar to coffee."
"Eh?" Kaguya blinked curiously, "Is it really not hard to drink?"
Natsuki turned to look at Hayasaka.
The maid understood, picked up the potion in front of her, drank it down, and said with a normal expression:
"It's indeed very smooth."
Kaguya was curious in her heart and drank the potion in her hand in one gulp.
"Ugh…"
The next second.
The Miss immediately scrunched up her face and couldn't help but complain:
"It's so bitter, how is it good to drink at all?!"
Natsuki said earnestly:
"It's supposed to be bitter; black coffee is naturally very bitter."
Hayasaka: "The President is right, it's Kaguya who didn't ask clearly."
Kaguya: "…"
Damn it!
The President and Hayasaka are clearly playing a trick on her, it's infuriating!
After drinking the potion, the next step was to record its effects.
As there was no immediate danger, the 'heart sealed with concrete' tenacity effect couldn't be tested. However, Natsuki did feel that his emotions had become much more indifferent—as long as he had no desires, no one could harm him.
Kaguya tilted her head slightly and said softly:
"There's no feeling of telepathy."
Natsuki mused:
"It might be intermittent telepathy, or it might require special conditions to trigger. You two should try more and figure out the pattern."
In the following time, Hayasaka and Kaguya tried various possibilities and finally found the way to activate telepathy.
"So it's about becoming a repeating machine," Hayasaka said, biting her lollipop and complaining, "Only by repeating what you want to say enough times in your mind can the other person hear it."
Kaguya raised her hand to tuck the strands of hair behind her ear and said softly, "I think it's quite good. If there's no privacy at all, it would be a bit hard to accept."
Everyone has some dark thoughts in their hearts, and if they share every single thought in detail, the result would definitely be embarrassing. Being able to convey one's thoughts only after repeating them multiple times is actually quite good.
Natsuki looked at Kaguya and asked, "Are there any side effects?"
"Hmm..." Kaguya pursed her lips, carefully sensing her body. "No side effects, everything feels normal now."
"Kaguya, don't be so sure," Hayasaka said, crossing her arms over her chest. "There's a type of constitution in the world called a jinx."
Kaguya couldn't help but puff out her pink cheeks: "Hayasaka is the one, don't be a jinx."
"..."
The after-effects truly didn't seem to appear. Even as the sky grew dark and night fell, Kaguya didn't feel any abnormalities in her body. If it were the Night Potion, she would have grown cat ears long ago.
After dinner.
Natsuki looked at Kaguya and said nonchalantly, "I'm going to take a bath first. After my bath, we'll continue with the fishing plan."
Hearing about the bath, Kaguya's pretty face immediately flushed, and she quickly said, "Hayasaka, you go deliver clothes to the perverted president. I have other things to do."
Natsuki pressed, "What's so busy?"
Kaguya turned her head away: "Perverted president, don't ask so many questions. In short, it's a very important matter."
The perverted president's credibility is completely gone now. If she delivers the clothes, she will definitely be taken advantage of. What if she can't resist... No! She can't let the perverted president take an inch and ask for a mile! She doesn't want her first time to be in a bathroom!
Thinking of this, Kaguya felt a bit uneasy again and quietly admonished, "Hayasaka, come back after you deliver the clothes. Be careful and protect yourself."
Protecting herself was false; not wanting Hayasaka to secretly "steal a bite" behind her back was the truth.
Hayasaka said calmly, "Understood, Kaguya."
"..."
Arriving at the bathroom.
Hayasaka put down the pajamas and was about to leave.
Natsuki stopped the maid-chan, turned around and said, "Ai-chan, help me scrub my back."
Unlike Kaguya, when faced with Natsuki's lewd actions, Hayasaka's expression was calm, completely unfazed. She parted her lips and uttered a single syllable: "Heh."
This was the difference between a naive girl and an experienced person. Mental attacks had no effect; not only did they not make Hayasaka blush, but she didn't even need to avert her gaze.
Natsuki's lips twitched slightly, and she couldn't help but complain, "Hayasaka-san, your reaction makes me lose a lot of face."
Hayasaka retorted sharply, "Doing such things in front of a girl, the perverted president must have already lost all shame, right?"
"Just you wait," Natsuki threatened, wanting to regain his dignity. "I'll come and raid you tonight."
"Heh heh."
"..."
After a couple of sentences, Hayasaka turned and left. Kaguya was still waiting outside, and if she returned late, she would definitely be jealous.
Time flowed by.
In the blink of an eye, it was eleven o'clock at night.
The night had quieted down, and the Strange Tale still hadn't appeared. The long night made it hard to sleep.
Natsuki stayed in his room alone, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. He couldn't help but pick up his phone and send a message to the maid-chan:
"Are you asleep?"
"..."
The message quickly showed as read.
Clearly, Hayasaka, being a night owl, wasn't sleeping at this hour.
Hayasaka: "Already asleep."
Natsuki: "You're asleep and can still reply to messages?"
Hayasaka: "This is an automated reply."
Natsuki: "Good, keep sleeping. No matter what happens, don't wake up. I'm coming for a night raid."
Hayasaka: "..."
A night raid meant a night raid.
Natsuki used to be all talk, but now he had evolved into a truly 'hands-on' person. He quietly left his room and headed straight for Hayasaka's room.
At the same time.
The already sleeping Kaguya suddenly felt an inexplicable current sweep through her body. She subconsciously opened her eyes and found herself lying on the bed, but her pajamas and blanket had changed. She was groggy and couldn't figure out the situation:
"Something seemed to have happened just now... Huh, this seems to be Hayasaka's room? Am I dreaming?"