The battle ended quickly.
The targets of these official players were all on Natsuki, truly a hatred of killing a daughter and stealing a wife. They completely ignored everyone else and were subdued by Kaguya and the others in minutes, tied up with magic ropes, and thrown on the ground.
"Natsuki-kun, are you hurt?"
Seeing that the dust had settled, Mitsui quickly ran out of the room.
"I'm fine," Natsuki took out a magic rope, tied up the Evil Neighbor, clapped his hands, and said, "It doesn't hurt or itch."
He did take a few punches just now, but honestly, it didn't hurt or itch, and there was no major problem.
As for Mitsui coming out last, Natsuki didn't care at all.
As a commander, one should inherently command the center and oversee the overall situation. Personally going into battle at the slightest provocation is reckless.
"That's good," Mitsui breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Once we return to headquarters, I will immediately arrange for a professional doctor to examine Natsuki."
After speaking, Mitsui turned her head, biting her lower lip, and glared at the few official players who were still dazed and writhing on the ground. She took out her walkie-talkie and began calling for the follow-up team.
When the world faces a crisis of destruction, relying only on a few individuals to save the world while all other nations are deaf and blind is a value of individual heroism exported by Europe and America. However, in reality, the views of various countries are quite consistent, which is saturated rescue or strike.
As Mitsui called for reinforcements, a team of fully armed personnel entered the villa in just three minutes.
This group looked quite professional and quickly began to treat the injured and clear the scene.
Mitsui looked up, bowed slightly, and said:
"Natsuki-kun, the Evil Neighbor might still affect others along the way. Please come back to headquarters with us?"
Although the Evil Neighbor was tied at the limbs and blindfolded, she was still distorting the will of those around her, though not as exaggerated as before. Even so, one had to be extremely vigilant to prevent accidents.
Natsuki naturally did not refuse, nodding in agreement, saying:
"Let's go."
It was hard enough to catch the Evil Neighbor; it would be super annoying if she escaped midway.
Chika raised her right hand, her voice clear, saying:
"I want to go too!"
Mitsui said softly:
"Everyone goes together. Once we reach headquarters, we can undergo psychological evaluation and counseling."
Kaguya and Hayasaka did not refuse this suggestion, nodding slightly in agreement.
Natsuki reminded:
"Ayaka is still in the room."
"Ah, I almost forgot," Chika slapped her forehead, quickly walked to Ayaka's room door, raised her hand and knocked, saying, "Ayaka-chan, you can come out now. Let's go to headquarters together for a physical check-up."
"…"
There was no movement in the room.
Ayaka was clearly still adhering to everyone's previous instruction—no matter who knocked, she absolutely must not open the door.
Bang bang.
Chika continued to knock, saying crisply:
"Ayaka-chan, open the door, the bad guy has been caught by us."
Your one-sided statement can't convince anyone, can it!
"Stop shouting," Natsuki reached out and pulled Chika away, looking at the versatile maid, "Hayasaka-sama, I'll leave it to you."
"Tch."
Hayasaka pouted slightly, took two steps forward, pulled out a black wire from her pocket, probed it into the keyhole and fiddled with it. The door quickly opened with a 'click'.
"Eh, how did you get in?"
Ayaka was sitting on the bed, wearing headphones, actually watching a NicoNico dance video.
"The Strange Tale has been caught," Natsuki glanced at the video on the computer, feeling that the cosplaying girl inside looked a bit familiar, somewhat similar to Ayaka in front of him, and said nonchalantly, "But to be safe, it's better to go to the Strange Tales Management Bureau headquarters with us for a physical check-up."
"I… I understand…"
Ayaka's small face flushed. She quickly slapped her laptop shut, took off her headphones, then jumped off the bed to change clothes.
Walking out of the room, the previously messy scene had already been quickly cleaned up.
Several official players were carried out. As for the Evil Neighbor's avatar, Natsuki carried her with one hand, personally supervising her.
A moment later.
The group walked out of the villa, picked up Moeha, who refused to go home and insisted on coming along, and took a car to the Strange Tales Management Bureau headquarters.
The journey was not peaceful, with many incidents occurring.
Although the Evil Neighbor's avatar could neither speak nor move, she could still distort the will of those around her. The ordinary driver at first only lasted less than ten minutes before losing his will and actually tried to drive onto the pedestrian crossing.
Fortunately, Natsuki reacted in time, immediately activated Time Stop, threw the driver out, and pulled the handbrake, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Since the ordinary driver couldn't drive, a player was quickly arranged to drive.
However, players would also be affected, so the driver was changed every section, proceeding to headquarters in a relay fashion.
The journey wasn't exactly thrilling, but it was quite tense.
More than half an hour later, the escort vehicle finally drove into the Strange Tales Management Bureau headquarters parking lot.
Natsuki stepped out of the escort vehicle and saw a group of fully armed staff already standing by, along with several researchers in white coats looking eagerly at the Evil Neighbor's avatar.
This group was pushing a specially made sealed container, which appeared to be a special item produced by the game, used to detain the Evil Neighbor's avatar.
The handover was complete.
The group quickly pushed the avatar away.
As for what would happen next, Natsuki didn't know and didn't care at all.
Scientific research, dissection experiments, or even establishing an SCP Foundation, it didn't matter.
The more Natsuki understood about this world, the more he realized one thing:
Let go of the desire to help others and respect their fate.
Besides, the Evil Neighbor's avatar had already killed countless people; executing her ten times over wouldn't be excessive. She simply didn't deserve any sympathy.
"Natsuki-kun," Mitsui finally breathed a complete sigh of relief. Her mission was completely over. She looked up and said gratefully, "Shall everyone go for a physical check-up first?"
Natsuki nodded and said:
"Then let's get it checked."
"…"
The examination process goes without saying; the result was naturally no problems. Although Natsuki was hit a few times, he was tough and thick-skinned. Not to mention injuries, he didn't even have a single bruise.
Next was the psychological counseling session.
Natsuki and Kaguya, as veteran players, were fine. Moeha and Ayaka were both junior high school girls, super curious, at an age prone to fantasy, and hadn't witnessed any tragic scenes firsthand, so there were absolutely no psychological issues.
After a series of trivial matters, it was already past ten o'clock at night without realizing it.
"Eh, it's already so late," Chika raised her phone and quickly said, "I need to hurry home."
Natsuki said from the side:
"It's already so late, it's not safe to go home now. It's not too late to stay at headquarters for the night and go home tomorrow."
"That's right," Moeha agreed, nodding from the side, "Anyway, Mom and Dad aren't home, so it doesn't matter if we don't go back."
"Alright then…"
Chika hesitantly agreed, her little face flushed as she glanced at Natsuki, and whispered:
"President, be honest tonight, don't do anything strange."
Natsuki smiled and said:
"What kind of strange things are you referring to?"
Chika quickly puffed out her pink cheeks:
"President knows full well!"
"…"
Immediately after, Natsuki asked Kaguya and Hayasaka for their opinions. Both were also willing to stay and rest, so Natsuki called a staff member and asked them to help arrange rooms.
Natsuki originally planned for one room per person to facilitate a night raid, but unfortunately, the two junior high school girls were super excited and had just encountered the supernatural world, so they insisted on sleeping in one room to chat all night.
There was nothing he could do. Natsuki could only have a room to himself and spend the night alone.
Back in the room.
Next was time for washing up.
The summer vacation hadn't ended yet, so the weather was still quite hot. During the operation to capture the Evil Neighbor, Natsuki had sweated a lot. First, he took a refreshing cold shower, then walked to the outdoor hot spring pool in the courtyard, ready to soak in the hot spring.
"Hoo…"
Natsuki sat down in the hot spring pool, exhaled contentedly, then looked up at the sky. A silver moon hung high in the night sky, casting boundless clear light, making one's mind involuntarily calm down.
Who first saw the moon by the riverbank? When did the river moon first shine on people?
Compared to the boundless universe and cosmos, a person's life is truly like morning dew, fleeting in an instant. So, it's better to live a more exciting and self-centered life. Those with high morals will be very tired, and sensitive people who care too much about others' opinions will also be very tired.
Tap, tap, tap.
The sound of wooden clogs on bluestone slabs rang out, followed by the clear and pleasant voices of young girls.
"Senpai, Senpai, we're here!"
"Heave-ho~"
"Let's all soak in the hot spring together!"
"..."
Natsuki turned his head to look, but unfortunately, even though the rooms were next to each other, the hot spring was not co-ed. There was a bamboo fence in the middle, so he could only hear their voices but not see them.
Moon gazing?
Natsuki quickly snapped out of his cold, lonely moon-gazing reverie.
What's there to gaze at? Cute girls are definitely more worth appreciating!
After chatting with the two junior high students from a distance for a while, Natsuki felt like he had forgotten something.
After thinking carefully for a while, Natsuki finally slapped his forehead and summoned Mrs. Shimizu.
"Natsuki-kun finally remembered me."
Mrs. Shimizu's eyes were filled with resentment as she quietly appeared beside Natsuki.
"My apologies," Natsuki said, his expression unchanged. "I was too busy just now, and only now have I finally settled down."
When he was capturing the 'Evil Neighbor' earlier, Natsuki was worried that Mrs. Shimizu would be affected, so he had her enter his shadow. He had promised that he would let her out as soon as the capture was successful, but he had completely forgotten.
Mrs. Shimizu said resentfully:
"If you were that busy, Natsuki-kun, do you still have time to soak in a hot spring?"
Natsuki shamelessly replied:
"That's because one needs to balance work and rest."
"Hmph~" Mrs. Shimizu said, her face full of grievance. "In short, Natsuki-kun is just biased."
Isn't being biased normal?
You're a spirit behind him, you can't be seen, you can't be eaten, you can't even warm the bed, of course he'd be biased!
Natsuki pointed his finger and said:
"Shinomiya and the others are soaking in the hot spring next door."
As he spoke, Natsuki also summoned Sadako, Hachishakusama, Yandere Kaguya, Yuuko, Kumoko, and the Little Match Girl—all his employees. He couldn't show favoritism.
The hot spring bath, which was originally quite spacious, quickly became lively.
The employee rooms were not large. Except for ultimate shut-ins like Sadako, everyone else would get depressed if they stayed for too long. Even kittens and puppies need their own space to move around.
Previously, these employees were unwilling to come to the real world because they would feel the loneliness and emptiness of being in the cosmic cosmos. But after Natsuki mastered Domain Expansion, it was no longer a problem.
Snap.
Natsuki raised his right hand and snapped his fingers lightly.
With Domain Expansion, even in the real world, entities like Sadako could truly feel their own presence.
Of course, this was limited to a few thousand meters around Natsuki, which was within the range of his domain.
Hachishakusama: "Eh, what is this?"
The Little Match Girl: "The water is so warm, and it's bubbling."
Yuuko: "Save me, I can't swim."
Kumoko: "Damn it, it doesn't taste good at all."
These employees were all soaking in a hot spring for the first time, and they found it quite wonderful.
Then there was Sadako, the socially anxious Strange Tale. She gurgled and sank into the hot spring pool. She didn't need to breathe, but her hair quietly floated on the surface of the water, looking strangely frightening from a distance.
Finally, there was Yandere Kaguya.
"Natsuki-kun, where is this?"
Yandere Kaguya looked around and came to Natsuki's side.
It must be said that beauty is justice. Even with her cold expression and dangerous aura, Yandere Kaguya still looked exceptionally beautiful under the moonlight.
"Many things happened again today…"
Natsuki waved his hand, motioning for Yandere Kaguya to sit down, and then began to talk about recent events.
Sadako's ability is fear tracking. Once she smells fear, she can instantly teleport behind the person.
As for Yandere Kaguya's ability, Natsuki had also figured it out. In a sense, it was even more terrifying than Sadako's ability—
The more she blackens, the stronger she becomes.
The more she blackens, the more powerful she becomes. Her ability seems to have no upper limit, just like the Hulk in Marvel's Avengers.
Unfortunately, Natsuki couldn't borrow it.
Blackening is not something that can be successfully achieved just by saying it. Unless one has experienced countless betrayals and disappointments, Natsuki completely did not want to acquire that kind of power.
Yandere Kaguya sat down beside Natsuki, carelessly taking off her long dress, and tilted her head, saying:
"Natsuki-kun, school is about to start, right?"
"That…"
Natsuki suddenly remembered that Yandere Kaguya and Kaguya once had a bet.
At the same time.
Mrs. Shimizu blinked her eyes, a playful, gossip-loving smile appearing on her pretty face. Then she quietly passed through the bamboo fence between the two hot springs and came to the girls' hot spring on the other side.
"Kaguya-chan~"
Mrs. Shimizu quietly surfaced and came to Kaguya's side.
"Mom, why are you here?"
Kaguya asked in a low voice.
"Of course, I'm here to give you a heads-up." Mrs. Shimizu covered her mouth and whispered, "Natsuki-kun was too bored over there by himself, so he summoned your sister. The two of them are soaking in the hot spring together."
"What?!"
Kaguya immediately gritted her teeth.
At this point, Chika and the others could turn a blind eye and tacitly accept it, but only that imposter was unacceptable.
She's just an imposter, a copy, why should she compete with her for her man!
While no one was paying attention, Kaguya quickly disappeared into the shadows, crossed the bamboo fence between the hot springs, and arrived at the hot spring on the other side.
After emerging from the shadows, Kaguya surfaced and looked up. She indeed saw Yandere Kaguya beside Natsuki, who had even sat into Natsuki's embrace.
"Get up, you!"
Seeing this scene, Kaguya immediately clenched her fists.
"Why?"
Yandere Kaguya looked over at the sound and tilted her head, asking.
Seeing the two young misses together, Natsuki immediately felt a headache. The confrontations between Kaguya and Yukino were mostly subtle and not brought into the open, but with Yandere Kaguya, it was truly a head-on clash, like fire and water.
Natsuki's gaze shifted to Mrs. Shimizu, who was smiling radiantly beside him.
The culprit has been found.
You deliberately called her over, didn't you?
Just you wait!
Yandere Kaguya stood up, crossed her arms over her chest, and said in a cold voice:
"I just asked the President, and school starts in three days… You remember our bet, right?"
Kaguya's gaze immediately became evasive, and she slightly shifted her gaze, saying:
"What bet?"
Kaguya actually remembered it very clearly.
At the beginning of the summer vacation, Yandere Kaguya accidentally came across some books and comics, which made her extremely interested in lewd things, and she wanted to directly push Natsuki down. Kaguya naturally tried her best to stop her.
Finally, both parties agreed that Yandere Kaguya would temporarily not make a move during the summer vacation, giving Kaguya time to see if Kaguya could actively push Natsuki down. If she succeeded, Yandere Kaguya would be willing to be the younger sister; otherwise, she would be the older sister, and in the future, when they met, both would have to avoid her and swallow their anger.
"Heh."
Yandere Kaguya let out a cold laugh and mercilessly mocked herself:
"You are indeed as useless as ever."
Kaguya immediately got angry, clenched her fists, and said indignantly:
"I'm not useless!"
Yandere Kaguya tilted her head and said:
"I gave you a whole summer vacation, and you're still useless. What else could you be but useless?"
"If it were me, it would only take three days at most to push the President down."
Natsuki silently retorted from the side:
"It wouldn't take three days at all."
As long as your bet is over, he can lie down on the ground anytime and let you take advantage of him.
Kaguya blurted out:
"Don't underestimate me, I've already done it with the President!"
"Eh eh eh?" Mrs. Shimizu, who was watching the drama unfold, her eyes lit up. "Did Kaguya-chan really have that kind of relationship? When did this happen? How come I don't know?"
"I…"
Kaguya's pretty face quickly flushed red, and steam seemed to be faintly rising from the top of her head. Unfortunately, the words were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't say them at all.
That night when she swapped bodies with Hayasaka, the President came to sneak attack and take advantage of her… Although it was Hayasaka's body, it still counted as winning the bet, right?
"Natsuki, did you really do it with her?"
Yandere Kaguya crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head to look over.
"Cough…"
Natsuki was about to answer when Yandere Kaguya already pulled out her hatchet, a wisp of black mist appearing in her eyes:
"I hate it when Natsuki lies to me. Think carefully before you answer."
Natsuki: "…"
Hey, hey, what do you mean by that?
Are you going to pull out your knife and chop at me if I don't agree!
Regarding that accidental night attack when they swapped bodies, given the young miss's thin skin, she naturally didn't want anyone to know and would guard the secret no matter what. So he had always pretended not to know, and now he was in a dilemma, unable to answer.
At the critical moment, Mrs. Shimizu stepped forward and extended a slender finger, saying:
"I remember Natsuki-kun has an item called the 'Truth Mirror.' As long as you look into the mirror, you can't lie. Just take it out and try it."
Natsuki had no choice but to take out the Truth Mirror and hand it to Mrs. Shimizu.
"Here, Kaguya-chan, try it."
Mrs. Shimizu held the Truth Mirror in front of Kaguya.
Kaguya took a deep breath, looked at the mirror with a flushed face, and then parted her red lips, saying:
"The President and I have already done it…"
Before she could finish her sentence, the young miss in the mirror suddenly changed her mouth shape, causing Kaguya to follow suit and change her words:
"No, we haven't!"
Clearly, in Kaguya's opinion, the experience with Hayasaka's body didn't count as a true first experience, so they hadn't "done it."
"Heh." Yandere Kaguya put away her hatchet and mercilessly mocked, "You are indeed as useless as ever… I gave you a chance, but you couldn't use it. Natsuki is mine now."
"Wait—"
Kaguya clenched her silver teeth, covering her chest with one hand, and stood in front of Yandere Kaguya, shouting in shame and anger:
"School hasn't started yet, and our bet isn't over!"
Yandere Kaguya crossed her arms over her chest, tilted her head, and said disdainfully:
"You had a whole summer vacation and didn't use it. Do you think you can do it in the last three days?"
"One should look at a scholar with new eyes after a separation of three days." Kaguya clenched her silver teeth, "Don't underestimate people!"
"Tsk."
Yandere Kaguya sat down and continued to soak in the hot spring: "Then I'll give you three more days. A good-for-nothing will always be a good-for-nothing."
Kaguya clenched her fists and said:
"...You just wait and see!"
Natsuki, who was the focus of the dispute, quietly sat in the corner, trying to minimize his presence.
Regardless of whether Yandere Kaguya won or Kaguya won, he seemed to be profiting greatly without any loss.
Kaguya quickly relaxed. Although her impostor was outrageous, she at least kept her word. Since she said she would give three more days, she definitely wouldn't push down the president during these three days. The rest was up to her.
However... with only three days left, did she really have the ability to push down the president?
Kaguya had no confidence in her heart and returned to the next room in a daze.
After soaking in the hot spring.
Natsuki put Sadako and other employees back into the Theater, then returned to his room, preparing to rest.
Several girls sleeping in one room at night, who knows how late they would gossip. A night raid was out of the question, so it was better to go to bed early.
Sitting on the bed, Natsuki took out his phone and sent a message to Tsubame.
"Tsubame-senpai, the night is long, and I have no desire to sleep. Would you like to enjoy the moon together?"
Tsubame: "...No, Aoi just fell asleep. What if I wake her up?"
Hey, hey, Tsubame, what kind of person do you take me for?
It's just a simple moon viewing, I had no intention of asking you to replenish water!
Alright, actually, I did have a little, but I was out of reach, so I could only verbally tease Tsubame.
Click, click.
Natsuki raised his phone, leaned sideways towards the window, took several photos, and then clicked send:
"At this moment, we gaze at each other but cannot hear, wishing the moonlight would follow and illuminate you."
Outside the window was a golden full moon, so there was no need to get out of bed especially.
Tsubame: "...Is this a hotel?"
Natsuki: "Tsubame-senpai, the focus of the photo is the moon. You've got your priorities wrong."
Tsubame: "Natsuki-kun is clearly at a hotel, yet he still has time to send me messages. That's really hard work."
Sure enough, there's no girl in the world who doesn't get jealous. As soon as she saw him at a hotel, the sourness in Tsubame's words was clearly overflowing.
"This is the Strange Tales Management Bureau's headquarters..."
Natsuki silently shared his real-time location.
"Eh?" Tsubame was startled, "How is Kouhai at the Strange Tales Management Bureau?"
"It's like this..."
Natsuki briefly explained the process of apprehending the [Evil Neighbor].
Because the Strange Tales Management Bureau's official players were the main force of the operation, he and Chika were just backup personnel, so they didn't notify Tsubame and the others.
Natsuki continued:
"I'm resting alone tonight. Chika, Hayasaka, and Kaguya are all in the next room. I just happened to see a bright moon outside the window, the moonlight was perfect, and I wanted to share the beautiful scenery with Tsubame-senpai. Who knew Tsubame-senpai would actually suspect me... It hurts so much, my heart hurts so much."
Tsubame: "..."
In the middle of the night, who would run off to a hotel for no reason? It's normal to suspect you!
However, Tsubame had one good quality, which was that she corrected her mistakes and never stubbornly held on for the sake of face:
"I'm sorry, Kouhai, I misunderstood you."
Natsuki: "It still hurts so much. Only a one-day exclusive maid ticket can fully revive me."
Tsubame: "Eh, what's that?"
Natsuki: "It's very simple. It means that within twenty-four hours, whatever I ask Tsubame-senpai to do, Tsubame-senpai must do."
Tsubame's pretty face flushed, and she immediately knew what perverted president Natsuki was up to, quickly responding:
"Pfft~"
Next was the test of thick skin.
Having had the most intimate contact with Tsubame, and being in a relationship, was a one-day exclusive maid ticket too much?
Not at all.
Natsuki began to pester her, using many shameless words to coax Tsubame. In short, he finally succeeded in getting a one-day exclusive maid ticket from Tsubame.
"Screenshot saved."
Tsubame: "...In short, don't go too far, otherwise I have a veto."
Natsuki vowed:
"Don't worry, Tsubame-senpai, I promise it won't be too much."
As for what the standard of 'too much' is, that varies from person to person. As long as Tsubame doesn't cry, it shouldn't be too much... right?
Natsuki then said:
"I have some good news, Tsubame-senpai, do you want to hear it?"
Tsubame asked curiously:
"What news?"
Natsuki said:
"Mitsui told me this afternoon that she wanted to hire me to accompany Momo-senpai into the dungeon to provide protection."