"The world is so big, it's not strange for someone to possess mysterious powers."
Kitahara Makoto's expression was calm, completely unconcerned.
One of the typical characteristics of a chuunibyou is always thinking they are the most special person in the world.
Kitahara Makoto had long passed the age of chuunibyou and did not believe himself to be a unique existence in the world, so when he heard that someone possessed mysterious power, he didn't take it to heart at all.
"Let's stop this topic here. That mysterious person has nothing to do with us." Chihaya Anon's voice was clear. "We don't need to return to youth, besides, we still have the Eden Fruit."
Compared to the terrifying side effects of being covered in deathly black spots, the original sin eruption side effect of the Eden Fruit suddenly didn't seem worrying at all.
Sakiko nodded gently and said, "Kitahara-kun, ask the answer book how to lift the curse on Aunt Yuko?"
"Okay."
Kitahara Makoto nodded, opened his backpack, and took out the answer book.
Hand of Deprivation might be useful, but he hadn't used any of his daily question opportunities yet, and it would be too wasteful not to use them.
Rustle.
As Kitahara Makoto asked the question, the answer book immediately began to flip pages rapidly.
After the cutscene ended, the answer book opened to the very middle, and then text quietly appeared on the blank page:
[Hand of Deprivation]
"Alright, it really is Hand of Deprivation."
Kitahara Makoto closed the answer book.
He had originally thought today's request would be very difficult, but now it seemed it could be completed quite easily.
Soyo was a little worried: "Aunt Yuko is different from us. Will she mind stripping naked in front of a boy?"
"Don't worry, I have a plan." Chihaya Anon's eyes lit up, and she quickly raised her right hand, "We just need to turn off the lights, leave one candle for illumination, and have Aunt Yuko keep her eyes closed the whole time."
Tomori tilted her head and looked over when she heard this: "Anon seems very experienced."
Chihaya Anon: "..."
How could she not be experienced?
Almost all of her good friends had been seen by scumbag-kun!
"Anon's method can indeed be tried." Sakiko nodded gently and said, "I'll go explain the situation to Aunt Yuko first."
"..."
A moment later.
Sakiko returned with a slight frown, and with her came not only Aunt Yuko but also a tall girl with waist-length hair who bore some resemblance to Aunt Yuko.
"Mom, you must have been tricked." The long-haired girl crossed her arms, not hiding her hostility. "What else does Sakiko have besides being better at studying than me, better at piano than me, and more popular with elders?!"
The long-haired girl made no secret of her animosity: "She's only one month older than me and is just a high school student. Suddenly transforming into an exorcist is like the sun rising from the west; it's simply impossible!"
"Your friend must have been deceived."
As the long-haired girl complained, her gaze swept across Soyo and the others' faces. When she saw Kitahara Makoto standing in the corner, her eyes lit up slightly:
"Hey, what's your name?"
Kitahara Makoto replied calmly, "Call me brother-in-law."
"Eh?" The long-haired girl was startled and subconsciously called out, "Brother-in-law?"
"I'm here."
After realizing she had been tricked, the long-haired girl immediately became angry: "How dare you take advantage of me? Do you know who I am?"
"I don't know who you are," Kitahara Makoto said seriously, "but Sakiko and I are in a relationship, so I am indeed your brother-in-law."
Hearing this, Sakiko's beautiful face flushed slightly. She didn't refute but crossed her arms and said, "Aoi-chan, call him brother-in-law."
Upon hearing Sakiko's words, the girls reacted differently.
Mutsumi was expressionless.
Tomori stood quietly in the corner.
Soyo's eyes were gentle, and her beautiful face flushed slightly, as if she was thinking of something.
Only Anon puffed out her cheeks...
Unbeknownst to them, the girls had subconsciously accepted the idea of Kitahara Makoto having a harem.
"Hmph," the long-haired girl scoffed disdainfully, "Don't forget you and your dad have been expelled from Togawa. I'll never call this guy brother-in-law!"
"Aoi-chan, that's enough."
Aunt Yuko spoke up to stop her, "Whatever you have to say, wait until Sakiko finishes her treatment."
"I want to stay and watch," the long-haired girl said, crossing her arms, her hostility unconcealed. "Lest they use strange methods to deceive Mom."
"Kitahara-kun...?"
Sakiko unconsciously turned her head, casting an inquiring look at Kitahara Makoto.
Kitahara Makoto nodded slightly, his eyes signaling Sakiko to rest assured: "You can have them prepare."
"Understood."
Seeing Kitahara Makoto nod, Sakiko immediately felt relieved.
Although she didn't know how Kitahara Makoto would solve the problem, trusting him was enough.
While the servants were preparing, Kitahara Makoto excused himself to the bathroom and left the room.
"Now this is troublesome..."
Chihaya Anon frowned slightly and whispered, "With Togawa-chan's cousin here, she definitely won't let Mom be seen naked by Kitahara-kun, right?"
Originally, they had planned to use the same trick to exorcise Aunt Yuko, but now a cousin, who was at odds with Sakiko, had appeared. It would be fine to have the wife undress in front of her own daughter, but the cousin clearly wouldn't agree to have a boy present.
The problem was that if Kitahara Makoto wasn't there, the girls had no exorcism abilities.
As the girls worried, Kitahara Makoto calmly said, "Don't worry, when I eliminated the strange story at the subway station before, I obtained a very interesting item... a Conan-style bowtie."
As Kitahara Makoto spoke, he opened his backpack and took out the item bowtie.
[Item: Shadow Person Bowtie]
[Current Status: Optimized]
[New Entry: Black Shadow-kun. When you wear this bowtie, you will transform into a black shadow. Except for your eyes and teeth, which will be white, the rest of your body will be pure black. In this pure black state, no method can detect you. Unless you speak actively, no other interactive behavior will produce sound.]
After introducing the bowtie's attributes, Kitahara Makoto placed the bowtie on his chest, and his entire person suddenly disappeared, leaving only his clothes 'floating' in mid-air.
"You can take it off now," Soyo quickly whispered, "It looks a bit scary."
Kitahara Makoto removed the bowtie, revealing his figure: "In short, with the bowtie, there's no need to worry about my identity being exposed."
Tomori asked curiously, "But Makoto-kun's clothes are still there after he goes invisible."
Kitahara Makoto said matter-of-factly, "You can just take off all your clothes... Tomori, do you want to try it?"
"No."
Tomori's small face flushed slightly, and she quickly shook her head.
Even if no one could see her, a bowtie that could only be used by taking off all clothes was indeed too embarrassing.
"Eh, eh, wait a minute."
Chihaya Anon covered her chest, took half a step back, and looked over with wide eyes: "Kitahara-kun looks so skilled, he wouldn't be using that bowtie to peek into women's bathhouses or something, would he?"
Kitahara Makoto looked back speechlessly: "In Anon's mind, am I just a peeping tom?"
"That's hard to say," Chihaya Anon raised her chin, revealing a long, slender, snow-white swan neck, and scoffed coquettishly, "Yesterday I saw on Twitter that someone said boys' minds only contain two things: one is violence, and the other is lewdness... Kitahara-kun is definitely no exception, right?"
"Anon is so smart, it seems I have to give you a little reward," Kitahara Makoto's expression became serious. "It's decided, I'll go serve Anon tonight."
"Pfft~"
Chihaya Anon's beautiful face quickly flushed: "I don't want that kind of reward!"
"..."
Half an hour later.
All miscellaneous matters had been prepared.
"Kitahara-kun, Sakiko said we can go over now."
Soyo said softly, seeing the message pop up on her phone.
"Okay."
Kitahara Makoto replied, handed his backpack to Mutsumi, and then began to take off his clothes.
The girls' beautiful faces quickly flushed, and out of shyness, they quickly averted their gaze... However, one girl didn't turn her head but watched Kitahara Makoto with wide, unblinking eyes.
"Mutsumi, don't look at him."
Soyo quickly stepped forward and covered Mutsumi's eyes with her hand.
Mutsumi said expressionlessly, "Makoto-kun has a good figure, I want to look."
Soyo: "..."
Anon: "..."
No matter how good his figure was, she shouldn't stare with wide eyes. As a girl, she should be more reserved!
Mutsumi said with confusion, "Don't you all want to look?"
Soyo coughed twice, her beautiful face slightly red, and said, "I don't think there's anything good to see."
Chihaya Anon quickly said, "Exactly, I have no interest at all."
Mutsumi said expressionlessly, "When you speak, your eyes wander, and you touch your hair... The book says this is an instinctive reaction when lying."
Soyo: "..."
Chihaya Anon: "..."
"If you want to look, just look openly," Kitahara Makoto said calmly as he took off his clothes. "I don't mind."
"Pfft~"
"Go away!"
"..."
A moment later.
Kitahara Makoto transformed into a Shadow Person and silently followed the girls back into the room.
It was the same room as before, but all the lights had been turned off, and only a faint candle burned in the corner, creating a dim atmosphere.
"Aunt Yuko, you can take off all your clothes," Sakiko gently reminded her, "Not just clothes, but socks, earrings, manicures, and rings all need to be removed... In short, nothing external should be on your body except for your clean body."
"I understand."
As it concerned her life, Aunt Yuko naturally wouldn't be vague and responded seriously, "I've already checked; everything has been taken off."
"That's good."
Sakiko let out a sigh of relief, turned to Kitahara Makoto, and signaled with her eyes: "Kitahara-kun, it's your turn."
Kitahara Makoto nodded slightly, silently walked over, and his gaze fell upon Aunt Yuko.
Feeling... no feeling at all.
Not to mention that the other party was a fifty-year-old middle-aged aunt, just the foul-smelling black spots on her body would prevent any thoughts.
Kitahara Makoto held his breath and extended his right hand towards Aunt Yuko, who was kneeling on the ground, and silently chanted: "...Stripping!"
[Ability: Hand of Deprivation]
[Category: Active]
[Description: You can select a target and randomly seize an external item from their body. The target must be within your line of sight.]
[Note: This ability consumes mental power. Continuous use in a short period will double the consumption.]
The next second.
Strands of gray mist immediately emanated from Aunt Yuko's limbs and bones, flew into Kitahara Makoto's palm, and finally condensed into a fist-sized gray mist ball.
These mists constantly shifted in Kitahara Makoto's palm, faintly forming a hollow skull face, filled with an eerie and ominous aura. The mist even tried to drill into Kitahara Makoto's palm.
Kitahara Makoto frowned slightly and suddenly clenched his right fist.
Pop~
With a soft sound, the gray mist ball, filled with the aura of death, was suddenly crushed.
At the same time.
Underground in a villa.
The thick, impenetrable darkness was filled with a nauseating smell of blood, as if the entire underground space was permeated with fresh blood.
The underground space was not lit, but faint red lights flickered on and off, as if breathing.
If anyone were to step forward at that moment, they would witness an utterly horrifying scene—it was a giant tree made of white bones, its intertwined 'branches' clearly individual bones of various shapes, and on the tree hung blood-red fruits resembling hearts.
The flickering red light in the darkness came from these heart-shaped fruits breathing.
However, most of the branches of the bone tree were in a phantom state, as if in the process of descending.
At this very moment.
As Kitahara Makoto crushed the curse, one of the phantom fruits quietly withered, rapidly turning into powder and dissipating into the air.
"The fruit... withered?"
In a corner.
A petite figure, completely shrouded in a hood, looked up, one eye glowing crimson:
"This is the power of god, why can someone destroy the fruit?"
"In that case... accelerate the plan, let the world feel the pain."
...
At the same time.
Kitahara Makoto, unaware of the impending upheaval, winked at Togawa after crushing the cursed mist, then quietly retreated into the darkness.
"Aunt Yuko, the curse on you has been removed."
Sakiko quickly said softly.
"My body does feel much lighter, and that feeling of being swallowed by cold seawater is gone..."
Aunt Yuko opened her eyes in surprise, looking down at her body, but quickly frowned:
"Why are the black spots still there?"
...
The girls exchanged glances, Sakiko pursed her lips, and said softly:
"Aunt Yuko, please wait a moment, we'll discuss it first."
As she spoke, Chihaya Anon had already quietly snuck over to 'report' to Kitahara Makoto:
"Kitahara-kun, the black spots on Aunt Yuko haven't disappeared."
Soyo followed, guessing softly:
"Is there another curse that hasn't been removed?"
Kitahara Makoto raised an eyebrow slightly:
"Then let's try again."
A moment later.
Kitahara Makoto shook his head slightly, and said softly:
"The curse has been removed, those black spots must have another cause."
Chihaya Anon put her hands on her hips and said:
"When in doubt, answer book... This time, let me ask the question."
...
Rustle.
As Anon asked the question, the answer book quickly flipped pages again.
[Curse Residue, Chronic Illness]
"I understand." Seeing the answer given in the book, Kitahara Makoto said softly, "It's like an ordinary person suddenly getting severe appendicitis, going to the hospital for surgery, and after the surgery, the illness is gone, but the appendix won't grow back."
The curse had indeed been stripped away, but the damage left by the curse would not disappear just because the curse did.
Soyo pursed her lips upon hearing this, and said softly:
"If those black spots aren't eliminated, Aunt Yuko definitely won't believe our exorcism results... Should we ask the answer book how to eliminate the black spots?"
Chihaya Anon nodded and handed the answer book to Soyo.
Rustle.
As Soyo asked the question, the answer book quickly flipped pages again, specifically adding qualifiers to the question, demanding a way to immediately eliminate or alleviate the death black spots.
Before long, text quietly appeared.
[Moon-Star Chalice, repeated drinking]
"Huh?" Chihaya Anon blinked curiously, "What is that?"
"It's a mystical item that came out of the Pandora's Box not long ago..."
Kitahara Makoto said as he took out the Kessoku Band poster and pasted it on the wall, then had Soyo's Band take out the Moon-Star Chalice.
[Name: Moon-Star Chalice]
[Type: Drinking Utensil]
[Quality: Legendary]
[Function: Placing this goblet in an open-air environment will automatically absorb the essence of the moonstar flower, converting it into a drink. Drinking the moonstar flower can treat and alleviate most diseases, and long-term consumption can also lead to the evolution of one's life level. Please note that after drinking the moonstar flower, certain side effects may occur. These side effects vary from person to person and will disappear on their own over time.]
The last time he drank the moonstar flower was with Kita, and the side effect at the time was that Kita transformed from a flat-chested person to a busty one. Later, when he was teasing Kita, Kitahara Makoto casually stored the cup in the poster space and hadn't taken it out since.
The moonstar flower could cure illnesses, which happened to solve the death black spots on Aunt Yuko.
"There's still a cup of star flower left in the cup." Kitahara Makoto looked at Soyo, "Soyo, take the cup back to Sakiko, and then let Aunt Yuko drink it."
Soyo was a little worried:
"The cup is so full, won't it spill?"
"Don't worry, it won't spill, it's not a real liquid." Kitahara Makoto explained, "You can only drink it if you drink."
"That's good."
...
There's no need to say more about what happened next.
Soyo took the cup back, whispered into Sakiko's ear, and explained the situation.
Sakiko took the cup and fed it to Aunt Yuko. Not long after, the small black spots on her body quietly disappeared, and the area of the large black spots also began to shrink. It was estimated that after a few more days of drinking, they would be almost gone.
Seeing this, Aunt Yuko was naturally overjoyed and immediately wanted Sakiko to return to Togawa, but Sakiko shook her head and refused. In such a family, there was no family affection at all, only benefits, and her current life was actually much happier than before.
"The obsession with returning to Togawa... suddenly let go."
By the time the commission was completed, it was already nine o'clock in the evening without them realizing it.
After agreeing to continue treating the curse's after-effects tomorrow, Kitahara Makoto and the girls said their goodbyes and left.
"It's getting late, everyone should go back and rest, right?"
Kitahara Makoto said as he looked at Soyo, quietly winking.
Soyo naturally knew what that look meant, her pretty face slightly flushed, and she looked down at her toes:
"I am a bit tired... Goodbye, everyone, I'm going back first."