"T-tentacle monster!"
Kitagawa Marin jumped in fright and quickly hugged Natsuki's arm.
Hayasaka's complexion changed slightly, the corner of her eye twitching lightly.
Creatures called girls had an innate fear of tentacle monsters.
Well.
Not just girls.
Natsuki likewise felt somewhat apprehensive.
Such a huge tentacle monster—anyone who saw it would panic.
"It's an octopus."
A peculiar voice suddenly rang out in everyone's minds.
Octopuses did indeed have mouths, but obviously couldn't speak human language. The voice responding directly in their minds was more like a form of telepathy.
"Eh?" Kitagawa Marin froze, her eyes widening. "It's a talking tentacle monster!"
"..."
Natsuki covered Kitagawa's mouth with his hand and spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly:
"Mr. Octopus, may I ask what you need?"
"Humans, seeing as you've awakened me, put down the treasures in your hands." Paul the Octopus stretched out its tentacles. Its massive body directly blocked the entire doorway as it continued the telepathic communication: "I'll allow you to leave here safe and sound."
Natsuki spoke without showing any emotion:
"What if we want to leave with the treasures?"
"Then let's play a game." Paul the Octopus stretched its tentacles and pulled out an old-style flintlock pistol from who-knows-where. "Human, pick up the flintlock and fire one shot at your own head."
"If you don't die, I'll allow you to take one treasure and leave."
What a scam!
Wasn't this standard Russian roulette?!
Both sides bet their lives—winner takes all, loser goes straight to meet God.
Natsuki raised a brow lightly and looked at the flintlock before him. A prompt quickly appeared before his eyes.
[I bet there's no bullet in this gun]
What the hell!
At a time like this, give me a more definite hint!
"No." Kitagawa Marin tightly hugged his arm, biting down on her lower lip, her tone resolute. "That kind of game is too dangerous. Absolutely don't play it."
Hayasaka likewise said: "Don't be impulsive."
"I'm really not being impulsive..."
Natsuki shifted his gaze from the flintlock. He'd already made his decision.
Bet his life on a round of Russian roulette and only be able to take one thing in the end?
Only children made choices—adults naturally wanted everything!
"Mr. Octopus." Natsuki spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly: "Please allow us to consider for a moment."
"You may."
Paul the Octopus wasn't in a hurry. It happily stretched out its tentacles and inspected the treasure chests in the room.
Natsuki took the opportunity to look at Hayasaka, quietly blinked once, then looked at Hayasaka's right hand.
"Mm?"
The spy maid tilted her head slightly. She quickly understood Natsuki's meaning and quietly extended her hand.
Natsuki extended a finger and wrote in Hayasaka's palm.
A peculiar tingling, numbing sensation transmitted from her palm, making Hayasaka instinctively want to pull away. Fortunately, her professional spy training let her hold out without showing it.
"When I divert the octopus monster's attention, take off the cloak and give it to me."
"..."
Hayasaka looked up in surprise.
What does this man want the cloak for?
Does he still want to hide under the octopus monster's nose?
Small tricks definitely wouldn't work. An octopus's eyes were much better than humans'.
"Mr. Octopus, I've decided." Without wasting much time, Natsuki quickly spoke.
Paul the Octopus curled its tentacles: "Human, you're going to take a gamble?"
Natsuki spoke seriously:
"I will never coexist under the same sky as gambling and drugs."
Once you touch gambling, you very likely could never quit. Ordinary people shouldn't even go near it.
"What about you all?"
Paul the Octopus turned its gaze toward the three girls.
The three girls shook their heads in unison.
"Only an idiot would play roulette."
"I refuse."
"M-Mr. Octopus, please don't look at me."
"..."
"Then you're choosing to leave empty-handed?"
Paul the Octopus's tone was regretful as it moved the tentacles blocking the treasure room entrance aside.
"Wait a moment." Natsuki changed tack: "I may be able to solve Mr. Octopus's troubles."
"Troubles?"
Natsuki said:
"Mr. Octopus is so strong—I imagine you have to be very careful when playing with any toy and can't enjoy yourself to the fullest, right?"
"..."
Creatures like octopuses actually had quite high intelligence—equivalent to children of a few years old. Moreover, they were natural "pleasure seekers."
When they didn't need to forage, they didn't just hide motionless on the ocean floor—rather, they tried their best to find toys to play with.
There'd once been a research report about octopuses documenting how they'd spray water at "plastic medicine bottles" to make them bob up and down. This wasn't even a special case—many octopuses had played this game, equivalent to golf in the octopus world.
Paul the Octopus likewise loved playing games.
The problem was its body was too large, its strength too great. Ordinary toys would break at the slightest touch in its hands. It had been deeply troubled by this all along—unable to enjoy itself to the fullest.
"Human, what are you trying to say?"
Paul the Octopus gazed over. Its enormous eyes carried tremendous pressure.
Natsuki's expression remained unchanged:
"I recently happened to obtain an item. I believe Mr. Octopus would be very interested..."
While speaking, Natsuki put his hands behind his back, then immediately pulled out a pair of workout pants.
The three girls were dumbfounded.
"Eh? Why did Amamiya-kun pull out workout pants?"
"Could he be raising underwear to surrender?"
"But workout pants aren't white—raising them wouldn't work, right?"
"..."
If Kaguya were here, she'd recognize them at a glance—these were precisely the stretchy workout pants the werewolf lady had worn.
After clearing "Snowbound Manor," Natsuki had obtained game MVP and received a choose-one-of-five extra reward.
The five options were: Chronicles of the Headless Horseman, the undead maid's summoning card, the loyal dog girlfriend collar, the werewolf lady's stretchy workout pants, and permanent 10% ice resistance.
None of the five rewards were particularly attractive. He was quite interested in the undead maid's summoning card, but unfortunately it was an experience card—and at first glance, clearly wouldn't be lubricated, might even rub until bleeding... In short, the five rewards had remained until now.
Natsuki now discovered he happened to have one item very suitable for trading with the octopus monster.
That's right.
Precisely the werewolf lady's stretchy workout pants.
"These are the latest stretchy workout pants developed and produced by the 'Super Durable' company. They can perfectly adapt to various creatures' body types." After seriously introducing them, Natsuki handed over the stretchy workout pants with a smile: "Mr. Octopus, please try them out. The effect will be clear with one test."
Paul the Octopus curled its tentacles, took the stretchy workout pants, and began pulling with its tentacles. It was surprised to discover these workout pants could be stretched to an exaggerated deformation yet still showed no signs of breaking. It couldn't help but get excited.
"Eh eh?" Kitagawa Marin's eyes widened. She couldn't help but speak quietly: "Natsuki, why won't those workout pants break?"
"Because they're knockoffs of the Hulk's shorts."
These workout pants were just imitations—naturally not as sturdy as the Hulk's shorts. The question was, could this octopus fellow compare to the Hulk?
Obviously not.
"These workout pants are quite valuable." Natsuki said. "Using them to exchange for three treasures is very fair, right?"
Paul the Octopus fell silent for several seconds: "Human, you can only take one thing from the treasure room."
"Two things."
"No—only one."
"..."
The three girls were dumbfounded.
What about the promised boss battle?
How did it suddenly turn into a PY transaction?!