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"Miss Elsa, try this dish."
"Mm."
"How does it taste?"
"Very good… You eat too."
Amamiya Natsuki smiled and said:
"There's an idiom called 'beauty is food for the eyes.' Miss Elsa, do you know what it means?"
The Ice Queen shook her head: "I don't know."
"The meaning is simple." Amamiya Natsuki looked directly into the Queen's ice-blue eyes, "Being able to have dinner with the super cute Lady Elsa, I'm already full before even eating."
"…"
The Ice Queen's eyelashes trembled slightly, her pretty face quickly flushed, and she turned her head slightly to look elsewhere, but the corners of her lips involuntarily curved upwards.
Indeed.
Regardless of ancient or modern times, or East or West, all women need to be coaxed.
The premise is that the other party is willing to let you coax them; if they find you disagreeable, even your breathing is wrong.
Although Amamiya Natsuki was serving as a gigolo for the first time, he was possessed by Prime Minister Cao and still managed to coax the Queen happily, even occasionally revealing a smile, which left the guards dumbfounded and greatly shocked.
All in all, dinner ended perfectly.
"Miss Elsa, I'm going to eradicate the Nightmare Seed now," Amamiya Natsuki stood up, his voice low, "I don't know if I can come back... You take care of yourself."
Ice Queen's delicate brows furrowed slightly, and her voice was clear and cold:
"I'll go with you."
Amamiya Natsuki hesitated:
"Is it safe for you to leave the palace?"
"It's fine." Ice Queen slightly raised her chin, her tone indifferent and full of confidence, "No one has been able to harm me."
"Then let's go together."
The Ice Queen in the fairy tale is a ceiling-level existence in terms of combat power. If it weren't for the chaotic entry via the dungeon invitation, for Senpai and other players, the Ice Queen should be a hidden Boss that cannot be encountered.
Now taking the Queen to fight monsters, it has to be said, it's super reassuring.
After successfully inviting Ice Queen to join the team, Amamiya Natsuki turned around and found Shinomiya Kaguya and the others—
It was a dinner for two earlier, Shinomiya Kaguya and the others did not sit down to eat together.
Except when she looked at Amamiya Natsuki with gentle eyes, the Queen looked at everyone else with icy coldness, without a trace of emotion. Eating together would have been too stressful.
Shinomiya Kaguya crossed her arms over her chest and smiled:
"Natsuki-kun seems very happy."
Amamiya Natsuki looked over: "Where am I happy?"
Fujiwara Chika puffed out her pink cheeks and said:
"Having dinner with such a beautiful Queen, you must be very happy, right?"
"I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense."
Amamiya Natsuki denied it three times: "There's an old saying, 'accompanying a ruler is like accompanying a tiger.' You think I'm very happy, but in fact, I've been on tenterhooks."
"Senpai is lying." Hayasaka Ai raised her hand and said, "His nostrils are clearly flaring."
"Well said, come to my tent tonight, and we'll talk slowly."
"Tch."
...
After exchanging a few words and greeting the passing players who had just found their organization, Amamiya Natsuki whispered:
"I've just persuaded Ice Queen to act with us. Everyone, get ready; we'll depart soon."
Complaining is one thing, but no one forgets the main business.
A moment later.
Ice Queen walked over with a team of guards.
Amamiya Natsuki went to meet them, and the two parties converged and left the palace together.
The snow had stopped at some point.
Amamiya Natsuki looked up at the sky, but unfortunately, the sky was still overcast and gloomy.
The streets, which had few people even during the day, were even more deserted and lonely now.
The group walked through snow up to their calves, heading straight for the alley in the east of the city.
The east of the city belonged to the rich area, which had more vitality than the lifeless civilian area. Most of the houses by the roadside had dim candlelight, and pedestrians could be seen from time to time on the road.
"We're here."
Hayasaka Ai took out the map and carefully checked it, "The Nightmare Seed should be inside."
Amamiya Natsuki looked at Ice Queen and said seriously:
"Miss Elsa, stay behind me. Be careful of danger."
"No need." Ice Queen's eyes flickered, and her voice was uncharacteristically gentle, "It's safer if I walk in front."
...
Complex gazes fell on Amamiya Natsuki's back.
"So mean."
"He's actually playing with the Queen's feelings."
"As expected of the pervert Senpai, he's super skilled at playing with girls' feelings."
Complaining aside, seeing the noble and elegant Ice Queen walking in front, the sense of security was quite abundant.
And then... nothing happened.
The alley was not long, only two or three hundred meters. The group walked from one end to the other without encountering anything.
"Huh, how did we just come out?"
Fujiwara Chika's tone was puzzled.
A passing player guessed: "Could it be that we found the wrong place?"
"No." Hayasaka Ai shook her head, "The Magic Mirror indicated this exact location."
Koyasu Tsubame extended a finger and pondered:
"Could it be that we have too many people, and it got scared and hid?"
Amamiya Natsuki looked at Senpai and agreed:
"I feel like Senpai makes a lot of sense... Where is Lady Elsa?"
Ice Queen gently shook her head: "I didn't find anyone hiding."
"Then let's walk through it again." Shinomiya Kaguya said softly, "We have enough time to try and fail."
...
The group turned around and returned to the alley, walking out from the other end again, and still nothing happened.
"There are many possibilities for not seeing it, such as Elsa being too powerful, or us having too many people, and so on." Amamiya Natsuki pondered, "Since that's the case... we should still ask the Magic Mirror."
The usual approach would be to control variables, conduct comparative verification, and finally find the problem.
But with the omniscient Magic Mirror, there's no need to trouble oneself.
"Elsa, I'm counting on you."
Amamiya Natsuki turned to look at Ice Queen.
The Queen nodded gently, extended her right hand, and quickly, tiny ice-blue fragments floated in the air. Immediately after, the snow on the ground transformed into a table and chairs, and an evil Magic Mirror appeared out of thin air.
Upon seeing the Magic Mirror, the dwarves immediately became excited.
"It's my turn."
"I should do it."
"I'm the big brother, don't fight me for it."
...
The dwarves's life was quite monotonous and boring: chopping wood, mining, eating, sleeping, day after day, year after year, forgetting one or two months completely without a care.
Of course, more importantly, were the generous Solace ; one passing player took out shochu, successfully making all the dwarves flock to him.
Finally, the dwarves's Boss sat in front of the Magic Mirror, asking with anticipation:
"Lord Magic Mirror, please tell me how to find the Nightmare Seed."
The Magic Mirror was a little unaccustomed to the expectant gaze for a moment, and a line of text slowly appeared on its surface:
"You need to pay two months of memory..."
"Take it."
...
A moment later.
The Magic Mirror gave the answer.
"Only one person can enter at a time, and no items for illumination can be used..."
After understanding the rules, everyone looked towards Amamiya Natsuki.
When something happens, of course, the tallest person goes first.
Amamiya Natsuki silently turned his head to look at Ice Queen.
The truly tallest person, in fact, was Lady Queen.
"I'll go in first."
Ice Queen said calmly.
"Long live Lady Elsa!"
...
Ice Queen pursed her pink lips, lifted her skirt with one hand, her expression indifferent, and stepped into the dim alley.
"Poke—"
Fujiwara Chika extended a finger and quietly poked Amamiya Natsuki's waist, "So mean."
Amamiya Natsuki took the opportunity to hold secretary's right hand, gently playing with it, and whispered:
"Miss Elsa is much stronger than me; it's normal for her to lead the way, isn't it?"
It's an era of gender equality now; backward thinking is unacceptable. Whoever has the ability goes first, which is not shameful at all.
A few minutes later.
Ice Queen emerged again.
"Elsa, how was it?"
Amamiya Natsuki went up to her and asked.
"I..." Ice Queen raised her right hand, rubbing her forehead, and gently frowned, "I only remember going in and coming out. I forgot what happened inside."
Amamiya Natsuki said:
"Similar to the Magic Mirror, was your memory deleted?"
"No, I just forgot..." Ice Queen shook her head, hesitating, "It's like waking up from a dream that quickly fades; I know it existed, but I can't remember what happened."
"Is that so...?"
Amamiya Natsuki nodded gently.
"I'll go in and see what's going on."
One of the dwarves stood out with an axe in hand and walked into the alley menacingly.
A few minutes later.
The dwarves walked out with a blank look in his eyes. When asked, the situation was the same as Ice Queen's; he couldn't remember what happened inside.
Next, two guards were sent into the alley, with the same result.
The players quickly gathered and began to discuss.
"The Magic Mirror didn't lie; only a single person entering can trigger the rule."
"There shouldn't be any danger; it just makes you forget the memories inside."
...
After some discussion, Shinomiya Kaguya stepped forward, ready to go in and investigate. Her Dark Shadow was already off cooldown, so if she encountered danger, escaping would be no problem at all.
"I..."
"Senpai, should I go in?"
Hayasaka Ai quickly interrupted, smiling, "I have some guesses about the alley. If I solve it alone, I might get an MVP reward."
The reward was fake.
Protecting the Young Lady was the real goal.
Although the Ice Queen, dwarves, and the guards had all verified that there was no fatal danger in the alley, it was better to be safe than sorry.
With her by her side, she would never let the Young Lady put herself in danger.
Amamiya Natsuki glanced at Hayasaka Ai: "You stay put, I'll go."
"No, it's still unclear what will happen if a player enters the alley alone." Hayasaka Ai shook her head, saying seriously, "Senpai, you can go in later."
After a pause, Hayasaka Ai suddenly stepped forward half a step, lowering her voice:
"Senpai, transfer the Young Lady's Dark Shadow to me."
She thought you were going to sacrifice yourself to light the way for others, but in a blink of an eye, you're asking for a life-saving skill!
Amamiya Natsuki nodded, pointing to a corner: "Let's go there."
Transferring skills required holding hands, so they had to avoid the Ice Queen.
Letting Fujiwara Chika distract the Queen with ice cream, Amamiya Natsuki gave the others a look and nonchalantly walked towards the corner.
"Senpai, quickly, quickly."
Hayasaka Ai had already arrived a step ahead.
Fingers intertwined.
Looking at the Spy Maid with her pretty face tilted slightly upwards, bright eyes, and charming demeanor, Amamiya Natsuki's previously subsided desire surged again. He couldn't help but reach out his arm and embrace the girl's soft, slender waist.
Then…
Thump!
A pink fist struck Amamiya Natsuki's chest.
"What does perverted Senpai want to do?"
Hayasaka Ai's pretty face hardened, and her beautiful eyes glared at him.
Amamiya Natsuki spoke truthfully: "I want to kiss you."
"Heh, Senpai is really honest."
"Honesty is a virtue."
"Unfortunately, on a perverted Senpai, even the best virtues will dim." Hayasaka Ai muttered in a low voice, "Senpai, you told me before that you fell in love at first sight with a girl at school, and now you want to kiss me. Doesn't your conscience hurt?"
"Look at my head."
"A lust mushroom is not an excuse for Senpai to do whatever he wants."
"No, I just wanted to say…" Amamiya Natsuki said faintly, "It's normal for me, a mushroom person, to not have a conscience, right?"
Hayasaka Ai: "…"
"Hold it in!"
Seeing that Amamiya Natsuki wanted to bully her again, Hayasaka Ai leaned back, her tone suddenly becoming resentful, "There's been no confession, no date, and it's supposed to be time alone for the two of us, but Senpai only thinks about that kind of thing… So, Senpai only uses me as a tool to vent his desires, right?"
Amamiya Natsuki said with a serious expression:
"I was wrong."
"Senpai isn't wrong, it's me who shouldn't have had fantasies…"
"Before you say that, can you please take your hand off my waist?"
"Hmph."
The resentment on the Spy Maid's face disappeared, and she lowered her voice:
"You and the Young Lady kissed so many times in that corner outside the kitchen without brushing your teeth. Now you want to kiss me? Don't even think about it."
Amamiya Natsuki said in surprise: "You dislike Kaguya-san?"
Hayasaka Ai was almost angered to death: "The person I dislike is clearly you!"
Amamiya Natsuki said:
"If we're talking about it, the first person I kissed was clearly you."
"You kissed me, and then you went and bullied the Young Lady!" Hayasaka Ai was even angrier, "Perverted Senpai, I suggest a dog's death!"
"…"
A moment later.
Hayasaka Ai's skill finished loading, and she entered the alley.
Unlike the natives, she specifically brought paper and a pen before entering, preparing to record the situation inside.
"Hanamori-chan, be careful." Fujiwara Chika instructed, "If anything happens, turn on the strong flashlight."
"I understand."
Hayasaka Ai nodded lightly, and after preparing thoroughly, she entered the alley.
A few minutes later.
The Spy Maid walked out with a bewildered expression.
"Hanamori-chan, are you okay?"
Everyone quickly gathered around her.
"You just entered the alley…" Tsubame-senpai explained the situation, then reminded, "Check your game backpack. You specifically brought paper and a pen before going in."
Hayasaka Ai heard this, opened her game backpack, and took out the paper and pen.
Amamiya Natsuki looked over curiously and found that there was indeed something written on the paper, but the handwriting was quite messy.
"When you see this sentence, I have already…"
Amamiya Natsuki looked at Hayasaka Ai speechlessly and said:
"Already what?"
Fujiwara Chika put her right hand on her hip: "This seems to be the opening line of the Magic Mirror."
"I… don't know." Hayasaka Ai furrowed her brows, shaking her head in confusion, "I can't remember anything that happened inside."
"If you can't remember, don't think about it." Amamiya Natsuki patted the girl's head.
Continue reading down.
There was another line of text below.
"Fake, it's all fake!"
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence: 9 Reader for hundreds of additional chapters and over a dozen stories