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[You have triggered a new Dungeon: Dark Hospital]
[Difficulty: Unknown]
[Players, please prepare. This Dungeon will open promptly at 9 PM tomorrow.]
"…Natsuki-kun?!"
Tsubame-senpai, who heard the game notification, paused her steps and quickly turned to look at Amamiya Natsuki.
"I heard it." Amamiya Natsuki nodded lightly, taking Tsubame-senpai's cool, soft hand and walking towards a corner, "Let's talk over there."
The two arrived at an deserted corner.
"Natsuki-kun, I'm sorry." Koyasu Tsubame bit her lower lip with her pearly teeth, apologizing in a low voice, her tone full of guilt, "I didn't know coming to the Hospital would trigger a dungeon."
The last dungeon had ended less than a week ago, and now a new one was triggered, and it was all because of her, which was truly terrible.
"Senpai, don't worry about it." Amamiya Natsuki didn't mind at all, saying calmly, "They say smoking is harmful to health, but the truth is, among all lung cancer patients, non-smokers account for the majority. Some people smoke, drink, and perm their hair, yet their bodies are super strong, while others exercise daily and yet are struck by serious illness… Even if we didn't come to the Hospital today, we might have triggered a dungeon just by walking on the street."
Koyasu Tsubame still cared quite a bit: "I wish I hadn't asked Natsuki-kun to come with me."
"Then I'll put it another way." Amamiya Natsuki pondered for two seconds, "If Senpai came to the Hospital alone to visit cousin and also triggered a dungeon, would you tell us?"
"I…"
Koyasu Tsubame pursed her pink lips and stopped talking.
Of course, she would.
Studying and exercising were fine, but she had no confidence in clearing a dungeon alone; only team action could bring peace of mind.
"So, whether I come or not is just the difference between knowing sooner and knowing later." Amamiya Natsuki extended his right hand and patted Tsubame-senpai's head, "No matter what, I would never leave Senpai alone."
"Don't touch my head." Koyasu Tsubame's pretty face flushed slightly, and she glared at him with bright eyes, "Say that to Kaguya-san."
Amamiya Natsuki withdrew his hand and said:
"Then I won't say it anymore."
"…"
Koyasu Tsubame's pink cheeks couldn't help but puff out slightly: "Let's go see cousin."
"Also." Amamiya Natsuki stepped up to follow, "When Senpai apologizes in the future, please show some sincerity."
"What sincerity?"
Tsubame-senpai looked back in confusion.
Amamiya Natsuki didn't speak, his gaze moving downwards, landing on Tsubame-senpai's slender, beautiful legs clad in black stockings.
"…Lewd!"
Koyasu Tsubame's pretty face flushed, and she immediately understood what sincerity meant.
He even wanted to touch them, how could she possibly agree!
The two took the elevator to the third floor.
"Cousin is inside."
Koyasu Tsubame stopped in front of a patient room and gently knocked on the door.
A weak voice came from within the room:
"Please come in."
"Let's go in."
Tsubame-senpai whispered, pushing the door open.
Amamiya Natsuki, carrying items in his hand, stepped into the patient room.
This was a single patient room. On the patient bed sat a girl, her right hand receiving an IV drip. She looked quite thin, with a dull complexion. Below the collar of her patient gown, her sunken collarbones were clearly visible, indicating she was indeed the cousin suffering from anorexia.
Many people who want to lose weight fantasize about having anorexia, but in reality, anorexia is incredibly painful, a difficult suffering for both the patient and their family.
Koyasu Tsubame walked to the side of the patient bed and said softly:
"Cousin, I'm here."
Amamiya Natsuki stepped forward half a pace and introduced himself: "…Nice to meet you for the first time, please guide me."
"Hello." cousin smiled in response, "Are you and Tsubame dating?"
"Cousin, what are you talking about!" Koyasu Tsubame's pretty face flushed, and she quickly said, "I told you in the text message, Natsuki-kun is a family-inherited psychotherapist… We're not dating!"
Bringing a boy suddenly, she needed a suitable identity, so Amamiya Natsuki had transformed into a family-inherited psychotherapist.
As everyone knows, anorexia is usually a psychological illness.
Amamiya Natsuki spoke neither subserviently nor arrogantly:
"Senpai has taken good care of me at school; she is a very reliable senpai."
"Then you'll have to work hard." cousin pursed her lips and smiled, "Tsubame has a gentle personality, a good figure, and most importantly, she's never dated a boyfriend. As long as you trick her, her first time will all be yours, you know."
Amamiya Natsuki nodded in agreement.
Her figure was indeed very good.
No need to mention that; he already knew it.
"Cousin, that's enough." Koyasu Tsubame's pretty face was crimson, and she couldn't help but shout, "Don't say weird things to Natsuki-kun!"
"Well, I'm already like this, so a joke is normal, right?"
Cousin didn't care at all, smiling as she looked at Amamiya Natsuki: "Tsubame is shy, Natsuki-kun has a lot of hope, work hard, okay."
Amamiya Natsuki looked at Tsubame-senpai: "Maybe she's red from anger?"
"Don't worry, when Tsubame gets angry, she just sulks with a straight face; she doesn't talk this much."
"I see."
Cousin took out her phone with a smile: "I have Tsubame's swimsuit photos on my phone, Natsuki-kun, do you want to see them?"
Amamiya Natsuki said seriously: "I couldn't ask for more."
"You two should stop already!"
Koyasu Tsubame put her left hand on her hip, her right hand supporting her forehead, took a deep breath, and glared at Amamiya Natsuki: "You quickly show cousin."
"Then I'll leave it to Natsuki-kun."
Cousin leaned back on the pillow, smiling as she looked over, though there wasn't much expectation in her eyes.
Since falling ill, she had seen many psychotherapists, but with little effect.
"I've already understood the general situation…" Amamiya Natsuki skipped the boring psychological counseling and relief, "Next is the ancestral mysterious treatment method. I need to touch cousin's head."
"It's fine." cousin smiled in response, "As long as Tsubame doesn't mind, you can touch other places too, you know."
Koyasu Tsubame stood by, completely unfazed, and said calmly:
"It's only natural for a doctor to examine a patient's body; of course, I wouldn't mind."
"Eh, how boring."
"…"
As soon as he entered the door, Amamiya Natsuki had already planted a mushroom on cousin.
Now, with a touch, the identification was quickly successful.
Amamiya Natsuki turned to look at Koyasu Tsubame, who was tightly clenching her pink fists, and nodded lightly.
"I'm going to the restroom."
Amamiya Natsuki gave Tsubame-senpai a look and walked out.
Soon after, Koyasu Tsubame quickly followed him out, lowering her voice and saying:
"Natsuki-kun, is it really a Gluttony Mushroom?"
"That's right, it's a Gluttony Mushroom."
Amamiya Natsuki nodded lightly; he certainly wouldn't joke at a time like this.
"That's good, cousin's anorexia can be cured."
Tsubame-senpai's eyes suddenly lit up.
Mere anorexia, under human instinct, certainly wouldn't be an opponent.
Just like her Sloth mushroom, no matter how much she gritted her teeth and resisted, she would eventually become a lazy salted fish.
Amamiya Natsuki asked in a low voice:
"When do we detonate the mushroom?"
"Hmm…" Koyasu Tsubame pursed her pink lips, pondering for two seconds, "cousin hasn't eaten properly for so long, she can't eat too much at once. How about setting the mushroom for ten minutes?"
"Ten minutes it is." Amamiya Natsuki nodded, "Speaking of which, I still don't know what the time limit for mushrooms is… Senpai, do you want to verify it?"
"I refuse." Koyasu Tsubame crossed her arms and flatly refused, "Natsuki-kun can plant mushrooms on himself, right? Please verify it personally."
Amamiya Natsuki said in a low voice:
"If I verify it personally, Senpai, you'll be in danger."
"I'm not asking you to verify it right now." Tsubame-senpai's pretty face quickly flushed, "You go verify it alone when you get home tonight."
"We'll just stand in the hallway for a bit." Amamiya Natsuki took out his phone and said, "Let's tell everyone about the dungeon first."
"Okay."
When the dungeon was mentioned, Tsubame-senpai's expression quickly became serious.
Amamiya Natsuki reminded the other players in the mutual aid group:
"…A new dungeon has appeared in this Hospital, it's a trigger type. Please all remain vigilant."
Trigger-type dungeons appear randomly, and not many patterns have been summarized yet, but generally speaking, players trigger a dungeon when they enter a specific location or pick up a specific item.
The game does not ask for players' consent; once a dungeon is triggered, they must enter it—except for those naturally bold and thrill-seeking individuals, no one wants to venture into a dungeon.
Seeking benefit and avoiding harm is human instinct.
"Oh, right." Koyasu Tsubame suddenly thought of a possibility and looked up, saying, "Natsuki-kun, since it's a trigger-type dungeon, and doesn't require item tickets, can we call everyone to join?"
"With so many players entering the dungeon together, the chance of clearing it would be higher, right?"
"Good idea." Amamiya Natsuki looked at Tsubame-senpai, "Unfortunately, it won't work."
"First, everyone in the mutual aid group is spread across the country, and it would take too much effort to gather everyone together."
"Secondly, the dungeon difficulty clearly has dynamic adjustments." Natsuki continued, "For example, in the fairy tale dungeon we cleared last time, the main quests were not the same. If so many players flooded into one dungeon, the difficulty would definitely become very high."
Koyasu Tsubame's idea had been proposed before, but after discussion, most people voted against it.
To sum it up, it was not worth the effort.
Buzz buzz.
The phone suddenly vibrated.
Natsuki looked down at his phone; it was a call from Marin.
"Natsuki-kun, I just saw the announcement." The voice of the Succubus Girl quickly rang in his ear, "Tell me the address, I'll be right over."
"I couldn't enter the dungeon with you last time, but I definitely won't miss it this time."
Natsuki reported the Hospital address: "Just take the train over."
Immediately after, messages from other people started coming in one after another.
Shinomiya Kaguya: "When does the dungeon open?"
Hayasaka Ai: "Pervert Senpai, can't you ever be quiet? Seeing the announcement just made my blood pressure rise."
Juju-sama: "Why do we have to go to a place like a Hospital… I'll message Komi first."
"…"
After replying to all the messages, about ten minutes had passed.
Natsuki put away his phone and looked at Tsubame-senpai:
"Shall we go back to the ward?"
Koyasu Tsubame softly assented and walked back to the ward with Natsuki.
Snap.
Natsuki raised his right hand and gently snapped his fingers. The mushroom on cousin's head burst open, turning into a cloud of purple smoke and silently disappearing.
"You're back…"
Her cousin, who was staring out the window, suddenly widened her eyes halfway through her sentence and covered her abdomen with both hands, "What's going on?"
A strong sense of hunger surged forward. It was like a tide, wanting to engulf her.
In the face of this instinctive appetite, anorexia had no power to resist.
"So hungry…" Her cousin couldn't help but say, "Tsubame, I want to eat something."
"Cousin, I'll get it for you right away."
Koyasu Tsubame's bright eyes lit up, and she quickly walked to the bedside.
On her way over, she had gone to the Convenience Store to buy fruit and food, which now came in handy.
"Eat a bag of bread first."
Koyasu Tsubame handed over a bag of bread.
Smelling the sweet aroma of the bread, cousin eagerly began to eat.
Natsuki stood by, twisting open a bottle of milk: "Drink some milk."
Watching her cousin eat and drink, sitting on the Hospital bed with bread in her left hand and milk in her right, as if she had returned to her former self, Koyasu Tsubame couldn't help but smile.
"Natsuki-kun, thank you."
Tsubame-senpai thanked him softly.
"We still need to observe the situation," Natsuki whispered. "It's very possible that her appetite has only recovered for now, and the anorexia hasn't been cured."
"I know." Koyasu Tsubame nodded gently, "cousin couldn't eat anything before, so this is already very good… Natsuki-kun, if you have time in the future, you can come with me."
"Wouldn't that be bad?" Natsuki feigned contemplation, "What if your cousin misunderstands, and my innocence is gone?"
"…"
Koyasu Tsubame's lips twitched slightly, and she finally couldn't resist, secretly pinching him.
Shameless!
How could he say something about losing his innocence, how could he even say that?
Under the effect of the Gluttony Mushroom, cousin quickly finished the food she had brought, a look of immense happiness on her face.
"How amazing… I actually ate so much in one go." Her cousin licked the corner of her mouth, looking at Natsuki with a curious expression, "Your family's traditional therapy is actually that effective?"
Natsuki said seriously:
"Sorry, this is a family secret, I can't tell you."
"Hmm…" cousin's eyes darted around, and she giggled, "Then if I marry Tsubame to you, and Tsubame knows the secret recipe and then tells me, it'll be fine, right?"
"Cousin, what nonsense are you talking about?!"
Koyasu Tsubame's pretty face quickly flushed red.
Even if I were to marry, I wouldn't need your approval, cousin!
Natsuki showed a contemplative expression: "Then I'll have to think about it carefully."
"Think about what?!" Koyasu Tsubame turned her head, and although she had been backstabbed by her cousin, she didn't act shy. She pushed Natsuki, "Don't you still have things to do? Hurry up and get busy."
"Today's treatment effect was pretty good. I'll come again tomorrow."
Natsuki took the opportunity to leave, while also brainstorming the development and Exploit of mushrooms.
Narrow.
The path has narrowed.
The Gluttony Mushroom, which seems like it could make people burst, can treat anorexia, so what about the lust mushroom?
That thing can totally be used to strengthen the kidneys and body.
And the Sloth mushroom, super effective for treating insomnia.
It's just a pity that mushrooms grow randomly, and I can't specify their attributes myself…
Leaving the ward, Natsuki went downstairs to the Hospital entrance and waited silently.
"Natsuki-kun, I'm here!"
Before long, the girl's clear shout reached his ears.
Natsuki looked up to see the Succubus Girl, with soft golden hair reaching her waist and a black choker around her neck, happily waving. Her bright smile seemed to brighten the dim sky.
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence: 9 Reader for hundreds of additional chapters and over a dozen stories