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"…I do."
As Hiruko no Kami, with a flushed face, extended her small hand, the surroundings instantly fell silent.
The Head nurse's eyes widened, her expression bewildered.
The surrounding shadows were even more dumbfounded, looking at each other.
And the most incredulous person… was, of course, Yote, who was hiding in the dark.
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!!!
In the first playthrough, he was ambushed and killed without knowing anything. In the second playthrough, he was killed by Amamiya Natsuki activating Time Stop. In the third playthrough, he was ambushed and captured at the shrine in the afternoon… Yote had been shocked, had been angry, but had never been as terrified and uneasy as he was now.
Why would Hiruko hold hands with that boy?
Why would she blush?
Why would she show such a dependent expression?
Even if he didn't want to admit it, a thought uncontrollably arose in his mind, making Yote completely bewildered.
He… was NTR'd?!
Impossible!
Hiruko would never betray him!
After the bewilderment, Yote's second reaction was panic.
Everything he possessed, whether it was eternal life, confidence, or self-assurance, all came from Hiruko no Kami.
Once Hiruko no Kami abandoned him and threw herself into someone else's arms, he would instantly fall into the dust and lose everything.
After the panic, came impotent rage.
"Go kill them quickly!!"
Yote turned to look at the shadows protecting his safety, ordering with a distorted face.
"…"
However, the shadows merely looked at him indifferently, making no move, their cold faces devoid of any expression.
Like a basin of cold water poured over his head, Yote's eyes suddenly twisted.
These shadows were loyal to only one entity, Hiruko no Kami, and never to him from beginning to end.
They used to obey his orders only because Hiruko no Kami listened to him.
Now that Hiruko had been shamelessly tricked away by someone else, the shadows naturally wouldn't listen to him anymore.
In fact, with just one word from Hiruko no Kami, these shadows would turn against him and capture him.
At this thought, Yote's gaze turned sinister, and without another word, he retreated, his figure quickly disappearing into the night.
"President, was it successful?"
Fujiwara Chika tilted her head towards Hiruko no Kami and asked curiously.
"Of course it was successful." Amamiya Natsuki held Hiruko no Kami's cold little hand, then said, "Hiruko, call her 'Big Sister'."
Hiruko no Kami expressionlessly tilted her small face to look at Chika and calmly said, "Big Sister."
Even though she was a hundreds-of-years-old legal loli, she obediently called someone else 'Big Sister'. It seemed she had indeed been successfully captured.
"Then I'll call you Hiruko-chan." Fujiwara Chika showed a bright smile and handed over the takoyaki in her hand. "Here, have some."
Hiruko no Kami didn't speak, turning to look at Amamiya Natsuki.
"Eat it." Amamiya Natsuki nodded. "It tastes good."
"Mm."
Hiruko no Kami opened her small mouth, tilted her head, and said, "Feed me."
I didn't realize you were so good at acting cute!
Amamiya Natsuki took the takoyaki, fed one to Hiruko no Kami, then said:
"Hiruko, I want to ask you a favor."
Hiruko no Kami's small face puffed as she ate the takoyaki, and she said calmly:
"If Natsuki likes it, I don't mind doing anything."
Very good.
That's exactly what I wanted to hear.
What's the fun in fighting the final boss to the death? It's much better to make the boss your own!
Amamiya Natsuki smiled:
"Yote and I have some grievances. Can you capture Yote and let me deal with him?"
"Yes." Hiruko no Kami's expression remained unchanged as she turned to look at the surrounding shadows and instructed, "You go and capture Yote."
"…"
These shadows had not been captured by Amamiya Natsuki, and their expressions were particularly subtle upon hearing this.
Their Mother, who had lived with Yote day and night for over three hundred years, had suddenly thrown herself into another man's arms, and now she even wanted to help the "other man" capture Yote… Even though they were not human, the shadows also experienced the taste of NTR.
In short, their feelings were complex.
However, this was an order from Mother, and no shadow would question it. They all bowed their heads in affirmation, then began to search for Yote.
A moment later.
A shadow came to deliver a message:
"Yote was just behind that large tree. After seeing Mother and… holding hands, he immediately turned and ran away. We are currently searching."
"Tch."
Hayasaka Ai crossed her arms over her chest and couldn't help but scoff: "His own wife is being played with by another man, and after he sees it, he actually turns and runs away, not even having the courage to confront them. He's clearly a coward, isn't he?"
Amamiya Natsuki nodded in agreement:
"You're right."
"Pfft." Hayasaka Ai lightly spat, then whispered, complaining, "A perverted senpai who NTRs other people's wives has no right to speak."
However, having said that, even though Amamiya Natsuki's harem-scum behavior was extremely despicable, compared to that, the coward who didn't even dare to show his face after being NTR'd was even more contemptible.
The surrounding shadows went to hunt down Yote, and Amamiya Natsuki and the others found themselves at leisure, so they decided to stroll around the Summer Festival.
Hiruko no Kami held one of Amamiya Natsuki's fingers, her cowlick swaying gently as she looked around curiously.
Amamiya Natsuki bought a tri-color Dango and handed it over, asking, "Hiruko, have you never attended a Summer Festival?"
"No." Hiruko no Kami shook her head. "This is my first time attending a Summer Festival."
"Eh, why?" Fujiwara Chika asked curiously. "Hiruko-chan is already hundreds of years old, isn't she? Having lived so long, how could she have never attended a single Summer Festival?"
Hiruko no Kami said calmly, "Yote said that for my safety, I couldn't go to places with too many people."
"Tsk."
Hayasaka Ai clicked her tongue softly.
Saying it was for Hiruko's safety, what could ordinary people do to harm such a powerful supernatural being?
A little thought would reveal the truth: Yote's reason for doing this was clearly to prevent Hiruko from falling in love with others.
Shinomiya Kaguya said softly, "Does Hiruko like staying in the cave system very much?"
Hiruko no Kami shook her head, "I don't like it. I actually like basking in the sun."
Shinomiya Kaguya pursed her pink lips and continued, "Did Yote make you stay in the cave system all this time?"
"Yes, he said the surface was very dangerous."
Upon hearing this, even Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't help but frown slightly and whispered, "Scumbag!"
No wonder when Yote saw Hiruko no Kami being taken by Natsuki, he didn't step forward but instead fled immediately. It's because that Yote guy had no feelings for Hiruko no Kami at all—if he had even a little feeling, it would be impossible for him to keep Hiruko no Kami in the cave system for three hundred years, unwilling to even take her to a single Summer Festival.
Without a doubt, in Yote's mind, Hiruko no Kami was merely a tool to be used.
Amamiya Natsuki touched the elementary school student's head, suddenly feeling a bit sorry for her.
Seemingly possessing great power, she was actually always used as a tool, which could be said to be quite tragic.
"Hiruko, what is the mechanism for time reset?"
Amamiya Natsuki asked gently.
Having finally managed to 'capture' Hiruko no Kami, it was impossible to just eat and drink; getting information was the most important thing.
Hiruko no Kami calmly replied, "When I suffer a fatal injury or become mentally agitated."
"Is it an active ability?"
"That's right."
The girls exchanged glances, then each took out a notebook and began to record the information.
Three loops had already passed, and this was the first time the players had interacted with Hiruko no Kami. Every piece of information was extremely important.
Perhaps this loop of the game could be cleared, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
If they couldn't clear it, this information would be especially valuable for the players in the next loop.
Shinomiya Kaguya asked softly, "When did Hiruko come to the Island?"
"I don't remember clearly." Hiruko ate the tri-color Dango, her small face showing no emotional fluctuations, but she held Amamiya Natsuki's finger tightly, occasionally revealing a look of dependence. "I only remember living in the sea before, constantly replicating, eventually turning into a whale, and then being washed ashore..."
The following content was similar to what the middle-aged Dean said; the background hadn't changed much.
Fujiwara Chika asked curiously, "I have a question. Since Hiruko is so powerful, why doesn't she reset time after being injured?"
"There are limitations to resetting time." Hiruko no Kami said calmly, "Each time I reset time, it consumes a large amount of energy, and the length of the time reset becomes shorter and shorter. The bombing came from the sky, and I was severely injured at the time. I didn't know if there would be more bombings later, so I gave up."
"I see."
Amamiya Natsuki suddenly understood.
No wonder after entering the third loop from the second loop, he "woke up" under the coconut trees on the beach. The truth was that Hiruko no Kami's time resets were getting shorter and shorter.
Hayasaka Ai asked curiously, "Can you know the every move of all the shadows?"
"No." Hiruko no Kami shook her head. "The information is too redundant and would overload my brain. I don't usually pay attention to the movements of other shadows."
Yukino Yukinoshita said softly, "Did you specifically have the shadows attack elementary school students?"
The targets Marin and her group needed to protect were all elementary school students, which naturally made people wonder if there was anything special about them.
"No." Hiruko no Kami shook her head again. "However, Yote did give an order. He wanted me to change to a different body."
"Eh eh eh?" Fujiwara Chika's eyes widened in surprise. "He wants you to become a elementary school student?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Yote said elementary school students are cuter."
"..."
The girls were instantly shocked.
Even Amamiya Natsuki was speechless.
No wonder the game made players protect elementary school students, because they were the replication targets Yote chose for Hiruko no Kami, and they would definitely be attacked.
"Lolicon!"
"Pervert!"
"Those elementary school students are only ten years old. That Yote is too perverted!"
Seeing the girls look at him, Amamiya Natsuki decisively expressed his opinion, saying sternly, "Such a pervert should be eliminated by everyone!"
...
After obtaining a large amount of valuable information, Shinomiya Kaguya asked softly, "How many clones does Yote have in total?"
"Two." Hiruko no Kami said calmly, "One wears armor made of mud and is always by my side. The other clone died this afternoon."
The group exchanged glances, relieved.
Hiruko no Kami's eyes were now full of Amamiya Natsuki, so she certainly wouldn't lie. In other words, Yote indeed only had two clones, so there was no need to worry about a whole football team hiding in the dark.
Amamiya Natsuki asked, "Does Yote have a main body in addition to his clones?"
"He has a main body." Hiruko no Kami nodded. "Yote's main body is in the cave system, in a room right next to mine."
"There really is one." Fujiwara Chika asked curiously, "What does the main body look like now?"
Hiruko no Kami tilted her head in thought, then pointed to a white-haired old man not far away and said calmly, "He's older than that human, unable to move or eat anymore. He relies entirely on me to supply him with life energy."
"I see." Fujiwara Chika put her right hand on her hip and complained, "It sounds more and more like Nagato behind Pain."
Nagato is much more charming than Yote. At least he has a grand goal and ideal. That Yote guy, besides being selfish, I really haven't seen any good qualities!
Amamiya Natsuki looked down at Hiruko no Kami and said softly, "If Yote's main body is killed, will the Yote inside the armor disappear?"
"No." Hiruko no Kami shook her head. "The consciousness will disappear, but the body will not."
"Understood." Fujiwara Chika nodded. "It means he'll become a vegetable."
...
Unknowingly, the group had strolled through the Summer Festival stalls.
Amamiya Natsuki was quite generous, buying every food and toy Hiruko was curious about along the way without hesitation.
By the time the shadow Head nurse found them, Hiruko no Kami was holding a red candied apple, wearing a fox mask on her head, and a string of shell ornaments around her neck. The cool and indifferent aura on her had largely disappeared, and she looked almost like an ordinary person.
If Mother could always be this happy, it wouldn't matter who she was with...
This thought flashed through her mind, and the shadow Head nurse knelt on one knee, respectfully saying, "Mother, we have searched the entire mountain and found no trace of Yote. Should we expand the search area?"
...
Hiruko no Kami said nothing, but instead gently licked the candied apple with the tip of her tongue, looking up at Amamiya Natsuki as she ate.
"No need to search." Amamiya Natsuki waved his hand. "Let's go directly to the cave system."
Play hide-and-seek with a clone?
Are you kidding? Of course, they would go after the main body!
Hiruko no Kami said calmly, "Natsuki's words are my words."
"Yes, Mother." The shadow Head nurse's voice was respectful, and she looked at Amamiya Natsuki. "When shall we go to the cave system?"
Amamiya Natsuki turned to look at the girls: "What do you all say?"
Shinomiya Kaguya crossed her arms over her chest and said softly, "The sooner the better. Let's go now."
Amamiya Natsuki nodded. "Let's depart now."
The shadow Head nurse stood up, pushed up her glasses, and said calmly, "Please follow me."
...
There were actually many entrances to the cave system, for example, one under the cliff by the sea. However, that was a natural entrance and difficult to navigate. The shadow Head nurse directly led the group to the Hospital, clearly intending to enter through the artificially excavated passage.
At the same time.
Yote, wearing his mud armor, was hiding in the cave, his expression crazed: "...You really came. Hiruko is mine. No one can take her away!"
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