"A hidden weapon…"
Natsuki raised his gaze and looked at Yukino.
He saw Hiranoshita covering her chest with both hands, her pearly teeth biting her lips, her pretty face no longer showing its usual coolness, only full of embarrassment.
None of that mattered.
What mattered was.
Underneath the originally flat white shirt, it was now distinctly no longer flat, as if it were the Alps that had only recently been left behind. Even her two arms couldn't completely conceal it.
"Why… Why is this happening?!"
Yukino turned sideways, her voice filled with both shame and anger.
Natsuki coughed twice and said seriously:
"It should be a side effect of the Witch Potion. Among the previously documented side effects, there were indeed similar symptoms, but they were relatively rare."
After a pause, Natsuki comforted her, saying:
"Relax, your luck is already pretty good."
Yukino bit her silver teeth in anger and couldn't help but say:
"This kind of side effect is considered good?"
She had drunk Witch Potion many times, and side effects had appeared several times, for example, in the Summer Time Rendering dungeon, she had grown cat ears and a cat tail after drinking the potion.
But cat ears and a cat tail could be barely accepted, she absolutely didn't want the strange alien side effect!
Natsuki spread his hands and said:
"The last unfortunate guy who encountered the strange alien side effect was a middle-aged uncle."
Yukino: "..."
Hearing this gossip, her heart suddenly felt much more balanced.
Indeed, human joys and sorrows are not interconnected.
"Generally speaking, side effects take several days to disappear on their own." Natsuki suggested earnestly, "Do you want me to help?"
"The Unskilled Doctor's skill can eliminate side effects…"
"Hmm?"
Yukino's gaze immediately sharpened.
"Alright, no need then." Natsuki raised his hands. "I was just suggesting, but if you climb up like this, I just feel like you'll be very embarrassed."
That wouldn't just be embarrassing, it would be social death!
Yukino bit her lower lip tightly and took a deep breath, saying:
"Turn around."
"Hmm?" Natsuki was startled. "What is Yukino going to do?"
"Don't ask so many questions!"
"Yes, yes."
"..."
Natsuki raised his hands and turned around.
Soon, rustling sounds came from behind him.
A moment later.
Yukino's voice had already calmed down:
"…Continue moving."
Natsuki then turned around, curiously looking at Yukino.
Sure enough.
Yukino had just changed into a spare shirt from her game backpack. The original shirt had lost two buttons, so it was clearly unusable.
But… it was too dangerous!
The clothes from the game's Blind Box were just ordinary clothes; they didn't have the indestructible attribute. Even if you grit your teeth and wear the shirt, there's always a possibility of it bursting!
However, Natsuki knew very well that Hiranoshita couldn't be persuaded at this moment. Persuading her too much would only be counterproductive.
There was no other way; they could only continue climbing like this.
"Let's go, continue moving."
Natsuki openly sized up Hiranoshita at this moment… No, he misspoke.
Now she was no longer Hiranoshita, but a super-plus version of Big Yukino, capable of even beating Haruno and kicking Sayu.
The action continued.
However, after climbing not very high, Yukino discovered that the situation was even worse than she had imagined.
First, balance.
The sudden extra weight on the human body would severely affect balance, especially during climbing.
Secondly, it was uncomfortable.
Although there were spare clothes in the game backpack, there was no spare underwear, and as for the previous underwear… naturally, it had heroically sacrificed itself.
Yukino, besides wearing pajamas when sleeping, had never experienced a vacuum state at any other time; it not only affected her balance but also felt very strange, in short, it was very uncomfortable.
Gritting her teeth, she carefully climbed up a bit further, and the two arrived on a gently sloping platform.
"Whew…"
Yukino let out a slight sigh of relief, raised her right hand, and prepared to wipe the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.
The next moment.
Snap!
Two more buttons, unable to bear the strain, popped off again.
Yukino reacted quickly, swiftly raising her arms to cover her chest, then gritted her teeth and turned her head to glare at him in embarrassment.
"I didn't see anything." Natsuki raised his hands to show his innocence, and suggested again, "Spare clothes are one less when one gets ruined, this is too wasteful… How about I help you?"
"No need, I can handle it myself."
Yukino only hesitated for two seconds before shaking her head and refusing, biting her lips as she said:
"Turn around."
Indeed, spare clothes could not be wasted anymore; only items obtained from blind boxes could be stored in the game backpack, so wasting one piece of clothing meant one less, and thus, another solution had to be found…
"Yes."
Natsuki obediently turned around, listening to the rustling sound behind him, his heart filled with curiosity.
Besides changing into a new shirt, what other method could there be?
This time, changing clothes took significantly longer than before.
Natsuki waited for a good while before Yukino's serious voice sounded from behind him:
"We can continue now."
Natsuki acknowledged, turned around curiously to look at Yukino, and was instantly stunned.
To avoid wasting spare clothes, Yukino had surprisingly found an unconventional path, a path Natsuki had never even considered…
"You actually used bandages?"
White bandages were wrapped around her chest in layers, and her previous shirt hadn't been thrown away but was tied around her waist, serving as a skirt-like function, a completely new style he had never seen before, making his eyes light up.
Looking at the limited edition 'Bandage' Yukino, Natsuki suddenly felt a surge of excitement, unable to resist reaching out his right hand…
"Garbage-kun, what are you doing?!"
Yukino's eyes immediately became wary.
"My nose is a bit itchy." Natsuki coughed twice, rubbed his nose, and then pulled out his phone from his pocket, "…Let me take a picture first."
In the pitch-black deep pit hundreds of meters underground, the phone naturally had no signal, but the camera function could still be used.
Click, click.
He took several photos in one go, but unfortunately, the light was too dim, and the effect was not good, so Natsuki reluctantly put away his phone, then said with burning eyes:
"Once we complete all the extreme challenges, how about we go to Naganohara to watch the fireworks together?"
Yukino tilted her head, wary:
"Why go to Naganohara?"
"…"
Alright, as expected, they had no common topics.
With the rest over, the two continued to climb upwards.
This time, Yukino experienced the amazing use of bandages; her body finally maintained balance and would no longer be affected, secondly, she didn't have to worry about accidental exposure, and finally, there was a satisfying binding effect, no longer the trouble of bouncing around.
Yukino couldn't help but praise in her heart:
"…Bandages are super useful!"
They climbed all the way, with basically no obstacles to stop their progress, but when they reached the middle section of the cave, a ferocious roadblock stood in front of them.
Squish~
The sticky sensation underfoot made Natsuki frown.
Yukino even took out a mask and put it directly on her face to block the pungent smell in the air.
It had been mentioned before that Swallow Cave got its name because tens of thousands of swallows and bats lived inside, and these creatures had survived and reproduced in the cave for generations, and reproduction involved one thing… which was excretion.
At this moment.
Natsuki and Yukino had arrived at the filthy area of Swallow Cave.
The ground was covered with a thick layer of 'Night-Shining Sand', with no place to step at all.
"Yukino." Natsuki turned his head, his expression serious, "I want to discuss something with you…"
Yukino crossed her arms over her chest and said:
"Tell me."
Natsuki suggested:
"Rather than two people getting hurt, it's better for one person to sacrifice, so… can you let me become a leg attachment and hang on you?"
Yukino: "…"
You actually want me to wade through a sea of excrement, while you comfortably lie back and win; how could you even say that?!
On this matter, Yukino truly could not achieve true gender equality.
"Whew…"
Yukino closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and said word by word:
"I! Re! Fuse!"
Other environments are fine, but I absolutely cannot agree to you now!
"Then I have another suggestion." Natsuki was not disappointed and said again, "You become a leg attachment, and only I need to sacrifice, but in exchange, you must let me kiss you for ten minutes."
Yukino gritted her teeth and said with disdain:
"…Taking advantage of the situation!"
"I'm making such a big sacrifice, can't I ask for some compensation?" Natsuki said righteously, "Just tell me if you agree or not; if not, we'll cross the sea of excrement together."
"…"
The word 'sea of excrement' made Yukino's eye twitch slightly; after hesitating for a few seconds, she finally agreed.
"I… understand."
Yukino turned her pretty face away, the unyielding girl who once possessed an unbending spirit, ultimately compromised with reality, exchanging her body for Natsuki's help.
On one side was a ten-minute kiss, on the other was personally crossing a sea of excrement; anyone would know how to choose, right?
"What?" Natsuki cupped his hand to his ear, tilting his head, "Your voice is too low, I can't hear you clearly."
"You…"
Yukino bit her lower lip in frustration, wanting to retract what she had just said, but looking at the sea of Night-Shining Sand in front of her, the words caught in her throat, and she silently swallowed them back, turning her head to look elsewhere and saying:
"Your condition… I agree!"
"That's good." Natsuki smiled, "I trust Yukino's character, so I won't record it as proof… Hurry and transform into a leg attachment, I want to rush out in one go."
"Whew…"
Yukino sighed in relief, reaching out to take the attachment device.
"Wait." Natsuki suddenly said, "I've changed my mind."
Yukino paused and said:
"What are you doing?"
"Ten minutes is too short." Natsuki corrected, "At least half an hour of kissing."
Yukino gritted her teeth and said angrily:
"Don't push your luck!"
Natsuki said earnestly:
"I'm making such a big sacrifice, can't I push my luck a little?"
"You…"
"If you don't agree, you can cross the sea of excrement yourself."
"…"
Once a person bows to reality, there will inevitably be a second, and a third time.
Yukino was just like that.
The words of refusal welled up to her lips, but she couldn't bring herself to say them, and in the end, she still agreed to Natsuki's opportunistic demand.
The deal was struck.
Yukino quickly activated the device, transforming into a leg attachment, and attached herself to Natsuki's body.
"Too bad, if my senpai was here, it would be great…"
Natsuki sighed, missing his senpai very much right now.
Koasu Tsubame had a spider-woman Skin Card in her possession; upon using it, she could shoot out spider silk, and although not as agile as a true Spider-Man, she should be able to pass through the filthy area ahead without harm.
Fortunately, although he couldn't shoot spider silk, he could use similar tools.
Natsuki opened his game backpack, took out a retractable grappling hook, carefully found a good position, and then suddenly threw the hook in his hand.
Whoosh!
The grappling hook sharply caught onto a small tree on the cliff wall, and then Natsuki leapt up, running swiftly upwards by stepping on the wall.
Ordinary people couldn't run by stepping on walls, but players could.
Next was the combined use of the grappling hook and Accio; Natsuki himself was like an ape, but even more agile and nimble than an ape, he hardly needed to stop, rushing upwards all the way.
A moment later.
Natsuki had already reached the edge of Swallow Cave, grabbed the rope dangling from above, and successfully escaped.
"Natsuki-sama!"
Sayu cheered, about to rush over for a hug.
"Don't come closer."
Natsuki held out a hand to stop Sayu from approaching.
Along the way, it was inevitable to touch some filthy things, so he had to maintain distance.
Haruno, on the other hand, asked nervously:
"Eh, where's Yukino?"
"Yukino is fine." Natsuki took off his mask, taking a breath of fresh air, "The environment below is too terrible… Yukino turned into a leg attachment."
Hearing that Yukino was fine, Haruno immediately relaxed:
"Then I'm relieved."
"Assistant." Natsuki turned to look at the assistant, making a request, "I want to take a shower quickly."
Assistant bowed slightly and said:
"Arranging it immediately."
"…"
Next, the group took a car and headed straight for the nearest hotel.
Upon arriving at the hotel, Natsuki, without a word, went straight to the bathroom.
To be honest, the smell on his body wasn't that bad, but it was incredibly uncomfortable, and he urgently wanted to take a shower.
"Oh, we haven't kept Yukino-chan here yet."
Watching Natsuki's back quickly disappear into the room, Sayu reacted belatedly.
"Natsuki-kun probably forgot… Well, it doesn't matter." Haruno blinked, "Anyway, Yukino won't mind."
Sayu: "…"
Splash, splash.
Hot water poured down from the showerhead.
Natsuki directly threw away his dirty clothes and then stood in the shower, letting out a long breath:
"Finally, I can take a shower."
After a comfortable shower, Natsuki lowered his head to look at his thigh and then released Yukino, who was still in her leg attachment form.
Thump.
A black-haired, long-haired girl appeared out of thin air.
Natsuki opened his arms and steadily held Yukino.
Suddenly changing from an attachment back to a human, Yukino took a few seconds to adapt, quickly regaining her senses, her pretty face flushed, and she bit her silver teeth, saying:
"…Let go of me!"
"Sorry, I'll put you down right away." Natsuki put Yukino down while apologizing sincerely, "My body was super uncomfortable just now; I was only thinking about taking a shower quickly."
Yukino covered her chest with both hands, not believing a single word.
It wasn't a life-or-death crisis, so how could he easily forget?
He clearly did it on purpose.
"Hmph."
Yukino was too lazy to argue; after a soft snort, she turned to leave the bathroom.
"I can't call her Hirano now."
Looking at Yukino's profile, Natsuki sighed in his heart.
Can't hide it, completely can't hide it.
Even if Yukino covered her chest with both arms, a strange gravitational pull still appeared in the air, forcefully drawing Natsuki's gaze, making it impossible to look away.
Before, she was a flat Hirano; now, she can't even see her toes when she looks down, and she can't even tie her shoelaces herself.
"Wait—"
Natsuki suddenly noticed an object on the floor and quickly called out to stop her.
Yukino not only didn't stop but walked even faster. However, because something blocked her view, she couldn't see the soap under her feet and directly stepped on it.
"What is it?"
Yukino's foot suddenly slipped, and her body instantly lost balance, falling backward.
If it were before, Yukino would naturally be able to handle it easily, but today she had become a strange alien, her usual balance had been broken, and maintaining balance was exceptionally difficult.
Thump.
Seeing Yukino about to fall to the ground, Natsuki's eyes narrowed, and he decisively activated Time Stop.
Wrong, it should be… King Crimson!
Due to some irresistible force, the history here was forcibly rewritten.
When time resumed flowing, Yukino found herself leaning against the wall with one hand, standing steadily at the doorway.
"What… happened just now?"
There was residual confusion in Yukino's eyes.
Natsuki said faintly:
"I dare not say; I dare not say anything."
"…"
Yukino took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the shame that was about to explode, and with a murderous look on her face, she was about to push the door open.
At this moment, a knocking sound suddenly came from outside the door, and Yukino's steps paused slightly.
"I'll get the door." Natsuki turned around and said in a low voice, "You wait in the bathroom for a moment."
"…"
Yukino didn't speak and silently remained in the bathroom; her current state indeed made it inconvenient to leave.
The door opened.
Standing outside the door was a Sayu.
"Natsuki-sama, these are the new clothes I just bought."
Sayu handed over the new clothes with both hands, slightly tilting her pretty face, full of an expression anticipating praise.
"Good job." Natsuki naturally didn't stint on praise, reaching out to rub Sayu's head, "Thanks to you."
"Eh heh~"
Receiving praise, Sayu was instantly satisfied, her eyes curving into crescent moons.
"Natsuki-kun, I bought a set of clothes for Yukino." Haruno said while looking into the room, "Should I leave them in the room, or wait for Yukino to come and wear them?"
Natsuki glanced at the clothes and couldn't help but complain:
"The clothes you chose are too small."
"Eh?" Haruno blinked, "What's wrong?"
At this moment, Yukino's voice came from the bathroom:
"Sister, bring the clothes in; I'll put them on right away!"
"Got it."
Haruno responded, stuck out her pink tongue at Natsuki, and then walked into the bathroom with the clothes.
The next second.
"Ahhhhhh!"
Haruno's gasp suddenly rang out.
"Eh eh, what's wrong?" Sayu was startled and quickly turned to look at the bathroom, "Why is Haruno screaming?"
"Steady, don't panic." Natsuki drank water from a cup, his tone calm, "You'll know in a bit."
Sayu widened her eyes: "So mysterious… What exactly happened?"
Natsuki shook his head: "I dare not say."
Sayu: "Then I want to know even more!"
"…"
A moment later.
The bathroom door finally opened.
Under Sayu's eager anticipation, Haruno walked out first, followed closely by Yukino.
"Eh eh eh?!"
Her gaze falling on Yukino, Sayu's beautiful eyes widened in disbelief, letting out a gasp exactly like Haruno's.
"H-how could this be…" Sayu subconsciously said, "Impossible! Yukino-chan isn't that exaggerated!"
Even now, Yukino, even wearing a loose shirt, couldn't hide her figure, let alone the slim-fit clothes Haruno bought.
To describe it in one word, it was explosive.
It was no longer about to burst forth but about to 'explode' out.
Sayu suddenly worried about the quality of the shirt, wondering if it would be unable to withstand the humiliation and just burst open.
Yukino covered her chest with one hand, and hearing Sayu's gasp, her eye twitched slightly, and she tried to explain in a calm tone:
"The miko potion I drank earlier had a side effect."
Sayu couldn't help but say:
"I see… I want that kind of side effect too."
Yukino bit her lower lip with her pearly teeth, almost breaking down:
"It's not good at all!"
"Well, I think it's very good." Haruno said with a smile, "Yukino's children won't have to worry about being hungry in the future."
"Sister!"
Yukino looked over, both embarrassed and annoyed.
"Ara ara." Haruno covered her mouth with both hands, smiling, "I won't say anymore, I won't say anymore."
Yukino sighed helplessly, turned, and walked out the door, saying:
"…I'll go buy another set of clothes."
She absolutely didn't want to wear such a slim-fit shirt that showed off her explosive figure; it was too tight and constricting, making it difficult to breathe. Yukino now only wanted to wear loose clothes, the looser the better.
"Yukino and I are going to buy clothes first." Haruno waved, following Yukino out, "See you all later."
Natsuki sighed helplessly:
"Too stubborn."
In the end, Yukino still didn't choose to let him help, but chose to tough it out herself.
"Master, I want that kind of side effect too."
Sayu withdrew her gaze, full of envy, and looked up with an expectant pretty face.
She called him 'Adult' when others were present and 'Master' or 'Dad' when alone; Sayu could switch freely now.
"Don't even think about it." Natsuki complained, "The probability of strange alien side effects appearing is very low, and you're already very good now."
"Hmph hmph, then I don't want it." Receiving praise, Sayu immediately became happy, proudly lifting her chin, "Shower, shower, I'll help Master scrub his back."
Natsuki nodded, turned, and walked towards the bathroom, saying:
"I'm all smelly; I really need your help scrubbing my back."
"…"