After Momo endured the refractory period of the original sin's eruption, the school bell rang just in time.
"Senpai, we can go down now."
Natsuki called out, preparing to leave the rooftop.
"Wait a moment..."
Momo spoke.
Momo-senpai walked to the edge of the rooftop, grabbed the railing with both hands, leaned slightly forward, and looked at the bustling students below, a look of extreme complexity and nostalgia on her pretty face.
Once upon a time, this was a boring, uninteresting campus that she often wanted to escape.
But with the outbreak of the Strange Tale disaster and the destruction of the world, the campus had quietly transformed into a place she had dreamed of returning to countless times.
At this moment.
She had returned to the campus, but unfortunately, everything before her was just a fake Strange Tale domain, and the consequence of sinking into it would most likely be to pay with her life.
"Do you want to take a few photos?"
Natsuki handed over his phone.
"No need." Momo shook her head, took a deep breath, and said, "Fake is fake after all... Let's go down."
"In that case..." Natsuki reminded, "Senpai, shouldn't you put down the little bear in your hand first?"
"..."
Momo's pretty face flushed, and only then did she remember that her favorite little bear was still in her arms. She glared at Natsuki in annoyance and snorted lightly:
"You talk too much."
Natsuki sighed:
"Honest advice is unpleasant to the ear; the ancients truly did not deceive me."
"Shut up!"
"..."
The two left the teaching building rooftop together.
As for Moeha, she naturally remained on the rooftop. The door was locked before they went downstairs, so she wouldn't be discovered for a while.
"Natsuki-kun!"
As soon as they arrived at the first-year corridor, Chika's clear voice rang out.
Thump, thump, thump.
Chika walked over, raised her chin slightly, a proud smile on her pretty face, and put her hands on her hips, saying:
"I've already convinced everyone; now everyone agrees to date you together!"
What does it mean to be a max-level socialite?
This is it.
If it were the socially anxious Shoko, let alone half a day, even a month wouldn't be enough for her to get everyone on board.
"Wait—"
Momo couldn't help but say:
"What does 'date together' mean?"
Natsuki said:
"Of course, it's the literal meaning."
"What about the promised dangerous Strange Tale space?" Momo couldn't help but complain, "You're actually building a harem here?"
Natsuki instructed:
"Chika-chan, tell everyone to wait for me in the auditorium first."
"Oh..."
Chika blinked and left curiously.
Natsuki turned his head and looked at Momo, saying:
"So far, the anomaly's main body hasn't appeared. I'm just deliberately making a commotion, trying to attract the Strange Tale's attention."
"Heh heh." Momo crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes full of disdain, "There are so many ways to make a commotion. If you ran naked around the campus, you'd also attract everyone's attention, wouldn't you?"
"Alright, I admit it." Natsuki chose to come clean, "I'm just a harem loving scumbag."
"Ptooey~"
"..."
The two walked towards the campus auditorium while talking.
Anyway, it's just an anomaly space, so of course, it's fine to openly build a harem. They'll announce they're dating together directly in the main auditorium, in front of everyone.
By doing something so outrageous, the Strange Tale surely won't conceal its identity anymore, right?
"Momo-senpai, when we get to the auditorium, you stay downstairs." Natsuki whispered, "Pay attention to those who are acting strangely; they might be the anomaly's main body."
Momo couldn't help but complain:
"There are so many people in the auditorium; you can't possibly watch them all."
"There's a monitoring room on the second floor." Natsuki said, "Senpai, just go to the second floor and watch the monitors."
"Tch, how troublesome."
Arriving at the campus auditorium.
Chika, Kaguya, Marin, Tsubame, Hayasaka, and the other five girls had all arrived.
Seeing Natsuki appear, several young girls looked over, their gazes carrying different meanings.
Marin's gaze was one of curiosity and surprise; after all, they were junior high classmates, but weren't close at all back then.
In Tsubame's eyes, Natsuki was a complete stranger.
Ice Princess Kaguya's gaze was quite sharp; this guy had confessed to her in front of the entire class during lunch break, then forcibly kissed her after being rejected, and now he even wanted everyone to date him… She had never seen such a shameless person!
"Chika has already told you about my situation, right?" Natsuki put his hands together, "Anyway, please help me."
Tsubame's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she said softly:
"We can agree to help… but please release Chika-chan's sister as soon as possible."
Evidently, Tsubame, who was full of a sense of justice, strongly disapproved of Natsuki's actions.
Marin, on the other hand, asked curiously:
"Natsuki-kun, do you still remember me?"
"Of course I do." Natsuki looked at Marin, "We were junior high classmates, but not in the same class."
"Eh?" Marin said in surprise, "Natsuki-kun really remembers me?"
"That's for sure." Natsuki said seriously, "I've liked Marin since junior high."
…
The two parallel worlds were extremely similar, even many details of daily life were identical, so there was no need to worry about being exposed.
All in all, all the girls agreed to the campus harem experience plan.
"Then… we can go on stage." Natsuki said excitedly, "Once the confessions are over, I'll tell you Moeha's location."
Although it was an parallel world Strange Tale space, it didn't hinder Natsuki's enthusiasm.
The real world had too many restrictions; secretly dating was fine, but saying he wanted to be the Harem King in front of the entire school was too awful, no matter how he thought about it.
Even if he could shamelessly go on stage, Tsubame and Kaguya wouldn't agree.
As Natsuki stepped onto the stage, the girls exchanged glances, their expressions subtle, and followed behind him.
"Good afternoon, everyone. The reason I called you all here is because I have some happy news I want to share…"
Natsuki held the microphone, completely unfazed, speaking eloquently. After a brief preamble, he quickly approached Chika and smiled:
"Chika-chan, I like you, please go out with me?"
The cheers from below the stage immediately erupted.
In Japan, confessions are usually done in a private place. Firstly, it doesn't disturb others, and secondly, a failed confession isn't embarrassing. Confessing in front of the entire school is very rare.
Chika's expression was complex, and she replied:
"…I accept."
Natsuki naturally didn't stop there and went to Marin, saying the same words:
"Marin, I like you, please go out with me?"
…
The large auditorium suddenly fell silent.
It wasn't until Marin, blushing, said a few words about 'please take care of me from now on' that the tidal wave of gasps and exclamations once again resounded.
Next was Tsubame.
Among the five girls, if you were to ask who was the most popular, it would undoubtedly be Tsubame.
"…Natsuki-kun, please take care of me from now on."
As Tsubame bit her lip and said these words, countless hearts shattered in the auditorium.
Then it was Hayasaka.
"Hayasaka-san, I like you, please go out with me?"
Natsuki said with a smile.
Hayasaka was expressionless and said in a low voice:
"Remember the promise you made."
"Don't worry." Natsuki replied with a smile, "Of course I remember."
…
Confession successful, plus one.
Natsuki had already achieved the astonishing feat of confessing to and dating four girls simultaneously, and in front of the entire school.
Finally, it was Ice Princess Kaguya.
"Kaguya-san, I like you, please go out with me?"
Natsuki said softly.
"…Mm."
As Kaguya nodded slightly, the enthusiastic atmosphere in the auditorium reached its peak.
The grand feat of confessing to five girls at once and having them all agree to date him would definitely go down in history, becoming an indelible part of the campus.
As is well known, human emotions can influence each other.
While confessing, Natsuki also used the [Eloquent Tongue] skill to mentally influence the onlookers below the stage.
At this moment, under the critical release of countless spiritual bodies, the space of the auditorium began to twist and fluctuate.
"Natsuki, look at the corner to your right!"
Suddenly, Momo-senpai's anxious shout came through the loudspeaker.
Natsuki looked over at the sound and saw a small, faint figure sitting in the corner.
At this moment.
This tiny figure seemed out of place with the entire world.
Centered on her, the world began to rapidly decay: plaster peeled, the ceiling aged, and the surrounding onlookers quickly turned into silent puppets… Other onlookers, sensing the abnormality, even knew to panic and flee.
"I found you!"
Natsuki's eyes lit up. To prevent this guy from escaping, he decisively activated Psychic Power 100%, his body surrounded by blue Psychic Power arcs, and appeared before the anomalous entity with lightning speed.
Boom!
As Natsuki threw a punch, blue electric arcs immediately engulfed it.
Ordinary physical attacks are ineffective against Strange Tales, but in Psychic Power 100% state, all of Natsuki's attacks would transform into Psychic type. Each punch and kick caused a Psychic Power explosion, successfully stopping the dark erosion.
Just as Natsuki was about to press on and take down the Strange Tale, the entire world suddenly solidified, followed by a soft cracking sound.
The entire world seemed to shatter like a broken mirror, suddenly turning into countless fragments.
Natsuki felt his vision briefly darken. When it returned to normal, he saw a black-haired girl standing in front of him.
"Miko?"
Natsuki exclaimed in surprise.
"My head is so dizzy…" Momo-senpai clutched her forehead, her brows tightly furrowed, "Eh, Miko?"
"It's me."
Parallel World Miko nodded gently. On the ground in front of her, a plain, faint girl was kneeling, her body still twisting and changing from time to time.
"Are you two okay?"
Parallel World Miko asked.
"That's what we should be asking you." Momo-senpai couldn't help but retort, "We couldn't find you anywhere before."
Parallel World Miko said calmly:
"You two have been missing for an hour."
Momo-senpai looked bewildered:
"Eh?"
Parallel World Miko said:
"An hour ago, we entered the campus together. In just the blink of an eye, you two disappeared. I guessed you triggered an anomaly rule, so I acted alone and finally found the anomalous entity."
So that's how it was.
No wonder Miko wasn't found in the campus; she hadn't been caught in the first place.
"Momo-senpai and I must have been caught in an anomaly domain, trapped inside and unable to find a way out." Natsuki sighed, "As expected of the strongest Psychic in the parallel world, much more powerful than Momo-senpai."
Momo-senpai: "…You can praise people, but don't include my name!"
"Natsuki-kun, what do we do now?"
Parallel World Miko asked.
Natsuki said:
"I'll take it from here."
"It's only temporarily weakened right now." Parallel World Miko reminded him, "It won't be long before it recovers, you need to hurry."
"Understood."
Natsuki nodded, equipped the title [Friend of Strange Tales] to forcibly increase the Strange Tale's favorability, then took out the roulette and sat opposite the Strange Tale:
"Friend, shall we play a game?"
The anomalous entity looked up, its face made of countless fragments, looking especially eerie, then nodded gently.
"Then… let's begin."
Roulette must be mutually agreed upon; it cannot be forced.
Generally, Strange Tales and evil spirits hold great malice towards humans and would never play any games; they would just kill people on sight.
But Natsuki was a Friend of Strange Tales now. A small game for fun, inviting a gamble as a friend, was very normal and reasonable.
A moment later.
The winner and loser were decided.
As long as no one found out, it wasn't cheating.
"Now it's question time…" Natsuki extended a finger and lightly tapped the table, "Kaidan, do you know where there's a spatial mist leading to an parallel world?"
"Kno…w…"
The Strange Tale girl slowly spoke, her voice sounding like countless people overlapping, making it uncomfortable.
Natsuki's eyes lit up, and he pressed on:
"Where is it?"
…
The Strange Tale girl closed her mouth and didn't say another word.
"Why did it suddenly stop talking?" Momo-senpai asked anxiously.
Natsuki mused:
"It should be that one gamble can only answer one question. Don't worry, I'll keep asking."
"Then hurry up." Momo-senpai urged, "Don't waste time."
Natsuki said:
"Sorry, I'm in a refractory period now, I need to rest for a bit."
"Ptooey!"
One minute later.
As Time Stop cooled down, Natsuki gambled with the Strange Tale again.
"Miss, please tell me the direction and distance of the spatial mist."]
"There… there…"
The Strange Tale pointed, indicating the direction, but unfortunately, it couldn't answer the question of distance.
Clearly, this Strange Tale didn't possess enough intelligence to understand human units of measurement.
"Knowing the direction is enough." Natsuki let out a light breath, not showing much disappointment. "We're one step closer to going back."
Next, Natsuki asked several more questions, such as the pattern of space mist appearance, how long it would exist after appearing, and so on, and quickly obtained a lot of useful information.
First.
Space mist is a natural phenomenon, and currently, there is no clear pattern; it appears randomly and disappears after existing for a period of time.
Secondly, most Strange Tale have territorial awareness and will not enter space mist without reason, unless the space mist happens to be right beside them.
Finally, Strange Tale can sense nearby space mist, but cannot perceive it if the distance is too great.
"Do you two have any questions you want to ask?"
Natsuki turned his head, looked at Momo and Miko, and said softly.
Compared to him, Miko and Momo should have more questions they want to know…