"I want to ask it!"
Upon realizing that they could truly have a Q&A with the Strange Tale, Momo and Miko both became interested, especially Momo, who glared at Natsuki through gritted teeth and asked angrily:
"Why do you want to destroy the world?"
Natsuki said with an innocent expression:
"Momo-senpai, why are you being so fierce to me?"
"Idiot!" Momo couldn't help but retort, "Of course, it's for you to help ask!"
"Alright, leave it to me."
Natsuki shrugged and relayed the question to the Strange Tale.
He had originally thought there would be no answer, but surprisingly, the Strange Tale said slowly:
"For… completeness…"
Parallel World Miko paused slightly, furrowed her brows, and asked:
"What does 'completeness' mean?"
"Don't look at me." Natsuki raised his hands. "I need a minute to rest."
"Tsk." Momo crossed her arms, disdainfully saying, "You need to rest for a few minutes just to ask a question, are you that weak?"
Natsuki turned to look at her and said faintly:
"I feel my dignity has been insulted."
"Tsk, you're already very weak."
Momo pouted in disdain.
Natsuki continued:
"To prove my dignity, I've decided to raid Senpai's room tonight."
"Ptooey~"
Momo's pretty face flushed, and she lightly spat:
"If you dare to come, I'll break all three of your legs!"
"…"
A minute passed.
Natsuki once again used Time Stop to cheat and extract information from the **Strange Tale**.
"What does 'completeness' mean?"
The Strange Tale was expressionless, its voice slow:
"Don't know…"
Well, that was a wasted question.
Momo frowned and asked:
"Is it lying?"
"It's not lying." Natsuki explained, "The roulette game is a special item, and both parties betting must abide by the rules, otherwise the bet will be forcibly fulfilled. It really shouldn't know… If Senpai doesn't believe me, you can try it later."
"I refuse." Momo crossed her arms, disdainfully saying, "I don't want to play a game with a cheater."
Natsuki said:
"Senpai, don't falsely accuse me; be careful, or I'll sue you for defamation."
"Tsk."
"Time is almost up." Parallel World Miko pressed her brow. "Let's continue asking other questions."
"…"
In the time that followed, the three asked many more questions, such as where the Strange Tales came from, whether there was a mastermind behind the Strange Tale disaster, etc., but unfortunately, most answers were "don't know."
However, the rules of the current campus **Strange Tale** were slowly pieced together.
This pointed Natsuki to a clear path; in the future, when encountering Strange Tales again, he could quickly understand and grasp their rules.
"The Q&A session ends here." Natsuki let out a light breath and asked, "What do you plan to do with this Strange Tale? Do we need to eliminate it?"
"No need." Parallel World Miko said softly, "Every Strange Tale occupies a territory. After eliminating it, new Strange Tales will surely appear, and perhaps the new ones will be even more troublesome."
Momo nodded and said:
"Miko-chan makes a lot of sense."
"Then we won't bother with it." Natsuki nodded slightly, letting the Strange Tales go.
This thing was not an invader from another world, and the game had not given a hunting mission. Even if it were eliminated, there would be no reward, so it wasn't a loss.
Natsuki clapped his hands and said:
"Let's go, we'll go find where the space mist is first."
Strange Tales are not human and have no concept of distance; they can only indicate general locations and directions.
Natsuki and the two others didn't waste any time. After leaving the campus, they quickly searched for the location of the space mist.
Twenty minutes later.
"Found it."
Natsuki's spirits lifted.
A mysterious mist had appeared on the rooftop of a Japanese confectionery shop on the commercial street.
The sky was dim, and a light rain was continuously drizzling, but there was no mist anywhere else, making the mist on the rooftop particularly conspicuous.
"Is this the so-called space mist?" Momo was very interested. "If we enter the mist, can we travel to a parallel world?"
"That's right." Natsuki nodded and said, "I was on the subway before, and the subway happened to pass through the mist, and then I arrived in the parallel world."
As Natsuki spoke, he narrowed his eyes, observing carefully.
A moment later, a prompt quietly appeared before his eyes:
[You have discovered a spatial mist]
[You attempt to enter the mist]
[You encountered an unknown danger and were never able to return to your own world]
"Tsk~"
Natsuki's eyebrows raised slightly.
When he previously took the subway home, he ended up at Shibuya Station. Natsuki knew then that the Crossing caused by the space mist was not fixed. Now, looking at it, it was indeed very unreliable.
"This space mist is very dangerous; we can't cross through it."
Natsuki shook his head and didn't hide anything, quickly relaying the information he had just obtained.
"Don't worry." Parallel World Miko said softly, "Since we have a goal and direction, we just need to continue searching for new space mist."
Natsuki nodded and said:
"Being alone might be lonely, but now that Miko is by my side, I'm not worried at all."
"Tsk."
Momo said with a disdainful look:
"Will this mist exist forever?"
"Most likely not." Natsuki pondered, "Even if we do nothing, the space mist will dissipate on its own after a while."
Miko said calmly:
"We'll know if we wait a bit."
"…"
Half an hour later.
Natsuki's guess was confirmed; the mist indeed slowly dissipated before the three of them.
"The natural dissipation time is tentatively set at one hour." Natsuki speculated, "This time it appeared on a rooftop, so no other monsters appeared. If it appeared in a park, many monsters would be attracted in an hour, but the fact is, we haven't heard of monsters appearing in groups… So, for now, we can infer that the space mist is unstable, and once an object passes through, it will cause the space mist to dissipate within a short period."
"Of course, the specific situation still needs further research and verification."
Natsuki finished recording the information, put away his notebook, and looked at Miko and Momo:
"That's enough for today, let's go back and rest."
The journey back was silent.
By the time the three returned to the internet cafe, the sky had already darkened again.
Only the rain continued to fall; the causeless, fine rain had been falling for several days now, like a mournful elegy for the end of the world.
"Natsuki, you're back?"
Miko greeted him with surprise.
"We're back." Natsuki reached out and ruffled Miko's hair. "Today's harvest was good. If nothing unexpected happens, we should be able to go back in a few days."
When Natsuki spoke, he didn't deliberately lower his voice, so naturally, attentive passersby and passengers nearby overheard him, and the news spread naturally.
So, not long after, a woman in a business suit, Mrs. Ozawa, timidly walked over.
"Natsuki-kun…"
Mrs. Ozawa called out in a low voice.
"Madam, what's wrong?"
Natsuki opened his eyes and looked at Mrs. Ozawa.
"That…" Mrs. Ozawa stammered, "I heard we can go back in a few days?"
Natsuki understood immediately. Other passersby and passengers didn't dare to ask too much but were very curious, so they sent Mrs. Ozawa to inquire, as in their eyes, Natsuki and Mrs. Ozawa's relationship was clearly unusual.
Natsuki leaned back on the sofa, leisurely saying:
"This is information I risked my life to obtain with great difficulty. If Madam wants to know, there must be some price to pay, right?"
Natsuki had just asked Miko. After he left, most people chose to leave the internet cafe and seek opportunities outside, and some still hadn't returned even now.
"Madam went out today too, didn't she?" Natsuki interlaced his fingers and said calmly, "On the way back, I saw someone frequenting a jewelry store…"
Mrs. Ozawa quickly shook her head and said:
"I didn't go to that kind of store to steal things!"
Natsuki said casually:
"I actually suggest Mrs. Ozawa go to the store and have a look around."
"Eh?"
Mrs. Ozawa looked over in surprise.
Natsuki said, "Taking something that belongs to someone is called stealing, but this world has already been destroyed. All those gold and jewels have become ownerless. Take as much as you can."
That's right.
Most of the passengers who left the internet cafe today were heading for the jewelry stores on the street.
Gold and jewels are hard currency no matter what world you're in. It's already the end of the world, so why not take them?
Many people, hoping to get rich overnight, were looting in Shibuya.
Natsuki encountered two passing passengers on his way back, but he had no intention of stopping them.
If he hadn't already achieved financial freedom, he probably would have been like the other passengers. It's already the end of the world; you really can't demand a certain moral standard from others anymore.
However... whether they can return to their original world is still unknown, yet you're all carrying bags, big and small, back. Clearly, you don't yet know the cruelty of the current world.
Natsuki decided to teach these people a lesson.
"At the end of the day, we are all just passing acquaintances. My helping you is a favor; my not helping you is my duty." Natsuki interlaced his fingers. "You all now have the basic ability to explore the world. So, from now on, I've decided to change assistance from free to paid... If you encounter a monster and want help, or if you want to know the situation, you can, but you must pay the corresponding compensation. No matter what world it is, there's no such good thing as getting something for nothing."
Giving a little brings gratitude, giving a lot brings resentment.
Once these passing passengers get used to receiving help without expecting anything in return, then one day when Natsuki refuses to help, these people will view him as an enemy.
So, giving a heads-up is very necessary.
If someone wants to secretly cause trouble... just break their legs and throw them out.
"I, I understand..."
Mrs. Ozawa nodded timidly.
Even though she already had a daughter, in front of Natsuki, she had no adult aura whatsoever, appearing utterly soft and vulnerable.
"Very good." Natsuki nodded with satisfaction, adjusting his finger position. "Since that's the case, what kind of compensation does Mrs. Ozawa want to offer?"
"..."
Mrs. Ozawa blinked, her face inexplicably turning red. Her lips parted slightly, then she covered her skirt with both hands and knelt before Natsuki.
Hey, hey, what are you doing?
Kneeling at the drop of a hat, you're too fond of apologizing!
However, the next second, Mrs. Ozawa actually trembled and extended her right hand, placing it on Natsuki's thigh, then nervously climbing upward.
Natsuki looked down and couldn't help but complain, "Madam, what exactly are you doing?"
Mrs. Ozawa's face was flushed, and she stammered, "You, you just touched my zipper... Are you not trying to make me..."
As expected of someone who already has a daughter, I just accidentally touched the zipper, and you understood everything!
"Madam, please have some self-respect." Natsuki said sternly, "I'm still just a high school student."
"I, I'm sorry..."
Mrs. Ozawa was filled with shame and quickly got up in a panic.
Natsuki said sternly, "I would never break up someone else's family."
"Um..."
Mrs. Ozawa parted her lips, wanting to speak but hesitating.
"What is it?"
Natsuki asked.
"Nothing..." Mrs. Ozawa quickly shook her head and said timidly, "What compensation does Natsuki-kun want?"
Natsuki said casually, "Put it on tab for now. Tell me when you've thought about it."
"Oh..."
Natsuki withdrew his gaze and began to share the information he had gathered today.
"All in all, that's the situation." Natsuki took a sip of tea. "Madam, when you go out later, you can tell those who sent you over that I've already said all those things I just mentioned, so I don't lose face."
"I understand." Mrs. Ozawa nodded timidly. "Then, I'll go out now?"
Natsuki waved his hand and said, "Go ahead."
Stepping to the door of the lounge, Mrs. Ozawa's face was red, and she stammered, "Um... I'm already divorced, so it doesn't matter."
After saying that, Mrs. Ozawa fled as if escaping.
Natsuki: "..."
Not long after, there was a sudden knock at the door.
Bang, bang.
"Come in."
Natsuki called out.
The door opened, and Miko walked in, her eyes suspicious.
"Mrs. Ozawa's face was very red just now; she looked strange... Natsuki, you didn't do anything strange, did you?"
Natsuki said, "What counts as strange things?"
Miko snorted softly, puffing out her pink cheeks and saying, "You know yourself."
"I don't know."
"..."
Miko bit her lower lip and turned to leave.
"Wait a moment!"
Natsuki stopped Miko, opening his arms and saying, "If I did anything strange, I'd definitely smell. You'd know if you just smelled me."
Miko blinked and leaned closer.
Natsuki took half a step back, feigning shock and saying, "You're actually going to smell me?"
Miko bit her lip, pressing closer step by step, pushing Natsuki onto the sofa:
"Don't hide; let me smell you."
Miko spoke as she leaned in, carefully smelling Natsuki's scent.
"No smell..."
Miko exhaled softly, preparing to get up.
Just as she moved, Natsuki reached out and wrapped his arm around Miko's waist, pulling the girl into his embrace, and then began to recount what had just happened.
"Eh?" Miko's eyes widened, and she said in disbelief, "Mrs. Ozawa already has a daughter; how could she do such a thing?"
"This is an apocalyptic world. To survive, it's not strange to use any means." Natsuki sighed, looked at Miko, and whispered, "To prevent me from making a mistake, Miko, help me."
Miko was puzzled: "Help with what?"
Natsuki looked down and whispered, "Miko, you don't want me to break up someone else's family, do you?"
Miko's pretty face quickly flushed, and she couldn't help but shout in embarrassment, "Pervert!!!"