"Natsuki-kun, what else do you want to hear me call you?"
Haruno tilted her lovely head, her voice honey-sweet and sultry as she spoke:
"As long as Natsuki-kun is happy, I could even call you 'Master'... or perhaps something even more arousing? Like... daddy?"
Natsuki: "..."
It had to be said: Yukino's body combined with Haruno's soul—the sisters joining forces like this—was essentially the ultimate evolution of a succubus queen. Absolutely invincible.
He couldn't handle it.
He couldn't handle it at all.
It was a pity he could only look, not touch.
For one thing, the room was small; stealing a moment to talk was fine, but anything else was out of the question. For another, back at the church, Yukino had issued a strict order: absolutely no crossing the line.
Simply put, kissing and hugging were barely tolerable, but going all the way was completely off-limits.
Smack!
Natsuki took a deep breath, extended his right hand, and delivered a firm, sharp slap that echoed through the corner of the room.
"Go clean up."
"Eek..."
Haruno took a half-step back, covering her buttocks with both hands. She wore a pitiful expression on her lovely face and spoke in a wronged, aggrieved tone:
"It hurts... Natsuki-kun, you hit so hard, it feels like it's going to split open."
Don't joke around—it was already split open, wasn't it?
Natsuki said with a deadpan expression:
"Hurts, does it? Come to my room tonight, and I'll rub it better for you."
"No." Haruno shook her head quickly, but the very next second, she whispered, "Only if I get a kiss."
Natsuki: "..."
So this is what the legendary succubus queen is like?
If Yukino possessed this kind of seductive power, she would have been unstoppable, sweeping everyone away in her wake.
Taking a deep breath, Natsuki turned and walked away.
He needed to calm down. If he let Haruno keep seducing him like this, he might just end up like Goku—transforming into a giant ape under the moonlight. "Hmm-hmm~"
Watching Natsuki retreat, Haruno's eyes crinkled into crescents; humming a nameless tune, she continued tidying up.
Girls who know how to act flirty have the best luck.
That saying wasn't just empty talk; only a girl with a playful, charming spirit could truly capture a man's heart.
A short while later.
Thanks to everyone's concerted efforts, the entire house looked brand new.
"Phew... finally got it all clean."
Tsubame placed her hands on her hips and gazed at the now-bright room; a look of proud satisfaction spread across her lovely face.
Natsuki handed her a drink from the side, saying:
"You worked hard, Senpai. Here, have some tea."
Tsubame took the cup, sipped the black tea, and said:
"Everyone worked hard... It's already past midnight. Let's all take showers and get some rest; after all, this 'dungeon' scenario is going to last for quite a few days."
Haruno clenched her fists and stretched her arms overhead:
"I've worked up quite a sweat; a shower sounds really good right about now."
Tsubame continued:
"There are three rooms in total. How about Natsuki-kun picks one, and the rest of us squeeze into the others?"
"..."
Naturally, no one objected to Senpai's proposal, so it was decided just like that.
"Senpai, I'm going over to the security booth. I'll have you call me in a bit to verify if I can get a positive rating."
While the others were showering, Natsuki wanted to test whether he could freely control the main quest's parameters.
"Understood." Tsubame nodded gently. "Go ahead, Junior."
"Call me in ten minutes."
"..."
Natsuki waved his hand and headed out the door, walking downstairs.
The journey was silent.
Upon reaching the residential complex entrance, he saw the small security booth glowing with a single, dim yellow light amidst the gloomy night; it was completely empty, appearing all the more desolate and lonely.
Natsuki stepped into the booth and waited patiently.
A moment later, the phone rang.
"Hello? Is this the security guard?"
Senpai's sweet, pleasant voice came through the line. Natsuki smiled and said:
"You must be Mrs. Amamiya from Building 3, right? This is the security booth; I am at your service."
A soft chuckle came from the other end of the line, followed immediately by the upperclassman's voice, tinged with embarrassed annoyance:
"I am not Mrs. Amamiya."
Natsuki replied:
"Then... Aoi's mom, perhaps?"
"Shut up!"
Tsubame said with a playful, feigned scold:
"The power suddenly went out for some reason—Security-san, hurry over and take care of it."
Natsuki: "Understood. I'm on my way."
"..."
Hanging up the phone, Natsuki turned and stepped out of the security booth.
Knock, knock, knock.
Standing outside the door, Natsuki smiled:
"I'm the security guard. Mrs. Amamiya, please open the door."
Click.
The door opened.
Tsubame's lovely face was slightly flushed; she shot him an annoyed, playful glare and urged:
"Stop saying that and hurry inside."
Behind the upperclassman stood Haruno—Haruno—with her arms crossed over her chest and a smile on her face:
"If Tsubame-senpai is 'Mrs. Amamiya' now, then how does Security-san plan to address me?"
Natsuki replied with a composed, respectful air:
"Naturally, it's Yukino-san; I only have eyes for Mrs. Amamiya."
"Huh?"
Tsubame hurriedly turned to look at 'Yukino,' worried she might get angry. Even though they had tacitly agreed to date together, playing favorites would surely make someone feel deeply aggrieved and upset.
Unexpectedly, Yukino didn't get angry at all; instead, she kept smiling.
"That's strange..."
Tsubame muttered to herself; something about Yukino today... just felt off.
If it were her being treated so differently, she certainly wouldn't be able to smile—even if she didn't burst into tears.
"Ahem." Tsubame quickly stepped in to smooth things over and change the subject. "Mr. Security guard, the power suddenly went out inside. Could you please help fix it?"
"Leave it to me."
Natsuki walked into the room and began to inspect the situation.
The reason for the power outage was simple: the upperclassman had 'accidentally' flipped the main breaker switch down. After a quick check, Natsuki located the issue, flipped the switch back up, and power was restored to the room.
"Mission accomplished." Natsuki clapped his hands together and said with a straight face, "Mrs. Amamiya, please give me a good review."
"Got it." Tsubame shot him an annoyed, playful glare and waved her hand to shoo him away. "Mr. Security guard can leave now; I've noted down the good review."
"..."
Natsuki walked out of the room and stood silently in the hallway, waiting.
Before long, a game notification popped up before his eyes:
[You have received a positive review from the resident of Unit 203, Building 3, Happiness Complex; Main Quest progress +1.]
"Not bad—you really can grind Main Quest progress this way."
Natsuki nodded in satisfaction.
Although he couldn't trigger side quests, he could now complete the Main Quest with absolute certainty. Even if he ran into unpleasant residents, he wouldn't have to swallow his pride anymore; he could just slap them across the face and teach them a lesson in manners.
Knock, knock.
Natsuki raised his hand and knocked on the door. The door opened quickly, and Tsubame stood there, looking expectant:
"So, Kohai-kun, how did it go?"
Natsuki replied with a straight face:
"I'm sorry, I don't understand what 'Mrs. Amamiya' is talking about. I just left something behind and came back to get it."
Tsubame rolled her eyes in annoyance and turned back into the room, saying:
"Left something behind, huh? Well then, Mr. Security guard, please grab your item and leave—quickly."
Natsuki said:
"Aren't you curious about what I left behind, Mrs. Amamiya?"
Tsubame gave a soft hmph and turned her lovely face away:
"Not interested. I don't want to know."
Natsuki stepped forward, wrapped his arms around Tsubame's soft, slender waist from behind, and said:
"I left my wife behind."
"Pfft—"
A faint blush rose on Tsubame's lovely face as she scoffed softly:
"Mr. Security guard, get away from me. Breaking into a private home in the middle of the night is against the law, you know."
"Breaking in was my fault, but..." Natsuki gently nibbled on his senpai's earlobe, "...you wouldn't want our daughter to lose her dad, would you?"
"..."
The playful banter came to an end.
Once the girls had finished their baths and come out, Natsuki spoke about the results of the experiment.
"Huh? So, after buying a house, players can actually leave a positive review and advance the main storyline?"
The girls all turned to look, filled with curiosity. "I just received a notification from [The game], and there's definitely no issue," Natsuki said, clasping his hands together. "It actually makes perfect sense. [The game] never restricts how a mission is completed; no matter the method, as long as the objective is met, you clear the stage."
"Take your 'Cleaner' main quest, for instance."
Amamiya turned to look at Tsubame and mused:
"That trash is riddled with cursed objects—dangerous for players—but if you look at it from a different angle, you don't necessarily have to sort it yourself. You could easily hire someone else to help with the cleanup."
"And then there's Shoko's 'Insurance Sales' quest." Amamiya glanced at the Shoko. "As long as you have enough Underworld Currency, a player could likely just buy the insurance themselves."
"Phew..."
Hearing this deduction, the Shoko quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
For someone with social anxiety, trying to sell 'trash insurance' sounded like a mission of hellish difficulty.
Haruno rested her cheek on her hand and said softly:
"As expected, 99% of the world's problems can be solved with money... So, the next goal is 'making money'?"
Amamiya nodded.
"We'll go out to make money tomorrow. For now, it's time to rest—I'm going to take a shower."
"..."
Everyone discussed their respective main quests and potential ways to clear them for a while longer before dispersing to get some rest.
"Junior."
As Amamiya stepped out after his shower, he heard Tsubame call out softly.
"Yes? What is it?"
Amamiya walked over to where Tsubame was standing. Tsubame pursed her lips, her tone tinged with worry:
"Chika-chan, Marin-chan, Sayu-chan, and Kaguya-chan—there's still no word from any of them... Is it really okay to just rest now?"
Natsuki spoke softly:
"Do you know where everyone is, Senpai?"
Tsubame shook her head:
"No."
"I don't know either." Natsuki spread his hands. "I could get in touch with Chika, but she said she didn't need any help... We've cleared these dungeons so many times; everyone is a veteran player. Don't worry, Senpai—just trust them."
"Alright, then..." Tsubame let out a soft breath. "I'm going back to my room to rest."
The town was huge; without a way to contact one another, finding people would indeed be difficult. It was better to just relax and trust everyone.
Suddenly, Natsuki spoke up:
"Wait a moment, Senpai."
"Huh?" Tsubame looked up in confusion. "What is it?"
Natsuki pointed to his cheek and whispered:
"You haven't given me a goodnight kiss yet, Senpai."
"Pfft—"
Tsubame's lovely face flushed pink as she scoffed:
"Since when was that a thing?"
"It always has been," Natsuki argued confidently. "Back in Kayako's Ju-On dreamscape, you used to give me a goodnight kiss every single night."
Tsubame rolled her eyes at him and lowered her voice:
"That was ages ago; we stopped doing that a long time ago."
Natsuki reached out and pinned Tsubame against the wall:
"No goodnight kiss, no going back to your room."
Tsubame gave a soft huff:
"Fine, I won't go back then. Don't think you can threaten me."
Natsuki whispered:
"If you don't go back to your room, everyone's bound to suspect we're doing something... questionable, right?"
"...Shameless!"
Resigned, Tsubame gave in; she stood on her tiptoes and leaned in close.
Natsuki wrapped his arm around her soft, slender waist and leaned down to kiss her. "Mmm..."
Tsubame's long, slender eyelashes fluttered instantly; realizing she couldn't push him away, she resigned herself to closing her eyes.
Five minutes later.
Struggling for breath, Tsubame pinched Natsuki's waist and finally broke free. She quickly covered her chest with both hands, her lovely face flushed a fiery red. Panting, she gritted out:
"J-Junior... don't go too far!"
"Alright, let's call it a day then." Natsuki wiped a silvery thread of saliva from the corner of his mouth, looking somewhat reluctant to stop. "Thanks for the treat."
"..."
After another pinch to the waist, Natsuki and his senior parted ways and returned to their respective rooms.
As a male, Natsuki naturally had a room to himself. Although it wasn't large and the bed was a hard wooden plank, it was still vastly better than the security booth.
"Haa..."
Natsuki exhaled softly, feeling a genuine sense of fatigue. With no phone to play with, he soon closed his eyes to rest; in an environment fraught with danger, the ability to fall asleep quickly and recover one's energy was crucial.
Some time later, Natsuki suddenly heard a soft, quiet knock on the door.
He got up and opened it to find a girl with long, straight black hair standing outside, smiling charmingly with her hands clasped behind her back.
"Haruno-nee?" Natsuki asked in confusion. "Why are you here so late instead of sleeping?"
Haruno smiled:
"You're so forgetful, Natsuki-kun. You were the one who asked me to come over, after all."
Natsuki was taken aback and asked skeptically:
"When did I ever ask you to come over?"
Haruno extended a slender finger, smiling sweetly:
"Well, let me help you remember, Natsuki-kun... Back when you were being rough with me, you did say I should come to your room tonight."
Natsuki: "..."
You actually came just because I said so? You really don't know the meaning of the word 'fear,' do you?
But the next second...
Seeing the mischievous smile playing at the corners of Haruno's lips, Natsuki suddenly realized what was going on. The soul of the girl before him was Haruno's, yet she inhabited Yukino's body. Given this state of swapped souls, Haruno knew full well that Natsuki certainly wouldn't go all the way with her—in short, she held a "get-out-of-jail-free card," which was precisely why she dared to keep pushing her luck.
"Looking for trouble, are we?"
Natsuki put on a stern face, reached out his right hand, and yanked Haruno into the room.
Even if he couldn't take things all the way, he had to collect some interest—he needed to teach Haruno a lesson in fear so she would stop finding amusement in toying with others.
Thud.
Natsuki walked over to the bed and tossed Haruno onto it.
Haruno sat up sideways, covering her chest with both hands, and whispered pitifully:
"Natsuki-kun, no... the soundproofing here is terrible. What if we wake everyone up next door?"
"Simple." Natsuki took out a white object, tossed it to Haruno, and said while looking down at her, "Just bite down on this towel."
Haruno: "..."
Natsuki lunged forward, proceeding to teach Haruno—hands-on—exactly what the word "regret" meant.
The night passed without incident.
The next day.
In the dimly lit room.
A girl with long, straight black hair felt her eyelashes flutter as she slowly opened her eyes. Listening to the steady, strong heartbeat beside her ear, a look of bewilderment flashed in Yukino's eyes.
"Where am I..."
Yukino felt a jolt of alarm, her body instantly tensing up; fortunately, as her gaze shifted upward and landed on Natsuki's sleeping profile, she slowly relaxed.
"What on earth did my sister do last night?!"
Waking up to find herself lying in a boy's arms—specifically Natsuki's—was a shock; had it been anyone else, Yukino would have felt the urge to kill.
"What did my sister do last night? Why didn't she tell me anything?"
Yukino instinctively tried to use telepathy, but found the stream of thoughts chaotic; she quickly realized the reason.
"Has the effect of the potion worn off?"
Yukino quietly sat up, looked down at the black hair resting on her chest, and let out a soft breath:
"It looks like I'm back in my own body..."
Swapping bodies with Haruno wasn't the issue in itself; the problem was that heaven only knew what Haruno might have done while inhabiting her body. Naturally, switching back as soon as possible was for the best.
"My body... everything feels normal; there's no discomfort."
Yukino silently checked her body, then let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Wait—
Yukino quickly realized something: she had no idea what her sister might have done while controlling her body. She shouldn't be sighing in relief right now; she ought to be furious, shouldn't she?
Yet, somehow, she couldn't bring herself to feel angry. Just yesterday at the church, Haruno had embraced Natsuki and acted intimately with him right before her eyes; in a sense, she had already been mentally prepared for this. So, when she opened her eyes and found herself lying in Natsuki's arms, it didn't come as a surprise.
"Where is my underwear?"
Yukino's brows furrowed slightly as she quickly realized something was amiss.
Upon closer inspection, she discovered that she wasn't wearing a single piece of undergarment.
"...Damn it!"
Glancing at Natsuki, who was still fast asleep beside her, Yukino gritted her teeth and took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to punch him. She scanned the room and soon spotted a few pieces of underwear tossed on the nightstand.
"Found them..."
Yukino let out a soft sigh of relief and leaned over to pick them up, but her fingers accidentally brushed against a white towel lying next to them.
"Huh?" She paused for a moment. "Why is the towel wet?"
Why was a soaking wet towel sitting on the nightstand?
And also...
Yukino pursed her lips slightly, a question forming in her mind:
"Why do I feel so thirsty?"