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When Hana Yurikawa stepped out of the bathroom, she was rubbing her wet hair with a towel, stretching with a satisfied sigh.
"Ahh, that feels so good!"
Before she could even settle down, Miko Yotsuya grabbed her arm.
"Hana, your awakened skill is seriously amazing!"
"Awakened skill? I thought it was just that my strength got a bit better," Hana blinked.
Miko handed her a sheet of paper. As Hana scanned the numbers written on it, a bright smile instantly lit up her face.
But instead of focusing on the "Life Energy: MAX" line, Hana's attention—just like the other two girls—went straight to something else: the fact that she now had a constitution that made her way less likely to gain weight.
"Wait, my stomach capacity went up by sixty?! Does that mean I can eat even more delicious food now?!"
"Yesss!"
While Hana was busy celebrating, Rosen threw a bucket of cold water on her excitement.
"Don't get ahead of yourself. If you want to keep your life energy up, you can't go hungry. Without that protection, the spirits will come for you on their own."
In the original story, Hana—like Miko Yotsuya Miko—was born with a spiritual-attraction constitution.
But unlike Miko, who could avoid ghosts by pretending not to see them, Hana's life energy was way too potent. She unintentionally drew spirits to her like moths to a flame.
Rosen remembered one particular scene clearly: Hana was walking home and passed through an alley, where she caught the attention of an elite-class spirit. That ghost literally used her overflowing life energy as a grill, roasting weaker spirits on her like a barbecue, then eating them right there—treating her like some kind of walking oven.
"Ehh?! Then what am I supposed to do?! What if I'm hungry and don't have snacks on me? And it's not like I have that much pocket money either…" Hana started to panic.
"No need to stress too much. With your current changes, even if you run into spirits while you're hungry, you can crush them with your bare hands. Just be careful with stronger ones. As for the money issue, I'll give each of you a fund from now on—buy whatever you need."
"Hehe, Rosen, you're way too good to us!" Hana beamed with a silly grin.
But Mai Sakurajima wasn't so easily convinced.
Just where was Rosen planning to get all this money?
Don't tell me… the reason he disappeared for more than ten hours earlier was just to get cash?
Wait. Did he actually rob a bank?!
With his power, were there even banks in the world that could stop him?
Rosen glanced at the girls. Honestly, his original plan was for these beauties to support him. But somehow it flipped, and now he was the one footing the bill for them.
He didn't dwell on it though. Whatever. He could just think of it as… keeping a bunch of cute girls.
"Anyway, let's go hunt some spirits now!" Hana said eagerly, practically bouncing on her feet, ready to prove herself.
But Rosen waved her down. Instead, he called Mai and Miko over and updated their stats the same way he had done for Hana.
[Contractor: Miko Yotsuya]
[Rank: Novice God Envoy]
[Strength: 120 → 158]
[Endurance: 118 → 142]
[Dexterity: 125 → 162]
[Agility: 108 → 120]
[Divine Power: 185 → 175]
...
[Contractor: Mai Sakurajima]
[Rank: Novice God Envoy]
[Strength: 118 → 154]
[Endurance: 120 → 148]
[Dexterity: 130 → 179]
[Agility: 115 → 134]
[Divine Power: 165 → 151]
Their growth this round was a bit better than the very beginning, and at this rate, leveling up wouldn't take too long.
But the two girls still weren't satisfied.
After all, they'd hunted way more spirits today than yesterday. Of course they expected more points.
Hana, meanwhile, looked at their numbers with undisguised envy.
"Wow, your stats are so high… When will mine ever look like that?"
She wasn't much of a gamer, but she still understood that higher numbers meant stronger power.
And more importantly, the higher your stats, the better your chances of leveling up.
According to Rosen, once they reached Intermediate God Envoy, they'd gain eternal youth and a vastly extended lifespan.
And at High-level God Envoy… literal immortality.
Honestly, even just the eternal youth part was enough to drive any girl wild with motivation.
"C'mon, let's go grind and level up right now!" Hana said, brimming with energy.
"Hold your horses," Rosen cut in. "Let's rest for a bit. We'll head out after nightfall—there'll be way more spirits by then."
"…Okay." Hana nodded reluctantly.
"Then what should we do for dinner?" she asked.
Just as Rosen was about to suggest going out to eat, Miko and Mai exchanged a look.
"Tonight, Mai and I will cook. Rosen, you should just stay home this afternoon and get some proper rest."
"That works too," Rosen agreed without argument.
Of course, he had no intention of just lazing around. Instead, he was already planning to head out and find a way to convert his stash of gold into usable currency.
"..."
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