To be honest, the Golden Tentacles ability seemed pretty useless at first glance. After all, borrowing power from your future self sounds cool, but you eventually have to pay it back anyway.
But Flo discovered a hidden glitch!
There's actually no time limit on how long you can keep the Golden Tentacles active! That means if she just keeps it turned on, she can enjoy god-tier buffs indefinitely~!
Just like earlier during her rock-paper-scissors match with Elyco.
Given Flo's physical limits, she would've lost the moment Elyco activated even her first gear.
But thanks to the Golden Tentacles boosting her endurance, Flo held her ground—even when Elyco cranked it up to sixth gear!
And right now, she's still connected, with no sign of the system forcibly shutting it down.
Flo: "Hehe, I found a loophole in the rules~ ꈍ◡ꈍ"
["I don't know what you're scheming, Flo, but just to be safe—I should warn you: overusing the Golden Tentacles can literally kill you, nya~."]
Flo: "…Huh? What do you mean 'kill'?!"
Sui Sui's sudden warning caught Flo completely off guard.
["Exactly what it sounds like! Even though the connection time is unlimited, your future self's power isn't. If you keep borrowing from the future without paying back, you'll eventually hit your limit and go into full-blown overdraft. And when that happens… your cute little body will explode~!"]
Flo: "Σ( ° △ °|||)︴"
Wait—keeping it on forever could actually kill her?!
Flo: "Oh no! I gotta shut it off right now!"
She frantically tried to deactivate the Golden Tentacles.
["I'd suggest waiting until you get home before turning it off."]
Sui Sui warned her again.
Flo: "Why?"
["Because if you shut it down right now, all the sensations you accumulated during your game with Elyco will flood back into your body all at once!"]
Flo: "W-Wait, what do you mean 'flood back'?!"
["Hehe, ever watched those time-stop anime, nya? (｀ω´*)"]
Flo: "(°ー°〃)"
In that instant, Flo understood everything.
♡♡♡
Back at the mansion…
"Master! You're finally home!"
Nicolime was, of course, the most excited.
During Flo's absence, she'd transformed herself into Cynthia's maid, dutifully handling all the mansion's chores.
But to welcome Flo back, she'd specially changed into a maid outfit that was clearly not meant for actual housework—
one that showed off her northern hemisphere quite shamelessly.
(Though, to be fair, Her little treasure had nothing worth showing…)
"Master, hug me~!"
"No! Don't come near me!" Flo shouted, quickly dodging Nicolime.
"Master…?" Nicolime's eyes instantly welled up with tears.
"Do you… not want me anymore? QAQ"
"Uh… it's not that! I just haven't bathed in ages, so I really need a shower first~," Flo said awkwardly, forcing a smile.
"Hmm? Should I prepare hot water and toiletries for you, then?"
"No thanks, I'll handle it myself."
"How about scrubbing your back?"
"Nope! Absolutely not!"
With that, Flo dashed straight for the bathroom.
Nicolime stood there, utterly baffled.
Why was Master in such a rush to get to the bath?
She didn't even smell bad or look dirty.
If anything… she was glowing faintly gold.
Nicolime recognized it as the Golden Tentacles' effect—but why would Flo activate it right now?
Curiosity bubbled inside her…
But Nicolime was never one to leave mysteries unsolved!
The more Flo tried to avoid her, the more determined she became to find out what was going on.
So she stealthily followed Flo to the bathroom.
Using her liquid form, Nicolime easily slipped a tiny slime clone through the door crack.
This mini-slime shared its vision with Nicolime, letting her see everything happening inside.
Nicolime: "It's not like I want to peek at Master bathing or anything… (she looked away, flustered)."
But today, Flo really was acting strange—she tossed off her clothes and jumped straight into the tub.
"Huuu… haaah…"
Flo took a deep breath, and the golden glow around her slowly faded.
Flo: "?!!!!!!"
[! (The original version here was too… well, you know—so it got censored.)]
[! (If you really wanna see it, wait for Fengxue's future "magic number" bonus chapter, nya~)]
[!]
[!]
The moment the ability deactivated, every single sensation she'd suppressed came crashing back into her body all at once.
[!]
[!]
Flo felt her soul leaving her body—her arms didn't even feel like her own anymore.
And worst of all… it showed no sign of stopping.
Only then did Flo realize the horrifying truth:
During her match with Elyco, by the time Elyco finally gave up…
Flo had already lost… twenty times.
Just how ridiculously strong was Elyco to last that long…?
Flo couldn't take it anymore.
Her vision blurred, her strength vanished—and she slowly collapsed unconscious into the water.
…
Everything that happened was witnessed by Nicolime outside the door.
"Ahhh… Did Master just have a seizure? Is taking a bath really that intense?!"
Nicolime: "It looked like she flew to heaven twenty times in a row… But why would she suddenly go wild like that?"
Just as Nicolime stood there confused, Flo vanished from the tub!
"Mew?! Master sank underwater?! ∑(❍ฺд❍ฺlll)"
Nicolime leapt to her feet and kicked the bathroom door open.
"Master, I'm coming to save you!"
She launched herself into the air, morphing mid-flight into a giant, colorful slime—and crashed dramatically into the bathtub.
"BOOM!"
Water splashed everywhere.
♡♡♡
When Flo came to, she was no longer in the tub…
But the sensation felt oddly familiar—like floating in a swimming pool.
"Where am I?"
"You're inside me! Don't worry, Master—I'm not sticky at all this time~!"
Flo finally noticed she was submerged in an enormous, rainbow-colored slime blob.
Flo: "Nini can do this form too?! (*ﾟﾛﾟ)!!"
Wrapped in Nicolime's slime body, Flo felt incredibly comfortable—and her drained energy was slowly returning.
Apparently, soaking inside Nicolime's slime form had healing properties!
"Master… what happened earlier? Why did you pass out?"
"Ah… probably just the water temperature. Must've set it wrong," Flo mumbled, clearly avoiding the truth.
"Don't lie to me! You let out the weirdest scream ever, then suddenly collapsed!"
"Weirdest scream? …Wait, you were spying on me?!"
"…Oops, slipped out~" Nicolime gave an adorable, guilty pout.
Flo: "…Sigh."
"This is… complicated! I'll explain later, okay? For now, just heal me, Nini."
"Okay, got it… But Master, there's something I've been wondering—should I say it or not?"
"Go ahead."
"Your expression back then… I really liked it. Can you do it again for me?"
Nicolime asked with genuine sincerity.
Flo: "…In your dreams!"
Nicolime: "Aww, why not? QAQ"
It's not that Flo didn't want to…
Flo: "Mainly because I literally can't recreate that… (´-﹏-`;)"