October 29th, Sunday.
It had been two days since Yutsuki moved into the underground facility to cohabit with Natsumi under the pretense of monitoring her.
Unlike two days ago, the scene inside Natsumi's room in the underground facility had completely changed.
"How is your progress on the quests in the Ghost Graveyard?" Yutsuki asked.
"Skeletons and banshees are already done, but zombies are only halfway there. Damn it, why is the zombie spawn rate so low?" Lying on her back on the bed, Natsumi complained holding the PS Vita.
"According to the world setting, zombies mainly wander in the abandoned alchemy testing grounds next door; the ones in the graveyard are just lost. And since you haven't unlocked the alchemy grounds yet, naturally you can't get in." Sitting on a chair by Natsumi's bed, Yutsuki shrugged helplessly, showing there was nothing she could do.
"What an annoying setting. One hundred zombies... Yutsuki, can you farm them for ?" "No way. You only get a sense of accomplishnt if you farm these things yourself."
"Ehh~" Natsumi let out a lazy groan.
"Stop complaining. I'll give you the equipnt that increases the monster spawn rate."
"Alright." With a bitter smile, Yutsuki checked the clock on the wall. She put down her PS Vita, walked over to the kitchenette, tied her hair into a ponytail with her ribbon, put on an apron, and asked Natsumi.
"It's almost lunchti. What do you want to eat?"
"Hamburg steak." Staring intently at the ga in her hands, Natsumi answered without looking up.
"OK."
...
"This is completely beyond my imagination..." Kotori couldn't help but sigh in surprise.
At first, when Yutsuki went into the room saying she would monitor Natsumi, Kotori was still wondering how long Yutsuki's presence could keep Natsumi in check. She completely didn't expect that in just two short days, the Natsumi who would go berserk twisting everyone's words into malice out of her inferiority complex... was now able to have normal conversations with Yutsuki.
Or rather...
"Are they mother and daughter?!" It made you want to blurt out sothing like that.
Although this wasn't the first ti she saw it, every ti she ca to check on Natsumi's condition, Kotori couldn't help but rub her eyes to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.
"This is the power of the 2D world! No matter how far apart hearts are, 2D love builds a bridge of communication." "Dinsion Breaker" Nakatsugawa said excitedly.
"Ugh... is that so?" Kotori, with a lollipop in her mouth, scratched her hair, unable to fully accept it.
If having a common hobby was enough to make Natsumi overco her inferiority complex and actively engage with others, Kotori wouldn't have needed to co up with so many plans before.
"To get soone with such a severe inferiority complex like Natsumi to accept her... just what kind of magic did Yutsuki-nee use?"
[It's not magic. Yutsuki is just living there at her own pace.]
"Marina?"
Suddenly, the artificial Spirit Marina, wearing a black nun's outfit, appeared on the computer screen at Kotori's command console.
Marina said to Kotori. [Kotori, your idea wasn't wrong. If you want to conquer Natsumi, her inferiority complex is definitely a problem that must be overco. Giving Natsumi a makeover to build her confidence was also a very good idea. However, you overlooked a crucial issue.]
"What issue?" Kotori asked, confused.
[To soone who knows nothing, why should Natsumi accept your goodwill as goodwill?] "..."
Marina's words made Kotori fall silent for a mont. Marina continued.
[For you guys, who operate on the belief of saving Spirits, showing goodwill to a Spirit is probably a natural instinct by now. But, from Natsumi's perspective, it probably felt baffling.]
"I see..." Breathing out slowly, Kotori understood the problem Marina was pointing out.
To give an example: It's like in a car accident where a pedestrian gets hit. Not only does the victim not complain about the driver injuring them, but they also show great concern, asking if the driver is hurt, and even offer to pay for the scratches on the car. Expecting the at fault driver (Natsumi) to accept such goodwill is indeed asking too much.
Coupled with being completely ignorant of Kotori and Shido's plans and goals, it was no wonder she stayed on guard against them.
However, even if they wanted to explain things to Natsumi, her inferiority complex beca a barrier to communication.
"You can't trust soone you know nothing about. Since that's the case, create an opportunity for them to understand you... that's what Yutsuki-nee planned, right."
[Correct.]
Marina nodded, confirming Kotori's guess.
Using the completely reasonable excuse of monitoring to enter Natsumi's room, while also restricting Natsumi from escaping.
Not expressing a desire to help Natsumi, but also not showing any intention to harm her, avoiding giving Natsumi room to wildly imagine things and go berserk.
And then, it was like she just moved her house in there, living a life no different from how she lived in the Spirit apartnt complex.
Despite all this explanation, the idea was actually very simple. In reality, Yutsuki was rely showing Natsumi her everyday life.
But regarding the result, rather than monitoring Natsumi, Ryougi Yutsuki semi-forced Natsumi to live together with her. Since it was unavoidable, willing or not, Natsumi would inevitably co to understand Ryougi Yutsuki's personality and way of doing things, and adapt to and get used to her as part of her living environnt.
(...Even though she said she didn't plan on helping conquer Spirits, she ended up thinking the most about Spirit matters.) With a light sigh, Kotori showed a gratified yet helpless smile.
"But coming all the way here to explain this to ... Marina, you didn't think I'd misunderstand and think Yutsuki-nee was just slacking off playing gas inside, so you purposely ca to defend her to , did you?"
[Th-That's not it at all!]
Seeing the girl on the screen awkwardly turn her head away, Kotori rolled her lollipop and showed a wicked smile.
"I understand Yutsuki-nee's approach. But if this keeps up, won't Natsumi just turn into a shut-in otaku addicted to gas?"
[...]
"Uh..."
Seeing Marina fall completely silent from a question she asked without much thought, the corner of Kotori's mouth twitched slightly.
"Finally won."
Watching the Ghost King's last health bar drop to zero on the PS Vita screen, Natsumi let out a long sigh of relief and wiped her sweat.
"That was a tough battle." Yutsuki also chid in, still feeling lingering fear.
It had to be said, Fairy Dream was unexpectedly difficult. Not to ntion the boss's annoying three stage transformation, the minions it automatically summoned every few seconds—while not strong—affected skill targeting. And if you weren't careful, you could get hit with a lot of troubleso debuffs. Even though Yutsuki and Natsumi had followed a guide and fard various items beforehand, they still almost wiped out.
"Good job, Natsumi. Your magic support was spot on."
"This level of stuff is nothing, anyone could do it easily." To Yutsuki's praise, Natsumi answered indifferently.
"No, no, no, you're much better than Shido. That guy knows basically nothing except spamming normal attacks. I tried teaching him for ages but eventually gave up. In boss fights, I just equip him with aggro-boosting accessories and use him as a at shield." Yutsuki waved her hand and spoke rcilessly.
Natsumi silently mourned for Itsuka Shido for three seconds. (Shido: "Achoo!")
"So, how do we split the boss's drops?" Checking the dropped items displayed on the screen, Natsumi asked.
"Mhm. You're an alchemist, Natsumi, so you can have all the crafting materials. We'll split the gold evenly. Oh? Epic equipnt, pretty good luck." Yutsuki said, sowhat surprised.
After all, getting an item on the first try that the guide said might not drop even after ten tries... you could only describe that kind of luck as god tier.
"Mhm... Ring of the Abyss. Immune to ghost type debuffs, bonuses to dark magic and magic resistance, very high luck bonus." After checking the equipnt's stats, Yutsuki thought for a mont and said.
"Natsumi, you take this ring."
"Eh?" Hearing Yutsuki's words, Natsumi's eyes widened in surprise.
"Why are you surprised? This is clearly an item for mages. It's pointless for soone playing a swordsman like to wear it." Yutsuki said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"But the ghost-type skill immunity is very useful for warriors too. With it equipped, you could basically go Dynasty Warriors in the graveyard." Hearing Natsumi say this, Yutsuki showed a sowhat mischievous smile.
"Hehe... I don't plan on wandering around this annoying quest-farming map anyti soon. It seems there aren't many ghost-type monsters in the upcoming dungeons anyway. On the other hand, the luck bonus will greatly increase the success rate of your item alchemy, right?"
"Ugh..."
It was a very convincing reason, leaving Natsumi montarily speechless. Unable to think of a rebuttal, she honestly accepted the item. In reality, she had really wanted that item from the start.
Seeing Natsumi's subtle expression of disbelief, Yutsuki seed to understand sothing. She gently tapped Natsumi on her little head and said helplessly.
"Let be clear. I have no intention of pocketing items out of prejudice, thinking 'the warrior is on the front lines taking damage and dealing damage, so their contribution is greater than a mage just standing in the back.' Items go to whoever they are most useful for. If an enchanted sword dropped, I'd naturally take it." "—!"
Seeing her internal thoughts seen right through, Natsumi looked away guiltily.
Yare yare~ Yutsuki shook her head helplessly. She didn't pursue the issue further and went back to playing the ga.
Beep beep—
Suddenly, Yutsuki's PS Vita made a soft notification sound. Then, Yutsuki saw a chat request suddenly sent by "Cri".
[Sorry.]
"..."
Turning her head to glance at Natsumi, who was completely burrowed under her blanket, the corner of Yutsuki's mouth curled up, and she finally couldn't hold back a "Pfft!" and laughed.
[Wh-What's so funny!?]
[Ah~ Sorry, sorry. I just thought it's unexpectedly cute of you. You know, you could've just said that out loud from that distance.]
[I can't. Saying an apology out loud from my own mouth... I'd rather die.]
[Okay, okay~ Understood. I've received your apology.]
"Phew..." Seeing the reply from Yutsuki on the screen, Natsumi secretly took a deep breath under the covers, calming her rapidly beating heart.
Honestly, being able to apologize to Yutsuki via a ga console was the biggest step Natsumi could take right now. If Yutsuki had made things difficult for her just now, she might actually have had a ntal breakdown.
(Can I trust her...) Curling her body slightly, Natsumi hid in the small, dark space, thinking uneasily.
Over these two days of living together, Natsumi had gradually ford a concrete understanding of Ryougi Yutsuki's personality, style, and habits.
When they first started talking, she gave off the impression of soone very casual and sowhat cold towards others. But after actually spending ti together, she realized the other person was very ticulous. When taking care of soone, she paid attention to every detail.
She was very casual about her clothes, but she wasn't a sloppy person.
Normally she gave off a very tomboyish vibe, but when she tied her hair into a ponytail and went into the kitchen, her "girl power" was off the charts. And her cooking was delicious.
She didn't know if she should say Yutsuki was very skilled at communicating with people or just had excellent observation skills. She could notice Natsumi's emotional changes and perfectly gauge the distance when interacting with her. It even made Natsumi wonder at tis if she had a mind-reading superpower.
No matter what she did, there was a clear purpose and reason.
And also...
"No way! Ecoli has a limited-edition figure out?! And it's at the store I went to last ti?! My allowance from Kotori isn't enough. Damn it, if I'd known, I would've asked Origami later and had her buy the figure for too."
She loves ani and gas, undoubtedly an otaku girl.
Hearing Yutsuki's agonizing wail, Natsumi couldn't help but smile slightly.
[Hey!]
"Hm?" Seeing the ssage suddenly sent by Natsumi, Yutsuki, who was holding her head in frustration over her missed opportunity, tilted her head in confusion. She picked up her PS Vita and replied.
[What is it?]
[...]
A long string of ellipses ca from the other side. Finally, Natsumi made up her mind and sent her question.
[Um... I have a question. Why did Itsuka Shido co to save back then, even though I was trying to completely destroy his life in society?]
[Because he's an idiot.]
[...]
Seeing Yutsuki's instant reply in less than a second, Natsumi narrowed her eyes to dots.
[An idiot... really?]
[What else did you think? Even after you ruthlessly tortured him, he still rushed in without a second thought to save you when you were in danger. Who else but an idiot would do sothing like that?]
Hearing Yutsuki's explanation, Natsumi frowned slightly. After thinking for a mont, she realized... there seed to be nothing wrong with that statent.
(Shido: "—Achoo!!!!!!")
Why would Itsuka Shido co to save her after she pranked him so badly? Did he have so ulterior motive? —It's because he's an idiot, he didn't think that much at the ti and just brought her back.
It really made a lot of sense. Suddenly, Natsumi felt the question that had troubled her for days was instantly cleared up.
[Why let him do stupid things? If you knew, why didn't you just stop him.]
[How could I stop him? I'm also soone who was saved by the stupid things he does.] [Eeeeehhhhhh?! (?Д?≡?Д?)]
Seeing the shocked emoticon sent by the other party, Yutsuki chuckled and sighed.
She briefly explained to Natsumi her own experience of being saved by Shido back then, as well as Shido's desire to "let Spirits live ordinary lives," and the organization Ratatoskr's core philosophy of "saving Spirits."
[To think it was like that...] Natsumi felt too shocked to speak. Although she always thought Shido must have a huge organization backing him, she never expected—everyone in this organization were idiots too.
(Everyone: "—Achoo!")
[Saving Spirits... is that really true?]
[Although I also thought it was highly suspicious when I first heard it, I regret to inform you that it's true.]
[Wait a mont...]
Taking in a bunch of completely unexpected information all at once, Natsumi couldn't help but hold her head, feeling a headache coming on. She took a long, deep breath and tried hard to process it.
When the spacequake happened, Itsuka Shido wasn't a civilian who couldn't evacuate in ti, nor was he an innocent bystander just passing by. He appeared specifically to et Natsumi.
[Wait. Does that an when Itsuka Shido discovered my true face, he did it on purpose...] [That was just a misunderstanding on your part. No matter how stupid Shido is, he wouldn't purposely seek death by looking for trouble like that.]
Yutsuki rcilessly killed Natsumi's wild imaginations in the cradle.
[You really like Shido, don't you...] Natsumi couldn't help but remark.
Whenever Itsuka Shido was ntioned, the girl basically just insulted him. But in reality, whether it was preventing Shido's reputation from being ruined by pranks earlier, or worrying that Natsumi would seek revenge on Itsuka Shido and staying here to guard her now... all of the girl's actions were to protect that boy from getting hurt.
[Mhm, because Shido is my favorite, most important family.]
Seeing this ssage, Natsumi quietly pulled a small gap in her blanket. Looking outside, she saw the girl showing a happy, warm smile.
And then, Natsumi, for so reason, actually felt a little bit of envy towards Yutsuki, who could show a smile like that.
[Hey... Ryougi Yutsuki.]
[What?]
[What do you think about my true face?]
[It's not bad. You'll be very cute if you dress up nicely, and you actually know that yourself.] [Are you angry that I tortured Itsuka Shido over sothing like this? Do you think I was being unreasonable?]
[I'm not angry. Rather, thank you for letting get so good pictures. As for the other question, I don't think you did anything wrong. Once, I almost got shot dead just because I caught a girl teasing a cat in an alley. I can only say everyone has secrets they don't want others to know.](TL:will do that side story later)
(Kurumi: "Achoo!")
[I see...] Natsumi let out a slow breath, showing a slightly relieved expression.
She didn't know if it was because they weren't speaking face-to-face, or because she understood that Ryougi Yutsuki's answers were always objective. Strangely enough, Natsumi didn't doubt Yutsuki's answer at all.
[Right, I have a question for you, Natsumi.]
[What?]
[What are you planning to do next?]
Yutsuki's words left Natsumi speechless for a mont. But before Natsumi could reply, Yutsuki continued typing on the keyboard.
[If you want to leave here, as long as you don't interfere with Shido's life anymore, I won't stop you. It's your freedom to go wherever you want. But if you want to stay here... I don't dislike having a family mber with the sa hobbies.]
"I..."
Leave? Stay?
What should have been an unquestionable answer long ago... for so reason, Natsumi felt lost at this mont.
[...I don't know.]
"Is that so..."
She heard Yutsuki murmur softly. Then, suddenly, her blanket was forcefully pulled away.
"Then we'll put that question aside for now! Next, go take a bath right now."
"Why did the topic suddenly change to this!? No, taking a bath is a hassle! I want to keep playing gas!" Natsumi clung to her blanket, yelling unreasonably.
"Nonsense. Even though I don't know much about makeup, daily cleanliness is the foundation of staying beautiful! Then after your bath, brush your teeth and wash your face! Getting ready for bed."
"Are you my mom?!"
Smack—!
The next mont, a paper fan descended from the heavens. It told Natsumi—who would enter the bathroom a few minutes later—that to Yutsuki...
Calling her "mom" is a no go (NG word).
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