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"Kitahara-kun, what do we do now?"
Ijichi Nijika looked up and asked softly.
As the saying goes, small matters call for big meetings, and big matters call for small meetings. Before entering the Otherworld, they had already discussed that there could only be one voice in the team, and that was Kitahara Makoto.
Nijika and Ryo could both offer their opinions, but once Kitahara Makoto made a decision, the girls had to obey unconditionally.
"No rush, let's first resolve our worries." Kitahara Makoto looked down at the Beast Eared Girl and asked, "Hana, what are the conditions for returning to the Reality World?"
The Beast Eared Girl tilted her small face and said expressionlessly:
"Door, small cake."
"Eh?" Nagasaki Soyo said in surprise, "It needs a small cake too?"
Ijichi Nijika pursed her pink lips: "The door should be the essential condition, and the small cake is the reward for opening the door."
"Good, there are doors everywhere in this village." Kitahara Makoto asked carefully again, "As long as it's a door, can we all go back?"
The Beast Eared Girl nodded: "Also, small cake."
"Got it, you won't be short on small cakes." Kitahara Makoto rubbed the Beast Eared Girl's small head, "You've been a great help today. I'll have your mom buy you ten small cakes later."
Ijichi Nijika's pretty face flushed slightly, and she couldn't help but glare: "It's not healthy for children to eat too much cake."
As a monster, Hana doesn't care about health!
"..."
Nagasaki Soyo slightly pursed her pink lips, her gaze shifting between Kitahara Makoto and Nijika, feeling a strange annoyance in her heart.
This feeling... was she jealous?
Darn boomerang!
"Worries resolved. Now it's speedrun time..."
Kitahara Makoto opened his backpack and took out the answer book, preparing to activate 'cheat mode':
"Wandering around is too much of a waste of time. It's foolish not to use a guide... answer book, with my body's four directions as front, back, left, and right, which direction should I go to find Nijika's cousin?"
Whoosh.
The answer book turned pages on its own.
A page quickly stopped before everyone's eyes:
"Left."
Kitahara Makoto closed the answer book and looked to his left: "Then we go left. Let's move."
"..."
Kitahara Makoto, accompanied by three girls, set off on a relentless journey to find someone.
This desolate village looked ancient, primarily built with traditional wooden structures, low houses, winding paths, and an eerie silence; not only were there no people, but not even the chirping of insects or birds could be heard, only the faint, almost inaudible whimpering of the wind.
"When we went out to play before, we visited a Taiga drama filming set at a scenic spot," Ijichi Nijika said curiously, looking around. "This village looks very Edo period-style."
"Indeed," Nagasaki Soyo agreed, nodding. "It's so strange that there's an Edo period village in the Otherworld."
Kitahara Makoto casually remarked, "We might encounter even 'stranger' things later; Soyo-san, don't cry from fright."
Nagasaki Soyo raised her right hand and promised, "Don't worry, my tolerance is quite good."
Kitahara Makoto silently looked over, "Who was it that cried from fright at the amusement park back then?"
"…"
The Tsundere Young Miss's pretty face flushed slightly, and she guiltily averted her gaze.
"We've been walking for five minutes already," Yamada Ryo suddenly stopped, her face expressionless. "This won't do."
"Eh?" Ijichi Nijika tilted her head, looking over. "What's wrong, Ryo?"
"Could Nijika-senpai's cousin be hiding in a house by the roadside?" Yamada Ryo suggested. "If we just keep walking straight along the road, might we miss her?"
Ijichi Nijika frowned slightly upon hearing this. "It's certainly possible… What does Kitahara Makoto think?"
"There are so many houses; searching them one by one is too troublesome," Kitahara Makoto mused for a few seconds. "How about we have your cousin come find us?"
Ijichi Nijika couldn't help but retort, "That's definitely impossible, isn't it?"
"It might be possible," Kitahara Makoto suggested. "As long as we shout your cousin's name loudly, she will naturally come looking for us when she hears the call."
Yamada Ryo said expressionlessly, "I agree."
Ijichi Nijika hesitated upon hearing this:
"But this village is very eerie; shouting loudly might attract unknown dangers…"
"When in doubt, consult the answer book," Kitahara Makoto handed over the answer book. "Who wants to ask?"
"I will," Ijichi Nijika placed her hand on the answer book. "…How can I quickly find my cousin?"
Whoosh.
The answer book flipped pages rapidly, as if by itself.
Before long, a page slowly stopped in front of everyone.
"Shout loudly."
"It seems Kitahara Makoto's suggestion was correct," Yamada Ryo said expressionlessly. "Start shouting."
"O-okay…"
Ijichi Nijika took a deep breath, cupped her hands around her mouth, and shouted loudly:
"Rinko, I'm Nijika! If you hear me, please answer! We've come to find you!"
"…"
The sound echoed, reverberating through the desolate village.
Next, the four took turns shouting as they advanced through the dilapidated village, but they didn't find the missing cousin. Instead, a strange, grating sound suddenly entered their ears.
Creak, creak.
The sound was very strange, like rusty metal plates rubbing against each other.
"Did you hear a strange sound?"
Ijichi Nijika hesitantly looked around.
Yamada Ryo nodded, "I heard it."
The Tsundere Young Miss, however, frowned slightly and quietly retreated behind the others.
Kitahara Makoto narrowed his eyes, quickly pinpointing the source of the sound, and pointed:
"It's that thing."
The three girls quickly looked over and saw a figure sitting upright beneath the nearby ruins. The figure was wearing a samurai armor, commonly seen in TV dramas, which appeared old and worn due to the passage of time, but was generally still quite intact, especially the exaggerated large crescent moon decoration on the front of the helmet, which was remarkably well-preserved.
Clank, clank.
Under everyone's gaze, this figure slowly stood up. The sound just now was indeed made by the collision of its armor joints. With stiff steps, it walked towards them, one step at a time.
"It's coming!"
Ijichi Nijika's voice immediately became tense.
Kitahara Makoto looked down and asked the Beast Eared Girl, "Hana-chan, what is that thing?"
The Beast Eared Girl said expressionlessly, "A puppet."
"What do you mean?"
"Just a puppet."
"…"
Clank, clank.
Two red lights glowed beneath the Undead Knight's iron mask, and its speed increased, striding towards Kitahara Makoto and the others. At the same time, it reached for its waist and suddenly drew the samurai sword it carried.
Although its samurai armor was dilapidated, the samurai sword was still as bright as new, looking chilling.
Goodness, a standard unwelcome visitor!
Seeing the murderous Undead Knight, Ijichi Nijika and Nagasaki Soyo couldn't help but show nervousness, while Ryo-senpai remained expressionless.
"Kitahara Makoto, can you defeat it?" Yamada Ryo asked calmly.
Kitahara Makoto shook his head, "I'm not entirely confident…"
"Then what are we waiting for?" Ryo-senpai quickly turned around. "Let's make a run for it."
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