"Oh no."
Watching Rinko's sparkling eyes, Ijichi Nijika felt anxious:
"Cousin's gaze is too fervent… as long as Kitahara-kun says the word, cousin will join the harem without a second thought, right?"
"No!"
"That absolutely cannot happen!"
"…"
"Kitahara-kun, did you acquire that Unyielding Will?"
Kita Ikuyo looked over expectantly.
"My luck's pretty good." Kitahara Makoto smiled with satisfaction, "I can indeed be a five-second real man now."
[Ability: Unyielding Will]
[Category: Active]
[Description: Upon activating this skill, you will be immune to all crowd control for a short duration of five seconds.]
[Note: This ability is a temporary skill. Based on your game score, the cooldown for this ability will be extended. The current cooldown is four minutes.]
"Tsk~"
After reviewing the inherited hero ability, Kitahara Makoto was quite satisfied.
"I have a total of ten minutes to use the hero template. The cooldown is currently four minutes, which means I can only use it twice at most…"
But Kitahara Makoto was still in a good mood.
You can't get fat with one bite.
There were so many Eden Fruits on the tree; it was impossible to pick them all at once. With the answer book, he could come back to pick them every now and then, focusing on the long game.
Kitahara Makoto took a deep breath, looked at the girls in front of him, and said seriously:
"The ability is already acquired; now we can prepare to pick the Eden Fruit."
"According to the previous plan, I will first walk to the tree, then activate Unyielding Will, grab the fruit, and run back."
"In addition, we need to add a safety rope. In case of an accident midway that prevents me from escaping the Eden Tree's trapping zone, you will pull me back with the rope…"
As Kitahara Makoto spoke, he opened his backpack, took out a coil of safety rope, tied one end of the safety rope around his waist, and handed the other end to the girls.
The girls' expressions were serious, and they all gripped the safety rope tightly.
No unnecessary words.
Because everything was unspoken.
Although they didn't agree with Kitahara Makoto's shameless act of starting a harem, no one could deny that their destinies were already tightly intertwined and completely inseparable.
At Yamada Ryo's suggestion, the girls also tied the other end of the rope to a stone, just in case of an accident.
"Well then… I'm going."
Kitahara Makoto took a deep breath, turned around, and finally faced the towering giant tree that covered the entire island.
This Eden Tree was much larger than any known tree in the real world. Facing the giant tree, Kitahara Makoto couldn't help but feel as small as a speck of dust.
"Good news, although the tree is big, it's not tall…"
Kitahara Makoto's gaze quickly firmed.
If it were a giant tree like a North American redwood, dozens or hundreds of meters tall, he would truly have to give up; five seconds of ability time wouldn't be enough to reach the Eden Fruit.
Although the Eden Tree was huge, it wasn't very tall. The lowest branches were only about two or three meters from the ground, a height Kitahara Makoto could easily reach.
Taking another deep breath, Kitahara Makoto briefly stretched his body, checked the safety rope around his waist one last time, and then stepped towards the chosen branch.
That was the branch he and Yamada Ryo had selected during their patrol yesterday. On that branch, there were a dozen heavy fruits.
As Kitahara Makoto approached the Eden Tree little by little, the fragrance in the air grew stronger, and Kitahara Makoto could feel every cell screaming.
Eat them!
Eat them all!
As long as I eat enough, I can become the god of the new world!
Once I become a god, the entire world will be at my beck and call!
Various distracting thoughts came flooding into his mind. Kitahara Makoto's heart tightened slightly, and he quickly realized he was being affected. Without a word, he decisively activated the ability Sage Time.
[Ability: Sage Time]
[Category: Active]
[Description: When you activate this ability, you will enter a state of desirelessness, immune to any mental negative statuses.]
As Kitahara Makoto activated Sage Time, the various distracting thoughts in his mind melted away like ice and snow, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Kitahara-kun, what happened?"
Ijichi Nijika's worried voice came from behind him; of course, it was Ryo's voice now:
"If you can't hold on, don't force yourself. If you can't get the fruit, then forget it. We'll pull you back."
"That's right." Kita's voice was tense, "Safety first, don't push yourself."
"Don't worry, I'm fine now." Kitahara Makoto responded loudly, "The closer you get to the Eden Tree, the stronger the fragrance in the air. This fragrance affects people's brains, causing all sorts of distracting thoughts… In simple terms, it makes people lose their minds."
"I've already used my ability to block out the distracting thoughts, so it's fine to continue forward."
Kitahara Makoto continued to advance as he spoke.
A moment later.
As the Eden Tree's branches were within reach, Kitahara Makoto already felt his body becoming uncontrollable.
The trapping scent was terrifying.
Sage Time could only keep a person calm and rational, blocking mental influences, but his body was already out of control, completely beyond Kitahara Makoto's command, merely walking forward with stiff steps.
"No wonder there isn't a single monster on the island. With both mind and body deprived of control, one can only watch helplessly as they turn into fertilizer. How truly despairing…"
Kitahara Makoto continued to walk forward while calmly thinking, finally arriving in front of the target branch.
Only by coming to the tree could one truly appreciate how enormous the Eden Tree was. Countless branches crisscrossed, truly obscuring the sky and sun. The thick branches resembled swimming dragons, and the trunk was covered with strange patterns, full of mysterious charm.
Occasionally, leaves would fall beneath the tree. Each leaf was like a small boat, extraordinarily large. When Kitahara Makoto passed by, he stepped on two fallen leaves, only to feel an exceptionally hard and solid touch beneath his feet, like metal.
If this thing hit someone, it would probably cause a broken head and bleeding.
In fact, not only in the Otherworld, but also in real world, people can be knocked out by falling leaves. Friends living in the south know that there is a tree on the road called the Royal Palm, commonly known as the King Coconut. Warning signs are posted on the tree trunks because a single leaf can be three to five meters long and weigh dozens of pounds. It can not only knock people out but also smash car windshields.
"…Now!"
Kitahara Makoto decisively activated the ability Unyielding Will, instantly regaining control of his body, then leaped up. Under the nervous gaze of the girls, he directly jumped several meters in place, extended his arms, and quickly picked two Eden Fruits.
Good news: the Eden Fruit was not difficult to pick. The fruit was not welded to the tree, and Kitahara Makoto distorted it off with a little effort.
"The tree didn't move…"
Kitahara Makoto quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Although he had asked the answer book before if the tree would go berserk after picking the fruit, now that he saw the Eden Tree remained still, he finally relaxed.
One can only say that plants are, after all, not animals. If he tried to steal a wasp nest with this method, he would have been stung all over by now.
Of course, there was also another possibility: the two Eden Fruits Kitahara Makoto stole were, to the giant tree, like a human losing a single hair—an insignificant existence, not even worth considering.
After landing.
Kitahara Makoto ran wildly towards the girls without looking back.
From jumping up to picking the fruit and landing, it took a total of two seconds.
In the next three seconds, Kitahara Makoto sprinted forty to fifty meters in one breath.
As the duration of Unyielding Will ended, Kitahara Makoto instantly felt his body suddenly halt, and he involuntarily turned around, wanting to walk back towards the Eden Tree and become fertilizer beneath it.
"Everyone, pull hard!"
Ijichi Nijika saw this and quickly shouted.
The girls dared not slacken, all exerting their utmost strength, gripping the safety rope tightly, and began to pull backward.
Although girls generally don't have much strength, there were five of them… oh, I forgot, plus one Hana, so no accident occurred, and Kitahara Makoto was successfully dragged out.
A moment later.
Kitahara Makoto exhaled lightly and quickly said:
"You can let go now, there's no problem."
"Hoo…"
Hearing this, the girls all breathed a sigh of relief.
Kitahara Makoto strode up to the girls, smiling as he held up the two fruits in his hands:
"Eden fruit, successfully obtained!"
"Kitahara-kun, you worked hard." Kita widened her eyes, curiously looking at the fruit in Kitahara Makoto's hand, and couldn't help but swallow, "It's completely different from any fruit I know."
Before, the distance was too far, and from a distance, the Eden Fruit hanging on the branches looked like small peaches. But now that it was picked and brought close, they realized the Eden Fruit was quite large, at least the size of a pineapple by estimation. Its surface had strange patterns, it looked excellent, and it emitted an incredibly strong fragrance that made one's mouth water profusely.
Gotō Hitori said softly:
"It looks a bit like the Devil Fruit from One Piece."
Ijichi Nijika blinked:
"Devil Fruits taste super bad, but the Eden Fruit smells so good, it shouldn't taste bad, right?"
[Item: Eden Fruit]
[Status: Edible]
[Effect: Beautifies the skin, prolongs life, eternal youth]
[Side effect: When you breed original sin, your original sin will be exceptionally strong]
"If you want to know what it tastes like, just try it. This thing can be eaten directly after a simple rinse." Kitahara Makoto looked at the girls in front of him, "Who wants to try some?"
There were only two Eden Fruits in total, so how to divide them was indeed a problem.
Both sides were equally important. The glasses-wearing cousin could be excluded; there was no relation to her.
But Nijika, Ryo, Kita, and Bocchi—if the distribution was uneven, it could easily lead to someone feeling wronged…
Given this, he would let the girls distribute them themselves.
"…I'm truly a genius!"
Kitahara Makoto silently gave himself a thumbs-up in his heart.
The girls exchanged glances and all chose to defer.
Ijichi Nijika turned her pretty face away, suppressing the urge:
"Let Kita and Bocchi-chan eat them."
"I, I don't want to…"
Gotō Hitori quickly shook her head.
Hearing that she didn't get a share, Hana looked up with her small face and anxiously tugged at Ijichi Nijika's skirt:
"Mama, I want to eat too."
"Eh?" Kita Ikuyo froze, confused, "Why is Hana calling Ryo-senpai 'Mama'?"
A flicker of panic crossed Ijichi Nijika's pretty face, and she quickly stepped back half a step, hiding behind Ryo:
"Nijika, keep an eye on Hana."
"…"
At this moment, Yamada Ryo slowly raised her right hand, tilted her head, and said, "Why don't we cut it up and share it?"
The girls: "..."
Kitahara Makoto: "..."
"I remember the Ginseng Fruit in Journey to the West couldn't be cut with a knife," Kitahara Makoto mused for two seconds. "To be safe, let's ask the answer book first."
When in doubt, consult the answer book.
Kitahara Makoto and the girls returned to the cave, took out the answer book from his backpack, and then asked the question.
Whoosh.
The pages flipped quickly, and soon the answer was revealed.
"It's perfectly fine to cut it!" Kita Ikuyo's eyes lit up, and she praised, "Nijika-senpai is so smart!"
Ijichi Nijika: "..."
Sorry, that was Ryo's idea.
To be safe, Kitahara Makoto had Kita ask another question and learned that after the Eden Fruit was picked, it could be stored for a maximum of twenty-four hours; if not eaten within twenty-four hours, the Eden Fruit would turn into poison.
"Then let's cut it and eat it now, everyone gets a share," Kitahara Makoto immediately said. "Hitori, go get a bottle of mineral water and wash the Eden Fruit."
"Mhm."
Bocchi-chan nodded quickly and went to do as told.
"Nijika-senpai, I have a fruit knife in my backpack," Kitahara Makoto continued. "Go get the fruit knife."
"Okay..."
Ijichi Nijika subconsciously took a step, and after two steps, she remembered that she was in Ryo's body, and quickly stopped.
Kita happened to be standing behind Nijika, narrowing her eyes:
"Ryo-senpai is so strange... It's like she's a completely different person..."
After some busy work.
When the girls finished washing the Eden Fruit, Kitahara Makoto took the fruit knife and began to cut the fruit.
The skin of this thing was quite thick; even Kitahara Makoto had to use considerable strength to finally cut it open.
Once cut open, the indescribably rich aroma instantly intensified several times, surging into the nasal cavity, making one feel refreshed and relaxed, as if all the pores on the body had opened up.
Without exception, everyone involuntarily swallowed their saliva.
So fragrant!
It was simply too fragrant!
This aroma clearly not only affected the sense of smell but also influenced the body and soul.
"Whew..."
Kitahara Makoto took a deep breath, gripped the fruit knife, and quickly sliced the Eden Fruit.
During the cutting process, there was even a faint glow shimmering within the fruit... The subjective world was indeed incredible.
Kitahara Makoto tried his best to make the pieces uniform in size, then said, "One piece per person, help yourselves."
The girls were already impatient and reached out to pick up the Eden Fruit one after another.
"Wow~ It's super delicious!"
"I've never eaten such a delicious fruit."
"I thought it would be hard to bite, but it melts in your mouth, the texture is like cream..."
The Eden Fruit was quite magical; besides its indescribably delicious taste, one could also feel a rich vitality surging into the body.
"Mommy, I want some too!"
Hana, Hana who was usually desireless, was now anxiously tugging at Nijika's thigh, clearly wanting a share.
"Here."
Ijichi Nijika suppressed the urge, handed the Eden Fruit to Hana, and then went to get another piece for herself.
"Hana is calling 'Mommy' again..." Kita narrowed her eyes, "Did Hana mistake her, or is there another reason?"
"Also, Hana seems to know the truth?"