The night air was cool and fresh, with moonlight cascading through the clouds like liquid silver.
While DEM's magical modifications were a formidable challenge in this world, even for a powerful organization like Ratatoskr pouring all its resources into helping, restoring Mana Takamiya's body to its original state was still nearly impossible.
But for Nagami whose sit-up skill alone had long surpassed the average elite—it was basically a child's play.
In fact, this wasn't even as tricky as healing Himeko's body back in Honkai.
Still, since Mana's entire body had been modified, it did take some time to fully treat her.
By the time the process was complete, night had already fallen.
The treatment went smoothly.
The only "accident" worth mentioning was that Mana nearly fainted from embarrassment.
Thankfully, Nagami managed to talk her through it, and she held on to the end.
Nagami could swear on the honor of himself, Reimu, and Lumine combined: he absolutely didn't think of anything inappropriate during the process!
Nope. Not at all!
After enjoying a hearty dinner made by the ever-capable Shiori who was expressing her gratitude—Nagami made his way toward a room tucked away from the rest of the house.
"Yo, Nia. I need to talk to you about something—uh… what are you wearing?"
Nagami had always intended to bring Nia Honjo along to the Honkai world.
Not because she was his favorite personal illustrator or anything like that.
Her Angel, Rasiel, was an omniscient record of this world—second only to the origin light novels themselves.
Sure, its abilities might be limited depending on the world's laws, but even then, it was still an absolutely powerful existence.
Let's not forget: the Honkai world had a hidden serpent moving in the shadows.
Even Otto couldn't fully uncover its secrets.
Nagami had a decent grasp on Kevin, sure—but when it came to that pink-haired pixie, he knew next to nothing.
Who knew how many of the 13 Flame-Chasers were still alive and hiding in this era?
If Nia could dig up info on them, it could be a huge game changer.
Unfortunately, all of Nagami's and the others' combined points had already been emptied buying "Fated Tokens" for the Spirit of Time.
So technically they were broke for now.
And without those tokens, the Honkai world was far too dangerous for any Spirit who couldn't use their powers.
So for now they had to wait for another opportunity.
Nagami had come to talk to Nia about all of that.
But the moment he entered her room... he walked in on Nia mid-costume change. In front of the mirror.
And the clothes she was trying on were... far from normal.
Her fair skin gleamed under the warm light, and even though she was covering herself with her long, delicate arms, they weren't enough to hide the soft shimmer of pale flesh that peeked through.
Was this some kind of divine resonance among top-tier artists?
Black lace garters clung tightly to her slender thighs, leaving faint marks that somehow added a touch of provocative beauty.
Paired with those sleek high-heeled shoes on her bare feet…
Nagami stared at Nia's outfit—one that gave off enough seduction to rival the infamous "naked apron" look—and silently sank into thought.
[XP system accessing at rapid speed…]
[Warning: Your access rate is too fast...]
"Ah, Nagami! You're here!"
A faint blush spread across her pale cheeks, but Nia made no move to hide herself.
On the contrary, she spun in place, legs crossing elegantly to show off the full outfit.
"So? What do you think of this outfit?"
"Although the chest area is still... kind of lacking…"
With Nia not bothering to cover up, Nagami figured there was no point in averting his eyes.
His gaze drifted to the soft skin barely hidden beneath the hem of her outfit, which only just managed to cover the tops of her thighs.
"But it's still stunning. Looks like you've figured out your true charm point—your legs."
Nagami gave his evaluation with utter sincerity.
Let's break this down logically:
She's a stunning Spirit, undeniably beautiful.
She shares your niche interests, is a master illustrator, and can literally draw doujins for you.
She can even join you for some good ol' GHS time...
By the standards of any world, this was the kind of girlfriend a man could only find in his dreams.
No Special Pull (SP) character would ever reject her.
Age didn't matter.
"You didn't have to say the first part!" Nia puffed out her cheeks and pouted, glaring at Nagami—but quickly sighed. "But... fine. You're not wrong."
In this area, Nia had long since given up caring.
'Take notes, Fu Hua. This is how you own your flaws like a queen.'
"You're using yourself as reference again? But whether it's Lumine or Ei…"
They weren't that flat, were they?
Nagami swallowed down the second half of that thought.
No need to bring up uncontrollable variables.
"Nope!" Nia said proudly.
Without warning, she yanked Nagami by the collar and threw him onto the freshly made bed.
Her pretty face was now barely inches from his, those turquoise eyes blazing with a mix of mischief and determination, the usual embarrassment buried deep.
Her soft white hands stroked his cheek like a wolf toying with a defenseless rabbit.
"You're not getting away tonight, Nagami."
Uh oh…
Should he say it? Should he really say it?
This woman's thirst is unparalleled.
She had turned the tables so thoroughly, Nagami wasn't even sure if he was the wolf or the sheep anymore.
One thing was clear:
'If he couldn't tell what Nia wanted after this… he might as well bash his head into Fu Hua's chest and die.'
"What's wrong, Nia? Don't tell me you've hit a creative block and now want some real-life inspiration?"
Sitting on the soft, plush bed, Nagami wrapped his arms around the girl's slender waist, her soft stomach pressing gently against his.
"If that's the case, I'll give it my all. Mission accepted!"
He straightened up with a solemn expression, as if he'd just accepted a world-saving mission.
"…"
Nia raised an elegant brow, suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of helplessness.
Whether intentional or not, this guy always had a knack for ruining serious moments with the most ridiculous timing.
It was genuinely frustrating.
"Nagami... are you leaving?"
Her teasing, roguish act crumbled, unable to hold up under the weight of reality. She gently cupped the boy's cheek, her eyes filled with sorrow.
"You can't take me with you... can you?"
The classic "hero saves the girl" trope might be overused in manga and novels nowadays, but damn if it didn't still work.
Whether it was rescuing her from hell itself or sharing the same obscure hobbies, either one was enough to steal her heart—but both together?
It was a knockout combo.
"That grimoire... Tome of Revelation, was it?"
Thinking about it now, that angelic artifact really was the ultimate cheating tool for catching people red-handed.
Thank goodness it belonged to Nia.
With her personality, she'd never do anything that'd truly trouble Nagami.
If it had ended up in someone like Mei's hands, though... well, he didn't even want to imagine the consequences.
"It's only temporary," Nagami said softly, gently running his fingers through her delicate ash-gray hair.
A warm smile curved his lips.
"Right now, you can't use your Spirit powers. And for someone without abilities... my world's a pretty dangerous place."
Even without any interference from him, the Tome of Revelation couldn't access information related to the chat group.
So it made sense Nia couldn't see the full picture.
And for a girl in love, it was only natural to feel anxious when kept in the dark.
As Nagami explained, the tension slowly faded from her face.
"I see... so that's how it is. Then I guess it's okay."
Finally understanding the situation, Nia gave a knowing nod.
She hopped off the bed, her long, toned legs carrying her gracefully to the desk.
Carefully, she pulled out a handmade sketchbook.
"Here. This is your going-away present something I promised you before." Her expression turned almost reverent, like she was presenting a holy relic.
"This is the culmination of studying countless classics! The ultimate masterpiece from Souji Honjo! I poured every ounce of my skill into this—it will not disappoint!"
With equal seriousness, Nagami accepted the work of art as if he were handling a sacred treasure.
"Want to look through it together?"
"Yeah!"
An expected answer, of course.
The two of them lay side by side on the soft bed, flipping open the first page of the sketchbook... then the second...
"Hsshh..."
No doubt about it—this was tailor-made to match his exact preferences.
The sheer impact was overwhelming.
Add in Nia's gem-like, sparkling eyes watching his reaction and the soft, springy sensation of her legs curled beside him...
"Nia, I think there's something a little off on this page."
Nagami pointed to a particularly creative pose, his tone suddenly serious.
"Huh? Where? Where?"
No way the great Souji-sensei would leave a flaw in her magnum opus, right?
"I think... rather than explaining it with words, we should go with a more hands-on approach."
"Wait—Nagami—mmph…"
Her voice, as soft and sweet as marshmallows, was quickly swallowed up.
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