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"Natsuki, come in, come in."
Kitagawa Marin quietly beckoned and whispered, "There are only three people inside. Come in and see who is the most suspicious."
"Mm."
Amamiya Natsuki nodded and agreed without any hesitation.
He had already entered and exited the women's restroom seven times; a mere women's hot spring bath was nothing to be ashamed of.
He glanced left and right, confirming no one was passing by, then Amamiya Natsuki lifted the curtain and brazenly walked into the women's bath.
"It looks no different from the men's bathhouse."
Amamiya Natsuki swept his gaze across and gave his assessment.
On the wooden rack by the wall, there were bamboo baskets for clothes. Lifting a curtain revealed a simple shower room for washing the body.
According to the traditions of the island nation, one must wash their body thoroughly before entering a hot spring.
Further ahead was the open-air hot spring bath.
"Why did you change into a bath robe?"
Amamiya Natsuki looked at Chika.
In just a short moment, the Secretary had already changed into a hot spring maiden, with a towel wrapped around her hair and only a white bath towel on her body.
Her shoulders, neck, arms, and faintly visible adorable collarbones were dazzlingly white under the lights, as if soaked in milk, quite alluring.
"Kaguya-chan said we need to act carefully and not alert the enemy," Fujiwara Chika hummed softly with a hint of pride, explaining in a low voice, "It would definitely be strange to go in wearing clothes, right?"
Amamiya Natsuki nodded: "That's true."
"Kaguya-chan and Marin-chan's clothes are also hard to take off, so I took off my clothes and disguised myself as a hot spring tourist to investigate," Fujiwara Chika raised her chin, a small, proud smile on her pretty, adorable face, "There aren't many people inside, only three in total: an old woman, a madam, and a young woman."
Shinomiya Kaguya took over the conversation:
"The Nightmare core should be among these three people, but Chika said they all look like ordinary people and she can't determine who it is, so we asked you to come in and see if you can figure something out."
Amamiya Natsuki said:
"I'll know after I see."
"Leave it to me." Fujiwara Chika accepted the task, "I guarantee to complete the mission. I'll go scout ahead first."
"This feels so strange." Kitagawa Marin put her right hand on her hip and whispered her complaint, "It feels like aiding and abetting, letting you peep into the women's bathhouse."
"Eh~ It really does." Fujiwara Chika nodded in agreement, "Natsuki-kun is so perverted."
Amamiya Natsuki made to turn around: "Then I'll leave?"
"Tch." Kitagawa Marin raised her chin, "Go ahead."
"If I leave just because you tell me to, wouldn't I lose face?" Amamiya Natsuki stopped, "A peeping tom, I'm determined to be one!"
Shinomiya Kaguya looked at him speechlessly, covering her forehead with her right hand: "I think I've just witnessed the lowest point of human integrity."
"Then I can only say you haven't seen enough," Amamiya Natsuki looked at Kaguya, "Humans are actually creatures without integrity or a bottom line."
"…"
A moment later.
The Secretary, who had infiltrated for reconnaissance, quickly returned and beckoned to the three of them:
"They're all taking hot spring baths. Come over, come over."
Amamiya Natsuki heard that and stepped over.
"Kitagawa Marin, you stay outside," Shinomiya Kaguya whispered, "If anyone else comes in, notify us immediately."
"Understood."
Kitagawa Marin raised her hand in a salute.
Without wasting time, Amamiya Natsuki, accompanied by Kaguya and Chika, began his adventure in the women's bath.
The three passed through the hallway and soon arrived at the backyard.
In the small courtyard.
A silver moon had quietly risen into the sky.
Moonlight flowed like water, illuminating a thousand miles.
Stone lanterns were scattered about, along with a gravel path and rockeries, forming a dry landscape garden.
"Infiltration successful."
Fujiwara Chika leaned in and whispered into Amamiya Natsuki's ear, "That's where the hot spring is; all three of them are soaking in it."
The girl's breath was warm and sweet, making one's ear tingle slightly.
Amamiya Natsuki had no time for other thoughts; he squinted his eyes and looked over, quickly shaking his head and saying:
"No, the light is too dim; I can't see clearly."
There were only a few stone lanterns emitting a faint glow in the small courtyard, and a faint mist enveloped the hot spring pool, making it difficult to see things clearly.
"Is that so…" Shinomiya Kaguya pondered for a moment and quickly thought of a solution, "Chika, you go over and trick them into coming out."
"Eh, how do I trick them?"
"Just say you've run into trouble and need help. Remember, trick them one at a time, don't trick too many."
"That." Fujiwara Chika extended two fingers and lightly tapped her chest, "I'm no good at tricking people; I'm worried I won't do it well."
Amamiya Natsuki glanced over: "When you played board games and tricked me, you didn't even blink."
"How can playing a game be considered tricking?" Fujiwara Chika puffed out her rosy cheeks and argued, "For players, that's called strategy."
Amamiya Natsuki waved his hand: "Go quickly."
"…"
Watching Chika leave, Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya squatted behind a rockery.
"There are still a little over ten minutes until the dream restarts," Shinomiya Kaguya suddenly whispered.
"What's wrong?"
Amamiya Natsuki turned to look at Shinomiya.
Shinomiya Kaguya lightly pursed her beautiful lips and whispered:
"Although we've found the target, it doesn't mean we can immediately break the nightmare… There's a high possibility the dream will restart again, isn't there?"
Amamiya Natsuki nodded silently.
That was indeed the case.
It was very likely that it would restart again.
Seize and Eliminate Evil can only capture others; it's not Kamijou's Imagine Breaker, so the possibility of not being able to break the nightmare fully exists.
Shinomiya Kaguya took a light breath and bit her pink lips, saying:
"If it restarts again, remember to come find me first."
Being forcibly kissed by you in front of Chika and Kitagawa Marin is too embarrassing no matter how I think about it; I absolutely don't want to go through that again!!
Amamiya Natsuki understood and said helplessly:
"I'd like to, but the problem is I don't know where you are."
After restarting, Miss Ice Princess would not "respawn" under the cherry blossom tree in the courtyard; she would only go to read under the tree after some time.
Shinomiya Kaguya had anticipated this problem long ago; she extended a slender finger and pressed it to her brow, saying:
"I have the previous memories in my mind… I was steaming in the nearby sauna room."
Amamiya Natsuki was surprised: "You actually like steaming?"
"I don't like it; the sticky feeling isn't comfortable at all," Shinomiya Kaguya glared over, "The restart point is the sauna room; I have no idea why. Later, after showering and returning to my room, changing clothes, I went to the garden to read."
Amamiya Natsuki looked out; under the hazy moonlight, Chika was talking to one of the people. He retracted his gaze and whispered to Shinomiya:
"Tell me an absolute secret that only you know."
"Eh?"
"Tell me an absolute secret, and I'll use a secret to gain your trust," Amamiya Natsuki said as a matter of course, "Otherwise, before I even touch you, my ribs will be broken by you."
Shinomiya Kaguya's pretty face flushed crimson upon hearing this, and she couldn't help but glare over, saying:
"Just now, both times, didn't you succeed?"
Amamiya Natsuki spread his hands and said:
"Your vigilance when reading under the tree and when steaming in the sauna room must be completely different, right?"
Shinomiya Kaguya: "…"
That was true.
Her lost self in the dream world was still herself, just with memories blocked.
If a boy suddenly came over to strike up a conversation, she would probably… not even open the door, not give any chance.
"Hurry up," Amamiya Natsuki urged in a low voice, "Chika is coming over."
Shinomiya Kaguya looked up; Chika had already walked back, accompanied by a short-haired girl, clearly having successfully lured her.
Time was pressing, Shinomiya Kaguya bit her silver teeth and quickly said:
"When I was little, in art class, I once made a tiny doll…"
"Prince Charming?"
"Of course not!" Shinomiya Kaguya glared over, "It was my mother's doll. I haven't told anyone about this."
"I've noted it down," Amamiya Natsuki nodded, "Anything else?"
"…You still want more?"
"You tell me, can just one secret make you lower your guard?"
Amamiya Natsuki retorted.
"…"
Apparently not.
The Sheltered Ojou-sama understood her own personality very well.
There was nothing for it; Shinomiya Kaguya could only bite her pink lips and, blushing, continue:
"In the third grade of elementary school, our class raised hamsters together. Before the summer vacation, the teacher wanted everyone to take one hamster home to raise… I refused."
"You actually wanted to raise one?"
"Mm."
"A tiny, round hamster; indeed, no one can refuse it."
"…"
Shinomiya Kaguya said softly:
"Although I didn't raise that hamster, I gave it a name in my heart… Fluffball."
Amamiya Natsuki was shocked: "You actually came up with a name like that?"
"Huh?" Shinomiya Kaguya tilted her small head, her expression puzzled, "Is there a problem with that name?"
Of course there's a problem, a big problem!
Shinomiya Kaguya explained:
"At the time, in handicraft class, the teacher had us make handmade pom-poms. They were soft and fluffy, very similar to that hamster, so I gave it that name."
Amamiya Natsuki was silent for two seconds: "I'm sorry."
"Eh? Why are you apologizing?"
"I got the wrong idea."
"…"
Shinomiya Kaguya lightly bit her pink lips and whispered:
"These two secrets are only known to me; that should be enough, right?"
"Not enough," Amamiya Natsuki looked at Shinomiya, "The more secrets, the better."
"…There are no more!"
The Sheltered Ojou-sama pouted and turned her pretty face away in a huff, then suddenly realized.
Wait.
What was this?
I'm helping a boy conquer myself?
…
Da da da.
The sound of wooden clogs on stone slabs grew closer.
Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya stopped talking, both held their breath, and then looked out.
Under the clear moonlight, the girl walking beside Chika gradually became clear.
She was very tall, appearing even taller than Marin, with neat short hair and healthy tanned skin, looking full of vitality.
Amamiya Natsuki half-squinted his eyes and looked at the unfamiliar girl.
[Athletic girl, loves music, not good at talking to men… After careful observation, you find that the girl in front of you has no relation to the nightmare.]
"It's not her."
Amamiya Natsuki gently shook his head.
One wrong answer was eliminated, leaving only the last two.
As they spoke, Fujiwara Chika and the short-haired girl walked past them.
Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya quietly hid behind the rockery and were not discovered.
"Only ten minutes left."
Amamiya Natsuki stood up, deciding to take the initiative.
No matter what, he had to gather as much information as possible before the dream restarted.
The dream world was about to restart, so acting a bit aggressively was fine.
Shinomiya Kaguya followed him up, and the two walked out from behind the rockery towards the hot spring.
Splash.
Water splashed.
The woman on the east side happened to walk ashore, seemingly having finished her hot spring soak and preparing to leave.
But as she turned, she saw Amamiya Natsuki and the other person behind her.
"Ah—!"
The unfamiliar woman gasped in fright.
Looking at the woman in front of him, who was frantically wrapping herself in a towel, Amamiya Natsuki smiled and said:
"Madam, I finally found you."
"Young man, you are still young, don't go astray!"
Another old woman soaking in the hot spring was dumbfounded. After seeing Amamiya Natsuki clearly, she prepared to uphold justice.
"Please don't move around, and don't attract others by speaking loudly," Shinomiya Kaguya's voice was clear and cold, temporarily switching to her Miss Ice Princess persona.
Although her bunny girl uniform was a bit out of place, her cold gaze and clear, cold tone still made the old woman close her mouth.
It must be said, Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya both had great potential to be villains.
Whether it was Chika or Marin, neither of them could scare anyone with just a look.
Amamiya Natsuki smiled:
"Madam, please rest assured, we are not bad people."
The madam with a tear mole at the corner of her eye was pale and full of tension.
Running into the women's bathhouse in strange clothes and claiming not to be a bad person—who would believe that?!
"I, for one, hate using force on beautiful madams the most." Amamiya Natsuki said earnestly, "So, please answer a few questions seriously."
"You ask." The tear-mole madam forced a smile, "As long as it's a question I know, I will definitely answer you."
"Very good, trust has been established, hasn't it?" Amamiya Natsuki expressed great satisfaction, "First question, what is your name?"
"Eh?" The tear-mole madam was startled, clearly not expecting such a simple question, and quickly replied, "My name is Nakagawa Misaki."
"Age?"
"Twenty-nine years and seventeen months."
"Marital status?"
"Unmarried." The tear-mole madam dared not refuse to answer, covering her chest and saying, "My sister and brother-in-law passed away in a car accident, and I adopted my brother-in-law's child… so I've remained single until today."
"…"
With questions and answers, Amamiya Natsuki quickly gathered information about the tear-mole madam.
An ordinary older unmarried young woman, an office worker, a female corporate slave, who adopted her sister's child, and today was the weekend. To celebrate the child's excellent test scores, they came for a hot spring trip together.
[After enduring countless hardships, you have finally found the nightmare's core target. You decide to thoroughly toy with her to achieve your goal.]
If it weren't for the clear prompt in front of him, Amamiya Natsuki would have even doubted if he had found the wrong person.
As he spoke, footsteps came pattering over.
"Natsuki, I can't hold them back much longer… Eh, eh, eh?" The person who arrived was Fujiwara Chika, "What are you doing?"
"Naturally, it's an interrogation." Amamiya Natsuki looked at Chika, "The target has been found, it's the tear-mole madam in front of us."
"Um, I'm not married yet." The woman quietly protested, "I'm not a madam."
Amamiya Natsuki continued:
"There are two minutes left. Let's start with a Seize and Eliminate Evil."
"Okay."
At critical moments, the Secretary never dropped the ball.
As the madam shouted "Don is here," Amamiya Natsuki grabbed her wrist.
"Can we do it now?" Fujiwara Chika asked softly.
"We'll know soon."
"…"
One minute later.
The dream world restarted again.
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