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The world solidified, trembled.
Then, like a mirror, it suddenly shattered and collapsed.
After a slight dizziness, Amamiya Natsuki's vision cleared, and he found that his surroundings had changed from a brightly lit, cozy Cafeteria to a dilapidated, eerie Ghost Stories Inn.
"The nightmare… is over?"
Shinomiya Kaguya's clear and pleasant voice rang in his ears.
The girl pursed her pink lips, her eyes hesitantly looking around.
There was no other way.
The dream world had restarted too many times, inevitably making people doubt the reality of the current world, where dreams and reality, truth and falsehood, were indistinguishable.
Amamiya Natsuki turned his head to look at the Sheltered Ojou-sama sitting beside him; they still maintained the posture they had before entering the dream, their clasped hands not letting go, and he whispered:
"Actually, I'm a person from the future…"
Shinomiya Kaguya's body trembled upon hearing this, and then her pretty face rapidly flushed at a visible speed, as she hurriedly pulled her hand away.
Liar!
Big liar!
Saying he was from the future, he just wanted to trick her into opening the door!
Once she opened the door, he would forcefully barge in, and then, and then…
Recalling what happened in the sauna, Shinomiya Kaguya's head quickly started to emit faint steam, and her eyes gradually turned into spiraling mosquito coils.
So clear.
Although it was just a nightmare, everything that happened in the dream, when recalled now, was incredibly clear.
The boy's hot lips.
And taking advantage of her unpreparedness to barge into someone else's home to bully them…
"Wait, wait a moment."
Shinomiya Kaguya forced herself to calm down, trying to distract herself with thought.
Logically speaking, what happened in a dream certainly didn't count as having truly happened.
So… was her first kiss still there or not?
"It seems you haven't forgotten." Amamiya Natsuki nodded and said, "So don't doubt it, the restart has truly been broken."
"Eh? Eh? Eh?"
The Succubus Girl's voice rang out again in the room, "Who tied me up?"
Amamiya Natsuki turned his head to look at Marin, who was struggling on the chair, and said:
"It was me."
"Wahhh—"
Kitagawa Marin puffed out her pink cheeks, "The rope is so uncomfortable this time, hurry up and untie it."
"It's my first time, so my hands are a bit clumsy." Amamiya Natsuki got up and walked over to help untie the rope, while explaining the reason, "After consciousness is pulled into the nightmare world, the body will wander unconsciously in the inn, and might bump or fall… Don't worry, my rope art skill proficiency has greatly improved now, so it definitely won't be uncomfortable next time I tie you."
"There won't be a next time!"
Kitagawa Marin couldn't help but glare at him.
The dream restarted four times, and she was tied up four times; the rope art proficiency must have all been practiced on her!
"Eh? Eh? Eh?" Secretary Fujiwara's voice followed, still groggy from just waking up, "How did I get tied up too?"
"Wait."
"Why didn't you wake me up after the first dream restart, for all subsequent restarts?"
"Because I couldn't bear to." Amamiya Natsuki retorted, "Your expression at the time was too pitiful."
Upon hearing this, Fujiwara Chika quickly recalled what happened in the dream, puffed out her pink cheeks, and said with a resentful tone:
"All that egg-fried rice was given to Marin to eat, not a single bite for me, and the last bite even intentionally dropped on the ground. I was completely despairing at that moment!"
"Untied." Amamiya Natsuki put away the rope, "After the nightmare breaks, we don't know what will happen to the inn, so let's get out first."
"..."
The four did not linger and quickly left the room to the hallway.
Amamiya Natsuki looked up at the sky.
The sky was gloomy, with no stars or moon.
The bright moon was nowhere to be seen, as if it had never appeared.
The cherry blossom tree in the courtyard had withered, leaving only tangled dead branches, and the stream had dried up, revealing its parched bed.
The candlelight in the lanterns had long since extinguished, and the entire inn was dark and gloomy, dilapidated and eerie.
Amamiya Natsuki held up his flashlight, its beam swaying, and shone it towards the cherry blossom tree.
Under the withered cherry blossom tree, in front of the dried-up stream, the long bench for tourists to rest on still remained, untouched by time.
Shinomiya Kaguya couldn't help but look up, the temperature on her just-cooled pretty face rising again.
"Ah, I remember now." Fujiwara Chika slapped her forehead, "At that time under the tree, Natsuki-kun even kissed Kaguya-chan…"
"It doesn't count." Shinomiya Kaguya stammered in rebuttal, "It was a dream to begin with, how can things in a dream count?"
Fujiwara Chika blinked: "Eh, that actually makes some sense."
"Hurry up." Shinomiya Kaguya urged, "Those tourists who have already died seem to be active again."
With the collapse of the nightmare world, Amamiya Natsuki and the others regained consciousness and clarity, and the inn staff and other tourists did the same. Although their bodies in reality had died from staying too long in the dream, this was the Haunted Town, and no one knew exactly what would happen, so the best strategy was to flee.
Without delay, the four quickly passed through the courtyard and escaped the inn.
Looking at the dark town, Fujiwara Chika clenched her fists and raised them above her head, cheering happily:
"We finally escaped!"
Even the usually calm and composed Shinomiya Kaguya let out a soft sigh of relief: "It's over."
The endlessly restarting dream inn was super terrifying, almost leading to their complete annihilation.
"Is this the Haunted Town?"
Kitagawa Marin placed her right hand on her hip, curiously looking around, "It's so dark, it feels so eerie."
This Succubus Girl had been in the inn since she first arrived; this was her first time leaving the inn, and she was greatly disappointed.
The dark, eerie town, almost devoid of lights and human voices, seemed no safer than the inn behind them.
"Natsuki-kun, what do we do now?"
Kitagawa Marin took two steps closer and asked softly.
Clatter.
Just as Amamiya Natsuki was about to speak, a video tape fell out of thin air in front of him.
"Eh, what's this?" Kitagawa Marin looked at it curiously.
"It's the video tape we finished shooting. As long as we hold it for ten minutes and then choose to submit it, the main quest can be completed."
Amamiya Natsuki explained as he bent down to pick up the video tape.
On the cover of the video tape was Miss Nakagawa, her face flushed, eyes moist, and for some reason, her hands making a V-sign.
Next to it was a line of text:
"Wuwu~ Master, turn me into your exclusive fluff ball!"
The game prompt sounded accordingly.
['Ghost Stories Inn' has been filmed]
[Note: The Ghost Stories youth has collapsed his heart and completely disappeared. The rating of this pseudo-documentary will greatly increase]
[Note: The Palace Bar Brother is ecstatic. There are several Palace Bar Brothers among the judges, and the rating of this video tape will be additionally boosted]
[Excellent operation, you are already a skilled NTR warrior!]
"Tsk~ He collapsed his heart just like that. Young people, they really haven't seen much." Amamiya Natsuki pursed his lips slightly, "…Should I say it's fortunate he's not a literary youth?"
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