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"Senpai, Senpai, look quickly."
Hayasaka Ai took out the instance invitation letter, "My luck is super good, I drew it in one go."
This is a lie.
It's not super good luck, but rather being rich and powerful.
"Hanamori-chan, give me the invitation letter." The Succubus Girl said expectantly, "I want to challenge the instance with Natsuki."
Hayasaka Ai put her hands together, her smile apologetic: "Sorry, I also want to participate in the instance with Senpai."
"But the instance is very dangerous." Kitagawa Marin continued to try, "You don't have any skills yet, it's very dangerous to enter the instance."
Of course she knew it was dangerous. If the Sheltered Ojou-sama hadn't insisted on entering regardless of the danger, she wouldn't have bought this invitation letter.
"Precisely because I don't have skills, I need to go in even more." The Spy Maid clasped her hands in front of her chest, showing a pitiful expression, "I want to become stronger as soon as possible, to be able to help everyone, instead of just hiding behind everyone and accepting care."
"…"
Kitagawa Marin stopped talking.
As a girl who valued loyalty, she naturally couldn't refuse the Spy Maid's "justified" request.
Seeing that the two had decided, Amamiya Natsuki said from the side:
"Since Hanamori drew the invitation letter, perhaps it's fate that she should go… It's getting late, let's find Senpai to complete the invitation first."
"How come only I'm left out?" Kitagawa Marin looked disappointed, "I really want to help too."
Amamiya Natsuki looked over, saying meaningfully:
"I already received the most useful help just now."
Kitagawa Marin's pretty face flushed, she covered her skirt and took half a step back, then casually looked away.
"Good evening, Senpai, I am Hanamori, nice to meet you for the first time, please guide me."
Hayasaka Ai came before Koyasu Tsubame, clasped her hands together, and smiled sweetly.
"Good evening."
Tsubame-senpai smiled in response, feeling a hint of familiarity with Hanamori in front of her.
"Senpai, I beg you."
Hayasaka Ai handed over the invitation letter.
"I've caused everyone trouble." Tsubame-senpai shook her head, took the invitation letter, activated and used it, then returned it to Hayasaka, "You just need to write your name here."
"I'll write it immediately."
Hayasaka Ai picked up the pen and wrote her name, "Is it okay now?"
"Eh?"
Koyasu Tsubame's eyes widened in surprise, and she couldn't help but look up at Amamiya Natsuki.
"Natsuki-kun, this invitation letter… something's not right."
Hayasaka Ai suddenly felt a bad premonition: "What's wrong?"
Amamiya Natsuki sat beside Hayasaka Ai: "My previous invitation letter would automatically burn and disappear into the air after I wrote my name."
"…"
Hayasaka Ai quickly understood what the problem was.
The invitation letter in front of her still lay quietly on the table, with no sign of burning at all.
"Something must have gone wrong, right?"
Koyasu Tsubame picked up the invitation letter, and her face quickly showed a surprised expression. She looked at Hayasaka, hesitating:
"The game reminds me that the name… must be your real name."
Hayasaka Ai instantly understood.
The name is wrong!
She had just written a fake name, which was why the activation failed.
Damn, damn, damn! Who plays games with their real name these days?!
Hayasaka Ai's mind raced, and she quickly snatched the invitation from Tsubame-senpai's hand, slapping her forehead as she said, "I really am an idiot. I wrote too fast just now and even wrote the name incorrectly."
"So that's how it is."
Tsubame-senpai didn't suspect a thing.
Only Amamiya Natsuki raised an eyebrow and looked over.
"Senpai," Hayasaka Ai turned her head and said, "I'm thirsty. Get me a drink."
"Alright, come drink it later."
Amamiya Natsuki glanced at Hayasaka, nodded, stood up, and walked to the balcony.
Night had fallen deep.
All was silent.
The rain had stopped at some point, the streets were deserted, with only the dim yellow streetlights dispelling the darkness.
After standing for a short while, soft footsteps approached from behind, followed by a Spy Maid quietly walking onto the balcony.
"Senpai, you noticed it just now, didn't you?"
Hayasaka Ai's voice echoed faintly.
Amamiya Natsuki turned around and said,
"Is it too late for me to deny it now?"
Unlike Tsubame-senpai, he was sitting right next to Hayasaka, so he naturally knew that the Spy Maid hadn't written the name incorrectly.
There was only one truth.
The name Hanamori was simply a fake name.
"It's too late." Hayasaka Ai took half a step forward, coming before Amamiya Natsuki. "Since Senpai has found out, then I can only… ask Senpai to help me keep it a secret."
Amamiya Natsuki narrowed his eyes: "I thought you were going to silence me just now."
"If Senpai reveals the secret, then that's another story."
"I'm deeply grateful for your mercy."
"Hmph, it's good that the idiotic Senpai knows."
"…"
Hayasaka Ai raised her delicate chin, her pretty face, both charming and vexed in the dim light, and took off her wig, saying,
"I'm coming clean, Senpai, guess who I am?"
Under the dim light.
The girl's waterfall of golden hair cascaded over her shoulders, immediately increasing her recognizability by several notches.
Hey, hey, I thought you'd continue to pretend, but I didn't expect you to actually come clean!
Was it those words you said at school two days ago?
Amamiya Natsuki vaguely felt that he might have touched upon the truth.
"…Hasaka?"
Amamiya Natsuki raised an eyebrow.
"That's right, it's me." Hayasaka Ai admitted, "Senpai knows, right? The Young Lady isn't an ordinary person. If she's out alone and encounters a vicious kidnapper, it would be very dangerous, so she needs someone to protect her closely."
Amamiya Natsuki nodded and said,
"I understand, but how will you protect Kaguya-san?"
Don't look at how both of you know karate and martial arts; your physiques are there. If you really encounter kidnappers, you'd only be giving yourselves away.
"I will swap identities with the Young Lady to create an opportunity for her to escape."
Hayasaka Ai's tone was calm.
To be so self-sacrificing, you're not a maid, but a suicide warrior!
"Of course, that's only a last resort." Hayasaka Ai continued, "The Young Lady doesn't like people protecting her closely, so my identity cannot be revealed to her for now. I can only ask Senpai to help me keep it a secret."
Amamiya Natsuki said, "Nothing else?"
Hayasaka Ai tilted her head: "What else does Senpai want to hear?"
Sure enough, you don't plan to reveal your identity at school. The so-called coming clean was just revealing two of your identity cards in the end.
Amamiya Natsuki sighed and said,
"So, all those things you said about liking me before were lies, weren't they?"
"…"
Hayasaka Ai's breathing paused slightly, then she bit her silver teeth and huffed, "Senpai has the nerve to say that! You actually asked me to help you pursue other girls. Is that something a person would do?!"
Amamiya Natsuki said calmly,
"At least I was open and honest; I didn't lie."
"Not lying isn't something to be proud of, is it!" Hayasaka Ai exhaled, her pretty face slightly flushed, "At least I wasn't lying about liking Senpai."
"I don't believe it." Amamiya Natsuki shook his head.
Hayasaka Ai clenched her small fists and said,
"Then I'll prove it to Senpai."
Amamiya Natsuki was startled: "How will you prove it?"
"…"
The Spy Maid didn't speak, but suddenly took half a step forward, wrapped her arms around Amamiya Natsuki's neck, and her soft, cool lips touched and separated instantly, her pretty face flushed as she said,
"Would Senpai kiss a girl he doesn't like?"
Of course he would! Don't overestimate a man's moral bottom line! Let alone a strange girl, some people wouldn't even spare figurines and body pillows!
Amamiya Natsuki touched his lips: "I'm still suspicious. Prove it to me a few more times."
"Senpai, don't push your luck." Hayasaka Ai shot him a glare, raised her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, "In any case, in the next game, please work with me to protect the Young Lady."
Amamiya Natsuki retorted, "Before worrying about Kaguya, you should worry about yourself."
"…"
After revealing one identity card, the two returned to the living room.
It was already 11:40 PM. The girls who had been resting upstairs had now come downstairs and gathered in the living room.
"It's almost time." Amamiya Natsuki walked to the sofa and sat down. "Let's confirm the people participating in the game again."
Fujiwara Chika raised her hand and said, "Me, me, me."
Shinomiya Kaguya held a cup of black tea: "And me."
Hayasaka Ai: "I'm going too."
Kitagawa Marin looked pitiful: "Ahhhhhh, only I can't go!"
Takanashi Rikka hadn't gone to sleep yet and was also downstairs. Hearing this, she whispered, "Me neither."
"Alright, let's review it again." Amamiya Natsuki interlaced his fingers, "The situations we might encounter after entering the game, and how to deal with them."
The specific content of the game could only be known after entering, but that didn't prevent them from preparing in advance.
In the mutual aid group, after each player cleared a game, they would write down the clear process for others to reference, helping each other.
Most game openings were similar, such as the way of arrival; either all players gathered together, or players were scattered everywhere at the start and needed to gather on their own afterward.
It was impossible to exhaust all possibilities, but they could summarize sufficiently common rules, review the clear process, and summarize mistakes. This was where human wisdom lay.
Amamiya Natsuki said in a deep voice,
"One minute left. It's almost twelve o'clock."
"Everyone get ready." Fujiwara Chika sat up straight, "Stay alert."
Tsubame-senpai took a deep breath, clutching her small fists nervously.
Shinomiya Kaguya, on the other hand, slowly put down her teacup, waiting quietly.
Time quietly arrived at twelve o'clock.
Amamiya Natsuki felt his vision darken, and when he opened his eyes again, he was already in a snow-covered forest. Countless snowflakes were falling from the sky, the twilight was vast, and there was a sense of desolation.
"Natsuki-kun?"
A joyful cry sounded in his ear.
Amamiya Natsuki turned his head, meeting Tsubame-senpai's surprised eyes.
Unfortunately, there was only one Tsubame-senpai beside him; Hayasaka, Kaguya, and Chika were all gone.
"Good luck, just happened to be with Tsubame-senpai." Amamiya Natsuki said, "Tsubame-senpai, first look at your mission."
"Okay." Koyasu Tsubame nodded, "The main mission is to survive for forty-eight hours, and the side mission is not yet activated; I need to explore it myself."
Amamiya Natsuki listened while opening his own mission panel.
"Game content updated, please click to view"
"Current game: Fairy Tale Before Bedtime"
"Game Introduction: The Fairy Tale Kingdom was originally peaceful and harmonious, but one day, with the arrival of the nightmare seed, the Fairy Tale Kingdom quietly distorted"
"Main Mission: Find and destroy the nightmare seed"
"Side Mission: Please explore on your own"
"Mission Time Limit: Forty-eight hours"
"Eh, why are our mission contents different?"
Koyasu Tsubame said in surprise.
"It should be related to the player's ability." Amamiya Natsuki mused.
So far, although the game had introduced a level function, there was no doubt that a real gap existed between novice players and veteran players.
This could be seen from the mission content.
For example, Tsubame-senpai, as a novice, only needed to survive for forty-eight hours for her mission, allowing her to be a dog-headed person again to save her life.
Unfortunately, Amamiya Natsuki couldn't do that; his main mission was to find and destroy something, so he had to take action.
Thinking of this, Amamiya Natsuki raised his right hand, and his little finger began to move rhythmically.
With the red string present, he could send messages to Fujiwara Chika through it.
In fact, Amamiya Natsuki had initially wanted to learn Morse code, but relying on just one finger was a bit too demanding, so he had to give up.
His little finger quickly trembled, stopping after two movements, indicating that everything was fine.
After a few seconds of pause, it trembled once again, indicating that he was alone.
Clearly, Fujiwara Chika was not with Kaguya or Hayasaka.
Amamiya Natsuki lowered his right hand, looked at Tsubame-senpai who was nervously looking at him, and said calmly,
"Besides the two of us, the others should be scattered. The immediate priority is to meet up, starting with finding Chika."
"I understand."
Tsubame-senpai nodded in understanding.
Only after finding Chika could the Seize and Eliminate Evil combination skill be used without restriction.
"How do we find everyone?"
Looking at the surrounding forest and the wind and snow, Koyasu Tsubame was a little worried.
Ordinary people easily get lost in a forest, let alone now, in the snowy twilight.
Looking around, trees were everywhere, the entire forest was gloomy, the ground was covered in snow, and there wasn't even a small path, so they had no idea where to go.
Amamiya Natsuki said:
"Senpai, have you ever watched Bear Grylls's 'Man vs. Wild' videos?"
"I've seen a little," Koyasu Tsubame's eyes lit up. "Natsuki-kun, are you saying we should use Bear Grylls's wilderness survival skills to determine direction and then find a way out of the forest?"
"Well said, but unfortunately, it's too impractical for ordinary people," Amamiya Natsuki retorted. "Besides, our goal is to find Chika and the others, not to leave the forest."
"So…" Amamiya Natsuki pulled out a compass. "Of course, we'll use a tool."
Koyasu Tsubame: "…"
The tool Amamiya Natsuki took out was, of course, not an ordinary compass. In addition to determining north, south, east, and west, it could also function like a treasure-hunting compass, allowing him to hold an item imbued with a player's aura and roughly determine the player's direction.
This item wasn't something he opened from a Blind Box; he acquired it. The more players there were in the Player Mutual Aid Group, the more various tools became available.
"Go straight ahead."
Amamiya Natsuki determined the direction and pointed forward.
"Okay."
Koyasu Tsubame quickly stepped forward to follow.
After only a few steps, Amamiya Natsuki discovered a more pressing predicament.
"Senpai, are you cold?"
Amamiya Natsuki turned to look at Koyasu Tsubame beside him.
"I… I'm fine, not too cold…"
Tsubame-senpai hugged her arms and forced a smile.
"Stop trying to be strong," Amamiya Natsuki retorted. "I'm cold, so how could you be fine?"
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