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"Grandma said the same thing when she grew mushrooms..."
Hearing the guide loli's words, Amamiya Natsuki couldn't help but exchange glances with the Senpai.
Mushroom?
Strange hunger?
"Chika, come here," Amamiya Natsuki said decisively, "Lower your head."
"Why lower my head?"
Fujiwara Chika walked over and lowered her small head curiously.
Amamiya Natsuki said in a deep voice:
"Let's see if you've grown a mushroom on your head."
"I'm so hungry, how could I possibly grow a mushroom on my head?"
Flag successfully planted.
With a sweep of the flashlight, Amamiya Natsuki and the Senpai quickly clearly saw a tiny, thumb-sized mushroom growing on top of Fujiwara Chika's head.
"How is it, no mushroom, right?"
Fujiwara Chika looked up and asked.
"Congratulations," Amamiya Natsuki said faintly, "From now on, you can say you're a mushroom Girl."
"Eh, eh, eh? There really is a mushroom?"
Fujiwara Chika covered the top of her head with both hands and looked at Koyasu Tsubame for confirmation.
"Indeed, a small mushroom has grown," Tsubame-senpai said with a serious expression, nodding earnestly, "Natsuki-kun didn't lie to you."
"How could this be? I haven't eaten anything or drunk any water since I came in."
Fujiwara Chika's voice was puzzled as she fumbled on her head, quickly finding a small bump.
"Don't pull it off forcefully," Tsubame-senpai quickly said, "It will be life-threatening."
"That's right, you can't pull it off. Everyone who pulled off their mushroom died," the guide loli nodded from the side, "Only the Brave Hero can remove the mushroom."
Amamiya Natsuki turned to look at the Senpai and suddenly said:
"Senpai, lower your head."
"Eh?"
Koyasu Tsubame was startled, then quickly understood, and nervously lowered her head.
Amamiya Natsuki shined the flashlight on her, then said:
"Senpai, one good news, one bad news, which one do you want to hear first?"
Tsubame-senpai straightened up: "Do I have a mushroom on my head too?"
Amamiya Natsuki nodded and said: "That's the good news."
"Wait a minute," Koyasu Tsubame couldn't help but retort, "If that's the good news, how bad must the bad news be!"
Amamiya Natsuki said:
"The bad news is that the mushroom can't be removed temporarily."
Koyasu Tsubame: "..."
It was indeed even worse news.
"The mushroom has just sprouted, it's only the size of a thumb joint, it doesn't meet the ingredient standards, so it cannot be picked or harvested," Amamiya Natsuki relayed the information he had just received, then handed the flashlight to Chika, and lowered his head, saying, "You two look at the top of my head."
The two young girls looked over simultaneously.
"I see it," Koyasu Tsubame said, "There is indeed a mushroom."
"It's a very small yellow mushroom," Fujiwara Chika's voice was curious, "It looks quite cute."
"The mushroom must have grown before we met," Amamiya Natsuki mused, "Putting aside differences and seeking common ground, the commonality is probably the game itself."
"Very likely," Koyasu Tsubame nodded, "I remember mushrooms spread by spores, so maybe the air is full of invisible spores... Perhaps all players will grow mushrooms on their heads."
Fujiwara Chika hugged her arms, still feeling cold even with the jacket on: "It sounds a bit like a zombie virus."
"mushrooms also come in different types," Amamiya Natsuki said, "Let's first check what kind of mushroom each of us has on our heads."
The identification method was simple: place a hand on the mushroom, and the game would quickly provide an appraisal.
As expected, the mushroom on Fujiwara Chika's head was a Gluttony mushroom, just like Little Red Riding Hood's grandma.
The mushroom on Koyasu Tsubame's head was a Sloth mushroom, no wonder she let someone carry her downstairs when she encountered the Red Shoes.
As for the mushroom on Amamiya Natsuki's head...
"Eh, eh, eh?"
Fujiwara Chika and the Senpai quickly recoiled their hands as if burned by something terrifying.
"The game's appraisal is actually... a Lust mushroom?!"
Fujiwara Chika covered her chest with both hands, looking at him with the gaze one would give a werewolf, "Why would there be such a terrible mushroom!"
Koyasu Tsubame cautiously stepped back half a pace, her pretty face slightly flushed, remembering the incident with the Red Shoes again.
No wonder she felt like someone was pinching her thigh... Was it due to the mushroom's influence?
"There's even a Lust mushroom," Amamiya Natsuki intertwined his fingers and said solemnly, "You all know basic legal knowledge, right?"
"When an individual cannot control their own actions, their deeds bear no legal responsibility whatsoever."
"So, if I do this and that to you under the influence of the mushroom, it doesn't count as a crime, does it?"
Fujiwara Chika covered her chest, "He's trying to shirk responsibility! I'm calling the police!"
"He can actually say such things, no wonder he grew that kind of mushroom." Tsubame-senpai couldn't help but complain, "You're really not a gentleman!"
"Senpai, you found out too late."
"…"
The mushroom couldn't be removed for a while; it had to grow to a certain extent to meet the ingredient standard.
Temporarily putting the mushroom aside, Amamiya Natsuki turned to look at the kitchen and said:
"Cinderella-san, please come out for a moment."
"…"
There was a slight movement in the kitchen, and a dirty Cinderella nervously poked out half of her face.
"Cinderella sister, the Brave Hero won't hurt you, please come out."
With Little Red Riding Hood vouching for her, and Fujiwara Chika using food as a thank-you gift for her hospitality, Cinderella quickly let down her guard and came out.
This Cinderella's clothes and face were all dirty, so it was hard to tell if she was cute, but she would probably be very cute after a wash.
There are many versions of the Cinderella fairy tale, but no matter which version, one's appearance is always the foundation—if you don't look good, no matter how beautiful the clothes you wear, the prince will not fall for you.
Next was naturally the interrogation phase, such as where the glass slipper was lost, when it was lost, what it looked like, and so on.
After collecting the information, Fujiwara Chika invited Cinderella to look for the glass slipper together, but Cinderella shook her head and refused.
"Let's go."
Amamiya Natsuki did not linger and walked out.
One guide was enough; there was no need for so many people.
"So cold."
Stepping out of the house, a biting cold wind swept by, making Fujiwara Chika quickly hug her arms. "I thought the fairy tale world would be full of birds and flowers, but I didn't expect it to be as cold as Blizzard Mountain Villa."
"Natsuki-kun, are you alright?"
Tsubame-senpai turned to look, her eyes a little worried.
Just now, at Cinderella's house, Amamiya Natsuki had taken off both of his coats for Chika, and now he was only wearing a hoodie, which looked particularly thin in the icy and snowy weather.
Amamiya Natsuki held the guide loli in his arms and said seriously:
"After receiving Senpai's concern, my body suddenly felt warm."
"How is that possible?"
Koyasu Tsubame rolled her eyes speechlessly.
Amamiya Natsuki said:
"As the saying goes, a kind word warms one in winter, while a harsh word wounds one in summer…"
"It's clearly that badge." Fujiwara Chika exposed the truth from the side. "After wearing the badge, his cold resistance will greatly increase, so you don't need to worry about him."
"Um, what do we do next?"
Tsubame-senpai asked.
"Naturally, we'll meet up with Kaguya-chan and Hanamori." Fujiwara Chika's voice was clear. "Acting alone is too dangerous."
Amamiya Natsuki took out the person-finding compass and a few strands of the Spy Maid's golden hair, preparing to continue searching for people, saying:
"Kaguya-san's Dark Shadow is quite powerful, so let's go find Hanamori first… Tsk, it's in the direction of the forest we came from."
The three walked on the accumulated snow, heading out of the Village.
Unknowingly, it was already evening, but the snowflakes in the sky were still falling, as if they would continue until the end of the world.
"I'm feeling a bit hungry again, the speed of getting hungry is so fast." Fujiwara Chika covered her stomach, "It must be due to the influence of the mushroom, right?"
Amamiya Natsuki said:
"Perhaps there's another possibility: the mushroom is actually a manifestation of inner emotions. For example, foodies tend to grow gluttony mushrooms."
"Emotional manifestation, huh?" Fujiwara Chika tilted her head and looked over, a sweet smile on her face. "Then, Natsuki-kun, please explain why you have a lust mushroom on your head?"
"I also want to know why." Amamiya Natsuki sighed, "I'm clearly so self-disciplined, so why would I grow a lust mushroom?"
"Bah!"
"Where are you self-disciplined?!"
Fujiwara Chika and Senpai both attacked him.
"Perhaps the mushroom grows randomly." Fujiwara Chika guessed, "For example, Tsubame-senpai, she's so diligent, how could she grow an indolence mushroom?"
"Well, not necessarily…" Koyasu Tsubame coughed twice and said, "Studying, club activities, friends, family, there are so many things every day. Sometimes I feel very tired, and I even want to find a place where no one knows me, do nothing, and just quietly space out alone… That indolence mushroom might be related to this kind of thought."
Amamiya Natsuki complained:
"This is the trouble of the popular kids."
Fujiwara Chika nodded in agreement: "Exactly, only those busy popular kids would want to hide and quietly space out. People without friends wouldn't want to be alone, because loneliness is super unbearable."
Koyasu Tsubame: "…"
The discussion about the mushroom temporarily came to an end, as there were no more samples.
Led by the guide loli, the three continued forward and soon returned to the forest.
Creak.
The thick snow crunched under their feet, and the three soon arrived at a forest path.
"Strange…"
"There's a mark I left on that tree." Koyasu Tsubame widened her eyes, looking around and muttering, "Strange, why does it feel somewhat familiar."
"Be confident, remove the 'feel'." Amamiya Natsuki pointed with his hand, "Senpai, look at that tree."
Koyasu Tsubame heard this, walked to the tree, and her eyes quickly lit up.
"It's the mark! The mark we left when we walked out of the forest earlier!"
It was the first time in her life making a mark, and for it to be useful, she was naturally quite happy.
The three followed the marks, trudged for a while, and finally stopped at a barely visible intersection. Amamiya Natsuki took out the person-finding compass to find the direction:
"…Hanamori's location seems to be towards the valley."
Tsubame-senpai's expression was solemn: "Could Hanamori be in the valley?"
"What's in the valley?"
Fujiwara Chika asked curiously.
"There are dwarves in the valley." The guide loli said clearly, "They are as tall as me, and their faces are all covered in beards."
Only as tall as you, no wonder they're dwarves.
Fujiwara Chika's eyes quickly lit up: "dwarves?"
Amamiya Natsuki said from the side: "And there are seven of them."
"Is it Snow White and the Seven dwarves?" Fujiwara Chika became excited, "If that's the case, can we also see Snow White?"
As one of the most famous fairy tales, almost every girl has heard of Snow White, especially the description of her as the most beautiful person in the world, which makes people super curious.
Amamiya Natsuki shook his head and said:
"We just passed by earlier, so I don't know the specific situation. Maybe there's no Snow White inside, only seven evil dwarves."
"Go away." Fujiwara Chika puffed out her cheeks. "Don't talk."
"…"
The three adjusted their direction, led by the guide loli, and headed towards the valley where the seven dwarves were located.
"I was picking things in the forest earlier and accidentally came near the valley. The dwarves even gave me a lot of things. Grandma said they are very kind and wouldn't hurt me."
Little Red Riding Hood opened her chatterbox and babbled on, but after a while, her expression became dejected again, "I wonder how the dwarf uncles are doing now, and if they have grown mushrooms on their heads."
"If you want to know if they have, just take a look."
Amamiya Natsuki hugged the guide loli higher, bypassed a huge rock, and a small valley suddenly appeared before his eyes.
The valley was not large. Amamiya Natsuki squinted his eyes and saw a wooden house under a large oak tree, with dim yellow light emanating from it, which gave a good impression.
"Senpai, turn off the flashlight." Amamiya Natsuki turned his head and whispered.
"Understood."
Koyasu Tsubame nodded gently and turned off the flashlight.
Such bright light, if it aroused the dwarves's vigilance, it would definitely cause a lot of trouble.
"You wait here for a moment." Amamiya Natsuki put Little Red Riding Hood down and whispered, "I'll go check the situation first."
Fujiwara Chika whispered a warning: "Natsuki-kun, be careful."
"…"
The entrance to the valley was not far from the wooden house. Amamiya Natsuki walked cautiously all the way and soon arrived near the wooden house.
He naturally couldn't use the front door. Amamiya Natsuki hid in the shadows, quietly walked around the wooden house, and soon found a small window at the back of the house. He came to the window and quietly looked inside.
Inside the house was a long dining table with several candles lit on it, their bright flames dispelling the darkness.
"One, two, three, four, five…"
A total of five dwarves appeared at the table.
"They are indeed very short."
Amamiya Natsuki simply estimated their height; they were even shorter than Little Red Riding Hood.
More importantly, all of these dwarves had mushrooms on their heads.
Hey, hey, there are so many of them, this can't be a mushroom nest, can it?
Amamiya Natsuki was not in a hurry and continued to wait, gathering intelligence from the wooden house.
A moment later.
A girl carrying a dish appeared in his field of vision. Golden hair, azure blue eyes, and that familiar profile—who else could it be but Hayasaka Ai?
She was a maid in reality, and now she's still a maid in the dungeon. You really are a maid at heart!
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence: 9 Reader for hundreds of additional chapters and over a dozen stories