join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for hundreds of additional chapters and over a dozen stories
"I know, I know!"
Fujiwara Chika happily raised her right hand, ready to blurt out the answer.
"Fuji-wa-ra-san~"
Shinomiya Kaguya crossed her arms over her chest, tilted her head, and smiled as she looked over.
It must be said, she was truly beautiful.
This the Sheltered Ojou-sama had extremely beautiful appearance, only Snow White could truly surpass her, and her evaluation as one of the four great beauties of the academy was well-deserved.
But she was also truly terrifying.
Two passing players who wanted to get close felt a chill run down their spines and quickly walked away.
"I won't say it."
Fujiwara Chika covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes shifting, and her bright azure eyes looked towards Amamiya Natsuki, "Natsuki-kun, if you want to know, you'll have to ask yourself."
"I won't ask."
"Please ask."
Amamiya Natsuki said faintly: "I'm scared too."
Shinomiya Kaguya: "..."
Everyone had mushrooms growing on their heads, and they learned through communication that each mushroom corresponded to one of the seven deadly sins.
But why were others gluttony, sloth, pride, and wrath, while she grew such a terrible mushroom?
Unfair!
Too unfair!
"Aren't we supposed to collect firewood?"
Shinomiya Kaguya crossed her arms over her chest, changing the subject, "We can act now."
Upon hearing that they were going to chop wood, several dwarves eagerly volunteered.
"I'll help."
"I'll go too."
"Brave Hero, please let us help; we are very experienced in chopping wood."
"..."
Hayasaka Ai whispered beside them:
"Let them help. It's still snowing outside, and those snow-soaked trees can't burn. They should be able to tell the difference."
Amamiya Natsuki nodded at this: "Then let's go together."
"I'll go too."
Fujiwara Chika also raised her right hand.
Several passing players also wanted to join, but Amamiya Natsuki shook his head and refused, saying:
"We don't need that many people. You should re-inspect the old castle to see if there are any hidden dangers. Notify us immediately if there's anything."
"Understood."
After arranging everything, seeing the guide loli looking up expectantly with her small face, Amamiya Natsuki reached out and rubbed Little Red Riding Hood's head: "You're responsible for watching the fireplace; don't let the fire go out."
The guide loli nodded happily at once.
The group returned to the second floor, grabbed the ropes, slid down, and entered the courtyard.
"Brave Hero, leave the wood chopping to us."
Several dwarves, without needing instructions, picked up their axes and walked towards the nearby small forest.
"Specialization is key; let them handle the wood chopping."
Amamiya Natsuki looked at the Sheltered Ojou-sama who had also come down, "We'll take a look around the vicinity to see if there are any hidden dangers."
Shinomiya Kaguya nodded lightly: "Mhm."
As for Chika and Senpai, they were inside the old castle, patrolling with the other few passing players—without a "veteran" by their side, the few newbies felt no sense of security at all.
It was still snowing.
There was no sign of it stopping, as if it would continue until the end of the world.
The accumulated snow crunched softly under their feet as Amamiya Natsuki held up his flashlight, shining it into the dark areas, and looked at the Sheltered Ojou-sama, saying:
"I didn't get a chance to ask earlier, is your second task also the Nightmare Seed?"
"That's right."
Shinomiya Kaguya exhaled softly, white vapor quickly dissipating into the night sky, and pursed her pink lips, "I just asked. Tsubame-senpai, Yamashita, and two other players only have one main task: to stay in the instance for forty-eight hours, which is a timed survival."
"As for us, each of us has an additional second task objective related to the Nightmare Seed."
"To summarize, it's very likely because we used the instance invitation letter."
Shinomiya Kaguya stated her conclusion, "So we have higher difficulty tasks."
"Understandable."
Amamiya Natsuki nodded, "It's like a regular online game. If high-level players enter a low-level player's instance without restrictions, the game will be unplayable—for example, now, the mermaid princess's curse has been lifted, and we can completely stay in the old castle for the remaining time to complete the task."
Seeing the Sheltered Ojou-sama look over, Amamiya Natsuki feigned realization: "I forgot, you haven't played online games."
Shinomiya Kaguya couldn't help but retort:
"Not having played doesn't mean I don't know the basic concepts. I'm not the same online newbie I used to be."
"My apologies, my apologies."
"..."
Next, the two began discussing borrowing the Magic Mirror. Currently, no one knew what the Nightmare Seed was or where it was. The only way was naturally the Queen's Magic Mirror—the Magic Mirror in fairy tales was originally a mystical item that knew everything and was omniscient.
"So, such a powerful Magic Mirror is used every day to ask who is the cutest person; it's a terrible waste of resources."
Amamiya Natsuki complained, "If I had the Magic Mirror, I could make Kaguya-san the Prime Minister."
Shinomiya Kaguya crossed her arms over her chest: "I'm not interested in being Prime Minister."
"How about United Nations secretary-general?"
"Sounds impressive, but the power isn't as great as the Prime Minister, right!"
Everyone has secrets that cannot be told. As long as one grasps the other's secrets and weaknesses, one can make the other serve them. To ask who is the cutest person in the world is too small, the scope is too small.
The two continued to patrol while talking. As they passed a large tree, snow suddenly fell from the tree, landing precisely on top of the Sheltered Ojou-sama's head.
"Ugh..."
Shinomiya Kaguya, like a startled kitten, instinctively recoiled her neck.
"Don't panic, it's just a clump of snow."
Amamiya Natsuki extended his right hand, and while speaking, helped the Sheltered Ojou-sama brush off the snowflakes from her head.
"I'll do it myself."
Shinomiya Kaguya lifted her pretty face, and suddenly remembered the mushroom, hastily grasping Amamiya Natsuki's right hand.
Their eyes met.
The air suddenly fell silent.
The girl's sweet, orchid-like fragrance lingered at his nose, her long, slightly curled eyelashes trembled gently, and her wine-red eyes were exceptionally bright.
Amamiya Natsuki felt his heart rate suddenly increase. Under the influence of the mushroom, he involuntarily extended his right hand, wrapped it around the Sheltered Ojou-sama's soft, slender waist, and pulled Shinomiya Kaguya into his embrace.
Oh, no!
Amamiya Natsuki quickly came to his senses, a drop of cold sweat trickling down his forehead.
Although this the Sheltered Ojou-sama was no longer as icy as before, her temper was still not good. Now, being suddenly embraced, if it were someone else, they would immediately be taught a lesson with an over-the-shoulder throw.
He probably wouldn't be thrown over the shoulder, but now all emotions were magnified, and it was hard to say what the Sheltered Ojou-sama would do.
And then...
A hint of delicate crimson quietly bloomed on the Sheltered Ojou-sama's fair, jade-like face. She neither spoke nor pushed him away in anger; instead, she subtly lifted her pretty face.
The moment their eyes met, Amamiya Natsuki suddenly understood the Sheltered Ojou-sama's meaning.
The next moment.
Amamiya Natsuki uncontrollably lowered his head and gently pressed his lips against the girl's delicate, cherry blossom-like lips.
The girl's lips were soft and sweet, slightly cool, like some extremely high-grade jelly, giving him a sense of déjà vu.
(He, he really kissed me...)
Shinomiya Kaguya's eyes widened, her eyelashes trembled violently, and then she frantically closed her eyes.
(Does a kiss in a hallucination count as a kiss?)
(It doesn't matter anymore... because I was kissed in reality too!)
The Sheltered Ojou-sama's head was dizzy, and she recalled the times in the Haunted Town instance where, to break the infinite loop in the hotel, she was forcibly bullied several times.
In her daze, the Sheltered Ojou-sama, as if by instinct, slightly parted her pink lips.
Amamiya Natsuki, naturally, was not polite and bullied the Sheltered Ojou-sama even more fiercely.
"Mmm..."
The Sheltered Ojou-sama let out a muffled groan, her eyelashes trembling gently, like a kitten cornered by a stranger, trying to timidly shrink back, but alas, her mouth was only so big, and she was ultimately caught.
After an unknown amount of time, it wasn't until a shout of "Brave Hero" came that the two finally came to their senses.
"Hoo... hoo..."
The Sheltered Ojou-sama pressed her hands against Amamiya Natsuki's chest, leaning back. The moment they separated, a silver thread rapidly elongated, then snapped.
Amamiya Natsuki took a deep breath, suppressing the desire deep within his body, his voice somewhat low: "Shinomiya Kaguya…"
"It's the mushroom!"
The Sheltered Ojou-sama's pretty face was flushed crimson, as if it was about to drip blood. She stammered, searching for an excuse, "It's all the fault of that mushroom on my head!"
"Hmm?"
Amamiya Natsuki was startled. He reached out to touch the mushroom on the Sheltered Ojou-sama's head, and the game quickly provided the appraisal result.
"Item: lust mushroom…"
It was actually a lust mushroom! No wonder you didn't let Chika speak just now; you couldn't even say it!
It seems that the seemingly sacred and unapproachable the Sheltered Ojou-sama's greatest obsession is lust. She'll never be able to face anyone again!
"Brave Hero, where are you?"
The dwarf's shout came from afar again.
"He's calling you, hurry up and go."
Shinomiya Kaguya wiped the thread from the corner of her lips with the back of her hand. The red ribbon tied into a vibrant bow. She turned to leave, but her legs suddenly went weak, and she almost lost her balance.
Amamiya Natsuki quickly stepped forward and embraced the Sheltered Ojou-sama's slender waist. Under the influence of the lust mushroom, his gaze couldn't help but fall back onto the Sheltered Ojou-sama's lips.
"N-no…"
While saying no, the Sheltered Ojou-sama's body was quite honest. Under the influence of the mushroom, she involuntarily tilted her pretty face up again.
It was a shame that just as they touched, dwarves's shout came from afar again.
"Brave Hero, where are you?"
The Sheltered Ojou-sama regained her clarity, pressing her hands against Amamiya Natsuki's chest, she struggled to create distance. Her pretty face was flushed, and she bit her silver teeth lightly, saying:
"You… took advantage of the situation!"
Amamiya Natsuki said sternly:
"I'll turn myself in after I clear the game."
"…"
As they spoke, several dwarves had already followed the sound and found them.
"Brave Hero, are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Amamiya Natsuki said as if nothing had happened, "I had something to do just now and didn't hear you calling me."
One of the dwarves, with sharp eyes, suddenly noticed Amamiya Natsuki's lips and asked, puzzled:
"Brave Hero, why are your lips broken?"
Amamiya Natsuki raised his hand to touch his lips, his expression unchanged as he said:
"I accidentally bit them."
Shinomiya Kaguya couldn't help but look over upon hearing this, her eyes lingering on Amamiya Natsuki's lips for a moment, and her face flushed crimson again.
It seemed, perhaps, it was possible that she had accidentally bitten them herself…
Having bullied the Sheltered Ojou-sama, it was already a blessing not to have to turn himself in to the police. Now, it was just accidentally biting his lip. Amamiya Natsuki didn't care at all and changed the subject, saying:
"How are the firewood preparations coming along?"
"It's ready." A dwarves whose name couldn't be recalled said, "Brave Hero, come and take a look."
"Okay."
Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya Kaguya followed them and saw a pile of firewood in a corner. These dwarves were indeed skilled lumberjacks, and their work efficiency was quite high.
"Brave Hero, is this firewood enough?" A dwarves, holding an axe, asked, "All the other wood is wet from the snow, so it'll be hard to burn for a while."
"This is enough." Amamiya Natsuki nodded, "You've all worked hard. Let's all work together and transport this firewood back."
The group picked up the firewood and returned to the ancient castle, still holding onto the ropes.
Little Red Riding Hood rested her chin on her hands, sitting in front of the fireplace, intently watching the flames.
Upon discovering Amamiya Natsuki and the others returning, Little Red Riding Hood happily called out:
"Brave Hero, the fire hasn't gone out. I've been watching it."
"Well done."
Amamiya Natsuki reached out and rubbed Little Red Riding Hood's head as an encouragement.
"We just checked again." Fujiwara Chika turned to look, her voice clear, "The ancient castle is empty. There's nothing left."
After speaking, Fujiwara Chika clutched her stomach, looking pitifully, "I'm so hungry."
"Bear with it."
Amamiya Natsuki looked at Tsubame-senpai again and asked, "Tsubame-senpai, how are you feeling now?"
"I'm fine." Tsubame-senpai shook her head.
Unfortunately, the nearby passerby player couldn't hold on anymore. She raised her hand to cover her mouth and let out a big yawn. It was a shame there was no sofa in the ancient castle, or she would have been lounging like Ge You by now.
As time passed, the influence of the mushroom became increasingly severe.
"Senpai, can you take the mushroom off?"
Hayasaka Ai leaned in to ask, then suddenly couldn't help but sniff his scent.
(Such a familiar scent… Damn it! It's the Sheltered Ojou-sama's scent!)
(What about going out to chop wood as promised?)
(What did you do to the Sheltered Ojou-sama?!)
The desire to harm someone is impossible to hide. At this moment, Amamiya Natsuki clearly felt that this Spy Maid clearly wanted to harm him.
Jealousy makes people lose their reason.
To some extent, it was even more terrifying than the lust mushroom.
For example, Amamiya Natsuki could only bully Shinomiya Kaguya, but the jealous witch couldn't; everyone was in danger.
"No, I need to quickly pick the mushroom off Hayasaka's head."
Amamiya Natsuki reached out and touched the mushroom on Hayasaka Ai's head, then sighed.
It still couldn't be removed.
"…"
The operation temporarily came to an end. Next was rest time.
Ever since clearing Haunted Town, Amamiya Natsuki had considered the importance of rest, so he specifically bought items like tents and sleeping bags.
Amamiya Natsuki set up a tent in a clean corner, arranged the watch schedule with the others, and then entered the tent to rest. In a dungeon like this, maintaining energy and physical strength was very necessary.
After an unknown amount of time, a figure suddenly quietly slipped into the tent…
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence: 9 Reader for hundreds of additional chapters and over a dozen stories