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Waking up from a sleep.
Kitahara Makoto opened his eyes, and above him was still the eerie, painting-like sky. He looked around, and none of the girls were in sight, though faint voices could be heard from a distance.
"Phew..."
Kitahara Makoto rubbed his face and gently sat up, subconsciously opening the System, and was surprised to find that the daily tasks had refreshed.
[Daily Task One: 500 Squats]
[Task Description: Omitted]
[Daily Task Two: 500 Push-ups]
[Task Description: Omitted]
Kitahara Makoto scanned the first two daily tasks, which were normal, but when he saw the last two tasks, he was instantly dumbfounded.
[Daily Task Three: Feeding Time]
[Task Description: You encountered a haggard wild Bunny Girl. You felt a surge of kindness and decided to feed her... Feed Sakurajima Mai three times]
[Daily Task Four: Even Without Large Breasts, One Can Warm Hearts]
[Task Description: A warm hug can quickly restore your mental state. Have Ijichi Nijika actively hug you for three minutes]
"...Idiot System, you're clearly trying to get me cleavered!"
Kitahara Makoto gasped, instantly sobered up.
"What's with these two tasks?"
"One Mai-senpai, one Nijika-senpai, it's clearly because I don't die fast enough!"
"Whoever wants to do these idiotic tasks can do them!"
Kitahara Makoto made up his mind that he would absolutely not do the latter two tasks.
A single horseshoe nail can bring down a kingdom; a seemingly insignificant daily task might lead to a cleaver ending. No one would do today's daily tasks!
"Kitahara-kun, you're awake?"
Kita Ikuyo's energetic voice came from a distance: "Come over, come over quickly, we're in big trouble."
Kitahara Makoto responded, rubbed his face, and got up to walk towards the girls.
"What's going on?"
"The field of flowers has changed." Sakurajima Mai crossed her arms over her chest, her expression serious, "It has now surrounded the entire park ruins."
"Hm?"
Kitahara Makoto's expression tightened. He quickly looked around and only then realized that after he woke up, the field of flowers, which had been scattered here and there, had now merged into one massive field of flowers, completely encircling the entire abandoned park.
"When did this happen?" Kitahara Makoto asked with a frown.
Ijichi Nijika said softly:
"It was not long after I was on watch. It was a bit cold at the time, and I got up to move around and accidentally saw the field of flowers had changed."
Kitahara Makoto then looked at Bunny Girl: "Mai-senpai, has this ever happened before?"
"No." Sakurajima Mai shook her head, her delicate brows slightly furrowed, "This is the first time I've encountered such a situation as well."
"...This is troublesome."
A bad premonition surged in his heart.
Something abnormal must be happening. The field of flowers, which had never changed, suddenly surrounded the entire park today, so there must be some reason for its existence.
Kita Ikuyo cupped her chin with her right hand and speculated:
"Could it be because we rescued Nijika-senpai and Ryo-senpai yesterday, and the field of flowers got angry?"
A reasonable guess.
The field of flowers in front of them obviously couldn't be understood by normal reasoning. It might be some kind of huge creature. Yesterday, Kitahara Makoto rescued Nijika and Yamada Ryo, which was like snatching food from a tiger's mouth, and that's why the change occurred.
"There's one more thing..." Yamada Ryo said expressionlessly, "The field of flowers is gradually approaching us."
Kitahara Makoto turned to look: "What does Ryo-senpai mean?"
Yamada Ryo pointed: "I threw a wooden board at the edge of the field of flowers earlier, and now the wooden board is almost swallowed by the field of flowers."
"..."
Looking at the wooden board nearby, which was nearly half-swallowed by the field of flowers, Kitahara Makoto's expression was serious, and a sense of urgency washed over him.
The field of flowers completely surrounded the park ruins, leaving them no escape, unless they could fly into the sky.
And at this moment, the field of flowers was still slowly approaching, clearly giving them no chance at all, making it impossible to lie down like an ostrich.
Undoubtedly, the situation was clearly developing in a very unfavorable direction.
"Kitahara-kun, what should we do now?" Kita Ikuyo looked over nervously.
"..."
Kitahara Makoto didn't speak, but instead silently turned back and started doing push-ups.
His goal in this life was to live to ninety-nine without illness or disaster; even Jesus wouldn't be able to stop him!
He had to find a way to break through this field of flowers, and the hope for a breakthrough undoubtedly lay with the Idiot System...
The girls had nowhere to go and also returned to the park, but compared to yesterday, their morale was inevitably much lower, with only Kitahara Makoto continuously exercising.
A moment later.
The squat task and push-up task were completed one after another.
Kitahara Makoto wiped the sweat from his forehead, his gaze falling on Ijichi Nijika not far away.
"The world is indeed a giant boomerang..."
Kitahara Makoto sighed silently.
"When I just woke up, I said no one would do today's daily tasks, but now..."
"Woof woof woof."
Having made up his mind, Kitahara Makoto quickly walked to the golden-haired side-ponytail girl.
"Nijika-senpai, there's something I'd like to ask of you." Kitahara Makoto said softly, "Can you come with me for a moment?"
"Eh?" Ijichi Nijika was slightly startled, then quickly stood up, "I understand."
Ijichi Nijika was quite understanding. Seeing that Kitahara Makoto didn't say it in front of everyone, she knew it was probably something difficult to say, so she didn't ask further and followed Kitahara Makoto to a secluded corner.
"Nijika-senpai, I might have a way to get everyone out of here." Kitahara Makoto stopped and turned to look at Ijichi Nijika.
"Eh?" Ijichi Nijika's eyes lit up, "What way?"
"As an exorcist, I naturally possess some strange abilities, but some abilities require a special ritual to activate..." Kitahara Makoto said solemnly, "To be direct, one of the rituals requires Nijika-senpai to hug me for three minutes."
"Eh eh eh?!"
Ijichi Nijika blinked blankly, then her pretty face quickly flushed.
Actively hug you for three minutes?
How could such a strange ritual possibly exist in the world?
He wouldn't be taking advantage of the situation because everyone can't leave, would he?
"I'm absolutely not trying to take advantage of Nijika-senpai." Kitahara Makoto raised his right hand, "If there's half a lie, may I be single for life... Also, it just needs to be a hug, nothing else needs to be done."
Upon hearing these words, the blush on Ijichi Nijika's face deepened by another three points:
"Just a hug is fine..."
"Liar!"
In the fragments of future memories, Kitahara Makoto had said the same thing, but he didn't keep his promise at all.
He said it would just be a hug and nothing else, but then after she agreed, he pressed his advantage and kissed her, and eventually even reached...
Ijichi Nijika quickly shook her head, dispelling the terrible images in her mind. She covered her chest with her hands, her pretty face flushed, and couldn't help but complain:
"That kind of ritual is too strange no matter how you think about it, how could I possibly believe you!"
"Alright, then I'll put it another way..." Kitahara Makoto lowered his voice, his tone eerie, "The field of flowers is quietly approaching, Nijika-senpai wouldn't want everyone to be in danger, would she?"
Ijichi Nijika: "..."
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