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The 'main quest' of finding the missing older female cousin concluded, and everyone once again embarked on the journey home.
However, after walking for a short while, the White-haired Beast-ear Girl went on strike.
"Tummy... hungry..."
The Beast Ear Girl sat on the ground, covering her stomach, looking up at the girls with a pitiful expression. Her cute appearance, waiting to be fed by her Master, instantly made hearts appear in the eyes of the girls.
Ijichi Nijika: "So, so cute..."
Kita Ikuyo: "Ah, ah, ah, I really want to pick her up and rub her."
Yamada Ryo: "You can't blame Kitahara-kun for his special preferences; even my heart sped up just now."
Sakurajima Mai: "Kitahara-kun, please don't get any closer, be careful not to lose your human qualifications."
Bocchi-chan: "Th-that... should we feed Hana-chan something?"
"..."
Feeding was not Kitahara Makoto's job at all. The girls surrounded the Beast Ear Girl in a circle, taking out food one after another, ready to feed her.
Of course, the so-called food was actually very simple: fruits picked from an unknown fruit tree before leaving the park. Everyone carried some with them as emergency food.
However, looking at the fruit offered to her mouth, the White-haired Beast-ear Girl quickly turned her head, a look of disdain on her small face:
"Don't eat..."
"Eh?" Ijichi Nijika was slightly startled. "Doesn't Hana-chan like it?"
Kita Ikuyo propped her hands on her knees: "But we only have these wild fruits on us."
Yamada Ryo said expressionlessly: "If a child is picky, three meals of hunger will do."
Sakurajima Mai turned to look over: "What does Kitahara-kun say?"
"Wait a moment..." Kitahara Makoto closed his eyes, sensing Hana-chan's thoughts in his mind. As her Master, it was normal to be able to sense his mount's thoughts. Of course, it was only a vague sense, not like mind-reading where he knew everything clearly. "Hana-chan isn't picky; it's that the fruit is meaningless to her and can't fill her stomach."
"Eh? Why?"
"Don't forget, Hana-chan isn't human. If you really want to classify her, she should belong to the category of 'strange tales,'" Kitahara Makoto opened his eyes and looked at the girls surrounding the Beast Ear Girl, saying in a subtle tone, "The food Hana-chan truly wants to eat... is actually you."
"Eh eh eh?!" Kita Ikuyo's eyes widened, and she nervously covered her body. "Hana-chan actually wants to eat people?!"
"That's not wrong to say..." Kitahara Makoto nodded. "But don't worry, it's not 'eating people' in the physical sense. As a strange tale, Hana-chan actually feeds on human essence, energy, and spirit."
Ijichi Nijika was a little worried: "Will there be any danger?"
"Don't worry, there's no danger," Kitahara Makoto assured. "Being 'eaten' by Hana-chan won't harm your physical health. The depleted essence, energy, and spirit will make a person tired and fatigued for a short period, causing symptoms like memory loss and restless sleep, but it will return to normal on its own after a while."
"Then it's fine, but how do we feed her?" Kita Ikuyo breathed a sigh of relief at his words. "If it hurts a lot, then forget it. I've been very afraid of pain since I was little."
"It's not that troublesome," Kitahara Makoto waved his hand. "Just let Hana-chan kiss you."
"Eh eh eh?!"
"Kissing the cheek or forehead is fine. Hana-chan isn't human; she doesn't need to eat in the way ordinary people do," Kitahara Makoto took two steps forward. "To put your minds at ease, I can give a demonstration first..."
"We don't need any demonstration!" Ijichi Nijika quickly stood up and blocked Kitahara Makoto. "Kitahara-kun, go away!"
"Exactly, exactly," Kita Ikuyo nodded along. "If it's just a kiss, we have no problem at all."
Yamada Ryo: "Hana-chan is just a child. Kitahara-kun doesn't want to lose his human qualifications, does he?"
Kitahara Makoto was speechless:
"So, Hana-chan isn't human, so she's not protected by human laws, right?"
Sakurajima Mai crossed her arms: "Even if she's not human, there are still animal protection laws."
"..."
The 'feeding' naturally didn't fall to Kitahara Makoto. The girls lined up, offered their cheeks, and let the White-haired Beast-ear Girl kiss them.
"Mwah~"
Hana-chan accepted everyone; as long as someone willingly offered themselves, she would give a kiss with a 'mwah' sound.
"Eh hehe~" Kita Ikuyo covered her cheeks, her face full of happiness. "Hana-chan's lips are so soft! So comfortable!"
Kitahara Makoto looked over speechlessly: "Kita-san's laugh is too strange."
"What's strange about it?" Kita Ikuyo puffed out her pink cheeks. "This is how I usually laugh, alright?"
Kitahara Makoto looked at Bocchi-chan: "Hitori-chan, speak with your conscience, was Kita's laugh strange just now?"
"Th-that..." Gotō Hitori stammered, her pink hair trembling slightly, caught between her conscience and her friend. "It-it was indeed different from usual..."
Kita Ikuyo: "..."
After eating, the White-haired Beast-ear Girl finally stopped complaining about being hungry.
Because it was shared among several girls, the 'spirit' consumed from each person wasn't much, and they didn't seem to be in any serious danger.
"Then… let's continue heading home."
Led by the White-haired Beast-ear Girl, the group once again embarked on their journey home.
There was no conversation along the way.
After an unknown period, a dilapidated building finally appeared before them. Most of the building was buried in the dirt, with no signs of habitation, just broken walls and ruins.
Walking into the abandoned building, Kita Ikuyo's eyes quickly lit up, and she happily exclaimed:
"Ah, ah, ah, there's an elevator there!"
"Where, where?"
"There really is an elevator!"
Looking at the old elevator in the abandoned building, the girls became excited.
The way they entered the Otherworld was through an elevator, so taking an elevator now would most likely allow them to return to the Reality World.
The group quickly walked to the elevator. Kitahara Makoto reached out and pressed the button. A dull creaking sound soon came from the elevator shaft, which, to the girls' ears, sounded like heavenly music, invigorating them.
"The elevator still works!" Kita Ikuyo's small face was full of excitement. "We can finally go home!"
Ijichi Nijika gently bit her lip and whispered:
"But the diary doesn't record how to go back…"
Kita Ikuyo said anxiously: "Don't worry about that, let's get in the elevator first."
The elevator doors slowly opened, and the group quickly entered the elevator.
"Kitahara-kun, what should we do now?"
The girls looked at each other for a moment, then all turned to Kitahara Makoto.
Kitahara Makoto pondered for two seconds, then looked down at the White-haired Beast-ear Girl and gave an instruction:
"Hana-chan, it's up to you."
Since the two were now in a master-and-mount relationship, the White-haired Beast-ear Girl naturally understood Kitahara Makoto's command. So, she stood on tiptoe, trying to reach the buttons on the elevator.
Bang, bang, bang!
With the White-haired Beast-ear Girl's chaotic pressing, the entire elevator quickly started operating with a buzzing sound.
Amidst the girls' nervous and expectant waiting, after an unknown amount of time, the old elevator finally creaked to a slow stop.
Hiss—
As the elevator doors slowly opened, towering, brightly lit skyscrapers immediately came into view.
"F-finally back…"
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