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"Nijika-senpai, what's wrong?"
Bocchi-chan was the first to notice Ijichi Nijika's abnormality and leaned in to ask softly.
Ijichi Nijika forced a smile: "I'm fine…"
Yamada Ryo tilted her head, a knowing expression flashing in her eyes, then walked up to Kitahara Makoto and whispered:
"Kitahara-kun, come with me for a moment."
Kitahara Makoto agreed in confusion and followed Yamada Ryo to the side: "Ryo-senpai, what do you want to say?"
"I haven't given you what I promised earlier…"
Yamada Ryo said, extending her right hand, clenched into a fist.
"What thing?"
Kitahara Makoto froze for two seconds, then quickly realized.
When they crossed the field of flowers earlier, Ryo-senpai had promised to give him her panties as a thank you…
Hey, hey, are you kidding?
You're only wearing a shirt right now; if you take off your panties, you'll accidentally expose yourself.
No matter how much of a scumbag Ryo-senpai is, she couldn't possibly do something like that!
"Put your hand out."
Yamada Ryo's tone was flat.
Kitahara Makoto subconsciously extended his right hand.
Plop.
A lump of something dropped into Kitahara Makoto's hand.
Kitahara Makoto looked down and found that it was indeed not black lace fabric, but three folded notepads.
"I'm sorry, but I really can't give Kitahara-kun panties. Although I don't care, it would be troublesome if Nijika knew..." Yamada Ryo said expressionlessly, "So I asked Kita-san, and decided to give Kitahara-kun a few all-purpose exchange coupons, just like Kita-san."
Kitahara Makoto thought for a moment: "...Alright, I'll take them."
This was not a loss.
Panties were just a joke and had no meaning even if he got them. On the contrary, the all-purpose exchange coupons were quite practical; maybe they could trigger daily quests related to Ryo sometime.
Yamada Ryo whispered, "Nijika is troubled."
Kitahara Makoto turned his head at her words, looking at the golden-haired side-ponytail girl who was chatting with Bocchi-chan, and asked in confusion, "What is Nijika-senpai troubled about?"
Yamada Ryo said faintly, "Of course, she's troubled about our main quest..."
Kitahara Makoto's mouth twitched slightly: "What is that?"
Yamada Ryo said expressionlessly, "Main Quest: Find the Missing cousin."
Kitahara Makoto: "..."
Damn it! He actually forgot about it!
Kitahara Makoto was originally doing the daily quest, when he happened to encounter Bocchi-chan and her group, and then agreed to help find the missing older female cousin. However, after accidentally entering the Otherworld, too many things happened, causing him to forget about the missing cousin.
Recalling the 'main quest,' Kitahara Makoto quickly understood why Nijika's smile was forced.
The missing cousin also entered the Otherworld through the unfinished building, so it was highly probable she encountered the eerie field of flowers. If an ordinary person falls into the field of flowers, there's naturally no reason for them to survive. Ijichi Nijika was worried about hearing the worst answer, so much so that she didn't even dare to ask the White-haired Beast-ear Girl, only able to repeatedly struggle and consume herself internally.
Kitahara Makoto frowned and whispered:
"I'll ask clearly."
Yamada Ryo said calmly, "Then I'll leave it to Kitahara-kun."
"Mm."
Kitahara Makoto agreed, then turned to look at the White-haired Beast-ear Girl, giving her a mental command to come over.
The White-haired Beast-ear Girl was now his 'mount'; with just a thought, he could summon her.
"Papa?"
The White-haired Beast-ear Girl quickly walked over, looking up with a blank expression.
"Call me Master," Kitahara Makoto corrected, then asked in a low voice, "Have you seen anyone like us before?"
The White-haired Beast-ear Girl looked confused:
"Don't understand..."
"It's a woman with long golden hair," Yamada Ryo said, crossing her arms and looking down. "Her chest is very flat, her legs are very long, and her appearance is somewhat similar to Nijika, but she's taller."
The White-haired Beast-ear Girl tilted her head: "...Saw her, bad woman."
Kitahara Makoto's heart sank slightly: "Where is that person?"
Although he didn't want to hear the worst answer, it was ultimately necessary to find out.
The White-haired Beast-ear Girl was expressionless and spoke concisely: "Bad woman, scared me, stayed far away, left."
Kitahara Makoto asked curiously:
"What was the scary thing?"
The White-haired Beast-ear Girl spread her arms and gestured: "A stick this long... scary, would break, didn't dare to get close, dislike, bad woman."
Yamada Ryo tilted her head, a hint of curiosity in her tone: "That long, and that many meters..."
Kitahara Makoto clapped his hand over Yamada Ryo's mouth.
Please stop talking, if you keep talking, the whole world will be in danger!
"I think it should be a torch," Kitahara Makoto mused. "Plants naturally dislike and fear fire, and the length and size all match."
Yamada Ryo wiped her lips: "But isn't Little Flower not a real plant?"
"...Little Flower?"
"Since it's the will incarnation of the field of flowers, is there a problem with calling it Little Flower?"
"..."
I didn't realize, you're terrible at naming things; this name is too ordinary!
"Little Flower is fine, it sounds okay..." Kitahara Makoto admitted that he was also terrible at naming things, and his tone relaxed. "Whether it's a plant or not, what's certain is that Nijika-senpai's cousin didn't turn into flower fertilizer, but left."
The worst-case scenario didn't happen, and Kitahara Makoto quickly relaxed. He asked the Beast Ear Girl a few more details, then led the Beast Ear Girl to Ijichi Nijika.
"Nijika-senpai, don't worry, your cousin didn't turn into flower fertilizer."
"Eh?"
"I just asked..."
Kitahara Makoto carefully recounted the details of his recent inquiry.
"My cousin is really okay?" Ijichi Nijika's eyes quickly brightened.
Kitahara Makoto whispered:
"Little Flower also knows where your cousin discarded the torch, we can go look for it."
Ijichi Nijika took a deep breath, her expression half-expectant, half-nervous:
"Then... shall we look for it?"
"..."
After a while, everyone successfully found the remains of a mostly burnt torch in a ruin, proving that the White-haired Beast-ear Girl had not lied.
Seeing the physical evidence on the ground, Ijichi Nijika finally relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief:
"It's good that she's okay, it's good that she's okay..."
Kitahara Makoto whispered:
"Do you want to continue looking for your cousin?"
"No need," Ijichi Nijika exhaled lightly and quickly shook her head. "My cousin is a mysticism enthusiast. Her notebook records ways to enter the Otherworld, and she even knew to use a torch to pass through the field of flowers. It's likely not her first time... We've been in the Otherworld for a long time. Our families must be super worried, so let's go back first. We can talk about my cousin later."
Kitahara Makoto nodded slightly: "Then let's leave the Otherworld first... Little Flower, continue to lead the way."
"Papa..."
Kitahara Makoto straightened his face and continued to correct: "Call me Master."
The White-haired Beast-ear Girl showed a small, wronged expression, then turned to look at Ijichi Nijika, pitifully:
"Mama, Papa is being mean to me."
Ijichi Nijika's pretty face quickly flushed: "N-don't call me Mama anymore!"
"..."
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