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The wish was made.
Kitahara Makoto opened his eyes and saw Takamatsu Tomori tilting her small head, her eyes, reflecting the brilliant cosmos, staring unblinkingly at him.
"Is there something on my face?"
Kitahara Makoto asked in confusion.
"No…"
The girl's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and she quickly averted her gaze, looking up at the sky.
Thump-thump.
But for some reason, her usually calm heartbeat suddenly became incredibly clear, as if a small animal was playfully scurrying left and right within her chest.
Research shows that socially anxious individuals' hearing can triple when their name is mentioned. Takamatsu Tomori, who has mild social anxiety, clearly heard the wish Kitahara Makoto quietly made.
"Makoto-kun's wish was actually for me…"
Takamatsu Tomori covered her chest, silently listening to her accelerating heartbeat.
The two sat for a while longer. Soon, only the last ember-like dark red remained in the sky, and more pedestrians quietly appeared on the riverbank.
"My clothes are mostly dry." Kitahara Makoto raised his arm. "Tomori-chan, shall we go back?"
"…Okay."
Takamatsu Tomori responded softly. The warming effect seemed good; she wasn't sneezing anymore, and her voice had returned to normal, only the blush on her small face had yet to fade.
Kitahara Makoto stood up first, then pulled Takamatsu Tomori up. Before leaving, Takamatsu Tomori didn't forget to hug the pebbles she had collected today.
The two walked onto the riverbank, proceeding together.
Seeing a vending machine by the roadside, Kitahara Makoto immediately quickened his pace:
"Tomori-chan, what do you want to drink?"
Takamatsu Tomori shook her head: "I'm not thirsty…"
Kitahara Makoto: "Then how about sugar-free cola?"
Takamatsu Tomori: "…Apple juice."
"…"
Kitahara Makoto inserted coins and bought two cans of drinks. He handed the apple juice to Takamatsu Tomori and smiled:
"Tomori-chan, see you tomorrow."
Takamatsu Tomori reached for her wallet: "How much is it…"
"It's my treat today." Kitahara Makoto waved his hand. "It's already dark, Tomori-chan, go home early."
Having taken someone else's stockings, Kitahara Makoto felt bad and naturally bought drinks as compensation.
"…See you tomorrow."
Takamatsu Tomori stood in place, watching Kitahara Makoto walk away until his figure disappeared, then she turned and went home in the opposite direction.
At the same time.
Kitahara Makoto didn't go home immediately. Instead, he first went to Tsukinomori Academy and went shopping with Togawa-chan and ghost Senpai until 8 PM before slowly heading home.
Thump-thump-thump.
The Beast Eared Girl heard the commotion and immediately ran over on her short legs:
"Little cake…"
"Here."
After sending the Beast Eared Girl away, Kitahara Makoto changed into his slippers and immediately pulled the girl's original stockings out of his pocket.
After gaining the [Optimization] ability, the first optimizable item he discovered was Tomori-chan's stockings. Unfortunately, he hadn't had a chance to get them until now. Finally back home, Kitahara Makoto was eager to optimize the stockings.
A prompt quietly appeared before his eyes.
"Optimize."
Kitahara Makoto didn't hesitate, decisively choosing to optimize.
As his essence, qi, and spirit were drawn away, points of hazy starlight soon floated out from the stockings.
"I hope it optimizes into useful attributes, not something as bad as a washing machine…"
A moment later.
The starlight quietly dispersed.
The girl's original stockings were successfully optimized.
[Item: Black Thigh-High Stockings]
[Current State: Optimized]
[New Attribute: Legs for Years. Objects of play do not necessarily lead to a loss of ambition. Appropriately playing with beautiful black-stockinged legs can produce a mentally soothing effect, eliminating negative mental states such as fear, fright, nightmares, mania, and fatigue. This attribute effect can only be triggered when both parties are of opposite sexes and applies to both parties simultaneously.]
"Legs for Years?"
"The attribute sounds improper, but the effect is decent…"
Kitahara Makoto nodded slightly after reading the optimized attributes, quite satisfied.
Although it requires two people to use it to trigger, it's much more useful than the washing machine that could only trap people.
Throwing the stockings and shirt into the washing machine, Kitahara Makoto, shirtless and wearing only a pair of shorts, began his final push-up task for the day.
One thousand push-ups, easily accomplished.
After getting his daily lottery chances, Kitahara Makoto immediately drew, but unfortunately, he only received one ability shard, and the Immunity to All Illnesses physique remained a distant goal.
After showering and stepping out of the bathroom, it was already 9 PM.
Kitahara Makoto sat on the sofa, drinking water while taking out his phone to text Bocchi-chan:
"Hitori-chan, shall we pick up your mom?"
Gotō Hitori: "Mom is off today, not working."
Kitahara Makoto: "Ah, that's a shame."
Gotō Hitori: "…"
After chatting with Little Miss Anxiety for a while, praising the Guitar Hero video uploaded today, Kitahara Makoto quickly put down his phone and began to study.
Although he had opened a new path and financial freedom was no longer a dream, the goal of getting into Todai still could not be abandoned. No matter when, education is always beneficial and never harmful.
While Kitahara Makoto couldn't study in bed or in the bathroom, basic self-discipline was no problem.
Time quietly passed, and half an hour went by in a flash.
Buzz buzz.
The phone on the corner of the table suddenly vibrated, startling Kitahara Makoto from his immersed study state.
Kitahara Makoto picked up his phone, surprised to find it was a message from Togawa-chan.
"Kitahara-kun… could you come to my house?"
Seeing Togawa-chan's message, Kitahara Makoto raised an eyebrow in surprise:
"What's wrong?"
Togawa Sakiko: "I'm taking a bath, and then… my body suddenly couldn't move, only my hands could."
Wait, you didn't let ghost Senpai 'drive' today, so why would your body suddenly become immobile?
Kitahara Makoto's mind raced, and he suddenly thought of a possibility:
"Oil painting curse?"
Togawa Sakiko: "It should be. When we were playing games this afternoon, my body felt a bit cold. I didn't think it was serious at the time, so I didn't say anything… I don't know why it suddenly worsened now."
Seeing the message, Kitahara Makoto immediately recalled the scene this afternoon when Togawa-chan stood up and said she felt dizzy. It seemed the curse had already begun to take effect then. The reason she was unwilling to say anything was that the method of removing the curse was too embarrassing.
If her body weren't currently immobile, Togawa-chan would probably still be silently gritting her teeth and enduring it alone.
Togawa Sakiko: "Dad isn't home. He went out drinking again and I don't know if he'll be back tonight, so I can only ask Kitahara-kun…"
"Send me the address, I'll be right there."
Kitahara Makoto replied to the message while standing up and quickly heading out.
Being in a bathtub with an immobile body sounds very dangerous. He couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
Togawa Sakiko sent the address: "I left a spare key under the flowerpot outside. Kitahara-kun can take the key and open the door directly…"
Kitahara Makoto simply replied with two words:
"Don't be afraid, wait for me."
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