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"She was a friend I met during university. Like me, she was very interested in supernatural phenomena. We both joined the supernatural club, and later she was the first to discover the Otherworld. Until a month ago, she suddenly disappeared…"
Blonde glasses girl's voice was low.
Ijichi Nijika said softly:
"Cousin entered the Otherworld to find your friend?"
Who knew blonde glasses girl shook her head and said:
"No, I was forced to enter it."
Kitahara Makoto immediately became interested.
It's not Calabash Brothers saving their grandfather after all, but another hidden reason?
Blonde glasses girl showed a look of recollection: "We met other people in the Otherworld and exchanged information, so we understood the Otherworld a little… The Otherworld is very special; it's a subjective world. The mental power of teenagers is very active, which is why they can enter it. Once you get older, even following the methods I recorded in my notes, it's impossible to enter the Otherworld."
"I see."
Kitahara Makoto nodded slightly.
It seems the Otherworld is similar to adolescence syndrome, where only specific people can observe and enter it.
Speaking of which, blonde glasses girl looked at Nijika, her expression remorseful:
"If I had known Nijika would find that notebook, I should have burned it. Then you wouldn't have been entangled in danger…"
"Cousin, don't say such things." Ijichi Nijika comforted softly, "Besides, we've all returned safely now. It's fine as long as we don't go to the Otherworld in the future."
Blonde glasses girl shook her head, her voice low:
"People who have entered the Otherworld will have a certain 'mark' on them. Every once in a while, they must enter the Otherworld and stay for a whole day, otherwise they will encounter various dangers."
"Eh?" Ijichi Nijika's eyes widened in surprise. "There's such a thing?"
"That's right." Blonde glasses girl sighed softly, her voice full of remorse, "You can understand it as the situation in the movie Final Destination. If you keep avoiding and delaying, not entering the Otherworld, various bad luck will happen around you until you unfortunately meet with disaster… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have dragged you all into this."
"It's okay." Ijichi Nijika could still remain calm. "We have Kitahara-kun here."
Kitahara Makoto sat beside them and said:
"As long as there are enough little cakes, you can always trust Hana-chan. At worst, we can just open a door and run away. Just treat it as an outing to the Otherworld."
"…"
Blonde glasses girl's lips twitched slightly, her mind in disarray: "To actually call it an outing… Forget it. We just left the Otherworld, so we don't need to go in again for a short time, but no matter what, we must not let our guard down, otherwise we will definitely regret it."
Kitahara Makoto's heart suddenly stirred, and he asked:
"After leaving the Otherworld, how long until we need to go back in?"
"About half a month to a month." Blonde glasses girl said casually, "The specific time isn't fixed, but if you hide and don't go in, you'll encounter all sorts of strange events."
Kitahara Makoto's mind conjured the image of a Bunny Girl.
It's already been half a month since Mai-senpai left the Otherworld, hasn't it?
Blonde glasses girl ate a piece of fruit and continued to talk about her adventures in the Otherworld:
"As I encountered various strange events, I knew it was time to enter the Otherworld. I prepared a whole backpack, and then entered through the elevator of the abandoned building… Of course, I was also thinking if I could find my missing friend."
"Later, I accidentally strayed into the subway. Each carriage had different oddities, and I couldn't find a way out at all. All my food and water were used up. At that time, I was truly desperate."
"I could only wear the necklace to barely survive. Thanks to Nijika finding me, otherwise I would have been gone…"
"A necklace?"
Kitahara Makoto's heart stirred slightly, and he took out the necklace he had put in his pocket earlier.
This thing was just an ordinary silver necklace, looking completely unremarkable.
However, at this moment, the necklace was clearly emitting a faint glow.
[You have found an optimizable item. Optimize now?]
"No optimization."
Kitahara Makoto silently chose no in his mind, then handed the necklace over: "Rinko, your necklace."
Although he was curious about what the optimized necklace's attributes would be, this item was clearly much more valuable than stockings, so Kitahara Makoto naturally wouldn't just keep it.
"Kitahara-kun, you keep it." Blonde glasses girl shook her head, leaning back slightly, "This is a necklace I got from the Otherworld. It has a special ability; wearing it can weaken one's sense of presence, preventing attacks from anomalies in the Otherworld, but the cost is that the body will gradually stiffen until it can no longer move… Most of the mystical items in the Otherworld have ominous properties. Now that I've finally returned to the real world, I just want to live a peaceful life."
Kitahara Makoto couldn't help but think of the cursed oil painting. It seemed it was indeed something brought out of the Otherworld.
"Then I'll accept it."
"…"
Unbeknownst to them, several girls had already finished showering and came out.
For some reason, Kita's expression was particularly resentful, her hands clutching her chest, muttering resentfully:
"It's not fair… It's too unfair…"
"We're both high school students in the same grade, why is there such a huge difference?"
"What did Bocchi-chan eat to be so exaggerated?!"
Ijichi Nijika looked over curiously:
"Eh, what's not fair?"
Kita Ikuyo said with a resentful tone: "Next time Nijika-senpai showers with Bocchi-chan, you'll know what I'm talking about."
Yamada Ryo's hair was damp and still had moisture, clearly having just washed her hair. Short hair is so convenient:
"Nijika, you can go shower now."
It must be said, after showering, Yamada Ryo, with one side of her bangs no longer covering her eyes, clearly possessed a heroic and beautiful charm. One must praise her as the ceiling of short hair.
Ijichi Nijika nodded: "Cousin, shall we go shower together?"
After talking for so long, blonde glasses girl had calmed down and accepted the fact that everyone had successfully returned to the real world. Hearing this, she stood up and said:
"I do want to shower."
Kitahara Makoto stood up and said:
"It's almost one in the morning. Yamada Ryo, take Kita and Hitori upstairs to rest, to that room from before."
"Hmph~"
Kita Ikuyo gave a soft hum, turning her small face away in disdain.
She clearly still resented Kitahara Makoto's harem declaration.
Yamada Ryo, however, didn't care, rubbing her eyes and agreeing:
"So sleepy, I really need to rest."
"Hmph~"
Kita Ikuyo hummed softly again, following Yamada Ryo upstairs.
As for Bocchi-chan, ever since she came out of the bathroom, she had been looking down at her toes, not daring to look up at anyone.
"Kitahara-kun." Ijichi Nijika, holding her clothes, walked to the bathroom door. "Put your clothes in the washing machine."
Kitahara Makoto: "Coming."
Blonde glasses girl was a bit confused: "Why don't you put them in yourself?"
"Because I'll get stuck." Ijichi Nijika said with a serious expression, "Cousin, remember, you must not touch that washing machine!"
"…"
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