"You can use any other towel, but not that pink one!"
The girl's shy voice rang out nervously.
"Hmm..."
Kitahara Makoto looked down at the pink towel in his hand:
"What if I've already used it?"
Girls, these creatures, use several towels when they shower: a towel specifically for drying hair, one for the face, one for the feet, and also one for... In short, they're all different.
It seems the purpose of this pink towel is quite special, which is why Soyo is so anxious.
"You, you really used it?"
Nagasaki Soyo suddenly raised her voice, utterly embarrassed.
Kitahara Makoto said innocently:
"Because it was closest at hand, I just grabbed it. Soyo just said they were all okay to use... So, what's special about this towel?"
Nagasaki Soyo's voice was filled with shame: "There's absolutely nothing special about it."
Kitahara Makoto: "Then I'll continue using it?"
"No!" Nagasaki Soyo said, ashamed, "Quickly change to another one!"
"..."
Kitahara Makoto changed to another towel, dried his body, and walked out of the bathroom.
The cunning young lady stood outside with a slightly flushed face, shyly looking at the towels on the wall. Seeing that the pink towel was noticeably damp, she realized Kitahara Makoto hadn't lied and had indeed used it, and her eyes instantly became resentful.
Kitahara Makoto said without changing his expression:
"Don't worry, the pink towel was only used to wipe my face and hair, not anywhere else."
"Wipe, wipe face..."
Nagasaki Soyo's voice trembled slightly, and her pretty face quickly flushed red.
Regret!
Super regret!
If only she had known, she shouldn't have let Kitahara use her bathroom... But what if he used Mom's towel if he showered in Mom's bathroom?
After comparing the two, Nagasaki Soyo suddenly felt that the current situation was barely acceptable.
"Hoo..."
Nagasaki Soyo took a deep breath, turned her pretty face away, and sought an excuse for her actions:
"You used it, you used it. I forgot to take that towel out to wash these past few days..."
"Really?" Kitahara Makoto showed a surprised expression, "I smelled it, it was super fragrant."
"You..."
Nagasaki Soyo's pretty face flushed with shame, and she involuntarily took half a step back, almost unable to resist kicking Kitahara Makoto out the door.
He must be doing it on purpose, right?
He's clearly doing it on purpose!
"I'm thirsty, I want something to drink."
Kitahara Makoto made his request confidently.
"Hmph~" Nagasaki Soyo hummed softly, "It's in the refrigerator, go get it yourself."
Just then, the sound of the front door opening suddenly rang out.
"Eh?!"
Nagasaki Soyo immediately panicked:
"Mom actually came back early?!"
Nagasaki Soyo turned around in a panic, grabbed Kitahara Makoto's hand, and ran towards the room:
"Quick, go hide in my room!"
Kitahara was only wearing a bath towel; if Mom saw him, she would definitely get the wrong idea!
Kitahara Makoto followed her towards the bedroom, grabbing his backpack from the sofa on the way, not forgetting to remind her:
"My shoes are still in the entranceway."
"You know the room, Kitahara-kun, go by yourself." Nagasaki Soyo paused, then quickly turned and ran towards the entranceway, "I'll deal with the shoes!"
"..."
He had thoroughly searched Soyo's earlier to find the evil spirit imp, so he certainly wouldn't go to the wrong room.
Kitahara Makoto entered the room, quietly closed the door, and then waited silently.
It must be said that the room's soundproofing was quite good; once the door was closed, he could barely hear any sound from outside.
As for whether Mrs. Nagasaki would notice anything amiss... Kitahara Makoto was completely unfazed.
It wasn't the first time he'd been discovered; as long as one's skin was thick enough, it didn't matter at all.
Ten minutes later.
Nagasaki Soyo quietly pushed the door open and walked in.
"That just scared me to death..."
Nagasaki Soyo clutched her chest, walked to the desk, and said in a resentful tone:
"Luckily, I acted fast and hid the shoes in the shoe cabinet, otherwise Mom would definitely have found out."
It wasn't the first time he'd been discovered, so it wasn't that scary, okay!
Kitahara Makoto asked curiously:
"How did your mom come back early?"
"Finished work early, so she came back early..." Nagasaki Soyo's pretty face flushed, "Wait, what did you just call her?"
Kitahara Makoto's expression was innocent: "I called her Mom."
"You..." Nagasaki Soyo bit her lower lip lightly, scolding him while blushing, "Don't call her that!"
"Anyway, I'll have to change how I address her eventually." Kitahara Makoto said shamelessly, "Calling her Mom now is just getting used to it in advance."
"..."
Shamefully glaring at Kitahara Makoto, Nagasaki Soyo turned and said:
"You stay in the room, I'll go out and talk to Mom for a bit."
"Wait a moment." Kitahara Makoto reached out and pulled Soyo onto his lap. The warm, fragrant scent of the girl immediately filled his nostrils. "How about we take the Eden Fruit out to Mom now?"
"Mmm..."
Nagasaki Soyo blinked her eyes and said softly:
"That works too. Mom hasn't showered yet, and she'll definitely sweat a lot after eating it. While Mom is showering, Kitahara-kun can take the opportunity to leave."
Kitahara Makoto raised an eyebrow slightly at her words:
"Then let's finish what we didn't finish this morning right now."
"Eh?" Nagasaki Soyo was startled, "What thing?"
Kitahara Makoto's gaze was burning: "Of course, it's about Soyo running away this morning."
"..."
Nagasaki Soyo then realized the crisis approaching, her pretty face quickly reddened, and she wanted to escape.
Unfortunately, she was held tightly by Kitahara Makoto and couldn't escape at all.
There was nothing she could do. Nagasaki Soyo could only reluctantly open her cherry lips, allowing Kitahara Makoto to take advantage of and take what he wanted.
Ten minutes later.
Kitahara Makoto temporarily let go of the panting, almost breathless cunning young lady.
"...Lewd!"
"Kitahara-kun is getting more and more lewd!"
Nagasaki Soyo's pretty face was burning hot. She shyly raised her hand to wipe the corner of her lips, covering her chest, and quickly got up to hide far away.
Before, when they kissed and hugged, he was very well-behaved. Now, after only a short kiss, his hands started moving everywhere... He's practically turned into a carnivore!
Having received the deserved reward, there was no need to say more about what came next.
Kitahara Makoto took out the poster from his backpack and pasted it on the wall, letting Soyo's band take out the Eden Fruit. A fragrant scent immediately filled the entire room.
"The other Eden Fruit was given to Anon. This stuff has a very short shelf life; once it exceeds twenty-four hours, it will turn into poison." Kitahara Makoto said frankly, "The last one, Soyo, take it out and eat it with Mom."
Hearing this, Nagasaki Soyo subconsciously puffed out her cheeks.
Regarding Kitahara Makoto having a harem, besides Tomori, who is extraordinary and has a heart as vast as the universe and doesn't care, other girls would naturally mind.
"Hmph, I'm going out."
Humming softly, Nagasaki Soyo took the Eden Fruit and walked out of the room.
Kitahara Makoto stayed in the room, quietly playing on his phone.
Twenty minutes later.
The door was quietly pushed open, and Nagasaki Soyo slipped in, carrying Kitahara Makoto's clothes in her arms:
"Kitahara-kun, quickly change your clothes. Your mother is going to the bathroom, so you can take the opportunity to go home."
"Okay."
Kitahara Makoto knew that the chance of staying overnight was slim, so he naturally wouldn't force it. After changing his clothes, he prepared to leave with Soyo.
However, before he could even reach the entrance, the bathroom door was pulled open.
"Eh?!"
Nagasaki Soyo's eyes widened, and she immediately panicked.
"Why is Mother taking a bath so quickly today?"
Panicked, she looked around. It was too late to hide back in the room. Fortunately, the kitchen was not far away. The only drawback was that the kitchen was open-plan, so to hide, they had to crouch down.
"Quick, quickly crouch down!"
Nagasaki Soyo nervously pulled Kitahara Makoto to hide behind the open-plan kitchen.
"Understood."
Kitahara Makoto quickly crouched down.
At the same time.
Mrs. Nagasaki hurried out of the bathroom, wearing only a bathrobe. Her hair wasn't even wet, so she clearly hadn't showered.
"Mother, why did you come out without taking a bath?"
Nagasaki Soyo chose to strike first, asking nervously.
"I just received a work call; there's an urgent situation that needs to be handled," Mrs. Nagasaki replied, sitting on the sofa and directly opening her laptop. "Fortunately, I don't need to go out; I can work on the computer."
Nagasaki Soyo: "…"
Oh no!
Big trouble!
Mother is sitting on the sofa working. They can't get out, no matter what!
"Soyo-chan, what are you doing in the kitchen?"
Mrs. Nagasaki asked casually.
"That…" Nagasaki Soyo stammered, "The kitchen utensils weren't neatly arranged, and it bothered me, so I'm going to put them in order."
"Finish up and rest early. It's almost ten o'clock; it's getting late."
"I know, Mother."
"…"
Nagasaki Soyo let out a soft sigh of relief, racking her brain for a way to solve the predicament.
Should she ask Mother to work in the bedroom?
No.
Mother's work is important, and she absolutely cannot be disturbed.
A flash of inspiration suddenly crossed Nagasaki Soyo's mind. She looked down at Kitahara Makoto and whispered:
"Kitahara-kun, where is that necklace that can eliminate one's presence?"
Kitahara Makoto answered truthfully:
"I gave it to Mai; it's not with me."
"…"
Nagasaki Soyo puffed out her cheeks, unable to resist lightly kicking Kitahara Makoto, and then things went wrong.
Kitahara Makoto was already crouching behind Soyo. When Soyo kicked, she successfully drew Kitahara Makoto's attention to the cunning young lady's legs.
Soyo is 162 centimeters tall, not very tall, but her legs are surprisingly long. Because she had already showered at home, Soyo was wearing a goose-yellow willow-green nightgown at this moment. Under the set off of the nightgown, her skin appeared even whiter and more delicate, without a single flaw.
"Legs to play with for years…"
Kitahara Makoto silently extended his right hand and held Soyo's calf. The warm, soft, and smooth sensation, like congealed fat, instantly filled his palm.
"Mm~"
Nagasaki Soyo involuntarily let out a soft tremor, looking down in a panic:
"You, you, you… what are you doing?!"
Kitahara Makoto said without changing his expression:
"Soyo has a mosquito on her leg."
Liar!
Big liar!
If there was a mosquito, you should be hitting it. Now you're clearly just touching it!
Worried about being discovered by her mother, Nagasaki Soyo could only bite her teeth and silently chose to endure. Just a touch was barely tolerable…
However, Nagasaki Soyo quickly realized she was wrong. After a short while, a completely different sensation from stroking suddenly came from her leg.
Nagasaki Soyo's eyes widened in panic:
"You, you, you, you… what are you doing now?!"
Kitahara Makoto wiped the corner of his mouth, his expression innocent:
"There's a mosquito."
Even if there really was a mosquito, you would have scared it away already!
"Soyo-chan, what's wrong?"
Mrs. Nagasaki turned her head, curious.
"N-nothing…"
Nagasaki Soyo took a deep breath, propping her hands on the kitchen counter, trying her best to keep her voice from sounding unusual.
"Mother is quite busy right now, probably until very late," Mrs. Nagasaki retracted her gaze. "Soyo-chan, go back to your room and rest first. You don't have to wait for me."
"I, I know… I'll go back after I've arranged the kitchen utensils… Ugh!"
A soft hum escaped her lips.
Nagasaki Soyo's eyes suddenly widened, and she quickly covered her rosy lips with the back of her hand, her pretty face turning explosively red.
"Quick, quickly stop…"
Nagasaki Soyo cried out in her heart.
"Soyo, weren't you curious why Sakiko was so incredibly embarrassed the other day?" Kitahara Makoto whispered, "You'll know soon."
Nagasaki Soyo tightly covered her rosy lips, shaking her head in a panic:
"I don't want to know… I don't want to know at all now!"
"Stand still and don't move," Kitahara Makoto whispered. "You don't want your mother to find out, do you?"
Nagasaki Soyo: "…"
Mother was sitting on the sofa working, and Kitahara was behind her… Nagasaki Soyo could only tightly cover her rosy lips, shame and forbidden feelings intertwined, making her feel completely out of sorts.
Just destroy it.
Mount Fuji, erupt quickly and destroy all of Tokyo!
Time quietly slipped by, minute by minute.
Nagasaki Soyo's eyes were teary, and her body trembled. She finally understood why Sakiko was so ashamed that day that she didn't dare to see anyone.
If it were her, she would also be too embarrassed to see anyone.
And what was worse, she couldn't make any sound at all. If her mother heard her… she would only be able to hold her breath and commit suicide!
Just as Nagasaki Soyo was about to lose control, Mrs. Nagasaki suddenly stood up.
"Soyo-chan."
Mrs. Nagasaki turned her head to look.
"M-Mother, what's wrong?!"
Nagasaki Soyo was startled, thinking her secret had been exposed. She felt her vision go black and almost fainted from shame.
"There's a problem at work that I have to deal with on-site. I won't be back tonight," Mrs. Nagasaki said helplessly, quickly putting on her clothes as she spoke. "Soyo-chan, you're home alone, remember to lock the doors and windows."
If it were before, when her mother had to work overtime late at night, Nagasaki Soyo would only feel lonely, but now she eagerly wanted her mother to leave:
"Mother, please be careful!"
"I'm leaving."
Mrs. Nagasaki's footsteps were hurried as she quickly left the house.
Bang.
The sound of the door closing echoed.
Nagasaki Soyo finally let out a long sigh of relief. Her body could no longer hold up, and she softly collapsed onto the kitchen counter, her pretty face flushed with shame as she turned her head:
"Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot! Mother almost found out just now!"
Kitahara Makoto stood up:
"We're already in a relationship, so it's nothing even if we're discovered…"
Splash.
After turning on the faucet and simply rinsing his mouth, Kitahara Makoto picked up the cunning young lady, his eyes burning:
"Soyo, do you want to try?"
"…"
Nagasaki Soyo naturally knew what 'try' meant.
She wanted to refuse, but the original sin of the Eden Fruit had already ignited, and her eyes were subtly tinged with pink.
The words she originally wanted to refuse with got stuck in her throat and she couldn't say them, leaving only a shameful murmur:
"F-first, let's go back to the room…"
"…"
Kitahara Makoto's eyes lit up, and he immediately carried Soyo back to the room.
"T-turn off the lights…"
"Sorry, Sakiko, I'm going ahead…"
The night passed without a word.
The next day.
Nagasaki Soyo groggily opened her eyes, feeling sore all over. She didn't want to move a single finger, as if she had run a ten-thousand-meter marathon yesterday.
"Last night…"
Looking at the familiar ceiling, Nagasaki Soyo's muddled consciousness cleared, and she quickly remembered what had happened last night, the temperature on her pretty face rapidly rising.
"I-I actually did that kind of thing…"
Forcing back the shameful urge to hide under the covers, Nagasaki Soyo turned to look for Kitahara Makoto's presence, but found the room empty, with no sign of Kitahara Makoto. A feeling of grievance immediately welled up in her heart.
"Did he already leave?"
Fortunately, the next second, the door was pushed open. Nagasaki Soyo quickly turned her head and saw Kitahara Makoto walking in, carrying some food.
"Soyo, you're awake?"
Kitahara Makoto walked to the bedside and explained:
"I was just making breakfast. With such a large expenditure of energy, you're definitely hungry… How do you feel now? Is your body still uncomfortable?"
Nagasaki Soyo lowered her eyes, but the shyness on her face could not be hidden:
"I feel much better."
"That's good, then." Kitahara Makoto pulled up a chair, sat by the bed, and said gently, "Eat breakfast first to regain some strength."
The girl's slender eyelashes trembled slightly, her gaze falling on Kitahara Makoto, her eyes filled with an unconcealable attachment, and she unconsciously whined:
"My body is so sore, I can't get up~"
They were already the closest people in the world, and the urge to act spoiled was completely irresistible.
"I'll do it."
Kitahara Makoto picked Soyo up, helped her lean against the headboard, and then asked:
"Do you want me to feed Soyo?"
"No." Nagasaki Soyo turned her pretty face away. "I can barely eat the food myself... Makoto-kun, have you had breakfast yet?"
Yesterday she was calling him Kitahara-kun, but today it was Makoto-kun. After a 'night of no words,' Soyo's affection level had clearly increased significantly.
Indeed, a certain famous saying was quite correct...
"Not yet." Kitahara Makoto said gently, "I'll go get it, and we can eat together, Soyo."
"..."
The two of them slowly ate breakfast. Kitahara Makoto went out to wash the dishes, then returned to the room to continue chatting with Soyo.
It wasn't until noon, when she noticed Kitahara Makoto starting to stir again, that Nagasaki Soyo nervously shooed him away.
As she saw Kitahara Makoto out the door, Nagasaki Soyo didn't forget to remind him:
"You absolutely must not tell Sakiko about this!"
Kitahara Makoto mused:
"Then can I tell other people?"
"Of course not!"
Nagasaki Soyo reached out and pinched Kitahara Makoto's waist, her bright eyes glaring at him:
"You're not allowed to tell anyone, especially Sakiko!"
"..."
Walking out of Soyo's, Kitahara Makoto's expression immediately became solemn.
"The world is ending..."
It wasn't a joke; the world really was ending.
When he woke up to make breakfast that morning, Chihaya Anon had sent a message asking about the truth behind the train killer.
Kitahara Makoto was also very curious about the truth of the man's mutation, so he directly asked the answer book and learned a particularly heavy truth.
It wasn't an alien invasion.
Nor was it a mad experiment by an evil scientist.
It was a disaster for the world.
[The Otherworld and real world collide and rub against each other, negative energy overflows, invades the human body, combines with the negative emotions in people's hearts, and degenerates into Eshinma]
Kitahara Makoto recalled the office worker who turned into an Eshinma on the subway; his identity information had already been dug up by netizens.
He was a middle-aged man in his forties, working in the after-sales department of an electronics company, mainly responsible for after-sales repair services for electrical appliances. He was a low-level member of society, hardworking, quiet at the company, often verbally abused by his superiors, with a cold marital relationship at home, a child in rebellion, and elderly parents who were ill... Countless pressures weighed on his shoulders, and the negative emotions in his heart had clearly already accumulated to the brim.
The problem is, who doesn't have some negative emotions nowadays?
Except for carefree kindergarten toddlers, everyone else, without exception, has negative emotions, it's just a matter of more or less.
After the middle-aged man in the video turned into a monster, his strength clearly increased significantly, appearing to have broken through human limits. What if everyone in the world turned into an Eshinma...
Kitahara Makoto didn't want to imagine how terrifying such a scene would be.
He only wanted a peaceful daily life, so how did the world suddenly end?
Of course, what was ending might not be the world, but merely humanity.
The Earth has existed for 4.6 billion years, during which countless lives have been born and countless species have perished. It has already witnessed countless disasters. The collision of two worlds might be just a speck of dust to the Earth, but for ordinary people, it is a heavy mountain.
Kitahara Makoto took the elevator downstairs and walked out of the apartment building.
Not far away was a shopping mall, and although the summer heat was intense, the mall was still crowded.
Looking at the countless ordinary people coming and going, Kitahara Makoto could only take a deep breath silently.
"Now the only thing I can do is try to complete more quests and work hard to become stronger..."
Kitahara Makoto's eyes became firm.
Becoming stronger was not just for himself; now there were incredibly precious people he needed to protect.
The journey was silent.
After returning home, Kitahara Makoto had a simple lunch and then performed his daily tasks in the living room.
[Daily Task One: One thousand one-arm push-ups]
One-arm push-ups are a symbol of male strength. Less than five percent of men in the world can complete ten one-arm push-ups in one go, but Kitahara Makoto's physical fitness had already broken through human limits, so one thousand one-arm push-ups were no problem at all.
The doorbell suddenly rang.
Kitahara Makoto let out a soft breath: "Hana-chan, go open the door."
Hana ran over, pattering, and opened the door.
"Excuse me..."
A Bocchi-chan appeared outside the door.
Seeing Kitahara Makoto doing one-arm push-ups in the living room, her small face immediately flushed rapidly, and she shyly looked away.
One-arm push-ups cause a lot of sweating, so Kitahara Makoto had naturally taken off his shirt, wearing only a pair of boxer briefs, his muscle lines exceptionally clear.
"Why did Hitori come?"
Kitahara Makoto stood up and asked curiously:
"Didn't you say you wouldn't be going to driving school for a few days?"
"Th-that..." Bocchi-chan's face was flushed, and she looked down at her toes. "I was going to go to the store for my part-time job, and I happened to be passing by Kitahara-kun's house, so I thought I'd come over to borrow the answer book and ask why everyone is so strange..."
"I almost forgot."
Kitahara Makoto's expression was normal. He turned around, took out the answer book, and handed it to Bocchi-chan.
"Hitori, ask it yourself."
"Mm-hm."
Gotō Hitori took the book and quietly asked the reason for everyone's strangeness.
Rustle, rustle.
The answer book rapidly flipped pages, and then a line of text quietly appeared:
[They are wearing the Kessoku Band bracelet]
"Eh?" Gotō Hitori blinked. "Bracelet... The reason everyone is strange is related to wearing the bracelet?"