Even though they had only known each other for two days, and Kisaragi Rin hadn't seriously concerned himself with her after dropping her off at the Deer God Shrine, Caren's friendship was rising quite rapidly.
The effect of the Demonic Garment, [Demon Lord], and the effect of the Demonic Hell Sanctuary, [Temple], both possess dominating power. The Otherworldly Girl Helper Manual gave Kisaragi Rin's charisma attribute a higher priority in front of Non-Human Girls. Furthermore, given Kisaragi Rin's status as her savior, Caren's attributes might even have caused the Talent [Apocalypse Watcher] to treat her as a Saintess... Due to these multiple factors, her friendship was rapidly approaching that of the Strange Tale seniors in the apartment.
Letting Caren sit on his lap, Kisaragi Rin checked the friendships of the others.
Sadako: 96
Mary: 98
Human-faced Dog: 99
Hanako: 86
Caren: 97
Irisviel: 89
Illya: 85
Leysritt: 80
Sella: 81
"The Human-faced Dog is almost maxed out?"
Kisaragi Rin was a little surprised, then complained, "Is it because she usually doesn't use her brain?"
Aside from being a bit McDonald's, this Dog Girl usually looked carefree, lively, and active.
Kisaragi Rin truly couldn't figure out if the Human-faced Dog was a person or a dog before she became a Strange Tale.
Excluding Hanako, the friendships of Irisviel and the others, which were in the eighties, were relatively normal.
After all, Kisaragi Rin had essentially left them to fend for themselves at the Deer God Shrine, and hadn't come to check on them at all over the two days, so it was unlikely their friendships would fluctuate much.
However, leaving all of them at the Deer God Shrine was originally the result of Kisaragi Rin's careful consideration.
These Strange Tales were still living people not long ago, and dealing with all their emotional baggage would be quite complicated.
And there were already enough girls in the apartment.
Kisaragi Rin still needed to deal with several Heroic Spirits and had absolutely no energy to focus on them.
Or rather, given Kisaragi Rin's collecting obsession, he would definitely capture more Strange Tales in the future as a Ghost Pokémon Master. Since Ash could collect pokémon and just toss them into Professor Oak's Laboratory, Kisaragi Rin naturally couldn't spend the effort to cultivate them one by one.
In that case, if these Strange Tales stayed by Kisaragi Rin's side and were neglected, their friendships would easily drop. It was better to leave them at the Deer God Shrine and occasionally check on them.
Closing the Otherworldly Girl Helper Manual, Kisaragi Rin saw Caren's small face tighten and asked, "Speaking of which, what Ability did you awaken?"
Just like how Hanako can confiscate toilet paper, Strange Tales generally awaken Abilities on their own.
Kisaragi Rin was curious whether a protagonist-type Strange Tale like Caren would awaken some powerful Ability.
"Ability..."
Caren said shyly, "I'm sorry, I haven't sensed any Ability appearing yet."
"You haven't sensed it?"
Kisaragi Rin countered strangely. In his perception, Caren's current strength already surpassed Sadako and the others he first met. She should have completed her awakening by now. Could it be that she hadn't been a Strange Tale for long enough?
But there was no need to ponder.
With a wave of Kisaragi Rin's hand, a Workshop Retrieval Report appeared in his grasp.
Strange Tale - Caren Ortensia
Physique - Strange Tale: A Strange Tale transformed from a Soul via the Equipment [Demonic Hell Sanctuary]. Because this Soul possesses considerable Talent and a certain degree of faith, your Strange Tale body has gained an additional Saintess Aura.
You can master Divine-type Abilities, and Divine-type power will also be resisted by you.
Physique - Masochistic Medium: Originally a special Physique that caused injury upon contact with a demon. Now, Caren, having become a Strange Tale, has transformed into a "demon" herself. Perhaps you can try Dual Cultivation with others.
"Dual Cultivation?"
Kisaragi Rin questioned. Hearing this, Caren also turned her head and inquired, "What is Dual Cultivation?"
"Uh... read it yourself." Kisaragi Rin handed the Retrieval Report to Caren with a strange expression. He hadn't expected the originally bizarre effect of the [Masochistic Medium Constitution] to undergo such a mutation after Caren became a Strange Tale.
Subconsciously, he placed his hand on Caren's lower abdomen; the soft, yielding sensation was very pleasant.
Meanwhile, Caren had begun reading curiously.
The beginning was normal, but Caren didn't quite understand the meaning of the term "Dual Cultivation."
Then, she tilted her head, pulled out her phone, and typed the term directly into the search application.
"Through cultivation to enhance personal inner qualities, thereby reaching a state of body and mind unity, between male and female..."
Caren's voice grew quieter and quieter. Seeing the explanation that followed, her face turned completely pink, her eyelashes trembled, and she didn't dare turn back, especially feeling the heat constantly radiating from Kisaragi Rin's fingers.
After a long while, Caren slowly reached out and wrapped her hands around the Master's palm resting on her lower abdomen, lifting Kisaragi Rin's hand to her chest. She turned her head slightly, looking at Kisaragi Rin with fluttering, moist eyes like a fawn caught in a hunter's trap.
She said shyly, "I can do it."
"...There's no rush right now."
After a moment of silence, Kisaragi Rin chose to withdraw his hand and gently rub Caren's hair.
Kisaragi Rin didn't feel much about it, since his [Otherworldly Girl Helper Manual] could already be considered within the scope of Dual Cultivation.
Hmm... First time mutual assistance, gaining attributes, and receiving a gift when the friendship reaches maximum value.
It was also due to this "first time" prerequisite that Busujima Saeko, who had already engaged in combat (or intimacy) with Kisaragi Rin too many times, could no longer grant him attributes after becoming a Non-Human Girl.
Aside from these, the amount of attributes gained is closely related to the Non-Human Girl's Talent, rarity, strength, and other factors. For example, Mrs. Yukino only provided three attribute points of gain, whereas Medea's attribute gain went straight up to eight points.
This was also one of the reasons why Kisaragi Rin continuously cultivated the growth of the Strange Tales around him.
Kisaragi Rin knew without thinking that Caren's Dual Cultivation Ability's rate of improvement must be related to her strength.
Since Caren's strength was still weak now, Kisaragi Rin honestly didn't feel much, at most, he mentally raised the priority of improving Caren's strength.
Hmm... Caren's status up! up!
"Does Master not like Caren?"
Caren asked softly.
Not in a rush?
What kind of answer is that! I already suppressed my shyness and confessed my feelings to you!
"I like you very much."
Kisaragi Rin lowered his head and kissed Caren, using the intimate gesture to show her he wasn't lying; her current appearance was indeed quite adorable.
"Mmm... My first kiss is gone?"
"What should I do? I should have looked at the Study Materials Leysritt brought last time."
Caren was a little dizzy, but before she could feel much more, a certain Shikanoko Noko had already pushed the door open, leading a certain blonde girl.
"Shikanoko, it's wrong for us to barge into a private place like this, isn't it?" Koshi Torako said, but her eyes were already familiarly observing the surroundings.
The time they had spent together had led Koshi Torako to conclude that, apart from herself and Kisaragi Rin, no one else would realize there was anything strange about this deer girl.
And so, she gave up trying.