[T/N: It skips 365 and 366 in the raw]
When Itsuki opened her eyes again, she found herself in a cage.
Outside the cage was a house that seemed straight out of a fairy tale.
The floor was made of gingerbread, fragrant golden-brown bread formed the walls, the roof made of cream cakes looked like it was melting, and the windows were candy.
To be honest, Itsuki was a little hungry.
Unfortunately, a busy old witch by the fireplace ruined the dreamy atmosphere.
She wore a medieval witch's robe, her hair looked messy and dirty, and the two empty sockets where her eyeballs should have been looked like a devil's inflamed skin.
While baking gingerbread, she cackled and sang in a hoarse voice:
"Nibble, nibble, gnaw, gnaw, gnaw!
Who is nibbling at my little house?
It is the wind, the wind, It is a little child from heaven."
Yesterday, she was still thinking about remedial classes; today, she has to eradicate evil like a Magical Girl.
Can the beautiful girl Itsuki, who falls into such a predicament at the very beginning, complete the Trial Mission?
Itsuki was expressionless; the next moment, her personality switched to Nino.
"I say, while I firmly believe you, Kisaragi, can help us get through this Trial Mission, pretending to be a narrator is a bit too sadistic, isn't it?"
Kisaragi Rin: "I thought it might reduce your panic a little."
"The problem is, we weren't worried in the first place.
After all, you've already accepted the payment. If you can't complete it, it would be embarrassing to face Father when we go back.
Even if you wanted to marry Nino later, you wouldn't be able to hold your head high in front of your father-in-law."
Observing the hair colour, Kisaragi Rin noticed that the person who said this was Ichika.
Then the expression on her face distorted, several personas became a chaotic mess inside, and finally, Itsuki regained control.
"Setting aside whether Nakano Maruo can become my future father-in-law, in non-essential situations, Itsuki, you should avoid letting them appear.
This is a Trial Mission, after all.
I will lead you to victory, but you five should also show S-rank caliber and effort."
Kisaragi Rin said to Itsuki, who nodded solemnly, "I will discipline them well and make them take this Mission seriously. I will also acquire the so-called effort and caliber."
In fact, these were all nonsense.
If Shikanoko Noko decided to bring Kisaragi Rin into the Paradise to effortlessly win, Kisaragi Rin would immediately abandon his brain and be a 3.0-rated freeloader.
The reason he said these things to Itsuki was just to give the five of them something to do.
"That's good. Compared to the others, Itsuki, your personality is more like a family head."
Kisaragi Rin praised.
In fact, it was true.
Nino and Miku go without saying; both of them are a bit emotional. Yotsuba is a bit insecure, lacking confidence and decisiveness. Ichika is alright, also possessing the maturity of an elder sister, but often lacks common sense and is lazy.
Only Itsuki, Kisaragi Rin felt her serious personality was the most well-rounded among the sisters.
Itsuki was a little embarrassed.
Taking a look at their current predicament, the old witch's singing outside the cage immediately made her decide to show Kisaragi Rin the information from her Paradise Mark on her wrist.
[Trial World: Strange Forest]
[Locked Trial Mission: Survive for three days]
[Current Difficulty: Lv3]
[Note: Please do not leave this forest casually]
"A survival Mission?"
Kisaragi Rin glanced at the current difficulty of Lv3 and immediately determined that the difficulty of these quintuplets' Trial Mission was somewhat abnormal.
It's worth noting that when Kisaragi Rin first entered a Trial Mission, the displayed difficulty was only Lv0.
Later, it only changed to Lv1~Lv3, and the Paradise even placed him in a safe infirmary at the start.
Now, Itsuki starts at Lv3 and is directly locked in this cage. This is definitely not right, and it's no wonder Nakano Maruo needed him to help these quintuplets get through the Trial Mission.
Just then, the witch turned around and sniffed like a dog with her nose.
"I smell a fragrance. Which little mouse wants to steal my delicious little child?"
Saying this, she approached the cage, her fingernails scraping against the bars, making a very harsh sound.
Itsuki held her breath. Although she had said she would try hard, she still instinctively looked at Kisaragi Rin.
After all, she really didn't know anything right now; even if she joined a factory, someone would teach her, wouldn't they?
Kisaragi Rin was also in the cage, but he was currently in a phantom Soul state.
And the witch had started to cackle again.
"Hansel, stick out your finger, let me feel if you've gotten fatter!"
Hearing this, Kisaragi Rin roughly determined what kind of world this was, and the witch's condition greatly piqued his interest.
"Hansel! Hansel! Stick out your finger!"
"What should I do?"
Itsuki quietly asked Kisaragi Rin, and the witch, hearing this, became increasingly hysterical.
"Hansel, have you gotten fatter?"
"Hansel, you've gotten fatter."
"Hansel, you've gotten fatter!"
Black currents of air swirled around the witch. With each shout, her body grew larger. The hunched witch now occupied half the house, her wrinkled skin covering the cage.
"To be honest, Itsuki, you do seem a bit fatter than Nino and the others."
Kisaragi Rin suddenly said.
Itsuki, who was just disgusted: "..."
Although she did feel their thigh-high socks were a bit tight on her thighs when playing dress-up games, Itsuki absolutely refused to admit she was fatter than the others.
"Kisaragi-san."
Itsuki complained a little.
Kisaragi Rin waved his hand and said:
"Alright, first lesson.
Players should have sufficiently keen insight. Whether it's exploring the world view or responding to danger, you must rely on your Ability to extract information."
Ignoring the increasingly terrifying witch, Kisaragi Rin continued to instruct Itsuki.
"Although the difficulty of this Trial is indeed a bit off, the Paradise will not create impossible Missions.
That is to say, even without me, you could escape this crisis with your own Ability.
And you really can't beat this guy.
Then you can only explore it from the world view. Haven't the environment we're in, the nursery rhyme she sang, and her asking if you've gotten fat already told you what kind of world this is?"
"Grimm's Fairy Tales?"
Itsuki lowered her head thoughtfully and indeed found some bones on the floor of the cage.
Then she picked up a chicken foot, her heart pounding. She suppressed a sound and handed it to the witch.
They were very close; Itsuki saw the witch's bent, yellowed fingernails almost poke her.
After touching the chicken foot, the witch cackled and said, "Hansel, why are you still so thin?"
Crushing the chicken foot in her hand, the witch's body returned to its original state, but her hollow eyes never left Itsuki's plump, delicate body.
She hunched back to the fireplace, still making her gingerbread.
But her malicious voice came again.
"Little child, eat more.
Let me have a wonderful feast.
Little child, get fat quickly.
Let me feast with gratitude.
Whether you're fat or thin, tomorrow I will kill Hansel and cook him."