Even seeing Shikanoko Noko throw her Deer Antler like a bomb no longer surprised Koshi Torako.
"Hey, up ahead."
Shikanoko Noko was still wearing Hinominami High School's blue and white sailor uniform, a faint smile playing on her lips, and her Deer Antler pointed straight ahead. Koshi Torako looked forward and saw Caren Hortensia sitting on Kisaragi Rin, looking at her with a flustered expression.
"Eh? Kisaragi? What are you doing here?"
Koshi Torako didn't know that Kisaragi Rin had already become a Shinto priest under Shikanoko Noko's arrangement. After instinctively asking, her mind finally registered what she had seen. Her expression instantly became even more flustered than Caren Hortensia's, and her shocked gaze darted between Kisaragi Rin and Caren Hortensia, who was dressed in a Shrine Maiden's attire.
Caren Hortensia's clothes were relatively neat, but her expression and sitting posture clearly showed that she and Shikanoko Noko had accidentally interrupted something good between them.
Moreover, this was clearly not the pink-haired girl she had seen with Kisaragi Rin last time.
Hmm... Koshi Torako only knew that Kanroji Mitsuri, who was with Kisaragi Rin during the parade at Chiba Zoo, was suspected to be Kisaragi Rin's girlfriend.
"Cheating!!!" As soon as Koshi Torako's brain reached this conclusion, she grabbed Shikanoko Noko and tried to run, very worried that she would be silenced.
And Shikanoko Noko?
She waved and said, "Hi."
"...Hi." Kisaragi Rin asked strangely, "Why did you bring Torako?"
According to Spider Mother, this junior high classmate had become the Feeder of Kisaragi Rin's direct superior, and had even established a Deer Club at Hinominami High School to help club members become deer like Shikanoko Noko.
Although Kisaragi Rin didn't understand, he greatly respected Shikanoko Noko's strange actions.
Well... he was simply used to it.
"Because I was shopping with Nokotan, and I received your message asking me to come over."
Shikanoko Noko explained casually.
"Is that so?"
Kisaragi Rin stopped asking.
Shikanoko Noko was indeed invited by him, and the reason was naturally the newly encountered Nakano Maruo.
This guy was very strong, and he clearly discovered Kisaragi Rin's special nature.
Regarding this, Kisaragi Rin's heart was completely calm.
There's no need to treat players as fools. Just as Shikanoko Noko could discover his special nature, other truly capable and discerning players would also notice something amiss after a brief interaction with him.
Especially strong individuals like Nakano Maruo in fields such as Soul and future.
And this was a map issue.
In a game world, monsters of different levels have different spawn points. Players would not rashly enter the aggro range of monsters they couldn't defeat, nor would monsters actively appear before players who weren't high enough level.
As for the Main World?
Kisaragi Rin thought, Shikanoko Noko was just sitting in the Deer Garden at Chiba Zoo. What was the difference between that and Soul Emperor living next door to Xiao Huohuo's Wu Tan City in the Jia Lie family, or Imu and the Gorosei deciding to establish a nation in the Goa Kingdom?
Fortunately, this guy was in the friendly faction.
Because of this, Kisaragi Rin unhesitatingly accepted the Deer Antler thrown by Shikanoko Noko.
He indeed needed such a protector.
And today, Kisaragi Rin encountered the second strong individual capable of discovering his abnormalities.
Although Nakano Maruo couldn't precisely know what was special about him, it was still a potential hidden danger that needed to be guarded against.
Hmm... Nakano Maruo was a player. Just as he couldn't trust Kisaragi Rin, whose background he couldn't ascertain, Kisaragi Rin couldn't place his trust in him either.
Moreover, being the father of the Nakano Quintuplets was just the most insignificant of his identities. Would anyone really think that players of this strength rarely kill?
After the seemingly peaceful conversation with Nakano Maruo in the Service Club, Kisaragi Rin naturally had to ensure that this guy wouldn't suddenly pop out like a hidden boss in a movie one day and tell him, "Your power is mine," or "Kisaragi-san, this is a necessary sacrifice"... And the simplest way to avoid these was, of course, to directly seek Shikanoko Noko's help.
Kisaragi Rin thought, Nakano Maruo has only been in this Paradise for a little over a decade, so his strength couldn't possibly surpass Shikanoko Noko, the head of Chiba Zoo, right?
As for why Shikanoko Noko wasn't there when Nakano Maruo appeared before Kisaragi Rin, Kisaragi Rin knew without asking that Shikanoko Noko would say: "Anyway, you won't encounter any danger, and you yourself think this is a good thing. I'm shopping, you know..."
"Caren Hortensia, go make some tea."
Kisaragi Rin said to Caren Hortensia in his arms.
"Oh, okay."
Although Caren Hortensia was a little embarrassed and regretful, she quickly regained her composure.
Gracefully smoothing out the wrinkles in her Shrine Maiden outfit, Caren Hortensia bowed to Shikanoko Noko and Koshi Torako before leaving the office.
"Please sit."
Kisaragi Rin looked at Koshi Torako. He had asked Shikanoko Noko why she brought Koshi Torako because Koshi Torako didn't know about players yet.
Now that she was here, was Shikanoko Noko planning to have her join the players' underworld?
Shikanoko Noko couldn't possibly be planning to have him help Koshi Torako become an S-rank, could she?
Hmm... Kisaragi Rin never thought he could hide anything from Shikanoko Noko.
It's just that she didn't care either.
"Hey, Kisaragi, what was that just now?"
Koshi Torako asked, still very concerned about the Shrine Maiden who had been intimately close with Kisaragi Rin just now.
As someone who was "declared a virgin by Shikanoko Noko in front of all the teachers and students of Hinominami High School," Koshi Torako found this quite perplexing.
Because she remembered that when she and Kisaragi Rin were classmates, Kisaragi Rin already had a very beautiful girlfriend, and this rate of change really made her want to complain.
"It's just a normal relationship."
Kisaragi Rin answered casually.
He didn't understand why Shikanoko Noko cared so much about Koshi Torako. Letting Koshi Torako know about the supernatural naturally couldn't be done by him.
So, things like him being Caren Hortensia's master, which would be considered perverted, should just wait for Koshi Torako to discover on her own.
Anyway, Caren Hortensia and the others weren't hiding anything.
"How is that normal!"
Koshi Torako couldn't help but retort, while Shikanoko Noko next to her nodded in agreement with her arms crossed.
"So-called deer are creatures that can rightfully be polygamous."
"He's not a member of the Deer Club, and that kind of excuse would get you arrested."
Koshi Torako couldn't accept it, because the absurdity of it sounded comparable to Gandhi choosing to sleep with beautiful women to test his celibacy, only to end up having numerous children and declaring his celibacy a failure.
At this moment, Caren Hortensia walked in again.
She was carrying a plate of Deer Senbei, which instantly made Shikanoko Noko's expression turn into something out of a comedic manga, with drool flowing from her mouth.
"Lady Shikanoko, your Deer Senbei."
"And this young lady's Black Tea."
"Thank you."
Koshi Torako was a little reserved. Facing the unfamiliar Caren Hortensia, she quickly put on the demeanor of an honor student.