"What's wrong?"
Itsuki asked cautiously, wondering why Kisaragi Rin's expression had changed so quickly.
Seeing Kisaragi Rin's attitude toward the Gingerbread Witch, the mentality of Itsuki and the sisters inside her had subtly begun to change.
They knew Kisaragi Rin. Although Nakano Maruo had told the Nakano Quintuplets to remain wary of him, Itsuki always felt Kisaragi was a good person.
But now, they suddenly realized that the player's conduct was truly a bit "demonic."
This was certainly not pity for the Strange Tale.
Without Kisaragi Rin, their protector, they would have been swallowed by the Gingerbread Witch.
The Nakano Quintuplets only just realized that this was no longer the rule-of-law society they thought it was, but a genuine world where strength was respected.
With strength, you have everything.
You could adhere to your own virtues, or you could wantonly trample the dignity of the weak.
The weak have no choice. Even a high-flying Ascender of outstanding talent ultimately just became a symbol demonstrating the destructive power of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
The daily life world view formed over the past eighteen years had collapsed this morning, but only now did they realize the consequences of the existence of the supernatural.
The Nakano Quintuplets suddenly thought: if they didn't have the protection of a powerful Nakano Maruo, and Kisaragi Rin suddenly went savage one day and turned them into cream puffs, or even did as Kasumigaoka Utaha suggested—"one round each for the five sisters"—who could resist?
"It's nothing."
Kisaragi Rin was genuinely conflicted at this moment.
friendship wasn't just limited to romance; it could be familial affection, friendship, or even some distorted psychological state. Although this Strange Tale's friendship toward him was certainly abnormal, it was still a precious maximum value.
Should he still kill it?
Glancing at Itsuki, Kisaragi Rin finally decided to temporarily keep the Gingerbread Witch around to work; they could worry about the future later.
After all, upon learning this was a world of Strange Tales based on fairy tales, Kisaragi Rin intended to thoroughly examine the world view of this world.
If the strength was sufficient, Kisaragi Rin wouldn't have to wait for the uncertain One Piece World; the [Gate] from Ryudoji Temple in his Workshop could be placed here.
Setting up a base here would definitely require some new manpower.
"So be it."
Putting down the [Otherworldly Girl Helper Manual], Kisaragi Rin looked at the Gingerbread Witch's appearance—she truly looked like a nasty old hag, which was somewhat depressing.
It's fine if I have Gintoki's handsomeness, but you can't actually look like Old Lady Otose!
Sighing, Kisaragi Rin told her, "Go clean yourself up and put on a more normal appearance."
The Gingerbread Witch was a humanoid Strange Tale, and rational humanoid Strange Tales generally weren't ugly. Only those Strange Tales completely devoid of reason would become uglier the stronger they got. The Gingerbread Witch likely took on this appearance to fit the fairy tale of the Candy House in Grimm's Fairy Tales.
As a Strange Tale transformed from a fairy tale, this behavior could accelerate strength improvement.
Now that she had met Kisaragi Rin, even Hanako wouldn't run to a certain toilet to steal toilet paper anymore. Kisaragi Rin hoped the Gingerbread Witch could also normalize somewhat.
The Gingerbread Witch stayed inside to change her appearance, while Kisaragi Rin and Itsuki pushed open the large door of the Candy House.
When the Gingerbread Witch begged for mercy earlier, she mentioned they were currently in a place called the Strange Speech Forest.
Walking out of the biscuit door, Itsuki saw the appearance of the Other World and immediately understood the origin of the name Strange Speech Forest.
It was nighttime outside. There were no stars, only a layer of dim moonlight hitting the ground.
Outside the flat ground occupied by the Candy House, pitch-black tree trunks stood crookedly. These trunks had many irregular small holes, and when the night wind blew through them, they made sounds like whispering.
Itsuki silently moved closer to Kisaragi Rin. Having five personalities wasn't without its benefits; for instance, her current perception seemed stronger than that of an ordinary person.
If she could activate the Player Panel, her innate intelligence attribute would probably be 7 or 8.
This gave Kisaragi Rin plenty to complain about. After all, only having this level of intelligence when merged five-fold explained why their usual grades were so poor.
Hmm... unlike her other sisters, Itsuki was quite serious about studying, yet her efforts never showed up on her report card.
Now, Itsuki clearly perceived that something in the forest was staring at her.
Just as she was about to speak, she saw Kisaragi Rin's eyes turn cyan, black smoke emerge from his trench coat, and he stepped directly into the shadow in front of him, returning the next moment dragging a monster beside him.
Itsuki: "..."
She couldn't quite understand Kisaragi Rin's Ability.
Having just become a player, her understanding of combat was still stuck on wizard duels in fantasy films where "you shout a Skill, I shout a Skill."
"But Kisaragi's strength should be relatively strong among players, right? Otherwise, Father wouldn't have decided to ask Kisaragi for help."
Itsuki thought curiously. Nakano Maruo hadn't explained why he needed Kisaragi Rin's help. She looked at the being Kisaragi Rin was dragging behind him and noticed it was a bat monster.
Or rather, half-man, half-bat. Its human face was covered in fine hair, its rough human hands and shriveled feet were flapping on the ground, and its lower body even had a piece of ragged cloth covering its private parts.
"Is this a Strange Tale too?"
Itsuki asked.
"No, it hasn't reached the level of a Strange Tale yet."
Kisaragi Rin's expression grew increasingly serious, because he had discovered something was amiss.
"Compared to a Strange Tale, this thing is closer to a Semi-Bizarre Tale existing between human and Strange Tale, or perhaps a Derivative Race of a Strange Tale..."
Kisaragi Rin explained, "You can understand it as someone who was originally human but was later transformed into its current appearance by a Strange Tale."
"That sounds like a very dangerous world."
Itsuki said, only to find that Kisaragi Rin had taken out a knife and handed it to her.
"..."
After exchanging glances with Kisaragi Rin, Itsuki, who already understood what she was supposed to do, froze.
Wait, didn't you just say this guy was some poor soul transformed by a Strange Tale?
And now you want me to finish him off!
Itsuki's slightly flushed face was tense, but she ultimately didn't voice an objection. Just as she took a deep breath and was about to accept Kisaragi Rin's knife, her expression distorted.
Her frozen appearance led Kisaragi Rin to deduce that the sisters were likely fighting over who got to do the deed.
A mocking smile played on his face. Kisaragi Rin said seriously, "There's no need for profound sisterly affection just yet. I can go catch a few more to ensure each of you gets a chance to act."
Nakano Quintuplets: "..." x5