"Don't be envious. Although my exclusive Talent is very strong in oddity-type dungeons, it also has many restrictions." Kotoko Iwanaga first said this, then smiled at Asuna Yuuki and added: "Besides, you deserve much credit for eliminating the source of the oddities this time. You acted without hesitation or mercy. No wonder Captain teamed up with you."
Just as Asuna Yuuki was about to reply, she heard that Kotoko Iwanaga added again, "But, next time, can you not act like a pervert, doing something as abnormal as standing on the water tank and whispering Captain's name?"
Asuna Yuuki's face instantly flushed. She hadn't expected that Kotoko Iwanaga had actually heard her quietly call Asagiri Utsunomiya's name at that time. She didn't have any other thoughts at the time; she just subconsciously felt that in order not to put Asagiri Utsunomiya in danger, she had to make up her mind, and even if she had to jump into the foul-smelling water tank containing a corpse, she shouldn't hesitate at all.
"I... You're the pervert! By the way, are you really the same age as us?" Asuna Yuuki instantly counterattacked, sizing up Kotoko Iwanaga, who was petite, only about 150-centimeters tall, with a face that was very delicate and cute, but didn't look like a high school student at all. Then she slowly said, "Your figure... it's practically like a middle schooler's..."
"What!? Are you saying a certain part of me is small!?" Kotoko Iwanaga noticed where Asuna Yuuki's gaze was directed, then looked at Asuna Yuuki's size, which was outstanding for a high school student of her age group. Her momentum couldn't help but be halved, but she still forced herself to say astonishing words: "Hehe, I'm just developing later, and I've heard that if you often massage with skilled techniques, you'll undergo secondary development!"
After saying this, Kotoko Iwanaga looked at Asagiri Utsunomiya and said frankly, "Captain, caring for team members' mental health and helping team members' physical growth is also your responsibility as a Captain, right? Then I'll leave it to you."
Asuna Yuuki felt incredibly ashamed just listening to that. Her face was red, and her voice carried a hint of jealousy as she said, "You... can you not say such vulgar words here? Please don't say such... such... such shocking words with that cute and innocent face, okay?"
"Tch..." Kotoko Iwanaga made a sound of dissatisfaction and rolled her eyes at Asuna Yuuki, acting utterly fearless. She was determined to say something shocking or die trying. Then she said, "I'm not asking you to massage. Mind your own business."
"You..."
"That's enough." Asagiri Utsunomiya first interrupted the arguing duo with a serious expression, then looked at Asuna Yuuki and Kotoko Iwanaga and said, "Just a heads up, I have two hands, I can massage both of you at the same time."
Upon hearing that, Asuna Yuuki was stunned for a moment, then her face turned red, and she gritted her teeth, saying hatefully, "Who... who wants you to massage them! How did you get infected by her too..."
Asuna Yuuki paused, and after several seconds, she sighed, supported her forehead, and said in a helpless tone, "I forgot, if we're talking about how crazy someone is... you're probably even worse than her... What kind of people did I team up with..."
"Alright, let's get down to business."
After a brief moment of abstract relaxation, Asagiri Utsunomiya brought the topic back.
"The app gave us the function to leave early? I didn't expect it, this app icon looks quite scary, but as an external system for the Survival Game, it's quite user-friendly."
Asuna Yuuki nodded, thinking that the mission objective that had been set for the Players was to survive until the twelve hour time limit. Now that the source of the oddities in the Hotel had been eliminated, the Earth-Bound Vengeful Spirits that the Vengeful Spirit of the Drowned Corpse created and were bound to each floor should also have disappeared.
There were no longer any dangers in this Hotel that could affect the trio's completion of the mission objective. That was why the app unlocked the function to leave the dungeon early, right?
It was just that—
Asuna Yuuki mused, "What exactly did Necro's special dungeon hint mean..."
Like Asagiri Utsunomiya and Asuna Yuuki, Kotoko Iwanaga also obtained a high-level rating in her novice dungeon, S-.
When Kotoko Iwanaga entered the dungeon this time, she also received a special hint from the app regarding this dungeon.
[The most dangerous oddity is not the strongest oddity.]
"Interpreting it literally, the most dangerous oddity should be the Vengeful Spirit of the Drowned Corpse that we just eliminated."
As she said so, Kotoko Iwanaga propped herself up with both hands, like a child, sitting on the front counter of the Hotel's reception area, her legs dangling in the air, supporting her cheeks with her hands.
Then she spoke softly, analyzing: "But, although it is the most dangerous, it is not the strongest. Plus, the app just said that we have eliminated all hostile vengeful spirits in this Hotel. Thinking this way, it means that in this Hotel, there exists an oddity that is more powerful than the Vengeful Spirit of the Drowned Corpse, and unlike those Earth-Bound Vengeful Spirits, it was not created by that Vengeful Spirit of the Drowned Corpse, but was born due to other factors, yet it does not have any hostility towards us."
Asuna Yuuki was skeptical, saying, "An oddity without hostility... Does such a thing really exist?"
"Of course." Kotoko Iwanaga first said with a shrug, then explained, "In fact, most oddities in the real world belong to this category. They just want a peaceful life and have no desire to harm humans. The extremely small portion that will harm humans, frequently appear before humans, and also those like the Vengeful Spirit of the Drowned Corpse, who kill due to excessive resentment and interfere with the oddities that maintain order, need to be eliminated to maintain the boundary between oddities and humans."
"I see." Asuna Yuuki first replied, then looked at Asagiri Utsunomiya and asked, "But... since that oddity has no hostility towards us, we don't need to provoke it, right? You've already consumed a lot of stamina and mental strength. I suggest that this operation ends here..."
Just as Asuna Yuuki was halfway through her sentence, a little girl's sweet voice suddenly rang out.
"Big brother, big sisters, where... where are you going?"
Hearing this sudden voice, not only Asuna Yuuki, but even Kotoko Iwanaga couldn't help but tremble. Both girl turned their heads and looked at the little girl who had appeared at some point not far away and was standing there quietly, wearing a white dress, with blonde hair and blue eyes, and a very cute appearance. A hint of shock couldn't help but appear in their eyes.
Kotoko Iwanaga, who possessed the exclusive Talent called God of Wisdom of the Oddities, actually didn't sense the other party's presence at all. It wasn't until this little girl spoke that she belatedly felt a—
—terrifying aura that made her shudder.