Chapter 60: Rumia: Hold Me!
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Boom!
Dark clouds gathered above the Kirisame Magic Shop in the Magic Forest. Lightning flashed and thunder roared as eerie, high-pitched laughter echoed from inside. Any ordinary person passing by would probably mistake the place for an evil witch's lair.
Marisa stood in front of a large black cauldron, vigorously stirring the bizarre glowing green liquid inside with a wooden stick. She cackled maniacally, "Kihara-kun, don't think I'll give up on revenge so easily! Once I finish brewing this special potion, you're going to suffer! Ahahahaha~"
Just imagining the scene made her so excited that she stirred even harder.
As she added more varieties of mushrooms and herbs, a blurry, twisted human face gradually formed on the surface of the liquid. Marisa pinched a small pinch of salt between her fingers, elegantly sprinkling it in with a dramatic flourish.
A brilliant flash of light suddenly erupted from the cauldron. She raised both hands in triumph. "I've done i—"
BOOM!!
A sudden green downpour fell over the Magic Forest, causing a small portion of mushrooms and trees to grow wildly out of control. Marisa was trapped inside a wooden cage formed by tangled roots and branches. It wasn't until three days later, when Kihara came to buy mushrooms, that she was finally rescued.
To repay the favor, the magician girl had no choice but to open her small mouth and let him personally experience what "silver tongue" truly meant.
…
On Sunday, Kihara was lucky enough to buy three batteries from the Magic Pig Train shop. The items refreshed in the store this time were excellent — besides the batteries, there was even a piece of cloth.
If Moriya Rinnosuke weren't so stingy with his words, Kihara would have loved to chat with him more and try to influence next week's stock to be just as rare.
With all the materials for the signal base station and signal tower gathered, Kihara immediately pulled Shinjou Akane out of the mine and built both structures on an empty plot near the Community Center.
Considering the Community Center was a playground for the fairies, he specifically asked Akane to design the two buildings in the shape of giant mushrooms to prevent the curious little creatures from climbing them or accidentally damaging them with their elemental powers.
As for how the buildings could perfectly mimic giant mushrooms while still functioning properly — one could only say that the imagination and construction ability of a creation god were not to be questioned.
The moment the signal base station and signal tower were completed, the phone that Shinjou Akane had been carrying uselessly in her pocket suddenly chimed. She took it out and discovered, to her surprise, that it had somehow connected to Pelican Town Wi-Fi.
[Signal Base Station and Signal Tower constructed. Full-area communication and Wi-Fi functions activated in Pelican Town. Network-related features require recruiting special residents for development.]
Kihara scratched his head in frustration. "Akane, do you know how to build a website?"
"Kihara, I may be a god, but I'm not omniscient. How would a girl who collects Gunpla know how to code…?"
Halfway through her sentence, Akane suddenly stood on tiptoe and pressed her ample chest against his stomach. She blinked seductively. "But if you're willing to give me a proper reward, I might be motivated to learn~"
Inside the shadow space, Shinobu clutched her chest in anguish. [Master, don't let those two evil lumps of flesh seduce you! The Little Thunder Sound Temple is your final destination in this life!]
[But Akane is pressing her massive assets against me!]
[Think of Lili! Think of Tatsumaki! Think of me!]
[…If we're being honest, most of my girlfriends are well-endowed anyway. Why can't I have both big and flat?]
[Tsk… I can grow too, just you wait!]
[What are you planning!?]
No matter how much Kihara called out in his mind, Shinobu refused to respond anymore. Seeing his silence, Akane took it as agreement to her reward and happily dragged him toward a nearby small grove.
She had wanted to try outdoor activities for a long time. Now that she finally had the chance, she wasn't going to miss it.
After Kihara and Akane had a thorough and in-depth discussion about outdoor exercise, the sweat-drenched girl decided to go take a bath before heading back into the mine to find Takarada Rikka and the others. She also planned to share her thoughts at the weekly late-night girls' meeting.
It would be even better if she could recruit a few more sisters to join the activity. After all, happiness is best when shared!
Not long after Akane left, the idiot Cirno arrived at the two giant mushrooms with her fairy friends. Her big, watery eyes were filled with confusion.
"Eh? Why did mushrooms suddenly grow here? Did Marisa do this?"
"Cirno, there's a wooden sign here saying 'No Climbing Allowed'!"
"Hmph~ Cirno-sama will do whatever she wants!"
The Great Fairy quickly grabbed the eager idiot ⑨ and pointed at Kihara, who was standing nearby with his arms crossed and a stern face. "But… Mr. Kihara is watching you, and he looks really angry."
"Eh!?"
Cirno immediately shrank behind the Great Fairy, closed her eyes tightly, and muttered nonstop, "You can't see me, you can't see me…"
Before Kihara could come over to spank her, Rumia suddenly walked up to him. Her red eyes looked up with a mix of confusion and nostalgia. "Big brother… Why do you have a scent that feels so familiar to me?"
"Familiar? But we've only met at the Community Center, right?"
"Mm… I can't really explain the feeling…"
As she spoke, tears suddenly welled up in her eyes. For some unknown reason, she felt like crying — as if a very, very long time ago, she had received the most important thing from this familiar scent.
Then, under the shocked gazes of the other fairies, Rumia asked softly, "Um… could you… hold me?"
"How strange… Rumia usually hates getting close to humans. Why would she ask Mr. Kihara to hug her?"
"Hmph~ You guys don't understand. Being held by Kihara feels really nice!"
Seeing that Kihara wasn't coming to spank her, Cirno jumped out from behind the Great Fairy and boasted, "When I go play with him, he holds me while I eat!"
"He really won't hurt us?"
"You can relax. Kihara is a really good person! Next time I'll bring you all to drink milk with him!"
On the other side, Kihara couldn't resist Rumia's small-animal-like, cautious, and longing gaze. He gently lifted her into his arms. She let out a soft "Nyaa~" and then sniffed at him like a puppy.
"Strange… There's a very familiar scent… but I can't find where it's coming from…"
Hearing her words, Kihara realized that his strongest connection to Gensokyo was probably the [Gensokyo Divine Invocation Technique]. He activated the ability for the second time in Gensokyo.
Offering "helping with laundry" as the price, he borrowed Izayoi Sakuya's time-stop ability once.
Rumia stared at the gentle figure standing beneath the illusory torii gate of the Hakurei Shrine. Tears poured from her eyes. In the next instant, the two of them were swallowed by a gap that appeared out of thin air.
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Thank you for reading.