join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for dozens of advance chapters for over a dozen fics | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter
"Natsuki-kun, hurry up and confess."
Fujiwara Chika raised her chin and urged crisply.
"Then I'll begin."
Amamiya Natsuki cleared his throat, looked at the pink-haired secretary in front of him, bowed, and presented the love amulet: "Chika-chan, I like you, please go out with me..."
"Wait, wait a minute!"
Fujiwara Chika's pretty face was flushed, and she felt a sudden panic, her heart thumping. She quickly raised her hand to stop him.
"Let's change places first... The air in here smells too bad."
It was her first time preparing to accept a confession from a boy. It didn't have to be romantic, but at least it shouldn't be in a place full of stinky feet! The environment was simply too terrible!
Amamiya Natsuki nodded and said obligingly:
"Then let's go out and talk."
Character quest two was completed, so they could indeed leave.
"Hurry, hurry." Hayasaka Ai urged, covering her nose. "If we stay any longer, we'll suffocate."
"..."
The three left the lounge together, walked through the hallway, and arrived outside the Hospital Ward building.
Amamiya Natsuki stopped and looked at Secretary Fujiwara, saying:
"How about confessing here?"
"Cough..." Fujiwara Chika coughed twice, feeling inexplicably flustered, and stammered, "What if someone hears us?"
"There's no one around at all."
"Maybe there's a Volde... I mean, a lurking person... How about we go back to the restaurant and talk?"
"..."
Amamiya Natsuki finally understood.
The room smelling bad was a pretense; the real reason was that you chickened out!
As the cancer of the Earth, you actually flinched at the critical moment. Where did all your usual courage go?!
Fujiwara Chika stammered, then found another irrefutable reason: "And you're still in the form of a bad doctor right now. Confessing to me in someone else's appearance feels too strange."
Amamiya Natsuki said speechlessly:
"So, we're just testing the effect of the love amulet."
"There's no rush for this moment," Fujiwara Chika turned her pretty face away. "Let's go back to the restaurant first."
Amamiya Natsuki turned to look at the silent Tsubame: "Then how about Hanamori-chan?"
"I'm sorry, I refuse." Hayasaka Ai covered her chest with both hands and quickly shook her head. "I really can't accept a confession from a middle-aged uncle."
Fujiwara chickened out and refused, so he resorted to confessing to me… Hmph, men!
Don't even think I'll agree to you!
More importantly… the previous confession ceremony with Fujiwara failed, which was likely related to her alias. Even if he confessed to her, the ceremony couldn't be completed.
"Alright." Amamiya Natsuki put away the love amulet. "Let's talk about it back at the restaurant."
"…"
No words were exchanged on the way.
The three quickly returned to the restaurant.
The restaurant, which had been deserted and had not a single soul in sight, was now noticeably lively. About half of the seats were occupied by customers. Unfortunately, they couldn't be scrutinized, as many customers had obvious characteristics of vengeful spirits, making it clear at a glance that they weren't human.
"Natsuki, you're back?"
Kitagawa Marin's eyes lit up, and she came forward to greet him, an apron tied around her waist, acting as a temporary waitress.
"We're back." Amamiya Natsuki nodded. "No other customers caused trouble, right?"
"No." Kitagawa Marin blinked, and whispered, "The previous example is right before their eyes, so the customers are all very well-behaved now."
It hadn't been long since the Yakuza man who tried to skip out on his bill was taken away, so the deterrent effect was still present. Indeed, there were no vengeful spirit customers causing trouble; everyone was eating orderly and honestly.
As they spoke, Shinomiya Kaguya, who was in charge of cashiering, accounting, and directing operations, walked over and whispered:
"President, how's the task going?"
Fujiwara Chika raised her right hand, made a peace sign near her eye, and proudly lifted her chin: "With the help of me and Hanamori-chan, it was, of course, successfully completed."
This pink-haired secretary couldn't keep a secret. Without anyone else asking, she chattered away, recounting the entire mission. Only when she mentioned the love amulet did she hesitate for two seconds before whispering:
"We also found a mystical item that can be carried out of the dungeon."
The love amulet was not a bound item; anyone could use it, so she naturally had to mention it.
Kitagawa Marin asked curiously:
"Huh, what kind of item?"
"It's this."
Amamiya Natsuki took out the love amulet and handed it to Kaguya and Marin.
"The love amulet's function is somewhat like a walkie-talkie."
"What is a love confession ceremony?"
Facing their questions, Fujiwara Chika explained her theory: "It should just be a normal confession, but it seems girls and girls can't do it. Hanamori-chan and I tried it earlier and found that we couldn't activate the love amulet."
"Stare—"
Upon hearing this, the Sheltered Young Lady couldn't help but turn to look at Amamiya Natsuki, her pearly teeth secretly biting her lower lip.
Since girls confessing to girls was useless, that meant… boys were fine?
You guys must have tried it, right?
It must be, right?
She stayed behind, working hard to manage the restaurant, while they were outside playing a confession game. No matter how she thought about it, it was too much!
Noticing the Sheltered Young Lady's resentful gaze, Amamiya Natsuki silently raised both hands: "Let me explain."
"…Confess!"
Fujiwara Chika continued:
"The room smelled of dirty socks, so we didn't stay. After coming out, we came straight back to the restaurant."
Hearing this, the Sheltered Young Lady secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and her gaze softened again.
In other words, the confession game hasn't happened yet… Even if it's just a confession game, the first person to confess to should be her!
"Let's try it now." Kitagawa Marin put her right hand on her hip and said excitedly, "Whispering silently in your mind sounds really interesting."
Hayasaka Ai's bright eyes darted around. She glanced at Amamiya Natsuki, decided to dig a pit, raised her hand, and said clearly:
"Senpai, what do you want…?"
Amamiya Natsuki saw through Hayasaka Ai's 'sinister' intentions at a glance and decisively interrupted:
"A customer wants to order."
"Ah…" Kitagawa Marin turned to look. "I'll go over there."
At the same time, Amamiya Natsuki cleared her throat, deciding to take the initiative: "As of now, the love amulet that can communicate over long distances, ignoring space, is quite useful. However, the prerequisite is to master the confession ceremony… Who among you is willing to cooperate with me to complete the confession?"
"…"
Upon hearing this, the girls all fell silent.
"Um…" After a moment, Fujiwara Chika spoke first. "My stomach hurts, I need to go to the restroom. How about Kaguya-chan cooperates to complete the confession ceremony?"
The Sheltered Young Lady's delicate eyebrows moved slightly. She was willing in her heart, but it was impossible for her to agree verbally. She crossed her arms over her chest and said:
"I still have to manage the restaurant, so I can't get away."
She definitely couldn't agree immediately, that would seem too eager, wouldn't it?
Amamiya Natsuki silently gave himself a thumbs up in his heart.
Now, choosing anyone wouldn't work. The best way, of course, was to let the Sheltered Young Lady and the others choose a representative themselves.
Only Hayasaka Ai saw through Amamiya Natsuki's thoughts and whispered, "Senpai is so shameless."
Amamiya Natsuki looked at Hayasaka: "There's something even more shameless. Come to my room tonight."
"Pfft."
"…"
Before long, Kitagawa Marin returned after serving the customers.
"Marin-chan, you do it?"
Chika secretary decided to push someone forward to take the fall.
Kitagawa Marin was startled: "Huh? What do you want me to do?"
"It's the confession ceremony…"
After Chika explained the situation, Kitagawa Marin was about to agree, but her eyes darted, and she caught sight of the Sheltered Young Lady's nervous expression. She quickly cleared her throat and said:
"I refuse. I still have to serve customers. Running around has my waist breaking, so I don't have time to play confession games with Natsuki."
Amamiya Natsuki said from the side:
"If none of you are willing, then how can we try the love amulet's telepathic communication function?"
"It's very simple." Kitagawa Marin's eyes darted. She extended a finger and proposed a solution, "Everyone is unwilling, but someone has to sacrifice. Since that's the case, just like when we play board games, we can draw lots fairly, right?"
The girls exchanged glances and all nodded in agreement.
"Good idea."
"Then let's draw lots. The loser sacrifices themselves."
"Don't rush, let's wait until Tsubame-senpai comes back… And Juju and Komi from the kitchen."
Since they were pursuing fairness, they naturally couldn't forget the Senpai and the others.
Amamiya Natsuki moved his lips, wanting to say that confessing to everyone could also solve the problem… but he didn't dare to speak it aloud.
After the discussion.
Everyone continued to run the restaurant. Customers kept coming in a steady stream—a notice board had been put up at the restaurant entrance, clearly stating that if you brought three customers to help with a group order, you could get your meal for free. The power of viral marketing goes without saying.
"Sato-kun, I'm going back to work now."
Nurse Sasaki walked over, saying goodbye reluctantly in a low voice.
The disappearance of Mrs. Tachibana did not catch the attention of the Nurses, who merely assumed she had left earlier.
After bidding farewell to the nurse, Amamiya Natsuki returned to help in the kitchen. There was no other way; the strange fish caught from the lake were all uniquely ugly, and the task of butchering them was mostly left to him.
He had just finished processing a monster when Fujiwara Chika suddenly poked half her face out from the kitchen doorway and said:
"Natsuki-kun, someone's looking for you outside."
Amamiya Natsuki turned to look: "Who?"
"I don't know, it's a child."
"Hmm?"
Amamiya Natsuki washed his hands and walked out of the kitchen with Chika.
Upon reaching the main hall, Fujiwara Chika pointed to a corner and whispered, "Natsuki-kun, do you know her?"
"I actually do." Amamiya Natsuki looked towards the corner, his gaze falling on the elementary schooler. "When I found you, didn't I tell you that I encountered a player trapped in a car in the underground garage?"
"Eh?"
"That's right, it's her."
"…"
Looking at the passing players who were looking over, Amamiya Natsuki merely raised an eyebrow slightly, then stepped forward.
The two sides had only met by chance, and now she suddenly appeared in the restaurant, specifically asking for him. It was clearly not a coincidence.
"Let's make a deal?"
The little girl spoke directly, in a low voice.
"You're a player too, right? Natsuki said he met you before." Chika secretary followed, and upon hearing this, whispered, "Everyone is a player, so we should help each other. If you have any difficulties, you can tell us. We'll definitely help if we can."
The passerby player looked up at Fujiwara Chika, her voice calm and unmoved:
"Free things are often the most expensive."
"Alright then."
Fujiwara Chika pursed her pink lips and fell silent.
In the dungeon, one could encounter various types of players. Some preferred to stick together for warmth, while others were solitary lone wolves, players who maintained vigilance towards everyone. Such players were not uncommon.
Facing such a lone wolf player, even the 'God loves the world' Chika secretary would not force herself to help them.
Amamiya Natsuki looked at the little girl in front of him and said:
"Please elaborate on the terms of the deal."
"It's my character quest." The little girl said calmly in a low voice, "The character I'm playing came to the Hospital with her mother, and for some unknown reason, her mother never returned… The quest requires me to find my mother and take her back to the car."
The little girl continued: "In fact, I've already found where my mother might be, but there's only one passage, and the guards are very strict. I can't get in… So I hope to make a deal: you help distract the Nurses, and I'll go in and complete the character quest."
Strict guards, only one passage… It strangely felt like déjà vu.
Amamiya Natsuki said calmly:
"What's your method of transaction?"
Since the other party was not discussing the friendship between players, but only the transaction, Amamiya Natsuki naturally agreed. Not everyone is willing to help others for free.
The passerby player pursed her lips: "The method of transaction is myself…"
Amamiya Natsuki interrupted sternly:
"Sorry, please respect yourself. I'm not a lolicon."
Even if she is fair-skinned and petite, she has to be somewhat grown. He really has no interest in a young girl like her.
Besides, if he shows even the slightest interest, he will be immediately sent to the police station to confess, right?
"What are you thinking!" A look of shame and annoyance appeared on the passerby player's face.
"No way." Fujiwara Chika crossed her arms in front of her chest and hurriedly dissuaded her, "Even if you are chosen by the game and become a poor player, you can't give up on yourself and trade your body with others. You will definitely regret it later."
"Listen to me!" The passerby player took a deep breath and gritted her teeth, "It's not the kind of transaction you think… Do you remember the rice ball I gave you before?"
Amamiya Natsuki nodded and said, "I remember, it was quite useful."
"I can make rice balls myself to increase the favorability of other creatures in a short period of time." The passerby player said in a low voice, "…You help me complete the character task, and I can give you ten rice balls."
She didn't rush to seek a transaction, but secretly observed for a while before quietly showing up.
Running a restaurant in a dungeon, organizing Wraith patients to participate in fishing competitions, viral marketing and advancement… There is no doubt that one player cannot do this.
In fact, according to her secret observation, it has been determined that there are several players in the restaurant who get together from time to time to whisper. Obviously, they have all understood their respective player identities, and everyone seems to be not being forced, but really working hard to run the restaurant and work together.
These people must know each other, otherwise it would be impossible to trust each other so much. It seems that they are still a very powerful team. Ordinary players cannot run a black shop in a dungeon…
After mastering enough information, she decided to make a deal.
"How about it?" The passerby player raised her face, "You should know the effect of the rice balls, right?"
Ten rice balls are naturally not the final transaction price, leaving a lot of room for bargaining.
The passerby player looked at Amamiya Natsuki while speaking, waiting for the two parties to bargain.
Who knew that Amamiya Natsuki only used one sentence to make her nervous.
"When you make rice balls… do you use tools or skills?"
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for dozens of advance chapters for over a dozen fics | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter