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"Powerful skills have a high copy failure rate, so it's natural to be more cautious." Hayasaka Ai explained with a smile, "I happen to be very interested in Yamashita-san's skill."
Disguising oneself as anyone, although it has a time limit and one cannot be harmed during that period, it seems like a mere trifle. But in Hayasaka Ai's eyes, this skill is clearly a weakened version of Mystique.
In short, he really wanted it.
Besides, a person isn't limited to learning just one skill; there will be opportunities to learn other skills later, so it's not too late.
Hayasaka Ai knew exactly what she wanted.
The coffee was quickly brought over.
Yamashita-san didn't continue to ask for the reason; she picked up her coffee, took a small sip, and then said:
"Um, how do you need me to cooperate?"
Hayasaka Ai said:
"You don't need to move; just leave it to me."
"..."
The process of duplicating a skill with a rubbing scroll was not troublesome; it only required the person being rubbed not to move around and to cooperate obediently. However, there was still a possibility of copy failure.
To be safe, Hayasaka Ai decisively flipped a coin, added a "Lucky Goddess is Smiling" buff to herself, and then unrolled the scroll.
Amamiya Natsuki reminded her from the side:
"Yamashita-san, please place your hand on the scroll and don't move."
"I understand."
Yamashita-san nodded gently, extended her right hand, and pressed it onto the blank scroll.
The next moment.
Strands of light emerged from the surface of the scroll, connecting with Yamashita-san's right hand.
The sudden anomaly made Yamashita-san show a hint of nervousness, but fortunately, nothing else happened, and she gradually relaxed.
"Yamashita-san, does it hurt?"
Hayasaka Ai asked with concern from the side.
"It doesn't hurt," Yamashita-san shook her head. "Aside from feeling a bit cool, there's no other sensation."
"That's good."
Hayasaka Ai made a relieved expression, then subtly turned her head and winked at Amamiya Natsuki.
Amamiya Natsuki nodded, indicating he understood.
Experimental data was very necessary to collect, and perhaps in the future, they could even obtain skill copy scrolls.
A moment later.
The light on the scroll quietly disappeared.
Amamiya Natsuki reached out and touched the scroll, and the game quickly displayed a successful copy notification.
"It's done," Amamiya Natsuki said, nodding.
Hayasaka Ai put away the scroll and bowed in thanks: "I've troubled Yamashita-san; I'm extremely grateful."
No matter what, when troubling someone to come over and help, the courtesy must be complete.
"It's fine, I just happened to be off today," Yamashita-san shook her head, picked up her coffee cup, took another sip of coffee, and then looked up at Amamiya Natsuki. "...I'll have to trouble Natsuki-kun again."
"Huh?"
Amamiya Natsuki was startled, putting down his coffee in confusion.
He had only come to drink coffee; how was he involved now?
"Yamashita-san's home recently had an Evil Spirit that refused to leave and was greatly affecting her daily life," Hayasaka Ai explained from the side. "So I asked Senpai to help Yamashita-san paste an Evil Spirit Banishing."
Amamiya Natsuki's mouth twitched slightly. No wonder she insisted someone accompany her for such a short distance. Pretending to be concerned about transaction safety was false; planning to sell him off was the truth!
The Spy Maid leaned in, whispering into his ear, her breath warm and sweet: "Senpai, you've worked hard. When we go back, I'll do whatever you want, okay?"
You're giving out empty promises right from the start, with no specific details. You're getting increasingly cunning!
Amamiya Natsuki sighed, walked over and sat down next to Yamashita-san, helping her paste the Evil Spirit Banishing.
Five minutes passed in a flash.
After pasting it, they chatted for a while longer before saying goodbye and leaving.
The journey back was silent.
The two quickly returned to the hot spring hotel.
Amamiya Natsuki turned to look at the Spy Maid and said:
"You just said you'd do anything? Coincidentally, I'm very interested in mixed-gender hot springs. Come to my room, and let's soak in the hot spring together."
"It's broad daylight, Senpai, don't always think about lewd things," Hayasaka Ai covered her chest, taking half a step back. "Girls will dislike you for that."
Amamiya Natsuki said unmoved:
"So, you're really trying to go back on your word?"
"Senpai, please let me finish," Hayasaka Ai's lips suddenly curved slightly upwards, revealing a pleasant smile. "However... since I promised Senpai, I will definitely keep my word. I'll go back to my room to prepare first. Senpai, wait for my message."
"Then I'll wait."
"..."
After parting ways with Hayasaka in the hotel lobby, Amamiya Natsuki was heading back to his room when he suddenly encountered Juju and Komi.
"Juju, where are you two going?"
Amamiya Natsuki asked curiously.
"To the lounge area to read some books," Juju put her right hand on her hip, tilted her small face up. Her figure was somewhere between an elementary school student and a junior high student. At this moment, she was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and a skirt, her slender arms and legs looking quite adorable. "It's boring to stay in the room all the time."
Amamiya Natsuki nodded and said:
"Just soaking in the hot spring is indeed a bit boring. We could..."
"Bah!"
Juju lightly spat, glaring fiercely, "Don't even think about us soaking in the hot spring with you."
"You misunderstood," Amamiya Natsuki's expression was innocent. "I was saying, do you want to play mahjong together?"
Amamiya Natsuki turned to look at the timid girl: "Does Komi know how to play mahjong?"
"..."
Komi shook her head.
Amamiya Natsuki said: "It's okay, Juju and I can teach you."
"We're going to read books right now," Juju rolled her eyes. "If you want to play mahjong, find someone else to play with."
Amamiya Natsuki stepped forward, following the two girls, and walked towards the lounge area.
"What are you following us for?"
Juju crossed her arms over her chest and glanced over.
Amamiya Natsuki lowered his head and said: "I just passed by the lounge area and saw that some bookshelves were quite high. I was worried you couldn't reach..."
"Die!"
"..."
The three chatted as they arrived at the lounge area... mainly Amamiya Natsuki and Juju talking, while Komi had once again become a silent gourd, speaking as little as possible.
"The lounge area is quite large," Juju observed the environment curiously. "It's just that there aren't many guests."
Amamiya Natsuki said faintly:
"What decent person comes to a hotel just to read?"
Juju: "...Don't speak."
As a high-end hot spring hotel, the lounge area was quite luxurious, with unlimited cold drinks and desserts, as well as free fruits and snacks. Soothing light music played in the air, and rows of bookshelves held various kinds of books, even a dedicated billiards area and table tennis area.
The three walked to the bookshelves, each searching for books of interest.
Amamiya Natsuki's gaze swept over the bookshelves, finding that the variety of books was quite rich, and all were the latest editions.
A manga with a white-haired older sister on the cover quickly caught Amamiya Natsuki's attention.
"'The Hero King, Reincarnated to Master the Martial Arts, Then Becomes the World's Strongest Apprentice Knight'—" Juju leaned over, read the title in one breath, and couldn't help but complain, "The name is too long, isn't it?"
"I don't know when it started, but it seems like the longer the name, the stronger the combat power," Juju crossed her arms over her chest, unable to resist saying. "I tossed and turned all night, and all I could make out were a few words... The industry is doomed."
"Clickbait titles aren't new," Amamiya Natsuki shrugged. "When Robinson Crusoe was first published, the cover only had the title, no background illustration, because the name was so long it summarized the entire book's content."
Putting the book back on the shelf, Amamiya Natsuki quickly spotted another book.
"You're the one."
Juju stood on her tiptoes to see the cover and said speechlessly: "'Reborn as a Dog, I'm Happy'... Isn't that name even weirder?"
"Compared to the white-haired Hero King, I prefer reincarnating as a dog," Amamiya Natsuki looked at Juju. "Want to read it together?"
Upon hearing this, Juju couldn't help but hesitate.
To be honest, just the manga title made her very curious.
But... she couldn't just agree to read it with him just because he asked, especially with Shoko still there.
Juju lightly snorted: "I can read it by myself."
"Then never mind," Amamiya Natsuki turned his head to look at the timid girl beside him. "Komi, let's read it together."
Juju immediately got angry.
She had just refused him, and he immediately turned to invite Shoko. He was clearly doing it on purpose!
"..."
Komi was startled, then quickly shook her head.
Amamiya Natsuki ignored her: "If you don't speak, I'll take that as a yes."
Komi's eyes widened, and she became anxious: "Um..."
"It's settled then," Amamiya Natsuki reached out and took the timid girl's hand. "Come read together."
Juju said angrily: "Don't bully Shoko in front of me."
"Hearing is not believing, and what you see isn't necessarily the truth," Amamiya Natsuki turned to look at the timid girl. "Komi, did I bully you?"
"..."
Komi hesitated for two seconds, then shook her head pitifully.
"See?" Amamiya Natsuki spread his hands, looking at Juju. "The victim herself doesn't say she was bullied, so it's certainly not a crime."
"Hey, you just said 'victim', didn't you!"
"..."
Amamiya Natsuki took Komi to the sofa to read, and Juju, worried that she would be bullied, naturally followed along.
There were no eighteen-plus warnings on the manga cover, so there was no need to worry about seeing anything strange. The two girls sat on either side of Amamiya Natsuki, curiously looking at the manga. Repair
"The art style is quite good," Juju commented.
As a coser by hobby, she had read many manga and light novels and had a certain level of appreciation.
"Mm-hmm."
Komi nodded in agreement.
"I feel like this art style looks a bit familiar..."
Amamiya Natsuki thought while continuing to turn the pages.
The manga had no drawn-out content and went straight to the theme. The first panel was from a dog's perspective. The protagonist was a male high school student who, for an unknown reason, turned into a dog. Before he could experience the hardships of being a stray, he was picked up and taken home by the aloof goddess from his class.
What's the first thing to do after picking up a stray dog?
Of course, it's to wash the dog clean.
After washing the dog, it's normal to take a bath yourself, right?
Seeing the scene of clothes being removed, Komi's face flushed crimson, and she quickly averted her gaze.
Juju didn't feel very ashamed, but just said speechlessly:
"How can something like this even be drawn...? What did the manga artist do before?"
"Hold on." Amamiya Natsuki took out his phone, activated the search function, and quickly said, "Found it... The manga artist used to be a h*ntai artist."
"I knew it!" Juju couldn't help but complain, "How could a decent person draw something like this!"
"No matter what, it's still someone else's creative work." Amamiya Natsuki said, "If you want to comment, you have to finish reading it first."
"Mm-hm."
Komi nodded in agreement upon hearing that.
"Shoko...?" Juju widened her eyes and looked over.
Facing her friend's gaze, which seemed to be betrayed, Komi quickly started shaking her head again.
Amamiya Natsuki said from the side:
"Don't bully Komi in front of me."
Juju: "..."
The subsequent content of the manga was still light and enjoyable, making it very easy to read.
After being adopted, a hot girl from the same class came to the goddess's house. Later, she was taken out by the two girls. When she finally returned home, she met a perverted girl who had a crush on the protagonist. A love rivalry was on the verge of breaking out, and to compete for the dog, she even used her skirt as a trap.
"This is too exaggerated." Juju couldn't help but complain, "Does anyone in reality really go to such lengths for a dog?"
"There really are." Amamiya Natsuki said, "Some dog lovers value their dogs more than their parents."
"..."
After finishing the single volume, Amamiya Natsuki took out his phone to read comments from netizens.
He found that they were all overwhelmingly positive.
"Perverts." Juju folded her arms across her chest, "This generation of netizens is too perverted."
"The real world is so oppressive, making it hard to breathe. Fantasizing about a life where beautiful girls provide food and lodging is also very good." Amamiya Natsuki looked at the most liked comment and turned to the timid girl, "When I want to just lie flat someday, I want to learn from everyone and be Komi's..."
"Ugh—!!"
Komi was also looking at her phone nearby. Before he could finish speaking, her pretty face quickly flushed red, and she hurriedly reached out to cover Amamiya Natsuki's mouth, so anxious that she actually spoke.
"No, don't say..."
After finishing the manga, his phone suddenly received a message.
Hayasaka: "Senpai, I'm ready."
Amamiya Natsuki stood up calmly: "You guys keep reading, I need to go back to my room for a bit."
Arriving at the hallway entrance, Amamiya Natsuki happened to encounter a Kaguya.
"President." The Sheltered Young Lady came up to him, her hands clasped over her lower abdomen, looking exceptionally dignified and elegant, and whispered, "Do you have time now?"
Amamiya Natsuki stopped and said:
"What's wrong?"
"Mother heard somewhere that Splatoon is a lot of fun." Shinomiya Kaguya pursed her pink lips, pressing her forehead with a headache, "She insists that I buy her a handheld console and the game... If President has time, could you accompany me to pick them out?"
Amamiya Natsuki nodded and said: "I have time."
"That's good..."
"But if I accompany you to buy things, what reward are you going to give?"
"Eh?" Shinomiya Kaguya was startled, pursing her pink lips and saying, "What reward does President want?"
Amamiya Natsuki said: "I want a lap pillow exchange coupon."
"Wait, what is that?"
"As the name suggests, a reward coupon that can be exchanged for a lap pillow at any time."
Shinomiya Kaguya's pretty face tightened: "President, you're disrespecting me. What do you take me for?"
"I don't need you to go. Hasaka and I will go together."
After Shinomiya Kaguya finished speaking, she prepared to leave.
Slap.
Amamiya Natsuki grabbed the Sheltered Young Lady's wrist and pinned her against the wall:
"Just leaving like that? I also have dignity... Kaguya-san, you wouldn't want your mother to be bullied, would you?"
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