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"Eh... I fainted last night?"
"This is a hospital?"
"Anon-chan and Kitahara-kun rushed here from Tokyo after school to save me?"
"..."
Listening to Chihaya Anon's explanation on the phone, the dark skinned girl quickly chose to believe her.
Firstly, the two were good friends in middle school, and Anon had no reason to lie.
Secondly, she already knew about everyone escaping the nightmare, and it was indeed Chihaya Anon who helped exorcise the demon.
It was just that her grandmother passed away that day, and her mother needed companionship, so she couldn't return to Tokyo immediately. She originally thought she could just get through these few days, but who knew she would directly fall into a coma.
But... why did they strip her naked?
And everyone said Anon-chan helped exorcise the demon, but Anon-chan wasn't even here, only Kitahara-kun and an unfamiliar girl she didn't know...
The dark skinned girl always felt something was wrong.
But she couldn't think calmly now, the dark skinned girl said nervously:
"Kitahara-kun... why can't my body move?"
Except for her head being able to turn and her mouth being able to speak, all other parts of her body were unable to move.
"Don't be nervous, although the curse has been Stripping, there are still some after-effects. You'll recover normally after a while," Kitahara Makoto comforted softly.
The dark skinned girl naturally wouldn't fully believe him, and said nervously:
"C-can I still recover completely?"
Kitahara Makoto said softly:
"Of course you can."
"That's good..."
The dark skinned girl clearly still didn't fully believe him, biting her lip with a worried expression.
"Tomori, you help Karin-san put on her clothes," Kitahara Makoto turned and said, "I'll go out and wait for you."
"Mm."
"..."
Walking out of the bathroom, Kitahara Makoto looked at the nurse waiting outside and suggested:
"Nurse, Karin-san has already woken up. Let's postpone the examination for now and wait until Karin-san's parents return, shall we?"
"Okay, then I'll head back first."
The nurse naturally had no other opinion and left.
A moment later.
The bathroom door opened, and Takamatsu Tomori said with a flushed face:
"Makoto-kun, the clothes are on..."
Kitahara Makoto turned and returned to the bathroom, easily picking up the dark skinned girl and placing her back on the hospital bed.
"Thank you, Kitahara-kun..."
The dark skinned girl thanked him softly, her face red.
After learning that the dark skinned girl had woken up, Chihaya Anon had already rushed back with Karin's parents. The curse had been Stripping, so it didn't matter if their identities were exposed now.
So Kitahara Makoto and Takamatsu Tomori stayed directly in the ward.
"Makoto-kun..."
Takamatsu Tomori's face was flushed crimson, and she extended a finger, gently poking Kitahara Makoto's waist.
"What's wrong?"
Kitahara Makoto looked over curiously.
Takamatsu Tomori's face was as red as fire, her gaze drifting as she said:
"Y-you haven't returned it to me yet..."
"Hmm?"
Kitahara Makoto was slightly startled, then remembered that the panties he had Stripping earlier were still in his pocket.
No wonder you've been blushing this whole time, you should have said you wanted your panties earlier!
"I'm sorry, I was too busy just now and forgot."
Kitahara Makoto quietly took out the panties and returned them to Tomori.
Takamatsu Tomori quickly took them, then darted into the bathroom.
A moment later.
The ward door was pushed open, and a middle-aged couple, along with a pink-haired girl, walked in.
It was Karin-san's parents and Chihaya Anon.
Seeing their daughter awake, the couple was naturally overjoyed, especially the middle-aged wife, who covered her mouth, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Kitahara-kun, come here, come here." Chihaya Anon secretly waved, calling Kitahara Makoto and Takamatsu Tomori out of the ward, and whispered, "What did you mean on the phone when you said Karin-chan couldn't move?"
"Literally," Kitahara Makoto said with a serious expression, "Your friend can only move her head and speak now; her body and limbs are completely paralyzed."
"Why is that?" Chihaya Anon immediately became anxious. "The curse has been completely removed, hasn't it?"
"The curse has indeed been removed," Kitahara Makoto said softly. "But I remember when I consulted the answer book before, it showed that your friend had been cursed for too long, causing soul damage, which is why she was in a coma..."
Chihaya Anon bit her lip upon hearing this, quickly understanding:
"Kitahara-kun, do you mean that Karin-chan's inability to move is due to soul damage?"
"Most likely," Kitahara Makoto said softly. "As for how to treat her next, we can only ask the answer book."
"My question attempts are already used up," Chihaya Anon said, clasping her hands in front of her chest, pleading, "Please, Kitahara-kun and Tomori... Eh, why is Tomori's face so red?"
Chihaya Anon finally noticed Tomori's abnormality.
"..."
Takamatsu Tomori's small face was flushed, and she turned her head away nervously, looking elsewhere. Since she couldn't lie, she chose silence.
"Stare—"
Chihaya Anon turned her head, casting a suspicious glance at Kitahara Makoto.
"A small accident occurred," Kitahara Makoto said calmly. "Let's go, let's find a place and first get the answer clear."
The three left the hallway and quickly found an unsupervised dead end without surveillance cameras.
After a brief discussion on how to phrase the question, Kitahara Makoto took out the answer book from his backpack, placed his hand on the book's cover, and began to ask:
"How can Karin-san be restored to health?"
The dark skinned girl's paralysis was most likely due to soul damage. Question attempts were precious, so asking the cause was not very meaningful; it was better to directly ask for the treatment plan.
Rustle, rustle.
The answer book flipped pages rapidly, as if by itself.
["phantom sky flower", consumption can repair soul damage]
"Eh, phantom sky flower?" Chihaya Anon looked over curiously. "Kitahara-kun, what is that?"
"I don't know, I've never heard of it," Kitahara Makoto handed the answer book to Takamatsu Tomori. "Tomori-chan, ask how to obtain this flower."
"Mm."
The blush on Takamatsu Tomori's small face had not completely faded. She lowered her head, softly agreed, and took the book with both hands.
Rustle, rustle.
A line of text quickly appeared on the blank page:
[7 PM, Enoshima, back mountain cave, enter Otherworld to pick]
"The phantom sky flower grows in the Otherworld?"
Seeing the answer on the book, Kitahara Makoto's brows furrowed immediately.
He hadn't expected this thing to grow in the Otherworld, but on second thought, it was quite reasonable. Something that could repair soul damage certainly didn't seem like something from the real world.
Chihaya Anon's eyes flickered:
"Kitahara-kun seems to know about the Otherworld?"
Kitahara Makoto frowned slightly: "That's a very dangerous place. You don't need to know that much..."
"How mean!" Chihaya Anon immediately puffed out her pink cheeks. "I hate riddle-tellers the most. Saying half and leaving half just makes people more curious, okay?"
Kitahara Makoto sighed helplessly and softly revealed the information about the Otherworld, especially the fact that once one enters, they will be marked and will have to re-enter periodically.
"Eh?" Chihaya Anon's eyes quickly brightened. "There's actually such a magical place in the world?"
Kitahara Makoto corrected her:
"It's not magical; it should be described as dangerous. What you should focus on is that once you enter, you can never escape."
"That phantom sky flower is in the Otherworld, right?" Chihaya Anon excitedly clenched her fists. "For Karin-chan, I'm determined to brave the Otherworld!"
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