"Juju-sama, long time no see."
Natsuki said with a smile.
"Idiot, why are you here?"
Seeing Natsuki at the door, a flash of surprise flickered in Juju's eyes, but she quickly tightened her small face, unwilling to show it.
Natsuki smiled and said:
"Of course, it's because I missed Juju so much."
"Pfft!"
Juju clenched her small fist, wanting to punch Natsuki.
Infuriating!
Super infuriating!
"Natsuki, come in quickly." Marin's voice came from the living room. "I just sent Natsuki a message, asking him to come help."
Juju snorted lightly, then moved aside to let him in:
"Come in."
"Many thanks."
Natsuki stepped into the genkan, handed the fruit in his hand to Juju, then opened the shoe cabinet himself and took out the men's slippers inside.
"Hmph…"
Seeing the men's slippers in the shoe cabinet, Juju couldn't help but let out a soft snort.
"What's wrong?"
Natsuki asked, puzzled.
Juju bit her silver teeth, feeling her fists itch more and more, wanting to punch someone. She said word by word:
"No! Thing!"
Marin's dad works in Kagoshima and only comes back twice a year, yet there's a pair of obviously newly bought, brand-new men's slippers in the shoe cabinet. If they're not your slippers, whose could they be?!
You even have your own special slippers at Marin's house, and you're so skilled, opening the shoe cabinet without even needing to look, knowing exactly where they're placed… You're too familiar!
It's already been two days since you returned from the dungeon, and you haven't come to play with me. Could it be that you've been at Marin's house these past two days?!
They hardened. They hardened.
Her fists hardened.
Juju felt more and more angry the more she thought about it.
Although she had already accepted the idea of dating together, it was impossible not to feel jealous at all. Even small cats and dogs would fight over affection.
She was even thinking at home if he would suddenly come to play, but it turns out he was already having too much fun with Marin to think of home!
"Natsuki-sama~!"
Sayu walked out of the bedroom, her pretty face beaming with an exceptionally bright smile. If Juju hadn't been there, she would have already jumped into Natsuki's arms.
"Hmph."
Juju, carrying the fruit, stomped towards the kitchen.
"Eh?" Sayu blinked, came to Natsuki's side, and whispered, "Juju was clearly very happy this afternoon, so why is she suddenly angry?"
"I don't know." Natsuki's expression was innocent. "I really don't know."
Even the late Mr. Hawking said that a girl's mind is harder to understand than a black hole. Natsuki is just a scumbag; he doesn't have mind-reading abilities, so he naturally doesn't know Juju's change in mood.
"Hmm…" Sayu blinked, then suddenly thought of a possibility. She clenched her right fist and gently tapped her left palm, "Could it be that Juju's period came?"
"Don't look at me." Natsuki shrugged. "I definitely wouldn't know."
If he dared to ask, he would definitely be beaten senseless by Juju.
"It's okay." Sayu lowered her voice. Between fairness and justice and aiding and abetting, she firmly chose to aid and abet. Even if Natsuki committed murder and arson, she would help him keep watch and hand him the knife. "As long as Master wants it, even Juju… can…"
"Don't say it, it's too dangerous."
Natsuki immediately covered Sayu's mouth.
If she kept talking, Juju would break ties with her, and he really didn't want a bloody battle!
"I won't say it." Sayu stuck out her pink tongue, nodded obediently, then turned and walked towards the kitchen. "I'll go ask Juju."
A moment later.
Sayu poked half of her pretty face out of the kitchen, made a peace sign, and mouthed:
"Master, don't worry, Juju's body is normal. She's just simply angry."
As she spoke.
The bedroom door opened.
A blonde female knight in blue and white armor walked out.
"Ta-da~"
Marin stepped forward, propped her hands on a large prop sword, and looked up at Natsuki, "Tell me, are you my Master?"
Natsuki's eyes lit up and he said:
"That's right, I am."
"You need to provide proof." Marin slightly raised her chin, revealing a strip of white, embarrassing neck, and commanded from above, "Take off your clothes. I need to check your Magic Circuit."
"I'm sorry." Natsuki covered his chest and said righteously, "I am a man with a girlfriend, and I only take off my clothes for my girlfriend."
"Hmph…" Marin stuck out her pink tongue, lightly licked her lips, then raised her right foot. Her right foot, clad in white stockings, stepped onto Natsuki's thigh, and she used a finger to lift Natsuki's chin, "It seems you want me to use force."
"Even if you get my body, you won't get my heart." Natsuki leaned back. "My heart only belongs to my girlfriend."
Marin continued her roleplay:
"I only need Master's body."
"…"
Just as the two were happily engaged in roleplay, Juju's speechless voice sounded from behind them:
"What… are you two doing?!"
I'm still here!
I'm still in the house!
You're already so impatient now. If I leave, will you not even bother going to the bedroom?!
"Ahem…" Marin lightly coughed twice, quickly stood up straight, and said with a flushed face, "Juju, are you done with your work? I was just doing some role-playing to see if I could activate the power of 'My King'."
"As if you could actually activate it!"
Juju couldn't help but retort.
Other people's "My King" is gallant and heroic; the version you were just playing, though—that was clearly a character straight out of the underworld!
"This [Role-play] skill is so weak." Marin sat down on the sofa, picked up a grape, and popped it into her mouth. "So far, I've only unlocked one Succubus character and Juju's Magical Girl character. None of the other outfits work no matter how much I try them on—the versatility is just too low. I went through all the trouble of changing costumes just now, hoping I might be able to unlock the 'My King' role-play option, but it turned out to be completely useless."
Sayu came over, picked up a grape, and offered it to Natsuki's mouth:
"I also tried several cosplay costumes today, but the compatibility wasn't enough. I still don't know what characters can be unlocked."
"Since it's a purple-grade skill, [Roleplay] shouldn't be like this. Maybe we're not using it correctly." Natsuki ate a grape offered by Sayu and pondered, "Perhaps we can try another method."
"Eh?" Marin looked over curiously, "What method?"
"Skill enhancement." Natsuki snapped his fingers. "Once skill enhancement is successful, new abilities are often unlocked. Maybe it can remove the character compatibility restriction."
Marin was a little tempted, but still shook her head and said:
"But enhancement items are super rare, and we don't know what effects they'll have after enhancement. If there isn't much change after enhancement, it would be too much of a waste."
Natsuki pondered:
"Perhaps we can know in advance what the effect of skill enhancement will be."
Juju looked over curiously and said:
"How can we know something like that?"
Natsuki took a grape and offered it to Juju's mouth:
"I once challenged the Ozaki Eight all over the world, and in the end, I got a limited skill."
"Ah…"
Juju subconsciously ate the grape, then quickly reacted: "Is that the 'Evolution' skill?"
"Exactly, that's the one."
Selecting a skill and allowing it to break its limits and achieve super evolution should not be much different from a strengthened skill.
"Then let's try it." Marin excitedly extended her right hand, "Eh, wait, today we still need to…"
Marin suddenly remembered today's main business and couldn't help but turn to look at Juju.
She remembered.
She didn't come here today to experience the new evolved skill, but to pull Juju into playing the game together.
"We'll talk about it later, no need to rush." Natsuki held Marin's right hand and said calmly, "Let's test the data after the skill evolves first."
"How strange…"
Juju blinked, feeling that what Marin had just left unsaid was related to her.
Five minutes later.
[Roleplay] copied.
"No problem, it can evolve."
Natsuki closed his eyes to sense, then quickly nodded.
"Then let's try it." Marin said excitedly, "Speaking of which, I've never seen Natsuki use an Evolution skill."
Sayu followed: "I haven't seen it either."
"It can only be used once every twenty-four hours; the cooldown is too long." Natsuki said, "So I can't use it whenever I want… Very good, evolution successful."
Natsuki set the skill panel to public display:
"You all can see for yourselves."
Marin and the two others looked on with curiosity.
[Skill: Roleplay (Super Evolution)]
[Passive: Master of All Compendium! You can now play any role!]
[When your compatibility is insufficient, your compatibility will be additionally increased, allowing you to meet the basic role-playing requirements for any character. When the character is compatible with you, your roleplay intensity will be additionally increased by one tier]
[Note: From now on, I am the Legion!]
"Eh eh eh?" Marin's eyes quickly brightened, and she said in surprise, "It's so powerful after super evolution?"
Sayu exclaimed: "It really looks amazing."
Even Juju gasped: "To be able to play any role you want, it's too exaggerated."
The basic version of [Roleplay] before super evolution required meeting basic compatibility to unlock the role, and the higher the compatibility, the stronger the ability. The first level could unlock passive abilities, the second could use the active abilities of the played character, and the highest level's appearance was still unknown.
Unfortunately, compatibility is a mysterious thing, with no fixed standard; it might be related to personality, temperament, hobbies, and so on.
So far, the number of characters that can be confirmed to be played is not many; it can be said to be more impressive in theory than in practice.
But unlocking the full compendium is different; it means there are no longer restrictions on basic compatibility. You can play any role you want and even use the corresponding abilities… Of course, basic compatibility only grants basic corresponding character abilities.
Even so, it is still a super valuable skill.
"Me, me, me." Marin excitedly raised her right hand and said expectantly, "Natsuki, paste the skill to me, I want to experience the joy of roleplay."
"Okay." Natsuki held Marin's right hand, then looked at Sayu and Juju, "You two try it too, the evolution time won't last long, don't waste it."
Sayu's eyes darted, and she said with a smile:
"Natsuki-sama, no rush, I'll go change with Juju first."
"Hmm?"
Natsuki raised an eyebrow and looked over. Having been together for so long, he saw a hint of cunning hidden in Sayu's smile and knew Sayu definitely had ulterior motives.
"Since it's roleplay, we definitely need to put on uniforms first." Sayu secretly winked and said crisply, "So it's very reasonable and normal for Juju and me to go change first… Juju, shall we go?"
"…It is indeed very reasonable."
Juju couldn't find a reason to refute, so she could only follow behind Sayu and silently walk towards the upstairs room.
Natsuki stayed in the living room, continuing to help Marin paste the skill.
Sayu and Juju changed clothes very quickly; Marin's skill hadn't even finished pasting when the two girls came down from upstairs.
Thump-thump-thump.
Hearing footsteps behind him, Natsuki turned around and saw two girls walking towards him, wearing identical maid outfits and equally long blue wigs.
"Feels a bit familiar…"
Natsuki felt vaguely familiar, but couldn't recall it for a moment.
"It's that popular doujin character from before." Marin explained from the side, "It's the pure love doujin 'Kaede and Rei'."
"…"
As Marin said that, Natsuki instantly remembered.
In this era where NTR is rampant and cuckolds are everywhere, the number of pure love doujin is declining, and it's hard to find excellent works anymore.
But some time ago, the pure love world finally saw a refreshing work, which was "Kaede and Rei." The two were twins. The younger sister was dating the male lead, who was her childhood friend. The older sister also liked the male lead, but for the sake of her sister's happiness, she silently suppressed her feelings. When she couldn't bear it anymore, she secretly began to impersonate her sister… In short, it was full of buffs.
Marin's voice was clear as she said:
"When I read the doujin before, I felt that the Kaede and Rei characters were very cute. I ordered the uniforms yesterday and only received them today. I was thinking of wearing them with… cough, cough."
As a rich woman, Marin is now wealthy and willful. She can buy any cosplay uniform she wants, without needing to be careful with her spending.
As for who she wanted to wear them with, it was clearly Sayu.
Marin coughed twice, her pretty face slightly red, and she forcefully changed the subject:
"My taste was indeed right, Sayu and Juju look super cute in them!"
"The skirt is too short, isn't it?" Juju grabbed the hem of the maid outfit with both hands, pulling it down hard, her small face flushed. She couldn't help but complain, "And there are so many cosplay uniforms, why do we have to play Kaede and Rei? They're just ordinary people, right?"
"Because time is tight. While other characters can also be cosplayed, the pasting time would be over by the time we finish changing." Sayu said without changing her expression, "Kaede and Rei are very easy; just change into a maid outfit and put on a wig… And according to the manga's setting, Kaede and Rei aren't entirely ordinary people; they seem to be able to communicate telepathically."
"Eh?" Juju was startled, "How come I didn't know?"
Natsuki said:
"Then Juju must have been careless when she read the doujin."
"Pfft~" Juju couldn't help but glare, saying shyly, "I haven't even read that doujin!"
"…"
"Pasting complete."
Natsuki watched the time, and when the skill pasting was finished, he released Marin's right hand.
"I'll try."
Marin's eyes sparkled. She got up from the sofa, then picked up the prop Sword of Promised Victory, and happily shouted:
"Transform!"
The next second.
A mysterious current of air, centered on Marin, suddenly blew in all directions.
Marin's original Saber portrayal was ordinary, but at this moment, Marin suddenly gained a hint of majesty and aura, indescribable yet truly present. Her eyes were firm and unyielding. If she were to attend a comic convention in this state, she would definitely be praised as 'God-tier role-playing'.
Unfortunately, as soon as Marin opened her mouth, that majestic aura was largely diluted.
"Hahaha, it really unlocked successfully!"
Marin happily swung the Sword of Promised Victory in her hand, exclaiming in surprise:
"Only the basic role-playing degree has been unlocked now, but even so, I have three passive abilities!"
The three passives were Indomitable Spirit, Battle-Hardened, and Ally of Justice.
Among them, Indomitable Spirit is a mental passive that can effectively resist abilities like succubus charm and hypnosis.
Battle-Hardened is a combat passive, where fighting techniques become instinctive.
As for Ally of Justice, when fighting for justice, all damage will receive an additional boost.
Of course, Marin can only be considered a super low-spec version of the King, but even so, if those novice players knew about it, they would definitely be envious to tears.
"Marin-chan is amazing!"
Sayu exclaimed, pulling Juju to sit next to Natsuki, "Natsuki-sama, quickly help Juju and me paste the skill."
"Okay."
Natsuki agreed, holding Sayu and Juju's small hands.
"The characters we're playing are too weak, aren't they?" Juju couldn't help but complain, "Marin is playing the King, but we're playing two doujin characters. Regardless of strength or tier, there's too much difference."
"That's not necessarily true." Natsuki said seriously, "While the King is powerful, she was still pinned to the ground and defeated by Gilgamesh… Do you know which character is invincible?"
"Tch." Juju rolled her eyes, "How can there be such an invincible character?"
"Of course there is, like Tom Cat." Natsuki smiled, "Characters from comedy cartoons are truly invincible."
Juju: "…"
"It's a pity we can only experience it for a while." Marin sat back on the sofa, her voice full of regret, "Once the experience time is over, there won't be a next time."
Sayu tilted her head and looked over:
"Marin-chan, don't be discouraged. If we could strengthen the skill with a strengthening item, there should be a similar effect, right?"
Marin shook her head:
"Skill strengthening items are too rare. I've opened so many blind boxes, but I've never gotten one."
Juju said from the side:
"They are indeed very rare. I haven't even seen anyone trade them."
Natsuki said calmly:
"Because everyone knows the value of skill strengthening items."
Copy scrolls and skill strengthening crystals, while both have a chance of failure when used, their preciousness is not the same. Scrolls can only copy other people's skills, and putting aside the failure rate, whether others agree to let you copy is the real problem.
Everyone has a sense of exclusive ownership.
Of course, they want to exclusively own their own skills; no one is willing to let others copy them to learn.
The reason Natsuki is never refused when he copies is due to his status and strength. If it were an ordinary person, you'd see if they would even bother.
But skill strengthening crystals don't require anyone's consent; you can use them directly on yourself. Once successfully strengthened, they can provide an immediate boost in ability. No player would dislike their abilities being too powerful, so once someone draws a strengthening crystal, they will most likely use it on themselves immediately. Only pure novices who understand nothing would sell them.
"The probability of opening a strengthening crystal from a Blind Box yourself is very low, so…" Natsuki pondered for a few seconds, then quickly said, "As expected, I should ask Miss Mitsui for help."
"Eh?" Marin looked over expectantly, "Can we really do that?"
"Such a large the Strange Tales Management Bureau, it's impossible for them not to be able to get strengthening crystals. Don't underestimate the power of the authorities." Natsuki looked around at the three girls, "Why do you think the Strange Tales Management Bureau gives players so many benefits?"
Sayu raised her hand from the side:
"Is it to use our strength to eliminate Strange Tales and maintain public order and stability?"
Natsuki looked at Marin: "What does Marin say?"
Marin quickly said:
"My thoughts are the same as Sayu's."
"What about Juju?"
Natsuki looked at Juju again.
"Noisy." Juju lightly snorted, "Just say what you want to say, don't keep us in suspense."
"Alright." Natsuki shrugged, "When humans face an existence beyond their control, their first thought is definitely not peaceful coexistence, but to eliminate the other party."
"The Strange Tales Management Bureau treats players with various courtesies because they know very well that although players have special abilities, they are still flesh and blood humans. A single bullet can easily kill them. If a bullet doesn't work, then a cannonball. A flesh and blood body simply cannot survive."
"In this era of thermal weapons, even human wave tactics are useless, let alone mere players."
"It is precisely because they can safely control us that we receive the current preferential treatment."
"…"
"It sounds like it makes some sense, but it also feels like nonsense…" After a brief silence, Juju couldn't help but complain, "Stupid Natsuki's thoughts are too dark."
"I also think it's a bit dark…" Marin hugged her arms, pursed her lips, and couldn't help but lower her voice, "The Strange Tales Management Bureau wouldn't secretly install listening devices or something in our homes, would they?"
Juju looked over speechlessly: "Marin-chan is thinking too much."
Natsuki calmly said:
"Don't worry too much. In fact, most people in the Strange Tales Management Bureau are ordinary people, and their thoughts should be similar to ours. But you can't guarantee that some politicians want to use us… After all, the first requirement to become a politician is to be ruthless enough."
"Skill pasting is done." Natsuki released Sayu and Juju, "I'll contact Mitsui and ask her to help acquire reinforced crystals."
It had become a habit for Natsuki to look for Mitsui whenever he had a problem.
The reason was simple: she was incredibly useful.
"Oh, as expected, the passive ability was activated." Sayu stood up, clenched her fists, raised them above her head, stretched, and said with a smile, "I'm going to the restroom."
As she passed Natsuki, Sayu quietly touched him, signaling with her eyes.
"Master, follow me!"
"…"
Natsuki sat still, continuing to drink tea.
Only after Marin and Juju started watching TV did he quietly slip away.
"Master~"
Sayu opened the door, pulled Natsuki inside, then wrapped her arms around his neck, hanging onto him like a koala.
"Why did you call me over?"
Natsuki asked in a low voice.
Sayu's eyes curved into crescents, and she giggled:
"Master, guess what are Kaede and Rei's passive attributes?"
Natsuki complained:
"Although I don't know what it is, I have a feeling it's definitely not proper."
"Eh heh~" Sayu stuck out the tip of her tongue, leaned close to Natsuki's ear, her breath warm and sweet, "Kaede and Rei are twins, so their passive is the mysterious Twin Telepathy!"
Natsuki: "…"
No wonder you don't wear other cosplay outfits, insisting on playing the twin sisters from the book with Juju, and it's all to drag Juju into playing the Tetris game with you!
With two good best friends like you and Marin, Juju will probably be moved to tears!
Natsuki said in a low voice:
"Actually, there's really no need for this…"
"Hmm…" Sayu hummed softly, her eyes sparkling, "Master, you say no, but what is your body doing?"
Natsuki said without changing his expression:
"Of course, my body has its own ideas."
"…"
A moment later.
In the living room.
Juju, who was comfortably watching TV, suddenly felt an indescribable urge surge into her heart. She couldn't help but pick up her cup and chug some tea.
Unfortunately, the inexplicable flame in her heart did not extinguish at all; instead, it became even more intense, making Juju restless and uncomfortable all over.
"Juju, what's wrong?"
Marin asked curiously.
"N-nothing…"
Juju quickly shook her head, clutching her skirt tightly with both hands. She only felt her heart racing, her breathing quickening, and even a thin layer of sweat starting to appear on her forehead.
Her body… was so strange…
Why did she want to…
Hold it in!
Don't overthink it!
This is Marin's house, not her own room. She must hold it in!
Unfortunately, she couldn't hold it in.
A moment later, Juju felt even more uncomfortable all over, as if ants were crawling, and they were crawling under her skin. In short, it was super uncomfortable.
Gulp, gulp, gulp.
Juju tilted her head and drank another glass of water, but it was completely useless.
"I'm going to the restroom to wash my face…"
Juju stood up, feeling her legs a bit weak, almost unable to stand steady. She quickly took a deep breath to steady herself, then hurried towards the restroom.
However, as soon as she approached the restroom, Juju heard strange noises.
"W-wait, is that sound…?"
Juju's eyes widened in disbelief.
As someone who had been there before, she could naturally distinguish what the sound was.
Too much!
This is too much!
This is Marin's house, why is he doing that with Sayu here!
But… if she told Marin now, Marin would definitely be super disappointed and sad, right?
Her boyfriend and her best best friend, two people hiding in her house's restroom, doing something terrible. Even if Marin agreed to a shared relationship, she definitely had principles and bottom lines.
Once she discovered what Natsuki and Sayu were doing, she might even cry on the spot…
No!
She couldn't tell anyone!
Even for Marin's sake, she had to keep this secret!
Juju bit her lip, deciding to keep this matter to herself and never tell anyone. Taking a deep breath, she turned to go back.
However, Juju discovered in horror that her legs were not obeying her.
Her head felt dizzy as if she had a fever, her heart pounded rapidly, and her legs even involuntarily and quietly moved towards the restroom, wanting to hear more clearly…
Ahhh! Stop it!
What on earth was she doing!
Why… why was she walking towards the restroom!
Juju wanted to stop, but she simply couldn't. In the end, she could only let her body take control, walking step by step to the restroom door, then leaning against the wall and quietly sliding down.
A moment later.
The restroom suddenly fell silent.
"Phew…"
Juju finally breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to leave, the restroom door was suddenly pulled open, and then a hand reached out and directly pulled her inside.
"W-wait a minute… you… I don't want to…"