044 The Strongest Anomaly Within the Hotel
"Don't be envious, although my exclusive talent is very strong in strange dungeons, it also has many restrictions."
Iwanaga Kotoko said this first, then smiled at Yuuki Asuna and spoke.
"Besides, you deserve much credit for eliminating the source of the anomaly this time. You acted without hesitation or mercy. No wonder Leader teamed up with you."
Hearing Iwanaga Kotoko's words, just as Yuuki Asuna was about to reply, she heard the other party speak softly again.
"But, next time, can you not act like a pervert, doing something as abnormal as standing on the water tank and softly chanting Leader's name?"
Yuuki Asuna's face instantly flushed red upon hearing this. She hadn't expected that Iwanaga Kotoko had actually heard her quietly call Asagiri's name at that time.
She didn't have any other thoughts at the time, she just subconsciously felt that in order not to put Asagiri in danger... she had to make up her mind, even if she had to jump into the foul-smelling water tank containing a corpse, she wouldn't hesitate at all.
"I... You're the pervert! By the way, are you really the same age as us?"
Yuuki Asuna instantly counterattacked, sizing up Iwanaga Kotoko, who was petite, only about one meter five tall, with a face that was very delicate and cute, but didn't look like a high school student at all, and slowly spoke.
"Your figure... it's practically like a middle schooler's..."
"What!? Are you saying a certain part of me is small!?"
Iwanaga Kotoko noticed where Yuuki Asuna's gaze was directed, then looked at her own size, which was quite outstanding for a high school student of this age group. Her momentum couldn't help but be halved, but she still forced herself, speaking astonishing words.
"Heh heh, I'm just developing later, and I've heard that if you often massage with skilled techniques, you'll undergo secondary development!"
After saying this, Iwanaga Kotoko looked at Asagiri and spoke frankly.
"Leader, caring for team members' mental health and helping team members' physical growth is also your responsibility as a Leader, right? Then I'll leave it to you."
Yuuki Asuna felt incredibly ashamed just listening to this. Her face was slightly red, and her voice carried a hint of jealousy.
"You, can you not say such vulgar words here? Please don't say such... such... such shocking words with that cute and innocent face, okay?"
"Tch..."
Iwanaga Kotoko made a sound of dissatisfaction, rolled her eyes at Yuuki Asuna, acting like a dead pig not afraid of boiling water, determined to say something shocking or die trying.
"I'm not asking you to massage, mind your own business."
"You..."
"That's enough."
Asagiri interrupted the arguing duo with a serious expression, looking at Yuuki Asuna and Iwanaga Kotoko, and slowly spoke.
"Just a heads up, I have two hands, I can massage both of you at the same time."
Yuuki Asuna was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then her face turned red, and she gritted her silver teeth, saying hatefully.
"Who... who wants you to massage them! How did you get infected by her too..."
Speaking of which, Yuuki Asuna paused, and after a long while, she sighed, supporting her forehead, and said helplessly.
"I forgot, if we're talking about how crazy someone is... you're probably even worse than her... What kind of people did I team up with..."
"Alright, let's get down to business."
After a brief moment of abstract relaxation, Asagiri brought the topic back.
"The APP gave us the function to leave early? I didn't expect it, this APP icon looks quite scary, but as an external system for the game, it's quite user-friendly."
Yuuki Asuna nodded, thinking that the objective the instance preset for the Players was to survive until the twelve-hour instance limit. Now that the source of the Hotel's strangeness had been eliminated, the Earth-Bound Spirits that the Floating Corpse Evil Spirit created through water and were bound to each floor should also have disappeared.
There were no longer any dangers in this Hotel that could affect the trio's clear. That's why the APP unlocked the function to leave the instance early, right?
It's just that...
Yuuki Asuna mused, "What exactly did Necro's special instance hint mean..."
Like Asagiri and Yuuki Asuna, Iwanaga Kotoko also obtained a high-level clear evaluation in the novice instance, S-.
When she entered the instance this time, she also received a special hint from the APP regarding this instance.
"The Most Dangerous Strangeness Is Not The Strongest Strangeness"
"Interpreting it literally, the most dangerous strangeness should be the Floating Corpse Evil Spirit that we just eliminated."
Iwanaga Kotoko propped herself up with both hands, like a child, sitting on the front counter of the Hotel's reception area, her legs dangling in the air, supporting her cheeks with her hands, and spoke softly, analyzing.
"But, although it is the most dangerous, it is not the strongest. Plus, the APP just said that we have eliminated all 'hostile' Banshees in this Hotel. Thinking this way, it means that in this Hotel, there exists a strange entity that is more powerful than the Floating Corpse Evil Spirit, and unlike those Earth-Bound Spirits, it was not created by that Floating Corpse Evil Spirit, but was born due to other factors, yet it does not have any hostility towards us."
Yuuki Asuna was skeptical, "A strange entity without hostility... Does such a thing really exist?"
"Of course."
Iwanaga Kotoko shrugged and explained with a smile.
"In fact, most strange entities in the real world belong to this type. They just want a peaceful life and have no desire to harm humans. The extremely small portion that will harm humans, frequently appear before humans, and also those like the Floating Corpse Evil Spirit, who kill due to excessive resentment and interfere with the Banshees that maintain order, need to be eliminated to maintain the boundary of non-interference between strange entities and humans."
"I see."
Yuuki Asuna looked at Asagiri and asked.
"But... since that strange entity has no hostility towards us, we don't need to provoke it, right? You've already consumed a lot of mental strength and physical strength. I suggest that this operation ends here..."
Just as Yuuki Asuna was halfway through her sentence, a tender little girl's voice suddenly rang out.
"Big brother, big sister, where... where are you going?"
Hearing this sudden voice, not only Yuuki Asuna, but even Iwanaga Kotoko couldn't help but tremble.
She looked not far away, at the little girl who had appeared at some point and was standing there quietly, wearing a dress, with blonde hair and blue eyes, and a very cute appearance. A hint of shock couldn't help but appear in her eyes.
Iwanaga Kotoko, who possessed the talent of "God of Wisdom of Strange Entities", actually didn't sense the other party's presence at all. It wasn't until this little girl spoke that she belatedly felt a...
Terrifying aura that made her shudder.