"...So, Uncle, you look very tired, like your soul has been drained away and you're about to die, huh?"
The voice was very soft, yet extremely cold, and the language used was incredibly rude.
Natsuhi tilted her head and saw her.
She was a girl who was impossible to forget after seeing her just once.
She had medium-length dark hair (with blue-purple gradient highlights), neat bangs, and well-defined layers that made her skin appear even more translucent.
Her eyes were a clear blue, carrying a sense of genuine coldness and detachment, like a frozen lake or a stagnant pool of water...
Below her left eye, a tiny, perfectly placed mole added a unique, fragile sense of mystery to her exquisite yet indifferent face.
She was wearing simple clothing with English letters, and the classic black-and-white collar design exuded a cool, stylish vibe. Her overall look was casual yet full of design flair, and a metallic hair clip hidden in her hair glinted with a cold light.
The person she was talking to was a salaryman with a haggard complexion and deep-set eyes.
He was clearly a corporate slave tormented by overtime, his eyes long since drained of luster from staring at electronic screens for too long, just like a... walking corpse.
"So,"
She tilted her head slightly, her tone making it impossible to tell if it was concern or mockery,
"Before you rot away completely, could you take me in for a while? As for the price..."
She tapped her temple gently with her finger, an elegant gesture that nonetheless exuded an indescribable decadence,
"I can let you borrow this tranquility for a while."
The salaryman glanced at the girl, his lips moving, but he couldn't bring himself to refuse, as if he had been bewitched by a demon.
[This girl... despite being so young, she seems to have lost all hope for the world.]
Natsuhi's eyes sharpened. Her intuition told her that the girl in front of her was not someone easy to get along with; one could tell from her eyes that they were people from two different worlds.
[Ding! New protectable target detected: Jinguji Yui (plot-related)! Suggest host actively interact and cultivate a friendly relationship.]
[Ding-dong!]
[As expected... I knew these familiar lines weren't a good thing! Triggering tasks consecutively within a day, is the collapse speed of this world on a rocket?]
[New 'Pure Love Salvation' task detected!]
[Target: Jinguji Yui - Lost Stray Cat]
[Status: Homeless, attempting to obtain shelter in a dangerous way.]
Note: This method is wrong!
[Task Requirements: Stop this transaction, provide her with a solution, and redeem the girl.]
[Task Rewards]:
System Completion +2% (Current progress 4%)
Butter Coins +50 (Can be used to exchange for items in the system store)
Physical Fitness +1 (Current physical fitness evaluation: Showing slight improvement)
Special Reward: lamborghini Countach LP400 (New Model)
Looking at the words after the special reward, Natsuhi was completely dumbfounded.
[System, is this for real?!]
System: [To encourage the host to actively complete tasks, this special reward is given. Task rewards will be issued after the task is completed. Please keep up the good work, Host!]
Hearing this, Natsuhi's motivation was instantly ignited, and the sense of decadence that had arisen from the continuous tasks was swept away.
[This task is not suitable for violent means...]
Looking at the many passengers waiting for the train nearby, it would be truly irrational to resort to violence in this public place.
Besides, the salaryman hadn't done anything wrong, and she, Natsuhi, was no violent maniac; she couldn't resort to violence against someone who had no malicious intent.
[Hmm, do I need to come up with a solution before the transaction is completed to consider the task finished?]
Natsuhi didn't have much time left. There were too many people to use forceful measures; this time, it was a task that could only be completed by using wits.
[Let me think thrice...]
Pretend to be the girl's relative and take her away directly?
No, it's too easy to reveal flaws, and it would be awkward if the girl didn't cooperate...
Besides, her acting skills weren't very superb, and she wasn't confident she could do it flawlessly.
Since that method won't work... Got it!
Natsuhi slapped her forehead and immediately thought of a role that suited her.
——————
Looking at the girl who had crouched down to look up at her, the other person was very young, but there was an indescribable coldness in her eyes.
[Was she kicked out of her home? To actually say she wants to stay at my place, young girls these days really have no sense of caution.]
"Are you sure you want to come home with me?"
"Of course, because even though you look a bit dull, Uncle, you don't actually seem like a bad person."
"Besides... I just don't want to go home for the time being."
[Since that's the case, I guess it's fine.]
Just as the salaryman's eyes wavered and his lips parted, about to agree—
"What's up? What are you trying to do?"
A clear voice, filled with a distinct delinquent air, cut in abruptly.
Natsuhi, standing to the side, had somehow pulled out her phone and held it to her ear, her brows furrowed, her tone extremely impatient.
"I've never been afraid of anyone, let me tell you! Do you think your Boss Natsu grew up being scared?"
She even waved her hand dismissively at the air, "Cut the useless talk. If you're so tough, come over and deal with me!"
Yui and the salaryman were both stunned, looking at the girl who had suddenly entered "combat mode."
"Haha, oh my... Hehe, hahahaha! Don't make Boss Natsu laugh, okay?"
Natsuhi let out a series of extremely mocking cold laughs, as if she were speechless at the voice on the other end of the phone.
"I'm at the Harajuku subway station, so what? You're going to bring twenty people?"
Her voice suddenly rose, carrying a reckless, go-for-broke intensity,
"Add ten more! Bring your weapons! That's right! I'm waiting for you at the Harajuku train station!"
"If you dare to come over, you're definitely not going to have a good time, remember that!"
Then, as if she had been asked about her identity, her gaze swept naturally over the salaryman beside her, who hadn't yet reacted.
She rattled off a string of descriptions into the phone at high speed:
"Why, are you looking for my big brother? My big brother is a salaryman."
"Just got off work, wearing a small suit, black leather shoes, old black-rimmed glasses, all in black, looks like he's in his forties and pretty cowardly!"
[The Next Station Is Shibuya]
Just then, the train announcement sounded right on cue, confirming once again that this station was Harajuku.
Natsuhi paused, glanced at Yui, and added,
"Also, there's a blue-haired, pretty-looking girl next to me! Come on then, I'm waiting for you!"
"If you dare to touch them, I'll make sure you regret it, you hear me!"
"Snap!"
Natsuhi hung up the phone decisively, shoved it into her pocket, stuffed her hands into her pockets, and continued waiting for the train as if nothing had happened, even whistling nonchalantly.
The entire platform seemed to go quiet for a moment.
The salaryman uncle, whose physical features had been precisely described, saw the fatigue on his face instantly replaced by terror.
He widened his eyes, looked at Natsuhi, and then looked around in a panic, as if the twenty people with "weapons" were about to rush out from the corners the next second.
Noticing the strange gazes drawn by Natsuhi's'spectacular performance,' he hurriedly waved his hands in a panic, stammering an explanation:
"This has nothing to do with me, it's all a misunderstanding!"
Then, he scrambled away, fleeing the platform at a sprinter's pace.
Yui: "..."
Her ice-blue eyes widened slightly, a rare occurrence, as she watched the fleeing figure and then slowly turned to Natsuhi, who had an "it has nothing to do with me" expression beside her.
For the first time, a look of near-bewilderment appeared on her usually indifferent face.
(...What's up with this woman? Did she just escape from a mental hospital?)