Why is my journey to the world of anime a strange tale of rules?

"Um... um... can I sleep at your place tonight?"

"If it's not convenient, then... just pretend I didn't say anything!"

Interlude 3-55: The Problem of Unrecoverable Public Reputation and the Exercise of Judging a Child

"In short, that's it, I'm so glad you agreed! Thank you so much! Thank you so much!"

With a hurried voice, Goto Ichiri quickly hung up the phone.

After ending the call, Gao Hai's smile quickly faded.

I just can't bring myself to laugh.

Under the death stare of the red-haired girl beside him, he simply couldn't continue laughing.

Why did she immediately say she wanted to come to my house to sleep? We haven't really had any deep conversations before, have we? And she used such a pitiful tone that I couldn't even ask her why.

If this continues, to what extent will my reputation with Kita drop?

{…}

Kita Ikuyo remained silent.

After Goto Ichiri said "Let's sleep together" on the phone, he fell completely silent and didn't say another word.

She had already felt despair and could foresee a dark future devoid of any light. She could see one girl after another bowing down at Gao Hai's throne, watching this terrible man relentlessly abuse more and more girls, causing them to fall into his trap, and even getting them all pregnant.

In the end, Kita even sees Takami standing on Earth, letting out a laugh befitting an ultimate villain. And every girl on the entire planet is pregnant with his child; this man, single-handedly, has made the whole world pregnant!

No, no, no, that's too exaggerated. It's impossible for things to get to this point. But, whether it's Boqi-chan or myself, we're both already trapped in this man's clutches, aren't we?

"Although I don't know what you're thinking, Ichiri and I are truly innocent. We've never kissed, never seen each other's bodies, and never engaged in any intimate activities. At most, we've only held hands. As for why she came to my house to sleep, I think there must be some misunderstanding involved, and I hope you can try to understand."

Just then, Takami coughed softly beside him. Kita turned around and saw him giving him a very awkward smile.

At least in Gao Hai's own opinion, he should have shown an awkward and helpless smile.

But what Kita Ikuyo felt at that moment was a serial killer, no, a sex maniac, smiling at her and saying things like, "You're next."

Can't escape.

Now that her soul is bound to this man's, escape is absolutely impossible. She can't even commit suicide, because her consciousness is actually enveloped by Gao Hai's spirit. If she really has any bad intentions, Gao Hai can easily stop her.

Is it... all over?

So, does that mean all I can do is accept reality?

Kita's expression had become blank.

Unable to see a glimmer of light, her mind was on the verge of collapse.

Gao Hai, realizing this, became even more embarrassed. He thought for a moment, organized his thoughts, and decided to explain again, trying to salvage his already plummeting reputation. But just then, another phone call interrupted him; this time, the call was from Aoyama Nanami.

Unlike Goto Ichiri, who immediately wanted to sleep together, Nanami's communications were perfectly normal. This time, she contacted Takami on behalf of [Market]. After learning about Yotsuya Miko's abilities in Takami's team, Ogawa Itsuki expressed her wish to commission Market to appraise some obsession items. In return, Market could provide a certain number of consumable items such as ashes and purple talismans. If any particularly powerful obsession item could be identified as important information, Market could also consider using obsession items as payment.

Considering that Miko is a member of Takami's team, the Market decided to contact Takami first and invite Miko after he agreed.

Gao Hai agreed to the deal without much hesitation, stating that as long as Jian Zi himself accepted the transaction, he wouldn't say anything more. However, he also stipulated that he must be present every time Jian Zi went to appraise the object of his obsession; it couldn't be done behind his back. This wasn't because he didn't trust the combat capabilities of the players in the market, but mainly because Jian Zi's completely unreasonable perception was terrifying. If something went wrong, frankly, it would be difficult for anyone to handle, so it was better for him to deal with it himself.

Subsequently, Gao Hai discussed this matter with Jian Zi through a mental link. Only after she herself expressed interest in the matter did he give the market a positive response.

After finishing this important business, Takahashi wanted to explain things to Kita again, but then Kaguya's voice rang out. It turned out that Kaguya, who had already woken up, couldn't find Takahashi, so she called out to him loudly, asking him to carry her to get dressed and wash up.

Last night's events, though somewhat crazy, also broke that final shackle, allowing Kaguya to finally let go of her inexplicable pride and start trying to act cute towards Takami. As for the effect of this cuteness, Takami can only say it was terrifying.

Then, Hayasaka Kaguya adopted the same attitude towards Takami, and after a brief moment of contemplation, immediately followed suit, wanting Takami to carry her, help her dress, and assist her with washing up. Takami naturally wouldn't refuse, as Ai had worked quite hard the previous night, and it was only right to take care of her a little today. However, this took up quite a bit of time, meaning the explanation to Kita would have to be postponed again.

I might not be able to find the time to have a proper chat with Kita today.

After realizing that neither Kaguya nor Hayasaka wanted to let him leave, Takami had no choice but to prepare for another full day of fighting the two of them.

However, news soon arrived from Shuchiin Academy. With the school sports meet approaching, Kaguya, as the representative of the Shinomiya family at Shuchiin, was obligated to participate in the event, even though she herself had decided not to compete. Kaguya was quite unhappy about this, but after a moment's thought, she still chose to go to school, and, well, she brought along Hayasaka, who didn't want to come. After last night's encounter, Kaguya was well aware of how capable her maid was of cheating, and she wouldn't give her the chance.

By this time, it was almost noon, so Takami had lunch at the Shinomiya family's house before leaving.

Kita's figure had vanished by this point. In her conscious state, she had canceled her mental clone, clearly indicating she had no intention of communicating with Takami in any way. This hurt Takami somewhat, but since she was unwilling to come out, he didn't bother forcing her, and so he let things take their course.

So, what's a good thing to do in the afternoon?

After a moment's thought, Gao Hai first contacted Maki, but she was also busy with the school sports meet and couldn't make it. He then contacted Chika, but she was coaching the cheerleading team and was also unavailable. After thinking for a while, Gao Hai contacted Goto Ichiri. At this moment, Kita Ikuyo's figure reappeared, looking at him anxiously. However, Ichiri was also unavailable. Kita relaxed and disappeared again, leaving Gao Hai with only a sorrowful expression, like an empty-nest old man.

"Sigh, busy, everyone's busy, it's good to be busy..."

Wait a minute, there's still someone I haven't contacted.

I had just contacted someone recently, but we were discussing serious matters at the time, and I forgot about contacting them afterwards.

"Jianzi, are you free this afternoon?"

"Huh? This afternoon, well, I'm free. Although everyone in the class is preparing for the school sports meet, I'm a new transfer student, so I haven't been assigned any tasks for the sports meet. I'm quite relaxed."

The invitation went very smoothly; it seems I'm still in demand after all.

Gao Hai revealed a slightly smug expression, and even his walking steps gained a rhythm.

However, it didn't take long for Gao Hai's expression to return to calm.

"Hmm, so this is the red rope you used during your third playthrough? It wasn't retrieved in time, so it became a disposable item. Hmm, let me see... Hmm, this thing feels a bit off, but I'm pretty sure it's a Dark Night-level object of obsession. This thing only works on beings that meet the conditions of being [female] and [humanoid]. That means a woman or a female-looking monster can trigger the power of this red rope, and once triggered, the rope will bind the target."

"Yes, this thing can only target a single target. If there are multiple targets at the same time, the user needs to lock on it with mental power, otherwise it may go out of control. But overall, the tendency of this thing to go out of control is not high. It can be equipped and carried directly with a spatial artifact, so there is no need to worry about it triggering anything."

In Gao Hai's living room, Jianzi, her face slightly flushed, stared at the red soft rope that Gao Hai had taken out. After staring at the rope for a while, she spoke to him.

"It's certainly a rather perverse obsession. I really don't know what those fanatics have done with this prop. By the way, Miko, can you confirm whether the spirit to which this obsession belongs is male or female?"

Gao Hai nodded seriously, noted down Jianzi's investigation record, and asked a question after thinking for a moment.

"Uh, is this question important? Hmm, let me see. It should belong to a woman, apparently a girl who liked to play self-bondage games in her lifetime. She accidentally got caught up in some evil ritual and was then tied up and starved to death. Ah, the reason this rope only works on women seems to be because the deceased liked women. I feel like this obsession is getting worse and worse. How can there be such an obsession..."

Although she didn't quite understand why Gao Hai made such a request, Jianzi obediently chose to comply and quickly told Gao Hai what she had seen.

"I see. That's a real shame. If that's the case, then the uses of this thing will have to be reduced."

Gao Hai shook his head and sighed helplessly.

I had been wondering if this thing could be used to add some spice to our relationship, but it turns out to be such a disappointing prop.

It seems the only option is to find a rope with higher material strength while still maintaining a certain degree of flexibility. Although among the girls I know, only Chika likes to play this kind of game, there's no way around it; after all, she's one of his wives, so I have to cooperate.

"So, the next one?"

Jianzi had no idea what inappropriate things were going on in Gao Hai's mind, but she said to him with some eagerness.

That's right, the reason these two are here is to allow Miko to use her abilities to appraise the obsession items from the fanatics, confirming their general functions, limitations, tendency to go out of control, and item level.

Incidentally, this was something Maki had arranged with Miko beforehand. Although the girl was busy with the school sports meet, she hadn't forgotten about the large number of obsession items with Takami whose details were still unconfirmed. Therefore, after freeing up a little time, she contacted Miko, who was best suited to appraise these obsession items, and asked her to go to Takami to settle this important matter.

Speaking of which, among the girls I know, Maki is probably the only one who takes serious matters very seriously.

Upon learning of this, Gao Hai, while inwardly reflecting on the situation, temporarily abandoned his plans to go out with Jianzi. Instead, he invited her to his home to appraise the items he was obsessed with. Considering the upcoming commissions from the market, this could be seen as a rehearsal to gain experience and better ensure a smooth collaboration.

"You've worked hard. Have a cup of tea first."

After roughly examining several previously used items of obsession, Gao Hai suggested that Miko stop first. He then went to brew two cups of tea and brought one of them to Miko.

"Ah, thank you, senior."

The girl politely accepted the tea, took a small sip, and looked around with a hint of wistfulness in her eyes.

It's changed quite a bit since my last visit.

Jianzi could still clearly remember the moment she was bewitched by Alice's power and ran to Gao Hai for help. Back then, she was just like now, the two of them in the living room. Of course, her mindset then was completely different from her mindset now. Thinking about it carefully, it had all happened in about a month, maybe even less, and her mindset had already changed so drastically. Jianzi didn't know what to say.

"Now, let's examine the items we didn't use before because we weren't sure of their specific purpose. I wonder how many Red Moon-level items there are. After all, I robbed a Red Moon-level player team, so they shouldn't be too poor, right?"

Gao Hai, who was already somewhat in the zone, spoke very seriously.

"It's not right to use a line like 'looting' directly. They are the villains. They should have used 'seized' or 'confiscated' instead."

Jianzi casually corrected Gao Hai's words, while also slightly shifting her position to get a little closer to Gao Hai.

Senior, you're so observant, yet you haven't said a word since I came in. Did you genuinely not notice? Or are you simply not sensitive to changes in a girl's appearance? Or do you just not care about such things?

The girl lowered her head and looked at the white dress she had specially changed into to see Gao Hai, feeling a slight sense of frustration.

Interlude 3-56: The Blessed Power Received by the Girls and the New Linkers

"Well, that means we've checked about one-fifth of the obsession items. Okay, let's stop here for today, no need to continue."

As dusk settled over the sky outside the window, Gao Hai yawned and gestured that he could stop talking.

These fanatics possess a truly vast number of obsession objects, but unfortunately, a significant portion of them are unacceptable to Gao Hai and his teammates. For example, one obsession object is a desiccated child's corpse. Jian Zi, through his senses, confirmed that it was one of the key obsession objects from a certain Dark Night-level dungeon—extremely powerful, approaching the level of a Dark Night-level core obsession object. However, to use this object, one must kill a child under the age of 10 and use their soul as a sacrifice; otherwise, the object will go out of control and attack Gao Hai.

Well, in fact, the moment Gao Hai took out this thing and Jian Zi tried to sense it, the thing immediately went out of control and turned into a twisted and ferocious monster that pounced on Jian Zi.

And that was it. The police officers who had been summoned earlier to keep watch simply pinned the thing to the ground. Then Gao Hai stepped forward and kicked it, sending it flying into the wall and embedding the entire mummified corpse into it. Next, he summoned "Teacher," and two Red Moon-level rescue team members held down the still-struggling monster. Gao Hai then fired a suppression round at it, finally silencing it completely.

However, although he didn't intend to use this object of obsession, Gao Hai wasn't planning to throw it away either. Back in Fujika Junior High and Hayate Elementary School, he had used strange objects that could suppress obsessions to interfere with their actions, so in his opinion, although this mummified corpse couldn't be used directly, it might still come in handy at a crucial moment.

As long as the black watch is there, there's no obsession that can't be suppressed. Even if it's lost, there's no need to worry at all; it will all come back after one resurrection.

These crazy players have a lot of stuff. Jianzi and I spent half an afternoon identifying most of it. But at the current rate, we should be able to figure out all the obsession items of these fanatics before the next dungeon opens.

Once we enter the dungeon, I should be able to equip everyone with various items that will ensure that no team member is left helpless and forced to run away during the dungeon exploration. This would truly be a leap forward for the entire team.

...Although that's what he said, Gao Hai didn't feel good at all; instead, he felt even more guilty. After all, he had improved so much, and he really didn't want to face the possibility that the black watch would create some kind of incredible situation for him in the next round.

"Hmm, is it over here? I can hold on a little longer."

Having expended a lot of mental energy, Jianzi rubbed his eyes, showing a somewhat sleepy expression, but still sounded a little unconvinced.

"What's the rush? We can continue tomorrow afternoon. It's almost dinner time now. What would you like to eat tonight? It's on me."

Gao Hai simply shook his head, speaking calmly as he stood up from the sofa, stretched, and glanced at the messy living room, which had become dilapidated due to the repeated out-of-control suppression by obsessive objects. He decided that it would be better to find a different place for the appraisal next time.

Faced with the power of the strange creature, especially one at least at the Dark Night level, Gao Hai's house was clearly inadequately defended. Even with police officers and teachers working together to suppress it, things like holes being dug in the ground and walls were inevitable. As a result, the living room was already ruined again shortly after the house was repaired.

Hmm, speaking of which, when I was playing games with Chika and Maki, we made a bit of a mess of the bathroom and bedroom. Ugh, what a hassle. I need to figure out a solution. Either I need to create a house so sturdy it won't break, or a house that can automatically repair itself. I have to find a way to solve this problem, otherwise I'm likely to destroy the house every time we play games. Speaking of which, Kaguya's bedroom was also damaged last night; it's really embarrassing.

"Hmm... alright then, I'm fine with anything, let's see what you choose, senior."