Nothing Happened Again

"You can't beat her?"

"...Isn't that obvious!" Jiu Ming's mouth twitched. If he could beat her, he wouldn't have been so nervous just now.

"How pathetic, losing to a girl..."

Seeing that Jiu Ming answered so quickly and showed no intention of demonstrating, Suzumiya Haruhi couldn't help but pout.

"You're taking things out of context! Isn't it normal not to be able to beat her!?" Jiu Ming didn't think there was anything shameful about it. The other party was a demon and monster that had lived for who knows how many years, while he, despite training in the Mysterious Shop for a considerable time, how many years had it been in total?

He should be content with having decent combat power right from the start. This isn't an invincible protagonist story where he can crush all sorts of beings upon appearance. One must eat one bite at a time, and take things slowly.

"She's a demon and monster, and you're a ghost. It doesn't sound like much of a difference, since neither of you are human."

"That's true." Jiu Ming actually agreed and nodded. It didn't matter that they weren't human. "Let's put aside our identities for now and just talk about our age... She might be an ancient relic, while I'm still very young."

After the previous incident, Suzumiya Haruhi and the others lost the mood to continue playing. Jiu Ming simply restored the place to its previous hall environment. How should he put it...

It was clearly just a swimsuit, and they were so uninhibited at the beach, but why were they shy indoors?

Jiu Ming poked his arm, looking at Asahina Mikuru, who was covering her lower body with one hand and hugging her chest with the other, without a change in expression. Hmm? Could it be that swimsuits indoors had a different nature?

Tsk.

"Ah! Really, it was supposed to be a fun thing, but forget it." After changing, Suzumiya Haruhi led the others to the door. She turned and waved at Jiu Ming, "See you tomorrow."

"Bye..."

Sigh, see you tomorrow!?

It seemed like this place wouldn't be so empty anymore. For a considerable period, it would be in a state of 'no peace'?

Well, whatever. It wasn't an unpleasant thing anyway. He should pay more attention to what might happen today.

End of the month...

The Mysterious Shop deducted the 1000 points of 'Origin' that Jiu Ming had saved, and the month passed. At this time, Jiu Ming once again converted 1000 points of 'Origin' in advance. He didn't have any compulsive hoarding tendencies. Feeling a bit uneasy, he only saved up to the point where it just met the Mysterious Shop's deduction requirement before stopping.

Anyway, it didn't make much difference whether he saved more or less. It would just be a matter of wasting an extra minute or not.

"You, want to read it?" The Three-No Girl, who was quietly sitting and reading, noticed Jiu Ming's gaze, looked up, and asked softly.

"Cthulhu Mythos..." Jiu Ming glanced at the content of the book in Nagato Yuki's hand and was about to dismiss it, having no interest.

If he wanted to read about myths, he might as well find a copy of the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

As for why she was here, it was a recent development. Since Suzumiya Haruhi could come here 'freely,' she treated it like a new toy and came here every day. Nagato Yuki, as an observer, had also noticed some issues.

Every time Suzumiya Haruhi used an Invitation Card to come here, a 'void' with 'suction' would appear around them during the transition. It was harmless to people, and the suction wasn't targeted at matter. After multiple observations, Yuki temporarily reached a conclusion.

The 'void' should be absorbing the 'source' that Jiu Ming mentioned. The amount absorbed is not even a drop in the ocean compared to the entire world, let alone posing any harm. It's like losing a few strands of hair; a person wouldn't die from it.

Nagato Yuki's message left Jiu Ming puzzled. Unfortunately, he was only a partial controller of this place, not the supreme authority. Despite his confusion, he was helpless. Perhaps it was a side effect of time travel?

After all, it involves traversing time and space, and breaking through the dimensional barrier is inevitable...

It's like when a fish tank breaks, the fish will rush out, and the water will flow out from the cracks.

Nagato Yuki also visits here sometimes. She doesn't hide her purpose, which is simple: to observe the movements of this place. It's a very mysterious place, and her observations will take a long time.

"Mm." Nagato Yuki nodded. The conversation ended, and the hall returned to its previous tranquility. Jiu Ming curled his lips and lay back on his exclusive sofa. The energy slowly emanating from the layer of High-Energy Crystals beneath him felt very comfortable.

However, the High-Energy Crystals' stored energy depleted much faster than normal. It didn't matter; he could just get a new batch at the end of the month.

After all, with the value of high-grade High-Energy Crystals, one would be enough to sustain his 'turnover' for a long time.

"I'm leaving." Glancing at the time, the girl quietly reading a book stood up.

It was already ten o'clock.

"Um, you probably came straight here from School, right? It's so late, and walking alone at night isn't good. If you don't mind, why not stay here?" Jiu Ming, lacking experience with girls, didn't realize the implication of his words. Why did he say that?

Nagato Yuki had told him about her identity, and after proving her goodwill, Jiu Ming had no reason to harbor any ill intentions. She had no family.

"I'm used to sleeping here, so the bedroom has always been empty."

"...Thank you."

"You're welcome~"

Waving his hand, Jiu Ming yawned and shifted his body into a more comfortable position. Another quiet night.

"What!!! Yuki actually stayed here last night!!!" Jiu Ming tilted his head, the roar of Suzumiya Haruhi, who was pressed against his ear, felt like it had severely damaged his non-existent eardrums.

"What are you so excited about? Running to my place first thing in the morning."

Rubbing his ear, Jiu Ming complained slightly. At this moment, Suzumiya Haruhi had already run to Nagato Yuki, circled her a few times, and like a pervert, touched her all over. The Three-No Girl was truly patient, standing there without any reaction as Suzumiya Haruhi manhandled her...

"Boring. Can't you show me your world?"

Alright, this was not the first time Suzumiya Haruhi had asked this, especially after knowing that the world Jiu Ming was currently managing was one with various supernatural abilities.

"Hey, do you see any doors leading out from here? You're not a Ghost."

"Stop spouting nonsense. You're definitely hiding something from me! Hmph, now tell me about your ill intentions towards my Yuki!" With a light but firm hum, Suzumiya Haruhi expressed her dissatisfaction with Jiu Ming's answer again. Then, she directly hugged Nagato Yuki's neck and rubbed her face, "Huhu, such a cute Three-No..."

"Stop! I'm a Ghost!"

"Don't you have hands..."

"The topic suddenly got vulgar," Jiu Ming's mouth twitched as he walked over and tapped her on the forehead.

"Where is it? I'm also a normal high school student. As an ordinary girl, I naturally have needs. What's so vulgar about understanding related knowledge?"

"It's my fault?" Jiu Ming scratched his head with some pain. This girl in front of him, no matter what, should have some girlish shyness, right? Now, not only was Suzumiya Haruhi talking about such a topic that was completely off-track as if no one else was around, but even Nagato Yuki was calm.

Looking at it this way, it seemed like the only abnormal one was him.

Had he fallen behind the times?

"Hey, want to come play in my world?"

Jiu Ming felt he had underestimated her erratic thinking. Just now she was clamoring to get 'justice' for Nagato Yuki, and now she had changed to this.

"No time, we'll talk about it later."

His suggestion was rejected, and Suzumiya Haruhi immediately became unhappy. "You actually refused! Tell me, how do you plan to take responsibility for Yuki's matter!"

"Hey!? I didn't do anything, why should I take responsibility?"

"She stayed at your place for a night!"

"I slept on the sofa all night," Jiu Ming said, picking at his ear.

"It'll be bad for Yuki's reputation if word gets out!"

"Tsk, who would spread this kind of thing? Besides, I'm not someone whose mind is full of evil thoughts..."

"...Hmph, Yuki, let's go." Suzumiya Haruhi, who was losing the argument, stomped her foot and dragged Nagato Yuki away, their heavy footsteps clattering as they left. Jiu Ming was left standing there alone. Was he going to start spacing out again?

Hmm, if he thought back carefully to just now, it seemed like he had been a bit petty? He gently pinched the tips of his hair and shook his head. He would say some nice words next time they met.

Thinking this, Jiu Ming's gaze shifted to the door. The closed door opened a crack, and a mysterious creature with a big tail, two tail-like things growing in its ears, strange white fur, red eyes, and a smile walked out. What was this? A mutated cat?

"Sign a contract with me and become a magical boy. You have great potential..."

Jiu Ming's eyes narrowed involuntarily. He felt that this strange white creature was sizing up an empty spot—the place where Suzumiya Haruhi and Nagato Yuki had been standing.

"Get lost! I'm in a bad mood right now!" A cute white creature that looked like a cat but wasn't, with a smile, walked out from behind the door. The first thing it said upon seeing Jiu Ming was something that made him feel awkward. What's wrong with cute things?

He couldn't see any normal emotions in the eyes of this strange white creature. Even though it was smiling, what it displayed more was a kind of emotionless indifference. In Jiu Ming's opinion, it was worse than a stray cat!

So, Jiu Ming very decisively kicked the talking, strange white creature back. The latter, even after being kicked, didn't scream or roar. It was like a dead object, entering by walking and exiting by tumbling.

He didn't believe that this strange beast, which wanted him to sign a contract with it the moment it appeared, was anything good.

His intuition...

After 'sending' away this mysterious creature, Jiu Ming inexplicably felt a bit fortunate that Suzumiya Haruhi and the others had left earlier. Otherwise, if they had encountered this thing, he didn't want to see what sparks would fly.

He could tell that Suzumiya Haruhi yearned for 'extraordinary' traits. If she got hot-headed and actually started interacting with this white creature...

He felt that if such a situation occurred, it would be a huge disaster.

He regretted not getting rid of it just now.