Chapter 497: BCL Chapter 492: Seika: My Will Is Indestructible!
"Soyo, don’t zone out... What are you planning to do?"
Taki asked in a low voice.
"Ah..."
Soyo’s expression was bewildered, clearly still not having fully recovered, "What do you mean, what to do?"
Taki said speechlessly, "Of course, it’s about the baby in the belly."
"B-Baby..."
Soyo finally came back to her senses, instinctively covering her lower abdomen, "I really have a baby?"
"That’s my belly!" Taki couldn’t help but retort, "There’s nothing in my belly!"
"Hoo..."
Soyo took a deep breath, her mind quietly calming down, and asked in a low voice, "Taki, I didn’t feel anything at all before... When did you start having strange reactions?"
"It was just last night, suddenly feeling nauseous and wanting to vomit, followed by suddenly craving sour things." Taki whispered, "I searched online with my phone, and they all said it was like... like morning sickness, so I was super concerned."
Taki’s small face flushed slightly, and she bit her teeth, saying, "So this morning I went to the convenience store and bought a box of testing tools, then went home and tested it... Sure enough, it turned into two lines!"
"So that’s how it is..."
Soyo softly murmured.
(Taki only suddenly had a reaction last night... It really is related to the Wish Note, isn’t it?)
(So, it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s really a baby; it’s just the Wish Note subtly working its magic, making Taki panic and scared, and then fulfilling the wish of ’switching bodies back’...)
(As for the testing tools, I remember they aren’t 100% accurate, right?)
(If I want to know whether there’s really a baby, I can just ask the answer book tomorrow...)
Thinking of this, Soyo’s heart quietly settled down a great deal, and she clasped her hands together, saying, "I’m sorry, Taki, you’ve had it tough."
"So why don’t you guys take safety measures... The health class teacher repeatedly reminded you, didn’t she?"
Taki couldn’t help but complain in a low voice.
"I’m sorry, sometimes it’s hard to control oneself..."
Soyo stuck out the tip of her tongue, gently changing the subject, "When do you plan to switch bodies back, Taki?"
Taki’s small face quickly flushed red, her eyes darting around. "There are too many people right now... Let’s talk about it tomorrow."
"Understood." Soyo nodded lightly, offering advice as a ’strategist’. "It’s true that Taki would be embarrassed with so many people at home... How about going on a date with Kitahara-kun tomorrow, and then taking the opportunity to switch bodies back?"
"Huh?!"
A look of annoyance appeared on Taki’s small face. "I still have to go on a date with that guy first?!"
"It’s just a suggestion." Soyo’s expression was calm. "If Taki feels awkward, you can also bring Kitahara-kun home."
"Bring him home..."
The temperature on Soyo’s face rose even higher.
That would be even worse!
Not to mention whether Dad, mom, and Sister would catch them, but doing that kind of thing with scumbag Kitahara in someone else’s body was already super, super bad!
"Let’s talk about that tomorrow..."
Taki took a deep breath. Of course, she was too embarrassed to agree now, and she quietly changed the subject. "What about the baby?"
"Hmm..."
Soyo turned her head, looking at Kitahara, who was soaking in the onsen alone not far away.
"Soyo, you’re not planning to tell him now, are you?"
Taki jumped in surprise and quickly stopped her. "Let’s talk about that after we switch bodies back!"
She was ’Soyo’ right now. If Kitahara got too excited and attracted other people’s attention... she would die, wouldn’t she?
She would definitely be socially dead in public!
Tomori: "What, Soyo is pregnant with a baby?"
Anon: "Cheater!"
Kita: "Not only did she cheat, but she didn’t even use protection. That’s too much!"
Sakiko: "You, your head is full of cheating."
"..."
Taki only had to imagine that scene for a moment to feel so ashamed she wanted to explode on the spot.
Switch back!
She had to switch bodies back as soon as possible!
At this point, even if the world ended, it had nothing to do with her!
"Don’t worry, Taki, we’ll definitely talk about it after we switch bodies back."
Soyo covered her lower abdomen with her right hand, a gentle smile appearing on her face. "If there really is a baby... then of course, I’ll give birth to it."
"Huh?"
Taki’s beautiful eyes widened. Although she had expected it, she still found it a bit hard to accept. "We’re still just high school students. No matter how you think about it, it’s too early, isn’t it?"
Soyo said lightly, "But the law states that girls can marry at sixteen."
Taki quietly retorted, "It’s already been changed to eighteen."
"Well, don’t mind those small matters." Soyo’s eyes were gentle. "If a baby truly comes, we can’t be so cruel as to harm her, can we?"
Taki parted her lips and couldn’t help but ask a practical question. "What about school?"
"Take a leave of absence for illness." Soyo replied softly. "I’m quite confident in my grades, so it doesn’t matter even if I take a leave of absence for a while."
Taki bit her lower lip. "Alright, school can be put on hold, but what about mom-in-law? You can’t just hide from her, can you?"
Soyo turned to look at Kitahara, her voice gentle. "That kind of problem, of course, is left to Kitahara-kun. Kitahara-kun is so amazing, he can definitely handle mom."
"Huh?"
Taki hadn’t expected this answer and couldn’t help but say, "Soyo, you trust him too much, don’t you?"
Soyo’s eyes were gentle, and she softly countered, "Just recently, Kitahara-kun saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Kamakura. Isn’t that amazing?"
Taki: "..."
That’s true, but his ability to save Kamakura doesn’t mean he can handle mom-in-law!
Seeing Soyo’s calm expression, completely devoid of fear or confusion, Taki could only sigh helplessly. "I don’t care anymore... Anyway, we must switch bodies back tomorrow!"
"..."
After the onsen.
The girls successively bid farewell and went home.
"Ryo-senpai, the thing you wanted..."
Kita took out the band bracelet and secretly handed it to Ryo.
"Thanks, little Kita~"
Ryo took the bracelet and thanked her casually.
"Ryo-senpai, don’t you have one yourself? Why do you need to borrow a bracelet?"
Kita couldn’t help but ask curiously.
"I’m sorry, that’s a secret that cannot be told." Ryo raised a finger and gently wagged it. "If Kita wants to know, you can stay tonight and join us."
"I don’t want to know!"
Kita’s small face quickly flushed red, and she chose to flee quickly.
Although she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, Kita had vaguely guessed that Ryo and Nijika seemed to be often playing ranked games together now... And she even asked her to stay? How could she agree to such a terrible thing!
"Ryo, what were you talking about with Kita?"
Nijika asked curiously.
Ryo said nonchalantly, "Well, I just asked Kita if she wanted to join tonight."
Nijika’s pretty face quickly flushed red, and she couldn’t help but glare over. "Kita is still a child! Don’t lead children astray!"
"Ah, I still haven’t notified Hitori..."
"Don’t lead Hitori astray!"
"..."
In a flash, it was eleven o’clock at night.
Because Ryo and Nijika stayed to ’borrow a room’, Taki, who originally couldn’t muster up courage, naturally had even less courage now. She ignored Soyo’s questioning gaze and went straight back to her room to rest.
"There are still many shortcomings in today’s performance." Ryo said nonchalantly. "Later, Nijika and I will apply for one-on-one guidance. Kitahara, don’t fall asleep."
Nijika’s pretty face was flushed, and she turned her head to look elsewhere, remaining silent.
Kitahara said seriously, "I guarantee I won’t fall asleep."
"Then that’s settled." Ryo’s expression was normal, without any blush or shyness. "See you later."
The night was deep.
All was silent.
"Nijika, it’s about time we repay our kindness."
Ryo stretched and stood up.
"How about we talk about it tomorrow?"
Nijika’s pretty face was flushed, and she stammered in a low voice, "I just messaged Sister, and Sister isn’t asleep yet. She must not be feeling well... And there’s no signal in the Onsen Village. What if Sister suddenly needs me?"
"That’s simple." Ryo snapped her fingers. "Give your phone to Hana-chan. Hana-chan doesn’t need to sleep anyway. If the Manager wants to go to the bathroom, Hana-chan can easily help, and the reward only needs two small cakes."
"Th-then, alright..."
Knowing that she couldn’t escape tonight, Nijika could only blush and agree. "I’ll go give my phone to Hana-chan first."
"..."
Watching Nijika leave, Ryo took out her phone and sent a message:
"Manager, have you seen my bracelet?"
The message quickly showed as read, clearly Seika was indeed not asleep. "What bracelet?"
Ryo: "It’s a black bracelet. I think I took it off when I was massaging you earlier. I don’t know if it’s in your room."
Seika: "Let me look..."
Not long after.
A message popped up on the phone.
Seika: "Found it, it’s next to my pillow. It looks like a bracelet Nijika knitted by hand before?"
Ryo: "That’s right, that’s it. I’ll come get it tomorrow. Manager, you absolutely must not wear that bracelet at twelve o’clock in the morning."
"..."
After confirming the message was read, Ryo simply put away her phone.
This was an inspiration she got from Taki a couple of days ago.
If you put a piece of paper next to a button with ’Please do not press it’ written on it, then no matter what, someone will be unable to resist. Curiosity is human nature.
"Eh, why can’t I wear this bracelet?"
Seika curiously sent a message.
Unfortunately, after that, the message remained unread.
"...Is Ryo asleep?"
After waiting a while longer and seeing the message still unread, Seika helplessly put down her phone, her gaze falling on the black bracelet next to her pillow.
"So mysterious... This is just a very ordinary bracelet, isn’t it?"
"Why can’t I wear it at twelve o’clock?"
"It’s too much to only say half of what you mean!"
"Hiss~"
The sound of gasping could be heard.
Seika quickly lay down, not daring to move.
Although the pain in her waist had lessened considerably, it was still difficult to bear, so she couldn’t sleep at all and could only play on her phone to pass the time.
Time passed quietly.
Unconsciously, it was twelve o’clock at night.
"It’s already so late..."
Seika saw the time at the top of her phone, then turned her head to look at the band bracelet next to her pillow.
"Ryo-senpai sent a message reminding me not to wear the bracelet at twelve o’clock. It shouldn’t be a deliberate prank, so... what will happen if I wear the bracelet?"
A strong look of curiosity appeared on Seika’s pretty face.
Curiosity knows no age.
"Should I try wearing the bracelet?"
"Let’s try it."
"Anyway, as long as I don’t say anything, Ryo-senpai won’t know..."
Ignorance is bliss.
Precisely because she didn’t know how terrifying things would happen after putting on the bracelet, Seika had no fear at all and casually slipped the bracelet onto her wrist.
At the same time.
In the Onsen Village.
Kitahara was practicing with the band along with Nijika and Ryo.
On Nijika’s wrist, there was a black band bracelet, and around her neck was a pet collar that increased the level of happiness with higher intimacy.
As Store Manager Seika ’logged in,’ the attribute entries were immediately activated.
Five Senses Shared is active.
One Hundred Percent Empathy is active.
The first sense shared was sight.
"Huh, it feels like I’ve gained an extra pair of eyes, but things look so blurry..."
Seika’s voice was surprised.
The next second.
Taste, hearing, touch, and smell, the remaining four senses, came online simultaneously.
During the One Hundred Percent Empathy process, the happiness bonus effect of the pet collar was naturally included, so...
"Ugh—!"
Seika’s eyes suddenly widened, her legs instantly straightened, her toes uncontrollably curled tightly, and then an irrepressible, trembling moan echoed through the room.
"What’s happening, what’s happening, what’s happening..."
Seika was completely flustered.
"What on earth happened?"
"W-why... Ugh... Mm!"
The interstellar train was still speeding, and due to the excessive speed, Seika’s voice sounded intermittent and fluctuating.
"I-is it because I put on the bracelet?"
"It’s clearly just... just an ordinary bracelet... Why... Ugh!"
"No... Q-quickly take it off..."
Seika bit her teeth, her fingers trembling as she reached to take off the bracelet.
The next second.
A mirror suddenly appeared in front of the other ’eyes.’
...Nijika and Kitahara?
Seika’s movements paused. Through the other pair of eyes, she stared blankly at the scene in the mirror, finally understanding what had happened.
"The bracelet... can connect to Nijika’s body?"
"I’m sharing senses with Nijika..."
"H-how can such a thing happen..."
A trembling low moan sounded once again.
Seika raised her right hand and tightly covered her lips, trying her best not to let any sound escape, but still, an irrepressible sound hummed from her nose.
"D-damn it... I can’t hold it in..."
The train was moving too fast, and Seika’s eyes quickly became dazed and unfocused. In her mind, she suddenly recalled chatting with Kitahara that evening, when she had even said her will was indestructible.
"O-originally, my will... Ugh... wasn’t as... Ah~!"
