Miss Player, please don't cast spells on me.

"How about dating? That's certainly a good option, especially if your follower is actually chosen as a monster by the 'Performance' in the end, Takigami-senpai."

"Then I would like to ask your followers to give players the option to talk to them before they fight them."

"Perhaps in the end, players will choose to befriend the monsters."

Kiyono said, half-jokingly.

"Giving up experience rewards just to make friends with monsters? Are there really players in the world that bored? Even if there are, they must be a tiny minority, right?" Takigami Rena still thought Kiyono Hai was talking nonsense.

"If the script is right enough, it can definitely make players willing to befriend the monsters that should have become their experience and rewards."

"It's even possible to make players treat those 'monsters' as family members who need to be carefully protected."

"And I'm not just referring to one or two monsters, but all the monsters in the game."

Upon hearing this, the fox lady couldn't help but exclaim, "Huh?"

She genuinely didn't believe that there could be any game script that would make players treat monsters as their family.

If Kiyono Ash said that it was possible to make one or two monsters do this, she would be willing to believe it, but to make players treat all the monsters in the game as family and friends?

So Takigami Rena is now starting to wonder if Kiyono Hai has something wrong with his head.

Or perhaps the child is too young and hasn't witnessed the terrifying power of the players, which is why they dare to say such arrogant things.

This caused Kiyono Gray to suddenly become adorable in the eyes of this fox lady.

They are really cute, like a naive child trying to act mature.

The most endearing contrast is when Takigami Rena and Kiyono Hai interacted before, and Kiyono Hai always seemed like a very cunning and scheming guy.

Looking back now, it still seems a bit naive.

The more Takigami Rena looked at Kiyono Hai, the more 'kind' her gaze became, and the more she spoke in a tone similar to that of a kindergarten teacher looking after a child, as she asked Kiyono Hai questions.

"So, what exactly is the scenario you mentioned, Kiyono-kun, where players become friends with monsters?

"This script is still in the conceptual stage. I need to go to Takigami-senpai's country to explore before I can further improve it."

The prototype of the script that Kiyono Hai envisioned was a game called "Undertale" from his previous life.

A game that made Kiyono Gray so engrossed that he couldn't even see the screen through his tears.

Presumably, any player who seriously completes Undertale will regard the monsters in it as friends or family, rather than just as experience and rewards.

The reason why Kiyono Gray chose to hide his secret here.

On the one hand, Qingye Hui really needs to go to this fox lady's country to explore before he can finally decide how to perform this scene.

On the other hand, it's probably to give that Ms. Sayaka a way out.

From the moment she entered the house, Sayaka was on guard against the possibility that Kiyono Hai might 'steal' her friend Takigami Rena.

If Kiyono Hai really does offer a solution to save this fox lady's follower, and Takigami Rena adopts it without hesitation...

Then, when Takigami Rena has someone to cry in her arms, Kiyono Hai will probably be one of the many more people she can cry to.

"You're surprisingly meticulous, aren't you? Well... to be honest, Kiyono-kun, although I don't have high expectations for you, I'll still help you with this small favor of wanting to visit my country."

Rena Takigami glanced at the time on her phone; it was getting late.

So she waved her phone at Kiyono Hui and said…

"Let's add each other on Line. I'll send you the in-game IDs of my followers later. Just make sure to keep an eye on them."

Kiyono Hai didn't refuse and added Takigami Rena and Sayaka on Line, which is something that many 21Rain fans dream of.

After that, Sayaka cleverly pulled Kiyono Hai into a group titled 'Where did Shanor go?'

"The players in this group are all resentful women who were abandoned by Shanor."

Sayaka, with that saintly smile always on her face, said.

"Kiyono-kun, if you don't want to be locked in a basement in real life by some overly extreme 'female protagonists,' you'd better hide your true identity in this group."

"But it probably can't be hidden for long."

Qingye Hui stared at the group, which had more than 130 members, and the messages were being refreshed at an astonishing speed.

The scariest thing is that the female players in the group have evolved from the "Where did my Shanor go?" stage to "Let's all team up and find out where Shanor ran off to!"

This is similar to a Souls expert, who, instead of focusing on romance, starts doing archaeology, delving into the backstory of the character Shanor, in order to figure out where their beloved character went in the third playthrough.

Following this trend, Kiyono felt that if he didn't give the female players an explanation...

They'll eventually find out... it's not that Xia Nuoer disappeared, but that they were abandoned by Xia Nuoer, and that their darling went off to find a new woman to fawn over!

If that day ever comes, the discussion in the group might shift from "Where did Xia Nuoer go?" to "Sisters, let's unite! Tie this scumbag up, throw him in the basement, and discipline him until he's completely too afraid to run off and find new women again!"

However, as long as Kiyono Ash's plan goes smoothly, he can successfully piggyback on that fox lady's next "performance" to save her followers.

That Qingye Ash can also give these anxious female players an answer to the question of where Shanor went in the third playthrough, an answer that can still move them to tears.

Chapter 24 The Arrival of the Woodcutter's Knife

After seeing off the two goddess ladies, Kiyono Hui started working the night shift.

To be honest, it wasn't that Kiyono Ash wanted to start something and then abandon it; it was mainly because the popularity of the character Shanor had spread in the otome game community.

There are just too many players calling out Qingye Hui every day, so many that even if Qingye Hui could divide his consciousness into thirty parts, it would still be a drop in the ocean.

This means that Qingye Hui can only prioritize taking care of wealthy female players.

It's already 3:30 in the morning, but thankfully most of the players who are currently hanging out with Xia Nuoer are active high school girls.

This gave Qingyehui a little free time in the early morning, as there weren't many players to entertain.

It seems that none of the worshippers that Takigami Rena, the "mama-san," specifically requested from Kiyono Hai are online.

This gave Kiyono Ash some leeway to receive new guests.

And indeed, in the dead of night, a new guest visited the library where Shanor worked.

"Let me see…"

Before she came to find Xia Nuoer, Qingye Hui checked the information of this visiting player using the system's player list.

23. ID Owlface Hera, estimated maximum value of Faith Power gained?

The expected amount of faith power to be gained is actually a question mark?

Qingye Hui knew, of course, why the display was marked with a question mark: the power of faith that this player could draw upon had exceeded the upper limit that Qingye Hui's current divine rank could bear.

But what's causing the stomach pain is that Kiyono Ash doesn't know the upper limit of the power of faith he can bear.

However, it is certain that the identity of this visiting player is not simple.

Just as Kiyono was thinking about these trivial questions, the player named Hera pushed open the library door and walked to Shanor's side.

As she approached Shanor, Qingye Hui was also secretly observing the player.

The player's character is wearing a black sailor uniform that clashes with the fantasy style of this world, and also wears black-rimmed glasses, giving off a literary girl vibe.

But her eyes… This character has scarlet pupils with concentric circles, giving her an eerie, mad look.

What kind of weird character creation is this? As countless strange thoughts flashed through Kiyono Hui's mind…

"You are Xia Nuoer?"

The player's character, Hera, walked up to Qingye Hui and stood down, tilting her head slightly before asking the first question in her own voice.

Her tone always gave Kiyono Hai the feeling that she was enduring something.

Qingye Hui also began to respond to this player in Xia Nuoer's uniquely socially awkward manner...

Shanor clutched the astrology books in her hands and answered in a fearful tone.

"Yes...yes...how can I help you?"

While Qingye Hui was still wondering how this player would win over Xia Nuoer, a dangerous premonition suddenly surged into Qingye Hui's heart!

This prompted Kiyono Hai to instinctively jump backward.

Just as Qingye Hui leaped backward, a cold arc of light grazed Xia Nuoer's throat.

After landing, Qingye Hui finally realized that the arc of light was the dagger held by the player named Hera.

Hera weighed the dagger in her hand, tilted her head slightly to look at Shanor, and a pleasant smile unconsciously appeared on her face.

"You...dodged it," she said, somewhat surprised.

What the heck? The machete arrived so quickly?

Qingye Hui thought that Xia Nuoer's yandere, loyal, and adorable puppy persona could last for a while longer among players.

But how come players are already seeking revenge on Shanor from their first playthrough so quickly?

No… it’s not about seeking revenge. Although Kiyono Gray could sense the killing intent emanating from this player, it seemed like this was the first time she had ever seen the character of Shanor.

"Big sister..."

Just as Kiyono Hai was about to say something, she ruthlessly interrupted him.

"Stop your boring performance, I'm not here to date you."

She continued to weigh the dagger in her hand.

"I was simply intrigued by your skills after seeing videos of you online... How about it? Want to test your moves with me?"

Want to try something out? The prefixed title is Owlface...

Looking at the female player in front of him, Qingye Hui instantly thought of an extremely hardcore player organization that exists in various games today.

For players, after the AINPC interactive system was launched, the NPCs in it behaved too much like real people.

This has led to a group of psychologically disturbed players who can vent their bloodlust in the virtual world. No matter what game they play, they are there with the goal of torturing and killing NPCs.

However, the player organization behind this owl mask is not so malicious.

To put it bluntly, they're a bunch of PK fanatics, though I don't know if they really deserve to be called PK fanatics.

In short, these guys are combat maniacs who enjoy hunting down powerful NPCs in games.

Perhaps because they've grown tired of player-versus-player combat, they've started looking for more advanced challenges with 'AlphaGo'—NPCs controlled by AI systems—that can perform far more precise actions than those done with a mouse and keyboard.

"So, big sister, you've set your sights on me?" Kiyono Hui immediately understood her purpose.