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

The night grew even deeper.

A thin mist floats quietly in the mountain forest, enveloping everything like a dreamlike fairyland.

The birds and beasts were already fast asleep in the night, curling up in their nests.

Insects made a noisy sound, took flight in the night, and danced in the darkness where no one could see them.

Amidst the hissing sound of snakes flicking their tongues, a small snake slowly slithered through the grass.

The startled rabbit suddenly jumped out, only to be caught by the catching snake in the next moment, and they became tightly entangled.

Water droplets fell silently from the fruit on the treetops.

As the road winds its way up the hot spring mountain, the scalding water continues to flow down day after day.

Thump—thump—

The clear, splashing water cascaded down the steep slope and crashed against the rocks.

Thump—thump—

Amidst the rising steam, the water flow never ceases to roll down.

The night continued.

The noisy and tranquil night continued leisurely, waiting and welcoming the arrival of the next day's daylight.

Until the light gradually spread and rippled outwards.

Until the person in the dream gradually came to their senses.

Gao Hai opened his eyes.

He turned his head and looked at the somewhat messy bed and the girl sleeping beside him, her small hand gently resting on his chest.

He saw that the other person had their eyes closed, and that their hair was slightly disheveled, with strands of hair clinging to their lips.

He saw her slightly trembling eyes and realized that she had actually been awake for a while. Before that, she might have been silently watching his sleeping face, and then after he woke up, she hurriedly closed her eyes again, pretending that she was still fast asleep.

He saw her open her eyes with a hint of helplessness, her cheeks slightly flushed, her expression shy, instinctively trying to avoid his gaze, but then deliberately looking at him as if in a fit of pique, staring at him intently with her bright, amethyst-like eyes that shimmered with light.

"Haijun, I like you."

The girl gently rested her head on his chest and whispered to him.

"I'm a cowardly fool who always lacks the courage to take action."

"So in that case, it will probably be difficult for me to say this again in the future, and it will be difficult for me to tell you this again, so you must remember this well."

"I love you. I want to stay by your side. I will stay by your side. To me, you are the most important person. This is what I want to tell you, the true feelings from my heart. You must, you must never forget, Haijun..."

It was a weak voice, full of hesitation, as if pleading.

He knew how vulnerable and trembling she was at that moment, so he reached out and gently pulled her into his arms again, holding her tightly.

Then, whisper in her ear the answer she wanted to hear.

"Yes, I will definitely remember it."

Interlude 2-26: The opening of the second day of the hot spring hotel tour

"Well……"

In the early morning, Kaguya opened her eyes and looked at the bright sunlight outside the window.

It's already the second day.

He stretched slightly and yawned.

Kaguya rubbed her eyes, her mind gradually clearing from a state of confusion.

She quickly recalled the series of plans and actions she had arranged the previous night that had not been adopted.

Then she turned her head and looked at Hayasaka Ai, who was sleeping on a makeshift bed on the floor and had gotten up earlier than her, with some dissatisfaction.

Last night, when she heard some unusual noises outside, she was about to go out and check it out, but Hayasaka Ai stopped her, saying she would investigate first. As she investigated, Hayasaka blushed and went into her room, saying that she absolutely couldn't disturb Takami that night, and even decided to stay and sleep on a makeshift bed on the floor. It's unclear what she meant by all this.

Moreover, even after a whole night had passed, for some reason, their maid still had a stiff expression, looking as if she had been greatly shocked.

"Kaguya-sama, I'd like to ask you, what exactly do you see in that man?"

Hayasaka struggled to lift her head, recalling the intimate words she had overheard between the two the night before, as well as Takami's warning. After hesitating for a long time, she finally looked at Kaguya and asked her seriously.

"Hayasaka, you've asked this question many times already."

Kaguya, who was already somewhat dissatisfied, frowned upon hearing this.

"But I still can't understand why you value him so much, pay attention to him, and even want to develop a relationship with him."

Hayasaka shook his head slightly, continuing without intending to back down.

Here we go again.

How should I put it? Sometimes this kid is just too serious.

"So I've said it many times, I have absolutely no interest in Gao Jun, and I don't think I have those kinds of thoughts about him. It's just that this man is indeed quite capable, and I need to gain his support and help. I'm doing this for the sake of mutual benefit, that's all."

Kaguya, with a completely calm expression, spoke eloquently to Hayasaka.

"...If that's the case, then if you want to achieve your goal, Miss Kaguya, the price you'll have to pay will probably be greater than you expect."

After hearing these words, which Kaguya had repeated countless times, Hayasaka could only sigh deeply, feeling genuinely helpless about his master's increasingly strange behavior lately.

And, he felt a sense of fear and an even stronger curiosity about the unremarkable Gao Hai.

After being invited by the school that day, Hayasaka actually met Takami once more.

After the entire Shinomiya family decided to submit to Kaguya, and no one dared to restrict or track her movements anymore, Hayasaka was also instructed by Shinomiya Kimihiro to no longer report Kaguya's daily life to him. At that time, Hayasaka sensed that something might have happened, and then, before she could figure out the truth, Takami intercepted her at school when she was alone and said a few words to her.

"Let's leave aside the past for now, but when I'm on a date in the future, please don't follow me too closely."

"After all, you're no longer restricted by the Four Palaces' Yellow Light, are you?"

"If you continue to follow and monitor me, I might do something to you~"

His tone was flippant, as if he were joking.

But the attitude behind those words made it impossible for Hayasaka to ignore them.

Especially considering the dramatic changes in the Shinomiya family, which seemed to have occurred on the night this man met with Shinomiya Hikari.

Who is he?

This man, who shows no abnormalities, why does he possess such terrifying abilities?

Is it really a good thing for Kaguya-sama to get close to him? As her servant, how much do I really not know?

Hayasaka's heart is in turmoil.

Things got even more chaotic after I was caught eavesdropping last night.

She was 100% certain that Takami had indeed entered adulthood along with Fujiwara Chika and Shijo Maki, and had truly engaged in two-timing behavior. Moreover, Chika and Maki were likely aware of and accepted this situation.

Now, the owner of the house is also eager to join in and form a so-called four-person family.

What is going on? !

Has Kaguya finally been corrupted by the vulgar ways of those adults? Is she going to pick up the promiscuous habits of American political families?! No, please don't let this happen! Please don't turn our Kaguya into such a terrifying person!!!

Hayasaka, realizing the increasingly dire situation, was unable to calm down.

"In any case, I have a need to get closer to him, and it's understandable that I have to pay some price for it."

Unaware of her servant's inner thoughts, Kaguya simply sighed softly, looked at her reflection in the mirror, and silently encouraged herself.

Today, let's try to organize some activities for everyone to participate in, and then try to get closer to Gao Jun in the process.

If I try my best, it should... no, it definitely will be fine!

At this moment, Kaguya was filled with confidence.

And at this moment, Gao Hai...

Well, at this moment, Gao Hai is... well, he's in the bathroom, lost in thought.

The rushing water drowned out the faint, mournful cry.

Her fair little feet supported her weakly on the ground, then quickly rose up on tiptoe, and finally left the ground completely.

When Gao Hai and Zhen Fei came out of the bathroom, there were several rows of teeth marks on his arms and shoulders. Judging from the almost explosively red face of Zhen Fei, whom he was holding, it was clear that the girl had just had a fierce battle in the bathroom.

"Can't you be a little more chivalrous?"

With no strength left to get up, Maki spoke to Takahashi in a resentful voice.

"I'm so sorry, how should I put it, maybe it's because you're too delicious?"

Gao Hai apologized readily and tried to find a reasonable explanation for his behavior.

In a sense, the script for the second morning with Zhenfei was not much different from that of Qianhua that day. However, the difference was that Zhenfei woke up earlier than Gaohai, but she just stayed in his arms and waited for Gaohai to wake up.

At that time, Consort Zhen was, well, much cuter than usual.

"Kai-kun~ Kai-kun~ Hehehe, Kai-kun's breasts are so big, I could even sleep on them~"

That was a rare sight of the True Consort in her soft, coquettish form.

Obviously, being pampered by a cute young girl early in the morning, with both of them completely naked, is something no normal man could tolerate. Therefore, Gao Hai, relying on his strong willpower, quickly made the right choice.

That was playing games happily with Maki, having lots and lots of fun, playing from the bed to the floor, from the floor to the hallway, and then from the hallway into the bathroom.

In the end, Maki, who was the first to run out of energy, chose to surrender and admit defeat. Although Gao Hai wanted to continue, seeing that his opponent was determined, he could only reluctantly stop and end the incredibly fulfilling game that morning.

I opened the door to the room and went out into the hallway, where Chika was already waiting outside.

Noticing that Gao Hai came out alone, the girl was slightly taken aback, but then immediately understood.

"Little Zhenfei must be having a tough time. It seems she won't be able to come out and play with everyone this morning."

As Chika said this, her expression towards Takami was full of mockery.

"Well, she should be up this afternoon. Anyway, what are the plans for later? Are we going for a walk around the area or something else?"

Gao Hai understood, of course, that this was a result of his own inability to control himself, hence his somewhat embarrassed expression. He coughed a few times and quickly changed the subject, beginning to discuss today's arrangements in a serious manner.

Saturday.