Persecution Complex

In truth, Natsumi was indeed a Spirit—the seventh among the ten Spirits. However, she had absolutely no confidence in her original appearance, even finding others' compliments utterly irrational. She held an intensely pessimistic and negative outlook, often linking others' praise to negative motives.

For those who had seen her true face, she would stop at nothing to socially ruin them, engaging in schemes to ensure they were despised by others—an outlook that had made her dangerous.

When Kaguya learned that the troublesome little girl was actually Natsumi, she understood the irrationality behind her behavior. Perhaps because of Kaguya's "Star Eyes" ability and powerful eye technique, Natsumi's disguises had been nearly useless against her, allowing Kaguya to easily see through them and spot her true form.

In fact, their first encounter had been the moment Kaguya saw through her disguise, which explained why Natsumi had repeatedly tried to frame her.

Another reason lay in her deep-seated insecurity and, in fact, self-loathing regarding her own appearance, pushing her thoughts into a very negative space—just like now.

"Pretty? Are you complimenting me?" Natsumi looked at the beautiful girl in the mirror with no hint of happiness. Instead, her tone was icy. "If you think fake kindness like this will make me forgive you, it's impossible! You might as well give up, I will never—ow!"

Before she could finish, Kaguya flicked her forehead, and Natsumi yelped in pain, crouching down to clutch her head.

"What kind of nonsense is that?" Kaguya could barely contain her laughter. "Do I really need to resort to this kind of method? To me, you're just like a little kitten—yet here you are, boasting so arrogantly."

"So, you really do plan on taking advantage of me?" Natsumi sprang up defensively, crossing her arms over her chest, a wary look on her face. "I won't let you succeed."

"Just how bad is your persecution complex?" Kaguya sighed as she looked at the paranoid loli before her. "Besides, don't you look pretty right now?"

After Kaguya's careful primping, Natsumi's appearance had completely transformed.

Her light green hair was now neatly parted into two sections and clipped with beautiful floral barrettes. Her delicate eyebrows lent her a pure and otherworldly look, while her green eyes, hazy and dreamlike, shimmered softly. Her skin, no longer pale, was like creamy jade, glowing with warmth. She wore a beautiful long dress with a gold belt adorned with butterfly accessories around her waist, and a lilac skirt embroidered with petals that fluttered elegantly.

Now, Natsumi looked as delicate as a porcelain doll, her makeover giving her an entirely new appearance.

In truth, Natsumi simply hadn't known how to dress up before. As they say, three parts appearance, seven parts styling. Natsumi already had a good foundation; just a bit of grooming and light makeup could make her look exceptionally lovely, especially at her young age, where there was still so much room for beauty to blossom.

However, Natsumi wasn't buying it. She immediately yanked off the hairpin and turned her head away, pouting. "I don't need your phony kindness! You definitely have some scheme in mind. Give up your unrealistic ideas—I won't let my guard down."

Kaguya's mouth twitched in exasperation. This brat! How could two girls the same age differ so vastly? Why wasn't this loli even half as sweet as Yoshino?

When they finally returned home, Kaguya suddenly remembered she'd forgotten something important—moving. She'd meant to find a larger house ages ago, as the current space was getting cramped. She was already sleeping on the sofa, and now it seemed Natsumi and Yoshino would have to share a room.

"Kaguya! You're back!" The moment Kaguya returned, Tohka's ears perked up, and she bounded toward her like an excited puppy. But seeing Natsumi standing behind her, she stopped in her tracks, pointing at Natsumi and asking, "Who is she?"

Why did that tone sound so much like a wife catching her husband bringing home a mistress?

"Oh, her?" Kaguya replied casually, "I picked her up off the street."

"The street?" Tohka tilted her head in curiosity, looking Natsumi over. "Why isn't she going home?"

"It's complicated," Kaguya explained. "She's homeless, kind of like you once were."

Natsumi scoffed, turning her head away in disdain.

"Really?" Tohka's eyes widened with sympathy, and without warning, she pulled Natsumi into a tight hug.

"Hey! Let me go, you idiot!" Natsumi shouted, her face squished against Tohka's well-endowed chest, struggling to breathe as she futilely pushed against her. But without her Spirit powers, she couldn't do anything against Tohka.

"I can't believe you had such a sad past too," Tohka murmured, seemingly oblivious to the actual situation. "If Kaguya hadn't been there for me, I don't know what would have happened… but don't worry, I won't let you suffer like that."

It seemed Tohka had somehow connected Natsumi's story to the tragic soap opera she'd been watching on TV and was filling in her background with an overblown, heart-wrenching sob story.

At that moment, Yoshino walked over, quietly setting Kaguya's slippers down at her feet.

"Thanks, Yoshino." Kaguya gave her a soft smile as she slipped on her slippers. Yoshino, as usual, was still the most well-behaved.

Yoshino blushed slightly at the praise, still shy after all the time they'd spent together, though not as much as she once was.

"Oh, right," Kaguya said as if just remembering something, "this little brat isn't a permanent resident here. So, if she wants to stay, she'll have to work."

"Work?"

Not only did Tohka and Yoshino stare at her in surprise, but Natsumi was equally taken aback.

"Of course," Kaguya said with a smile, "if you want to eat, you have to work. That's only fair, isn't it?"

For some reason, seeing Kaguya's smile sent an inexplicable chill down Natsumi's spine.

Kaguya naturally thought, "If you want to eat, you have to work. Isn't that just common sense?"

However, things rarely go as expected. It was especially evident when Nanatsu put the finished dishes on the table. Only then did Kaguya realize how much of a mistake it was to let a mischievous child who had never cooked before handle the meal.

The result was charred meat that looked like burnt coal, a vegetable salad mashed into the appearance of wilted leaves, porridge emitting a strong burnt smell, and juice with the fruit skins still in it. It was a sorry sight. This didn't look like dinner—it looked more like random, unidentified objects thrown together.

Yatogami Tohka and Yoshino, who had originally looked forward to the meal with joy, had their expressions collapse instantly.

Nanatsu announced loudly, "Dinner is ready!"

Fortunately, there were a few dishes on the table that seemed somewhat "normal"—at least they didn't have strange shapes or smells like the other items.

"This must be mapo tofu," Kaguya tried a bite, and her expression immediately changed dramatically. Legend has it that true mapo tofu has a balance of five flavors, but what she was tasting? It was more like fifty flavors, not just five. Sour, bitter, spicy, astringent, salty, and sweet—countless flavors exploded on her tongue, ruthlessly pushing the limits of bad taste. It made Kaguya wonder if, in that instant, she had gained some divine sense of flavor, experiencing the true essence of life's flavors.

Even Yatogami Tohka couldn't resist picking up her chopsticks to try a bite. She spat it out immediately, slamming her hands on the table, shouting, "Are you trying to poison us?"

Only Origami Tobiichi picked up her chopsticks, took a bite, and her face remained calm, as if she felt nothing was wrong—it was as if the food wasn't even unpleasant.

Yoshino, looking from Origami Tobiichi to the "dishes" on the table, finally couldn't resist picking up a piece of celery and placing it in her mouth. Her eyes went wide as she immediately clamped a hand over her mouth, her face twisted in a struggle not to gag.

Seeing Yoshino's expression, Kaguya chuckled and said, "You dared to eat her cooking." Saying this, she pulled out a napkin from the box, allowing Yoshino to spit out the food, and scolded her playfully, "You almost fooled me too."

Nanatsu smirked proudly, saying, "Well, you were the one who told me to cook. If you don't like how I did it, then get someone else."

She was eagerly waiting for Kaguya to kick her out, but Kaguya, having seen through her little scheme, said, "Don't get too full of yourself. You have to eat this food too; I'm not letting you leave to buy something else."

The moment Kaguya said this, Nanatsu's face fell. Though she couldn't cook, she hadn't done this poorly out of ignorance—she had done it intentionally to sabotage the meal, aiming to make it taste as bad as possible. She had even tasted a bit in the kitchen earlier and had almost spit it out herself.

"You're too cruel," Nanatsu shouted angrily.

"I don't think so," Kaguya replied. "Isn't it only fair to eat the food you make?"

Nanatsu's cheeks puffed up in frustration, and just as she was about to burst out in anger, she saw Kaguya's half-smiling expression, her hand subtly moving as if in preparation, reminding her of that time she was spanked with her pants down. Her courage immediately deflated.

"I'm not eating!" Nanatsu fumed, standing up and stomping off to her room, slamming the door behind her with a loud bang.

"If you don't eat, you're not getting anything else for tonight," Kaguya called out in the direction of the room, but she received no response from within.

Kaguya wondered if this decision was only making things harder for herself—after all, she ended up having to cook anyway. It was obvious that her cooking was worlds apart from Nanatsu's; calling it a comparison would be pointless. Nanatsu's food could be called poison—it was doubtful that even a rat would eat it.

After finishing dinner, Kaguya went to wash the dishes in the kitchen. Technically, this was supposed to be Nanatsu's task, but Kaguya was worried that if she let that girl handle it, she'd come down the next morning to find there were no usable dishes left—she'd probably break them all.

At that moment, a pair of arms, white as lotus roots, wrapped around her from behind, holding her close, with a head resting on her shoulder.

"What's up?" Kaguya asked curiously.

The person behind her was none other than Origami Tobiichi.

"Nothing," Origami Tobiichi replied softly, "but there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" Kaguya continued washing the dishes, her hands moving quickly through the plates.

"Today, the AST's Ground Self-Defense Force contacted me," Origami Tobiichi said. "They want to meet with you."

"Meet with me?" Kaguya paused, turning her head. "I don't think I have much business with them, do I?"

"The recent battle caused considerable damage to the city, and the DEM Company was also involved. Additionally, the AST suffered significant losses," Origami Tobiichi explained calmly. "They probably can't afford any more losses of this scale, so they want to try negotiating with you."

"Negotiate?" Kaguya smirked. "Just those people?" However, she quickly remembered that Origami Tobiichi was once a member of the AST, but there was no reaction on her face. Come to think of it, Kaguya had also infiltrated the AST before, though she found their strength quite limited. Besides a few members from the DEM Company, most of them were of average ability, with no real elite members, so it was no wonder Kaguya didn't take them seriously.

"Additionally, the DEM Company has undergone significant changes. They evacuated personnel and equipment from their headquarters in this city about a day ago," Origami Tobiichi added.

The DEM Company evacuated?

Kaguya was slightly taken aback. Although she had anticipated that the DEM Company would retreat—anyone who suffered such heavy losses while within enemy territory would make the same choice—she was still surprised by the decisiveness of their actions.

But to Kaguya, the DE Company wasn't worth too much of her attention. Instead of thinking about these insignificant pests that posed no real threat to her, she was more concerned with the beauty before her—especially right now.

Origami Tobiichi was getting a bit bolder, pressing her soft body tightly against Kaguya's back, gently sliding against her. Kaguya could even feel two small, firm points gradually stiffening. A pair of hands slid under her, moving up along her skin, slipping inside her collar and gripping a full, round breasts in each hand.

"Little girl, you're playing with fire," Kaguya said, her voice a bit hoarse.

Origami Tobiichi didn't say anything but leaned forward and gently bit her ear.

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