036 The Strange Hotel's Three Brothers' Oath
Asagiri heard this and nodded with satisfaction, chuckling.
"Hmm, beloved minister, your words are truly comforting to my heart."
Yuuki Asuna was slightly speechless: "Isn't this Water Margin? How did it turn into an emperor again?"
Asagiri replied righteously: "This is the Water Margin IF line, Three Brothers' Oath in the Peach Garden, Romance of the Three Kingdoms Gundam Linked Super Enhanced Version."
"What in the world are you talking about? How did it change from Water Margin to Three Kingdoms again..."
Yuuki Asuna rolled her eyes, then looked at Iwanaga Kotoko, who was sitting there as elegant and graceful as a young lady from a good family. She handed over her phone.
"Iwanaga-san, since we've decided to team up, let's add each other as friends first."
"Okay."
Iwanaga Kotoko didn't say much. She just tapped on the APP with the eye icon, opened the add friend function, and then lightly touched her phone against Yuuki Asuna's phone.
[You have successfully added "Player" Yuuki Asuna as a friend]
[You have successfully added "Player" Iwanaga Kotoko as a friend]
"So that's your name..."
Iwanaga Kotoko glanced at the friend request success notification that popped up in the APP, then handed her phone to Asagiri, smiling.
"Should we add each other as friends too? Leader?"
"Sure."
[You have successfully added "Player" Iwanaga Kotoko as a friend]
[You have successfully added "Player" Utsunomiya Asagiri as a friend]
"So those are your real names. Does that mean Leader and Violet are the code names you used during the instance?"
"Yes."
Yuuki Asuna tucked a strand of long hair behind her ear, speaking indifferently.
"To avoid revealing our real names in the instance, you should come up with a code name too."
"A code name, huh... Hmm, that sounds quite interesting... In that case, I'll be called..."
Iwanaga Kotoko looked like she was thinking very seriously. After a few seconds, she lightly tapped her chin with her fair and tender index finger, smiling playfully.
"Then my code name will be Leader's girlfriend~"
Yuuki Asuna was stunned when she heard this. It took her a few seconds to react, and she frowned slightly.
"Hey, come up with a proper code name. Don't sneak in your personal agenda here."
"I think it's great."
Seeing Iwanaga Kotoko's unrepentant look, as if she really wanted to use that code name, Yuuki Asuna sighed, supporting her forehead, and looked at Asagiri for help.
"Leader, talk to her. How can she..."
"Yeah, how can she come up with a code name like that?"
Asagiri shook his head with a serious expression and said solemnly.
"How about this, I'm the Butter Shooter, and you'll definitely be a Warlock or something in the future, so you'll be the Ham Sausage Warlock, and then Violet will be the Bread Swordsman!"
Yuuki Asuna rolled her eyes and retorted exasperatedly.
"What kind of ridiculous code names are these? Are we some kind of Western fantasy sandwich combination? Besides, I am indeed a Swordsman, and she might indeed become a Warlock, but your profession and talent have nothing to do with being a shooter, right?"
"Heh heh, no relation? Do you know which game was the best shooting game of the year?"
"No, I don't play games."
"It doesn't matter, because the winner wasn't a game either, it was a certain software called JM Paradise."
"Huh? What does that have to do with shooting?"
"That's why you don't understand why I'm the Butter Shooter. Later, I'll slowly explain it to you."
"Okay... Wait, no, what do you mean 'okay'? You two, be serious!"
Yuuki Asuna suddenly realized that the topic had been sidetracked without her noticing, and she looked helpless.
"I'm begging you two, come up with a proper code name, okay?"
"A proper code name, huh... Then..."
Yuuki Asuna looked worried, afraid that Iwanaga Kotoko, this extraordinary person, would come up with another outrageous code name. Fortunately, this time, she didn't cause trouble again and gave a serious answer.
"Necro, how about that?"
"Necro..."
Yuuki Asuna frowned slightly, thought carefully for a moment, and asked doubtfully.
"Is that a word..."
While Yuuki Asuna was still thinking, Asagiri spoke with a smile.
"Necro is taken from the fictional book in the Cthulhu Mythos called the Necronomicon, isn't it? The first five letters of the English word? It really suits you and fits your talent."
Iwanaga Kotoko heard this and said with interest: "Oh? Leader, you know about Cthulhu?"
Asagiri waved his hand. Although his tone was very humble, he was clearly showing off.
"Just a little, just a little."
Looking at Iwanaga Kotoko talking with Asagiri, Yuuki Asuna suddenly felt a slight pang of sourness in her heart and couldn't help but interrupt.
"Well then, your code name is set as Necro. But I'm still very curious, you and Leader are both people who have awakened exclusive talents. What does that APP base its judgment on to determine the Player's most suitable talent?"
"I'm not sure about Leader's situation, but for me... actually, 'God of Wisdom of the Oddities' isn't a talent I awakened after entering the instance."
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
Iwanaga Kotoko smiled and quietly said something astonishing that made Yuuki Asuna's expression change.
"'God of Wisdom of the Oddities' is not just my exclusive talent, it's also my identity in the real world."
Before Yuuki Asuna could ask, Iwanaga Kotoko voluntarily told her story.
When she was eleven, she did indeed go missing, but the culprits weren't kidnappers seeking ransom, but a group of yokai. That's why the police couldn't find any clues.
The reason the yokai took Iwanaga Kotoko from her home was simple: most yokai aren't very smart, so they needed a God of Wisdom who could help them, mediate various conflicts and disputes, resolve various incidents, and maintain balance and order between the oddities and human society.
The price of becoming the God of Wisdom was losing one eye and one leg.
It's important to emphasize that the yokai did not force Iwanaga Kotoko.
Paying the price of one eye and one leg to become the God of Wisdom of the Oddities was Iwanaga Kotoko's own choice.
Since then, she has possessed the ability to "observe" oddities and has served as the God of Wisdom for the oddities, the Princess for the yokai, until today.
"No, wait a minute..."
Yuuki Asuna looked disbelieving and said cautiously.
"Are you saying... that in the real world, there really are such things as yokai?"
"Yes, but you can rest assured."
Iwanaga Kotoko stood up, straightened her skirt, put her white beret back on, and said with a smile.
"Most yokai won't harm humans, nor will they interfere with the normal order of society. They just want to live quietly, and yokai are not allowed to appear freely in front of humans, so there's no need to worry."