Mushoku Impact

Recognizing Yun Jin's very distinctive voice, Paul elected to pretend he hadn't noticed her. He knew she would be even more embarrassed if he attempted to catch her, so he slowly pivoted his head from side to side before moving toward where he believed one of the remaining six people to be.
"Oh my..."
Taking advantage of Paul's outstretched hand, Ningguang repositioned herself so that his fingers would come into contact with her right breast. She understood that Paul was trying to help Yun Jin save face, so letting her voice out was completely intentional.
Though his blindfold somewhat obscured them, Paul raised his brows in mock surprise before giving Ningguang's breast a tentative squeeze. She was wearing a bunnysuit that emphasized her cleavage, so his pinky, ring, middle, and index fingers came into contact with her bare, incredibly soft skin.
Giving Yun Jin the time she needed to sneak back to the relative safety of his bed, Paul traced his fingers across the surface of Ningguang's breast as he remarked, "It never ceases to amaze me...how can your breasts be so soft yet maintain such a perfect shape...?"
Adopting a slightly gratified smile, Ningguang replied, "I would like to say it's the result of a tremendous amount of effort on my part, but my status as a Spirit has made things a lot easier. Even if I eat five meals a day or go on a diet for months at a time, my figure remains wholly unaffected. It's a little disconcerting but exceedingly convenient."
"Mmm...I'm certainly not going to complain.."
Amused by Paul's response, a faint yet throaty chuckle emanated from Ningguang's throat. She was half-tempted to remind him that the only reason she, and many others, retained her 'original' appearance was due to his perception of how they 'should' look. In other words, her features remained flawless because that's what Paul expected. Had there been something about her appearance he didn't like, she would have changed similarly to Zhongli, Kay, and, most notably, Qiqi.
Reaching up to grasp Paul's wrist, Ningguang narrowed her eyes as she mused, "Though I certainly wouldn't mind continuing, I believe you have other matters to attend. There are still five of us remaining..."
Nodding his head, Paul retracted his hand and said, "I definitely won't allow you to return to the Strife Zone before we have a chance to spend some time together..."
As she had very similar thoughts on the matter, Ningguang just exhaled another light chuckle before casually orienting Paul in the direction of his next quarry, Lynette. She was perched atop Paul's wardrobe, so he had passed her by during his initial circuit around the room.
Realizing what Ningguang had done, a slight frown formed on Lynette's face. She was aiming to be the last person Paul located, so having her position exposed in such a 'wanton' manner annoyed her more than she would ever vocalize.
Fortunately for Lynette, Paul also realized what Ningguang had done, so, rather than going in the direction she had picked for him, he smiled wryly and decided to head elsewhere. His actions brought the faintest of smiles to Lynette's face, but she quickly regained her frown upon seeing the 'as expected' look on Ningguang's...
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Though it took much longer than he expected, Paul eventually managed to locate Yoimiya, Hina, Yae, and Ei before finishing off the game with his discovery of Lynette. Yoimiya and Hina had kind of cheated by concealing themselves in the bathroom, but even they were easier to locate than Yae and Ei. The former had reverted to her fox form, lazily observing the game from the comfort of a chair. As for Ei, she had erased her presence to the point Paul passed her by more than a dozen times before she gave him a break and allowed some of her sword intent to leak out.
Waiting until Paul had located and correctly identified Lynette, Ningguang clapped her hands together and said, "Congratulations, Master Paul. Not only were you able to locate everyone, but you were also able to identify each of us without so much as a single mistake, a feat as impressive as it is reassuring."
Exhaling a sigh of relief, Paul reached up to remove his blindfold before smiling as he came face to face with Lynette. He had 'identified' her by pulling her close and running his hands up and down her incredibly lithe body while she sat atop his dresser, so their faces were a lot closer than he had visualized.
Having anticipated Paul's reaction, Ningguang waited until he removed his blindfold before adding, "And congratulations to Mademoiselle Lynette for being the last to be discovered. As the penultimate winner of our revised game of hide-and-seek, she is permitted to make a single request of our champion. Make it count~."
Hearing Ningguang's words, Lynette immediately perked up. The look on her face didn't change, but her back became straighter, and her tail began to swish slowly behind her. Unfortunately, not everyone was as enthused about the revelation as she was.
With a severely disproving expression on her face, Kishirika's brow was visibly twitching as she remarked, "This isn't fair. If there were a prize on the line, you should have told us from the start. We would have taken the game a lot more seriously."
Fully expecting a bit of dissent, Ningguang maintained a perfect mask of calm as she replied, "If you knew there was a prize on the line, everyone would have competed to be the last woman standing. Keeping the reveal a secret until the end was the best way to expedite things while keeping the game fair and objective."
Though she couldn't fault Ningguang's logic, Kishirika made her disproval known by clicking her tongue and crossing her arms in defiance. Kishirisu emulated her behavior, but while many others felt the same way, none of the girls from the IOF protested as openly as the two Empresses.
Stumbling directly into the 'trap' Ningguang had set for him, Paul adopted a wry smile and inquired, "I'm more than happy to grant Lynette's request, but, as the victor, don't I get a reward?'&nbsp;
Nodding her head in affirmation, Ningguang casually revealed, "Of course. We agreed beforehand that you would be entitled to petition each of us for a request so long as you didn't make any mistakes. Inversely, had you misidentified anyone, they would be allowed to shadow you for upwards of three weeks, a single day for each person you identified correctly. That way, you would have plenty of time to memorize their shape and scent..."
Swallowing the bait dangling in front of him, Paul's expression became serious as he stated, "Then the solution is simple. I'm already working hard to make my dream a reality. Beyond that, my only wish is that the people I care about are happy, healthy, and safe. To that end, I would rather hear each of your requests than make selfish ones of my own. I mean, just look around. I'm surrounded by beautiful and capable women willing to put on performances and don sexy outfits just to celebrate my birthday. If I met a guy who wasn't satisfied after all of this, I would feel obligated to crack their head open to see what the fuck was wrong with their brain..."
Though Paul's final remark was a little distasteful, his impromptu speech brought smiles to the faces of nearly every woman present. Even Kishirika and Kishirisu were no exception, but, unlike the others, their smiles held a trace of chagrin as they cast narrowed, sidelong glances at Ningguang.
Prompted by the looks on everyone else's faces, Paul adopted a smile of his own as he proclaimed, "Then that's that. My request is that each of you makes a request of me. In Lynette's case, she gets two. Just try and keep your requests reasonable...I intend to do my best, but I'm ultimately just one man..."
Nodding her head in both approval and affirmation, Ningguang mused, "We'll keep that in mind." before focusing on gaze on Lynette and adding, "As for the order, we'll start with Lynette, then those preparing to return to the Strife Zone, and finally everyone who will be remaining behind. I trust there are no objections?"
Understanding there was no point in arguing, even Kishirika and Kishirisu remained silent in response to Ningguang's words. Upon seeing this, the ivory-haired prodigy supplied a supplemental nod before redirecting her gaze to Lynette, silently encouraging her to kick things off.
While she wasn't a genuinely shy person, Lynette wasn't comfortable with making her wishes and desires known to others. Thus, instead of voicing her request aloud, she gestured for Paul to lean closer, whispering into his ear, "Please forgive my sister..."
Surprised by the request, Paul's eyes briefly widened. He didn't consider himself the type to hold grudges, so he wasn't entirely sure what Lynette meant by asking him to forgive her sister. If anything, Lyney was the one that was hostile toward him...
Instead of thinking too deeply about the request, Paul nodded his head and replied, "Sure. No problem."
As if a heavy burden had been removed from her slender frame, a faint yet relieved sigh escaped Lynette's throat. She often felt guilty about how far apart she and Lyney had grown, so Paul's willingness to forgive was the same as giving her permission to try and mend things between them.
Feeling warm, light, and a little fluttery, an uncharacteristically expressive smile bloomed across Lynette's face as she narrowed her eyes and asked, "Can I make my second request now?"
Nodding his head, Paul leaned in to hear what Lynette had to say, his eyes progressively rounder as she narrated, "Once I make up with my sister, I want to try lying on top or underneath her as you take turns doing each of us. I want her to stare into my eyes as I call your name, and I want to see her face as you force her to do the same..."
As he generally did Lynette from behind, her preferred position, Paul was surprised to hear her asking to change things up. She hated being on her back, but here she was asking him to effectively go to town on her sister while she lay beneath her. It was a little unorthodox, but he only hesitated for a brief moment nodding his head and responding, "Sure...just keep in mind that I don't enjoy forcing people against their will. If Lyney doesn't consent, you'll have to come up with a different request..."
Confident she could get her sister to agree, Lynette narrowed her eyes in delight as she practically purred, "Just leave it to me..." before planting a brief yet meaningful kiss on Paul's cheek. Then, with noticeably reddened cheeks, she extricated herself from Paul's embrace, descended from the dresser, and swiftly made her exit...
Though he was a little taken aback by Lynette's sudden departure, Paul had long grown accustomed to her cat-like behavior. Instead of fretting over it, he adopted a wry smile and turned to the sizeable group of girls awaiting their turn, asking, "Who's next...?"
As the second to last to be discovered, Ei would ordinarily be the next in line. However, as she rarely separated from Paul, Ningguang took the initiative to suggest, "I believe Lady Jin, Director Tao, and Miss Yanfei are the most suitable candidates. After them, it should be Miss Hina, Shenhe, Yunyun, and myself."
Since everyone mentioned would be departing within the next 3-5 days, no one protested Ningguang's suggestion. As a result, Yun Jin reluctantly stepped forward, emulating Lynette by instructing Paul to bend down so she could speak directly into his ear. However, before revealing her actual request, she said, "Don't act shocked or surprised by my request..."
Though he was briefly confused, Paul quickly understood the reason for Yun Jin's caution when she made her request. Unfortunately, while he did his best to maintain a blank expression, the extremity of Yun Jin's request forced an awkward smile onto his face. After all, it wasn't every day one of his lovers solicited him to sneak into their room and 'attack' them while they slept...
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After a 'very' eventful evening, stretching well into the morning, Paul, once again, found himself in the main banquet hall. This time, however, nearly everyone was present, happily relishing the breakfast prepared by Xiangling and her growing number of 'disciples.'
As she hadn't been allowed to participate in the evening's 'entertainment,' Klee was seated atop Paul's lap with a radiant smile, feet dangling as she enjoyed her favorite meal, slightly charred, fish-flavored toast. The aroma and appearance of the meal were more than a little...unique, but Paul had long grown accustomed to it. Klee had a habit of wanting to sit on his lap, and while he knew it probably wasn't the wisest decision, Paul struggled to deny the earnest Elfette's requests when she appealed to him with her patented, puppy-eyed stare.
With a somewhat exasperated expression and tone, Paul gently brushed a few crumbs from Klee's lap as he instructed, "Sit still, Klee. You're getting crumbs all over your dress..."
Though she stopped dangling her legs, Klee didn't appear to take Paul's words to heart as she replied, "It's okay, Big Brother~! Klee's clothes are stain and dirt-proof~!"
Smiling wryly, Paul considered how he might gently admonish the young blonde before exhaling a sigh and abandoning the notion. Fortunately, he was not the only one involved in Klee's rearing. Jean wasn't present, but Albedo had no qualms articulating, "Klee. While there is a certain degree of truth to your words, that's no excuse to disregard manners. When you make a mess, others have to clean it up. A proper adult does their best to avoid making trouble for others..."
"Oh..."
Not wanting to cause trouble, Klee visibly deflated but focused intently on her toast. Paul had told her she would need a few years and the approval of Jean, Albedo, and her mother before she could be considered a proper adult, so she did her best to take their words and advice seriously.
Feeling appreciative of Albedo's assistance, Paul directed a grateful smile in her direction as he asked, "How's your research going? Have you made any headway on repairing the teleportation circle to Betobe's Library?"
Exhaling a faint sigh, Albedo replied, "We've repaired the magic circle and triple-checked the spell formula. However, without exact coordinates, the probability of teleporting directly into the corrosive lake slime is far higher than reaching our destination. Trying to pinpoint spatial coordinates in an area spanning 226,000 square kilometers isn't easy..."
Though she had no intention of giving up, the amount of magical energy required to trigger long-distance teleportation wasn't insignificant. Each attempt required thousands of gold worth of high-quality magic crystals, so unless they began raiding dungeons or slaughtering B-Rank monsters by the thousands, they were limited to around 2-3 attempts per day.&nbsp;
Thinking he may have touched a nerve, Paul adopted an apologetic smile and said, "I appreciate the efforts of the entire research department. Just inform me if there is any progress..."
Nodding in affirmation, Albedo replied, "Certainly." before adopting a faint smile and segueing back into her research, revealing, "Speaking of which, our resident bio-alchemist has made notable progress in her study of the 'Black Armor.' Were she here, she could speak more on the matter..."
As Sucrose was one of the girls Paul elected to spend his evening with, she was currently a little...indisposed. She had attempted to come down for breakfast, but Paul forced her to stay behind and get some rest.&nbsp;
While Paul was looking somewhat embarrassed, Kishirika and Kishirisu decided to chime in, the former remarking, "Oh, that little puppy girl was able to make sense of Laplace's notes?" while the latter added, "Not bad. She doesn't give off the impression of a particularly reliable individual, so I assumed it would take a decade or two before she made any significant headway. Hell, even Laplace took fifty years..."
Narrowing her eyes, Albedo adopted a rare, prideful look as she asserted, "Sucrose is the student I am most proud of. When she adequately applies herself, there is very little she can't achieve."
Not wanting an argument to break out, Paul inserted himself back into the conversation, asking, "So, what was she able to figure out? I'll ask her for the details later, but a sneak preview is more than welcome."
Shifting her crystal clear, brilliantly teal eyes from the twin Empresses to Paul, Albedo took a moment to collect her thoughts before revealing, "She has identified the mutagenic compound that allows Slimes to evolve from their standard, river-dwelling variant to the sort capable of ingesting and processing metals. She is currently in the process of trying to synthesize it into a transplantable compound. If her experiments are successful, well, the possibilities are endless..."
Recalling the discussion he and Sucrose had once had after analyzing the structure of Azura's 'blood,' Paul understood what Albedo was alluding to. He had told them about how scientists in his previous world postulated using nanomachines for everything from automation and construction to modifying human genetics. He also warned them about the dangers of a 'grey goo' scenario, but that hadn't deterred the alchemically-inclined duo from looking into it between their other projects.
Though he felt like they were on the threshold of opening Pandora's Box, Paul couldn't help smiling as he jokingly replied, "If we're seriously able to develop functional nanites before processors and computers, I'm going to feel bad for the scientists of my previous world..."
"Ah, yes...computers..."
As Paul had frequently talked about computers and the possibilities they opened up as far as technological innovation was concerned, developing a working prototype was high on Albedo's list of priorities. However, while she had a basic understanding of what she was supposed to be making, it was difficult to conceptualize binary and create a programming language when she had experience with neither.
Interpreting Albedo's utterance as an expression of exasperation, Paul's smile waned as he said, "Don't push yourself. The work you and Sucrose are doing is already well ahead of its time. We can worry about things like computers and the development of the internet once Hitoshit has been dealt with. I don't even want to imagine what that jackass could do with access to social media..."
Understanding that Paul was trying to cheer her up, Albedo regained her smile and replied, "Very well. I'll continue to look into it, but I'll reduce its priority to C-Class until Master Alice's arrival. With her help, we should be able to complete a working prototype for use in automation."
Hearing mention of her mother's name, Klee, having long finished her fish-flavored toast, promptly perked up to ask, "Is mommy going to be joining us soon!? Yaaaaay~!"
Realizing she had inadvertently stepped on a landmine, the expression on Albedo's face resembled Paul's usual wryness until the latter wrapped his arms around Klee, forcing her to stop bouncing around as he revealed, "It all depends on luck and fate. I intend to perform a mass summoning this evening, but there are no guarantees your mother will be among our new allies. If you can promise not to cry, I'll let you enter the IOF and watch..."
Though she was a little disheartened by Paul's words, his warmth and the possibility she could be reunited with her mother brought a smile to Klee's face. The days she spent with Alice in the Intersection of Fate were some of her fondest memories before her summoning. She had experienced lots of new and exciting things since then, but she believed everything would be even better with her mother present.
Smiling at the notion, Klee looked up at Paul and said, "Okay, Big Brother. Klee promises not to cry, so can Big Brother hold me nice and tight?"
Restraining a sigh, Paul's expression melted as he replied, "Sure thing, Klee..." Then, even though it made him feel incredibly awkward, he gave the petite Elfette a firm hug while nearly everyone at the table observed him with various degrees of amusement and sympathy...
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After what felt like an incredibly long yet paradoxically short day, Paul found himself standing at the entrance to the IOF while Kishirika used a variety of Demon Eyes to try and visualize it. Kishirisu was also present, but most of her Demon Eyes had been lost during the encounter against Ei and Zhongli. She didn't keep her Demon Eyes when she transferred to a new body, so she was still in the process of recovering even the base set Kishirika was known for.
"This is ridiculous...a doorway to another world can't just open up without leaving behind some sort of trace..."
As he was nowhere close to uncovering the secrets of the IOF, Paul just shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know what to tell you. I've tried carrying in others who couldn't see the interior, but they just disappear in a kind of 'ripple' before falling to the floor."
Shifting her attention from the door to Kishirisu, Kishirika earned an eye roll from her counterpart before she begrudgingly volunteered to let Paul demonstrate his claim with her body. He obliged, but, as purported, the buxom Demoness nearly fell onto her rump as he stepped into the portal. From the perspective of those that couldn't see the IOF, Paul was the one who appeared to disappear into an invisible membrane while Kishirisu was left levitating in the air.
Though she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing, Kishirika had no choice but to admit the IOF was, at least for the time being, an existence beyond her comprehension. It had to be a form of spatial magic, yet, even while observing the process of Paul disappearing and reappearing, there wasn't so much as a single trace of magical or even elemental energy.
Throwing her hands up, Kishirika groaned, "Whatever, I give up trying to make sense of your powers. Just get on with your summoning and return as quickly as possible. I'm eager to meet m&mdash;your new subordinates..."
Shaking his head in mock exasperation, Paul lazily replied, "Yeah, yeah..." before stepping into the IOF and joining everyone waiting for him atop the summoning platform. He took a moment to greet Katherine and ask if she had any additional merchandise available for purchase, but that was more of a courtesy than anything else. Unless he increased his Adventure Rank or cleared a Labyrinth, her stock didn't change.
With all the formalities out of the way, Paul took his place between Ganyu and Xinyan. They had already slotted in enough gold for him to perform a summon, so after a brief kiss from his residential Goddess of Luck, Paul closed his eyes and readied himself for another intense, hopefully fruitful, round of summoning...
Expecting a series of misses, Paul wasn't the only one surprised when the very first ritual manifested a resplendent golden meteor. The approximate odds of this occurring were a mere 0.6%, so Paul couldn't help turning to Xinyan and playfully remarking, "Remind me never to summon without you at my side..."
Feeling her cheeks heat up, Xinyan reached up to cover her blush and massage them as she averted her eyes and replied, "Right...I'll keep that in mind..."
Though he was tempted to tease the bronze-skinned beauty even more, the luminosity of the meteor forcefully drew Paul's attention. He doubted the person within would be Alice, but so long as it wasn't the Tsaritsa, he would be content with just about anything. If it 'was' the Tsaritsa...well, he still had twenty-one months before his return to the Central Continent...
Fortunately for everyone, the fortuitous 5-Star was not the infamous Cryo Archon. It also wasn't Alice, but that didn't prevent Klee from bouncing up and down as she excitedly cheered, "Yaaaaaaay~! Klee's going to be even stronger now~!"
While many had yet to obtain even a single Constellation, Paul's third major summoning spree was commemorated by the acquisitions of Klee's third. This made her the 5-Star Character with the highest Constellations thus far. Since they had also obtained her personalized weapon during his previous spree, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that Klee was the luckiest person Paul had ever summoned...besides himself, of course...
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"Is this really necessary?"
After dropping Klee off and returning to his room, Paul was stopped at the door and asked to put on a thick blindfold. He no longer had access to his X-Ray Vision, so donning the piece of fabric would leave him functionally blind.
Maintaining her usual, businesslike smile, Ningguang replied, "The show we put on earlier was supposed to be the evening's entertainment. Since you've already witnessed what we had prepared, we had to come up with something else to surprise you."
Though he smiled wryly, Paul handed the blindfold to Ganyu and allowed her to put it on him. Afterward, he allowed the duo led him into the room by hand while Lilia followed close behind.
As a pleasant smell pervaded Paul's senses, Ningguang took the initiative to explain, "Since your senses are sharper than the average person, we've developed a game, especially for you. Your goal is to find each of the girls stationed around the room. Once you find one, you have thirty seconds to guess their identity. They have been instructed not to speak, but you are permitted to use any method to ascertain their identities. Once the game has concluded, you will be rewarded according to your rate of success..."
Leading Paul to his first target, Ningguang guided his hand to someone's shoulder and purred, "Good luck..." directly into his ear. Her voice caused goosebumps to develop across his body, but he quickly shifted his focus to the unseen beauty moving about in response to his touch.
After ascertaining that the woman was facing him, Paul adopted a smile and said, "Pardon me..." before wrapping his arms around her. He didn't think he would be able to identify her using just a hug, but the image of an ice-cold beauty immediately entered his mind when he felt the firmness of her lithe and shapely body.
Just to be safe, Paul moved his hands from the woman's lower back to her perfectly sculpted bottom, gently squeezing it as he declared, "If this isn't Eula, I'll eat my own foot..."
Though she was relieved that Paul was able to determine her identity so quickly, Eula couldn't help frowning as she flatly remarked, "You're going to make me self-conscious about my hindquarters..."
Returning a cheeky smile, Paul retorted, "You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. Your ass is amazing..."
Disregarding the fact Paul was wearing a blindfold, Eula averted her eyes and muttered, "Fool..." under her breath. However, before pushing Paul away and insisting he move on to someone else, she briefly reciprocated his embrace and placed her head against his chest.
With Ningguang moving away to take up her own position, Paul was left to feel and smell his way around his oversized bedroom. Fortunately, it didn't take him long to detect an aroma distinct from Eula's, a thick, earthy scent that immediately reminded him of a specific person.
Confirming his suspicions, Paul felt around before he made contact with a figure even taller than himself. He immediately knew who the woman was, but went out of his way to squeeze her firm and muscular buttocks before touching her tail and declaring, "Unless Lynette spontaneously grew thirty centimeters and developed a six-pack, this is definitely Ghislaine..."
With a somewhat smug expression on her face, Ghislaine replied, "That's right." before wrapping her muscular arms around Paul and squeezing him with enough strength to pop his back. She was nowhere near as jacked as her anime counterpart, but she was the tallest and most muscular woman Paul associated with. As a result, Paul often felt she was more of a lioness than a traditional cat girl...
When Ghislaine eventually released him, Paul gave her a somewhat wry smile before departing in search of his next quarry. To his astonishment, he almost immediately detected a hint of perfume, his nostrils twitching ever so slightly as he openly remarked, "I'm positive this perfume belongs to Yun Jin..." before following it to its origin.
Before Paul could wrap his arms around her body or attempt to feel her up, Yun Jin took his hands into her own and expressed, "You did well." in an approving tone. She wasn't fond of public displays of affection, so she did her best to ensure a respectable distance between them when others were around.
Understanding Yun Jin's intent, Paul supplied a curt nod and commented, "Your perfume suits you...it's a pleasant and refined aroma..."
Adopting a smile of her own, Yun Jin teasingly replied, "You certainly have a way with words. Unfortunately, there are others awaiting you. I'm afraid this is where we must part..."
Extracting her hands from Paul's, Yun Jin took a few steps away to ensure he couldn't reach out to her. She didn't mind being held by him, but there was a time and a place for everything.&nbsp;
Though he followed Yun Jin's movements with his head, Paul eventually just smiled and moved on. Yun Jin was the type of woman who would only reveal her 'true self' when they were utterly alone. Why? Because she was actually an exceptionally lazy and slothful person, a stark contrast to how she presented herself in public...
While images of Yun Jin's hikikomori-like room flashed through his mind, Paul sniffed around for his next target. He felt a little ridiculous looking for people by their scent, but it was surprisingly effective as he quickly found himself in front of someone that barely came up to his chest.
As even someone like Ningguang was nearly twenty centimeters shorter than him, Paul didn't immediately assume that the petite figure was Diona. She was inarguably the shortest person present, standing only 144cm in height, but Hu Tao was a very close second at 146.2cm. While this might sound incredibly short, the average height of human females in the world of Mushoku Tensei was only around 151cms, roughly 4'11''. However, as it was a world created by a Japanese author, it was to be expected that the average height of characters would reflect the standards of Japan.
Confirming his suspicions, Paul reached up to pat the petite figure on the head, instantly noting the absence of cat ears. Their hair was very fluffy and warm to the touch, however, so he could immediately eliminate Hu Tao as she put a surprising amount of effort into keeping her hair straight and free of knots.
With only two possibilities remaining in his mind, Paul used both hands to feel around the sides of the woman's face.
"Ah..."
Though Paul immediately recognized the woman's voice, he had already confirmed her identity when he felt the two antler-like horns growing from the sides of her head.
"Hello, Yanfei..."
Adopting a somewhat awkward smile, Yanfei replied, "You found me." in an audibly embarrassed tone. Her ears and horns were 'very' sensitive, so having them grabbed and caressed so wantonly left her feeling flustered.
Pretending to be unaware of Yanfei's 'plight,' Paul continued rubbing the base of her horns with his thumbs. Their interior was purportedly harder than diamond, but they were covered in a layer of pliable keratin and soft, velvety fuzz that made them incredibly pleasant to touch.
"Master Paul...I believe you have more than confirmed my identity at this point..."
Nodding his head, Paul reluctantly released Yanfei from his clutches and offered an insincere, "Sorry. Guess I got a little carried away..."
Exhaling a sigh of relief, Yanfei replied, "I didn't mind. It's just that quite a few others are waiting for you to deduce their identities. If you'd like, you may touch my horns as much as you want later..."
Hearing the sound of someone clicking their tongue, Paul turned away from Yanfei, a devilish smile on his face as he said, "I'll be over there in just a moment, Kishi. I'm not sure if it was Rika or Risu, but I'm positive it was one of you..."
As they had been asked to stand together, Kishirisu couldn't help giving Kishirika a stink eye. She was also annoyed by Yanfei's blatant attempt to secure her place as one of Paul's bedside companions, but she kept mum to avoid giving away their location and identity.
Realizing she had erred, Kishirika adopted an awkward smile and directed a silent plea at Ningguang. The latter rolled her eyes but eventually gave a slight nod to indicate that the pair could relocate before Paul sussed out their exact location.
Though he could hear Kishirika's and Kishirisu's movements, Paul didn't say anything as they were on the opposite side of the room. His plan was to make a counter-clockwise circuit around the room's periphery, so there were at least a handful of women between his present location on the one they had just moved from. Scrambling over to try and capture them would just disorient him.
With such thoughts in mind, Paul continued his counter-clockwise circuit before pausing within arm's reach of his next target. He was about to pass the location by due to the lack of an aroma, but he stopped upon sensing a very faint warmth lingering in the area.
Forcing several people to cover their mouths to avoid snickering, Shinobu narrowly evaded Paul's hand every time he reached out to touch her. She was a taciturn woman, but she had the heart and soul of a kunoichi and a delinquent. She also knew Paul would be able to identify her instantly due to the thick cord tying up her shuriken-like ponytail, so she did her best to avoid him until he gave up and said, "This is definitely Shinobu..."
Snorting through her nose, Shinobu cockily replied, "Lucky guess." before evading Paul's attempt to grasp her with his right hand. Then, as her role in the game had been fulfilled, she leaped up and away from him, sticking to the ceiling and snickering at him with a smile reminiscent of a Cheshire cat.
Though he couldn't see her, Paul could perfectly visualize the look on Shinobu's face as he 'stared' up at her and remarked, "And people call me cheeky..."
Disregarding the fact he was currently blindfolded, Shinobu responded to Paul by pulling down her left eyelid with her middle finger and sticking out her tongue. Similar to Yun Jin, she had a persona she 'needed' to maintain in public, so she always behaved like a delinquent whenever other people were around. She was a lot like Xinyan in that regard, outwardly gutsy but secretly very affectionate, almost to the point of being puppy-like.
Smiling wryly, Paul made a mental note to 'pamper' Shinobu plentily the next time they were alone. For now, he still needed to locate seventeen more people, preferably without making a single mistake...
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While Paul was busy fumbling around the room, the girls he had already identified gathered together on or around his bed, doing their utmost to remain silent. They knew it was going to take some time for Paul to find everyone, so Shinobu pulled out a deck of cards and began dealing them out to those who were interested.&nbsp;
With nothing better to do besides silently cheering Paul on, most of the girls readily joined in on Shinobu's impromptu poker game. Yun Jin was the only exception among the original batch of girls, but her mask began to crack after nearly half an hour of standing off the side by herself. By then, Paul had correctly identified Yunyun, Xinyan, Ganyu, Venti, Sucrose, Shenhe, Kishirika, Kishirisu, Albedo, Lilia, and Hu Tao, but there were still six people remaining, each near the center of the room or in locations that weren't easy to discover.
Though she didn't join in on the poker game, Yun Jin knew Paul kept a board game similar to shogi under the desk near the corner of the room. Thus, with the intent of challenging Shenhe to a match, she attempted to sneak around Paul, getting all the way to his desk before he snapped his head in her direction.
"Kuh..."
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Chapter 198: MI198: Request