Chapter 42: Kaguya, Please Answer

"One, two, three..." Chika's eyes widened as she quickly grabbed Amamiya's arm. "Look! There are three Kaguya-chans!" 

"I see them," Amamiya nodded calmly. 

Three Kaguyas weren't too shocking, but the idea of a half-Kaguya would be truly terrifying! 

They stepped into the ward.

The Kaguya on the left said, "I'm the real one." 

The Kaguya in the middle retorted, "She's fake." 

The Kaguya on the right declared, "Both of them are lying."

"Don't worry, Kaguya-chan," Chika said with determination, clenching her fists. "I'll figure out which one is really you."

"I hope they're all the real Shinomiya-san," Amamiya sighed as he looked at the three Kaguyas. "If we had 500 Kaguyas, humanity would advance 500 years into the future. She's a super genius, after all."

"That… kind of makes sense," Chika nodded before snapping out of it. "Wait, that's weird!"

"The monster's imitating Kaguya-chan. It's not doing this for fun!" Chika exclaimed. "I once saw a movie where aliens imitated the heroine and eventually replaced her… Kaguya-chan is definitely in danger! We have to save her!"

"Yes, yes." 

"…" 

"How do we figure out which one is real?" 

Chika pressed her fingers to her temples as if trying to boost her brainpower. 

"I have an idea," Rikka Takanashi whispered. "Ghosts shouldn't have body temperature, right?"

"That makes sense!" Chika's eyes brightened. "Amamiya-kun, Rikka-chan, let's check their temperature!"

With three Kaguyas present, they could each check one. 

Amamiya approached the Kaguya in the middle. 

Their height, hairstyle, face, clothes, even their cold expressions—all were identical. It was impossible to tell them apart by appearance alone. They looked like triplets straight out of the same mold.

"Shinomiya-san, please hold out your hand," Amamiya said. 

"Alright." 

The middle Kaguya remained calm, gracefully extending her left hand. 

Amemiya gently took her hand. A faint warmth radiated from her soft, delicate skin, which was as smooth as polished jade. Her hands were beautiful, with a healthy pink hue and naturally glossy nails—perfectly untouched by polish. 

Her hand was so pleasing to hold that Amemiya couldn't resist giving it another squeeze. Then another. He found himself unable to let go. 

"It's warm," Chika declared. "This one's the real Kaguya-chan!" 

Rikka Takanashi chimed in, "Mine has temperature too." 

Amamiya finally said, "Same here." 

"Huh?" Chika was puzzled. "If they all have temperature, does that mean they're all real?" 

"Obviously not," Amemiya replied calmly. "The truth is, two of them are mimicking body temperature." 

Rikka's ahoge hair bobbed as she suggested, "Maybe try checking if they're breathing." 

"That's a good idea." 

A few moments later... 

"They're all breathing!" Chika crossed her arms and bit her lip. "Maybe try checking their heartbeat? Surely, they can't all have a heartbeat, right?" 

"Kaguya-chan, hold still. I'm going to check your heartbeat," Chika said as she reached out to press her hand against Kaguya's chest. 

Amemiya's eyes widened in shock. Checking her heartbeat this way? "Now I'm wide awake," he muttered. 

Rumor had it that Kaguya's intelligence came at the cost of her chest size, leaving her with a figure akin to an elementary schooler's, despite being in high school. Supposedly, she didn't even need a bra in the winter. 

Today, Amemiya would confirm with his own hands whether Kaguya was really as flat as the rumors said!

"Shinomiya-san, I'm sorry," he said solemnly as he extended his right hand toward her. 

But just as his fingertips were about to make contact, Chika suddenly shouted.

"You're a fake Kaguya-chan!" She pointed firmly at her, not a trace of doubt in her voice. "Kaguya would never let a boy check her heartbeat like that. You're definitely not the real Kaguya-chan!"

"…" 

The Kaguya in front of Amemiya opened her mouth, and suddenly cracks began to form on her face. 

The cracks quickly spread across her entire body, and with a soft "crack," she shattered like glass and vanished into thin air. 

Amamiya's hand hovered in midair, full of regret.

"You were too hasty, Chika," he sighed. "We could've verified whether Kaguya really was… well, as flat as people say."

Though the fake Kaguya had disappeared, her body had been so perfect that it had warmth, breath, and even a heartbeat. The imitation was flawless.

It seemed that the fake Kaguya would only vanish once exposed. In other words, if no one pointed out the fake's identity, she could remain indefinitely.

Amamiya sighed again, filled with regret. 

If I'd known this, I would've stopped Chika. I could've had three Kaguyas—one to give me massages, one to do housework, and one to go out and make money!

"Well, I definitely felt a heartbeat," Rikka confirmed, raising her hand. 

"Why do they all have heartbeats?" Chika groaned, rubbing her temples. 

"Looks like checking their heartbeat didn't work either," Amemiya said. "Maybe we should ask them questions only the real Kaguya would know." 

Chika nodded and clasped her hands together, thinking hard. She looked at the two remaining Kaguyas and asked: 

"Kaguya-chan, when did we first meet?" 

"At the junior high school opening ceremony," both Kaguyas answered in unison. 

"Correct!" Chika smiled and gave them a thumbs-up. "Back then, Kaguya-chan wasn't very good at socializing. People even called her 'Ice Princess Kaguya.'"

Not that I'm much better at socializing now, Kaguya thought silently.

"Alright, let's continue," Chika said thoughtfully. "What was the first gift I ever gave you?"

The Kaguya on the left answered, "It was a hairpin." 

The Kaguya on the right added, "It matches the one in your bangs perfectly."

"Both are right…" 

Chika frowned and continued asking a few more personal questions, but the two Kaguyas kept giving identical answers. There was no way to tell which one was real.

"Amamiya-kun," Chika turned to Amamiya with a pleading look, "please use your evil spirit powers to dispel the fake!" 

"I'm sorry, I've already tried," Amemiya shook his head. "It doesn't work on these kinds of spirits." 

Back when Miss Sadako crawled out of the TV, Amemiya had attempted to use his spirit dispel technique. For some reason, it had no effect in this game-like scenario.

"In that case, I'll have to use my trump card." Chika took a deep breath and focused intensely. "Okay, listen up. A farmer puts chickens and rabbits in a cage. There are 35 heads and 94 legs. Now… which tastes better, spicy chicken or spicy rabbit?"

Amamiya blinked in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

The first half was a math problem, but the second part... what kind of question even was that?

"Don't worry," Chika said confidently, "if it's the real Kaguya-chan, she'll definitely know the answer." She turned to the Kaguyas and said firmly, "Kaguya-chan, please answer!"