Chapter 40

"Because..." Natsuki pushed Chika forward, "My life already belongs to Chika."

"Whoa, hey now!"

"If you want to keep me here, you'll have to get through Chika first."

"I'm not a human shield, you know."

"..."

The vengeful spirit Kaguya's eyes shifted slightly to Chika. She put away her utility knife, folded her arms across her chest, and said coldly:

"You're the source of all chaos."

"No way," Chika retorted, "I'm always on the side of good and law when we play games."

"A siren who uses her chest to lure men into depravity."

"Oh come on, that's too much, Kaguya." Chika covered her chest with her hands. "I've never seduced anyone before."

Hearing this, Natsuki glanced at Chika. Her arms squeezed together, revealing an attractive curve. Chika seemed completely oblivious to her own allure.

"A lamb who's committed the sin of gluttony."

"I only eat a little more than the average girl..." Chika looked away guiltily. "Let's not waste time, Kaguya... I mean, outlaw Zhang San! I summon you - do you dare answer?"

Kaguya quickly raised her hand to cover her pink lips, trying to block the sound. But her mouth still moved: "...Zhang San is here."

Natsuki felt like things were getting back on track. He stepped forward and grabbed the vengeful spirit's wrist, triggering her surrender. "Chika, come search her."

"Okay."

Chika hurried over. This vengeful Kaguya was clearly deep into her role-play. She wasn't crying or making a fuss, just staring at Chika with dark eyes.

"Kaguya's eyes are so fierce," Chika said nervously. "I'm a little scared."

Natsuki suggested, "Want me to search her instead?"

"No way." Chika refused. "Even if she's not the real Kaguya, she's still a girl. You can't do anything improper, Natsuki."

It was just a normal pat-down, after all. With a figure as flat as a board, curves like a plain, and skin as cold as ice, who'd be interested in doing anything awkward!

Or so he thought.

Natsuki lowered his eyes slightly to look at Kaguya, who he had pinned to the bed. He was surprised to realize he'd been mistaken.

This vengeful Kaguya wasn't flat at all.

From behind, the curves under her school uniform skirt were surprisingly firm and beautiful.

The vengeful spirit's body was exactly the same as the real Kaguya's outside the ward. So... that curvy figure was actually real?

The school uniform skirt was clearly a bit short. From behind, you could see a hint of thigh above her socks. Her snow-white skin seemed to glow in the dim ward.

Even the little details were perfect—

The black over-the-knee socks left a slight indent on her thighs, making him want to reach out and smooth it.

A moment later.

"Ah, I found it!" Chika pulled a fragment from the vengeful Kaguya's skirt pocket and sighed in relief. "Natsuki, back up, back up!"

Natsuki held his breath and let go of the vengeful Kaguya.

The vengeful spirit Kaguya sat on the bed without moving, her bangs casting a shadow over her eyes. She spoke in a faint voice: "...You're going to leave me again?"

What else could we do?

Stay and practice axe-fighting techniques with her?

But... why did Natsuki feel this odd sense of guilt?

He sighed and made an empty promise: "If I see you again, I won't abandon you next time."

Surely evil spirits from horror games never appear in real life, right?

...

Natsuki and Chika left the mirror world, not daring to linger. They quickly walked out of the ward into the corridor.

Seeing Kaguya waiting outside, Chika jumped back in fright:

"Kaguya, you scared me!"

"Huh?"

A question mark appeared above Kaguya's head.

"Let me tell you, we met a super scary version of you in the ward..."

Chika recovered and the urge to spill everything surged.

"You said such harsh things about me. I'm sure the real Kaguya doesn't think that way, right?"

"..."

Kaguya fell silent.

Sorry. Those were indeed my inner thoughts.

Natsuki interrupted, "Don't just stand there talking. Let's go to the next ward."

Now that they'd dealt with vengeful Kaguya, the rest should be easy.

Their search had been unstoppable so far. A single vengeful spirit was no match for them.

A moment later, they'd successfully collected all the fragments.

When they put the pieces together, the floating fragments were drawn to each other, spinning and converging, until finally becoming...

"Hey, why is it a hydrangea?"

Chika's eyes went wide. "Where's the key?"

"The key was just our guess," Natsuki said, looking at the paper flower in his hand. "Clearly we overestimated things."

It was a paper hydrangea, quite lifelike.

"Maybe I can use the hydrangea to open the door?"

Chika wasn't giving up and wanted to try, but unsurprisingly, the final ward still wouldn't open.

"Even if it's not the key, this hydrangea must be an important game item." Chika clenched her fist, quickly rallying. "So... where is the key?"

Natsuki groaned, "The key must be on the fourth floor, but probably not in a ward."

Kaguya folded her arms: "Besides us, who else would be coming in and out of the wards..."

The two looked at each other, and the same figure appeared in their minds.

"The nurse."

"Eh?" Chika was startled. "We've been running around for nothing all this time?"

"Not for nothing. We wouldn't have this hydrangea otherwise." Natsuki remembered the date on Sakurai's admission record - early summer in May. "It'll be dark again soon. Let's head back to our ward first."

Back in the ward, Natsuki didn't see Miss Sadako eavesdropping this time.

Under the safety of the lights, Chika and most of the other players, except for a few with their own agendas, hid inside.

"Master Fujiwara."

"Chika-chan."

"You're back?"

A group of new players greeted them warmly, clearly grateful.

Only Miss Sadako, suffering from severe social anxiety, stayed hidden.

"...Too many. So many people at once, it's overwhelming."

Miss Sadako, with her crippling social anxiety, refused to come out and socialize.

As a handsome and "powerful" guy, Natsuki caught the eye of several female players. They wanted to hang around him.

But...

One quick glance at the ice queen standing next to Natsuki, and those girls put aside any ideas.

No comparison.

Absolutely none.

Sure, she was flat-chested, but stunningly beautiful.

The kind of beauty that'd have talent scouts begging her to sign with their agency if she walked down the street.

Countless examples proved that beauty trumps figure.

When you're that gorgeous, who cares about small breasts?

"Don't be nervous. Miss Sadako's actually easy to get along with. She just likes sneaking around and eavesdropping. She'd never hurt anyone."

Seeing the gloomy atmosphere, Chika, ever the ray of sunshine, stepped up to play hostess.

"The game is dangerous."

"So we have to stick together and help each other out."

Chika clasped her hands in front of her chest, seeming to glow:

"We all have to make it back to the real world safely. No one gets left behind."

Ah, it's blinding!

Natsuki raised his hands to shield his eyes.

Is this the legendary "light of humanity"?

Her public speaking skills were amazing. She could easily boost morale. This Fujiwara was a natural politician. She might become Japan's first female prime minister someday!

In any case, thanks to Chika's empathy, the mood gradually lightened.

Many players started chatting and sharing what they knew.

After all, humans are creatures that like to huddle together for warmth.

Natsuki listened silently to the players' conversations. He realized they were all miserable newbies, mostly filled with fear and clueless about why they'd been chosen for the game.

Hearing this, a thought struck Natsuki.

Maybe horror games haven't been around long. Everyone's still figuring out how to survive?

While pondering this, Natsuki suddenly felt his fingers twitch.

Turning his head quietly, he saw Chika winking at him, a sunny smile on her face, as she discreetly made a scissors hand gesture.

Natsuki looked away and tried to keep thinking.

A few seconds later.

Someone quietly hooked his fingers again.

Geez, she's really getting into this game!

Natsuki glanced at his pinky. Now that they'd dealt with vengeful Kaguya, could the red string be untied?

Curious, he touched his little finger, but didn't feel anything unusual. He had to give up.