Chapter 18

"If you're curious, you can always come to my room to play," Natsuki said casually.

"That sounds nice, but..." Hana covered her chest with her hands. "Mom always said we shouldn't go to a boy's room alone. It could be dangerous."

Natsuki sighed, his tone gloomy. "So in your eyes, I'm just some dangerous stranger?"

"No, no! You're not a stranger, Natsuki. You're my friend!" Hana waved her hands frantically. "...I'll come to your room later, okay?"

"I refuse." 

Natsuki picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"Huh?"

"There are... embarrassing things in my room. It really is dangerous. You shouldn't come, Hana."

"..."

...…

"A family has two kids, and one's a girl. What's the chance the other kid's a girl too?"

Hana sprawled on the table like a limp fish, weakly muttering:

"It's obviously one-half. Why is the answer one-third?"

"I don't get it."

"I don't understand at all."

"Miko, why do you think it's one-third?"

"I don't know," Miko shook her head. "I thought it was one-half... maybe the answer's wrong?"

Nice. I admire your commitment to your own opinion. What do you do when you get a question wrong? The answer must be wrong!

"It's a basic probability problem," Natsuki said, looking at the workbook with exasperation. "The answer really is one-third."

"Hey, Natsuki, you know how to solve this?"

Hana perked up, sitting straight and scooting closer to him.

"Before a child is born, the odds of a boy or girl are indeed fifty-fifty," Natsuki twirled his pencil. "But the question's clear. We know one child is a girl. We're looking at the combinations of the two children, regardless of birth order."

"Stare—"

Hana's eyes went wide. Her eyes were big and clear blue, like the sky after rain.

"...Why are you staring at me?"

Natsuki raised an eyebrow.

"Um..." Hana hesitated, tapping her chest lightly with two fingers, her face slightly flushed. "Natsuki, could you explain that again? I didn't quite get it."

Natsuki looked at Miko silently.

Miko said nonchalantly, "I understand."

Natsuki replied, "Then you explain it to Hana."

"I'm sorry," Miko quickly apologized. "I didn't understand either."

If you don't get it, just say so honestly. Your approach to learning is always superficial, only half-understanding things. No wonder you always end up in the middle of the class rankings.

Natsuki had no choice but to explain the problem again.

This time Hana finally understood. She scooted closer to Natsuki, clasped her hands together and said:

"Natsuki, please teach me math!"

"Huh?"

"I've always been bad at math. I often fail exams and disappoint my mom," Hana said pitifully. "You're so good at it. Please help me study. I'll offer you a delicious sacrifice if you agree."

A delicious offering?

Natsuki's eyes involuntarily drifted downward.

Just for tutoring, she's willing to sacrifice her body?

"Stare--"

Miko: "Wipe your drool, you perv."

"I see." Natsuki quickly looked away and said seriously, "No problem, if you have time."

"Thank you so much!"

"..."

.....

In the blink of an eye, it was 5 PM.

Natsuki sighed. The saying "big breasts, no brains" seemed to hold some truth today.

For instance, Kaguya was a famous genius at school, top of her grade with a high IQ. But her chest was quite ordinary, practically elementary school level.

Chika was well-developed but didn't seem very bright.

The same went for Hana in front of him.

"It's getting dark." Hana stretched, unknowingly showing off her figure. "Miko, Natsuki, I'm heading home."

Natsuki stood up. "I'm leaving too."

"I'll walk you out."

Miko followed them downstairs, bumping into her younger brother on the way. Her mom was still at work.

After greeting Miko's brother, Natsuki left with his dog.

"See you tomorrow."

Hana waved goodbye, grabbed her schoolbag straps, and walked briskly towards the tram stop.

The sunset painted the street red, elongating the girl's silhouette beautifully.

If only there weren't evil spirits lurking about.

"..."

The air grew quiet.

After a brief silence, Miko looked up at Natsuki and whispered:

"When did you start seeing those... things?"

"Last night, while walking my dog."

Natsuki openly recounted his strange experiences.

"An escape game?" Miko was surprised. She covered her eyes, distressed. "I haven't encountered the game you mentioned. A week ago, I suddenly started seeing those terrible things. I almost went crazy."

She could see and hear vengeful spirits but had to pretend nothing was wrong. She couldn't run, scream, or do anything to expose herself... Every day was torment for Miko.

But now it's different. There's hope again!

Miko grabbed Natsuki's hand, her eyes sparkling. "So, those vengeful spirits can really be eliminated, right?"

"Of course..."

Natsuki briefly explained the effects of the spirit-dispelling aura.

"Come on, let's go to my place," Miko said, eyes bright as she pulled Natsuki along. "We'll get rid of those things hiding in the house first."

Natsuki asked, "What about your dad?"

The spirit-dispelling aura had a five-meter radius. He wasn't sure how it would affect Miko's father, so caution was needed.

"Hmm..." Miko hesitated briefly before saying, "I'll keep an eye on Dad. You do the exorcism and we'll stay in touch by phone."

"Alright."

Natsuki returned to Miko's home and began his exorcism mission.

Kitchen, living room, bathroom... He went everywhere, activating the aura whenever he spotted a vengeful spirit.

There weren't many, but each was uglier than the last. It was impossible not to be startled when one appeared suddenly.

After finishing, Natsuki said goodbye and went home.

"I can finally sleep peacefully tonight!"

At 11 PM, Miko happily set her phone alarm and prepared for bed. But then she caught sight of the curtains.

Behind them, a twisted black shadow had appeared...

Miko bit her lip silently, tears welling in her eyes.

"The monsters 'respawn' too quickly."

"Is living at Natsuki's place my only option?"

No words were spoken that night.

The next day, after a quick breakfast of bread and milk, Natsuki headed to school.

"Good morning, Natsuki!"

Chika waved, her voice clear and cheerful.

"Morning."

Natsuki nodded in response, his eyes falling on Kaguya. He could tell at a glance she hadn't slept well.

"Kaguya, your dark circles are worse again," Chika said, eyes wide. "Did you stay up late last night?"

Kaguya bit her lip slightly, maintaining her composed expression. "I didn't stay up late."

I didn't dare sleep at all, she thought. How can you sleep with a terrifying monster standing by your bed, staring at you?

Natsuki said, "Enough chat. Let's open the mystery boxes."

They'd agreed yesterday to open them together in the classroom to avoid any surprises. No one knew if a vengeful spirit might appear.

"I'll go first!"

Chika raised her hand, bought today's mystery box, and opened it right away.

"Hey, there's a skill card in here..." Chika showed the card's details, sounding disappointed. "Once learned, it lets you rename other people as 'Outlaw'..."

"What a useless skill. One star review!"