Chapter 36

Chika lowered her voice, a hint of concern in her tone. "Don't you think we've gone a bit too far?"

Chika had always been kindhearted. Seeing the vengeful spirit with tears in its eyes, looking like it was on the brink of despair, even she felt a pang of sympathy.

Natsuki nodded, quickly formulating a plan. "Yeah, it is a bit much. Hey, go grab a strip of cloth from the bed sheet."

"Huh?" Chika tilted her head, confused. "What do you need that for?"

"We're gonna blindfold Miss Ghost," Natsuki explained, his face dead serious. "I saw this thing on Twitter once. A farmer put VR goggles on his cows to simulate a sunny meadow. Milk production went up by 20%."

Noticing the beast girl ghost glaring daggers at him, Natsuki tried to sound sincere. "Look, we don't have VR goggles, so cloth will have to do. Just work with it and imagine you're at a barbecue or something."

The beast girl ghost's eyes welled up even more. She swallowed the vegetables in her mouth, her voice quivering. "Please... don't do this. You can't bully ghosts like this..."

Meanwhile, another player approached timidly. She was new, having only played once before. She'd used up all her items and was hoping to beg for some food.

"Sorry, no can do," Kaguya refused coldly.

Businesspeople aren't charity workers or saints. If you start handing out food for free, what message does that send to the players who traded their items?

Seeing the girl's crestfallen expression, Kaguya softened slightly. "But there are other ways to get food. Information you've gathered, weird stuff you've noticed, even small favors – we can trade food for those."

After all, reputation is power too. If you want to be a capitalist in a horror game, you can't just work in the shadows. You need to build a name for yourself.

The girl's eyes lit up. "Information? I know something about the real world. Can I trade that for food?"

"Sure, but don't even think about lying. The consequences would be... unpleasant."

"It's true, I swear!" the girl said excitedly. "I met this old lady earlier. She told me that in the real world, most vengeful spirits are humans who've died. But there are exceptions. Some people with strong convictions and good hearts don't become evil spirits when they die. Instead, they turn into like, guardian spirits or something."

"Earth-bound spirits are pretty rare," the girl continued timidly. "They're like, glowing white figures. I heard they can only hang around places they loved when they were alive."

She took a deep breath before going on. "I've got this friend whose mom passed away years ago. When I visited her house recently, I saw her mom... as a ghost. She looked just like she did when she was alive. I even heard her talking."

"She was saying how my friend's always alone and lonely, hoping I'd hang out with her more... I was too scared to respond, so I acted like I couldn't see her."

"I don't know what'd happen if she realized I could see her."

Natsuki nodded slowly, processing the information. So that's what was up with Miko's dad. No wonder he's so different from other wandering spirits. Still, without knowing more, pretending not to see was probably the safest bet.

Suddenly, a soft cry caught his attention. "...Dad."

Natsuki turned to see Rikka, the middle school girl, her eyes red and misty.

The beast girl ghost piped up, surprised. "Did she just call you daddy?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Natsuki said, exasperated. "She obviously wasn't talking to me."

"Oh, I don't know about that," the ghost snickered. "I've heard you human men like it when women call you daddy. There's even this whole thing called 'Daddy's Life' or whatever..."

Natsuki raised an eyebrow. "How do you know all this stuff?"

The ghost, still munching on vegetables, explained, "Some human showed up in my ward once. I was bored, so I made her tell me stories. Said she was writing a light novel or something. Can't remember the title exactly, but it was like... 'Exploiting the Weakness of a High School Girl with an Undead Dad and Making Her Play Fetch' or something."

Natsuki's mind reeled. No way! There's no chance a title like that would ever get past the censors!

Meanwhile, Chika noticed Rikka's distress. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I want to go home," Rikka sniffled, wiping her eyes. "Dad must be all alone back home, waiting for me and sis to come back."

Chika gently patted Rikka's head. "Don't cry, Rikka. If you're that worried, maybe you should go check on him. Just be careful, okay?"

Kaguya pressed a hand to her chest, her long lashes casting shadows on her face as she whispered, "Mom... Earth-bound spirit..."

The girl who'd shared the information hesitantly spoke up. "Um... so, can I get some food now?"

Kaguya took a deep breath, composing herself. "Natsuki," she called.

"On it," he responded with a nod.

The deal was done. Now came the tricky part – figuring out how to make the most of this information.

The beast girl ghost sat on the bed, angrily chomping on vegetables. "Eighteen times! Eighteen people! You haven't let me rest for a second. I've got all your faces burned into my memory, humans!"

"Yeah, yeah," Natsuki said dismissively. "So, want that blindfold now?"

"I'll eat you alive!"

"..."

After gulping down a glass of milk, the player girl's hunger subsided quickly. She expressed her thanks and was about to leave.

"Hold on," Kaguya said coldly, arms crossed. "One more thing."

"Huh?"

"Tell us about the 'patient' in your ward. The more details, the better."

The girl looked surprised. "What for?"

"Better safe than sorry," Kaguya replied, glancing at Chika. "Fujiwara."

"On it," Chika said, already in secretary mode. She handed the girl a piece of paper. "Please begin."

The player girl looked down to find a hand-drawn questionnaire. It asked for ward number, the identity of the vengeful spirit, what the spirit wanted, her theories about the spirit, and more. It was bewildering.

What happened to the horror game she signed up for? Everyone else was fighting to survive, so who had time to make surveys?

"Please hurry," Chika gently reminded her. "The hallway's about to go dark again."

"Sorry," the girl apologized reflexively. She took the pen, sat at the table, and began filling out the form with mixed feelings.

A few moments later, she handed over the completed form with both hands. "All done."

She quickly said goodbye and left.

.........

Darkness fell.

The door closed, finally ending the transaction.

"Thank goodness, no more vegetables," the beast girl ghost groaned, flopping onto her back. She looked utterly defeated, like a broken toy. "I was about to hurl."

(Don't worry) Natsuki thought. You won't throw up. According to the law of conservation of energy, all those veggies have been converted into energy by now.

To be safe, Natsuki sat beside the beast girl ghost to keep an eye on her. She seemed compliant on the surface, even playing dead, but she was still a spirit. Better to stay cautious.

Natsuki eyed the beast girl's mouth warily. Those teeth could probably shatter bones if they got hold of you.

"So, what's our next move?" Asuka, the second girl who'd decided to stick close to Natsuki, asked quietly.

Without looking up from the questionnaire, Kaguya replied, "We compile the intel, analyze the clues, and extract key elements. Information is our most valuable asset. Making blind guesses won't get us anywhere. The right approach is to analyze and integrate all this data."

All the players who'd come to trade for food had filled out the questionnaire. It didn't involve personal info, so there was no reason to refuse. Many were even eager to cooperate, hoping Natsuki and the others might pay them a friendly visit.

"Ahem... makes sense," Asuka coughed, trying to hide her embarrassment. She didn't really get it, but it sounded impressive.

As expected of a leader, she thought. I was right to stick with them!

Kaguya breezed through the questionnaires in no time. She passed them to Chika, saying, "Everyone take a look and share your thoughts."

A good decision-maker needs to be decisive, but first, it's crucial to hear different perspectives.

"We're seriously having a strategy meeting right now?" Asuka wondered, feeling increasingly confused. This horror game was getting weirder by the minute!

A moment later, Chika handed over the stack of papers. "Here you go, Natsuki. I've finished reading them."

Natsuki took the questionnaires and began reviewing them carefully.

The first one described a succubus as the ward's "patient". Dark skin, sharp teeth, devil wings, a tail, skimpy clothing, and scary red eyes with vertical pupils.

At the bottom, the unfortunate player had scrawled: "I think it wants to eat me, but I'm a girl!"

"I'm done," Natsuki said, putting down the papers. "This game is seriously dangerous."

"Liars! Hypocrites!" the beast girl ghost snarled. "You humans love nothing more than deceiving others!"

"Huh?"