"A cow?"
"Well, it is a vengeful spirit. It could look like anything."
"How does a cow make food?"
Several of them sat around in the ward, discussing and speculating.
"I figured it out!" Fujiwara Chika suddenly raised her hand. "It's probably squeezing—beep…"
"Stop talking and sit down." Amamiya Natsuki couldn't help but interrupt. "You can't drink that kind of thing without sterilizing it first."
"Why not?" Fujiwara retorted. "Freshly squeezed juice can be drunk directly. When I was a kid, I visited a ranch and saw herders drinking fresh milk."
Juice and fresh milk are completely different things!
Fujiwara folded her arms defiantly and continued, "I read a comic once about four beautiful girls stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash..."
A beautiful girl Robinson Crusoe?Add one boy and you've got a standard galgame plot.
"One of the girls accidentally fell asleep on a raft and drifted far out to sea. When the others caught up, she was dehydrated and fainting. Seawater isn't drinkable, so to replenish her companion's water, the other girl took off her—"
Fujiwara suddenly slammed on the brakes, covering her pink lips with both hands. A blush bloomed across her cheeks.
"Take off what?" Natsuki asked expressionlessly. "Please, continue."
You're so great—why stop now?
"I can't say," Fujiwara whispered, shaking her head. "It's taboo knowledge."
"Wow, amazing!" Rikka Takanashi clasped her hands, stars sparkling in her eyes.
Natsuki stayed deadpan. "Spoiling movies, teasing about what you 'can eat,' then holding back half your words is just excessive."
"What? Just tell me!" Fujiwara puffed her cheeks, took a deep breath, and looked determined. "What I took off was…"
Anyway, it's serious survival knowledge and could be serialized in Jump Comics. So it's fine to say it, right?
"Stop it!" Shinomiya Kaguya pressed a finger between her brows. "Let's end this topic."
Though she hadn't read the comics, as a genius with wide knowledge, Kaguya had already guessed what it was.
Then the group switched to discussing other issues.
For example, everyone agreed that after passing the first game, you without exception received the reward: "ability to see the real world."
"I don't want any rewards at all, especially not seeing those evil spirits."
"Same."
"Me, me, me, and me."
The girls quickly reached consensus, and even Kaguya nodded slightly. The discussion turned into a grievance session.
Seeing terrifying evil spirits had seriously affected their lives. They couldn't eat or sleep well, worried constantly, and couldn't tell anyone—they'd be thought crazy.
"I've tried everything: piling salt in the corners, crosses, rosaries, amulets, holy water, peach wood swords, praying at shrines... nothing works."
The girl speaking was Asuka Kujo, a newbie clinging to someone's influence. Tears filled her eyes. "I was on the school volleyball team, but after joining the game, I found my friends covered with terrifying evil spirits. Now I don't even dare attend volleyball practice."
"Asuka-chan, thank you for your efforts."
Fujiwara's social skill maxed out, and in no time she had called the stranger by name. "Keep opening blind boxes. If you're lucky, you might unlock auras like Natsuki's to dispel evil spirits—and then you can save your friends."
Asuka's grief deepened. "No game coins, and the blind boxes are all weird stuff."
"Still," Amamiya Natsuki said thoughtfully, "the vengeful spirits here are easier to get along with than real evil spirits."
Real evil spirits can't communicate and only hold malice for the living. The game's vengeful spirits, like Miss Sadako, can communicate.
After combing her hair, he even wanted to let Miss Sadako take maternity leave...
Kaguya nodded calmly: "There must be some connection between the game and reality. We just don't understand it yet."
Darkness faded, and light returned.
"Ms. Sadako, let's go out for a bit," Natsuki said, patting the TV. "You stay home alone."
Miss Sadako, who had been eavesdropping at the well's edge, felt her hair tremble and quickly hid back inside.
Natsuki sighed. How can anyone survive in society with such thin skin?
From what he'd seen, Sadako was a former Himura Dairy employee—no wonder she'd been bullied.
Several people left the ward and moved to the corridor.
"This is it," Rikka whispered at her door.
"Don't worry," Fujiwara clenched her fist with confidence. "Natsuki and I can combine skills—we definitely won't lose."
"Please don't set flags randomly," Natsuki muttered.
He grasped the door handle and opened it, immediately understanding why Rikka called the vengeful spirit a cow.
The spirit looked mostly human but had horns, a swinging tail, and a big bell tied around its chest. The amount of milk it produced was enough to earn the name "cow."
But its eyes were blood-red, and its teeth were serrated like shark's. If it went to Rijima's dental hospital, it probably wouldn't leave even if it pawned its panties.
Fujiwara's eyes widened. "Cow lady?"
The cow girl should be honest and cute—but this vengeful spirit? One bite and your bones would shatter.
"Human, how dare you return to see me?"
The spirit turned, flashing a bloodthirsty grin. "You brought back so much food at once. I'll forgive you for now."
"The fattest human, let's start with you."
Fujiwara looked around, confused. "Who's the fattest?"
Everyone exchanged looks.
"Wait." Fujiwara stepped back. "Why are you all looking at me?"
"Fujiwara-san, accept reality," Natsuki said gloomily.
"What? I'm not fat! I'm definitely under 50 kilograms!"
The beast girl swung her tail, pointed impatiently at Fujiwara.
"Stop talking nonsense and come here."
Fujiwara's cheeks puffed up like a gray squirrel stuffed with chestnuts. Who could bear this humiliation?
"Outlaw Zhang San, you are under arrest!"