"Amamiya-kun... was that you?"
Kaguya let out a breath of relief, her gaze falling on Natsuki as suspicion dawned.
Natsuki reached out to open his own locker and retrieved his slippers, acting as if nothing had happened.
"Do I still need to turn myself in?"
"For matters regarding turning yourself in, please consult the police station. I'm not particularly knowledgeable about such things." Kaguya crossed her arms over her chest, her voice cool and devoid of emotion.
Maybe wipe away those tears at the corners of your eyes before saying that!
Only Natsuki knew that Lady Kaguya before him was putting on an act.
Who knew how many times she'd been screaming "so scary" in her head just now? Her current composure was all a facade!
After a pause, Kaguya couldn't hold back any longer. Apparently finding it shameful to ask for help, she bit her lower lip, turned her face slightly away, and asked in a small voice:
"Amamiya-kun... how did you dispel that evil spirit just now?"
As the young lady of the Shinomiya family, Kaguya's daily routine was exceptionally regimented—maintained consistently for over a decade. To put it simply, the schedule she'd kept since elementary school had continued unchanged through high school.
At nine o'clock, she would drink a glass of milk, read for half an hour, rest for half an hour, then go to bed at exactly ten.
Last night, she had entered the game around nine. She had already bathed and was reading in her pajamas when she set down her book, looked up, and found herself in that strange space. Her first thought was naturally that she'd been kidnapped. Seeing Natsuki standing before her holding a rope, of course she'd been extremely wary.
After clearing the game, Kaguya had suddenly found herself surrounded by vengeful spirits that no one else could see. Hayasaka had even quipped, "Are you telling horror jokes, milady?"
Up until now, Kaguya had tried salt, prayers, crosses, Buddhist prayer beads, even garlic... All useless.
These vengeful spirits seemed to be creatures from another world—a despair that humans could not fight against.
But just now, her teammate from yesterday had actually dispelled one?
Kaguya made up her mind in an instant.
She had to learn how to dispel evil spirits... even if it meant throwing a burlap sack over this guy and dragging him away!
"It's actually quite simple. I pulled a mystery box this morning..."
Unaware that he had just narrowly escaped being kidnapped in a sack, Natsuki casually explained how he'd obtained the Evil Dispersion aura. Since it couldn't be stolen or transferred anyway, he only omitted the part about being able to see the mystery box hints.
He had already realized that apparently only he could see the hints.
"I see... A mystery box, then?"
Kaguya's delicate brows furrowed slightly, her tone cool. "Mystery boxes, full of uncertainty, are essentially gambling—a very unwise and foolish behavior."
Hey, hey, no matter how bad mystery boxes are, at least there's something inside. Actual gambling is what leads to losing everything!
The next moment.
A fist-sized black mystery box suddenly appeared in Kaguya's hand.
Natsuki's eye twitched slightly, and he couldn't help but retort:
"Didn't someone just say pulling mystery boxes was unwise and foolish?!"
You just finished saying that, and now you're immediately pulling one? What happened to your dignity as a young lady?!
Kaguya's ear tips grew slightly warm.
It did feel rather embarrassing, but...
Her beauty and intelligence stood at the pinnacle of the academy. Surely her luck wouldn't be bad either.
If someone else could pull an "Evil Dispersion" aura, so could she.
And if she was unlucky enough to pull a "Vengeful Spirit" box, she could have Natsuki help deal with it. She wouldn't be completely helpless.
"I'll head to the classroom first."
Natsuki called out a farewell, preparing to leave.
Mystery boxes were a private matter. If she pulled something powerful, it would definitely attract others' envy. The wise thing to do was leave.
"Don't go."
A hand suddenly tugged at his sleeve. Kaguya's expression remained cold, but her ear tips had turned slightly red. Clearly unaccustomed to asking others for help, she moved her pink lips, struggling to say in a small voice: "...Wait until I've opened my mystery box."
Natsuki paused, quickly understanding. He nodded slightly. "I understand."
He stepped back a few paces, putting some distance between himself and Kaguya while still remaining within range of his Evil Dispersion aura.
"Phew..."
Kaguya took a deep breath, her fingers resting on the mystery box. She could feel her heartbeat quietly accelerating.
This feeling... was it anticipation?
She was beginning to understand why mystery box mechanics had swept the globe. This excitement and anticipation were irresistible.
Click.
The mystery box opened.
A silver-white card appeared in Kaguya's hand.
Natsuki observed silently. The sunlight was bright, the air quiet—it probably wasn't an evil spirit box.
"It's not something for dispelling evil spirits..." Kaguya's tone was disappointed. "It's a game card."
"A Yu-Gi-Oh! card?" Natsuki was shocked.
Could she really be a lucky goddess who hit the jackpot on her first try and pulled a Blue-Eyes White Dragon?
"What's Yu-Gi-Oh!?"
She doesn't know Yu-Gi-Oh!, doesn't know the Snake Game—are you really a sheltered young lady who's never touched a game in her life?!
"...It's a game party card, apparently."
[Name: Game Party Card]
[Attribute: Upon use, refreshes game cooldown and allows you to form a party with others to participate in a game]
Looking at the displayed card attributes, Natsuki was rather speechless.
Mystery boxes really could contain anything.
But judging from Kaguya's expression, this party card clearly didn't satisfy her.
She wanted to pull another mystery box, but unfortunately her points were depleted. All she could do was sigh in frustration.
"Amamiya-kun, thank you."
Kaguya quickly regained her composure and gave a slight bow in thanks.
SLAP!!
A hand suddenly landed on Kaguya's shoulder.
Then, from behind Kaguya, a girl with pink hair adorned with a black bow ribbon appeared. Her skin was fair with a healthy rosy glow, her smile exceptionally radiant, and the bouncing curves beneath her school uniform were impossible to hide.
"Kaguya, good morning!" The girl's voice was particularly bright. As she spoke, she glanced over at Natsuki. "Amamiya-kun, good morning."
"Fujiwara-san, morning."
Natsuki nodded in response.
Chika Fujiwara—one of his classmates, Kaguya Shinomiya's best friend, and a social butterfly. Though it had only been half a month since the start of school, she had already become friends with practically everyone.
"Ah..."
Kaguya's body gave a slight, electric jolt. She let out a small cry like a startled rabbit, her ice sculpture image shattering completely.
"Huh?!" Chika's eyes went wide. "Did Kaguya just scream from being scared?"
"I did not!"
Kaguya denied it vehemently, her face flushing with embarrassment.
A mistake.
A serious mistake!
Normally, a childish prank like tapping someone's shoulder from behind would never have startled her!
Natsuki's gaze suddenly sharpened, falling on Kaguya's right hand.
"Huh?!" Chika exclaimed in surprise, the black bow on her forehead bouncing along. "Kaguya, the card in your hand is on fire."
"How can that be..."
Kaguya looked down in shock, discovering that the party card in her hand had inexplicably burst into flames. Blue fire burned quietly, and in the blink of an eye, the card was completely consumed.
The next moment.
A gloomy, low voice echoed in Natsuki's mind.
[Party formation successful]
[Instance selected: The Seven School Mysteries]
[Players, please prepare. The game will begin shortly]
"Strange." Chika tilted her head, her tone puzzled. "I suddenly heard a weird voice in my head?"
Natsuki's eye twitched. "...Deadweight teammate!"