"Have you read any adult doujinshi?"
Miss Spiderling extended one leg and pointed it at Natsuki: "This time, you answer first."
The other girls all turned to look at him.
Natsuki's lips twitched. He suddenly understood what it felt like to suffer a social death.
Everyone had read the stuff at some point—the problem was saying so out loud in front of a crowd versus sneaking peeks in private. Those were two entirely different things.
But right now, only the truth was allowed...
"Yes." Natsuki fixed his gaze straight ahead, his tone perfectly casual. "As a male high school student who is both physically and psychologically healthy, having read doujinshi is completely normal, isn't it?"
"Answer confirmed. That is the truth." Miss Spiderling's tone carried a note of approval. "Skillfully deploying logical fallacy—generalizing an individual's behavior onto the collective in order to defuse personal embarrassment. This player deserves commendation."
Applause rang out again from somewhere in the darkness.
Hey now, isn't this sarcasm?
You're a spider. What business do you have judging anyone's logic?
"Then, the second player." Miss Spiderling's leg swiveled, pointing toward Kaguya. "Please answer."
Kaguya's face betrayed no emotion whatsoever. Her tone was perfectly composed—no hesitation, no wavering. She gave her answer immediately:
"I have not read any."
Having grown up in a sterile environment as a sheltered young lady of the inner chambers, Kaguya had never even looked at shoujo manga, let alone adult doujinshi. The answer was naturally no.
"Congratulations. Answer complete."
Miss Spiderling's voice rang out with enthusiasm.
The hollow applause echoed through the darkness once more.
"Then, the third player..." Miss Spiderling pointed toward Rokka. "Please answer."
The girl seated beside Kaguya was Rokka. The middle-school-syndrome girl wore her eye patch, the ahoge atop her head swaying gently. She answered quickly:
"I have not read any of those sinful books that lead people into depravity."
Miss Spiderling moved according to the order and pointed toward Yukino Yukinoshita: "Please answer."
"..."
Yukino said nothing. She did not answer right away.
Natsuki turned his head, curious.
This girl—who shared the same hairstyle as Kaguya, possessed an equally frigid aura, and gave off the same sense of being impossible to approach—now had her teeth pressed gently against her lower lip. She hesitated for several seconds before finally murmuring in a quiet voice:
"I have."
"Eh eh eh?!" Rokka's eyes flew wide as she stared over. "Yukino, why would you read something like that?!"
Yukino pressed her lips into a thin, beautiful line. It was clear she had absolutely no desire to elaborate on the matter.
"And the last person." Miss Spiderling finally turned to Chika Fujiwara. "Please answer."
"Th-that..." Chika stammered, her pretty face flushing with an almost inviting shade of pink. "I... read one."
Well, well!
No one could have predicted that someone with such an earnest, open face would have read doujinshi!
"That was back in middle school." Chika quickly added by way of explanation.
Already reading doujinshi in middle school—you really are precocious!
"Don't look at me with such strange eyes!" Chika couldn't help but shout. "It was one time—our school organized an environmental activity where we all went to the riverbank to pick up litter. I accidentally found a manga someone had thrown away... That's really what happened!"
"I believe you." Natsuki nodded. "As long as it doesn't cause trouble for anyone else, it's just a personal hobby."
Not to mention that the doujinshi community actually had quite a few female creators—like the legendary Eromanga-sensei, or Kashiwaki Eri-sensei. A bright-eyed, earnest girl like Chika reading doujinshi was unexpected, yet entirely within the realm of reason.
"Then, everyone has finished answering. The final results will now be revealed." Miss Spiderling crawled a lap around the web, drawing out her words: "...Someone has lied."
"All of you will be punished."
The moment the words fell, every bone bench except Natsuki's began contracting inward once more.
"Mmgh..."
Chika let out a low, pained groan. The Ōpai aliens were at a natural disadvantage in quiz games like this. Her chest was already feeling tight and uncomfortable—bordering on painful now.
"Who lied?"
Chika tilted her head and looked toward Rokka and Kaguya.
Not having read them wasn't embarrassing. There was no reason to lie about it. Therefore, the liar had to be one of the two—either Shinomiya or Rokka.
"I didn't lie." Kotoriyū Rokka looked pitiful. "I really haven't read any of those doujinshi."
Natsuki and Kaguya exchanged a glance—both lost in thought.
"Punishment complete. The game continues." Miss Spiderling wasted no time, quickly pressing on with the next question. "The third question is very simple. Please prepare to buzz in, everyone."
"Please listen carefully... Which ethnic group in the world possesses the highest poison-resistance stat?"
"I know this one." Chika's eyes lit up. "It's India. When I was eating Indian food once, a friend told me that in India you can eat your way through the periodic table."
"Good thing there aren't any Indian players here." Natsuki quipped. "Otherwise you'd get reported for racial discrimination."
Miss Spiderling quickly announced the verdict: "Answer correct."
Chika scored. The bone bench beneath her loosened slightly. Natsuki, meanwhile, experienced the sensation of being squeezed by the white bones for the first time—an unpleasant tightness settling across his body.
"The fourth question is also an easy one." Miss Spiderling asked: "Who is the author of Journey to the Center of the Earth?"
Yukino Yukinoshita: "Jules Verne."
"Answer correct."
"The fifth question brings us back to a full-participation round." Miss Spiderling didn't drag things out—she was refreshingly blunt. "Have any of you ever gone to school without wearing underwear?"
"Hey, this isn't a buzzer round at all—this is a public execution!" Natsuki couldn't help but shout.
"There is nothing that cannot be said aloud." Miss Spiderling was completely unbothered. "Then... starting with you again, as always. Please answer."
Natsuki: "I haven't."
"Next player, please answer."
Kaguya: "No."
Kotoriyū Rokka: "No."
Yukino Yukinoshita: "No."
Chika Fujiwara: "..."
It was Chika's turn last. The pink-haired girl's pretty face burned crimson as flame, and she said nothing.
Natsuki stared at her in shock.
Reading doujinshi was one thing—but she'd actually challenged going commando at school at some point?!
Just how many unspeakable things had this girl gotten up to?!
"When I was cleaning up at the swimming hall, I accidentally got soaked, and I had no choice but to take them off and let them dry." Chika squeezed her eyes shut and blurted out: "...I have. Just that one time!"
"The final results will now be revealed." Miss Spiderling drew out her words. "Someone has lied."
"Eh?"
"All of you will be punished."
"..."
The bone benches tightened once more. Natsuki was already feeling a dull ache, and he couldn't help but furrow his brow.
Buzzer rounds only rewarded one person—everyone else got punished. And in every full-participation round, someone always lied, meaning everyone suffered. At this rate, Chika was going to give out any minute now.
Natsuki leaned forward and peered at the pink-haired girl: "Chika. It's time to use your skill."
"What?" Chika's expression was wounded, her tone confused. "Rename Miss Spiderling to Zhang San? But you can't reach it up there."
Natsuki: "Your other skill."