"...Shinomiya-san after going dark is terrifying."
Natsuki let out a sigh.
Going dark triples your power; redemption weakens you by seventy percent.
That saying really was true.
Although Natsuki was a guy, he had no confidence whatsoever.
He had a feeling that if he'd come here alone, he'd already be pinned down by Kaguya Shinomiya, being dominated seven times over, then dominated some more.
"To prevent you from running away again, shall I break both your legs too?"
The darkened yandere spirit Kaguya tilted her head, her gaze dim, her voice drifting. "That way you can stay by my side forever."
"I'm sorry, but I refuse."
Natsuki took a deep breath and bravely said no to the spirit Kaguya.
As long as she was cute, even Miss Sadako was acceptable—he'd even want to give Miss Sadako maternity leave. But spirit Kaguya was a different story. Breaking both legs at the drop of a hat? What man could endure such humiliation!
"Because..." Natsuki pushed Chika, who was hiding behind him, forward. "My life already belongs to Fujiwara-san."
"Ehhhh??"
"If you want to keep me, you'll have to get through Fujiwara first."
"I'm not a meat shield!"
"..."
Spirit Kaguya's gaze shifted slightly, landing on Chika Fujiwara. Then, surprisingly, she put away the utility knife, crossed her right arm over her chest, and said icily:
"The source of chaos."
"I am not." Chika protested. "I always play lawful good alignment in games."
"A siren who uses her breasts to tempt men into depravity."
"Th-That's so mean! Kaguya-chan, that's too much!" Secretary Fujiwara covered her chest with both hands. "I've never tempted anyone!"
Hearing this, Natsuki glanced at Chika Fujiwara.
Under the pressure of her arms, the edges clearly revealed an alluring curve like the full moon.
Chika Fujiwara was completely unaware of her own seductive qualities.
"A lamb guilty of the sin of gluttony."
"I just eat a tiny bit more than normal girls..." Chika guiltily averted her gaze. "Let's not waste any more time. Kaguya-chan... no wait, Outlaw Zhang San! If I call your name, do you dare answer?!"
Kaguya Shinomiya quickly raised her hand to cover her pink lips, trying to block the sound, but her mouth moved anyway: "...Zhang San is here."
Natsuki felt capable again.
He stepped forward and grabbed Spirit Kaguya's wrist, triggering the one-hundred-percent capture effect. "Fujiwara, come search her."
"Okay."
Chika hurried over.
This spirit Kaguya was deeply immersed in her role-play. She neither cried nor struggled now—she simply gazed at Chika with dim, dark eyes.
"Kaguya-chan's stare is so fierce." Chika's voice was timid. "I'm a little scared."
Natsuki suggested, "Want me to do the search instead?"
"No." Chika refused flatly. "Even though she's not the real Kaguya-chan, she's still a girl. Natsuki can't do anything lewd."
It really was just an ordinary body search. A mahjong-tile-flat figure, body curves as level as the Guanzhong Plains with zero undulation, plus an ice-cold body temperature—who would be interested in doing anything lewd!
Wait.
Natsuki's gaze shifted slightly downward. Looking at Kaguya Shinomiya, whom he had pressed against the edge of the bed, he was surprised to discover he'd been wrong.
The spirit Kaguya before him was not, in fact, the completely flat Guanzhong Plains.
Viewed from behind, the curves filling out her school uniform skirt were unexpectedly pert, with beautiful contours.
Spirit Kaguya's body was identical to the real Kaguya outside the ward. So that meant... the "curves in front, curves behind" thing was actually half true?
The school uniform skirt was clearly a bit short. From behind, one could distinctly see a glimpse of that tantalizing absolute territory, snow-white skin dazzling even in the dim ward.
Even the details were one-hundred-percent replicated—
The black over-knee socks created a slight indentation where they pressed into her thighs, making one want to reach out and smooth it flat.
Moments later.
"Ah, found it." Chika retrieved a fragment from spirit Kaguya's skirt pocket and quietly breathed a sigh of relief. "Natsuki, retreat, retreat."
Natsuki held his breath and released spirit Kaguya.
Perhaps knowing resistance was futile, spirit Kaguya sat on the hospital bed without moving. The shadow of her bangs concealed her eyes as her voice drifted out: "...You're going to abandon me and leave again?"
What else was he supposed to do?
Stay and practice thirty-six styles of cleaver fighting with her?!
Still... what was this inexplicable sense of guilt about?
Natsuki sighed and offered an empty promise. "If we meet again next time, I promise I won't abandon you."
Vengeful spirits from a horror game couldn't possibly appear in the real world, right?
...
Natsuki and Chika left the mirror world. Not daring to linger, they quickly exited the ward and entered the corridor.
Seeing Kaguya Shinomiya waiting outside the door, Chika jumped back half a step in fright:
"Kaguya-chan is so scary!"
"Hm?"
A question mark appeared above Kaguya's head.
"Let me tell you, we encountered a super scary Kaguya-chan in the ward..."
Chika recovered her senses, and her desire to share came flooding out.
"She used all sorts of terrible words to describe me. Kaguya-chan doesn't actually think those things, right?"
"..."
Kaguya fell silent.
Sorry.
Those really were her inner thoughts.
Natsuki interrupted. "Stop chatting and let's continue to the next ward."
With spirit Kaguya dealt with, the rest was simple.
The vice squad operation grew increasingly efficient. Wherever they went, they were victorious—a lone vengeful spirit had no way to resist.
Moments later.
The three of them successfully collected all the fragments.
Placing the fragments together, the floating pieces rapidly attracted one another, spinning and converging until they finally became...
"Huh? Why is it a hydrangea?"
Chika's eyes went wide. "What happened to the key?"
"The key was just our guess." Natsuki looked at the hydrangea in his hand. "Clearly, we overthought it."
It was a hydrangea folded from paper, remarkably lifelike.
"Maybe we can use the hydrangea to open the door?"
Unwilling to give up, Chika wanted to try. The result went without saying—the final ward still wouldn't open.
"Even if it's not a key, this hydrangea must be an important game item." Chika clenched her fist and quickly rallied her spirits. "So then... where could the key actually be?"
Natsuki mused, "The key is definitely on the fourth floor, but it probably isn't in any of the wards."
Kaguya crossed her arm over her chest. "Besides us, who else would be going in and out of the wards..."
The two exchanged glances as the same figure surfaced in their minds.
"The nurse."
"Huh?" Chika was startled. "We've been running around for nothing this whole time?"
"Running around for nothing wouldn't have gotten us this hydrangea." Natsuki recalled the admission date for Sakurai on the medical card—early summer, May. "Darkness is about to fall again. Let's head back to the ward first."
Returning to the ward, Natsuki didn't see Miss Sadako quietly eavesdropping in the corner this time.
Under the radiance of Chika Fujiwara, the Light of Humanity, most players had taken shelter inside—except for a few who had their own ideas.
"Lady Fujiwara."
"Chika-chan."
"You're back!"
A group of newbie players greeted them gratefully and enthusiastically.
Only Miss Sadako was experiencing severe social anxiety.
"...Too many. So many people coming in at once—I'm going to break down."