Chapter 394: Why Lie About Something You Don’t Have

"So, how should we make our move?" Rinji whispered.

"In theory, Kaguya-sama isn't great with horror, so even a small scare could trigger a strong reaction. She'll naturally jump into the president's arms."

Hayasaka paused thoughtfully.

"But if the president is also afraid of ghosts or the supernatural, things might get complicated."

"You think the president would be scared of this stuff?"

"Not everyone is like you, Rinji. Normal people usually have at least some fear of these things."

"So we need something that only scares Shinomiya, but not the President?"

"That'd be ideal," Hayasaka nodded. "But I know Kaguya-sama better than I know the president. How much do you know about him?"

"Just general stuff. Nothing in-depth."

Rinji didn't know Shirogane well enough to predict his deeper reactions.

"If we just jump out and scare them, it might not work. We might end up scaring both of them... Oh! How about bugs?"

Rinji lit up.

"It's said that girls are often afraid of insects. If we throw a huge one in front of them, Shinomiya will freak out, and the president can swoop in and protect her. Instant romantic moment."

"Not bad, but only if Kaguya-sama is actually afraid of bugs."

Hayasaka sighed.

"And where are we supposed to get a bug from—"

Creak creak creak creak…

Before she could finish, Hayasaka heard a disturbing sound. Turning her head, she saw Rinji holding a spider the size of a basin. Its hairy legs twitched.

"Ew!!"

She recoiled in shock.

"Where did that spider come from?!"

"Huh? I made it on-site."

"You made that thing?! And why is it so huge?! What species is it?!"

"I thought it needed to be big to scare people."

"That's not the point—!"

"Okay, deploying now."

The giant spider suddenly shot silk from its rear, sticking to the ceiling, and then began crawling toward Kaguya and Shirogane.

"...Is it really okay?"

"It's fine. That kid listens to me."

...

"President, it's so dark in here."

"Yeah."

"You'll protect me, right?"

"Yeah."

Kaguya and Shirogane walked through the pitch-black haunted house with completely different states of mind.

Originally terrified, Kaguya felt a sudden sense of security when she clung to Shirogane. She was enjoying this unfamiliar feeling of safety, and so she'd kept her body close to him the whole time.

This was also the only time she had a legitimate reason to hold onto Shirogane.

'Ah, it feels so safe next to the president. I wish we could keep walking like this forever.'

Meanwhile, Shirogane's inner thoughts were:

'So scary so scary so scary so scary so scary so scary so scary!!! God, please let this end already!!!'

The man had already started praying for the haunted house trip to end quickly.

He really couldn't handle places like this. Even knowing all the monsters were fake and everything was set up just to scare him, the atmosphere still got to him.

'Endure it! Shirogane Miyuki, Shinomiya is right next to you. You absolutely can't show even the slightest bit of fear here.'

Biting his lip, Shirogane gave himself a pep talk.

Actually, he could somewhat manage scary things as long as he kept reminding himself they were fake.

What he truly couldn't handle were bugs.

It all started during an elementary school camping trip. One night in the mountains, he went to a vending machine to get a drink, only for a swarm of bugs to suddenly burst out of nowhere. Since then, he'd had an unshakable fear of insects.

To Shirogane, bugs were way scarier than ghosts or monsters.

"President, it looks like there's a light over there."

Kaguya, still clinging to his arm, pointed ahead.

"Oh? Looks like we're almost at the exit."

Shirogane felt relieved.

Nothing had really scared him that much along the way, and now the exit was in sight. His image in Shinomiya's eyes was still intact.

He quickened his pace toward the light.

But just then, something unexpected happened.

With a clacking sound, a giant spider dropped rapidly from the ceiling on a long strand of web, landing right in front of them.

Its grotesque size and barbed limbs, far beyond what any normal person could accept, froze both of them in place.

Kaguya thought, '…Is this spider a prop? It feels alive, but I can't tell what species it is. It looks nearly 50 centimeters long. If discovered, it would be huge news in the biology world… Wait, this isn't the time for that!'

She suddenly threw herself onto Shirogane.

"President! I'm so scared!!"

'Guess I'll have to learn from Fujiwara's shamelessness just this once. Otherwise, it'll be hard to win at the festival.'

As she clung to him, she peeked with one eye open to check his reaction.

He didn't move an inch.

'A beautiful girl just leapt into his arms and he's not reacting at all? Has the president really reached that level of self-control?'

Actually, no. Shirogane had fainted from sheer terror of the spider.

…

Hiding nearby, Rinji and Hayasaka watched the scene unfold.

Hayasaka said, "Looks like Kaguya-sama is really going all out."

Rinji replied, "Seems like it. As expected of the president, staying so calm in front of a spider that big. But Shinomiya's being so forward—why isn't he responding more?"

Just as Rinji said that, Shirogane moved.

His arm slowly tightened, pulling Kaguya into his embrace.

"Ah, President."

Kaguya's face flushed as she felt Shirogane hold her closer.

'So he finally made a move. Let's see what he… Huh?'

She suddenly felt something was off. Shirogane's tightening grip had pulled her in close, and his hand had somehow ended up on her chest, continuing to squeeze.

This wasn't Shirogane doing it on purpose—he had already lost consciousness, and the motion was purely due to post-faint muscle contraction.

"President, don't do that here..." Kaguya said loudly, blushing. "Touching my chest and all…"

From afar, Rinji muttered, "Why does Shinomiya always worry about something she doesn't even have?"

Hayasaka whispered, "Don't you ever say that to her face."

"I've already said it a few times."