Chapter 44: Miss Sadako, Come Out and Greet Guests

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Bang.

A soft, fragrant body crashed into his embrace.

The slight dizziness from the world shifting made Amamiya Natsuki subconsciously hug the girl in his arms tighter.

"Eh, Kaguya-chan?!"

Fujiwara Chika's surprised cry rang out.

Followed by Takanashi Rikka's voice: "A-a disappearing act!"

Amamiya Natsuki had suddenly vanished, and as the two girls were nervously searching for him, Amamiya Natsuki suddenly appeared in the ward, holding Shinomiya Kaguya, without any warning. It was truly a disappearing act.

"Kaguya-chan, are you alright?" Fujiwara Chika quickly stepped forward, asking with concern, "We just searched the entire room and couldn't find you. How did you suddenly appear?"

"Fujiwara."

Shinomiya Kaguya bit her lower lip, her eyes brimming with tears.

Being imitated by a Mirror Ghost in the mirror world for so long, the panic and fear during that time were self-explanatory. Now, suddenly seeing Fujiwara Chika, even the idiot seemed exceptionally dependable.

"This isn't the time for chatting." Amamiya Natsuki quickly stepped forward, slamming the mirror onto the table, and said decisively, "Let's leave first."

The Mirror Ghost was just too eerie; it wasn't cute at all compared to his own Miss Sadako!

Pushing the door open, they walked out of the room and into the Corridor.

Unbeknownst to them, the Corridor had once again dimmed, and danger was imminent.

Amamiya Natsuki led the three girls, intending to return to Fujiwara Chika's ward. When he pushed the door open, a new vengeful spirit appeared inside:

"Excuse me."

Amamiya Natsuki decisively slammed the door shut, then quickly led the three girls back to his own ward.

Bang.

The door closed.

Under the dim, eerie light of the ward, Amamiya Natsuki finally relaxed when he saw the black-and-white television in the corner.

Miss Sadako from Meiji Milk Industry would not scare anyone at all.

"Natsuki-kun~" Fujiwara Chika clasped her hands behind her back, leaned slightly forward, and smiled as she looked over, "How much longer are you going to hold Kaguya-chan's hand?"

"Hmm?"

Amamiya Natsuki looked down, only then realizing he was still holding Shinomiya Kaguya's hand.

Wait.

He got it wrong; it was clearly Shinomiya Kaguya who was holding his hand tightly.

To forget to let go, it seemed he was truly scared.

Shinomiya Kaguya quietly released his hand, her expression having returned to calm, but the tips of her ears were subtly tinged with a blush as she changed the subject:

"I was in the ward just now, but it was the ward in the mirror… "

Like everyone else, Shinomiya Kaguya appeared alone in the ward after entering the game, but she was super unlucky.

At that time, the Corridor was already enveloped in darkness, preventing her from leaving the room. Shinomiya Kaguya cautiously checked the room, then, to ensure her safety, stood alone in the center of the room, contemplating the possibilities of clearing the game.

By the time she realized that the reflection of herself in the mirror was smiling at her, it was too late. She was directly dragged into the mirror world by the Mirror Ghost, and then watched helplessly as the Mirror Ghost slowly transformed into her likeness, becoming completely identical in the end. Thinking about it now, she still felt lingering fear.

"No wonder Kaguya-chan was teary-eyed; she must have been super scared, right?"

Fujiwara Chika extended her right hand and gently stroked Shinomiya Kaguya's head, comforting her softly.

"I didn't cry."

Shinomiya Kaguya refused to admit it.

"Liar, I clearly saw it just now."

"Saw what?"

Shinomiya Kaguya smiled as she looked over.

"I'm sorry, I was wrong, please forgive me." Fujiwara Chika knelt down earnestly, then looked at Amamiya Natsuki curiously, "Natsuki-kun, how did you recognize Kaguya-chan in the end?"

Hearing the question, Shinomiya Kaguya lightly pressed her beautiful lip line, her gaze shifting to Amamiya Natsuki.

She was equally curious.

When trapped in the mirror world, the Mirror Ghost's imitation was flawless; appearance, voice, memories, and even personality were all copied. Even Hayasaka or Fujiwara, who knew her best, would have a very small chance of recognizing her. Why was Amamiya Natsuki able to recognize her?

"It was her eyes."

Amamiya Natsuki raised a hand and pointed to his own eyes: "A Mirror Ghost is, after all, just an imitation, so it can't imitate Kaguya-san's instincts that she herself doesn't even know about."

"What is it?"

Shinomiya Kaguya raised her delicate eyebrows, even more curious.

Amamiya Natsuki turned to look at Kaguya: "A few days ago, when we did the [Staring at the Sun] task, I noticed that when we made eye contact, Kaguya-san's pupils would unconsciously dilate."

"Just now in the mirror world, I made eye contact with the other Kaguya. Although she was also teary-eyed, looking pitiful, weak, and helpless, the size of her pupils didn't change at all."

"…"

Shinomiya Kaguya bit her lower lip, using the skill [Kaguya's Scorn].

What did he mean by pitiful, weak, and helpless?

No one else would be able to maintain a poker face!

"Ah, I know!"

Takanashi Rikka, who had been silent, suddenly raised her hand.

Everyone looked over.

The chuunibyou girl's ahoge twitched slightly, and she whispered:

"Well, I saw on TV that a girl's pupils will dilate when she sees a boy she likes."

"Eh?" Fujiwara Chika's eyes widened, and she quickly leaned closer, stars already appearing in her eyes, "Kaguya-chan likes Natsuki-kun?"

"…Impossible."

Shinomiya Kaguya crossed her arms over her chest, her pretty face taut, and flatly denied it.

That feeling of a racing heart was nothing more than the suspension bridge effect. Besides, no scientific research could prove that the emotion of 'liking' truly existed.

"Natsuki-kun, what do you say?"

Fujiwara Chika clasped her hands to her chest, the girl's gossip soul burning fiercely.

Amamiya Natsuki's gaze passed over Fujiwara's shoulder and landed behind the girl: "You calm down first, don't be nervous, listen to me."

"Eh?"

Fujiwara Chika froze, then realized that Kaguya and Rikka were also looking behind her.

The naturally clumsy girl immediately became nervous, subconsciously turning to look behind her. A Miss Sadako, dressed in a blood-stained white dress with long black hair covering her entire face, suddenly came into view.

"Ahhh!"

The girl's scream was exceptionally loud.

Fujiwara Chika suddenly threw herself into Amamiya Natsuki's arms, her softness pressing against Amamiya Natsuki's face, almost suffocating him.

"I told you not to be nervous." Amamiya Natsuki struggled to push away the octopus-like Fujiwara, his eyes disdainful, "She's my roommate in the same ward, a shy Miss Sadako, very easy to get along with."

When Amamiya Natsuki first entered the ward, he hadn't noticed Miss Sadako. But halfway through his sentence, Miss Sadako had quietly crawled out of the television.

Her movements were silent, and the light in the ward was very dim. By the time Amamiya Natsuki noticed, Miss Sadako had already reached Fujiwara Chika's back. She wasn't attacking the naturally clumsy girl; it was more like… pricking up her ears to listen to gossip?

Clearly, even vengeful spirits have a penchant for gossip.

After being discovered by Amamiya Natsuki, Miss Sadako's black hair, which covered her face, trembled slightly. She turned and tried to escape back into the television, completely unwilling to comb her hair into a middle part again.

"Don't hide, you're the owner of the ward." Amamiya Natsuki called from behind, "Miss Sadako, come quickly to greet guests… No, to entertain guests."

Upon hearing this, Miss Sadako became even more nervous, but she still couldn't get back into the television.

"Um…" Fujiwara Chika blinked, her hands instinctively wrapped around Natsuki's neck, her voice hesitant, "Is she… stuck?"

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