Only when she was drunk could she no longer see that ghost, and only then would it stop pestering her.
The orange-haired girl with shoulder-length hair and a rabbit-ear bow beside them looked surprised:
"Eh? Are we drinking?"
"You don't have to drink."
Nakano Ichika smiled brightly.
"But I happen to want to get drunk today too. I'll have a Long Island Iced Tea."
"Miku, Yotsuba, remember to take us back to rest later, okay~!"
"Angel Ladder" was originally located on the top floor of the Okura Tokyo Hotel.
There were also guest rooms downstairs for drunk customers, so naturally, there was no need to worry about safety.
"Oh."
Nakano Miku nodded silently, while Nakano Yotsuba broke into an energetic smile.
"Leave it to me!"
"Ichika, you..."
Nakano Nino's expression became somewhat incredulous as she abruptly looked up at her sister.
"Shh!"
Nakano Ichika smiled as she raised her index finger to her lips, signaling for silence.
But Nakano Nino finally realized that she wasn't the only one who could see the ghost. Ichika could see it too!
No wonder. No wonder that every time she nearly exposed herself, Ichika had always managed to pull her out of it at just the right moment.
But being able to see it also meant that they would all die.
At that thought, the girl's face grew even paler.
Chapter 44: Death Was a Mercy
Nakano Mayu sat down beside Ichika, somewhat puzzled.
"When did you all start liking alcohol?"
"Is it not okay to suddenly want a drink?"
Nakano Ichika smiled and asked in return.
Nakano Mayu was somewhat helpless.
"Then you girls drink on your own, mm~"
After thinking for a moment, Nakano Mayu spoke to the blond-haired waiter who had already turned around to fetch the drinks.
"I'll have a latte."
She didn't like alcohol, but she did love coffee.
Nakano Miku said softly:
"I'll have a cup of green tea. What do you want, Yotsuba?"
Nakano Yotsuba thought for a moment and answered seriously:
"Then I'll have a cup of lemonade."
"Can you see me?"
The Slender Ghost came over again. Its murmuring voice was like a demon's whisper, lingering in their ears.
Nakano Yotsuba propped her elbow on the bar and rested her cheek in her palm, looking somewhat dazed.
It turned to Nakano Miku.
"Can you see me?"
Nakano Miku lowered her head and silently scrolled through her phone.
The faceless head leaned beside Nakano Nino, and its sinister voice rang out again.
"Can you see me?"
"You can see me, right?"
"You can see me, right!!"
Nakano Nino was almost frightened to tears, but she knew she absolutely couldn't give herself away.
Otherwise, it wouldn't just be her who died. Ichika would also be dragged into it.
The girl wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand and murmured to herself:
"Huh? I got some sand in my eye~"
Kira Yoshikage pushed three prepared glasses of lemonade forward.
"Here's your lemonade."
Nakano Ichika frowned slightly.
"We only ordered one glass of lemonade, right?"
"That's right."
Kira Yoshikage admitted it calmly.
"You also ordered two Long Island Iced Teas, but minors aren't allowed to drink alcohol, so I replaced them with lemonade."
After a pause, Kira Yoshikage added:
"No need to thank me."
"Who wants to thank you?!"
Nakano Nino almost burst into tears. She only wanted to get drunk; she just didn't want to see that ghost!
Nakano Mayu found the waiter's voice somewhat familiar. She instinctively looked up at him, her face filled with disbelief, and cried out:
"Kira Yoshikage, why are you here?!"
Nakano Yotsuba asked curiously:
"Mayu? You know him?"
"Mm."
Remembering what had happened before, Nakano Mayu's emotions became complicated.
"He's also from Shuchiin Academy..."
"A volunteer."
Kira Yoshikage handed the girl a cup of coffee and calmly picked up the conversation.
"I volunteered at Shuchiin Academy."
"Eh?"
Nakano Mayu froze for a moment, but quickly realized—
Just like minors being forbidden from drinking alcohol, minors were also forbidden from working in places like this.
For him to work here as a waiter, he must have lied about his age!
Nakano Ichika's eyes shifted slightly. Clearly, she didn't believe his explanation about being a volunteer. She smiled sweetly.
"Say, Kira-kun, you wouldn't want the fact that you volunteered at Shuchiin Academy to be exposed, would you?"
The girl deliberately emphasized the words "volunteered," clearly hinting at something to Kira Yoshikage—
This was typical Japanese behavior.
"Indeed."
Kira Yoshikage thought for a moment, then nodded solemnly.
Nakano Ichika stretched lazily, ignoring the Slender Ghost leaning its face over beside her.
"So, Kira-kun, we'll pretend we don't know anything, and you can replace our lemonade with alcohol. How about it?"
Kira Yoshikage pushed the last cup of green tea in front of Nakano Miku.
"Not happening."
"You!"
Nakano Ichika was annoyed for a moment.
How can you be so impossible to reason with?
They only wanted to get drunk. What had they done wrong?
"Ultimately, why do you want to get drunk?"
Faced with Kira Yoshikage's question, Nakano Ichika asked in return:
"Is it not okay to have troubles?"
"Oh."
Kira Yoshikage nodded in understanding.
The Slender Ghost, which had been pestering the quintuplets all this time, seemed to have finally given up in disappointment and walked toward the customers farther away.
It seemed to have finally abandoned the five Nakano sisters and begun choosing a new target.
Nakano Ichika and Nakano Nino couldn't help holding their breath, their hearts becoming unbearably tense.
Nakano Nino felt somewhat guilty. Gritting her teeth, she wanted to say something.
But Nakano Ichika saw through the girl's thoughts. She reached out, pressed down on the girl's hand, and gently shook her head.
"It's fine. They can't see it. They won't be in danger."
Nakano Nino understood the look in Nakano Ichika's eyes and fell silent.
"I'm sorry..."
Nakano Nino murmured guiltily.
She knew this was wrong, but she didn't want to die, nor did she want her other sisters to be in danger.
In any case, the others couldn't see the ghost. They wouldn't be in danger, nor would they be affected.
So, it was fine...
That was the only way she could comfort herself now.
But just then, Nakano Nino felt Nakano Ichika's hand tremble slightly.
She instinctively looked up, only to see that Nakano Ichika's face had gone somewhat pale.
On the other side of Nakano Ichika, Nakano Mayu was covering her mouth in terror.
"Ichika, Nino, what... what is that...?"
Nakano Nino's little face instantly turned deathly pale.
"Mayu, no, don't look!"
Smack!
The Slender Ghost stopped in its tracks and abruptly turned around.
A slit split open across its faceless visage. Inside was a mouthful of sharp fangs, and it shrieked excitedly:
"You can see me after all! You can all see me after all!"
"Eat you! Eat all of you!"