Kaguya-sama Wants Me to Surrender Chapter 1

Kaguya-sama Wants Me to Surrender

Author: Otsuichi

Synopsis: Accidentally became a player in a real-life weird escape game. Amamiya Natsuki discovered that he could see hints on monsters and teammates. And so... the game's art style went off the rails. In the Vengeful Spirit Academy, on the playground of the Red Light, Green Light Game, the Vengeful Spirit Girl said tearfully, "Don't come over!" Horror Cafeteria: "This vengeful spirit classmate, you're wasting food! I'll take the hush money, send it over." Devil's Examination Hall: "Is it wrong to bribe the vengeful spirit teacher with money?!" Besides this, he could also encourage teammates.

[Player: Shinomiya Kaguya] [Status: Crouching and Covering Head, Trembling with Fear] [Hint: Please adopt the following methods to boost teammate morale]

Amamiya Natsuki sighed, "Kaguya, can you show some backbone? Haven't you eaten?" "..."

Volume 1 Chapter 1 Kaguya-sama Wants Me to Surrender

"...Amamiya-kun, just surrender." A cold, clear voice devoid of any emotion or warmth entered his ears, like the biting wind of the Deepest Winter Days, freezing his body and soul.

The girl speaking wore a high-quality Moon White nightgown. Her silky black hair cascaded down to her waist, and her skin was as fair and lustrous as jade, with exquisite, flawless features.

If he wasn't mistaken, she looked like his classmate... Shinomiya Kaguya? It hadn't been long since the new semester began, and he happened to be in the same class as the girl before him. However, they hadn't spoken a word so far; she was the standard "passerby classmate."

Amamiya Natsuki took a deep breath and looked down at his hands. His left hand held a black collar, and his right hand gripped a white leash. He fell into thought.

He had been about to go out to walk the dog. He had just crouched down to tie his shoelaces, and when he looked up, his Akita dog had turned into an ice sculpture girl wearing a nightgown?

Could this be the Dog Girl's Gratitude? It wasn't for nothing that he walked you so diligently every day... not! What kind of gratitude involves telling someone to surrender right off the bat!

Amamiya Natsuki looked up and surveyed his surroundings. The familiar street had quietly vanished, replaced by an unfamiliar room. Calling it a room might not be accurate—no one would build a room the size of a football field.

There were no doors or windows on the walls. Besides Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya Kaguya, there was no one else in the room, not even furniture. It was like an empty box.

Even stranger, despite the complete absence of a light source, they could see clearly within the room. This bizarre phenomenon, which defied all scientific explanation, made Amamiya Natsuki wonder if he was dreaming.

"...Surrender." The clear, pleasant voice, like the Clash of Pearls, sounded again. Shinomiya Kaguya clutched her chest, her face devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

"Sorry, I refuse," Amamiya Natsuki blurted out instinctively. His first conversation with a classmate started with surrender. Something was definitely wrong!

Shinomiya Kaguya's voice remained cold, her eyes like a tranquil lake, without a ripple. "I don't know how you managed to kidnap me here, but my bodyguards will track me down soon... Your only way out now is to surrender." What was with that look, as if she were looking at a "person about to die"? If he didn't surrender and confess immediately, would he end up feeding the fish in Tokyo Bay!

"Shinomiya-san," Amamiya Natsuki said with a serious expression, "you must have misunderstood something."

"..." Shinomiya Kaguya remained silent, her gaze shifting down to the collar and leash in Amamiya Natsuki's hands.

"I was just about to go out and walk the dog," Amamiya Natsuki replied calmly. "It's normal for me to be holding a collar and leash, right?"

Hearing Amamiya Natsuki's explanation, the ice sculpture girl's eyes widened slightly, and a blast of cold air several times more intense erupted.

"Wait," Amamiya Natsuki said quickly. "This is genuinely a collar and leash for walking a dog, not props for you."

The chilling aura intensified again, as if his very soul was about to freeze. Amamiya Natsuki silently raised his hands. "...Is it too late for me to surrender now?"

Shinomiya Kaguya didn't speak. Suddenly, her eyes widened, her pink lips parted slightly, revealing two rows of teeth like pearly shells. Compared to the ice sculpture girl from before, her current stunned expression was surprisingly cute.

Wait— "There's something behind you!"

Amamiya Natsuki's heart stirred, and he quickly turned to look.

Holy crap!

What a huge snake!

A giant snake, at least ten meters long, had appeared in the room at some point. Its body was clearly segmented in rings, and even stranger, apart from its head being a bit larger, the length and thickness of its body were all exactly the same.

The next moment.

A strange voice suddenly echoed in both their minds.

[Welcome to the Weird Game]

[Game Instance: The Snake Catcher's Tale]

[Clear Conditions: 1. Successfully catch the snake, 2. Survive for thirty minutes. Achieving either condition will allow you to leave the instance.]

[Clear Reward: See the true nature of the world]

[Failure Penalty: Random]

[The game is about to begin. We wish players an enjoyable game.]

As the strange voice disappeared, the motionless Anaconda suddenly "came alive." Without any probing or hesitation, it swam directly towards Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya Kaguya.

Amamiya Natsuki took a deep breath, turned to look at Shinomiya Kaguya, whose pretty face was pale and clearly hadn't snapped out of it yet: "What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and run!"

Shinomiya Kaguya finally came back to her senses.

Even the "Cold Princess Kaguya" couldn't maintain her composure when faced with a monstrous snake.

Fortunately, the giant snake didn't pursue them relentlessly. Instead, it made a turn, swallowed a light orb nearby, and then swam away at a leisurely pace.

Besides the giant snake, many scattered light orbs had also appeared in the room. They were about the size of a football. There was one in the corner where the two were leaning against the wall. Amamiya Natsuki cautiously touched it, but his finger passed through it as if it were air, with no tactile sensation.

The two stopped by the wall, and Amamiya Natsuki took a breath, looking at Shinomiya Kaguya:

"Shinomiya-san, did you hear a strange voice just now?"

"I did." Shinomiya Kaguya's pretty face was pale, her chest heaving. She was clearly terrified of snakes and was showing signs of melting from an ice sculpture into a snowman. She tried her best to keep her voice steady, "It said welcome to the game..."

As expected, the voice they both heard was identical.

"It seems we are the players in this game," Amamiya Natsuki analyzed grimly. "The Snake Catcher's Tale... should mean catching that giant snake."

In the entire enclosed space, besides Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya Kaguya, the two 'players', there was only one giant snake. The target was exceptionally clear.

The problem was that this snake was just too big!

One could grit their teeth and try to catch a small snake with their bare hands, but trying to catch an Anaconda bare-handed?

That would be like an old man eating poison, wishing for a long life!

"That giant snake just appeared out of thin air..."

Shinomiya Kaguya took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly. She could calmly face robbers, but a giant snake beyond her comprehension was truly difficult to remain composed about.

"I was just about to take my dog to the park, bending down to tie my shoelaces, and when I looked up, I found myself here. And now there's this... I'll call it an Anaconda, appearing out of nowhere," Amamiya Natsuki said, frowning, not noticing the little gesture from the ice sculpture girl. "We seem to have encountered a bizarre phenomenon that cannot be explained by science."

The giant snake's entire body was indescribably strange, as if it weren't a creature from Earth. Only an Anaconda came close in terms of size.

Herein lies the problem.

How is an ordinary person supposed to catch a giant Anaconda with their bare hands?

Amamiya Natsuki carefully considered all possible usable items: the collar, the leash, and an ice sculpture girl... He quickly reached a conclusion.

Can't catch it.

Might as well wait for death.

The only way to clear the game seemed to be to survive for thirty minutes...

Looking at the giant Anaconda in the distance, Amamiya Natsuki was ready to give up when he suddenly felt a slight warmth in his eyes. Immediately after, in his field of vision, a line of text slowly appeared above the Anaconda's head:

[I have a dream...]

Chapter 2: Shinomiya-san, Can't You Have a Little More Ambition?

[I have a dream... to break through the dimensional wall!]

Seeing the words that appeared above the giant snake's head, Amamiya Natsuki was astonished.

A game hint?

As Amamiya Natsuki gazed intently, more text appeared above the giant snake's head.

[Name: Snake]

[Level: LV2]

[Status: In a good mood, evolving]

[Note: A snake that doesn't want to eat and break through the dimensional wall is not a good snake.]

"...So it's a Snake!"

Amamiya Natsuki's gaze suddenly sharpened, and the previous strangeness and awkwardness were suddenly resolved.

No wonder this strange snake's tail was as thick as its body, completely defying biological evolution standards. It wasn't a real flesh-and-blood creature at all!

"...Amamiya-kun, what did you just say?"

The Ice Sculpture Girl's cold voice reached his ears.

"I said it's Snake... Amamiya Natsuki turned to look at the Ice Sculpture Girl, whose expression was calm, and asked in surprise, "You can't see the words above that snake's head?"

"Hm?" Shinomiya Kaguya gazed intently at the Snake on the other side of the room, her delicate eyebrows furrowing slightly. "I don't see anything... Amamiya-kun, are you already so scared that you're talking nonsense?"

Amamiya Natsuki was certain he wasn't talking nonsense.

Now, not only the Snake, but also a line of text had quietly appeared above the Ice Sculpture Girl's head.

[So scary, so scary, so scary (>_<)]

[I hate snakes the most. They're so big, they could swallow you whole!]

[Status: Trembling with Fear]

Amamiya Natsuki: "..."

Damn it, he'd been tricked.

As expected, the prettier the girl, the more she lied.

He had just secretly admired her composure, her ability to remain unfazed even when Mount Tai collapsed before her, only to find out it was all a pretense of calm. She was already Trembling with Fear inside!

[Note: This player's morale is low. Execution, reaction, speed, and courage attributes are all reduced. Their status can be restored by boosting their morale.]

[Recommended Method: '...Shinomiya-san, can you show a little more backbone?']

"It's nothing," Amamiya Natsuki shook his head, suppressing his urge to retort. He then said, "This snake isn't a real creature, but the Snake from an electronic game... Look closely, no real snake can move straight like that, with no wriggling in its body."