Kaguya-sama Wants Me to Surrender

"Look..."

Fujiwara Chika's eyes welled up with tears.

Before she could finish speaking, Amamiya Natsuki covered Fujiwara's mouth.

"Don't talk," Amamiya Natsuki whispered into Fujiwara Chika's ear, lowering his voice and quickly saying, "Pretend you didn't see anything."

After officially gaining player status, one could see the truth of the world.

To be honest, compared to the real world, Amamiya Natsuki found the vengeful spirits in Vengeful Spirit Academy to be cuter. At least they had human forms. Some vengeful spirits, aside from their pale complexions, floating footsteps, and tendency to keep their heads down, were no different from ordinary people.

The evil spirits that appeared in the real world were all the more terrifying.

The evil spirit coiled on the corridor clearly didn't believe it. It coiled forward like a giant snake, its eyes glowing red, its long black hair rising into the air as it let out a hissing scream:

"You saw me! I'm going to eat you!"

Fortunately, Amamiya Natsuki had the Evil Spirit Repellent aura activated. As these long strands of hair rushed forward, they entered the aura's range and, like flammable materials accidentally falling into flames, quickly ignited.

The flames spread upwards, burning along the black hair.

The evil spirit's expression on the corridor first turned blank, then it quickly screamed, swatting at the flames on its body and fleeing into the distance.

"...It's gone."

Shinomiya Kaguya couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, only to find her palms were already sweaty.

Even Ice Kaguya-hime had things she was afraid of, and ghosts were one of them.

It could be said that no one, except for perverts, could remain calm in such a situation.

"Wh-what was that just now?"

Fujiwara Chika's eyes were misty, "That was so scary!"

"Someone's coming," Shinomiya Kaguya pressed her forehead, whispering, "Let's go back to the classroom first."

Meanwhile.

"Miko, are you okay?"

The girl with short orange hair extended her right hand and waved it curiously in front of Yotsuya Miko, "Why did you suddenly stop walking?"

Yurikawa Hana said, tilting her head back to look at the sky, glancing left and right, "There's nothing in the corridor, though."

You're wrong.

There was a terrifying evil spirit coiled in the corridor just now.

"I'm fine," Yotsuya Miko shook her head, "I just suddenly remembered something very important..."

"Huh? What is it?"

"Now that you've called out to me, I've forgotten it again."

"Oh, my deepest apologies."

"..."

Yotsuya Miko grumbled to herself as she walked upstairs, her mind involuntarily replaying everything she had just witnessed.

That terrifying evil spirit, coiled like a snake at the top of the corridor, suddenly burst into flames upon approaching Natsuki and then fled in a panic?

What exactly happened just now?

Yotsuya Miko then remembered what happened this morning at the convenience store. The evil spirit in the convenience store uniform had inexplicably dissipated, and she had wondered what had happened at the time.

Now that she thought about it, it must have been related to Natsuki.

Seeing the scene just now, the girl with black hair and golden eyes couldn't help but clench her small fists. Her tired face, caused by lack of sleep and prolonged tension, suddenly broke into a happy smile.

Great news!

Her bleak life finally had a glimmer of hope!

About a week ago, shortly after school started, Yotsuya Miko was on her way home in the evening when, for some reason, she suddenly started seeing all sorts of terrifying evil spirits around her.

Salt for purification.

Crosses.

Garlic.

Holy water.

Shrine amulets.

Yotsuya Miko even bit the bullet and bought a peach wood sword for warding off evil spirits on Amazon.

Unfortunately, none of it worked.

Besides herself, no one else could see these evil spirits, let alone drive them away or destroy them.

Yotsuya Miko felt like a husky that had stumbled into a wolf pack. Once her identity was exposed, she would be torn to shreds. She lived in constant fear, walking on thin ice, and her life was shrouded in darkness.

But now...

"Ehehe~!"

I've decided, I'm going on the offensive tonight!

I'm her childhood friend, there's no way some random girl will suddenly appear, right?

In the classroom.

Amamiya Natsuki walked to his seat and put down his schoolbag.

It was still early, and the classroom was empty, with only a few students present. It was quite quiet.

"Kaguya-chan, you can tell us now, right?" Fujiwara Chika asked in a low voice, "Why is reality more terrifying than the game?"

"I'm not entirely sure..."

Shinomiya Kaguya pursed her lips slightly, fiddling with the hair by her ear. Her voice was cool as she recounted everything from yesterday until now. Then she added, "My intuition tells me that if those vengeful spirits knew we could see them, something terrible would happen."

Fujiwara Chika felt like crying.

She regretted it.

She regretted it immensely.

Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret in the world.

"The 'Evil Spirit Repellent' aura that just drove away that vengeful spirit was something I got from a blind box..."

Seeing Fujiwara Chika look over, Amamiya Natsuki explained.

"Eh?" Fujiwara Chika's eyes lit up, "You can open blind boxes?"

"Where, where? My luck has always been super good."

Amamiya Natsuki reminded her, "You can see it if you open the Game Mall."

"Mmm... I see it." Fujiwara Chika murmured, looking at the air in front of her, "There are also permanent attributes next to it, priced at fifty game coins."

Amamiya Natsuki looked over curiously, but he could only see empty air. As expected, he couldn't see other players' game panels.

What a shame, he couldn't see the blind boxes in other people's malls, so he couldn't help even if he wanted to.

"The attribute is called 'One Centimeter Miracle,' and after purchasing it, it allows any part of your body to grow by one centimeter..." Fujiwara Chika's eyes widened, "What's the point of growing an inch taller?"

"..."

Amamiya Natsuki fell into thought.

Where would be the most suitable place to apply the 'One Centimeter Miracle'?

Chapter 22: Classmate Kaguya, Kindergarten Level

"Let's open a blind box!"

It had to be said, Fujiwara-san had a remarkably carefree nature. She had been on the verge of tears just moments ago, but now she was happy.

"I'm telling you, my luck has always been great. A few days ago, I bought a drink from a vending machine and won the hidden grand prize."

"What was the hidden grand prize?"

Amamiya Natsuki asked curiously.

He really didn't know that ordinary vending machines had hidden benefits.

Fujiwara Chika put her hands on her hips, tilting her chin up proudly, revealing a fair, slender neck:

"Hmph, it was 'Buy One Get One Free'."

A 'Buy One Get One Free' isn't a hidden grand prize! If your luck was really that good, you wouldn't have been chosen as the unlucky one!

"You can only buy one blind box per day," Shinomiya Kaguya said, crossing her arms and speaking in a cool, composed tone. "If Fujiwara-san wants to open one, you can do it now."

The survival game was fraught with danger.

As things stood, the value of permanent attribute upgrades was less than that of the daily blind box.

Take the Vengeful Spirit Academy they had just cleared, for example.

The Cat Ear Hairpin played a crucial role in their ability to conquer the academy.

"Blind box, here I come."

Fujiwara Chika's eyes sparkled. Seeing that no one was paying attention, a plain-looking blind box quickly appeared in her hands.

Skipping steps like bathing, changing, burning incense, and praying, Fujiwara Chika simply clapped her hands twice in front of her chest and then unhesitatingly opened the blind box.

Accompanied by a faint white light, the blind box in Fujiwara Chika's hand vanished into thin air, leaving behind only a pack of unopened tissues.

[Name: Qingfeng Brand Paper Towels]

[Attribute: An ordinary pack of tissues. If placed by the bedside late at night, it might become a pack of... flavorful tissues, also known as the Holy Shroud.]

"..."

Looking at the pack of tissues in the girl's hand, Amamiya Natsuki and the other two fell into silence.

Her luck was indeed quite good.

If the apocalypse were to break out one day, this pack of tissues would be an indispensable survival item.

"Why does it turn into a used tissue when I leave it by my bedside late at night?"

Shinomiya Kaguya asked curiously, her delicate eyebrows furrowed.

Amamiya Natsuki stared at her speechlessly. Seriously, Kaguya, you're so straightforward, and yet you're in the mood for a dirty joke at a time like this?

Their eyes met.

The long-haired girl's eyes were clear and pure, showing no hint of guilt or mischief. A line of text slowly appeared above her head.

[Why isn't anyone saying anything? Is my question strange?]

Amamiya Natsuki was shocked.

This Kaguya wasn't telling a dirty joke; she genuinely didn't know the answer.

You're a high school student, and you don't even know the purpose of tissues? Are you kidding me?

I thought you were a noble lady with a messy private life, making boys line up to lick your feet every day. I didn't expect you to be as pure as a blank sheet of paper.

Amamiya Natsuki silently looked towards Fujiwara Chika.

The girl with the black ribbon tied at her temples happened to look over.

Their eyes met.

A shared glance.

Amamiya Natsuki understood.

It seemed Shinomiya Kaguya was the exception, while Fujiwara... was clearly an experienced player.

"Ahem, it seems my luck is really bad today," Fujiwara Chika coughed lightly, placing the tissues on Amamiya Natsuki's desk. She closed one eye and said in a clear voice, "Amamiya-kun, I'll give you this pack of tissues. You can take it home and use it."

"I'm sorry, I can't use it," Amamiya Natsuki said, clasping his hands together and firmly refusing. "You take it back and use it yourself."