"Look..."
Fujiwara Chika's eyes brimmed with tears.
Before she could finish, Amamiya Natsuki clapped a hand over Fujiwara's mouth.
"Don't say anything." Amamiya Natsuki leaned close to Fujiwara Chika's ear and whispered quickly, "Pretend you didn't see a thing."
After officially becoming a player, he could see the truth of the world.
Honestly, compared to the real world, Amamiya Natsuki found the Vengeful Spirits in Vengeful Spirit Academy much cuter. At least they all had human shapes. Some were no different from ordinary people except for their deathly pale faces, their silent, drifting steps, and their habit of keeping their heads down.
The evil spirits that appeared in the real world were scarier than the last.
The evil spirit coiled across the hallway clearly didn't believe him. It came spiraling toward them like a giant snake, its eyes glowing crimson and its long black hair rising into the air as it let out a shrill hiss.
"You saw me! I'm going to eat you!"
Fortunately, Amamiya Natsuki had kept the Evil Spirit Repellent aura active the whole time. The strands of hair came rushing toward them, but the moment they entered the aura's range, they caught fire like kindling dropped into a flame.
The fire spread upward, racing along the black hair.
The evil spirit's expression turned blank at first. Then it screamed, slapped at the flames, and fled into the distance.
"...It's gone."
Shinomiya Kaguya couldn't help but sigh with relief. Only then did she realize that her palms were already clammy with sweat.
Even Ice Kaguya-hime had things she feared. Ghosts were one of them.
Actually, unless someone was a pervert, no one could stay calm in the face of one.
"W-what was that just now?"
Misty-eyed, Fujiwara Chika exclaimed, "That was so scary!"
"Someone's coming." Shinomiya Kaguya pressed her fingers to her brow and spoke in a low voice. "Let's get back to the classroom first."
At the same time.
"Miko, are you okay?"
The orange-haired girl waved her right hand curiously in front of Yotsuya Miko. "Why did you suddenly stop walking?"
Yurikawa Hana glanced up at the ceiling, then looked around. "There's nothing in the hallway, though."
You're wrong.
There was just a really scary evil spirit coiled across the hallway.
"I'm fine." Yotsuya Miko shook her head. "I just remembered something really important..."
"Huh? What was it?"
"When you called out to me, I forgot again."
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry."
"..."
As Yotsuya Miko grumbled to herself, she continued upstairs, unable to stop replaying what she had just witnessed in her mind.
That terrifying evil spirit coiled across the ceiling like a snake had approached Natsuki, only to suddenly burst into flames all over and flee in a panic?
What had just happened?
Yotsuya Miko also remembered what had happened outside the convenience store that morning. The evil spirit in a convenience store uniform had suddenly vanished for no reason, and she'd wondered what was going on.
Now that she thought about it, it had to be connected to Natsuki.
After seeing what had just happened, the black-haired, golden-eyed girl clenched her fists. A happy smile spread across her weary face, worn down by lack of sleep and constant anxiety.
This was cause for celebration!
At last, a glimmer of hope had appeared in her gloomy life!
About a week ago, not long after the new school year began, Yotsuya Miko had been walking home one evening when, for some reason, she suddenly started seeing all kinds of terrifying evil spirits around her.
Salt to ward off evil.
Crosses.
Garlic.
Holy water.
Shrine amulets.
Yotsuya Miko had even gone out of her way to buy a peachwood sword to ward off evil on Amazon, gritting her teeth at the price.
Sadly, none of it worked.
Nobody but her could see the evil spirits, let alone drive them away or destroy them.
Yotsuya Miko felt like a husky lost in a pack of wolves. If her secret got out, they would tear her to pieces. Every day, she lived on tenterhooks, treading carefully, her life shrouded in darkness.
But now...
"Ehehe~!"
She'd decided. Tonight, she'd make the first move!
She was his Childhood Sweetheart, after all. It wasn't as if some inexplicable newcomer would suddenly appear, right?
In the classroom.
Amamiya Natsuki walked over to his seat and set down his schoolbag.
It was still early. The classroom was nearly empty, with only a few students inside, and it was quiet.
"Kaguya-chan, can you tell me now?" Fujiwara Chika asked softly. "Why is reality scarier than the game?"
"I'm not entirely sure..."
Shinomiya Kaguya pursed her lips slightly and twirled a lock of hair beside her ear. In her cool voice, she recounted everything that had happened from yesterday until now, then said, "My intuition tells me that if those evil spirits find out we can see them, something terrible will happen."
Fujiwara Chika looked ready to cry.
She regretted it.
She regretted it so much.
Unfortunately, there was no such thing as regret medicine.
"The Evil Spirit Repellent aura that drove away that evil spirit just now was something I got from a Blind Box..." Amamiya Natsuki explained when Fujiwara Chika looked over at him.
"Huh?" Fujiwara Chika's eyes lit up. "So you can get things from Blind Boxes?"
"Where? Where? I've always been super lucky."
Amamiya Natsuki reminded her, "You can see it if you open the Game Mall."
"Hmm... I see it." Fujiwara Chika stared at the air in front of her and murmured, "There's also a permanent attribute beside it. It costs fifty Game coins."
Amamiya Natsuki looked over curiously, but all he could see was empty air. As expected, he couldn't see other players' Game Panels.
What a shame. He couldn't see the Blind Boxes in someone else's mall, so he couldn't help even if he wanted to.
"The attribute is called 'One Centimeter Miracle.' Once you buy it, you can make any part of your body grow by one centimeter..." Fujiwara Chika's eyes widened. "What? What good is growing one centimeter taller?"
"..."
Amamiya Natsuki fell into thought.
The One Centimeter Miracle—where would it be best to add it?
Kaguya-classmate, Kindergarten Level
"Open a Blind Box!"
Fujiwara was certainly carefree. Just a moment ago, she'd been on the verge of tears from fright, and now she was cheerful again.
"I'm telling you, I've always been really lucky. A few days ago, I bought a drink from a vending machine and even won the hidden grand prize."
"What was the hidden grand prize?"
Amamiya Natsuki asked curiously.
He really had no idea an ordinary vending machine could have hidden bonuses.
Fujiwara Chika planted her hands on her hips and raised her chin proudly, revealing her slender, snow-white neck.
"Hehe, it was a free extra drink."
How was getting another drink a hidden grand prize? If you were really so lucky, you wouldn't have been picked to become an Unlucky person, would you?
"You can only buy one Blind Box each day." Shinomiya Kaguya folded her right arm across her chest, her manner cool and composed. "If you want to open one, Fujiwara, you can do so now."
The Survival Game was fraught with danger.
From what they'd seen so far, permanent attribute boosts weren't as valuable as the Daily Blind Box.
Take the Vengeful Spirit Academy they'd just cleared, for example.
The Cat Ear Hairpin had played a crucial role in helping them dominate the academy.
"Blind Box, here I come!"
Fujiwara Chika's eyes sparkled. She glanced around, and after making sure no one was paying attention, a plain-looking Blind Box quickly appeared in her hands.
Fujiwara Chika skipped the steps of bathing, changing clothes, burning incense, and praying. She merely patted her hands together in front of her chest twice, then opened the Blind Box without hesitation.
A faint white glow appeared. The Blind Box in Fujiwara Chika's hands vanished into thin air, leaving behind an unopened pack of tissues.
[Name: Qingfeng Brand Paper Towels] [Attribute: A pack of perfectly ordinary tissues. If left by the bed late at night, they might become a pack of fragrant tissues—in short, a Holy Shroud]
"..."
The three of them fell silent as they looked at the pack of tissues in the girl's hand.
Her luck really was something.
If the world ever ended, that pack of tissues would be an essential survival supply.
"Why would they become fragrant tissues if you left them by the bed late at night?"
Shinomiya Kaguya furrowed her brows in curiosity.
Amamiya Natsuki stared at her speechlessly. Well, well, Kaguya-classmate. With those thick eyebrows, you'd think you'd know better. How can you still be making dirty jokes at a time like this?
Their eyes met.
The black-haired girl's eyes were clear and pure, without the slightest hint of guilt or amusement. A line of text slowly appeared above her head.
[Why isn't anyone saying anything? Was my question strange?]
Amamiya Natsuki was stunned.
This Kaguya-classmate wasn't making a dirty joke. She genuinely didn't know the answer.
How could a high school girl not know what tissues were for? Was she kidding?
So much for being a Young Lady with a scandalous private life, making boys line up to lick her feet every day. She was as innocent as blank paper.
Amamiya Natsuki silently looked toward Fujiwara Chika.
The girl with the black ribbon at her temple happened to look over.
Their eyes met.
He understood.
It seemed Shinomiya Kaguya was the only exception. Fujiwara was clearly an Experienced Driver.
"Ahem, looks like my luck's pretty bad today." Fujiwara Chika cleared her throat twice, set the tissues down on Amamiya Natsuki's desk, and closed one eye. In a bright voice, she said, "Amamiya-classmate, you can have this pack of tissues. Take it home and use it."
"Sorry, I have no use for them." Amamiya Natsuki crossed his fingers and firmly refused. "Take them home and use them yourself."
Before you continue