The Girl Who Can See

"That's true." Shinomiya Kaguya nodded lightly, her voice calm. "Because of their body structure, snakes usually move in an S-shape... The way this one is moving does violate the laws of snake biology."

After a pause, Shinomiya Kaguya asked,

"What's Snake?"

"You've never played it?" Amamiya Natsuki looked at her in surprise.

"No."

You've never even played Snake? Were you some prehistoric human who'd time-traveled here?

Perhaps sensing Amamiya Natsuki's disrespectful stare, Shinomiya Kaguya's voice turned cool. "Games are a cheap form of entertainment for ordinary people, meant to burn off the energy the common folk have nowhere else to vent. People from the Shinomiya family don't need to play them."

"Games are the Ninth art! Even if you've never played one, you shouldn't look down on them. Apologize to all the Game Players in the world!" Amamiya Natsuki couldn't help but complain. Then he pressed his fingers to his brow and took a deep breath. "Snake is a video game from the last century. The rules are simple: control the snake as it keeps eating, and its body keeps growing."

"That snake's already started growing." Amamiya Natsuki's expression turned serious. "If we plan to hide for half an hour, it'll probably grow large enough to fill the whole room."

Shinomiya Kaguya silently watched the snake, her face still expressionless. "...Do you have a plan?"

"I do." Amamiya Natsuki nodded. "In Snake, the snake can't touch its own body. If it does, it eats itself and the game ends."

"To clear the game, we need to make that snake's head hit its body."

Shinomiya Kaguya was quite clever. "That snake seems to be chasing food... So we use bait to lure it?"

Amamiya Natsuki nodded. "That's our only option."

As they spoke, the snake glided over from a distance.

As it drew closer, they could see that its body had grown several times larger. It had already exceeded the size limit for an anaconda.

"Run!"

Amamiya Natsuki made the call at once. "Over to that corner."

The basketball-sized transparent orbs on the ground were most likely the snake's food. To carry out the Bait Plan, they had to find an empty area with no "food" in it, so the snake would keep chasing them.

As the snake grew, its speed had clearly increased, and they could no longer shake it off as easily as before.

The two soon reached an empty corner. The nearby orbs had already been eaten.

"Mm..."

A strained groan escaped someone.

Shinomiya Kaguya had probably been about to go to sleep. She wore a nightgown and a pair of dog slippers.

The slippers were hardly suited for running. In her haste, she slipped and was about to fall.

Seeing the giant snake, now almost half a person tall, closing in behind her, the Ice Sculpture Girl's pretty face quickly went pale. No one could keep a straight face in a moment like this.

Amamiya Natsuki reacted at once. He shoved the Ice Sculpture Girl out of the way and stepped back himself, just as the snake passed between them.

The nearby energy orbs had all been eaten, and the snake clearly wasn't going to let them go. After gliding a short distance, it made a sharp ninety-degree turn and headed for Amamiya Natsuki.

Hey, hey, you've picked the wrong target, haven't you?

Wouldn't a nice-smelling girl be more appetizing?

Amamiya Natsuki was about to run when he noticed the snake's body had already curled into a U-shape. He took a deep breath, forced himself to stop, and tossed the Traction Rope in his hand across the snake's body to Kaguya.

"Grab the rope. Pull me over in a moment."

"Okay..."

Shinomiya Kaguya quickly understood what Amamiya Natsuki was planning. She bit her lower lip, bent down, and gripped the Traction Rope.

The two waited tensely.

Just seven or eight seconds later, the snake came back around, heading straight for Amamiya Natsuki.

"Pull me over!" Amamiya Natsuki shouted.

The rope went taut at the other end, but the pull was clearly too weak.

Amamiya Natsuki acted at once, repeating the encouragement he'd just seen work. "Shinomiya, could you try to have a little more spirit?"

"Did you not eat or something?"

"..."

The pull on the rope suddenly grew much stronger.

Using the momentum, Amamiya Natsuki climbed over the snake's body and quickly flipped to the other side.

"Thanks." Amamiya Natsuki let out a long breath.

The encouragement really had worked. The Ice Sculpture Girl had perked up in an instant.

Thud.

The snake couldn't turn in time. It crashed straight into its own body and suddenly turned to stone.

[Game cleared]

A cold voice sounded in their minds.

The next moment,

Amamiya Natsuki's vision blurred. When he came to, he was back on the street outside his home, with an Akita sitting obediently in front of him.

"I'm back?"

Amamiya Natsuki pressed his fingers to his brow, unsure for a moment whether he was in reality or still dreaming.

A line of text appeared in his field of vision.

[You received a reward: The Truth of the World]

[You received ten Game coins]

[Game Mall unlocked]

"There's even a mall?"

Amamiya Natsuki's interest was piqued. Just as he was about to open it and take a look, a bark rang in his ears.

"Woof! Woof!"

The obedient Akita suddenly started barking toward the street ahead.

Amamiya Natsuki followed its gaze. A tired-looking office worker with a briefcase was passing by after work.

That wasn't important.

What mattered was... what was that Twisted black mist wrapped around the office worker?!

CHAPTER 3: The Girl Who Can Be Seen

A twisted black figure, faintly shaped like a woman.

A blurred body, like mist.

And blood dripping from its eye sockets, with monstrous claws trailing along the ground...

"...What the hell is that?!"

Looking at the monster clinging to the man, Amamiya Natsuki felt utterly awful.

The snake had been scary, but he could still deal with it. This thing made his sanity plummet.

"Wait—"

As Amamiya Natsuki stared, a line of text slowly appeared above the Twisted Monster's head.

[Low-level vengeful spirit]

[Status: Confused, twisted]

[Reminder: Don't let it know you can see it]

"It appeared again." Amamiya Natsuki pressed a hand over one eye and fell into thought. "Shinomiya Kaguya didn't seem able to see the text prompts in that Weird Game... Is this something only I can see?"

Amamiya Natsuki was certain.

He'd never seen a Vengeful Spirit before.

"So... is this what they mean by 'seeing the Truth of the World'?"

Vengeful spirits really existed, but ordinary people couldn't see them. Had he gained the ability to see them after clearing the game?

What a rip-off!

This wasn't a reward. It was a punishment!

At the same time,

As if sensing Amamiya Natsuki's gaze, the vengeful spirit clinging to the middle-aged office worker broke away from him. Its body twisted as it walked toward Amamiya Natsuki, one step at a time.

"Should I just turn and run?"

A bead of cold sweat ran down Amamiya Natsuki's forehead as he fought the urge to flee.

No.

He couldn't let it find out.

If he ran, he'd definitely give himself away. He had a bad feeling something terrible would happen...

Caught between his instinct to run and the strange warning, Amamiya Natsuki chose to trust the warning.

"Woof! Woof!"

The Akita tucked its tail between its legs and ran far away, barking nonstop from a distance.

You traitor! I thought dogs were supposed to be loyal! You're abandoning your owner and running away?

As they spoke, the female vengeful spirit reached Amamiya Natsuki.

"...Can you see me?"

A distorted, hollow voice that made his hair stand on end rang in his ears.

Amamiya Natsuki silently tensed his facial muscles, making sure not to reveal anything. He acted as if the twisted Vengeful Spirit in front of him wasn't there, then quickly crouched down to tie his shoelaces again.

"My shoelaces came undone."

The Twisted Monster bent down too, tilting its head as it stared at Amamiya Natsuki. Its hollow, dark eye sockets fixed on him.

"Can you... see me?"

Amamiya Natsuki kept his gaze straight ahead and continued tying his shoelaces.

Not only could he see it, he could see every last detail.

But only an idiot would admit it now!

"Can you... see me?"

The Twisted Monster kept asking.

Amamiya Natsuki kept a straight face and continued tying his shoelaces.

"Damn, I accidentally tied a knot."

Go on, keep asking. I'm not finishing these shoelaces today!

"Can't see... can't see..."

Convinced Amamiya Natsuki couldn't see it, the Twisted Monster turned and walked away in disappointment.

"Phew..."

Watching it secretly from the corner of his eye, Amamiya Natsuki finally let out a breath once it had gone a good distance away.

At last it was gone. What the hell was that thing?

A short while later,

As he walked his dog past a Convenience store, Amamiya Natsuki suddenly stopped. He saw three Twisted Monsters inside, turned around, and silently headed back the way he'd come.

"No more walk. We're going home."