"Thanks for your hard work."
Amamiya Natsuki had just let out a sigh of relief when an incredulous voice reached his ears.
"...What are you two doing?!"
Chapter 32: Shinomiya Kaguya: I Want to Take Down a Hundred
Yotsuya Miko stared in shock, almost doubting her own eyes.
She had just woken up.
Her bestie was sprawled beside the bed, clothes in disarray, her face flushed and eyes brimming with tears, looking utterly wronged.
Her childhood sweetheart had his right hand on her bestie's waist, seeming as though he wanted to lean in.
At the sight, Yotsuya Miko suddenly thought of a certain genre.
NTR...
No, she was a girl, so would that make it wife NTR?
They weren't even dating, but for her childhood sweetheart and her bestie to do that sort of thing right in front of her was just too much!
"Aaah! Miko, listen to me!"
Yurikawa Hana's eyes flew wide open. Her already bright-red face grew so hot that white steam roared above her head. "The truth isn't what it looks like!"
Looking at the patch of fair skin on her bestie's chest, Yotsuya Miko's mouth twitched. She raised a hand to her forehead.
"Hana, put your clothes on first."
"I'm sorry, but my clothes are already ruined." The blonde girl's eyes grew misty with embarrassment.
At those words, Yotsuya Miko's breath caught. She silently turned to look at Amamiya Natsuki.
"It has nothing to do with me." Amamiya Natsuki quickly raised both hands to show he was innocent. "Listen, let me explain... Actually, never mind. I'll let Yurikawa-classmate explain."
A criminal suspect's defense was completely unconvincing.
"I was just..."
Yurikawa Hana covered her chest with both hands and began to explain, tears in her eyes.
Looking at the button lying in her bestie's palm, Yotsuya Miko let out a quiet breath.
With both an eyewitness and physical evidence, it seemed she really had misunderstood.
Amamiya Natsuki sighed deeply and said mournfully, "It hurts to be wronged by the person closest to you."
Yotsuya Miko's pretty face flushed slightly. "I didn't say a single thing just now."
"Your suspicious look was scarier than an interrogation."
"...Get out."
Yotsuya Miko sat upright and pointed toward the door. "Bring me the sewing kit."
"..."
Amamiya Natsuki found the sewing kit and handed it to Yotsuya Miko. Soon after, he was kicked out of the room again.
A little while later.
The two girls came downstairs.
The button on Yurikawa Hana's chest had been sewn back on. To be safe, though, the blonde bestie still covered her neckline with one hand. A lingering blush colored her pretty face as she said softly, "Goodbye, Natsuki-classmate. I'm going home."
Amamiya Natsuki nodded. "See you tomorrow."
"I'm heading home too."
Yotsuya Miko had her schoolbag in hand as well, and left with her bestie.
The night passed without incident.
The next day.
Classroom.
"Good morning, Natsuki-kun."
Fujiwara Chika carried her schoolbag over to Amamiya Natsuki.
As expected of a girl with incredible social skills, she had gone from calling him Amamiya-classmate a couple of days ago, to Natsuki-classmate, and then from Natsuki-classmate to Natsuki-kun. She said it all so naturally.
"Morning."
Amamiya Natsuki looked up at Fujiwara Chika's face and raised his eyebrows slightly. "How did you get dark circles?"
At those words, Fujiwara Chika bit her lower lip in a pitiful pout. "Last night, while I was sleeping, a super scary Vengeful Spirit suddenly came in and stood by my bed, staring at me. I tried sleeping in a different room, but it followed me there too. It was so scary I couldn't sleep at all."
Just then, Shinomiya Kaguya walked into the classroom.
"Kaguya-chan, you lied to me. The sleep mask didn't help at all." Fujiwara Chika gazed at the Ice Sculpture Girl pitifully. "That Vengeful Spirit kept staring at me. I could feel it on my skin."
"I never said the sleep mask would work one hundred percent of the time." Shinomiya Kaguya's voice was cool and composed. "I merely suggested it."
Amamiya Natsuki looked at the Ice Sculpture Girl.
She had been up all night, and the dark circles under her eyes had barely faded. She clearly hadn't gotten a good rest.
"Blind Box, Blind Box!" Fujiwara Chika clenched her fists and cheered herself on. "Before I left home this morning, I specifically watched a horoscope show. The host said my luck would be really good today."
Shinomiya Kaguya's lashes fluttered, and she remembered yesterday's Interest Mission. She couldn't help biting her lower lip.
Liar.
Horoscopes were completely unreliable!
Fujiwara Chika quickly bought today's Blind Box. When she opened it, a golden light shimmered inside, immediately catching Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya Kaguya's attention.
It was glowing gold. Could it be a Golden Legendary?
[Tenfold Critical Hit!]
[Congratulations: You have obtained one hundred Game coins.]
Amamiya Natsuki looked at Fujiwara Chika in surprise.
She'd opened a random Blind Box and gotten a tenfold critical hit. Could she be the legendary Chosen One?
From what they'd seen so far, Game coins were quite precious.
Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya Kaguya had each received ten Game coins for completing the beginner mission. They'd only gotten seventy in total for clearing Vengeful Spirit Academy. All that hard work still amounted to less than what Fujiwara Chika had gotten from a single Blind Box.
"Hmm..." Fujiwara Chika blinked. "I guess I got pretty lucky?"
"..."
Shinomiya Kaguya silently bit her lower lip.
It wasn't fair!
The horoscope host had said her luck would be great yesterday. Why had she gotten a terrible mission?
Was someone targeting her?
"Natsuki-kun, hurry and see what's in your Blind Box." Fujiwara Chika looked over expectantly.
Amamiya Natsuki answered and bought today's Blind Box from the shop.
He'd checked it when he got up that morning. The Blind Box contained an item, not a Vengeful Spirit, though he didn't know exactly what it was.
When he opened the Blind Box, he felt a slight weight in his palm.
"Eh, it's a comb?" Fujiwara Chika eyed it with curiosity.
Shinomiya Kaguya asked softly, "Just an ordinary comb?"
"Probably... not ordinary."
Amamiya Natsuki spoke with a hint of amusement and quickly showed the two girls the comb's properties.
[Item: Blood-stained Comb]
[This comb came from the Showa Era. Its previous owner was a barber who gave customers middle-part hairstyles day in and day out for thirty years. His middle-parting skills have been imprinted on the comb. As long as the target has hair, the comb can force them into a middle-part hairstyle.]
[Note: Don't go. Let me give you a middle part.]
"The age of middle-part hairstyles has passed," Fujiwara Chika couldn't help saying. "This comb is completely useless."
"I disagree. Even a piece of junk has its uses." Amamiya Natsuki spoke with utmost seriousness. "If we ever find ourselves in an extremely cold place, we can burn it for firewood."
Fujiwara Chika said, "A comb this small wouldn't be enough to burn."
"There are no special conditions for using it. You can use it anytime, anywhere." Amamiya Natsuki looked at the two girls with interest. "Want to try it out?"
"I refuse." Fujiwara Chika quickly covered her bangs and stepped back warily. "I don't want a middle part!"
"What about you, Kaguya-classmate?" Amamiya Natsuki turned to the Ice Sculpture Girl. "Want to try out a middle part?"
Shinomiya Kaguya folded her arms across her chest and smiled at him with the kindly expression one might use for a small animal. "Amamiya-classmate is so cute."
"Sorry. I take back what I said."
"..."
No one was willing to try the Middle-part comb for now. Soon, it was Shinomiya Kaguya's turn to open her Blind Box.
The Blind Box disappeared.
The girl's hands were empty.
Amamiya Natsuki raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "Kaguya-classmate, don't tell me you won another prize?"
"..."
Shinomiya Kaguya bit her lower lip, looking wronged.
[Congratulations, you have obtained an Interest Mission: Hundred Man Kill!]
Chapter 33: Skip Class, Kaguya-classmate
[Interest Mission: Hundred Man Kill]
[Mission details: It's time to show off your true strength. Defeat one hundred opponents through force before midnight today and make your fame spread far and wide.]
[Mission reward: Exclusive Bound Equipment]
[Failure penalty: Sealed hearing for twenty-four hours]
[Note: The reward is extremely precious. Don't miss this opportunity.]
[Note: Cheating is prohibited. Make sure the contest is fair and impartial. Secret collusion, bribing opponents in advance, and similar actions will render any victory invalid.]
"..."
"Kaguya-chan, are you all right?" Fujiwara Chika asked cautiously.
Apart from biting her lower lip slightly, Shinomiya Kaguya showed no sign that anything was wrong. Her expression was cool and composed, and she replied calmly, "I'm fine."
"That's good." Fujiwara Chika breathed a sigh of relief. "If I got weird missions two days in a row, I might already be crying."
You've been fooled. The Ice Sculpture Girl was just good at controlling her expressions. She looked calm on the surface, but inside she wasn't calm at all!
Amamiya Natsuki looked at Shinomiya Kaguya and clearly saw words pouring out above her head.
[Unfair, unfair, unfair, unfair...]
Why was it her again?
She felt like someone was targeting her in secret!
Before you continue