Kaguya-sama Wants Me to Surrender

"Two days in a row filled with missions... Kaguya-chan's horoscope must be in retrograde," Fujiwara Chika suggested. "Kaguya-chan, remember to watch the daily horoscope segment on NHK tomorrow morning when you go out."

I watched a horoscope program yesterday morning, and it was completely useless!

Amamiya Natsuki pondered for a moment before speaking:

"Let's discuss how to complete the mission instead."

That's the way boys think: encounter a problem, solve the problem.

"Understood." Fujiwara Chika rested her chin on her right hand and muttered, "Hundred Man Kill... it sounds a bit..."

Their eyes met.

Amamiya Natsuki and Fujiwara Chika looked away in unison.

All seasoned veterans here.

"Defeat one hundred people," Shinomiya Kaguya said, her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly as she also thought seriously. "It would be much simpler if the opponents could be bribed."

As the eldest daughter of the Shinomiya family, relying on her real-world influence was hardly shameful.

If there were no rules against cheating, achieving not just a Hundred Man Kill but even a Thousand Man Kill within a day might have been possible.

"Ah, I've got it!" Fujiwara Chika's eyes lit up. She quickly raised her right hand and said crisply, "How about rock-paper-scissors?"

"Playing rock-paper-scissors is simple and convenient, and we can complete the mission in minutes."

Free group 950180909

"That doesn't sound reliable," Amamiya Natsuki shook his head. "We can try it first and see if it meets the requirements."

"Let's duel, Kaguya-chan!"

Fujiwara Chika placed her left hand on her hip and extended her right hand towards Shinomiya Kaguya.

Shinomiya Kaguya also felt it was unreliable, but... it was just rock-paper-scissors, trying it wouldn't hurt.

Then, Shinomiya Kaguya lost five rounds in a row.

"Eh? I won again?" Fujiwara Chika blinked her eyes, her voice clear. "It seems the horoscope program was right, my luck is really good today."

Looking at Fujiwara, who proudly lifted her chin, Shinomiya Kaguya began to doubt her life.

Could her luck really be this bad?

"Let me try," Amamiya Natsuki said, looking at Kaguya and raising his right hand. "Fujiwara-classmate's luck seems to be really good today, so the best approach is to not play with her."

"..."

Shinomiya Kaguya bit her lower lip slightly and began to play rock-paper-scissors.

This time, she finally won.

"Kaguya-chan, how was it?" Fujiwara Chika asked expectantly.

Shinomiya Kaguya gently shook her head, her expression calm. "It's no use."

As expected, the rock-paper-scissors game did not meet the mission requirements.

"Let me think again..." Fujiwara Chika pondered once more. "Um, Kaguya-chan, you're so good at archery, how about participating in a Kyudo competition?"

As an all-around beautiful girl, Shinomiya Kaguya was not only excellent in her studies but also achieved outstanding results in tea ceremony, flower arrangement, dance, guzheng, aikido, naginata, and Kyudo. Among these, her Kyudo skills were the strongest, having won a national competition first prize in junior high school.

If she participated in a Kyudo duel, the probability of completing the mission would indeed be very high.

However...

"My stamina won't allow it," Shinomiya Kaguya shook her head gently.

Even as an all-around beautiful girl, Shinomiya Kaguya had her weaknesses. For example, stamina. As a young lady, she had too many things to learn daily and no time for running and jumping to exercise. Therefore, Shinomiya Kaguya's basic stamina was even lower than that of an ordinary girl.

In a game, she would probably be like a glass cannon, with high attack but low health, easily defeated.

Shinomiya Kaguya had already considered the possibility of a Kyudo duel.

She was confident in achieving a Hundred Man Kill, but not within a day; her arms would give out halfway through.

In fact, she had considered all duels related to sports, but her severe lack of stamina forced her to reject them all.

"How about playing Shogi?" Fujiwara Chika suggested again. "Kaguya-chan is super smart, and she's really good at both Shogi and Go. She should be able to achieve a Hundred Man Kill within a day, right?"

"The mission requires demonstrating martial prowess. Playing chess should be an intellectual game," Amamiya Natsuki mused. "Regardless, we won't know until we try."

"I remember there's Shogi in the Game Club's drawers," Fujiwara Chika quickly said. "Shall we go and verify it now?"

"Okay."

The three of them went to the Game Club.

Fujiwara Chika found the Shogi set, and she and Shinomiya Kaguya began to play.

In less than ten minutes, the game was over, with Fujiwara Chika utterly defeated.

"It's still no good," Shinomiya Kaguya's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"I can't think of any more ideas," Fujiwara Chika slumped onto the table listlessly.

Amamiya Natsuki spoke with deliberation:

"I've thought of a way, it might work."

"Eh, what way?" Fujiwara Chika quickly sat up straight. "Natsuki-kun, hurry and tell us."

"Have you guys ever played arcade fighting games?" Amamiya Natsuki asked.

"I've heard of them, but never played," Fujiwara Chika shook her head.

Shinomiya Kaguya crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I haven't played either."

Fine, I should have expected this.

Shinomiya Kaguya is a proper young lady, and while Fujiwara is a bit airheaded, her upbringing is also excellent. It's clear neither of them would have any experience with arcade fighting games.

"It's fine if you've only heard of them. The point is, it's a fighting game played on an arcade machine," Amamiya Natsuki continued. "It's a one-on-one fair match, a test of combat prowess. It might satisfy the mission's conditions."

"We won't know if it works until we try."

"There's a game center on my way to school. I suggest we go verify it right now," Amamiya Natsuki finished his sentence. "If it doesn't meet the mission's conditions, we'll think of something else."

"That sounds pretty good!" Fujiwara Chika quickly cast her vote of approval. "Let's skip class, Kaguya-chan!"

"We don't need to skip class," Amamiya Natsuki retorted. "There's still some time before class starts. If we walk a bit faster, we won't be late."

Shinomiya Kaguya pondered for two seconds, then nodded gently.

"Let's go, to the game center."

Chapter 34: Punching South Mountain Kindergarten

No sooner said than done.

The three of them left the classroom together and headed towards the school gate.

The students they encountered on the way were all entering the school, while only Amamiya Natsuki and the two girls were walking against the flow out of school. It was inevitable that they would attract curious glances.

"Ah, it feels like we're skipping class, this is kind of exciting."

Fujiwara Chika looked around. Her steps were light, her eyes sparkling, like a young deer about to leave the zoo and run into the forest.

What's so exciting about this?

If you don't wear panties to school tomorrow, that would be truly exciting!

"Kaguya-chan, have you ever skipped class?" Fujiwara Chika looked at her friend beside her.

"No."

Shinomiya Kaguya had calmed down. She clasped her hands together on her stomach, her walking posture exceptionally elegant.

Her [Ice Kaguya-hime] aura was fully unleashed. Wherever she went, everyone gave way, no one daring to approach.

"Eh, I heard that a school life without skipping class is an incomplete life."

Shinomiya Kaguya's tone was cool. "Did you skip class, Fujiwara-classmate?"

"Hmph hmph hmph." Fujiwara Chika put her hands on her hips. Hearing this, she proudly lifted her chin. "I skipped one gym class. It was last summer, the gym teacher made us run on the sports field. It was too hot, so I only ran one lap and hid in a corner."

Shinomiya Kaguya looked at her friend beside her, a smile of concern for a small animal appearing on her face.

"Fujiwara-classmate is very cute~"

Amamiya Natsuki nodded in agreement, then silently put some distance between himself and the two girls.

Scientific research shows that silliness is contagious.

Spending too much time with idiots doesn't turn them smart; instead, there's a high chance you'll be assimilated into idiocy.

"Natsuki-classmate, why are you walking so far away from us?"

Fujiwara Chika quickly noticed Amamiya Natsuki trying to distance himself and asked.

"Because Fujiwara-classmate is too popular."

"Eh?"

Amamiya Natsuki's tone was melancholic. "If I walk with Fujiwara-classmate, I'll immediately be photographed and end up on the front page of a tabloid. After school, I'll be cornered in an alley by boys who have a crush on Fujiwara-classmate, and end up in the hospital with a broken bone. That's why I need to keep my distance."

"That's too exaggerated!"

"……"

The three of them soon walked out of the academy.

Ten minutes later.

Amamiya Natsuki brought the two girls to a game center and stopped, saying, "This is it."

Japan is the birthplace of arcade games.

In the 1980s and 1990s, arcade games exploded in popularity from Japan to the rest of the world. Unfortunately, with technological advancements, the glory of arcade games rapidly declined. Now, they are on their last legs, about to be swept into the history museum.

However, in Japan, the arcade game industry hasn't completely died out. Although it's also on the decline, it still has a large player base.

"The game center is on the second floor."

Amamiya Natsuki pointed to the staircase next to them and led Fujiwara and Kaguya upstairs.

As they walked to the second floor and turned the corner, they were met with a wall covered in various game posters, a dizzying array of titles, with everything imaginable. To the left and right were many claw machines and gachapon machines.

"It's surprisingly clean," Fujiwara Chika observed curiously, looking around. "I thought it would be crowded, dark, and scary like a dingy room."

That's just your stereotype. The game industry is part of the service sector, and cleanliness is a basic requirement. No customers would come to a dirty, messy, and dark room.

Because it was still early, there were few players in the game center, and it was quite quiet.

Passing by a game area, Fujiwara Chika's eyes suddenly lit up. She looked at a girl wearing a headset and holding a controller. On the large screen in front of the girl was the gameplay of a treasure-hunting game. She asked curiously:

"Hey, hey, what game is that?"

"It's the VR game experience area," Amamiya Natsuki looked over. "The equipment in the game center is much better than home VR, the experience is quite good."

"I want to play."

Fujiwara Chika clasped her hands in front of her chest, her eyes sparkling.

"We'll talk about it when we have time," Amamiya Natsuki led the two girls to an arcade machine and turned it on. "There are many types of games here: adventure, racing, card, music, Taiko no Tatsujin, and so on... Our goal is fighting games."

The machine successfully started, displaying the classic screen of Street Fighter 4.

"To be safe, it's best for both of you to choose the same character," Amamiya Natsuki explained the basic button functions and controls again, then stood up and moved the stool aside. "You two try it."

Shinomiya Kaguya and Fujiwara Chika sat down on either side.

"You can insert coins now," Amamiya Natsuki reminded them.

"Insert what?"

"There are coin slots by your legs. Insert coins in there, a hundred yen."

"Oh."

Fujiwara Chika looked down and started searching. "Hey, hey, where's my wallet?"

Shinomiya Kaguya said speechlessly, "You left it in your school bag, didn't you?"