Kaguya, Please Answer

When did I become your apprentice? How come I didn't know?

"You've beaten her so many times. If word gets out, where will that leave my pride?" Amamiya Natsuki interlaced his fingers. "So I'm going to win it back."

"So it was just about your pride." Fujiwara Chika couldn't help shouting, "Give me back that touching moment!"

"Foolish humans." The Evil Spirit Girl sneered, sat down by the card table, and licked her lips. "You'll regret your decision."

"I'm going to the bathroom first."

It took barely a minute before Amamiya Natsuki came back out.

"Human, can we begin now?" the Evil Spirit Girl urged impatiently.

"We can." Amamiya Natsuki nodded and was about to sit down.

"Wait." Fujiwara Chika pulled him aside, rose onto her tiptoes, and leaned close to his ear. Her voice was tinged with worry. "You shouldn't let your temper get the better of you. If you lose, you won't be able to control your body."

"Don't worry," Amamiya Natsuki murmured. "I cheated."

"Huh?!"

"..."

Amamiya Natsuki soon crossed over and sat down opposite her at the card table.

Fujiwara Chika and Takanashi Rikka knelt nearby, watching nervously.

A deck had fifty-four cards. They removed one Joker, leaving the other behind, and after a quick shuffle, the game began.

There was no need to explain the rules of Old Maid. The two players took turns drawing cards and discarding pairs. They moved quickly, and in the blink of an eye, they were down to the final showdown.

"Human, you've already lost." The Evil Spirit Girl grinned viciously. Unlike when she'd toyed with Chika, she didn't play around. She simply drew a card from Amamiya Natsuki's hand. "This table has a special ability. As long as one of us refuses to end the game, it'll go on forever. Let's see how many clothes you have."

"Check the card you drew before you start talking," Amamiya Natsuki reminded her.

The Evil Spirit Girl looked down, and her eyes flew wide. "...H-how is this possible?!"

The card she'd drawn was the Joker.

"You lost." Amamiya Natsuki tossed his remaining pair onto the table. "Now honor our bet."

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"Huh? How did you win?" Fujiwara Chika stared at him in disbelief.

Amamiya Natsuki's voice was low and mysterious. "When I traveled through Sky Province, many people called me the God of Gamblers. I only had to end my travels after I took an arrow to the knee."

"That's amazing!"

Takanashi Rikka's eyes had turned into stars. She looked utterly awestruck.

The Evil Spirit Girl looked down at herself, hesitating.

For the game, she was dressed as Harley Quinn: brightly colored twin tails, heavy smoky makeup, a crop top that exposed her midriff, and extremely short denim shorts. Her outfit was quite revealing.

"Here."

The Evil Spirit Girl handed over her bloodstained baseball bat.

Amamiya Natsuki took the prop. "The game continues."

A moment later.

The Evil Spirit Girl lost again and flew into a helpless rage. "Impossible! How could you beat me?!"

"A loss is a loss." Amamiya Natsuki remained unmoved. "It's a game. You can't expect to win every time."

"..."

The minute allowed by the rules soon ran out. As she questioned her whole existence, the Evil Spirit Girl could only take off her shirt against her will.

Amamiya Natsuki was disappointed.

She was an evil spirit, and yet she was still wearing underwear. Poor form.

"Again! I refuse to believe I'll lose again!"

The Evil Spirit Girl covered her chest and challenged him again.

"Um, do evil spirits get embarrassed too?" Fujiwara Chika asked curiously.

"Of course not."

"Then please don't cover yourself while you say that."

"..."

The game continued.

The Evil Spirit Girl lost again. This time, she had to take off her denim shorts. In the blink of an eye, she was just like Fujiwara Chika, left with only her last sacred relic.

"Impossible!"

The Evil Spirit Girl's chest heaved. She still couldn't accept that she'd lost. "Human, you must have cheated."

"Cheating with skill is fine as long as you don't get caught." Amamiya Natsuki wasn't worried in the slightest. "Tell me how I cheated."

"...Human, I'll remember you!"

The Evil Spirit Girl vanished, turning into a card that drifted down from the air.

"What's this?"

Amamiya Natsuki took it curiously and found it was a Summon Card. It could summon the Harley Quinn evil spirit from before to help in battle, but only once... She'd lost herself outright.

The cheating was actually quite simple. The bat specimen on the wall wasn't an ordinary object; it was part of the evil spirit and could spy on them from the wall. That was why Fujiwara Chika had kept losing.

As everyone knew, bats had poor eyesight. Once Amamiya Natsuki realized its weakness, he went to the bathroom and made a simple adjustment to his thumb, then used the situation to his advantage. He'd nearly won her panties too.

"The hallway's brighter," Fujiwara Chika exclaimed. "Quick, let's go! We're going to find Kaguya-chan."

The three of them went into the hallway and knocked on the door of the room next door.

"Kaguya-chan, we're here to see you... Huh?!"

Fujiwara Chika was the first to enter. Her eyes widened almost immediately. "Why are there three Kaguya-chans?"

Amamiya Natsuki stopped in his tracks, surprised to find that there really were three Shinomiya Kaguyas in the room. Their clothes, faces, and even their expressions were exactly the same.

One Shinomiya Kaguya had a pale face. "I've been copied."

A second Shinomiya Kaguya said, "They're both fakes."

The third Shinomiya Kaguya said, "Another one appears every so often. Those two are both fakes."

Not only could it imitate someone, it could make endless copies?

As soon as Amamiya Natsuki heard that, he wanted to pull Fujiwara Chika away and leave.

He could let Shinomiya Kaguya keep copying herself for a while. Once there were five hundred Kaguyas, he could send them to a construction site to haul bricks. They'd earn enough for a house in half a month!

Chapter 42: Kaguya, Please Answer

"One, two, three..." Fujiwara Chika's eyes widened. She hurriedly nudged Amamiya Natsuki beside her. "Look! There are three whole Kaguya-chans!"

"I see them," Amamiya Natsuki replied with a nod.

Three Kaguyas were manageable. Now, one and a half Shinomiya Kaguyas—that would be terrifying!

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They entered the hospital room.

The Shinomiya Kaguya on the left said, "I'm the real one."

The Shinomiya Kaguya in the middle said, "She's the fake."

The Shinomiya Kaguya on the right said, "They're both lying."

"Don't worry, Kaguya-chan." Fujiwara Chika clenched both fists, her expression serious. "I'll definitely figure out which one you are."

"I hope they're all real Kaguya-classmates." Amamiya Natsuki's gaze traveled across the three Kaguyas, and he sighed. "Kaguya-classmate is a super genius. If we gathered five hundred Shinomiya Kaguyas, human society could advance five hundred years in no time."

"That makes sense..." Fujiwara Chika nodded reflexively, then quickly came to her senses. "No, it doesn't!"

"The monster must be imitating Kaguya-chan for a reason." Fujiwara Chika couldn't help shouting. "I once saw a movie where aliens copied everything the heroine did and eventually replaced her completely... Kaguya-chan must be in terrible danger. We have to save her!"

"Yes, yes."

"..."

"How can we tell who's who..."

Fujiwara Chika raised both hands and pressed a finger to each temple, entering deep thought.

"Um, I have a suggestion," Takanashi Rikka offered softly. "Vengeful spirits shouldn't have body heat, right?"

"That makes sense." Fujiwara Chika's eyes lit up. "Natsuki-classmate, Takanashi, let's check them together and see who has no body heat."

Three on three.

There were exactly three Kaguyas, so each of them could check one.

Amamiya Natsuki walked up to the Shinomiya Kaguya in the middle.

Her height, hairstyle, face, clothes, and even her cool expression were all identical. There was no way to tell them apart just by looking. They were like triplets made from the same mold.

"Kaguya-classmate, hold out your hand," Amamiya Natsuki said.

"Mm."

Shinomiya Kaguya remained cool and composed, calmly holding out her left hand.

Amamiya Natsuki gently took it. A faint warmth passed between them. Her skin was soft and smooth, like the finest white jade.

There was no denying that the Ice Sculpture Girl's hands were beautiful. Her skin was snowy white, and her fingers slender and delicate. She wore no nail polish, only a healthy, rosy hue that looked positively delicious.

Amamiya Natsuki openly squeezed her hand once. It felt soft and warm, with a pleasant springiness that made it hard to let go.

One more squeeze.

He really couldn't stop.

"She has body heat," Fujiwara Chika was the first to announce. "This is the real Kaguya-chan."

Takanashi Rikka followed. "I can feel it too."

Amamiya Natsuki spoke last. "Me too. I have the same problem."

"Huh?" Fujiwara Chika stared at them in confusion. "They all have body heat. Does that mean they're all real Kaguya-chans?"

"Obviously not." Amamiya Natsuki was calm. "The truth is that two of them can imitate body heat."

Takanashi Rikka's ahoge swayed as she suggested, "We could test their breathing next."

"Good idea."

A moment later.

"Ahhh, they all breathe too!" Fujiwara Chika clutched her chest and bit her lower lip in frustration. "Let's check their heartbeats. Surely they can't imitate that too?"

"Kaguya-chan, don't move. Let me check your heartbeat."

As she spoke, Fujiwara Chika reached out with her right hand and pressed it against Shinomiya Kaguya's chest.

She was checking someone's heartbeat like that?

Amamiya Natsuki perked up. Well, now he was wide awake.

Word on the street was that because Shinomiya Kaguya was too smart, God had taken away her bust. Though she was in high school, her breasts were elementary-school-sized, as flat as Vittorio Veneto's. In winter, she didn't even need to wear a bra.

Today, he'd see for himself whether Shinomiya Kaguya really was a vicious little flat-chested demon!

"Kaguya-classmate, I'm sorry."

Amamiya Natsuki looked serious as he reached out with his right hand toward Shinomiya Kaguya.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch her skin, Fujiwara Chika suddenly spoke.

"You're the fake Kaguya-chan!" Fujiwara Chika pointed at her, her voice firm and without the slightest hesitation. "Kaguya is a girl. Why would she let a boy put his hand on her chest to check her heartbeat? You can't possibly be Kaguya-chan!"

"..."

The Kaguya in front of Amamiya Natsuki opened her mouth, and fine cracks suddenly appeared across her face.