Kaguya-sama Wants Me to Surrender

The cracks spread rapidly, covering the entire body in the blink of an eye, then with a light 'crack,' they shattered like broken glass, and the person vanished into thin air.

Amamiya Natsuki's right hand stopped in mid-air, and he sighed with regret.

You identified them too quickly. I wanted to verify if Shinomiya Kaguya was truly a villain.

The person was fake, but the body was real, warm, breathing, and even had a heartbeat. The imitation was quite perfect.

So, the fake Kaguya only disappears after being exposed. In other words, as long as I don't expose their false identity, they'll never disappear?

Amamiya Natsuki regretted it even more.

If I had known, I should have stopped Fujiwara Chika earlier.

I could have threatened her with not exposing her identity, and maybe I could have gotten three Kaguya wives at once: one to give massages, another for housework, and the last one to go out and earn money.

"Um, I heard that," Takanashi Rikka raised her hand. "The heartbeat was very clear."

"Why do they all have heartbeats?"

Fujiwara Chika was troubled.

Using heartbeats to distinguish the real Kaguya from the fake had failed again.

"Let's try a different approach," Amamiya Natsuki suggested. "You can ask about something only the two of you would know."

Fujiwara Chika nodded, clasped her hands in front of her chest, and widened her eyes as she asked:

"Kaguya-chan, when did we first meet?"

"At the middle school entrance ceremony."

Both Kaguya's answered at the same time.

"Correct answer." Fujiwara Chika gave a thumbs-up. "The Kaguya-chan back then wasn't good at interacting with people and was privately called 'Ice Kaguya-hime' by everyone."

Forget the past, she's still not good at interacting with people now.

"You all answered correctly, so let's continue asking..." Fujiwara Chika thought for a moment and said, "What was the first gift I gave Kaguya-chan?"

The Kaguya on the left: "It was a hairpin."

The Kaguya on the right: "It matched the hairpin on your bangs."

"They answered correctly again."

Fujiwara Chika's expression became serious. She asked a few more questions, and both Kaguya's answered simultaneously, making it impossible to tell them apart.

"Natsuki-classmate," Fujiwara Chika turned her head, her eyes pleading for help. "Please use your Evil Spirit Repellent to think of a solution."

"I'm sorry, I already tried," Amamiya Natsuki shook his head. "It was completely useless."

In fact, when Miss Sadako climbed out of the TV before, Amamiya Natsuki had activated Evil Spirit Repellent, but for some reason, it didn't work on the vengeful spirits in the game instance.

"If that's the case, I'll have to use my trump card." Fujiwara Chika took a deep breath, her gaze sharpening. "If you put chickens and rabbits in the same cage, there are a total of thirty-five heads, and ninety-four legs below. So... which is tastier, spicy chicken or spicy rabbit head?"

Amamiya Natsuki looked at her speechlessly. "Are you serious?"

The first part was a Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage problem, and it had nothing to do with your question!

Are you just a foolish farmer who keeps chickens and rabbits together?

"Don't worry, if it's Kaguya-chan, she'll definitely be able to answer it," Fujiwara Chika said with full confidence. "Kaguya, please answer."

Chapter 43: You've Given Birth to a Bold Idea...

"Spicy chicken and spicy rabbit head, which is tastier?"

Fujiwara Chika's expression was serious as she asked earnestly:

"Kaguya-chan, please answer."

"..."

Facing Fujiwara Chika's question, both Kaguya's fell silent.

After a few seconds of hesitation.

The Kaguya on the left spoke, "Spicy rabbit head?"

The Kaguya on the right remained silent, not saying anything.

The hope in Fujiwara Chika's eyes quickly turned to disappointment. "Kaguya-chan can't eat spicy food. Whether it's spicy chicken or spicy rabbit head, with Kaguya-chan's personality, she would definitely say she dislikes both."

"So..."

Fujiwara Chika took a deep breath. "Neither of you is Kaguya-chan."

Bodies can be faked, memories can be stolen, but personality never changes.

The disguise had been seen through.

Cracks appeared on the bodies of both Kaguya's again, and they shattered with a 'crack' and disappeared.

The hospital room suddenly became quiet, and a chilling atmosphere quietly spread.

"They weren't human at all..." Takanashi Rikka nervously hid behind Amamiya Natsuki, a little scared. "Did we enter the wrong room?"

"No, if we entered the wrong room, we wouldn't have seen three Kaguya-chans," Fujiwara Chika shook her head and looked up at Amamiya Natsuki. "Natsuki-classmate, you realized they weren't Kaguya-chan a long time ago, didn't you?"

Amamiya Natsuki nodded upon hearing this. "I found something."

Shinomiya Kaguya appeared calm and collected, as if fearless, but she was actually quite timid. Alone in a creepy hospital room, and being imitated by a vengeful spirit, she must have been screaming "Help!" internally the moment she saw him and Fujiwara Chika.

However, when Amamiya Natsuki entered the room, all three Kaguya-samas remained surprisingly calm. None of them panicked.

It was obvious none of them were human.

"I didn't have conclusive evidence earlier, so I didn't say anything," Amamiya Natsuki said gravely. "Kaguya-classmate must still be in the room. Let's search for her."

The room wasn't large and contained little: two hospital beds, a built-in cabinet, and a table for miscellaneous items.

They searched the cabinet, under the beds, under the table, and even the drawers, but still found no sign of Shinomiya Kaguya.

Amamiya Natsuki's gaze finally fell upon an ordinary-looking mirror.

It resembled an ancient dressing table mirror, only palm-sized. The surface was blurry, and it sat in a corner of the table, unremarkable.

[After careful observation, you discover this mirror is quite unusual.]

Sorry, I really can't see anything unusual about it.

[Legend has it that mirrors are portals to another world. Sensing danger, you decide to smash the mirror, resulting in your future wife being lost forever in the mirror world.]

Wait.

What does "future wife" mean?

She's just a normal teammate, don't say such things!

[Upon learning the truth, in order to secure your future title as a kept man, you decide to stare into the mirror for ten seconds, entering the mirror world to rescue your future wife.]

What's this about being a kept man? I have a good appetite, I don't need to rely on anyone.

Amamiya Natsuki hesitated for a few seconds before deciding to enter himself.

No one knew the dangers of the mirror world. At least he could see hints. As for Fujiwara Chika and Takanashi... he felt the intelligence of those two girls wasn't very high.

Amamiya Natsuki took a deep breath, gazed at the mirror, and silently counted down in his mind.

Ten.

Nine.

Eight.

As he reached one, the world before Amamiya Natsuki's eyes suddenly blurred for a moment.

"I'm in?"

Amamiya Natsuki looked up and surveyed his surroundings, quickly confirming he had entered the mirror world.

Fujiwara Chika and Takanashi were nowhere to be seen. The lost Kaguya appeared before him.

The problem wasn't one person, but two Kaguya-samas.

Two Shinomiya Kaguya-s sat on the bed, hugging their knees. Upon hearing the noise, they both looked up.

"Natsuki-classmate?"

Identical voices rang out simultaneously, both filled with surprise. They then stood up together and looked at each other.

The actions of the two Shinomiya Kaguya-s were identical, with a 100% synchronization rate and no delay, making them appear quite eerie.

"I understand the situation," Amamiya Natsuki said, pressing his temples. One of these two Kaguya-s must be fake. "Kaguya-classmate, what was the first thing you said to me?"

"Amamiya-classmate, surrender."

Both Kaguya-s answered simultaneously, their voices showing no delay.

"Very well," Amamiya Natsuki continued his questioning. "If you put chickens and rabbits in a cage, there are a total of thirty-five heads and ninety-four legs below. So... which is tastier, spicy chicken or spicy rabbit heads?"

"I don't like either." Both Shinomiya Kaguya-s said at the same time.

"A swimming pool has one inlet pipe and one outlet pipe. The inlet pipe can fill the pool in ten minutes, and the outlet pipe can empty it in fifteen minutes. If the inlet pipe runs for five minutes, and then both the inlet and outlet pipes are opened... what crime did the pool manager commit?"

"Wasting water resources."

"..."

No matter the question, the answers from the two Kaguya-s were identical. Their actions, expressions, and demeanor were also indistinguishable.

Amamiya Natsuki frowned slightly and said seriously:

"Kaguya-classmate, take out your items."

As vengeful spirits, they couldn't possibly copy game items as well.

As a result, both Shinomiya Kaguya-s bit their lower lips. "I already tried. The items show as sealed and cannot be taken out."

"..."

Despite the eerie 100% synchronization, and even if the Ice Sculpture Girl was beautiful, it was still somewhat terrifying.

Amamiya Natsuki prepared to rely on the hints, but the hints that appeared before him were unreliable.

[As is well known, a very small number of twins possess telepathy. Looking at the twins whose bodies are 100% synchronized, you have a bold idea... if you slap one, will the other cry too?]

It was indeed a bold idea.

Daring to lay a hand on the Shinomiya family's eldest daughter, whether it be her backside or any other part, would land you in prison for the rest of your life!

I have a feeling I'm heading in the wrong direction with my boldness, but I don't dare say it.

[Through careful observation, you finally discover the difference hidden within their eyes]

"Hm?"

Amamiya Natsuki raised an eyebrow slightly and met the gaze of Kaguya on his right.

"Don't move, I've found a way to identify you."

Both Kaguyas widened their eyes and remained still.

Their eyes met.

Amamiya Natsuki could clearly see the hazy mist in the girl's eyes. Looking closely, he could also see panic and fear. Even an Ice Sculpture Girl, trapped in a creepy, eerie hospital room, pulled into a mirror by a vengeful spirit, with every word and action being imitated, couldn't remain calm.

If anything, her current composure was already exceptionally strong.

They stared at each other for a minute.

Amamiya Natsuki looked at the other Kaguya again, their eyes meeting once more.

During the Interest Mission [Stare at the Sun], the two of them had already stared at each other many times.

Their gazes met, and Amamiya Natsuki finally discovered the difference between the two Kaguyas.

"...Found you!"

He grabbed the right hand of the Kaguya in front of him and, without hesitation, smashed it against the mirror behind him.

Crash.

The mirror world before them suddenly shattered.