Cracks spread rapidly, covering her whole body in the space of a breath. Then, with a soft shatter, she turned to fragments like a broken mirror and vanished into thin air.
Amamiya Natsuki's right hand stopped in midair. He sighed in regret.
You identified her way too quickly. You should've let me verify whether Shinomiya Kaguya really was a shameless villain first.
The person was fake, but the body was real. She had warmth, breathed, and even had a heartbeat. The imitation was nearly perfect.
From what he could tell, the fake Kaguya only vanished after being exposed. In other words, as long as nobody called out her false identity, she wouldn't disappear?
Amamiya Natsuki regretted it even more.
If only he'd known, he would've stopped Fujiwara Chika just now.
He could've threatened to expose her identity and maybe gotten himself three Kaguya wives at once: one to massage his shoulders and legs, another to do the housework like a perfect wife, and the last to go out and earn money for the family.
"Um, I heard that." Takanashi Rikka raised her hand. "The heartbeat was really clear."
"Why do they all have heartbeats?"
Fujiwara Chika was at a loss.
Using a heartbeat to tell the real Kaguya from the fakes had failed again.
"Try a different approach." Amamiya Natsuki offered a suggestion. "You could ask something only the two of you would know."
Fujiwara Chika nodded, clasped her hands in front of her chest, and asked with wide eyes:
"Kaguya-chan, when did we first meet?"
"At the middle school entrance ceremony."
Both Kaguya's answered at once.
"Correct!" Fujiwara Chika gave a thumbs-up. "Back then, Kaguya-chan wasn't good at talking to people, and everyone called her [Ice Kaguya-hime] behind her back."
As if she was good at talking to people now.
"You both got that right, so let's keep going..." Fujiwara Chika thought for a moment. "What was the first gift I gave Kaguya-chan?"
The Kaguya on the left said, "A hair clip."
The Kaguya on the right said, "It matched the hair clip in your bangs."
"You both got that right, too."
Fujiwara Chika grew serious and asked a few more questions. Both Kaguya's kept answering in perfect unison, making it impossible to tell which was real.
"Natsuki-classmate." Fujiwara Chika turned to him with a pleading look. "Quick, use your Evil Spirit Repellent and think of something."
"Sorry, I've already tried it." Amamiya Natsuki shook his head. "It didn't work at all."
In fact, Amamiya Natsuki had activated Evil Spirit Repellent earlier, when Miss Sadako climbed out of the television. For some reason, though, it had no effect on the Vengeful Spirits inside the Game instance.
"In that case, I have no choice but to bring out my secret weapon." Fujiwara Chika took a deep breath, her gaze sharpening. "You put chickens and rabbits in the same cage. There are thirty-five heads and ninety-four legs in total, so... which tastes better, spicy fried chicken or spicy rabbit heads?"
Amamiya Natsuki gave her a speechless look. "Are you serious?"
The first part was a Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage problem. It had absolutely nothing to do with the question that came after it!
Were you a fool of a farmer who raised chickens and rabbits together?
"Don't worry. Kaguya-chan will definitely know the answer." Fujiwara Chika was brimming with confidence. "Kaguya, please answer."
You Have a Bold Idea...
"Which tastes better, spicy fried chicken or spicy rabbit heads?"
Fujiwara Chika looked serious as she asked:
"Kaguya-chan, please answer."
"..."
Faced with Fujiwara Chika's question, both Kaguya's fell silent.
After a few seconds of hesitation,
the Kaguya on the left said, "Spicy rabbit heads?"
The Kaguya on the right remained silent.
The anticipation in Fujiwara Chika's eyes quickly turned to disappointment. "Kaguya-chan can't eat spicy food. Given her personality, she'd definitely say she didn't like either one."
"So..."
Fujiwara Chika took a deep breath. "Neither of you is Kaguya-chan."
Their bodies could be disguised, and their memories could be stolen, but their personalities would never change.
The disguises had been exposed.
Cracks appeared on both Kaguya's again. With a shatter, they broke apart and vanished.
The hospital room immediately fell quiet, and an eerie chill crept through it.
"Neither of them was human..." Takanashi Rikka nervously hid behind Amamiya Natsuki, looking a little scared. "Could we have gone into the wrong room?"
"No. If we'd gone into the wrong room, we wouldn't have seen three Kaguya-chan's." Fujiwara Chika shook her head, then looked up at Amamiya Natsuki. "Natsuki-classmate, you already knew they weren't Kaguya-chan, didn't you?"
Amamiya Natsuki nodded. "I did."
Shinomiya Kaguya seemed calm and unafraid, but she was actually rather timid. If she'd been alone in an eerie hospital room and had been imitated by Vengeful Spirits, she would surely have had all kinds of "Help me!" messages floating over her head as soon as she saw him and Fujiwara Chika.
But after Amamiya Natsuki entered the room, all three Kaguya's had remained calm. None of them had panicked.
It was obvious that none of them were human.
"I didn't have decisive proof just now, so I didn't say anything." Amamiya Natsuki's voice was low. "Kaguya-classmate must still be somewhere in the room. Let's look for her."
The room wasn't very large, and there wasn't much inside: just two beds, a built-in storage cabinet, and a table for miscellaneous things.
They searched the cabinet, under the beds, beneath the table, and even inside the drawers, but still couldn't find Shinomiya Kaguya.
Amamiya Natsuki's gaze finally landed on an unremarkable mirror.
It looked like an ancient vanity mirror, only about the size of a palm. Its surface was blurry, and it sat unnoticed in the corner of the table.
[After careful observation, you discover that this mirror is highly unusual]
Sorry, I really can't see what's unusual about it.
[Legend says that mirrors are entrances to another world. Realizing something is wrong, you decide to smash the mirror, only to leave your future wife lost forever in the Mirror world]
Wait.
What did it mean, future wife?
She was just an ordinary teammate. Don't make things up!
[After learning the truth, you decide to stare into the mirror for ten seconds and enter the Mirror world to rescue your future wife, all for the sake of your future title as a kept man]
And what was that about being a kept man? He had a healthy appetite. He didn't need anyone to support him.
Amamiya Natsuki hesitated for a few seconds, but in the end decided to go in himself.
Nobody knew what dangers lurked in the Mirror world. At least he could see all kinds of hints. As for Fujiwara Chika and Takanashi... somehow, he felt like neither girl was particularly smart.
Amamiya Natsuki took a deep breath, stared at the mirror, and silently counted down.
Ten.
Nine.
Eight.
When he silently counted down to one, the world before Amamiya Natsuki's eyes suddenly wavered.
"I'm in?"
Amamiya Natsuki raised his head and looked around. It didn't take long for him to confirm that he'd entered the Mirror world.
Fujiwara Chika and Takanashi were nowhere to be seen. The missing Kaguya was right in front of him.
The problem was that there wasn't just one person. There were two Kaguya's.
Both Shinomiya Kaguya's sat on the bed with their arms around their knees. At the sound of his arrival, they raised their eyes to look at him in perfect unison.
"Natsuki-classmate?"
The same voice rang out twice at once, both filled with delight. Then they stood up together and looked at each other.
The two Shinomiya Kaguya's moved in perfect synchrony, with no delay at all. It was downright eerie.
"I understand the situation." Amamiya Natsuki pressed a hand to his forehead. Of the two Kaguya's before him, one had to be real and the other fake. "Kaguya-classmate, what were the first words you said to me?"
"Amamiya-classmate, turn yourself in."
Both Kaguya's answered at once, with no delay between their voices.
"Good." Amamiya Natsuki continued asking questions. "You put chickens and rabbits in the same cage. There are thirty-five heads and ninety-four legs in total, so... which tastes better, spicy fried chicken or spicy rabbit heads?"
"I don't like either one." Both Shinomiya Kaguya's answered at the same time.
"There's one pipe that fills a swimming pool and one that drains it. The filling pipe can fill the pool in ten minutes, and the draining pipe can empty it in fifteen. If you open the drain after letting the pool fill for five minutes... what crime has the pool attendant committed?"
"Wasting water."
"..."
No matter what he asked, both Kaguya's gave the exact same answer. Their movements, expressions, and even their mannerisms were completely indistinguishable.
Amamiya Natsuki furrowed his brows and asked seriously:
"Kaguya-classmate, take out your item."
As Vengeful Spirits, they couldn't possibly have copied her Game items, too.
But both Shinomiya Kaguya's bit their lower lips. "I already tried. The item says it's sealed, so I can't take it out."
"..."
The eerie, one-hundred-percent synchrony was a little frightening, no matter how beautiful the Ice Sculpture Girl was.
Amamiya Natsuki prepared to rely on the hints, but the one that appeared before his eyes was completely useless.
[Everyone knows that a very small number of twins share a telepathic connection. Looking at the twins with their bodies in perfect synchrony, you have a bold idea... If you slap one, will they both start crying?]
That was certainly bold.
If he dared lay a hand on the Young Lady of the Shinomiya family, whether on her butt or anywhere else, he'd spend the rest of his life in prison!
Somehow, the bold idea had gone in the wrong direction, but he didn't dare say it aloud.
[After careful observation, you finally discover the difference hidden in their eyes]
"Oh?"
Amamiya Natsuki raised an eyebrow and met the gaze of the Kaguya on the right.
"Don't move. I've found a way to recognize you."
Both Kaguya's opened their eyes wide and stayed still.
Their eyes met.
Amamiya Natsuki could clearly see the misty haze in the girl's eyes. If he looked carefully, he could even see her panic and fear. Even the Ice Sculpture Girl couldn't stay calm in an eerie hospital room after being pulled into a mirror by Vengeful Spirits who copied her every word and action.
If anything, the fact that she'd held on this well was remarkable.
After a minute of eye contact,
Amamiya Natsuki looked at the other Kaguya. Their eyes met again.
They'd already made eye contact several times while doing the Interest Mission [Stare at the Sun].
As their gazes met, Amamiya Natsuki finally noticed the difference between the two Kaguya's.
"...I found you!"
Grabbing the Kaguya in front of him by her right hand, Amamiya Natsuki didn't hesitate to crash into the mirror behind him.
Crash.
The Mirror world shattered in an instant.
Before you continue