Miko's friend from the new school year seemed to have evolved into her bestie. They occasionally ran into each other on the way to school.
"Hey, hey, Miko, why have your dark circles gotten even worse?" Yurikawa Hana's attention quickly shifted to her bestie. "Staying up late is a girl's worst enemy."
"Yeah, I know..."
Yotsuya Miko yawned again.
"You're tired even though you just got up. Don't tell me you didn't sleep at all last night?"
Yurikawa Hana's eyes widened.
Yotsuya Miko used the same excuse as before. "I watched a horror movie with my little brother last night and didn't sleep well... That's all."
"Ah, I get it. Even when you know it's all fake, horror movies can still scare you so much you don't dare go to sleep."
No, you don't get it.
The Vengeful Spirits were real.
And what happened to beds being invincible?
If you lifted the covers and found a head lying inside, you'd have to be a ghost to sleep afterward!
She couldn't tell anyone about seeing Vengeful Spirits. Nobody else could see them; only she could. And there was no evidence they existed... People would either think she was going through a rebellious phase or suspect she had mental problems, right?
Today was another day of despair.
"Smack."
Yurikawa Hana raised her hand and slapped her forehead, making a sharp sound. "Oh, right. I ran out of pencils last night. Let's go to the Convenience store and buy a few!"
"Huh?"
Yotsuya Miko's eyes widened. In a moment of desperation, she came up with an idea. "I can lend you one..."
"The Convenience store is right next door. Why borrow one?" The busty blonde girl wrapped her arms around Miko's and pulled her toward the store, her voice bright and clear. "Come on, let's go. I could use some Snacks, too."
As she spoke, she turned to look at Amamiya Natsuki. "Amamiya-classmate, you can go to school ahead of us."
"...They really are besties."
Amamiya Natsuki quietly agreed, watching as Miko, tears in her eyes, was led away by her oblivious bestie.
At the entrance to the Convenience store.
A twisted Vengeful Spirit in an employee uniform bent down and looked at Miko. "Wel...come..."
After a brief moment of thought, Amamiya Natsuki activated Evil Spirit Repellent and took a few steps toward Miko, whose eyes were brimming with tears.
How could he stand by and do nothing while his Childhood Sweetheart was being bullied by an evil spirit?
He soon came within five meters.
As if scorched by flames, the Employee Spirit retreated. Its body turned to mist and quickly dissipated as it fled.
"Huh?!"
Miko's eyes widened, her face full of disbelief. "How did it... disappear?"
"Looks like... it was repelled?"
Miko suddenly turned around and saw Amamiya Natsuki standing behind her, giving her a slight nod.
"...Natsuki?"
"Come on, let's go buy stuff."
Her bestie cut Miko off and pulled the bewildered girl into the Convenience store.
Amamiya Natsuki turned and headed to school.
He soon arrived at Shuchiin Academy.
This academy... Well, those who knew, knew. No need to say more.
Amamiya Natsuki went to the shoe lockers in the corner of the first floor to change into his indoor shoes. Suddenly, he spotted a girl standing in front of the girls' lockers. She had waist-length black hair and an icy aura that radiated all around her. It was none other than his Game Team-up Card teammate from the night before, Shinomiya Kaguya.
It had been half a month since the start of their first year, and they were still classmates, but Amamiya Natsuki had never spoken to her.
The aura of "Ice Kaguya-hime" was in full force. Anyone who dared approach her would be frozen into an ice sculpture.
"Strange..."
Amamiya Natsuki quickly realized that Young Lady Kaguya was acting very strangely. Her body was rigid, frozen in the pose of opening her locker, and she stood utterly motionless like a statue.
As he watched, a line of text appeared above Shinomiya Kaguya's head a moment later.
[So scary, so scary, so scary... What should I do, what should I do, what should I do... Why is there something like this inside my shoe locker?]
Amamiya Natsuki curiously looked over and saw a Vengeful Spirit's head inside Shinomiya Kaguya's locker. A pair of red eyes stared straight at the Ice Sculpture Girl.
Noticing Amamiya Natsuki's gaze, the head shifted its eyes and stared straight at him.
"You... can see me?"
Not this line again. Were all you Vengeful Spirits broken records or something?
Amamiya Natsuki remained expressionless as he walked over to Shinomiya Kaguya and activated his Evil Spirit Repellent aura. As if scorched by flames, the head spirit in the locker twisted and shrieked, turning into black smoke and vanishing in an instant.
Cancer of the Earth Fujiwara Chika, You Are the Pig Teammate?
"Amamiya-classmate... was that you?"
Shinomiya Kaguya let out a sigh of relief and looked at Amamiya Natsuki, immediately guessing what had happened.
Amamiya Natsuki opened his locker, took out his slippers, and asked nonchalantly,
"Do I still need to turn myself in?"
"For information on turning yourself in, please consult the police station. I'm not very sure." Shinomiya Kaguya folded her arms across her chest, her voice cool and utterly devoid of emotion.
If you were going to say that, at least wipe the tears from the corners of your eyes first!
Only Amamiya Natsuki knew that Young Lady Kaguya was putting on an act.
She'd been screaming "so scary" in her head who knew how many times. This calm and collected demeanor was all a lie!
After a pause, Shinomiya Kaguya still couldn't hold back. She seemed to find it embarrassing to ask for help. Biting her lower lip, she turned her face slightly away and asked in a quiet voice,
"Amamiya-classmate... how did you repel the evil spirit just now?"
As the Young Lady of the Shinomiya family, Shinomiya Kaguya kept an exceptionally regular schedule, and had done so for over a decade. To put it simply, she had stuck to her elementary school routine all the way through high school.
At nine o'clock, she drank a glass of milk, read for half an hour, rested for half an hour, and then went to bed promptly at ten.
She had entered the game sometime after nine last night. She'd already taken a bath and was reading in her pajamas. But after she put down her book and looked up, she found herself in a strange space. Naturally, her first thought was that she'd been kidnapped. When she saw Amamiya Natsuki standing in front of her with a rope, of course she'd been extremely wary.
After clearing the game, Shinomiya Kaguya suddenly saw Vengeful Spirits all around her. Nobody else could see them, and when she'd tried to explain, even Hayasaka had teased her, "Are you telling a horror story?"
So far, Shinomiya Kaguya had tried salt, prayer, crosses, Buddhist beads, and even garlic... Unfortunately, none of them worked.
These Vengeful Spirits seemed to be creatures from another world, a despair that humans couldn't fight.
But right now, one had actually been repelled by her teammate from the previous day?
Shinomiya Kaguya made up her mind at once.
She had to learn how to repel evil spirits... even if she had to throw a sack over this guy and drag him away!
"Actually, it's pretty simple. I opened a Blind Box this morning..."
Amamiya Natsuki had no idea he'd just narrowly avoided being thrown into a sack. He casually told her about the reward from his Evil Spirit Repellent aura, leaving out the fact that he was the only one who could see the Blind Box prompts.
Amamiya Natsuki had already realized that he seemed to be the only one who could see them.
"I see... A Blind Box?"
Shinomiya Kaguya's slender brows furrowed slightly. Her voice was cool as she said, "Blind Boxes are full of uncertainty, which makes them a form of gambling. It's an unwise and foolish thing to do."
Hey, no matter how much of a rip-off a Blind Box was, at least you were guaranteed something inside. Gambling could really make you lose everything!
The next moment.
A black Blind Box the size of a fist suddenly appeared in Shinomiya Kaguya's hand.
Amamiya Natsuki's eye twitched, and he couldn't help saying,
"Who was just saying that opening a Blind Box was an unwise and foolish thing to do?!"
You'd just said that, and now you were opening one yourself. What happened to a young lady's dignity?
The tips of Shinomiya Kaguya's ears turned slightly warm.
It did feel a little embarrassing, but...
Her beauty and intelligence were the best in the academy, so surely her luck wouldn't be bad either.
If someone else could pull an Evil Spirit Repellent aura, she could too.
And even if she happened to get an Evil Spirit Blind Box, she could ask Amamiya Natsuki to exorcise whatever came out. At least she wouldn't be helpless.
"I'm heading to the classroom."
Amamiya Natsuki greeted her and prepared to leave.
Blind Boxes were a private matter. If she got something especially powerful, it would surely attract other people's attention. In a situation like this, it was only wise to leave.
"Don't go."
A hand suddenly caught the hem of Amamiya Natsuki's clothes. Shinomiya Kaguya's expression remained cool, though the tips of her ears had turned slightly red. She clearly wasn't used to asking people for help. Her lips moved, and she quietly said, struggling to get the words out, "...Wait until I've opened the Blind Box."
Amamiya Natsuki paused, quickly understood, and nodded. "I understand."
Then he took a few steps back, putting some distance between himself and Shinomiya Kaguya, while still staying within the range of his Evil Spirit Repellent aura.
"Phew..."
Shinomiya Kaguya took a deep breath and rested her fingers on the Blind Box, feeling her heartbeat quietly speed up.
This feeling... Was it anticipation?
Shinomiya Kaguya began to understand why Blind Boxes had become so popular all over the world. The excitement and anticipation were addictive.
Click.
The Blind Box opened.
A Silver-white Card appeared in Shinomiya Kaguya's hand.
Amamiya Natsuki observed silently. The sunlight was bright, and the air was calm. It probably wasn't an Evil Spirit Blind Box.
"It's not something that repels evil spirits..." Shinomiya Kaguya said, sounding disappointed. "It's a Game Card."
"A Yu-Gi-Oh! card?" Amamiya Natsuki exclaimed in shock.
Could she really be a Lucky Girl? Had she just pulled a Blue-Eyes White Dragon on her first try?
"What's Yu-Gi-Oh!?"
You didn't know Yu-Gi-Oh! or Snake. You really were a sheltered young lady who'd never played a game, weren't you?
"...It's actually a Game Team-up Card."
[Name: Game Team-up Card]
[Attribute: After use, refreshes the game cooldown and allows you to team up with someone else to participate in the game]
Looking at the card's displayed attributes, Amamiya Natsuki was at a loss for words.
So much for Blind Boxes. They really could give you anything.
But he could tell from Kaguya's expression that she clearly wasn't satisfied with this team-up card.
She wanted to open another Blind Box, but she'd already used up her Points. All she could do was sigh in frustration.
"Amamiya-classmate, thank you."
Shinomiya Kaguya quickly composed herself and bowed slightly in thanks.
"Smack!!"
A hand suddenly landed on Shinomiya Kaguya's shoulder.
A pink-haired girl with a Black Bow Hair Ornament appeared behind Kaguya. Her skin was fair, with a healthy rosy glow, and her smile was particularly radiant. The little bunnies beneath her school uniform were bouncing around, too.
"Good morning, Kaguya!" the girl chirped brightly. As she spoke, she turned to Amamiya Natsuki. "Good morning, Amamiya-classmate."
Before you continue