The Person Who Shouldn't Have Come / The Meeting and the Haunted House

"Doesn't this prove that the haunted house is really great? Maybe we have a natural talent for scaring people."

"Then you should praise Yotsuya-kun. Her acting is really good. I could see it clearly. It was because she was leaning against that boy that she scared him."

"Yes, yes, that person even brought a cell phone in, which almost ruined the atmosphere of the haunted house."

The girls chattered excitedly, with a sense of relief as if they had just escaped death, discussing what had just happened.

Yurikawa Hana, who was acting as a receptionist, then realized that she seemed to have forgotten to tell the tourists not to bring their mobile phones into the haunted house, and belatedly slapped her forehead.

"Oh dear, I forgot!"

"That's something you would do, isn't it?"

Yotsuya Miko smiled, not paying much attention.

"Well, the haunted house still managed to scare someone. Even if there was only one visitor today, we've still achieved our goal. After all, haunted houses are meant to scare people, and this is already quite good."

"Too."

Hua muttered something, then looked at Miko, who hadn't had time to change her clothes, and leaned a little closer to ask her about her doubts.

"Miko, did you use your power on that person just now?"

She had also seen the final product of the Ghosts and didn't think her own haunted house would be that scary. Seeing someone get frightened, she naturally assumed that Yotsuya Miko had used her powers, otherwise why would that person be so scared?

"It is used, but..."

Miko nodded, but his face showed a helpless expression.

"I simply made those obviously fake decorations look fake in a way that was indistinguishable, and slightly altered the atmosphere."

That's the truth. All she did was create a sensory illusion in the classroom, making it seem large and eerie. She didn't do anything like creating Ghosts illusions to make others more afraid, because that would be cheating.

What she did was simply to narrow the gap between this haunted house and professional haunted houses, preventing it from being too inferior.

As for that young man... he probably didn't have that kind of guts, did he?

Yotsuya Miko realized that when she finally reached behind him, she was simply following his misconceptions and delivering a classic back-turn kill.

That was indeed her shadow. Just as the young man was about to turn around to look for her, she followed his movement and appeared behind him again. This was easy to do. When the young man used his phone as a light, he was holding it in his right hand. So, he turned to the right, because that way the phone's light would shine behind him first. Therefore, she only needed to move to his left side behind him as he turned.

As for the shadow... that can be achieved with another light source. A slight shift in position won't matter, since no one will notice it in this situation anyway. The light from the young man's phone extends in front, with only a small portion overlapping with the light behind him, so the shadow's position won't move; at most, it will be fainter.

Chapter 288 The Person Who Shouldn't Have Arrived

Despite such a terrible start, by the time Miko and her group returned to the classroom, many tourists had already come to visit.

They quickly learned what had happened in the class and became interested in the students' haunted house.

That's just how people are; they're always exceptionally curious about certain things.

Driven by this curiosity, they also had the courage to try it out and experience it for themselves.

So the young man's story didn't make the haunted house project quiet; on the contrary, it made it lively.

Hua greets the tourists, and the first thing they usually say is, "I heard your haunted house scared someone?"

She could only smile wryly at such questions, reiterated the precautions for haunted houses, and finally began to collect the tourists' phones, putting them into a drawer that had been prepared beforehand.

The haunted house has officially begun operations.

Having learned from past mistakes, tourists were more cautious about haunted houses, and the students, especially Yotsuya Miko, who had just been educated, didn't dare to do anything too outrageous, and simply followed the procedure to scare the tourists normally.

Of course, the hallucinations she created in the classroom were still in effect. These hallucinations added enough atmosphere to the haunted house that many tourists, while not as terrified as the first young man, still felt a deep thrill and screamed continuously.

Hearing the screams of the tourists who went in, and seeing them emerge from the classroom with slightly flushed faces and a hint of relief, collecting their phones, stamps, and personal belongings at the reception desk, the tourists still in line felt that their trip was worthwhile.

After their thrilling haunted house adventure, the tourists relaxed by participating in other activities in other classrooms. Compared to Miko's haunted house Miko, the other students' activities were much more peaceful and normal.

Some students run maid cafes, some run arcades, and some run card and board game rooms; they are all different.

Among these people, the most famous is the café in Yuria's class, after all, it's not even in the same league.

With its professional decor, skilled technicians, and expert cuisine, this pure café stands out among student projects, rivaled only by haunted houses. However, haunted houses inevitably filter out some visitors and aren't as popular as cafés. Furthermore, haunted houses have visitor limits, while cafés offer plenty of seating.

The tourists were pleasantly surprised to find that such high-quality coffee was made by students, despite the students' attentive service. Among them were some discerning tourists who, observing the coffee-making skills and recognizing the brands, felt a pang of guilt for getting a free meal. After all, such a high-end coffee shop would be incredibly expensive to operate; one tourist even dared to guarantee that the coffee they consumed cost more than half a normal person's monthly salary.

Are these students... really okay?

He considered it, but after thinking it over, he calmly started to get the coffee for free, just like the other tourists, finishing only one cup before leaving. He didn't try to be shameless and insist on getting seven or eight cups before leaving.

As for those who don't know much about coffee, they wouldn't find it strange at all. They were simply impressed by how well the students made the coffee, and by the students' service attitude. Some even asked where the students bought their coffee ingredients, as they were planning to buy some to take home.

Faced with such a tourist, the student who greeted him simply smiled and politely indicated that he didn't know where the coffee was bought either. This tourist clearly didn't have much of an awareness of pricing.

Welcome!

The café had a great atmosphere, but the group of tourists only stayed for about ten minutes before leaving after finishing their coffee. They knew there were many other tourists waiting to meet them.

The staff were busy greeting visitors entering the café and checking for available seats so that those in line could be seated.

Are you with your wife?

"... Yes."

Standing in front of the receptionist, the man in the top hat answered after a moment of silence. His gaze swept over the receptionist, then over the scene in the café, his eyes quickly scanning each student.

Then, somewhat disappointed, he handed over his stamp paper.

"Your coffee shop... looks great."

"We are honored to receive your praise, and we hope you and your wife have a wonderful experience."

"Um."

The man responded and was about to enter the coffee shop when he hesitated and looked at the receptionist, expressing his confusion.

"Um... do you have a student named Futamido Yuria in your class?"

The receptionist's smile faded.

"What brings you here, Nibutang?"

This was a difficult question to answer, the man thought. He looked at his wife beside him, who didn't say much, but simply held his arm tightly.

To be honest, he was probably an irresponsible father.

"I..."

Yuria, who was leading Yotsuya Touko and Hana's mother, suddenly looked up at the school building and gazed at her classroom.

Although she wasn't assigned any work, she still wanted to know the current state of the coffee shop, since it was an event organized by her class.

"What's wrong, Yuria?"

"Hmm... it's nothing, I was just thinking about my classmates, wondering how their businesses are doing."

Yuria shook her head.

"Let's continue exploring. There was a little mishap earlier; apparently, someone was frightened in the haunted house where Miko and Hana were. It's best not to go there now. I'll go ask Miko how things went later."

The young man's scream was so loud that it could be faintly heard outside the school building. Yotsuya Touko nodded, understanding the approach. However, after looking at Yuria and exchanging a glance with Mrs. Yurikawa, she made up her mind.

"Yuria, your class is in a coffee shop, right?"

"Yes, the coffee shop is well-staffed right now, so I don't need to help."

"Since it's a coffee shop, I'd like to have something to drink and relax for a bit."

Mrs. Yurikawa suddenly sighed.

"To be honest, I think I'm a little tired. That's one of the downsides of getting old; I can't compare to a kid like Kyosuke."

"Mrs. Yurikawa, why don't we take a break while we have our coffee?"

Yotsuya Touko spoke, she looked at Yuria standing to the side.

"Hearing Mrs. Yurikawa say that, I think I'm a little tired too. How do you feel, Yuria?"

"I have no problem."

Yuria shook her head; rather than saying she was going along with her wishes, it was more accurate to say she was complying with her own desires.

"In that case, let's go... to my class for coffee."

Chapter 289 The Meeting and the Haunted House

It's quite abrupt to suddenly realize you forgot your textbook the moment class starts.

Walking towards my classroom, I honestly didn't have anything to worry about regarding the café's operation. But whether I needed to worry or not was another matter; I still had to check it out.

With that in mind, something even worse than forgetting to bring my textbook to class happened to me.

Yuria looked up at the two people in front of her.

The man hadn't yet spoken; he seemed to find it difficult to say it, and remained frozen for a long time.

"Yuria... it's been a long time."

"..."

It's really strange, extremely strange, for a child to say such things.

As Yuria thought this, looking at the two people hesitating whether to approach, her feelings were so complicated that she, like the man, couldn't say anything.

A silence fell between the three. Yotsuya Touko, who had been observing Yuria's expression, looked at the two women who were about her age and began to make her own calculations.

She glanced discreetly at Mrs. Yurikawa beside her, and the mother quickly realized what had happened.

Um... Yuria's parents?

I think so?

The two mothers exchanged glances and quickly came up with a plan from each other's eyes.

"Excuse me, are you Yuria's parents?"

Yotsuya Touko broke the silence with her words, drawing the attention of the two men.

The man did not deny it, but realized his lapse in composure only upon seeing the woman.

"... Yes, I am Yuria's father, and this is my wife. May I ask who you are?"

"Our daughter is friends with Yuria, so we asked her to take us to visit this year's cultural festival."

Yotsuya Touko explained, she walked in front of the two of them and shielded Yuria behind her.

"It may be presumptuous of me, but perhaps we could go to the café in Yuria's class and have a cup of coffee together."

Now that her daughter has decided on this girlfriend, shouldn't the mother at least meet her future in-laws and get a better understanding of the situation?

"Regarding Yuria, I think we can have a good talk. What do you think?"

"... Two different five flags kick and delete two."

The man looked at the two mothers who were blocking Yuria's view; because of them, Yuria was hidden behind them.

This situation must have been a setback for him as a father.

This also confirms that the two care about their daughter and don't want her to be affected in any way.

"I see."

He gave a wry smile and didn't insist on seeing Yuria anymore. He knew that Yuria found it hard to accept that he and his wife had come without prior notice.

"My wife and I would also like to know some things about our child's life at school from you two."

"Yes, we'd be happy to do that."

Yotsuya Touko spoke calmly, glancing briefly at Yuria behind her and offering a smile.

"Yuria, Mrs. Yurikawa and I plan to talk to your parents about something. We'll leave Kyosuke in your care; he hasn't had enough fun yet."

As she spoke, she released Kyosuke's hand and pushed the boy in front of Yuria.

"Then I'll leave it to you."

Before the young man could figure out what had happened, he found himself standing in front of Yuria in a daze.

What's going on?

Kyosuke grumbled inwardly, but wisely refrained from making a scene. He could read the room; he knew his mother's indifferent attitude meant nothing good was coming, just like when he had been beaten before.

"... I see."

Yuria considered refusing, after all, they were her own parents. But just looking at their faces, her thoughts became a jumbled mess, she couldn't speak, and all she wanted to do was escape.