After the call was hung up on, she wore a thoughtful expression.
Yotsuya Miko's reaction had been a little too extreme.
She had merely mentioned the diary normally.
Based on her tests, when she spoke to others about the Diary, they either saw it as a normal conversation or did not perceive her as speaking at all. So far, nothing had happened that would make her die of embarrassment.
Shinomiya Kaguya had not realized how much psychological damage the cold tone she habitually used when making calls could inflict on a young girl who spent every day living in constant suspicion and fear.
After thinking it over, she did not call Yotsuya Miko again. Instead, she sent the details of her encounter to the group.
The group also came up with all sorts of theories about Yotsuya Miko's reaction.
Some believed Yotsuya Miko had not received a diary. Her reaction might have been because a Vengeful Spirit happened to be beside her when Shinomiya Kaguya called, which was why she had reacted so strongly. This was the moderate faction's view, led by Chitanda Eru.
Others believed Yotsuya Miko did have a diary, but because she possessed Spirit Vision, she did not fully trust the Diary. That was why she had treated the other diary holders this way. It was also the conclusion Shinomiya Kaguya reached after a rational analysis.
Meanwhile, UMR, who loved stirring things up, suggested simply posting Yotsuya Miko's phone number in the group so anyone curious could call and ask her directly.
Seeing the disagreement over Yotsuya Miko, Shinomiya Kaguya smiled.
Small disagreements were necessary. As long as conflicts and differences were used properly, they could instead become a means of bringing people closer together.
So after stating her own opinion, Shinomiya Kaguya quietly watched the others discuss it in the group.
Once the discussion had mostly run its course, Shinomiya Kaguya made another suggestion.
Kaguya: "In that case, does anyone want to come with me this weekend to meet Yotsuya Miko? She lives in Tokyo, so anyone nearby can come. We can treat it as the Diary Enthusiasts Club's first offline gathering. Of course, since I'm the one organizing it, I'll cover all the expenses."
Shinomiya Kaguya did not really have the concept of an allowance, but she kept one hundred thousand yen in her wallet for emergencies.
For an ordinary gathering, one hundred thousand yen was more than enough.
If it truly was not enough, she also had a black card under her name, though her older brother would scold her for spending money recklessly.
But Shinomiya Kaguya no longer cared as much about those reprimands as she once had.
Do You Know About Life Cheats?
Shinomiya Kaguya's invitation to an offline gathering made the group go quiet for a while again.
In the end, it was Hoshino Ai who spoke up and restored the atmosphere.
Ai: "An offline gathering? I'd really like to meet everyone. We could even go sing karaoke together, but I'll need to see whether I have a performance scheduled that day before I can decide. I'll ask everyone in the group for you."
Ai: "@All Members, does anyone want to attend an offline gathering this weekend? @Kaguya will cover the expenses. If you want to join, privately message @Kaguya to sign up."
Kasumigaoka Utaha was the first to sign up. She was already in Tokyo, and everyone in the group knew who she was, so she had nothing to hide.
Besides wanting to confirm Yotsuya Miko's situation, she also wanted to see what kind of person this young lady of the Shinomiya Family really was.
After that, quite a few people in the group stated their positions.
Other than those who still did not want to reveal too much personal information and therefore said nothing at all, even those who wanted to come were affected by various real-life circumstances and could not attend.
Katsura Kotonoha, who had revealed her identity after joining the group chat, had already scheduled a kendo lesson for the weekend and could only regretfully decline.
Takanashi Rikka and Chitanda Eru lived too far away. Even during a long holiday, it would likely be difficult for them to come to Tokyo alone.
In the end, only two people had confirmed they were willing to attend: UMR, who loved stirring things up, and Fallen Saint Black Cat, who lived in Chiba, not far from Tokyo.
If Hoshino Ai had time that day and could come, then with Yotsuya Miko, who probably also had a diary, there would be six people attending.
That number did not surprise Shinomiya Kaguya.
After all, it was their first gathering. There were surely many people in the group still watching from the sidelines. Once there had been more gatherings, things would improve.
Shinomiya Kaguya sent another group message, reminding those who wanted to attend to save a few Reading Points that day. If the Diary issued a warning, they were not to come and should go straight home instead.
Naturally, the reminder received widespread support.
On Miyauchi Hiyage's side, today's featured comment was nothing special.
It was an anonymous comment that revealed no personal information whatsoever.
Besides thanking him for teaching Ripple Chi Kung, the commenter also asked about several difficulties she had encountered while practicing it.
The questions themselves were normal, but they confirmed something for Miyauchi Hiyage.
Her progress in Ripple Chi Kung had been extremely fast. She had already reached a level that would take an ordinary person more than a month to achieve.
So the Reading Points were responsible?
Miyauchi Hiyage made a reasonable guess.
However, since she encountered difficulties and bottlenecks during training, that meant their innate talent ceilings had not been raised. The Reading Points did not produce an instant-mastery effect like Deep Blue stat allocation, either.
In other words, the Reading Points probably only accelerated training speed.
Having figured that out, Miyauchi Hiyage was not worried that those girls would surpass him in Ripple Chi Kung through Reading Points.
The difference in aptitude granted by an immortal physique like the Pure Yang Body was not something time alone could erase.
Besides, as he received new rewards every day for writing his diary, the speed at which his strength grew would only become faster and faster.
Then Miyauchi Hiyage drew today's reward.
From the Honkai: Star Rail world, uh... a whole case of Celestial Joy Tea.
It really was worthy of being a popular beverage in the interstellar age. It tasted far better than ordinary milk tea.
The only issue was that it was remarkably energizing, and it also stimulated the Yang energy within his body.
The next day, Miyauchi Hiyage, who had not slept all night yet remained full of energy, brought the Kasumigaoka IF-route manga to school.
On the first day of school yesterday, he had not caused any trouble. He had merely found Eriri Spencer Sawamura's shoe locker on his way home.
But today, it was about time to turn up the pressure on that woman, Kasumigaoka Utaha.
During the noon break, Miyauchi Hiyage skillfully avoided the campus surveillance cameras and used Yellow Temperance's ability to disguise himself as a maintenance worker carrying a stepladder and toolbox.
Without arousing anyone's suspicion, he casually slipped the manga into Eriri Spencer Sawamura's shoe locker.
Then, before school ended that afternoon, Miyauchi Hiyage prepared that day's diary entry in advance.
Once school ended and club activities began, he leisurely published the diary.
Today was another day with wonderful weather, the perfect kind of day to stay home and play games.
But I felt that wouldn't do. I needed to do something meaningful.
Before that, let me answer the question mentioned in yesterday's anonymous comment.
There are several points to keep in mind regarding the use of Ripple Energy...
All right, that concludes today's Q&A session. Class dismissed, everyone.
As an extra, here's another little life tip from Teacher Tom.
I wonder whether you've heard of something called a life cheat.
In my previous life, some guy put forward this amazing theory: as long as you carry a ladder, you can easily enter all kinds of places, because people will assume you work there.
I was deeply skeptical, so I decided to personally test the feasibility of this theory today.
I originally wanted to start with places like movie theaters or museums, but considering Teacher Kashiko Kasumi's concern for me, I decided to make Toyonosaki Academy my first test site.
The facts proved that life cheats were real.
After spending a little time showing up at Toyonosaki Academy's entrance with a stepladder and toolbox, I walked right past the guard without any trouble. He even told me I was working hard.
Then I stuffed the IF-route manga I drew in a lottery some time ago into Eriri Spencer Sawamura's shoe locker, as a keepsake for you all.
I wonder whether you have a Diary, Eriri Spencer Sawamura. If you do, hurry over and take it. With that thing in your hands, I believe Teacher Kashiko Kasumi can only obey your every word.
By the way, the guards at your Toyonosaki Academy are surprisingly nice. One even tried to offer me a cigarette when I left.
Unfortunately, I'm a reformist. I have nothing in common with traditionalists like them.
In short, today's test was quite successful. At the very least, getting into Toyonosaki Academy was no problem.
Where should I go next?
How about Shuchiin Academy? The students there are all children of high-ranking officials, so management should be much stricter. It could serve as a high-difficulty testing ground.
If I can still sneak in successfully, I'll give Kaguya a camera. After all, isn't her dream to become a photographer?
Image attached below.
.
You Know Who, You Really Deserve to Die!
As expected, the Diary Enthusiasts Club exploded again.
Aside from the Ripple instruction at the beginning, today's diary contained three explosive key points.
You Know Who had made his first move, disguising himself as a maintenance worker to visit Toyonosaki Academy, and had even left Kasumigaoka Utaha's IF-route manga in Eriri Spencer Sawamura's shoe locker!
Toyonosaki Academy's guard had most likely seen You Know Who's face, and had even tried to offer him a cigarette!
And Lady Kaguya, who had only joined the group yesterday yet had already gained considerable influence and seemed rather forceful... had suddenly undergone a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree reversal of character!?
Shinomiya Kaguya was utterly dumbfounded when she saw the final few lines of the diary.
She had originally planned to practice at the archery club after school.
Then the message in her mind—"You have gained one Reading Point"—disrupted her original plans.
She instantly remembered how the Diary granted Reading Points.
Reading, writing comments, and being mentioned by the Diary's owner.
Clearly, You Know Who had mentioned her name in today's diary, which was why she had received extra Reading Points!
What exactly had he written today? Was it something she or the Shinomiya Family would encounter in the future?
So she hurriedly found a quiet place and opened the Diary to read it.
Then...
What the hell?
What was all this?
She could now confirm that she was Lady Kaguya, but what exactly did the image at the end of the diary mean?!
Setting aside the fact that her future self showed absolutely no visible development compared to her current self.
She, the young lady of the Shinomiya conglomerate with total assets exceeding two hundred trillion, would say something like, "I want to become a photographer," to her own older brother in the future?
Why would she want to become a photographer?
She had never even touched a camera in her entire life.
More importantly, why was the older brother who had always stood so high above her sitting on the floor and listening to her from below?
What kind of bizarre experiences would her future self have to go through for a scene like that image to appear!?
At that moment, Shinomiya Kaguya seemed to understand a little why You Know Who had evaluated her story that way.
Because even she herself could not understand what the hell was going on with her!
Shinomiya Kaguya clutched her head.
Just thinking about how the people in the group might react once they saw that image made her face burn hot.
Should I leave the group for a while and rejoin after this blows over?
Before you continue