Making Fujiwara Chika Japan's Prime Minister Is Scarier Than a Ghost / The Deceitful Goddess of the Shopping District

Although so far, most of what she had said had been related to apologizing.

Still, everyone had gradually gotten used to Little Bocchi's socially anxious nature, so they were all quite tolerant of her.

The naturally friendly Umaru had even taken the initiative to sit beside Little Bocchi and occasionally strike up a conversation with her, so she would not feel awkward sitting off to one side.

It was not until after two in the afternoon that Shinomiya Kaguya slowly woke from her deep sleep.

The moment she opened her eyes, she blankly stared at Hayasaka Ai, who was looking down at her and saying, "My lady, you're awake," and her mind instantly fell into confusion.

Why was my head on Hayasaka's lap?

Where was this? Why did it not look like the Shinomiya Estate?

But the lingering memories in her mind quickly told her what had happened.

A flush immediately spread across her face, and she vigorously rubbed her cheeks, trying to erase that humiliating memory.

Her reaction after reading the diary last night had been a little too intense, and she had carelessly let that "little one" come out.

It would have been one thing under normal circumstances, but today was their diary enthusiasts' first offline gathering!

Had Kasumigaoka Utaha and the others already seen that stupidly innocent, childish side of her perfectly clearly?

Before, she could still act as though she did not care in the group chat, at most grumbling privately to You Know Who a little.

But at that moment, Shinomiya Kaguya felt that today's performance had completely destroyed both the Shinomiya Family's dignity and her own image.

Shinomiya Kaguya had not yet figured out how to face Kasumigaoka Utaha and the others when the girls on the other side had already noticed what was going on with her.

"Kaguya, how are you feeling now?" As the one who had used Ripple Chi Kung to put Shinomiya Kaguya to sleep, Kasumigaoka Utaha was the first to ask her.

Shinomiya Kaguya hurriedly sat up from Hayasaka Ai's lap and began tidying her appearance, doing her best to look more normal.

But when she spoke, her expression still looked somewhat strange.

"I'm sorry. Because of my personal issues, you all saw my childish side, and this gathering ran into some problems as well. I hope you won't mind."

As she said this, Shinomiya Kaguya gave Hayasaka Ai a look. Hayasaka Ai immediately understood and stood up, walking outside the café.

She knew that her lady and these extraordinary friends of hers would certainly have something important to discuss next.

In any case, word that her lady had been in her Little Kaguya state today had already reached the main house. Even if she had recovered now, Hayasaka Ai could keep pretending not to know.

As Hayasaka Ai left the café, Shinomiya Kaguya slowly used Ripple Breathing to calm herself down.

"In any case, give me a little time to figure out what exactly is going on first."

Making Fujiwara Chika Japan's Prime Minister Was Scarier Than Ghosts

After reading the diary entry You Know Who had updated that morning, Shinomiya Kaguya pondered for a moment, then glanced at Little Bocchi, who was sitting in the corner and looked somewhat uneasy after sensing the change in atmosphere.

If You Know Who had truly been there at the time and had not been noticed by the Shinomiya Family's bodyguards, then there were not many possibilities left.

Either You Know Who had used his disguise techniques to successfully infiltrate the heavily guarded Shinomiya Family bodyguard detail.

Or there was an "inside man" present who had dealt with You Know Who before.

For the former, Shinomiya Kaguya would have Hayasaka Ai investigate all the bodyguards involved in today's operation.

As for the latter... Shinomiya Kaguya had to admit that everyone present was actually suspicious. However, Guitar Hero Little Bocchi, who appeared extremely socially anxious, was currently the most suspicious of all.

After all, she had encountered too many people. Someone as socially anxious as Little Bocchi was quite easy to deal with; if someone pressured her from behind the scenes even a little, she would probably submit.

Testing it would not be difficult. Shinomiya Kaguya merely needed to put a bit more pressure on Little Bocchi and see how she reacted.

But while such tactics were fine against the Shinomiya Family's enemies, Shinomiya Kaguya had no intention of using them on someone who also possessed a diary.

After all, the most important part of her image in the group chat was that she wanted those holding diaries to form a united front.

Unless it came down to the wire, Shinomiya Kaguya would definitely not take the initiative to cross that line.

Therefore, Shinomiya Kaguya did not reveal her suspicions. Instead, she smiled warmly at Little Bocchi, putting her at ease.

Afterward, she told the girls that she would find someone to investigate, then turned the conversation back to this gathering.

"Hoshino Ai told me she would not be free until after four in the afternoon. We'll leave after three to find Miss Yotsuya Miko."

According to Shinomiya Kaguya's original plan, they would reserve a chef who had graduated from Totsuki Culinary Academy at noon, then spend the afternoon chatting beneath the cherry blossoms at a viewing spot she had prepared in advance. Once Hoshino Ai arrived, they would go find Yotsuya Miko together.

If Yotsuya Miko was a diary holder, they would invite everyone to the Shinomiya Estate for dinner that evening and have Yotsuya Miko check whether there was anything unclean in her home.

But now... because of Little Kaguya's unexpected appearance, all the earlier plans had been overturned. The Totsuki chef had become a roadside café, and the cherry blossom tea party had become café chatter.

Fortunately, none of the girls present had any objections. After all, they had gathered because of the diaries, and the things they discussed were basically inseparable from the diaries and You Know Who.

Once Shinomiya Kaguya had put that morning's embarrassment behind her, she gradually found her familiar rhythm again and made full use of the intelligence she held.

For example, there were the connections between the Shinomiya Family and the treasures Cat's Eye and Kaitou Kid had stolen that had been mentioned in the diary.

There was also how the shrunken great detective Conan was living now, and how he had helped that rather unreliable middle-aged detective, Mouri Kogoro, become a famous detective.

Originally, she had wanted to mention what she had investigated about Sawagoe Itaru.

But she felt that explaining how she had dealt with that family of beastly scum might make the girls uncomfortable in this situation, so she simply did not bring it up.

By the time they left the café, everyone's relationship had visibly become much more harmonious.

Shinomiya Kaguya also felt that she had sufficiently salvaged her image.

That was until their group took the subway to Yotsuya Miko's current location and waited there for Hoshino Ai to arrive.

"Ah~ Kaguya-senpai, nice to meet you for the first time. I'm Hoshino Ai, working hard to become a top Idol~! Have you recovered already? What a shame I didn't get to see such a cute senpai in person. Oh, right, did any of you take photos to keep as souvenirs?"

At their first meeting as "senior and junior," Hoshino Ai, who had disguised herself slightly with a hat and glasses, nearly made Shinomiya Kaguya break down with her very first sentence.

But that was simply Hoshino Ai's personality.

They were both senior and junior characters created by the same author, and both possessed the ability to master techniques after experiencing them once. As a result, both of them were exceptionally skilled at disguising themselves and acting.

Shinomiya Kaguya used that ability in her daily life and revealed her true nature only on very rare occasions.

Hoshino Ai, on the other hand, was completely the opposite. In front of fans, she could indeed disguise herself as the perfect Idol, but once she returned to everyday life...

Put nicely, she was thick-skinned and carefree. Put less nicely, she was utterly thoughtless, doing whatever she wanted without considering the consequences at all.

Come to think of it, Hoshino Ai's usual personality was somewhat similar to that of her close friend, Fujiwara Chika.

Thinking that, Shinomiya Kaguya unconsciously compared the two of them.

Both were willful and carefree, unable to read the room, and capable of making her break down over trivial things like this.

Of course, in her own story, the things Hoshino Ai would do in the future were far bolder than anything Fujiwara Chika would ever do.

Shinomiya Kaguya simply could not imagine what Fujiwara Chika would look like if she suddenly appeared in front of her with a swollen belly one day.

But their family backgrounds had always been worlds apart.

One was the granddaughter of a former prime minister, while the other was a girl abandoned by her mother and raised in an orphanage.

If Hoshino Ai had grown up in an environment like Fujiwara Chika's, she probably would not have become an Idol either.

With her abilities, perhaps she would have been raised to become a politician, or even Japan's first female prime minister?

Thinking that Japan's future might be steered by someone like Fujiwara Chika, Shinomiya Kaguya shook her head.

In a sense, that was far more terrifying than the existence of ghosts in the world.

Hoshino Ai should just continue being an Idol. That way, if anything really happened, this "junior" of hers would not have to walk the same path as before.

Shinomiya Kaguya greeted her junior, feeling that handling her the same way she handled Fujiwara Chika should not be a problem.

"So where are we going now? Does Miko live nearby?" After warmly greeting each of the girls attending the gathering, Hoshino Ai returned to Shinomiya Kaguya's side and asked.

"Yotsuya Miko is currently shopping with her friend in the nearby shopping street. If we want to see her, we can go over now."

As Shinomiya Kaguya said this, she took out a photograph. "However, according to my investigation, there is a fortune-telling shop in that shopping street that is quite famous nearby. I heard that its prayer beads are very effective, so I think we can start our investigation with that fortune-telling shop."

The Scam Godmother of the Shopping Street

In the past, whether it was Shinomiya Kaguya or Kasumigaoka Utaha, their first thought upon hearing about places like fortune-telling shops would have been that they were scams for making money.

But because something as unscientific as the diaries had appeared before their eyes, their thinking had gradually changed.

At the same time, as You Know Who continued revealing the "truth" of this world in the diaries, they were rapidly adapting to this entirely new world.

The ability of Spirit Vision could be activated voluntarily from the day the diary mentioned Yotsuya Miko.

But so far, none of the girls in the group chat had dared to activate it.

Although Chitanda Eru had said that she wanted to open her Spirit Vision and see whether the soul of her uncle, who had been missing for many years, had returned to his homeland, she still had not prepared herself mentally.

By her own account, she still needed to leave all the lights on and mute the sound before she dared watch horror movies, and even then, she was often too frightened to sleep well.

For that very reason, although Yotsuya Miko had yet to join the group chat, the girls in the group all held considerable affection and sympathy for this girl who had suddenly awakened the highest level of Spirit Vision yet still had to pretend she could see nothing.

And now that the girls knew there was a famous fortune-telling shop on the shopping street Yotsuya Miko often visited, their first thought was to figure out the shop's situation.

Black Cat stepped forward with great confidence. "I've studied the occult. If the owner of that fortune-telling shop is a fraud, I'll definitely see through it at a glance."

When those words came from Black Cat, who wore a black Gothic Lolita dress and looked gloomy from a distance, she seemed truly professional.

"Then we'll watch you show us what you can do," the others said with almost no objections. Black Cat successfully secured the opportunity to speak with the fortune-telling shop's owner.

Soon, led by Shinomiya Kaguya, their group of beautiful girls with an almost one-hundred-percent head-turning rate arrived at the entrance to the fortune-telling shop.

The first thing Black Cat saw was the shop's shabby décor and exceptionally conspicuous signboard.

"Downtown Godmother's Divination Parlor."

Below it was a list of services.

Wealth, career, love, warding off evil—all of the above, UP!

As the girls approached, a middle-aged woman who looked to weigh at least 160 pounds and wore heavy makeup walked out of the divination parlor with a satisfied expression.

"Then I'll be counting on you again, Godmother. As long as it works, I'll definitely come back~!"

Immediately afterward, an elderly woman's voice came from inside the shop. "Hahaha, don't worry. I, the great Shitamachi Godmother, would never deceive you. If you find the power weakening, you can use another 30,000 yen to replenish the Mana!"

As the middle-aged woman in front walked away, Black Cat was just about to enter the divination parlor when she faintly heard a low mutter of self-talk from inside.

Because she practiced Ripple diligently every day, Black Cat's five senses had become much sharper than those of ordinary people. She could hear the low muttering clearly.

"Honestly... I still have to split this money with those people responsible for approaching customers. There's barely anything left for me. When will another big fat sheep come along..."

Hearing that, Black Cat could not help clicking her tongue.

So she was a scammer.

That woman just now had probably come seeking better luck in love. The owner's method was to have someone approach her, making her believe that her improved romantic luck had come from this shop. So this shop had built its reputation through deception like that?

Thinking this, Black Cat did not even want to enter the shop anymore.

Yet just as she turned around, the "fake Godmother" inside the shop seemed to notice the arrival of these new customers as well.

As an experienced veteran, her eye was sharp. With one glance at the clothes and accessories of passing customers, she could judge their rough family circumstances.

The strangely dressed girl standing at the front clearly had no money at a glance, so it did not matter if she left.

But among the girls behind her, there was a genuine rich customer.

So she quickly put on a welcoming appearance. She had encountered a big fat sheep of this caliber only a few times in her decades-long career. She could not let one slip away so easily.

If she could hook that girl, she could probably start considering retirement.

"Welcome to my divination parlor. May I ask what kind of fortune you're looking for?"

However, Black Cat had already decided that this woman was a fraud. As a frugal, household-minded girl, she felt that saying even one extra word to this kind of scammer was a waste of time.

Black Cat ignored the call from behind her entirely, returned to her companions, and quietly told them what she had just heard.

Watching the girls whispering among themselves outside her shop, the Godmother was anxious, but she still had to maintain the calm, detached air of an enlightened master.

When dealing with rich people like this, she could not appear too impatient. Otherwise, how would they believe she was a master with genuine abilities?