Kaguya folded her hands in front of her chest, her face hidden in the shadow of the sun. She said coldly: "Nagisa found out our secret."
"Huh?" Chika blinked, her eyes quickly dropping before she turned around and closed the door.
"Chika?" Nagisa couldn't help but grow more nervous.
"Why'd you come to the club room now?" Chika tilted her head, the light in her eyes fading as her voice echoed the tone of night, "Well, since you saw, there's nothing we can do."
"W-wait, what?" Nagisa panicked even more.
What's happening? What's going on? Could it be that more than one person is bullying Natsuki, and Chika's involved too? Are Kaguya and Chika going to tie me up and torture me like they did to Natsuki?
Nagisa stepped back until she was beside Natsuki, her trembling hand clutching the corner of Natsuki's clothes. Right now, they shared the same fate.
"Hahaha!" Chika put her right hand on her waist, her voice suddenly bright and clear. The smile on her face shone like the sun. "Nagisa, how was my acting just now?"
Nagisa: "..."
"Don't be scared," Natsuki said gently. "I just had a backache, so I asked Kaguya to help press on my back... You know, like a massage parlor?"
Nagisa nodded reflexively.
"Back-walking is a legitimate massage technique," Natsuki said seriously. "Please don't let your imagination run wild."
"..." Nagisa left the club room in a daze.
"It's such a pain not having my own activity room," Kaguya frowned slightly.
"You could run for student council next week," Chika said brightly. "The student council office is huge, with floor-to-ceiling windows, desks, sofas, and you can even drink tea. It's super convenient!"
Chika looked over, her eyes sparkling as she said: "Natsuki, it's my turn."
"I refuse," Natsuki said decisively as he buttoned up his shirt. "That's all for today. We've confirmed it works, so I'll ask Miko to help me when I get home from school this afternoon."
"But I didn't get a chance to try!" Chika pouted in disappointment.
"If you suddenly step on me, you'll really break my bones!" Natsuki protested.
"I'm a bit sleepy," Ms.Kaguya yawned, finally relaxing now that she knew she'd sleep well. "I'll take a nap."
With that, she transformed into a wisp of smoke and quietly settled on Natsuki.
"Let's go," Natsuki said, walking out. "Back to class. I'm on duty today."
The three of them left the club room.
"Oh, right," Chika turned to Natsuki. "Asuka just messaged me. She's asking us to come over because her friend is being haunted by an evil spirit... I haven't replied yet. What do you think, Natsuki?"
Natsuki hesitated for a moment. "Where is she?"
"I asked. It's at Yokohama High School," Chika said quickly. "Only 40 minutes by subway."
"Alright, let's go," Natsuki agreed.
As a human, you should return favors. They'd just provided information about the guardian spirit, so I couldn't refuse. If we're setting up a players' mutual aid group, we need to take action.
.........
The day flew by.
Before they knew it, it was time to leave school.
"Natsuki, ready to go?" Chika stood up and walked over. "I've told Asuka we're coming. She's waiting for us at her school."
"Let's go." Natsuki sent a message to Ishigami and stood up.
"Kaguya, we're heading out," Chika waved goodbye. "See you tomorrow!"
Kaguya parted her lips, swallowing her words before nodding slightly. "See you tomorrow."
Watching Natsuki and Chika leave, the ice queen quickly bit her lower lip.
A gorgeous blonde woman quietly appeared and said, "Miss, you canceled yesterday's lesson. You can't skip today's."
"I understand." Kaguya tore her gaze from the window.
"Ugh! I want to go with them! Why do I have to take such a boring tea ceremony class?"
"Natsuki, have you ever been to Yokohama?" Chika asked, skipping along the white line at the edge of the street like a deer in the morning sunshine.
"Never," Natsuki shook his head.
"I have!" Chika raised her chin proudly, revealing her slender white neck. "There's a Chinatown in Yokohama with lots of delicious food. We should go eat there later, okay?"
You haven't even finished the job yet, and you're already thinking about food. You really are a glutton!
Natsuki said helplessly, "Didn't you say your family has a curfew? Is it really okay for you to be home late?"
"It's fine. Mom wants us home by nine," Chika said brightly. "We can eat until eight..."
Before she could finish, the pink-haired girl with the ribbon suddenly hid behind Natsuki, nervously grabbing his sleeve.
"A spirit! What a huge evil spirit!"
Following her gaze, Natsuki looked into the nearby alley.
To ordinary people, the alley would appear empty and deserted.
But to Natsuki and Chika, there were over a dozen spirits of various sizes in the alley across from them.
The largest was three or four meters long, with a mouth full of fangs and horns on its head. It was actually grabbing smaller spirits and stuffing them into its mouth.
The spirit across the way seemed to sense something, and a pair of scarlet eyes suddenly looked their way.
Natsuki silently looked away, took Chika's right hand, and led her forward.
"Let's go, quickly."
They hurried past the alley. After confirming the spirit hadn't followed them, Chika sighed in relief, patting her chest as she whispered:
"I was so scared just now."
"There are many spirits in the real world, all kinds," Natsuki explained. "Yesterday I saw one only as tall as my calf, looked like a little old man. It would hide when it saw people."
"Yeah, and dogs seem to be able to see these things too. The other day when I was walking Paco, he barked at a spirit in the park. It was terrifying."
You're talking so much, I can't even tell you're scared!
Chatting all the way, they quickly walked to the subway station.
At the ticket gates, two spirits dressed as subway staff stood on either side, watching passersby with their dark eyes.
They really are good Japanese corporate drones.
Even as spirits, they don't forget to go to work. That corporate mentality is ingrained in their very bones!
Chika leaned in close to Natsuki, whispering nervously in his ear:
"Natsuki."
"Hm?"
"Hurry and use your invincible spirits to drive them away. The spirits at the subway gates are too dangerous. What if a player is an office worker and accidentally encounters them on their way home? They'd be in real trouble, right?"
Natsuki's mouth twitched slightly as he silently began to dispel the spirits' aura.
Flames suddenly engulfed the two spirit workers, and they vanished with empty wails.
You actually consider players you've never even met. No wonder you're the light of humanity.
The afternoon subway wasn't crowded.
Natsuki chose an empty seat and sat down with Chika.
Once on the subway, Chika suddenly went quiet, clearly following the unspoken rule of "no talking on the subway."
The pink-haired girl played with her phone for a while, then started yawning, her head nodding.
"You can nap if you're tired," Natsuki whispered. "I'll wake you when we reach Yokohama."
Like Miko, all players who could see spirits had dark circles under their eyes to some degree.
Chika was no exception, clearly not getting enough rest.
The pink-haired girl blinked, trying to stay awake, but eventually dozed off, her body tilting until she leaned on Natsuki's shoulder.
Natsuki glanced at Chika sleeping sweetly, then looked away and returned to his phone.
They rode in silence the rest of the way.
Soon, they arrived in Yokohama.
"Chika, wake up," Natsuki called. "It's our stop."
Chika opened her eyes drowsily, her sky-blue eyes staring blankly, still a bit confused from sleep.
"Wipe your drool," Natsuki reminded her. "Time to get off."
"Oh..."
Chika raised her hand to wipe her mouth, then quickly came to her senses: "You're lying! I wasn't drooling at all!"
"If you'd slept any longer, you would have."
"..."
They exited the subway, turned on their phone's navigation, and walked to Yokohama High School's entrance.
From a distance, Natsuki saw a girl with a ponytail waiting eagerly at the school gate. It was none other than the clingy girl he'd met in the game yesterday, Asuka Kashiwagi.
"Chika!"
Seeing Natsuki and Chika, Asuka ran over happily, greeting Chika by name. When she turned to Natsuki, she called out respectfully:
"Good afternoon, senpai."
"Don't call me senpai," Natsuki said, exasperated. "You're a second-year, right?"
Wouldn't you be embarrassed calling a high school student "senpai"?
"Asuka, don't be so nervous. We're your friends," Chika chimed in. "Just call him Natsuki like I do."
"Ahem."
Asuka coughed twice, not daring to use his name.
There's no support at all. It's more like she was just clinging to others the whole time. She basically didn't help at all and ended up left in the dark while the big shot cleared the game.
Natsuki changed the subject:
"Kashiwagi, where's your friend?"
"She's practicing in the gym," Asuka said quickly. "We can see her when we get there."
.....
Power Stone Bonus Chapter [Target]= 625
.....