As soon as Natsuki stepped through the door, he felt something drop onto his shoulder. His body suddenly grew heavy, as if an invisible force had taken control.
"Don't come in…" Natsuki's heart sank, and he quickly tried to warn her.
"It's too late." Kaguya's voice was tinged with frustration. "I'm already inside."
"What just landed on my shoulder?" Natsuki asked, trying to stay calm.
Kaguya pursed her lips, eyeing the substance. "It looks like… spider silk?"
Before they could react, the unknown force compelled them to walk further into the room.
Natsuki still had the puppet Billy clutched in his arms. As they moved forward, he said, "Mr. Butler, this doesn't seem very hospitable, does it?"
Billy responded slowly, "There are other guests residing here. Your current actions are considered trespassing. What do you expect?"
A few steps later, Natsuki was startled to find a small stage had appeared in the room. On the stage were three chairs made of bones, occupied by Chika, Yukino, and Rikka.
"Natsuki-san, Kaguya-chan!" Chika's eyes lit up, surprised and happy to see them.
"Stop shouting," Natsuki grumbled. "We're caught in this too."
The unseen force guided Natsuki and Kaguya onto the stage, where a pile of bones clattered out of the darkness. They quickly assembled themselves into two skeletal benches beside Rikka.
Involuntarily, Natsuki and Kaguya were forced to sit on the bone benches. The ribs of some unknown creature wrapped around them, holding them tightly in place.
Once seated, Natsuki realized he could move his body again, but he was still firmly restrained by the chair.
"Welcome, we have two more contestants for today's quiz game."
A raspy, sharp voice echoed from the darkness.
Natsuki looked up and saw a giant spider web in the shadows above. Perched on it was a massive, grayish-white spider, as big as a car wheel. Even someone who wasn't afraid of spiders would feel a chill seeing this thing.
"Hey, Mr. Butler is here too?" The spider's scarlet compound eyes locked onto Billy in Natsuki's arms.
"I'm temporarily under this player's control," Billy responded, maintaining his composed tone. "Ms. Spider, please continue with your game and don't mind me."
"Isn't calling it Spider-Girl a bit much?" Natsuki muttered, glancing up at the massive spider. "There's a bit of a discrepancy here."
"The name is just a code," the spider snorted. "You can call me Spider-Girl if you'd like."
"There's nothing 'girl' about you at all!" Natsuki couldn't help but retort.
Natsuki hesitated for a moment before saying, "How about we call you Kumoko?"
Chika leaned in, tilting her head. "Don't make fun of her just because she hasn't read the manga."
"So, what exactly is this quiz game?" Kaguya asked, her voice steady. Despite the massive spider in front of her, she only frowned slightly, showing no fear.
"Good question…" Miss Spider replied, crawling slowly across her web.
Rikka tilted her head, the little tuft of hair on top of her head drooping as she explained, "It's like those quiz shows on TV."
"If you get a question wrong, the chair you're sitting on will start to tighten."
The spider's scarlet eyes narrowed as she glanced at Rikka. "Human, don't interrupt me."
"S-Sorry…"
Miss Spider refocused on the group, her voice rasping, "Since you two just joined us and might not know the rules, I'll explain. I'll ask the questions, and you'll answer. There are two types: quick answer and full answer. The first to answer correctly in the quick round earns points, which can be used to avoid a penalty."
"Everyone must participate."
"And during this time, no one in the room is allowed to lie."
"If anyone lies, everyone will be considered a liar, and the chairs will squeeze inwards as punishment. Any questions?"
"I got it," Natsuki nodded. The rules seemed straightforward enough.
"Then let's get started." Miss Spider's voice grew louder. "We'll begin with a warm-up question… Listen carefully."
"Suppose there's a rope that's just one centimeter longer than the circumference of the Earth. If you wrap this rope around the equator, how high can you lift it off the ground? Could a person pass under it?"
"The countdown begins now, answer quickly."
"Eh? How is this an easy question?" Chika exclaimed, bewildered.
"Nya? What's this about?" Rikka looked completely lost. "I don't get it at all."
Kaguya frowned slightly. "It doesn't seem logical, but…"
"I got it," Natsuki said confidently.
"Very good," Miss Spider pointed one of her legs at him, "Go ahead, player."
"Oh, it's just a simple physics problem…"
After a quick mental calculation, Natsuki replied, "You could lift it high enough for a person to pass under it."
"Correct!" Applause echoed from the darkness, and Miss Spider's voice was filled with satisfaction. "It really was a simple question, wasn't it?"
"Was it really that simple?" Chika's eyes widened in disbelief. "Why couldn't I understand it at all?"
"Me neither," Rikka chimed in, her expression puzzled.
"Now… the punishment begins."
Natsuki glanced at the others and soon noticed the ribs of the bone bench beginning to close inwards.
Kaguya, Yukino, and Rikka seemed fine—they were all slender—but Chika, on the other hand, started to look uncomfortable as the bench squeezed tighter.
"This is a European problem…" Amamiya Natsuki muttered under his breath, trying to divert his thoughts.
Miss Spider didn't waste any time. "Let's move on to the next question. This one's for everyone, and remember, if anyone lies, everyone gets punished."
She paused for effect before continuing. "The question is: Have you ever read… 18+ material?"
Miss Spider pointed one of her legs directly at Amamiya Natsuki. "You go first."
All eyes turned to Natsuki. He felt a sudden wave of dread wash over him—the kind of social dread that makes you want to disappear on the spot.
Who hadn't seen that kind of thing at some point? But admitting it out loud was a whole different story. Still, there was no way around it. He had to be honest…
"I've read it." Natsuki said, trying to sound casual as he stared straight ahead. "I mean, I'm a normal, healthy high school guy. Isn't it kind of expected?"
Miss Spider seemed almost impressed. "Correct, that's the truth. This player cleverly used a logical fallacy, attributing personal behavior to the norm to avoid embarrassment."
Applause echoed from the darkness once more.
Wait… was that a compliment or a taunt? Natsuki thought to himself. Why is a spider even bothering with logic?
"Next up," Miss Spider continued, turning her attention to Kaguya, "Your turn to answer."
Kaguya's face remained impassive, and her tone was as calm as ever. She didn't hesitate for a moment before answering.
"I haven't read it."
As someone who was raised in a highly controlled, sheltered environment, Kaguya had never even touched regular shoujo manga, let alone anything 18+. For her, the answer was simple and straightforward.
"Congratulations, you've answered truthfully," Miss Spider said excitedly.
Applause echoed in the darkness once more, adding an eerie atmosphere to the room.
"Next up, the third player…" Miss Spider pointed at Rikka, "Please answer."
The girl sitting next to Kaguya, with an eyepatch and a slight twitch to the ahoge on her head, quickly responded, "I have not read those sinful books that would tempt people into depravity."
Miss Spider then turned her attention to Yukino. "Please answer."
Yukino remained silent for a moment, biting her lower lip as if conflicted. Natsuki, curious, glanced over at her. She shared the same cool demeanor as Kaguya, and her hesitation added an unexpected tension.
After a few seconds, Yukino finally whispered, "I have."
"Eh hey hey?" Rikka looked over in surprise, her eyes wide. "Why would Yukino read something like that?"
Yukino pursed her lips, clearly not keen on elaborating.
"There's one more left," Miss Spider said, her leg now pointing at Chika. "Please answer."
"Um, um…" Chika hesitated, a blush creeping onto her face. "I've read one."
What!? Natsuki thought to himself, surprised. I didn't expect that you, of all people, with those thick eyebrows and big eyes, would have read something like that!
"It was back in junior high!" Chika hurriedly explained, as if to defend herself.
You started in junior high? That's pretty precocious!
"Don't look at me like that!" Chika protested, noticing the strange looks she was getting. "The school organized an activity to clean up the environment, and while picking up trash by the river, I accidentally found a comic someone had thrown away… It's true!"
"I believe you," Natsuki nodded, trying to reassure her. "As long as it's not causing harm, it's just a personal hobby."
He couldn't help but think of all the surprising female creators in the doujin world—like the famous Eromanga-sensei or Kashiwagi Eri-sensei. That Chika, with her innocent appearance, had read such a thing wasn't entirely shocking after all.
"Well, everyone has answered. Now, let me reveal the final result," Miss Spider said, crawling around her web with a drawn-out voice. "…Someone is lying."
"Everyone will be punished."
The moment she spoke, the bone chairs of everyone except Natsuki began to shrink and squeeze inward again.
"Hmm…" Chika let out a low groan of discomfort. The quiz game wasn't in her favor; being physically European-speaking was naturally disadvantageous, and she was already feeling tightness in her chest, and a bit of pain.
"Who's lying?" Chika tilted her head, looking suspiciously at Rikka and Kaguya.
It's not shameful if you haven't seen it, so why lie? The culprit must be one of them, she thought.
"I'm not lying," Rikka said, her tone pitiful. "I really haven't read that kind of book."
Natsuki and Kaguya exchanged a glance, both seemingly deep in thought.
"The punishment is over, and the game continues," Miss Spider said, quickly moving on. "The third question is simple. Please be ready to answer."
"Here's the question… Which nation in the world has the highest poison resistance attribute?"