"A cow?"
"Well, it 'is' a vengeful spirit, so I guess it's not strange for it to look like that."
"But how does a cow produce food?"
The group sat together in the ward, discussing and trying to analyze the situation.
"I think I've got it!" Chika raised her hand excitedly. "It must be that you squeeze [beep—]..."
"Enough, sit down." Amamiya couldn't help but interject. "That stuff can't be drunk unless it's been sterilized."
"Why not?" Chika retorted. "Freshly squeezed juice can be drunk directly. I once visited a ranch as a kid and saw the herders drink fresh milk right there."
"Juice and milk are 'not' the same thing!" Amemiya thought but didn't say out loud.
Unfazed, Chika folded her arms across her chest and continued, "I read a manga recently. It was about four beautiful girls who got stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash..."
A beautiful-girl version of 'Robinson Crusoe'? If a single guy appeared, it would turn into a typical galgame plot.
"One of the girls fell asleep on a raft and drifted far out into the sea. By the time the others caught up with her, she was dehydrated and nearly unconscious. Seawater's undrinkable, so the other girl—out of desperation—took off her..."
At this point, Chika suddenly stopped. Her hands flew up to cover her pink lips, and a blush crept quickly across her face.
"Took off what?" Amamiya asked dryly. "Go on."
You were doing so great—why stop now? Finish the story!
"I can't say it!" Chika shook her head frantically. "That's forbidden knowledge! I can't reveal it!"
"Wow, that's amazing!" Rikka clasped her hands in front of her chest, her eyes sparkling with awe.
Unmoved, Amamiya sighed. "Spoiling stories midway through, making claims about anything being edible, and leaving sentences unfinished are all very inconsiderate behaviors."
"Why are you like this?" Chika pouted, puffing up her cheeks like an indignant squirrel. After a deep breath, she steeled herself, "What she took off was—"
Well, it 'is' survival knowledge that could even be serialized in 'Jump'... Surely, it's okay to share?
"That's enough," Kaguya interrupted, massaging her temple with a finger. "Let's just drop this topic."
Though Kaguya hadn't read the manga herself, her genius mind, filled with vast knowledge, had already deduced what Chika was implying.
After that, the group shifted topics and began exchanging thoughts on various issues.
For instance, they discussed how, without exception, the reward for completing the first game was the ability to see evil spirits in the real world.
"I don't want any reward," one of the girls chimed in. "I'd rather not see those evil spirits at all."
"Me neither."
"Same here."
"Yeah, count me in too."
"…"
Unsurprisingly, the girls quickly reached a consensus. Even Kaguya nodded slightly in agreement. What had started as a discussion about survival tips had inadvertently morphed into a grievance session.
After encountering these terrifying spirits, life had taken a severe hit—troubled sleep, loss of appetite, constant anxiety—and the worst part was that no one could talk about it because nobody would believe them.
"I've tried everything," Kujo Asuya, one of the newer players who had tagged along, confessed tearfully. "Salt piled in the corners of my room, crosses, rosaries, talismans, holy water, peach wood swords, praying at shrines... Nothing works."
Asuya, a former volleyball team member, wiped away a stray tear. "Now, every time I look at my friends, I see evil spirits lurking around them, and it terrifies me. I've stopped going to volleyball practice because of it."
"That sounds really tough, Asuya-chan." Chika, ever the social butterfly, had already learned the newcomer's name and consoled her warmly. "Maybe if you keep opening blind boxes, you'll get an aura ability like Amemiya-kun that can dispel spirits, and you'll be able to help your friends."
The mention of blind boxes only made Asuya feel more helpless. "But I don't have any game coins left, and every box I've opened so far has just given me weird junk."
Amamiya suddenly mused aloud, "Honestly, I think the vengeful spirits in the game are easier to deal with than the ones in reality."
The real-world spirits were hostile, incomprehensible entities that only bore malice toward the living, but the in-game spirits were different. Take Miss Sadako, for example—terrifying as she was, she could still be reasoned with.
After all, she even considered taking maternity leave after having her hair combed...
Kaguya nodded thoughtfully. "There's likely some connection between these games and the real world that we haven't figured out yet."
With that, the darkness began to fade, and light returned.
"Ms. Sadako," Amemiya said, tapping the TV lightly. "We're going out for a bit, so take care of the ward while we're gone."
From her place at the edge of the well, Miss Sadako, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation, felt her black hair tremble in embarrassment and quickly retreated into the well.
Amemiya sighed.
How are you ever going to survive in society with skin that thin?
Given her former identity as an employee at Himura Dairy, she must have been bullied constantly.
The group stepped out of the ward and into the corridor.
"This is it," said Rikka, lowering her voice as they approached her ward.
"Don't worry!" Chika pumped her fist confidently. "Amemiya and I can combine our skills. There's no way we'll lose!"
"Please, stop planting flags like that," Amamiya muttered as he grasped the door handle. He pushed the door open—and immediately understood why Rikka had called the vengeful spirit a "cow."
The spirit inside the room had a humanoid figure but sported horns on its head, a cow tail that swished behind it, and a large bell tied around its neck. The... 'ample' milk supply only cemented the image.
However, the spirit's blood-red eyes and serrated, shark-like teeth suggested that if this creature ever visited a dentist, even pawning all its clothes wouldn't be enough to cover the bill.
Chika blinked in surprise. "Cow lady?"
The Cow Girl stereotype was supposed to be innocent and cute, but this vengeful spirit looked like it could snap bones with one bite!
"Human," the vengeful spirit sneered as it turned towards them, flashing a bloodthirsty grin. "You've brought plenty of food this time. I'll forgive you... for now."
Its eyes locked onto Chika. "The plumpest human—I'll start with you."
Chika glanced around, bewildered. "Who's the plumpest?"
"..."
Everyone looked at her in silent agreement.
"Wait a minute!" Chika took a half-step back. "Why are you all staring at me?"
"Accept the reality, Fujiwara-san," Amamiya said, his tone dark.
"What?! I'm not fat at all!" Chika puffed up indignantly. "I'm barely fifty kilograms!"
The cow-spirit swished its tail, pointing directly at Chika. "Enough talk. Come here."
Chika's cheeks puffed up angrily, like a squirrel stuffing its mouth with chestnuts. How could she stand such humiliation?
"Outlaw Don, you're under arrest!" she shouted defiantly.