"Which one is better, spicy chicken or spicy rabbit head?"
With a serious expression, Chika asked earnestly, "Kaguya-chan, please answer."
Both Kaguyas remained silent, contemplating the strange question. After a few seconds of hesitation, the Kaguya on the left finally spoke up.
"Spicy rabbit head?"
The Kaguya on the right remained silent.
Chika's eyes, once filled with expectation, quickly clouded over with disappointment. "Kaguya-chan can't handle spicy food. Whether it's spicy chicken or rabbit head, she would never like either. With her personality, she would say she doesn't like either of them."
Chika took a deep breath before firmly declaring, "So... neither of you are the real Kaguya-chan."
The room fell silent as the illusion was exposed. No matter how perfectly the imposters had mimicked her appearance or stolen her memories, they couldn't replicate her true nature.
As if in response to Chika's words, cracks appeared across the bodies of both Kaguyas, and with a loud shattering noise, they disintegrated into nothingness.
Suddenly, the ward felt eerily empty, the atmosphere turning cold and unsettling.
"They weren't human..." Rikka whispered nervously, hiding behind Amamiya. She looked around anxiously, her voice trembling. "Did we enter the wrong room?"
"No," Chika replied, shaking her head. "If we were in the wrong room, we wouldn't have seen three Kaguya-chans."
She turned to Amamiya, her eyes questioning. "Amamiya-kun, you must have realized that they weren't Kaguya-chans, right?"
Amamiya nodded. "I did."
Kaguya was known for her composure, but deep down, she wasn't particularly brave. The thought of her wandering alone in a gloomy ward, vulnerable to a vengeful spirit's imitation, would have made her anxious. The real Kaguya would have shown signs of distress, perhaps even pleaded for help upon seeing them.
But none of the three Kaguyas had exhibited any fear or panic.
"Without any definitive proof, I didn't want to jump to conclusions," Amemiya explained. "But now it's clear—Shinomiya-san must still be here somewhere. We just need to find her."
The ward was small, sparsely furnished with two beds, a built-in closet, and a small table cluttered with random items. They began searching, checking under the beds, inside the closet, and even the drawers, but Kaguya was nowhere to be found.
Eventually, Amamiya's gaze settled on an unassuming mirror sitting in the corner of the table. It was a small, ancient-looking dressing mirror, no larger than a palm, with a foggy, indistinct surface. It seemed entirely ordinary.
Except... something about it felt off.
After a moment of careful observation, a strange realization came over him.
[After closely examining the mirror, you notice it's more than it seems.]
Wait... what?
[Legends say mirrors can act as portals to other worlds. You realize something is wrong and consider smashing the mirror, though doing so may trap your future wife in the mirror world forever.]
Future wife?
Amemiya blinked in confusion. This was getting absurd.
[Deciding to embrace your destiny as a future husband, you choose to gaze into the mirror for ten seconds and rescue your bride.]
Bride? Really? This was getting ridiculous. Still, Amemiya took a deep breath, steeling himself, and focused on the mirror. He began to count down silently in his head.
Ten...
Nine...
Eight...
The moment he silently reached "one," the world around him blurred and shifted.
"Did I enter?"
Amemiya quickly looked around and realized he had indeed crossed into the mirror world. Chika and Rikka were gone. In their place, two Kaguyas sat on a bed, their hands resting on their knees. Hearing the disturbance, they both turned towards him at the same time.
"Natsuki-san?"
Both spoke in perfect unison, their voices echoing each other's surprise. They stood up at the same time, mirroring each other's movements flawlessly.
Amemiya studied them closely. Their synchronization was eerie—no delays, no discrepancies. It was unsettling to see such precision between them.
"I understand the situation," Amemiya muttered to himself. There was clearly one real Kaguya and one imposter in front of him. But how could he distinguish between them?
"Shinomiya-san," he asked, "what was the first thing you ever said to me?"
Without missing a beat, both Kaguyas answered at the exact same moment: "Natsuki-san, please turn yourself in."
Amemiya sighed. "Alright, let's try this... A chicken and a rabbit are placed in a cage. There are thirty-five heads on top and ninety-four legs on the bottom. Now... which tastes better, spicy chicken or spicy rabbit head?"
Both Kaguyas responded immediately: "I don't like either."
He frowned. "The swimming pool has an inlet and outlet pipe. The inlet pipe fills the pool in ten minutes, and the outlet pipe drains the pool in fifteen minutes. Five minutes after the water starts filling, the drain is opened. What crime did the pool manager commit?"
Again, both Kaguyas answered in perfect harmony: "It's a waste of water."
This was getting nowhere. Every answer was identical—voice, movement, expression—everything synchronized.
Amemiya was growing frustrated. He needed a new strategy.
"Shinomiya-san," he ordered, "take out your game tools."
Both Kaguyas bit their lips, mirroring each other. "I tried," they said, "but the tools are sealed. I can't access them."
Amemiya let out a deep sigh. This perfect synchronization was unnerving. Even though Kaguya was normally composed, she would still feel fear in a situation like this, trapped in a mirror world and mirrored by a vengeful spirit.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.
[Through careful observation, you notice a subtle difference in their eyes...]
Amemiya focused intently on Kaguya on the right. "Don't move. I think I've figured it out."
Both Kaguyas froze, their wide eyes staring at him.
He locked eyes with the Kaguya on the right. He could see the mist in her eyes, a mix of fear and anxiety. Despite her usual icy composure, even she couldn't remain completely calm in such an eerie place.
After a long, silent minute of observation, he finally found it—the difference.
"...I've found you!"
Without hesitation, Amemiya grabbed the right Kaguya's hand and dashed towards the mirror.
With a loud crash, the mirror world around them shattered.