"Hey, hey, why are your clothes on the floor?"
Chika stared in horror at the scattered clothing.
"Why?" He thought in a panic. "I want to know that too!"
Amamiya was equally baffled as he looked down at the clothes lying around. Back when Yukinoshita used the transformation technique, her clothes remained intact, so why had his fallen off?
Stay calm.
Taking a deep breath, Amamiya quickly considered the situation and arrived at a possible explanation.
The players in the game were essentially manifestations of their subconscious. The clothes they wore weren't real—just like how ghosts, like Shimizu, could appear without their clothes transforming with them. Essentially, ghosts didn't wear clothes; what people saw were simply mental projections.
This meant that, technically speaking, Shimizu had been... unclothed all along.
But back to the point—this logic clearly applied to the Sheep Transformation Technique as well. A person could transform into a sheep, but the transformation didn't extend to their clothes. It was the same as those movies where characters with invisibility powers had to remove their clothing to become fully invisible.
In short, the sheep transformation technique worked like invisibility, but without including clothes in the deal.
"Hurry up, Amamiya-kun!" Chika urged, her voice anxious. "Hide under the bed!"
She then glanced at Shimizu, who was nearby, and added, "Big Sis, help me pick up the clothes."
"Leave it to me," Shimizu responded, momentarily materializing to gather up Amamiya's discarded clothes.
Amamiya quickly made his way to the bed, leaping lightly and nestling himself among a pile of dolls at the foot of the bed, blending in as best as he could.
The evidence was swiftly cleaned up.
Chika exhaled in relief and went to open the door.
Thud.
A small head bumped directly into her chest—it was Moeha Fujiwara, apparently eavesdropping from just outside the door.
"Second sister, what were you doing in here all by yourself?" Moeha asked, rubbing her forehead. She stood straight and gave her older sister a suspicious look. "You took so long to open the door, I almost called the police!"
"It wasn't even a minute!" Chika protested, crossing her arms. "And calling the police would be overkill."
Moeha stood with her hands on her hips, a younger version of Chika, though slightly shorter and sporting twin pigtails. Despite being just a junior high student, she had already developed a figure that surpassed that of a certain ice-cold heiress.
"And what exactly were you doing that made you scream so loudly?" Moeha questioned, her eyes narrowing.
"Uh..." Chika's gaze darted around the room for a moment. As the daughter of a politician, she disliked lying, but when absolutely necessary, she didn't hesitate. "I, uh, was watching a horror video on my phone, and it scared me."
"That's a lie," Moeha said flatly.
"Huh?"
"If you were just scared by a video, you could have told me right away. Why were you hiding and refusing to open the door?"
Chika: "…"
It made too much sense to argue against.
"My second sister lied to me," Moeha said, now deep in thought. "She must be up to something... unspeakable."
With that, Moeha switched to detective mode, pacing around the room thoughtfully. She made a sudden move and yanked back the bed's quilt.
Whoosh.
Nothing was under the covers.
Meanwhile, Amamiya, hidden among the pile of dolls, felt his heart race.
Thankfully, he hadn't hidden under the bed. Otherwise, he would've been caught for sure.
"When did my second sister buy a sheep pillow?" Moeha's eyes quickly landed on Amamiya, now in sheep form, and they lit up with excitement. "It's so cute!"
Amamiya remained perfectly still, doing his best to blend in as just another ordinary sheep pillow.
Moeha reached out eagerly, saying, "Second sister, can I have this sheep pillow tonight?"
"No, you can't!" Chika quickly intervened, shaking her head.
"Why not? I don't want to keep it forever. I just want to hold it while I sleep."
"You... you drool when you sleep," Chika replied defensively.
"You're one to talk! You drool too, so you have no right to criticize me."
"That's beside the point. This sheep pillow is really important," Chika insisted, moving closer to shield Amamiya with her body. "I promise, I'll buy you another one tomorrow."
The truth was, Amamiya wasn't a real pillow, and if Moeha touched him, she'd instantly know something was off.
"I don't want another one! I want 'this' one," Moeha whined, puffing out her cheeks in frustration. "You took my shark pillow two nights ago!"
"That... uh..."
Chika found herself at a loss, knowing her sister's complaint was valid. She glanced over at Shimizu, silently pleading for help.
"Leave it to me," Shimizu said with a calm smile. Her eyes darted to a roll of toilet paper sitting on the desk. With a gentle push, she knocked it off, sending it rolling to the floor.
"Huh? Toilet paper?" Moeha's gaze followed the roll, then she looked back at Chika, whose face was flushed, her eyes wide with guilt, her clothes slightly disheveled. After a moment of silence, Moeha's expression suddenly shifted to one of understanding.
"I get it now," she said with a knowing nod. "My sister is in high school. It's only natural for her to want to relax after all that studying..."
Without waiting for a response, Moeha began walking out of the room, closing the door behind her. "I'll head back to my room. You can continue, sis."
"What do you mean, 'continue'?!"
Chika was left speechless, her face a shade of deep red.
Shimizu sat down with a sweet smile. "Moeha-chan is quite adorable."
"I can't believe she misunderstood me like that... How could she think I'd do something so shameful by myself?" Chika muttered, nearly in tears.
Amamiya, still in his sheep form, cautiously stood up from his spot among the dolls and looked around. Being a sheep made the bed seem impossibly high, almost intimidating when viewed from above.
"Amamiya-kun, let me hold you!" Chika's eyes brightened, and she quickly spread her arms wide, moving towards him.
"No need for that," Amamiya tried to protest, though in his sheep form, all that came out were a few soft bleats.
"Oh, you're even cuter when you bleat like that," Chika cooed, her earlier embarrassment forgotten. She sat down on the bed and began gently patting Amamiya's head. "Say something again, Amamiya-kun."
Like I'm going to keep bleating for you! Amamiya fumed silently. Just because I'm in sheep form doesn't mean I've turned into an actual sheep!
"I have a brush for my dog Pes in my room. Would you like me to comb your wool, Amamiya-kun?" Chika asked, her tone filled with excitement.
Amamiya bristled at the suggestion. "Are you planning to feed me grass afterward too?" he thought bitterly.
Just then, a game notification echoed in Amamiya's mind:
'[The transformation is about to end. Players, please be prepared]'
Taking a deep breath, Amamiya braced himself. He prepared to leap down from the bed, but just as he made his move, Chika suddenly scooped him up into her arms.
Amamiya struggled, but to no avail. As a sheep, he was no match for Chika's grip.
"Don't squirm so much. What if you fall from such a height? I'll carry you down safely—"
Before Chika could finish her sentence, the transformation ended. Amamiya's sheep form disappeared, and he instantly regained his human size and weight.
With a soft thud, the mattress sank under their combined weight, causing the bed to wobble.
"Ah!" Chika yelped in surprise.
Their eyes met.
For a moment, neither of them moved. The only sound in the room was the soft rhythm of their breathing. Their faces were so close that Amamiya could catch the faint, pleasant scent of Chika's perfume—a sweet blend of milk and fruit.
"A-Amamiya-kun..."
The pink-haired girl's voice was weak, and her expression was a little dazed at first. After a second of blankness, her eyelashes suddenly trembled, and then she hurriedly closed her eyes.
What do you mean by closing your eyes?
Open your eyes quickly and protect yourself!
Amamiya suddenly felt some inexplicable impulse.
As long as it's cute, it doesn't matter if it's stupid...
The next moment.
A resentful voice sounded faintly in the room.
"What are you doing in front of me?!"