"Actually..."
Kaguya held the panda doll tightly, looking as though she wanted to say something but hesitated.
"Hm? What is it?"
Amamiya glanced curiously at her.
Kaguya quickly looked away, murmuring, "...It's nothing."
In truth, she 'had' brought money with her today.
The arcade incident earlier was unexpected, but it's not like she'd ever leave the house without cash. Who does that?
Still... the panda is so cute. There's no reason not to accept it. 'I'll just return the favor later'.
After buying a few more souvenirs, they left the panda house and continued through the rest of the zoo, visiting all the remaining exhibits before finally heading out.
"Well, mission accomplished!" Umi stretched her arms out behind her back, squinting up at the sun as it set over the zoo. "It'll probably open soon, like how game companies always make big promises. Who knows? Maybe in a year or so..."
Amamiya quickly cut her off, "You know what Murphy's Law is, right?"
"Of course!" Umi tilted her head, revealing her slender, snow-white neck as she smugly answered, "The more you dread something, the more likely it is to happen."
Amamiya sighed. "Then try not to jinx it like Fujiwara-san always does."
"..."
Luckily, Umi's bad luck didn't seem to activate this time, and they managed to leave the zoo without incident.
At the zoo's entrance.
"So, how are you getting home?" Amamiya asked, turning to Kaguya.
"My driver will be here to pick me up in a moment," she replied softly.
Her mother's voice echoed in her mind, "Kaguya-chan, when you get home, remember to send a message to me."
Her mother had stayed up too late on her phone again last night, leaving her exhausted and practically bedridden all day.
'"Make sure to message me first, or I'll cry, just you see!"'
'Enough with the theatrics, Mother.' 'Tears are just secretions from the tear glands. You're a ghost—you don't even have tear glands!'
"...Alright, I will," Kaguya reluctantly agreed, resigned to her mother's emotional whims.
"Goodbye, Shinomiya-san!" Umi waved as they parted ways.
Kaguya nodded politely, "Goodbye."
They said their farewells at the entrance, and Umi also left, mentioning she was heading to the mall. Amamiya, along with Miko, her younger brother, and Hana, made their way toward the tram station. Soon, Kaguya was the only one left standing at the zoo's entrance.
"Miss, it's time to head back."
Hayasaka appeared out of nowhere, quietly stepping beside Kaguya.
Kaguya puffed her cheeks slightly, hugging the panda doll closer. "Why did you leave me alone earlier?"
"To give you a little alone time, of course," Hayasaka replied, crossing her arms and lazily biting into a lollipop. "Rather than spying from afar, it's more fun to experience the zoo together, isn't it?"
"What do you mean by 'together'? There were plenty of people around."
"Then why don't we invite Natsuki-san out alone tomorrow for some shopping?"
"I'm busy tomorrow," Kaguya said flatly.
"..."
---
8:30 PM.
Amamiya was watching TV when his phone suddenly rang.
---
"Amamiya-kun?"
Amamiya picked up his phone and saw that the caller was Umi.
It was the first time the gyaru beauty had ever called him since they exchanged contact information at school.
"Hello?"
"Help, help, help!"
Her panicked voice came through the speaker, startling Amamiya, who immediately sat up straight. "Has your... situation started?"
"It's not a situation," Umi said anxiously. "It's that scythe-wielding spirit I saw on the train today. I was just gathering clothes on my balcony when I saw it 'again', right below my apartment building!"
Amamiya frowned, thinking. "Are you sure it's the same one? Some spirits look similar."
"I'm sure! I noticed a piece of its clothes missing, the part that got burned by the flames this morning," Umi said, her voice trembling.
"..."
That pretty much confirmed it. It was likely the same spirit.
"Maybe it's just passing by?" Amamiya suggested.
"No way," Umi replied, voice firm. "I 'know' it's after me."
"How can you tell?"
"Women's intuition!"
'That's not a thing—only the Seventh Sense in 'Saint Seiya' works like that, and it doesn't apply to you.'
"I could feel it watching me," she added, sounding both scared and pitiful. "It must be after me for what happened on the train! It's here for revenge, I know it."
"I'm home alone, and I don't want to stay here anymore."
"Can you come over to my place tonight, Amamiya-kun?" she asked, her voice pleading.
Amamiya replied without hesitation, "No."
"So heartless," Umi whined.
"You can come to my place," he offered instead.
He couldn't just leave her in danger. They were friends, after all. Even if they weren't particularly close, he wasn't going to ignore someone in trouble.
"Wait, really? Why?"
"Because," Amamiya said in a resigned tone, "I'm very attached to my own bed. I'd get insomnia if I stayed somewhere unfamiliar."
"..."
"Send me your address," Umi said, sounding surprisingly eager. "I'll head over right away."
---
Meanwhile, at the Shinomiya family villa.
Kaguya had just finished her shower. Her long, black hair fell over her shoulders like a cascade of silk as she sat on the sofa, reading a book.
Behind her, Hayasaka stood holding a hairdryer, gently blowing Kaguya's hair dry.
As the clock ticked closer to 9 PM, Kaguya glanced up, closing her book. "It's time for bed. You can go now, Hayasaka."
Hayasaka nodded and put away the hairdryer. "Understood. See you tomorrow, Miss."
As Kaguya stood, her eyes flickered toward the desk where a panda doll sat safely in the corner. She gave it an inconspicuous glance, as if making sure it was still there.
Kaguya had a strict, healthy schedule. As the eldest daughter of a powerful family, she had been trained to go to bed by 9 PM every night since childhood. Staying up late, she had been told, led to hair loss—and even sudden death. Good girls never stayed up late.
With that in mind, Kaguya stretched and climbed into bed, sticking to her routine as always.
Hayasaka quietly left the room, but as she reached the door, she paused. Through the narrow gap, she saw Kaguya dart toward the desk, grab the panda doll, and gleefully hop onto the bed like a child.
'Bang.'
The door closed behind her.
Hayasaka let out a quiet sigh, walking back to her own room. Once there, she removed her maid outfit, pulled her hair into a neat ponytail, and slipped into a sleek black nightgown. Popping a lollipop into her mouth, she prepared herself.
'The spy maid is ready for action.'
Kaguya had mysteriously disappeared for several hours the previous day. As her personal maid, it was Hayasaka's duty to investigate what had happened. And one person definitely had the answers she was looking for—Amamiya Natsuki.
'Hypnosis.'
'Truth serum.'
'Drowsy black tea.'
Tonight, Hayasaka even wanted to find out what color underwear Amamiya was wearing.
The journey was silent.
Before long, Hayasaka arrived at Amamiya's house. It was already past nine in the evening, and the streets were deserted, bathed in the cold light of the moon and street lamps.
Nodding slightly, she signaled for the driver to leave before quietly slipping toward one of the windows, carefully observing the house's interior.
As a highly-trained maid with professional spy skills, Hayasaka had no trouble assessing the situation.
"The lights are off on both the second and first floors…"
She quickly concluded that the house was empty.
'That makes things easier,' she thought to herself.
Without making a sound, she moved around to the front door. Pulling out her tools, she skillfully unlocked it within moments.
'As a spy, knowing how to pick locks is just part of the job.'
Just as she opened the door, a soft bark interrupted her.
Turning her head slightly, she saw an Akita dog trotting over, alerted by the sound.
Hayasaka tensed for a moment, her eyes narrowing in caution, but to her surprise, the dog simply wagged its tail and panted happily.
"...Stupid dog."
She sighed, momentarily reminded of a certain pink-haired girl, then reached into her pocket and pulled out a small sausage, one that had been "specially prepared."
"Here, have some."
The Akita eagerly accepted the offering, chomping down the sausage without hesitation. Moments later, it was sound asleep on the floor, snoring softly.
Hayasaka stepped inside, closing the door behind her as if she were the rightful owner of the house. She glanced around the entrance hall and proceeded to inspect the living room.
"The place is surprisingly clean."
She ran her fingers lightly over the TV, noting the lingering warmth.
"The TV's still warm. He must've just left."
'Perfect timing.'
With a slight smirk, she reached into her bag. 'It's time to install some 'gadgets'.'
As a spy, carrying surveillance equipment was second nature. She expertly set up a few devices around the house, intending to collect any interesting data before removing them later.
To her, the house was as defenseless as an unlocked vault. She could slip in and out seven times over and no one would be the wiser.
Just as she finished setting up the equipment, Hayasaka's ears perked up. The faint sound of the front door unlocking reached her, and she quickly concealed herself in the shadows.
"I'm back."
Amamiya's voice echoed through the entrance as he stepped inside.
A girl's voice followed.
"Sorry to intrude."
Umi entered the house behind him.
'Hmm?'
Hayasaka narrowed her eyes. 'That voice… it's Umi.'
Not that it particularly mattered. But still, it was past nine o'clock at night, and Amamiya had brought a girl home. They weren't even on a date...
'Miss, you've been cheated on!'
Amamiya bent down to open the shoe cabinet and pulled out a pair of women's slippers. "Here, wear these."
Being cautious, Amamiya had brought Umi back to his place to keep her safe.
"Thank you, Amamiya-kun."
Umi slipped out of her small leather shoes, her legs wrapped in black stockings glistening faintly under the light. "I didn't expect you lived alone. This makes things more convenient."
Amamiya walked over to the refrigerator. "What do you want to drink? Green tea or cola?"
"Cola!" Umi raised her hand enthusiastically.
Amamiya opened the refrigerator door, his gaze briefly meeting the disembodied head of a ghost that had somehow reappeared inside without him noticing.
He had gotten used to such things by now, so he pretended not to see it.
After grabbing two bottles from the fridge, Amamiya walked over to the sofa and handed one of them to Umi. "Here."
Without hesitation, Umi took the Coke, tilted her head back, and drank deeply. Letting out a satisfied sigh, she smiled. "Ahh, nothing beats an ice-cold Coke in summer."
Amamiya sipped his barley tea. "It's not summer yet."
"The temperature today was over 30 degrees! It's basically summer already." Umi's face was flushed from the long gulp, and her breath was warm as she leaned closer. "So, Amamiya-kun, what should we do now?"
'Do what?'
A man and a woman, alone, late at night… was there really any need to ask?
Hidden in the shadows, Hayasaka—the ever-watchful spy maid—narrowed her eyes. She was already prepared to report back what she had observed.
'They must break up. No question about it.'
'He's cheating. If you don't break up with him now, what are you waiting for? New Year's?'
"There's nothing to do," Amamiya replied plainly. "Fujiwara-san's traveling with her family. We can't do anything without her."
The evil spirit they were dealing with seemed intelligent. To defeat it, the best strategy was to use a combination of abilities to restrain it first, and then activate a purification aura. Unfortunately, Chika's family had a Golden Week tradition of traveling, meaning she was currently out of Tokyo.
'Wait, what?'
Hayasaka, still concealed, frowned. 'Why bring up that idiot all of a sudden?'
'You need a third person for... whatever you're planning to do?'
Meanwhile, Umi, still holding her Coke, sighed. "Thanks for letting me stay, Amamiya-kun. I really don't want to go home alone."
The next moment, Hayasaka's eyes widened in disbelief.
On the sofa, a phone suddenly lifted into the air, seemingly of its own accord. The screen automatically unlocked.
"Wha... what the heck?" she muttered, struggling to make sense of the scene.
A logical thinker raised on science, Hayasaka's first instinct was to seek a rational explanation.
"Is it… magic?"
"No," she quickly dismissed the thought. "It's not magic."
Magic was just tricks—sleight of hand using props and illusion. This? This was different. The phone floated without any visible support. Magic couldn't explain it.
'It's definitely not magic.'
What Hayasaka didn't know was that it was Shimizu—now a ghost—who was playing with the phone. As a spirit who didn't need sleep, Shimizu's favorite pastime was using her phone. It was a shame she couldn't enjoy food anymore; otherwise, she might've turned into a lazy spirit like the useless angel or the beautiful hamster girl(Umaru), living a life of indulgence.
Normal people couldn't see ghosts, so all Hayasaka could see was a phone mysteriously floating in mid-air. This was exactly why Amamiya didn't allow Shimizu to bring her phone to school—there was always the risk of unintentionally scaring others.
"I remember when I died, 'One Piece' was still in the Crocodile arc. Luffy's grown up in the blink of an eye," Shimizu murmured as she fiddled with the phone.
In reality, not much time had passed. It had taken 25 years in real time, and Luffy had only aged three years in the manga. Yet somehow, he'd grown into a powerhouse who could now go toe-to-toe with Kaido.
'Hacks everywhere—his powers, his family, everything's a cheat. Turns out there's no such thing as a commoner protagonist in shounen manga.'
"I bought the latest volumes this afternoon," Umi said, perking up. "They're in my bag. If you want, we can read them together later, Big Sis Shimizu."
Hayasaka's eyes widened further as she watched Umi casually turn and talk to the empty air. Holding her breath, she started to regret her decision to come here.
'Something's wrong.'
'Very wrong.'
These two… they weren't normal. She was just an ordinary spy maid, yet the two people before her were clearly involved in something supernatural!