"Ouija board spirit, Ouija board spirit, please answer."
"Why is there still no answer?"
"You are the omniscient Great Ouija board spirit, you can't possibly fail to answer, can you?"
"..."
Silence.
Endless silence.
Facing Natsuki's question, the Ouija board spirit remained silent, the tip of the pen fixed on the paper, without any movement.
It proved that even the Ouija board spirit couldn't answer the final, most difficult question on the college entrance exam math paper.
Natsuki had only memorized the question; he hadn't calculated the answer, so the Ouija board spirit couldn't read the solution from his memory.
After waiting for a moment longer, Natsuki smiled and said:
"Great Ouija board spirit, you remember what you said before, right? If there is a question you cannot answer, you must grant me one command. The Great Ouija board spirit wouldn't break her promise, would she?"
"..."
This time the pen tip finally moved, heavily scratching across the paper, leaving deep indentations, as if venting its dissatisfaction:
"Speak."
"Then I'll say it." Natsuki pondered for two seconds, then said, "I am very interested in the Great Ouija board spirit, so, please reveal your true form."
"..."
Everyone had to follow the game rules; even the Ouija board spirit couldn't act arbitrarily.
As Natsuki gave the command, a faint ripple quickly appeared in the air. Immediately afterward, a transparent woman with only the whites of her eyes and long hair materialized out of thin air, floating conspicuously on the ceiling. Her body hung down, and she reached out a transparent, pale right hand to grasp the prop pen on the table.
At the same time, this Ouija board spirit's hair split into four strands that hung down, wrapping around Natsuki, Haruno, Yukino, and the random girl, respectively.
The random girl had the most hair on her, looking as if she were about to be completely swallowed by the strands.
Yukino was next, but still had quite a bit of hair on her.
Haruno had very little hair on her.
Finally, there was Natsuki; because he wasn't afraid of the Ouija board spirit at all, he only had a single strand of hair on him, barely maintaining the connection.
"The Ouija board spirit is right above our heads."
"W-what should we do? We won't be killed, right?"
"I knew we shouldn't have played the Ouija board spirit game..."
Seeing the Ouija board spirit reveal her true form, the three girls were startled simultaneously. Their fear levels rapidly soared. Even Yukino and Haruno were no exception; right now they were just ordinary people, and seeing a pale-faced ghost floating above them, it would be strange not to panic.
"Stare—"
The Ouija board spirit's gaze shifted, her white-only eyes fixed intently on Natsuki.
Natsuki was completely unfazed, even smiling as he greeted her:
"Hello, Miss Ouija board spirit, do you have a boyfriend?"
"..."
Hearing this, the three girls, including Yukino, looked over, and everyone wore a speechless expression.
Why are you asking her if she has a boyfriend?
That's the Ouija board spirit! You can't possibly be interested in her, right!
The Ouija board spirit did not answer. Her pale eyes silently watched Natsuki for a moment, then she controlled the pen tip, moving it across the paper:
"Continue the game."
The fourth round of the Ouija board spirit game continued.
Just like before, it was still Haruno's turn to ask a question.
Haruno pursed her lips, a hint of nervousness appearing on her pretty face as she hesitated over what to ask the Ouija board spirit.
According to the random girl, the harder the question was to answer, the harder the Ouija board spirit's reciprocal 'command' would be to fulfill. So, she needed to ask a simple question... At this moment, Natsuki suddenly called out softly:
"Haruno-san."
"Hm?"
Haruno turned her head, looking puzzled.
Natsuki whispered: "Give me your hand."
Haruno hesitated slightly, then extended her right hand.
Under the gaze of Yukino and the Ouija board spirit, Natsuki grasped Haruno's right hand, moved it beneath the table, and lightly wrote characters on Haruno's palm.
"...I understand."
Haruno secretly blinked, indicating she understood.
In the fabricated memory, she and Natsuki were not close; they merely attended the same school, and their relationship was that of ordinary acquaintances. Yet, for some unknown reason, a voice deep inside urged her to trust the boy in front of her.
Furthermore, the question Natsuki told her to ask was not difficult, so it wouldn't lead to an impossible punitive command...
"Ouija board spirit, Ouija board spirit." Haruno gently exhaled and asked softly, "Are you male or female?"
"..."
After a brief silence, the Ouija board spirit controlled the pen, moving the palms of the four hands across the paper.
[Female]
Natsuki looked up at the Ouija board spirit: "It is a girl, indeed."
After answering, the pen tip moved again, giving a command.
[Remove one article of clothing]
It's still about taking off clothes! You, Ouija board spirit, aren't decent at all, are you!
"Mmm..."
Although she was prepared, upon seeing the command, a delicate blush still rose on Haruno's pretty face. She gently bit her lip, clearly feeling immense shame.
Natsuki silently made an assessment in his heart: The fabricated memory is indeed too weak. If it were the real Haruno, she wouldn't even blush when ordered to take off her clothes!
Faced with life and death, there was actually no room for choice.
Haruno bit her lip and reached behind her back, preparing to undo her bra.
"Haruno-san, wait a moment." Natsuki suddenly called out.
"Eh?"
Haruno looked over in confusion.
Natsuki took off his jacket, handed it to Haruno, and said seriously:
"Put my clothes on first, then take them off."
Yukino was sitting right across from them. When the mushroom detonated later, both of them would wake up. If he didn't help Haruno now and stood by watching her suffer public humiliation, things would definitely be awkward afterward.
Haruno's eyes lit up, and she asked in surprise:
"Is that allowed?"
"Of course it is." Natsuki looked up at the Ouija board spirit and smiled, "Miss Ouija board spirit never said that others couldn't borrow clothes, right?"
The Ouija board spirit was silent for a moment, offering no response.
No response was the answer.
Yukino's eyes also brightened, and she mused:
"In that case, can we actually put the clothes we took off back on?"
This time, the Ouija board spirit did not remain silent, controlling the pen tip to move across the paper:
[Cannot]
Natsuki said from the side:
"You can't put back on the clothes you took off yourselves, but wearing clothes that others took off should be fine, right?"
"..."
The Ouija board spirit fell silent again.
Clearly, within her game rules, clothes that were removed could not be put back on, but the loophole regarding wearing clothes removed by others or lending clothes to others had not been closed.
Having seized the weakness, Haruno let out a sigh of relief. She quickly put on the jacket Natsuki handed her, then took it off, successfully avoiding public humiliation.
"It's my turn."
Yukino pursed her lips.
"Yukino, give me your hand." Natsuki said again.
Cheating right in front of the Ouija board spirit, and completely disregarding its feelings.
Yukino hesitated slightly, then extended her soft hand toward Natsuki.
During the previous Q&A, the Ouija board spirit had said she liked the boy in front of her. Although that was impossible... perhaps she could try to trust him.
Natsuki held Yukino's right hand and wrote characters on her palm.
"Hm?"
Yukino frowned as she looked over.
"Trust me." Natsuki whispered, "Even if there is a command, I will take the punishment for you."
"...Alright."
Yukino hesitated for a few seconds, nodded gently, and opened her lips to ask:
"Ouija board spirit, Ouija board spirit, is your psychological gender also female?"
A meaningless question; she had no idea what its purpose was.
After a brief silence, the Ouija board spirit gave the answer:
[That's right, psychological gender is female]
"Psychological gender is female, and physical gender is also female." Natsuki looked up at the Ouija board spirit, "Then you are a true girl."
The pen tip moved quickly across the paper. Clearly, this question infringed somewhat on privacy; even the Ouija board spirit had self-respect, and quickly issued a command:
[Fill the wine glass with your fresh blood]
A small wine glass appeared out of thin air. Its capacity was small, looking to be only about fifty milliliters, and next to the glass, a dagger also appeared.
Obviously, as everyone discovered the loophole in the clothes removal command, the Ouija board spirit changed strategy, choosing a brand new method of punishment. Moreover, the difficulty had suddenly increased greatly—taking off clothes in public was just playing with shame, but filling a glass with fresh blood was a dual terror, both physical and psychological.
Yukino furrowed her delicate brows, took a deep breath, and reached for the dagger.
"Wait a moment." Natsuki spoke decisively, his voice loud, "Miss Ouija board spirit, may I complete the command in Yukino's stead?"
"Hm?"
Yukino was slightly taken aback, casting a surprised glance his way.
Earlier, Natsuki had said he would take on any punishment, and she thought he was just talking, but she didn't expect him to actually dare to step forward?
The pen tip moved quickly across the paper:
[You may]
But immediately afterward, the Ouija board spirit added another rule:
[To take her place, you must fill two wine glasses with fresh blood]
Another wine glass appeared out of thin air on the table. The Ouija board spirit's pale eyes stared fixedly at Natsuki, making no attempt to conceal the malice in her gaze.
Unfortunately, it couldn't see any fear or dread on Natsuki's face, only a smile that greatly displeased it.
"One must be true to their word and follow through," Natsuki said, taking the two wine glasses and gripping the dagger. "I said I would take the punishment on Yukino's behalf, and I certainly won't break my promise."
Under the gaze of the three girls, Natsuki's other hand unhesitatingly gripped the sharp edge of the dagger. Blood immediately flowed down the dagger, dripping into the wine glasses.
"You…"
Seeing this, Yukino's expression became incredibly complex.
In fact, until the very last moment, she didn't believe Natsuki would truly follow through. There were countless people in this world who spoke big words, but very few who could keep a promise.
But at this moment, looking at the blood dripping from Natsuki's palm, even she had to admit that the boy in front of her had indeed kept his word.
"It seems Natsuki-kun really likes Yukino," Haruno sighed softly, standing nearby. "If he were just an ordinary classmate, he wouldn't be able to do this, right?"
Yukino bit her lip, remaining silent.
Was it really because of love that he went this far?
She didn't even like him, yet he went this far… He really is an idiot.
Drip, drip.
Blood continued to drip, quickly filling the two wine glasses.
"Miss Ouija spirit, I did it," Natsuki looked up at the Ouija board in mid-air and asked, "Yukino's punishment can be waived now, right?"
"…"
The Ouija board was silent for a moment, then gave its answer:
"The game continues."
The next person was passerby player. This girl must have been immersed in the nightmare for quite some time; she was completely numb and it was difficult to get a response from her when speaking, so Natsuki did not help, but chose to wait and see.
A moment later.
The Ouija board game came before him again.
"It's my turn again," Natsuki smiled, looking at the Ouija board in mid-air. "My question is simple: there's only one Ouija board in the room, there won't be any other spirit boards, right?"
For some reason, the Ouija board felt that this sentence contained immense malice, but as part of the nightmare, she had to answer when she knew the answer.
"There is only me."
Immediately after, the pen tip moved again, drawing a command on the paper, openly revealing its malice towards Natsuki:
"Fill the cup with your blood."
Another cup appeared out of thin air on the table. Although there was only one, its capacity was large, almost equivalent to the two small wine glasses from before.
"Tsk," Natsuki exclaimed, "That's really an undisguised differential treatment."
The Ouija board issued an ultimatum:
"If you don't fill the wine glass with blood within three minutes, you will be severely punished."
Yukino and Haruno both frowned, looking over worriedly. It is well known that once a person loses too much blood, they will go into shock or die. Natsuki was now being targeted by the Ouija board, and his situation was exceptionally dangerous.
"Don't be nervous."
Natsuki winked at Yukino and Haruno, giving them a reassuring look, then looked at the Ouija board, and hooked his finger, saying:
"Come here."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Ouija board's pale eyes suddenly turned into pink hearts.
"Title: Love Warrior."
"Title Effect: Friend of Wives."
"Type: Active/Passive."
"As the ancient saying goes, 'universal love' means not only loving one's own wife, but also loving other people's wives."
"Passive Effect: You generate an additional attraction to Madames/other people's girlfriends/other people's childhood friends."
"Active Effect: After using the title ability, you will temporarily inherit the will of the Prime Minister, and you will generate a forced attraction to designated female creatures, greatly increasing their favorability in a short period of time."
For the Love Warrior's title skill to successfully activate, first, the target must be female, including both physical and psychological gender, neither of which can be missing. Second, one must look into the target's eyes.
Now all conditions were met. A mere Ouija board naturally had no power to resist. So, it obediently floated down, came before Natsuki, stood docilely, and its eyes were filled with admiration.
Natsuki extended his right hand, ruffled the Ouija board's head, and then commanded:
"Pull all your hair back."
The Ouija board obediently complied, quickly retracting the hair that had been Entanglement around everyone.
"Eh? What's going on?"
"Why is the Ouija board suddenly so obedient?"
The three girls were greatly astonished. After their bodies were no longer controlled by the Ouija board's hair, even the dazed passerby player woke up. Of course, this so-called awakening was remembering false memories, not true ones.
"What did you do to the Ouija board?"
Yukino couldn't help but ask.
"Do what?" Natsuki replied seriously, "Of course, I used love to enlighten Miss Ouija spirit."