"Senpai! He-Help… Help!"
Moeha's frantic cry for help came from his ear.
"Tsk~"
As expected of sisters, their way of asking for help is exactly the same.
"You get up first," Natsuki was pressed down by Moeha's softness and sweetness, unable to get up for a while, so he could only say, "What else happened?"
"It's a moth!" Moeha's voice was super panicked. "A really big moth!"
Natsuki said speechlessly, "It's just a moth. Just kill it."
"I can't do it, absolutely can't do it!" Moeha quickly shook her head, her voice trembling. "That kind of creature, covered in powder, is simply a terrifying monster from hell. Will I die if I inhale it into my nose and mouth?"
Hey, hey, moths are indeed disgusting, but dying is too exaggerated!
"Steady, don't panic," Natsuki said. "You get up first, and I'll chase that moth away."
"I-I understand…"
Moeha's face was flushed, and she prepared to get up from Natsuki's back.
But just as she straightened up, the moth swooped down again.
"Ahhhhhh!"
Moeha, who had just regained some composure, panicked again, frantically closed her eyes, and suddenly ducked down.
Bang!
Natsuki was once again crushed by a mountain.
"He-Help… Help!"
Don't just verbally cry for help; at least give others a chance to rescue you!
Natsuki couldn't help but retort, "Take a deep breath and stand up in one go. Don't hesitate."
Moeha tearfully agreed:
"I-I'll try…"
A few seconds later.
Bang!
Natsuki's back was once again pressed down by Moeha.
"Ahhhhhh! That moth is flying over again!"
"No, moths usually only fly towards lights, why does it keep…"
Halfway through his sentence, Natsuki suddenly understood.
He was still in a state of 'bad luck'. In other words, that moth was likely coming for him, but by chance, Moeha became the shield.
Tsk~
Natsuki lightly clicked his tongue.
The problem was that he didn't need a shield. He just wanted to stand up now, not be repeatedly pressed down by a small junior high student.
"One last try," Natsuki took a deep breath. "If you can successfully get up, fine. If not…"
"Ahhhhhh!"
Natsuki's response was Moeha's renewed shriek.
Clearly, under the continuous dive-bombing of the deadly moth, Moeha had lost her sanity and now only knew how to cling to Natsuki as a lifeline.
"In that case, there's nothing else to do."
Natsuki finally made a decision.
The rhinoceros beetle and everything else could be tossed aside for now. First, he needed to deal with Moeha on his back.
Natsuki reached his hand behind him, and he didn't know where he touched, but his hand was full of soft skin, with the elasticity and vitality of a junior high student.
"Gulp… Se-Senpai, don't…"
Moeha's voice trembled slightly, and amidst her panic, an indescribable shyness emerged.
Natsuki gripped firmly, pushed hard, and finally temporarily pushed away the junior high student on his back, then quickly flipped over and stood up.
"Se-Senpai, don't…"
Moeha's face was flushed like fire, and with Natsuki's movements, her voice involuntarily trembled slightly.
Natsuki held Moeha in one arm, his gaze swept across the room, quickly locking onto the numerous moths that kept making Moeha cry for help.
Indeed, it was a very large moth. Its grayish-white body looked uncomfortable, and it was circling the chandelier. After two circles, it swooped down again.
"Ahhhhhh!"
Seeing the deadly moth fly over again, Moeha was about to create distance, but she was so scared that she quickly wrapped her arms tightly around Natsuki's neck.
Then…
Slap!
Natsuki casually picked up a slipper and smacked the moth out the window with a splat.
Seeing this, Moeha blinked and finally quieted down.
Natsuki had only one thought:
"The world is finally quiet…"
However, the next second.
Bang.
The door was suddenly pushed open.
Secretary Chika, wrapped in a bathrobe, appeared at the doorway:
Moeha, what have you been shouting… Eh eh eh?!
Looking at Natsuki and Moeha in the room, Chika's eyes widened in disbelief:
"What are you two doing behind my back?!"
Natsuki promptly put Moeha down and said seriously:
"Chika, listen to me!"
Moeha said in unison:
"Sister, listen to me!"
Natsuki looked at Moeha. The junior high girl's pretty face was flushed, her eyes were teary, and she hadn't had time to tidy her clothes. Her clothes were disheveled, her pajama collar was open, revealing a glimpse of a snow-white shoulder and a delicate collarbone… It certainly looked easy to cause suspicion.
"I didn't do anything," Natsuki raised his hands. "Let Moeha explain."
"Sister, listen to me," Moeha quickly said. "Nothing really happened between me and Senpai."
Chika put her hands on her hips and puffed out her cheeks, saying:
"Put on your pajamas first!"
"Wahhh…"
Moeha then realized her pajamas weren't properly worn, and her small face immediately flushed. She hurriedly covered her body.
"It, it was a moth…" Moeha's voice was embarrassed as she stammered, "The rhinoceros beetle was gone just now, so I went to Sister's room to ask for her help. Who knew I'd see Senpai… That's how it happened!"
Chika's gaze swept across the room:
"Where's the moth?"
Natsuki said:
"I've already thrown it out."
"Failed defense." Chika's cheeks puffed out even more, and she huffed, "One-sided words without evidence cannot prove your innocence at all!"
"Sister is so mean." Moeha also puffed out her cheeks like a bun. "If it weren't for the moth, even if Senpai and I did something, we would have been very careful not to make a sound, so you wouldn't have heard us, right?"
"Stare—"
Chika narrowed her eyes, looked at her sister, and propped her chin with her right hand, saying:
"Strange, Moeha seems very skilled at this?"
"I'm not skilled at all…" Moeha's small face was flushed, and she nervously averted her gaze, saying guiltily, "Sister, don't slander my innocence!"
Chika pointed a finger: "You're feeling guilty!"
Moeha: "I'm not feeling guilty at all!"
Chika: "When you feel guilty, you're exactly like this: you don't dare to look people in the eye, and your fingers will pinch the hem of your clothes."
Moeha: "…"
Chika, possessed by a master detective, had her observation and insight maxed out. If this continued, Moeha's secret of sending selfies wouldn't be able to be hidden.
Natsuki cleared his throat twice and changed the subject:
"That rhinoceros beetle is still under the bed. Should we catch it first?"
"…"
The topic change was successful.
Natsuki continued to catch the rhinoceros beetle, while Moeha tightly closed the window to prevent mosquitoes from entering.
"I'm going back to Chika's room."
Natsuki greeted Moeha and decisively left the room.
"Thank you, Senpai…"
Moeha said thank you softly, her face red.
On the hallway.
"President, you really didn't take the opportunity to do anything strange to Moeha?"
Chika asked, puffing out her cheeks.
"Not at all." Natsuki raised his right hand and promised, "If I did anything strange to Moeha, then punish me so I can never kiss Chika-sama again."
"That's more like it…" Chika chose to believe him, sighing softly, and whispered, "Moeha is just an ordinary person. I just hope she can live like an ordinary person, especially far away from the scumbag President."
"Yes, I am terribly sorry."
Chika snorted softly, raised her chin, and said:
"President, go back to your room and don't come out. If you do come out, you must tell me."
Natsuki bowed and said:
"Yes, Chika-sama."
Chika turned around with a patter: "I'm going to continue my bath."
Natsuki said:
"Do you want me to help scrub your back?"
Chika: "Absolutely not needed!"
"…"
Natsuki returned to Chika's room and sat down obediently.
During this time, he encountered bad luck again, but Natsuki was now exceptionally experienced in dealing with bad luck and resolved all of them one by one.
A moment later.
"I'm back."
Chika, who had finished her bath, pushed the door open and walked in.
"Chika-sama, please open your mouth."
Natsuki offered a peeled lychee. After eating a few, secretary Chika quickly forgot about what had just happened.
"President, help me paste Evil Spirit Exorcism." Chika's cheeks puffed out as she ate the lychee, like a hamster with its mouth full of peanuts, looking quite cute. "Evil spirits are so annoying."
Natsuki agreed, took Chika's right hand, and helped paste the skill.
"By the way, is Kaguya-chan still at the Shinomiya residence?"
Chika asked curiously.
Natsuki nodded and said:
"She hasn't been back since she went out yesterday, but she replied to my messages, saying she has a lot of things to deal with, and it's annoying and tiring, not happy at all."
Chika spat out a lychee pit and said softly:
"Kaguya-chan from junior high never used to say these things. Even if she encountered something, she would always keep it to herself, never ask for help from others, and never complain to others. After getting to know President, Kaguya-chan has changed so much, it's like she's a different person… In comparison, I feel like I haven't made any progress at all."
"Who said you haven't?" Natsuki retorted, "Although Chika-sama used to be a love detective, no one ever consulted you about love problems."
"Eh?" Chika blinked. "It seems that's true."
"But now it's different." Natsuki leaned forward, kissed secretary Chika's lips, and smiled, "After we started dating, Chika-sama has become a true love expert."
Chika's pretty face flushed, and she puffed out her cheeks, saying:
"I haven't agreed to that yet!"
No matter how uninhibited she was, agreeing to date, she still couldn't easily agree to that sort of thing.
"That's why it's not right." Chika puffed out her cheeks and couldn't help but ask, "Why did Marin-chan agree to you so easily?"
Of course, it's because Marin was the first girl to officially confess.
Although she minded, the first place also made her happy, which is why Marin agreed.
Shoko was used to being taken advantage of and vaguely agreed to date.
Sayu, needless to say, had a somewhat distorted personality from the beginning. She didn't want to be a girlfriend at all; being a pet was just as happy.
Then there were Hayasaka and Juju. They would only admit their girlfriend status when crying and begging for mercy. Once they had their fill, they would disdainfully drive him away and deny dating.
As for Kaguya and Chika, they had never agreed to date even once.
Thus, dating still had a long way to go.
Natsuki changed the subject:
"We don't have anything to do tomorrow, so let's go on a date, okay?"
"Eh?" Chika was startled. "A date?"
Natsuki handed over the lychee:
"It's just eating, drinking, and having fun together."
Chika's eyes brightened, and she gobbled up the lychee: "Eating, drinking, and having fun!"
"…"
Skill pasting completed.
Natsuki got up, preparing to say goodbye and go home.
"Eh, President, are you going into the Theater tonight?" Chika's eyes lit up, and she said enthusiastically, "It's been a long time since I played mahjong with Sadako-san. Dad and Mom aren't home, so will President stay overnight tonight?"
Natsuki stopped: "No problem?"
"Absolutely no problem." Chika gave a thumbs up, raised her chin, and said proudly, "I'm in charge at home now."
Natsuki smiled and said:
"You keep your word, so I won't be polite."
"Wait a moment." Chika reacted belatedly, hurriedly covered her chest, and said with a flushed face, "Just sleeping, nothing else!"
Natsuki said earnestly:
"What else does that include?"
Chika puffed out her pink cheeks: "President knows perfectly well!"
After playing around with Chika for a while, Natsuki also said:
"I also need to tell Moeha about opening the Theater."
Once the Theater is opened, it will indiscriminately pull nearby people into it, so it's natural to inform Moeha to avoid scaring her. However, as a unlucky person who has encountered **Strange Tale** twice, there's basically no need to worry.
"I'll go tell Moeha, Moeha definitely won't refuse." Chika turned around while complaining, "Moeha is still super curious about supernatural events, you can't stop her."
"…"
A moment later.
Chika pushed the door open and returned, followed by a junior high school Moeha in pajamas.
"Good evening, Senpai!" Moeha's eyes sparkled, and she obediently knelt beside Natsuki, her face full of anticipation, "Are we going to a different dimension tonight? And will we be able to see the legendary Sadako-san and the Little Match Girl?"
Natsuki complained:
"Sadako-san is very scary, be careful."
"I'm not scared." Moeha's dependency was at its maximum. She reached out and held Natsuki's hem, her large eyes filled with adoration, "With Senpai by my side, even Sadako-san won't be scary!"
"Stare—"
Chika crossed her arms and looked over.
Natsuki cleared his throat twice and said:
"Chika is actually very strong too, let Chika protect you."
"No, Sister is not reliable at all." Moeha shook her head. "When we were learning to ride a bicycle in the park as kids, I fell off the back seat of the bicycle, and Sister didn't even notice."
Chika couldn't help but yell to stop:
"Wait, don't talk about things from elementary school."
"…"
Before they knew it, it was past midnight.
Natsuki took out a rule card. The silver glowing rule card quickly transformed into a pumpkin lantern in his fingertips, burning with a faint purple flame inside.
As a manifestation of the rule, even Moeha, an ordinary person, could clearly see it.
The Theater opened.
The flames instantly spread, engulfing the surroundings. Moeha only felt a blur before her eyes, and then she appeared in an empty, unfamiliar Theater.
"Master!"
Aoi with the matches heard the commotion and was always the first to happily run over to greet him.
"Alice, good evening."
Natsuki smiled and patted Aoi's head, then handed her the snacks he had prepared.
Because it was very late, Natsuki didn't go downstairs to buy them. All these snacks were Chika's stash.
Thump thump thump.
Immediately after, the Human Faced Dog, ran over, glanced around, and seeing no sign of Sayu, her face couldn't help but show a disappointed expression:
"Why isn't Sayu here?"
"Ah…"
Seeing the Human-Faced Dog, Moeha gasped in fright and quickly hid behind Natsuki.
Although she had heard Chika mention it before, hearing about it was one thing; seeing a Human-Faced Dog with her own eyes was indeed still very frightening.
Natsuki said casually:
"Sayu didn't come today."
"Tsk."
The Human-Faced Dog yawned boredly and turned to go back to her room.
"Don't go yet." Natsuki raised his right hand and said, "Your dog food."
That's right, the dog food was also provided by Chika.
"Damn it!" Yuuko, the Human-Faced Dog, immediately became furious. "You actually want to feed me dog food…"
Clatter clatter.
Natsuki poured the dog food into the bowl.
"D-damn it… You just wait!"
Her canine instincts quickly suppressed her will, and she involuntarily wagged her tail and started eating the dog food.
"Isn't this a bit too much?"
Chika asked softly.
Natsuki shook his head and said:
"Essentially, it's just an anomaly with Yuuko's memories; it's not Yuuko's true soul, so there's absolutely no problem."
"…"
As they spoke, Yandere Kaguya, dressed in a black dress, appeared silently.
"Eh, Kaguya-senpai?" Moeha's eyes widened when she saw Yandere Kaguya, and she secretly observed her. "She's really completely different from the Kaguya-senpai in reality."
Yandere Kaguya glanced at Moeha and Chika, not paying them any attention.
Moeha raised her hand to cover her mouth and whispered:
"Kaguya-senpai is so cold…"
"You'll get used to it." Chika whispered in response, "She's always been like this."
"Kaguya-chan, good evening." Mrs. Shimizu happily stepped forward and hugged Yandere Kaguya, "Let me hug you."
Only when facing Mrs. Shimizu would the ice in Yandere Kaguya's eyes slightly melt, but her gaze quickly fell on Natsuki, and she tilted her head and said:
"President, why are you only coming now?"
"I've encountered so many dangers recently…"
Natsuki was naturally prepared and meticulously explained what had happened in the past few days.
Yandere Kaguya listened silently, then tilted her head and said:
"Why didn't you summon me?"
"The most important combat power is, of course, saved for last." Natsuki said seriously, "It's like Ultraman Tiga; he wouldn't possibly unleash his ultimate move right at the start… This is the cake I bought for you. Eat the cake first, and we can talk while you eat."
As he spoke, a shadow suddenly flashed out from the shadows in the corner, then immediately grabbed Natsuki's wrist.
It was Miss Sadako.
Although her face was covered by black hair, Natsuki still understood Miss Sadako's impatience:
Hurry up, I'm already thirsty and hungry!
"M-Miss Sadako?!"
Even though Moeha was prepared, seeing Miss Sadako with her face covered by black hair still startled her, and she involuntarily emitted a scent of fear.
Smelling fear, Miss Sadako's rule was triggered, and she raised her hands, wanting to grab Moeha.
Slap.
Natsuki slapped Miss Sadako's hand and instructed:
"Hurry up and set up the mahjong. Do you still want to play mahjong?"