"You actually took those things off yourself, Miko."
Just as Miko was grumbling inwardly that Kaito hadn't even recognized that the person upstairs was a fake, Kaito's seemingly somewhat surprised voice continued to drift down from above, making Miko's fist clench tight.
Stupid Kaito!
You've still got me tied up down here...
And yet you so easily believed that impostor...
Damn it, damn it!!!
Although at this moment Miko appeared, on the surface, to merely be quietly tilting her head up to gaze at the ceiling above, in reality she had already said quite a lot inside her own heart—it was just that the column-shaped object in her mouth kept her from speaking the words aloud for others to hear.
Oh, right...
There's still Lumine...
Kaito is sure to ask where Lumine is next...
The instant this thought struck her, hope welled up once more in Miko's heart.
As long as Kaito brought up the matter of Lumine, or assumed Lumine was still locked up downstairs by him, then everything could still be salvaged.
But the next voice that came down from above left Miko utterly dumbfounded.
"So Kaito's back again." Clearly, this time it was Lumine's voice.
Lumine: "???"
Why is there my voice too???
Lumine, who had still been wondering whether the person beside her was Miko, froze at this moment—she never imagined she'd actually hear her own voice speaking up above.
It was right then that Lumine finally realized someone was impersonating both her and Miko.
What should I do?
Right now neither Miko nor I can speak.
And the things on our heads can't be taken off either...
Recalling the scene of Miko just now struggling so hard to pull the thing off her head, Lumine was, for the moment, at a loss for what to do.
But very soon, she thought of a plan.
Before she could put it into action, however, Kaito's voice rang out again.
"Since you've all already taken that thing off yourselves, then let's get going—let's go have some lunch."
"Mm."
Perfect timing—this time, here at the shrine, I'll let you all witness my culinary skills.
"Then I'll have to witness them properly, Miko."
Oh no...
They're about to leave...
Listening to the words drifting down one after another from above, Lumine hurriedly reached out and patted the Miko beside her, wanting her to make some noise together.
But at this moment Miko was once again trying to pull the thing off her head and paid Lumine no attention whatsoever.
Left with no choice, Lumine could only pat Miko again, wanting her to look her way.
Miko...
Hurry up and look at me...
There was nothing for it—Lumine had to start vigorously slapping the only bed in this basement herself, hoping to make some kind of noise so the people upstairs would hear.
*
Hm?
What the heck?
Suddenly hearing the * thumping start up beside her, Miko—who had been straining to pull the thing off her head—stopped what she was doing, and as she turned her head, she saw Lumine vigorously slapping the bed by its edge.
You wicked girl...
Don't do that...
If anyone sees us looking like this right now...
Ugh...
But if we don't, that Kaito guy won't ever realize the people upstairs are fakes...
Miko, who had been about to stop Lumine's actions, thought about how they were currently being impersonated and so didn't go through with it.
Still, the thought of being a dignified Lady Guuji discovered playing such a strange game down in this basement was already enough to make her unbearably ashamed.
Wait...
Even if the other shrine maidens hear the noise...
They still can't get down here...
And right now, looking the way Lumine and I do, nobody but Kaito knows it's us...
After thinking this through, Miko immediately joined in on the bed-slapping operation as well.
*
Afterward, this slapping sound kept echoing throughout the lower part of the basement, but no matter what, nobody came, leaving the two of them so exhausted they had no choice but to stop.
Why isn't anyone coming...
Could it be the sound just isn't carrying out?
The instant this possibility occurred to her, Miko panicked too.
If that were really the case, then she and Lumine might be stuck here in these bizarre getups forever.
It's all over...
Flopping limply down onto the bed and then sprawling backward, Miko was truly worn out.
But the moment she thought of her possible fate, Miko felt that feeling come over her again.
"All right, I'm done joking around with you two." Right at that moment, Miko suddenly heard Kaito's voice.
Miko: "!"
Lumine: "!"
The instant the two of them heard this voice, they immediately perked up and looked all around, and then they saw that Kaito had, at some unknown point, appeared right in front of them.
Thank goodness...
Kaito's here...
At this moment Lumine was overjoyed too—she finally no longer had to be impersonated by someone, nor be forced to keep living like this.
Stupid Kaito!
The moment she saw Kaito appear, Miko sprang straight up off the bed with a carp's-leap kip-up and dashed toward him, wanting to land a punch on him.
But because of the limited length of the chain around her neck, she was yanked back before she could even reach Kaito, leaving her a bit embarrassed.
Damn it!
Why is this chain so short!?
This guy definitely did it on purpose!
No, wait!
He's definitely standing in that spot on purpose!
____
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