The moon grew dimmer, and even darker lightning flashed above the pitch-black clouds.
Then, with a rumble, the whispers in Strange Speech Forest all fell silent.
According to Gingerbread Witch, after six claps of thunder, the already dim moonlight would vanish, bringing this world to true night.
Until the moon shone again, the world would enter the next day.
The duration of the night was not fixed; no one knew how long today would be.
Accompanying the second clap of thunder, the sound of wheels turning echoed through Strange Speech Forest.
The dense trees became illusory, allowing a pumpkin carriage to approach the Candy House.
Stopping at the entrance of the Candy House, the Pumpkin Freak driving the pumpkin carriage tilted its head.
Because in the past, the Candy House should have opened its door and offered desserts by now, but the door was still closed with no intention of opening.
Catching the scent of fun, the Pumpkin Freak's mouth curved into a rather sinister arc.
Eagerly getting out of the carriage, it distorted open the door of the Candy House, but upon seeing the scene inside, the wicked smile on its face froze.
"Ancient Blade!"
"Wine!"
"Attack!"
With a series of bright and cheerful moves, Hanako, who wanted to overthrow Kisaragi Rin in the game, was effortlessly defeated by Irisviel.
Under the dim lights of the Candy House, all sixteen members of the Strange Tales Association, including Busujima Saeko and Spider Mother, were present, playing Three Kingdoms.
"Someone's here."
Caren nudged Kisaragi Rin, staring at the Pumpkin Freak with a slight strangeness.
The Pumpkin Freak also looked at them hesitantly; the moment it pushed the door, it suddenly had a terrifying premonition of death, but it was only for an instant, and now it no longer sensed any threat.
Although somewhat contradictory, the Pumpkin Freak, with its limited brain capacity, decided to act.
A smile once again curved at its lips, and the lights in the Candy House suddenly vanished.
"It's rare to have so many potted plants; I'll pluck off a person's head and plant a pumpkin.
Every time the light is turned off, a pumpkin will be randomly planted.
Hehehe, indeed, blood and despair are the perfect nutrients for pumpkin growth."
The next moment, the lights came back on.
The Pumpkin Freak was startled because it hadn't even moved yet, and only then did the pain make it realize that everything below its head had disappeared.
The missing part looked as if something had bitten it, and the next moment, its consciousness dissipated, leaving only a scurrying pumpkin-colored spider on the ground.
"The strange tales of this world seem a bit foolish.
Although we concealed our aura, in a world like this, if a dozen ordinary people not tainted by strange tales suddenly appeared, a normal strange tale would surely be wary."
Spider Mother said, wiggling her feet, as she shrunk the strange tale, which had been cursed into a spider servant, and transferred it into Illya's small bag; there were already several colorful spiders in the pink crossbody bag.
The ability Illya awakened after becoming a strange tale was this crossbody bag, which not only served as storage but also allowed her to pull out some strange items, such as a broom that could fly.
"Indeed, a bit foolish, but given the historical context of this world, similar to medieval Western Europe, the term 'naive' would be more appropriate.
Also, Spider Mother, did you secretly swap cards during the darkness just now?"
Busujima Saeko pointed out the card in Spider Mother's hand that shouldn't have been there, while the true owner of that Peach card, Yukino Mifuyu, was holding back, not daring to speak.
In the Strange Tales Association's workplace dynamics, Busujima Saeko and Spider Mother were undoubtedly the top predators; Eclipse was reclusive and didn't join the workplace, and Yukino Mifuyu and the other strange tales could only be considered herbivores.
As for the only two living humans, Tohsaka Rin and Sakura?
Hmm… they were protected animals.
"But realizing that already proves you were cheating too, Saeko."
Spider Mother was unconvinced and chose to overturn the table.
"That's because your movements were too obvious."
Busujima Saeko said speechlessly, throwing a flirtatious glance at Kisaragi Rin.
The reason was Caren in Kisaragi Rin's arms, her beautiful, slender waist being kneaded by her master.
Because she was in front of so many people, Caren was so shy that her eyes became watery.
When she was first chosen by her master from among the many girls present to lean in his arms, Caren's emotions were complex, composed of secret delight, shyness, worry, and pleasure; now, only shyness remained.
Caren really liked Kisaragi Rin's warm hands.
She was a living person; although her mindset had changed somewhat after becoming a strange tale, the memories of the past had not faded. The friends who died in Fuyuki City and the strangeness of becoming a strange tale still surrounded Caren. She used to rely on busyness to calm her panic, but later found that she would feel at ease as long as she stayed by Kisaragi Rin's side.
"You are already dead.
But you turned into a strange tale and came back to life.
Eh, no… shouldn't strange tales be categorized as undead? So, not alive?
Never mind, just live well from now on."
These were the words Caren heard when she first woke up.
Regarding Kisaragi Rin, who saved her, she was initially very ashamed to become the possession of a stranger, but later, things changed as they spent time together.
Lowering her head, Caren enveloped Kisaragi Rin's hand with her own fair, tender hand, her brain overheating from shyness, forgetting about all the people around them.
She whispered to herself in her heart:
"Now, I really, really like Kisaragi."
Kisaragi Rin didn't know what she was thinking. Under Busujima Saeko's flirtatious gaze, he understood that Busujima Saeko was a bit jealous. After kissing Caren's forehead, he tucked her into the embrace of Yukino Mifuyu beside him.
The Human-faced Dog and Mary were quite envious, almost unable to resist biting through the cards in their hands.
"Miku, you and Gingerbread Witch go deal with the remaining strange tale outside."
Kisaragi Rin said, playing Three Kingdoms or anything else, she naturally controlled the body.
"..."
Putting down her hand of cards, Miku switched to Itsuki's logged-in account without hesitation.
Itsuki: "Then I'll go?"
Nakano Quintuplets had no particular thoughts about the girls at the card table.
After all, they had already met Spider Mother, and their old father Nakano Maruo had already hinted to them that players generally had harems.
Hmm… generally.
Nakano Maruo himself was someone who could remain solitary for Nakano Reina for his entire life.
Itsuki took a deep breath, and just as she decided to get up and meet her challenge, Gingerbread Witch, who was baking gingerbread men by the fireplace, hesitated and whispered, "I can't beat that strange tale."
Itsuki: "..."