At the same time.
On the other side.
"Achoo—"
Kaguya Shinomiya covered her mouth with her hand and suddenly sneezed.
Strange.
It feels like someone's secretly talking about me behind my back.
"Good morning, young miss."
Hayasaka pushed open the door and walked in.
"Good morning." Kaguya Shinomiya turned to look. Her gaze froze. "Eh? Hayasaka, why have your dark circles gotten worse?"
"Phew..." Hayasaka yawned. "Last night I saw a really interesting manga and accidentally stayed up until dawn."
This was a lie.
She hadn't read manga at all, but the dark circles getting worse was indeed because she'd stayed up all night.
Last night after watching Natsuki's bathroom livestream, Hayasaka went to take a bath—only to find several bathrooms all had evil spirits inside.
With great difficulty she finally finished bathing. Hayasaka returned to her room—it was already past 11 PM. She'd just lain down preparing to sleep when a terrible thing happened.
An evil spirit with long hair covering its cheeks sat at the edge of her bed—vaguely a woman's form—then continuously combed its hair with its fingers.
Hayasaka jolted. The sleepiness she'd just felt instantly vanished.
She'd received strict spy training, yes—but even if James Bond came, he couldn't possibly sleep either!
Damn damn damn!
Sitting at the edge of someone's bed combing hair in the middle of the night, yet I can't do anything—can only pretend not to see—this life is unlivable!
"Eh, Fujiwara came back?"
Kaguya Shinomiya picked up her phone and quickly saw a message from Chika Fujiwara.
"Got off the plane at 10 PM last night and went straight by car to Amamiya-kun's house..." Kaguya Shinomiya's pretty face froze. "Stayed overnight at Amamiya-kun's house last night?"
Seeing the photo Chika Fujiwara sent, ghostly black fog quickly rose from Kaguya Shinomiya's body.
"Stayed together in the living room last night."
"Ate breakfast together this morning..."
"Went out to walk the dog together..."
Too much!
Way too much!
I haven't even been to Amamiya-kun's house, yet you've already started cohabiting—how far will you leave me behind before you're satisfied?!
Hayasaka stood behind Kaguya Shinomiya. Seeing the message on the phone, her heart stirred slightly. She suggested:
"If the young miss cares so much, why not go over to play?"
If Kaguya goes to play, I'll naturally follow along—perfect for recovering the surveillance equipment.
Thinking of the surveillance equipment, Hayasaka couldn't help but remember last night's bathroom livestream. Her pretty face reddened slightly.
Tentacle monster!
Kaguya Shinomiya's heart pounded.
Kitagawa and Fujiwara are both there—I naturally can't fall behind either.
"But..." The silly young miss quickly began hesitating again. "I haven't been invited. Proposing to go over myself—that's embarrassing, right?"
Hayasaka bent down, leaned close to Kaguya Shinomiya's ear, and whispered:
"A lone man and woman together under one roof—if you keep waiting, Amamiya-kun might already be sleeping with other girls."
Kaguya Shinomiya bit down on her lower lip:
"I'm sending a message right now!"
"..."
On the other side.
Natsuki had already arrived at the park with the two girls to walk the dog.
Miko went alone to work part-time at the convenience store, politely declining the part-time modeling recommendation. As a salted fish, just thinking about standing under spotlights performing felt very troublesome.
Buzz buzz.
The phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated.
Natsuki pulled out his phone and discovered it was a message from the silly young miss.
Kaguya Shinomiya: "Fujiwara messaged to tell me she came back last night?"
Natsuki glanced at the pink-haired airhead and spoke truthfully: "At my house."
Kaguya Shinomiya: "Has that evil spirit appeared?"
Natsuki: "No."
Kaguya Shinomiya: "Should I come over to formulate a battle plan?"
Natsuki: "If you have time, you can come over."
Kaguya Shinomiya replied instantly: "I definitely have time."
"..."
For some reason, the silly young miss feels somewhat impatient.
The three finished walking the dog and returned home.
Before long, the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it." Chika Fujiwara sat on the sofa watching TV. Hearing the doorbell, she stood up and pattered over. She quickly let out a soft cry: "...Eh, Kaguya-chan?"
Natsuki looked toward the door.
The girl at the door had black hair and red eyes, a red butterfly bow ribbon tied behind her head, both hands folded over her lower abdomen—she possessed stunning beauty.
Today she'd completely changed from her usual dark, cold style, wearing a white spaghetti-strap sundress—like a holy angel descended to earth, making it somewhat hard for Natsuki to look away.
Unfortunately, she was flat-chested.
Her chest was completely ordinary with no visible curves whatsoever—young in years but already possessing the Great Plains of Guanzhong.
No need to say more—this was Kaguya Shinomiya.
"Shinomiya-san, good morning."
Natsuki greeted her, inconspicuously shifting his gaze from the silly young miss's chest.
"Morning."
Kaguya Shinomiya bit down on her lower lip secretly, keenly aware of where Natsuki had been peeking.
Idiot!
So infuriating!
I worked so hard putting on makeup, trying on so many outfits—even the stockings and shoes were carefully coordinated—where exactly are your eyes looking?!
They're just two fatty aggregates—are they really that important?!
"Kaguya-chan, long time no see." Chika Fujiwara hugged Kaguya's arm and rubbed against her happily. "Missed you."
Kaguya Shinomiya turned her face away in disdain: "Go away."
If you really missed me, why didn't you message asking me to come play?
The friendship boat has already capsized.
As Kaguya Shinomiya entered the house, a blonde girl in maid attire followed behind—precisely Ai Hayasaka.
"First time visiting. Pardon the intrusion." Hayasaka bowed slightly, her maid etiquette impeccable. Both hands held a gift. "Please accept this."
Natsuki had seen Hayasaka in maid form before and wasn't particularly surprised. He nodded and took out a pair of spare slippers from the shoe cabinet, handing them to the maid.
"Thank you."
Hayasaka thanked him politely, changed into the slippers, passed through the entrance—her gaze quickly focused.
"Little Kaguya, Mama missed you!"
Mrs. Kaguya came to the silly young miss's side, happily chatting.
Mother and daughter standing together bore seven-tenths resemblance. Hayasaka's heart instantly gained understanding.
"The young miss's mother?"
"Identical to the photo—it's her."
Hayasaka quickly recalled—that afternoon after school, Kaguya Shinomiya had invited Natsuki into the car, going together to the old mansion in the suburbs.
The two hadn't done anything—just stayed normally for over ten minutes before leaving together.
Thinking about it now, they hadn't done nothing—she just couldn't see it.
"Clearly, it's about that day's events..."
Hayasaka quickly organized her thoughts.
That phone floating in midair was actually the young miss's mother playing on the phone, right?
The surveillance just couldn't capture it.
"There's still one question... Since it's the young miss's mother, why would she be at Amamiya-kun's house?"
Hayasaka remained composed outwardly while pondering in secret, but unfortunately couldn't think of an answer.
"Amamiya-kun." Kitagawa Marin raised her hand to cover her mouth, leaned close to Natsuki's ear, and whispered quietly: "Don't you feel the maid's back looks somewhat familiar?"