Chapter 75: If This Princess Doesn't Show Her Might, Did You Really Take Me for a Turkey?
"What kind of meat is this?"
The question hung in the air, and a wave of confusion washed over the faces of the other players. Xie Lin took the plate, and as his gaze fell upon the steak, his pupils constricted into pinpricks. There, tangled in the cooked flesh, were a few strands of long, blue-black hair.
No one at the table was a fool. With Kaguya's pointed warning combined with Xie Lin's stark reaction, they pieced the horrifying truth together in an instant. The color drained from their faces.
Liu Haoran and Wu Wenwen, in particular, looked as if they'd been struck. A deeply unpleasant memory seemed to surface, and their stomachs churned violently, threatening to expel their contents.
Meanwhile, Huang Dao was already stumbling toward the wall, vomiting uncontrollably. He hadn't dared to eat a proper meal in days, subsisting on scraps. Seeing Haruto's group eating so heartily these past two days had finally given him the courage to pick up his chopsticks today.
It just had to be him.
Why did it have to be today?!
"I'll curse your entire family! You're targeting me on purpose!" Huang Dao could no longer contain his spiraling rage and roared at Kaguya and Haruto. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"
Thud—
A solid punch from Liu Haoran slammed squarely into Huang Dao's face. A stream of bright red blood gushed from his left nostril, leaving him looking utterly wretched.
"What's the point of hitting me? If you have the guts, go after her! She's the murderer who's trying to kill us!" Huang Dao struggled frantically, his voice still a raw scream directed at Kaguya.
Liu Haoran's face turned livid with fury. He raised his fist to strike again, but Kaguya's voice stopped him from behind.
"Wait."
Kaguya's tone was indifferent. "Let him go."
"But this guy..."
"Let him go," she repeated. Her voice was calm, yet it carried an authority that brooked no argument. Though reluctant, Liu Haoran released his grip.
Huang Dao had just managed to catch his breath when he saw Kaguya step forward. She raised her foot and, with the practiced ease of long experience, delivered a powerful, sweeping kick.
Thud—
Boom!
Huang Dao was sent flying backward like a broken doll. He slammed directly into the dining room wall, the impact hard enough to leave a small indentation in the plaster. He slumped to the ground, the pain so intense he couldn't even make a sound, his eyes wide with pure terror.
"If this princess doesn't show her might, did you really take me for a turkey?" Kaguya pressed her hands down in front of her chest, as if smoothing a non-existent wrinkle in her dress, and let out a long, satisfied sigh. She didn't spare Huang Dao another glance.
The other players hadn't expected Kaguya to actually attack someone in public. But on second thought, she hadn't even shown the Butler any deference; why would she care about an ordinary player?
Haruto just shrugged. Kaguya's temper had never been particularly good to begin with. Back in Gensokyo, she and Mokou got into brawls on a daily basis. This kick was already her holding back considerably. If she had used the same force she applied to Mokou, Huang Dao wouldn't have just been sent flying—he would have been snapped in half at the waist.
Kaguya drifted over to Haruto and spread her hands in a helpless gesture.
"This princess flips the table, and he complains. This princess gives an explanation, and he still rants. I really gave him far too much face."
By now, Huang Dao had finally started to recover. He must have used some sort of healing item, as his caved-in ribs had already begun to mend, but his face remained a mask of terror. Clutching his stomach, he scrambled backward, terrified that Kaguya might follow up with another kick.
"Demon... she's a demon!" he cried out, his voice trembling.
Hearing this, Yotsuya Miko couldn't help but speak up in rebuttal. "Sister Kaguya didn't lower her voice; everyone could hear her. We all realized something was wrong and didn't touch our chopsticks. You're the only one who ate. Who can you possibly blame but yourself?"
The others nodded in agreement. Indeed, from the moment Kaguya had stopped Haruto, they had vaguely guessed that the food was tainted. Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
Everyone returned to their respective rooms.
As soon as their door was closed and locked, Haruto and Kaguya moved with perfect, unspoken chemistry. They went straight to the bed and neatly slipped under the covers. Yotsuya Miko hesitated for a moment before quietly following, lying down on the other side of the bed next to Kaguya.
However, Lin Xuelao did not approach.
She walked silently to a chair by the wall and sat down, clutching her blind cane tightly as she leaned her body against the cold surface.
After a short while, the corner of the quilt was lifted. A pair of dark eyes peeked out, observing the solitary, lonely figure of Lin Xuelao curled up in the dark corner.
Haruto threw off the covers and got out of bed. He walked over to her and, without giving her a chance to refuse, directly grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the bed.
"My right side is empty," Haruto said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Lao Lao, you can just block it for me. It'll give me more of a sense of security."
Lin Xuelao had intended to decline, but his words made her fall silent. She lay down without another word, though her body remained tense, her back turned pointedly toward Haruto.
Fortunately, the quilt was large enough to accommodate four people without issue. If there had been enough light to see her clearly, one would have found Lin Xuelao's face completely flushed crimson.
In stark contrast to her was Yotsuya Miko. While she was nervous, it was only out of fear of the Lady of the Castle. As for lying in the same bed and sharing a quilt with Haruto and Kaguya... she was simply used to it by now. She had long since discovered that neither of them had any ulterior motives. It felt more like a group of friends playing a horror game together; when everyone got scared, they all just huddled into the nearest shelter.
Suddenly, Haruto felt a gentle tug on his clothes. He turned his head just in time for a soft thud as his forehead bumped into Lin Xuelao's. She silently shifted back a little.
"Someone is coming," she whispered.
"Where?" Haruto raised an eyebrow. Kaguya and Miko also pricked up their ears.
"At the door. It's the person Sister Kaguya just kicked."
Hearing it was Huang Dao, Haruto and Kaguya immediately guessed his intentions. The man was incorrigible, still thinking of causing trouble.
"He's stopped at our door," Lin Xuelao said softly.
Upon hearing this, Miko immediately understood Huang Dao's plan. A flash of anger crossed her eyes, and she was about to get up when Kaguya pulled her back down.
"Did you forget that Haruto still has the Gap?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Haruto reached his hand into a sliver of darkness that opened beside him. The Gap closed, and he had already retrieved the item from the other side of their door.
"What is it?" Kaguya asked curiously.
"A sticker," Haruto said, carefully examining the small paper in his hand. "Most likely an item that attracts the aggro of ghosts and monsters."
It looked utterly ordinary. If they weren't in an instance, and if it didn't have a chibi ghost face printed on it, he would have suspected it was just a normal sticker, the kind of thing a child would use for a 'drawing a circle to curse you' prank.
Lin Xuelao also realized at that moment that Haruto had somehow retrieved the item from outside the room. Her expression was one of pure astonishment. She knew he had an ability similar to a storage space, but this clearly exceeded that scope, didn't it?
'Telekinesis?' she wondered.
"Brother Haruto, aren't we going to stick it back? Should we kill him?" Yotsuya Miko suddenly asked.
In an instant, both Haruto and Kaguya turned their heads to look at her, their eyes filled with disbelief, as if to ask, 'When did you become so ruthless?'Their strange gazes were too much for Miko to handle, and she explained weakly, "Didn't you guys teach me? You can't be a'Holy Mother' in an instance. Good deeds are rewarded with good, and evil with evil. Since he wants to kill us, we should deal with him beforehand to avoid being backstabbed later and causing more trouble."
Haruto patted her head appreciatively. "Miko, you've grown up."
His tone, like that of a proud old father, felt a little strange to Miko, but she still nodded obediently.
"I'll keep this sticker; it might be useful," Haruto said. "As for killing him, there's no need to go through the trouble. They will definitely die tonight."
"They?" Miko caught the keyword.
Haruto smiled. "You don't think he would do this without the others knowing, or at least having their support, do you?"
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