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"Come, shake a paw."
"Woof."
"Good, now the other paw."
"Human, don't push your luck...! Don't touch my head!"
"..."
Watching Amamiya Natsuki seriously training the dog, Sayu's expression was bewildered, her pink lips slightly parted, utterly dumbfounded.
Who am I?
Where am I?
Why did it turn out like this?
Just now, we were talking about going our separate ways and seeing who could run faster, but in the blink of an eye, he's petting the Man-faced dog's head?
The beautiful girl-dog's mouth said no, but her body was quite honest.
Under Amamiya Natsuki's professional head-patting, her tail wagged rapidly, and she even stuck out her tongue, preparing to lick Amamiya Natsuki's fingers.
The beautiful girl-dog finally couldn't bear it anymore and loudly called for help: "Sayu, quickly help me!"
Sayu: "..."
Amamiya Natsuki was speechless: "You're a kaidan, yet you're asking a human for help? Don't you have any pride?"
You're about to stick out your tongue and lick all over him, wouldn't that be even more embarrassing!
The Man-faced dog continued to call for help: "Sayu, I'm Yuuko, quickly save me!"
"Yuuko..." Sayu came back to her senses, clenched her fists, took a deep breath, "Um, Natsuki-kun, please don't hurt Yuuko."
"Don't talk nonsense." Amamiya Natsuki said with a serious expression, "I'm a dog lover, how could I possibly hurt a dog."
"You call her Yuuko, right?" Amamiya Natsuki continued, "In my opinion, Yuuko is just a stray dog who lost her way, but deep down, she yearns for care and warmth, so I've decided to adopt her."
Sayu: "..."
No normal person would adopt a Man-faced dog as a pet!
"I don't want to." The Man-faced dog quickly cried out, "Sayu, do you remember what happened at school? Are you going to stand by and do nothing again now?"
Sayu's body trembled violently, her already pale face lost even more color. She took a deep breath and bowed:
"Natsuki-kun... please don't hurt Yuuko. I'll do anything."
"Tsk~"
He was clearly a human player on the same side, so how did he become the evil villain?
Amamiya Natsuki raised an eyebrow and looked over: "Anything?"
Sayu bowed: "For Yuuko, I'm willing to do anything."
Amamiya Natsuki's expression was calm, and he took half a step back: "Then I won't adopt her for now."
Even though she knew the Man-faced dog in front of her couldn't be the same person from reality, she was still willing to do anything... Guilt? Atonement? Self-abandonment?
Amamiya Natsuki was not clear about the inside story.
But without a doubt.
The girl named Sayu in front of him was already on the verge of breaking down at any moment.
"Yuuko, I'm sorry..."
Sayu called out softly.
"Don't call my name!" The Man-faced dog's tone was nasty, "If you want to atone, then stay here and be with me forever!"
Goodness, others use empty promises to get what they want, but now it's reversed, a dog is tricking a human.
Amamiya Natsuki watched coldly, and then whistled again.
Under the favorability boost, the Man-faced dog quickly wagged... its tail again.
"Human, stop whistling!"
The Man-faced dog's voice was annoyed.
She was a terrifying kaidan, yet now she was being called like a dog. This grudge must be avenged!
Amamiya Natsuki ignored her, turned to Sayu, and said:
"Let's go, it's time to go back to the bus."
"Don't go back!" The Man-faced dog immediately cried out, her voice mournful, "Sayu, aren't we the best of friends? I'm so lonely alone, will you stay and keep me company?"
Sayu's expression became hesitant: "I..."
"Sayu, stay and keep me company." The Man-faced dog licked her lips, her voice pitiful, "As long as you stay and keep me company, I'll forgive you, and we'll still be the best of friends."
How to forgive?
Eating the other person bite by bite, and then never being separated, that kind of forgiveness?!
Amamiya Natsuki looked at Sayu and said calmly: "Actually, I have a solution that benefits both of us."
"What solution?"
Sayu couldn't help but look up.
Amamiya Natsuki said:
"Compared to giving a stray dog an extra meal, adopting and caring for it is the best way to repay... You can completely adopt Yuuko."
Sayu bit her lower lip: "But Yuuko hates me..."
Amamiya Natsuki took out another rice ball: "Why do you think Yuuko likes me?"
"Darn human, as expected, there's something wrong with that rice ball!"
The Man-faced dog cursed angrily, but her tail involuntarily wagged rapidly.
Looking at the rice ball, Sayu's eyes quickly brightened, and she asked cautiously and expectantly: "I can too?"
"That's right." Amamiya Natsuki nodded, "You can too."
"..."
Having temporarily settled the girl who was about to break, Amamiya Natsuki took out the amulet and communicated telepathically with the Sheltered Young Lady.
"President?"
"Is that you?"
"It's been so long, why haven't you come back yet? Did you run into danger?"
The Miss's anxious thoughts poured out all at once.
"I'm fine..."
Amamiya Natsuki reported his safety, briefly explained what had just happened, put away the amulet, and returned with Sayu.
As for the momotaro rice ball, he didn't give it to Sayu for now. He wasn't a philanthropist, not that generous.
Instead, the Man-faced dog followed Amamiya Natsuki, begging for food and constantly wagging her tail.
Although the beautiful girl's head was annoyed, she couldn't completely reject her canine instincts.
However, after only a few steps, Amamiya Natsuki turned around and saw that Sayu was gone again.
Amamiya Natsuki looked down at the Man-faced dog: "Where's Sayu?"
The Man-faced dog snorted softly: "Why should I tell you? Human, who do you think you are? You'd be lucky if I even let you beg me on your knees."
Amamiya Natsuki sighed and said:
"You don't want to get pregnant, do you?"
"Wh-what?!" The girl's eyes widened, and she raised her voice in disbelief, "You, you, you... you even go after dogs?!"
"Pervert! Lecher! Obscene! Scum!"
Amamiya Natsuki's expression was calm. In his forcibly calm state, he felt nothing from the Man-faced dog's curses, and said indifferently:
"During the Age of Discovery, almost every warship kept a few sheep. Before, people in a certain country didn't even spare lizards. Don't overestimate the lower limits of humans."
Man-faced dog: "..."
This human player in front of her was even more terrifying than a kaidan.
Not wanting to provoke someone she couldn't afford to, the Man-faced dog said unwillingly: "She's right behind, just a few steps back and you'll see her."
Amamiya Natsuki turned and walked back, quickly finding Sayu standing under a large tree.
"I'm sorry..."
Seeing Amamiya Natsuki appear, Sayu breathed a sigh of relief and quickly apologized in a low voice.
"Sorry, I walked too fast." Amamiya Natsuki had already figured out the cause and effect. With such thick fog and the girl not having drunk Witch Potion, visibility was very low, and it was easy to get lost.
Amamiya Natsuki extended his right hand and said:
"Give me your hand."
"Eh?"
Sayu was startled, then quickly understood. She hesitated as she reached out her hand and whispered, "I can walk by myself..."
I know you can walk, but the problem is you easily get lost. Instead of wasting time going back to find you, it's better to just lead you back directly.
Amamiya Natsuki held Sayu's hand and said calmly:
"Your hand is so cold, I'm starting to doubt your human identity."
Feeling the warmth from the boy's palm, Sayu pursed her lips, feeling her body warm up. She softly said, "I'm sorry..."
"When apologizing, you need to show sincerity."
"Um... please don't do it in front of Yuuko..."
Hey, hey, I just asked you to show sincerity, what does that have to do with the Man-faced dog?
What is your sincerity?!
The rest of the journey was silent.
Without any other incidents, Amamiya Natsuki led the lost Sayu successfully back to the bus.
"Natsuki-kun is back."
In a state of telepathy, there was no need for a secret signal; Shinomiya Kaguya stood guard at the door and directly opened the car door.
Amamiya Natsuki raised his hand and said, "I'm back."
Sayu bowed and apologized, "I'm sorry, I've caused everyone trouble."
"Sayu-chan, hurry up and get in the car." Takanashi Rikka curiously poked her little face out and looked outside, "Where is the Man-faced dog?"
"Human, do you want to see me?"
Jinmenken, the Man-faced dog, emerged silently from the mist.
"Ah…!"
Rikka gasped in fright, clutching her chest and retreating in panic.
Even Kaguya and Yukinoshita, as calm as they were, were startled by the sudden appearance of the Man-faced dog and instinctively took half a step back.
A monster that combined a human head and a dog body was truly horrifying on a physiological level, far more terrifying than The Slit-Mouthed Woman or Sadako.
"Hehehe…"
The Man-faced dog smiled contentedly.
See? This was the normal reaction of humans upon seeing her; she could clearly smell the scent of fear on them.
So, it wasn't herself that was abnormal, but that boy!
Amamiya Natsuki chewed his gum, looked down, and said:
"Yuuko, stay outside the car and don't come near the bus unless necessary, you might scare people."
"D-Darn it…"
The canine instinct was to obey its master's commands; the Man-faced dog was extremely unwilling, but her body still obediently retreated into the mist.
Sayu withdrew her gaze before stepping onto the bus.
"You guys chat, I'm going to the back."
Amamiya Natsuki walked to the very back of the bus, extended his finger, and gently tapped the Kaguya-Type Leg Attachment three times.
The Kaguya-Type Leg Attachment's state was like that of a satellite monster in the sky; it couldn't speak or move, which was actually very uncomfortable.
So, he had agreed with Chika that once the environment was confirmed safe, he would use three taps as a signal to allow Fujiwara Chika to exit the attachment state.
Only now did he finally have time to give the signal.
The next second.
The Kaguya-Type Leg Attachment on Amamiya Natsuki's leg flashed faintly, and Fujiwara Chika appeared out of thin air.
Becoming an attachment only affected the body; clothes naturally didn't enjoy the same treatment, so when Fujiwara Chika appeared, she was actually in a vacuum state.
Amamiya Natsuki only felt a flash of white before his eyes, and before he could see clearly, a pink nurse uniform appeared on Fujiwara Chika's body, and a syringe appeared in her hand.
It was the Skin Card obtained from the previous instance.
This item could achieve instant costume changes and also provided certain additional attribute bonuses, belonging to the same type of item as the bunny girl Skin Card commonly used by Shinomiya Kaguya.
Unfortunately, Skin Cards were rare and all good items, so few people took them out for trade.
"Finally, I can come out!"
Fujiwara Chika clenched her fists, raised them above her head, and began to warm up, "When I was an attachment, it was like being squeezed into a small box, unable to turn over or speak, super uncomfortable. If I couldn't see and hear things, I would have gone crazy… Hurry up, I want to talk to Kaguya-chan."
"Wait a moment."
Amamiya Natsuki pulled Chika back, his gaze shifting downwards to Chika secretary's chest.
"What are you looking at?"
Fujiwara Chika looked down in confusion, glancing at her chest, "Is there something there?"
"It's precisely because there's nothing that I'm concerned." Amamiya Natsuki's expression was serious, "You didn't wear underwear when you transformed back, did you?"
"Of course not." Fujiwara Chika said subconsciously, "Not even panties… cough cough."
Chika secretary covered her chest with one hand and her skirt with the other, her cheeks puffed out as she looked over, "Why are you asking these things?"
Amamiya Natsuki said as a matter of course, "No one can accept their favorite girl having an accidental exposure, right?"
"The Skin Card's clothes clearly can't be taken off…"
Chika secretary's pretty face flushed, she turned her body to the side, and whispered, "Turn around, I'm changing."
"…"
After changing her clothes, Fujiwara Chika happily ran to the front of the carriage and hugged the Sheltered Young Lady.
"Kaguya-chan, I missed you!"
"…Don't hug me."
Shinomiya Kaguya tightened her pretty face, trying to distance herself from Chika.
The useless fatty Extraneous matter were already pressing on her arm, making her very unhappy.
"Rikka-chan!"
"Yukino-chan!"
Fujiwara Chika greeted them one by one.
Rikka and Yukinoshita both knew about the Kaguya-Type Leg Attachment and were not surprised.
Only Sayu looked surprised, unable to figure out why a living person suddenly appeared on the bus.
"Sayu-chan." Fujiwara Chika put her hands on her hips, turned to look at Sayu, and said seriously, "Although I don't know what you encountered, no matter what, you shouldn't give up on yourself."
Sayu blinked her eyes, then finally spoke softly:
"Excuse me… who are you?"
Amamiya Natsuki introduced, "She's my spirit companion."
"I'm not a spirit companion, I'm also a player."
"…"
After a brief explanation of Chika's identity, everyone sat down and began to discuss the current situation.
"The mist is abnormal." Yukinoshita Yukino pursed her pink lips, her voice cold, "That Man-faced dog must have appeared because of the mist."
Shinomiya Kaguya crossed her arms over her chest and said softly, "Why does the Man-faced dog know Sayu?"
"With so many of us, why is Sayu its only target?"
"I don't know…" Sayu shook her head, hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "The Man-faced dog's human head is my best friend, Yuuko… Yuuko committed suicide, it's all my fault…"
Fujiwara Chika comforted her:
"This is an instance; that Man-faced dog is definitely not your friend, don't be deceived by her."
Rikka was more concerned about another matter: "Those players who went to the tunnel, I wonder how they are now…"
Bang!
A dull thud suddenly sounded.
Amamiya Natsuki quickly looked over and saw a bloody handprint on the bus window.
Rikka jumped in fright, quickly covering her mouth.
Bang, bang, bang.
Consecutive thudding sounds rang out, moving directly towards the direction of the car door, as if something was trying to break into the bus.
"There's something outside." Yukinoshita Yukino lowered her voice and said vigilantly.
"Quick, open the door!"
An anxious shout came from the door.
Shinomiya Kaguya whispered, "It seems to be those players from before."
The mist grew denser, and in Kaguya and Yukinoshita's vision, they could only see a vast expanse of white mist outside the car window.
Amamiya Natsuki squinted his eyes and looked out; the potion's effect was still present, and his vision could barely penetrate the mist, allowing him to see four players approaching outside the car.
"They are indeed players, but we need to confirm their identities first." Amamiya Natsuki stepped to the door and shouted outside, "Please answer this question: Who was the champion team of this World Cup?"
Sayu: "…"
He just asked me the same question, that's too perfunctory!
"Argentina."
"What trophy did they win?"
"The World Cup!"
"…"
With the identity verified, Amamiya Natsuki then opened the door.
Several passerby players rushed in, jostling each other, and a woman with a bloodied face screamed in terror:
"Close the door quickly, there's a monster in the mist!"
She didn't need to say it; Amamiya Natsuki had already closed the door.
"You, why didn't you open the door earlier?!"
A man with a fierce expression stepped forward, about to grab Amamiya Natsuki's collar.
Thud!
A dull impact sound attracted everyone's attention.
The few players who had just gotten on the bus all looked at Amamiya Natsuki, then their gaze shifted downwards, landing on the blood-stained fire axe at Amamiya Natsuki's feet.
Amamiya Natsuki raised the axe, looked at the middle-aged man in front of him, and said calmly:
"Any more questions?"
The middle-aged man's eye muscles twitched slightly, and he immediately bowed ninety degrees: "…My sincerest apologies!"
As expected.
An axe was indeed the best tool for reasoning; using it to chop trees was truly overkill.
"I do have a few questions." Amamiya Natsuki held the axe in one hand and asked, "Why did you come back? What's inside the tunnel?"
Under the axe's reasoning, the few players were quite honest and cooperative.
"We entered the tunnel." A girl took a breath and said with a wry smile, "The tunnel didn't collapse, but mist appeared inside. Everyone walked along the tunnel, and for some reason, we came out from the entrance again."
Shinomiya Kaguya crossed her arms over her chest and said softly, "Your guess about directly clearing the level failed."
Yukinoshita Yukino asked:
"What about the others?"
The girl pushed the glasses on her nose: "The tunnel is just a straight path, it won't loop back. Clearly, the game is preventing everyone from skipping the level… After realizing this, everyone could only go down the mountain together."
At this point, the female player's face showed a terrified expression: "Then we encountered monsters in the mist, and everyone scattered, running away separately."
Amamiya Natsuki asked:
"Tell me about the monsters you encountered."
The few players were very cooperative and honestly described their encounters. There were many types of monsters, such as women with only upper bodies but surprisingly agile crawling abilities, giant centipedes, Balloon Heads floating in the sky, and so on.
"Didn't you encounter the Man-faced dog?" Fujiwara Chika asked curiously.
The few passerby players all shook their heads, indicating that they had not encountered it.
At this moment, a player with a grim expression spoke up:
"I probably know what those monsters in the mist are about… Earlier in the mist, I encountered a train, Thomas the Tank Engine, but it was the eerie, hellish version."
Yukinoshita Yukino frowned slightly and said, "There shouldn't be a train on this kind of mountain road."
"But I really did encounter it." The player on the road said with a wry smile.
"That's right."
"We also saw it, it was that Thomas the Tank Engine from the anime."
"There aren't any tracks on the ground, so who knows why that small train could run through the forest."
Amamiya Natsuki looked at the bitter smile of the passerby player, his thoughts stirring, and asked, "Is Thomas the Tank Engine related to you?"
"Probably…" The passerby player exhaled and said, "When I was little, my parents were very busy with work, and I was often left alone at home. During a summer vacation in elementary school, I was watching TV alone, and it was Thomas the Tank Engine. Later, I accidentally fell asleep and dreamed of Thomas the Tank Engine, but the train in the dream was quite creepy."
Fujiwara Chika agreed, "Thomas the Tank Engine can indeed be quite frightening."
The passerby player took a deep breath and continued, "So many years have passed, but the nightmare from my childhood is still clearly remembered… That Thomas the Tank Engine is identical to the terrifying train in my dream."
"Does everyone still remember the rules on the stone tablet?"
"The second rule is not to think about the things you fear most within your heart…"
Yukinoshita Yukino's delicate eyebrows twitched slightly, and she said, "You mean, those monsters in the mist are actually the deepest fears in the players' hearts?"
"That sounds very possible." Takanashi Rikka placed her right hand on her hip. "No wonder the Man-faced dog knew Sayu-chan. It's because it's Sayu-chan's deepest fear. That makes perfect sense."
"The deepest fear in one's heart, huh…"
Amamiya Natsuki silently turned his head and looked at the Sheltered Young Lady.
The usually calm and composed the Sheltered Young Lady was now biting her lower lip tightly, her face pale.
Clearly, Shinomiya Kaguya, prompted by the passerby player's narration, had recalled the existence she feared most within her heart.
Fujiwara Chika blinked her eyes and whispered, "Could Kaguya-chan's greatest fear be…?"
Shinomiya Kaguya bit her pink lips: "I'm not afraid of that replica!"
Amamiya Natsuki and Chika exchanged glances, both arriving at the same conclusion.
It's confirmed.
The existence this the Sheltered Young Lady fears most is indeed that Yandere Kaguya from the mirror space.
"Kaguya-chan, quickly calm down." Fujiwara Chika hurriedly said, "Don't think about her!"
Shinomiya Kaguya: "…I'm not a robot, how can I just stop thinking when I want to?!"
Thinking is a natural instinct of the brain; once a thought arises, it's like a restless monkey—the more you try to forget it, the clearer it becomes.
Amamiya Natsuki shook his head and said, "It's too late."
If the monsters in the mist are the materialization of players' inner fears, then the moment the Young Lady remembered that experience, Yandere Kaguya should have already appeared.
And that was precisely the case.
In one part of the forest, the mist suddenly churned violently, followed by a doll-like-like foot wrapped in black silk stepping out of the mist. A young lady, dressed in a school uniform, with hollow, murky eyes and specks of blood on her cheeks, appeared out of thin air.
"Why… why didn't you choose me?"
Hollow whispers quietly drifted through the mist. Yandere Kaguya, clutching a dagger, silently walked into the mist.
"Hehehe… I'll kill all those annoying people. This time, I'll keep Natsuki-kun by my side forever…"
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr