Kaguya-sama Wants My Surrender!

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"Hey, what does this have to do with young scholars?" Umi asked, her curiosity piqued.

"As everyone knows, literary enthusiasts often enjoy reading about the pain of youth," Amamiya began, turning his attention to Umi as he shared an experience. "I once read a novel where, on the hero's wedding night, his entire family was killed, and his wife was abducted by barbarians. The hero then traveled thousands of miles to find his wife for revenge. When he finally found her, he stood outside her house, eavesdropping on the sound of his wife turning into a flannel ball. In the end, she even played a song called 'Phoenix Seeking Phoenix' to cheer him up... It was absolutely devastating for my young heart at the time."

"Stop, stop!" Umi crossed her arms, visibly disturbed. "That sounds too painful."

Kaguya, puzzled, asked, "What exactly does 'fluff ball' mean? Why does everyone look so strange when you talk about it?"

Suddenly, Chika began to cough awkwardly and waved her hands frantically. "That's a topic for only evil people to discuss, Kaguya-chan. Don't ask too many questions."

"Exactly," Umi chimed in, glancing at Kaguya with a serious look. "A good child shouldn't know about such things."

Kaguya frowned in confusion. Everyone seemed to know what was being talked about, but she was being left out of the loop. It left her feeling uncomfortable and unsatisfied.

A fluff ball, huh? Well, after the mission's over, I'll look it up myself!

"Let's go," Chika suggested, quickly changing the topic. "Let's head back to the restaurant."

"Wait a minute." Umi suddenly paused and frowned, a thought clearly crossing her mind. "We seem to have forgotten something very important."

"I almost forgot," Amamiya muttered, turning around to shout into the dark, empty night. "Sajuna, you can come out now."

Upon hearing his call, two figures emerged from a distant corner. A small figure approached quickly—it was none other than Sajuna, who had been standing guard outside the hotel.

Behind her, a taller girl with long black hair followed closely—Komi.

The pink-haired Sajuna trotted over and immediately threw herself into Amamiya's arms. With tears in her eyes, she looked up at him. "W-why did you take so long to come out?!"

In the nightmare world, time passed in sync with reality. 

In other words, each time the nightmare restarted, one hour passed both in the dream and in the real world. 

The nightmare had restarted four times, meaning that Sajuna and Komi had been waiting outside the hotel for a full four hours. 

After experiencing the previous ghostly events together, Sajuna had developed a deep trust in Amamiya. 

When Amamiya, Kaguya, and Chika first entered the hotel, they had been confident that they would be able to escape quickly. But as the hours dragged on, their spirits began to wane. After four long hours of silence, they had almost given up hope. 

So, when Sajuna finally heard Amamiya's voice, she couldn't contain her excitement. The feeling of finding something or someone again after a long wait was something cherished throughout history. 

"I'm sorry," Amamiya said, reaching out to gently rub Sajuna's head. "I didn't mean to make you worry."

Sajuna instinctively leaned into his palm for a moment before quickly pulling away. Her face flushed as she shyly looked at him. 

"Don't touch my head," she muttered, trying to regain her composure.

"Yes, yes," Amamiya replied with a smile, nodding in understanding. 

His attention shifted to the tall girl standing behind Sajuna. "Komi-san, it's good to see you again."

Komi, the girl with long black hair, trembled slightly as she looked around nervously. She reached for her notebook, as though she might write something down at any moment. 

Amamiya tried to catch her attention, wanting to hear what she would say, but it seemed that she was too apprehensive to speak. 

"JuJu-sama, it's good to see you again." 

Umi placed her right hand on her waist, flashing a smile so radiant and beautiful that it nearly rivaled the brightness of the sun.

Sajuna sniffed the air, then asked curiously, "Umi-chan, what took you so long to come out?"

The succubus girl shrugged and explained, "There was a terrifying nightmare in the hotel..."

"Let's talk while we walk." Chika gestured ahead, "We should head back to the restaurant first."

Kaguya furrowed her brow slightly, sensing something was off.

Amamiya glanced at Kaguya, his voice low. "What's wrong?"

"I think..." Kaguya pursed her lips, "I also forgot something."

Amamiya stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it, I feel like I've forgotten something too."

"Is it the aftereffects of the nightmare story?" Kaguya suggested.

"That's possible," he agreed.

They walked a bit further, but then Amamiya suddenly stopped, his face becoming serious.

"I remembered what I forgot," he declared.

"Hmm?" Kaguya tilted her head in confusion. "What is it?"

Amamiya spoke slowly, his expression contemplative. "The nympho player who keeps repeating saying men need to die—she hasn't been found yet."

"Oh, I remember now!" Umi slapped her forehead. "It's Ms. Tanaka! I knew I'd forgotten something!"

Kaguya remained silent, her thoughts still clouded. 'I forgot about it too...'

Umi, Kaguya, and the female player, who had been a stranger to them, had entered the hotel. The female player was the first to be attacked. 

Later, during the restart of the nightmare, Amamiya had pretended to be a sewer dredging worker and briefly encountered her. However, due to the time constraints, he hadn't had any contact with the female player in subsequent restarts… and had completely forgotten about her. 

Meanwhile, inside the hotel, a female passerby player stirred awake, shivering in the cold air.

'Who am I?' 

'Where am I?' 

'Why am I the only one left?'

It would have been fine if she didn't even have a name, but forgetting who she was in the hotel—wasn't that something only random players were supposed to experience?

——

"Do you want to go back and find her?" Amamiya asked.

"Of course," Umi said firmly, her fists clenched. "I'll feel guilty if we leave Ms. Tanaka behind like this."

"Exactly," Chika nodded seriously. "We can't just abandon her. We need to help each other."

——

After returning to the hotel, the bespectacled ghost boy that had been lurking there was no longer a threat. The group could move freely, no longer worrying about being pulled back into the nightmare.

However, the tourists and staff in the hotel had been... resurrected. It wasn't quite accurate to say they had been resurrected, as their bodies were still lifeless, but their consciousness remained intact.

Amamiya had expected these "people" to be desperate and insane. But when they entered the hotel, they were surprised to find the hotel staff—including the old lady who had been knitting—was quietly cleaning the place.

When the staff noticed the group, they all turned to look in unison, their hollow, dark eyes creating an eerie atmosphere.

Sajuna flinched, instinctively hiding behind Amamiya.

Komi clutched her notebook, visibly trembling.

Amamiya, unfazed, addressed the hotel staff. "Excuse me, we'd like to stay in the hotel."

"I'm very sorry, sir," the proprietress responded in a trembling voice. "The hotel still requires repairs and cleaning. I apologize for the inconvenience."

Amamiya raised an eyebrow. 'Really? Even as vengeful spirits, the concept of customer service is still embedded in their bones?'

"Please make sure the hotel is cleaned up as soon as possible and reopen it," he said with a slight sigh. "One more thing—our friend accidentally entered the hotel earlier. Have you seen her?"

The old lady shook her head. "No."

"Then should we search for her ourselves?"

"Please help yourself, my guest."