Shinomiya Kaguya was incredibly light. Despite being called the "Ice Queen," her body felt surprisingly soft, and her warmth seeped through Natsukawa Kanade's arms. There was even a faint fragrance lingering in the air—something elegant and refined, like freshly bloomed cherry blossoms under the moonlight.
—Wait, what the hell am I thinking about right now?!
Kanade shook his head slightly, his expression stiff.
"S-Sorry, the situation is urgent..."
He mumbled awkwardly, but inwardly, he scolded himself. Now was definitely not the time to be focusing on things like this. They were being chased by a literal monster, and yet, his brain had the audacity to notice Kaguya's scent?! It was the equivalent of checking his phone for a cute message while his team was already losing in a ranked match.
Get your head in the game, Kanade!
Still, no matter how much he tried to keep his composure, there was no way to completely ignore the fact that he was holding Kaguya in his arms like this. He attempted to create some distance between them, but his arms could only stretch so far. If he loosened his grip any further, she'd slip right out of his grasp.
—Okay, in hindsight, maybe picking her up in a princess carry wasn't the best idea.
If he had just slung her over his back instead, this whole situation would be a lot less awkward.
The only problem? It was far too late to fix that now.
Not only was Kaguya now glaring daggers at him with her signature "I-will-murder-you-in-your-sleep" eyes, but they also had a bigger issue ahead—their escape route was rapidly shrinking as they neared a row of doors.
"Kaguya, the door—"
Before Kanade could even finish his sentence, Kaguya had already extended her hand and shoved it open with practiced ease.
"No one inside. Next room," she commanded, her tone cool and efficient.
More importantly, her gaze never wavered from Kanade—as if silently warning him: Try anything funny, and you'll regret it.
Kanade gulped.
...Yeah, she was definitely furious.
He could already imagine it—later, once they were safe, she would likely drag him to some dark corner, scold him for his "inappropriate behavior," and possibly hit him with a verbal lashing so sharp it would cut deeper than any blade.
And honestly, he wouldn't even blame her.
Still, what was he supposed to do?! Just casually ask, Hey Kaguya, mind if I change my carrying position? There was no way he'd make it out of that conversation alive!
The last time he had even suggested such a thing—when he had been carrying Kasumigaoka-senpai during a previous school event—he had been ruthlessly mocked. She had accused him of being weak, called him a "whiny baby," and even twisted the situation to make it sound like he was complaining about her weight!
At that time, he had barely been able to hold her up, so fair enough, but now? Now he was trained. He could carry a whole damn bookshelf if he had to!
But none of that mattered, because here he was, stuck holding Kaguya in the most awkward princess carry of his life.
…Just great.
Suppressing a sigh, he pushed forward.
Thankfully, they didn't have to suffer for too long. When they reached the seventh room—right next to where the "butcher" had originally stood—they finally found their target.
A girl dressed in full ghost cosplay, complete with a black halo hovering over her head, was sitting leisurely in a chair, scrolling through her phone like she had all the time in the world.
Upon seeing them, she blinked, startled, before quickly putting away her phone. Straightening her back, she put on a serious face and opened her mouth:
"I used to be—"
"Skip the plot," Kanade interrupted, cutting her off without mercy. He held up a crumpled card. "Stamp it."
The girl frowned, clearly thrown off by the lack of theatrics.
She hesitated for a second, as if contemplating whether she should push back on the issue, but then seemed to recognize who she was dealing with. Her gaze flickered between Kanade and Kaguya, realization dawning on her.
The student council president and vice president, playing an advanced-level horror game? Yeah, probably best not to question it.
Still, she was a professional, damn it! She took her role seriously! Skipping the script was a little painful for her pride, but in the end, she sighed, accepting her fate.
Kanade, meanwhile, suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, right," he muttered. "There's another item I need to give you..."
He reached into his pocket—or at least, he tried to.
But his current predicament made it extremely difficult to retrieve anything with one hand occupied.
Kanade grimaced.
"Uh, Kaguya," he said hesitantly. "Can you grab it for me? It's in my shirt pocket."
For a moment, there was silence.
Then, Kaguya slowly turned her head toward him, her expression blank but her eyes filled with pure disdain. She stared at him as if he had just asked her to clean a public toilet with her bare hands.
Kanade gulped.
Yep. He was definitely dead later.
Still, after what felt like an eternity of glaring, Kaguya finally reached out, her slender fingers dipping into his pocket with an almost painful slowness. The entire time, her gaze never wavered from his, silently daring him to say anything stupid.
Maybe it was because they were in front of an outsider, but Kaguya's reluctance was painfully obvious. She hesitated for what felt like an eternity, her piercing gaze filled with the kind of disgust one might reserve for a cockroach that dared to invade a sacred space. Yet, despite this, she still gave Natsukawa Kanade enough face, eventually—though begrudgingly—stretching out her right hand to retrieve the item from his pocket.
It should have been a simple task. However, whether due to her awkward posture or sheer bad luck, Kaguya fumbled for an unreasonably long time. Her fingers grazed over fabric, pressing against the firm surface beneath. But the elusive object refused to be found. Her movements, unintentional yet merciless, resulted in an unexpected side effect—she had effectively been kneading Kanade's chest muscles this entire time.
"Kaguya… a little lower…" Kanade's voice was strained, his expression a mix of embarrassment and helplessness.
Realizing the situation, Kaguya's fingers twitched before she swiftly withdrew her hand. With a small, indignant huff, she reached back inside—this time, with an air of determined efficiency. Moments later, she finally extracted the sought-after item and held it up between two fingers, as if it were something distasteful.
"You mean this?" she asked coldly, her expression a perfect mix of feigned indifference and underlying irritation.
Kanade, suppressing a sigh, nodded. "Yeah, that's the one."
The ghost girl, who had been watching this bizarre interaction unfold, struggled to maintain a neutral expression. She had to physically bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from blurting out the million questions swarming in her mind. Questions like, "President, is this some new form of play?" or "Can I take a picture of this as a memento?"—no, no, no! She must not say such things!
Instead, she swallowed down her curiosity and kept things professional. "Ah... Mm..." She merely nodded stiffly, handing over the necessary stamp for their game.
"Thank you." Kanade accepted the item, eager to move on.
The ghost girl, however, wasn't ready to let them go just yet. This was her moment! Her time to shine! She had practiced her lines for this scene, and she was determined to deliver them. Clearing her throat dramatically, she lifted her chin and began, "You brave souls, who dare venture—"
"Skip the plot, please. We're out of time." Kanade cut in swiftly, his voice bordering on desperate. "Just stamp it before time runs out."
The ghost girl froze, her enthusiasm deflating like a punctured balloon. Her shoulders sagged slightly, but she dutifully complied. The sound of the stamp pressing against the card echoed through the dimly lit corridor.
Fine. She would stamp it. But once that was done, she'd reclaim her moment! She still had the rest of the background story to share. That was her plan, at least… until a delicate but swift hand snatched the stamped card away with lightning speed.
Blinking in surprise, the ghost girl barely had time to react before Kanade and Kaguya were already halfway to the door. Their retreat was so seamless that it was as if they had never even been there in the first place.
"..."
So this was how it felt to be treated as an NPC in a speedrun attempt?
She clenched her fists, biting her lip in frustration.
This wasn't fair! She had been completely ignored!
She didn't even feel like she had been a part of their game!
And yet, somehow… she was still utterly defeated by it.