"Spicy chicken or spicy rabbit head—which is tastier?"
Chika's expression was serious. She asked earnestly:
"Kaguya-chan, please answer."
"..."
Faced with Chika's question, both Kaguyas fell silent simultaneously.
After several seconds of hesitation.
The Kaguya on the left spoke: "Spicy rabbit head?"
The Kaguya on the right remained silent, saying nothing.
The anticipation in Chika's eyes quickly turned to disappointment. "Kaguya-chan can't eat spicy food. Whether it's spicy chicken or spicy rabbit head, with Kaguya-chan's personality, she would definitely answer that she doesn't like either."
"So..."
Chika took a deep breath. "Neither of you is Kaguya-chan."
Bodies could be disguised. Memories could be stolen. Only personality would never change.
The disguise was seen through.
Cracks appeared on both Kaguyas' bodies once more. With a crash, they shattered and vanished.
The hospital room suddenly felt desolate. An eerie atmosphere quietly spread.
"So none of them were real..." Rikka nervously hid behind Natsuki, somewhat scared. "Could we have entered the wrong room?"
"No. If we'd entered the wrong room, we wouldn't have seen three Kaguya-chans in the first place." Chika shook her head. She looked up at Natsuki. "Natsuki, you already knew they weren't Kaguya-chan, didn't you?"
Hearing this, Natsuki nodded. "I did."
Kaguya looked calm and composed, as if she wasn't afraid of anything. But in reality, she wasn't that brave. Appearing alone in a creepy hospital room, being imitated by vengeful spirits—after seeing him and Chika, various "help me" messages would definitely have been floating above her head.
Yet after Natsuki walked into the room, all three Kaguyas had been very calm. None of them had panicked.
Obviously, none of them were real.
"I didn't have decisive evidence earlier, so I didn't say anything." Natsuki said gravely. "Shinomiya-san must still be somewhere in this room. Let's search."
The hospital room wasn't large. There wasn't much inside either—just two hospital beds, a built-in storage cabinet, and a table for miscellaneous items.
They searched everywhere—the storage cabinet, under the beds, under the table, even the drawers. Still no sign of Kaguya.
Natsuki's gaze finally fell on an unremarkable mirror.
It looked like an ancient vanity mirror, only palm-sized. The mirror surface was blurry and unclear. It had been placed in the corner of the table, completely inconspicuous.
[Through careful observation, you've discovered this mirror is quite peculiar]
Sorry, I really don't see what's peculiar about it.
[Legend has it that mirrors are gateways to another world. You realize something is wrong and decide to smash the mirror, resulting in your future wife being forever lost in the mirror world]
Wait.
What does "future wife" mean?
She's clearly just a normal teammate. Don't say weird things!
[Upon learning the truth, for the sake of your future title of "kept man," you decide to stare at the mirror for ten seconds, enter the mirror world, and rescue your future wife]
What's with "kept man"? I have a perfectly good appetite. I don't need to be kept.
Natsuki hesitated for a few seconds but still decided to go in himself.
No one knew what dangers lurked in the mirror world. At least he could see various hints. As for Chika and Rikka... he had a feeling neither girl was particularly bright.
Natsuki took a deep breath, stared at the mirror, and silently counted down in his heart.
Ten.
Nine.
Eight.
When he counted to one, the world before his eyes suddenly blurred for an instant.
"I'm in?"
Natsuki raised his head and surveyed his surroundings. He quickly confirmed he had entered the mirror world.
Chika and Rikka were nowhere to be seen. The missing Kaguya appeared before him.
The problem was there wasn't just one person—there were two Kaguyas.
Both Kaguyas sat on the bed with their arms wrapped around their knees. Hearing movement, they looked up simultaneously.
"Natsuki?"
Identical voices rang out at the same time, both containing pleasant surprise. Then they stood up together and simultaneously looked at each other.
The movements of both Kaguyas were completely identical. One hundred percent synchronization rate. Not the slightest delay. It looked quite eerie.
"I understand the situation." Natsuki pressed his brow. Of the two Kaguyas before him, one must be real and one fake. "Shinomiya-san, what was the first thing you ever said to me?"
"Amamiya-kun, turn yourself in."
Both Kaguyas answered together. Their voices had no delay whatsoever.
"Very good." Natsuki continued questioning. "If you put chickens and rabbits in the same cage, and there are thirty-five heads on top and ninety-four legs on the bottom, then... which is tastier—spicy chicken or spicy rabbit head?"
"I don't like either." Both Kaguyas said simultaneously.
"A swimming pool has one inlet pipe and one outlet pipe. The inlet pipe can fill the pool in ten minutes. The outlet pipe can drain the pool in fifteen minutes. If you fill for five minutes, then open both pipes at the same time... What crime has the pool manager committed?"
"Wasting water resources."
"..."
No matter what question he asked, both Kaguyas' answers were exactly the same. Their movements, expressions, and demeanor during this time showed not the slightest difference.
Natsuki furrowed his brow slightly and said seriously:
"Shinomiya-san, take out your equipment."
Being a vengeful spirit, it surely couldn't copy game equipment too.
But both Kaguyas bit their lower lips together: "I already tried. The equipment shows it's sealed. I can't take it out."
"..."
The eerie one hundred percent synchronization rate—no matter how beautiful the ice sculpture girl was, it was still somewhat frightening.
Natsuki prepared to rely on the hints, but the hint that appeared before him was quite unreliable.
[As everyone knows, a very small number of twins experience telepathy. Looking at these twins whose bodies are one hundred percent synchronized, you've come up with a bold idea... If I slap one, both of them should cry together, right?]
That is indeed bold.
Daring to lay a hand on the young lady of the Shinomiya family—whether slapping her bottom or anywhere else—he'd spend the rest of his life rotting in prison!
He felt like the boldness was aimed in the wrong direction, but he didn't dare say it.
[Through careful observation, you've finally discovered the difference hidden in their eyes]
"Hm?"
Natsuki raised an eyebrow slightly. He made eye contact with the Kaguya on the right.
"Don't move. I've found a way to recognize you."
Both Kaguyas widened their eyes together and held still.
Their gazes met.
Natsuki could clearly see the hazy mist in the girl's eyes. Looking carefully, he could also see panic and fear. Even the ice sculpture girl couldn't stay calm after being pulled into a mirror by a vengeful spirit in an eerie hospital room, then having her every word and action imitated.
If anything, her current performance was already exceptionally strong.
They stared at each other for a minute.
Natsuki then looked at the other Kaguya. Again, their eyes met.
When they'd done the fun task "Staring at the Sun" before, the two of them had already stared at each other quite a few times.
As their gazes met, Natsuki finally discovered the difference between the two Kaguyas.
"...Found you!"
Grabbing the right hand of the Kaguya before him, Natsuki didn't hesitate to crash backward into the mirror behind them.
Crash.
The mirror world before him suddenly shattered.