An uneventful night passed.
The next day, at 7:10 in the morning, the alarm clock rang right on time.
Natsuki opened his eyes, reached out to turn off the alarm by his pillow, and got up alone to get dressed.
Walking out of his room, when he heard the sound of the television from downstairs, his steps paused slightly.
His parents worked away from home and were rarely there—only a few days a year. The television hadn't been turned on in a long time. Suddenly hearing the TV sound now made him feel slightly disoriented.
"Natsuki-kun, good morning."
Mrs. Kaguya's elegant, pleasant voice came from behind the sofa.
"Good morning."
Natsuki responded, and was about to go around the living room to wash his face and brush his teeth when his gaze fell on the sofa and his steps suddenly stopped:
"You secretly played on your phone again last night?"
"I didn't." Mrs. Kaguya blinked, her eyes full of innocence. "Natsuki-kun, don't falsely accuse me."
You say you didn't, but your entire body has become transparent!
When others stay up all night cultivating immortality, at most they get dark circles. When you stay up all night cultivating immortality, you're about to cultivate yourself into nonexistence!
Evil spirits and earthbound spirits were spiritual bodies that usually couldn't touch things in the real world, otherwise the world would have descended into chaos long ago.
But guardian spirits were different.
After regaining consciousness, they could briefly materialize themselves, thereby touching objects in the real world. But materialization required consuming energy, and the more energy consumed, the more blurred their body became.
Needless to say, this Mrs. Kaguya had definitely maintained her materialized state all last night, staying up late playing on her phone.
"Alright, I did play on my phone for a while last night... but there was no helping it." Mrs. Kaguya extended two fingers, looking over pitifully. "I'm a guardian spirit—I don't even have a body. I can't sleep even if I want to. Spending the entire night alone doing nothing—even Natsuki-kun would find that cruel and too much, right?"
That was the truth.
Natsuki had experienced insomnia before and knew very well how miserable it was to toss and turn unable to sleep.
"You could have watched TV all night." Natsuki suggested.
"After midnight, the TV stations don't have programs." Mrs. Kaguya's eyes looked aggrieved. "Staring blankly at the TV alone is too lonely."
"Last night I suddenly saw a manga I really loved when I was alive—Aoyama-sensei's 'Detective Conan.'" Mrs. Kaguya played the sympathy card. "When I died, thinking I wouldn't see the ending, I was super regretful. So I accidentally got absorbed and lost track of time. I'm terribly sorry."
"There's still no ending now." Natsuki couldn't help but comment. "I might not even see the ending myself."
Oda-sensei had clearly stated that 'One Piece' would conclude within five years. Two years had already passed, but the conclusion of 'Detective Conan' was still nowhere in sight—a true "in this lifetime" series.
"Fine, I'm going to wash my face and brush my teeth." Natsuki sighed.
Mrs. Kaguya raised her hand: "Do you want me to make breakfast?"
"Completely unnecessary." Natsuki didn't look back. "Just sit there."
Making food? In your current state, you might disappear the next moment. Don't cause more trouble!
After washing up and eating a simple breakfast, Natsuki received Miko's message right on time: "Natsuki, heading to school."
"Coming."
Natsuki picked up his bag, walked out the door, and looked up to see his childhood friend standing at the entrance, waiting expectantly.
Waist-length straight black hair, a lewd figure that her school uniform couldn't conceal, and heavy dark circles under her eyes... Today's Miko was another day of sloth.
"Little Miko, good morning." Mrs. Kaguya greeted with a smile.
"Good morn..." Miko's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Um, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, don't worry." Natsuki said casually. "It's the aftereffects of staying up late playing on her phone."
"The aftereffects are too terrible." Miko couldn't help but comment. "She's so transparent she's about to disappear."
"We'll recharge at school."
"...Recharge?"
Yotsuya Miko froze, looking over puzzled: "How do we recharge at school?"
Natsuki: "..."
Being stepped on by the ice sculpture young lady while lying flat and getting stronger while simultaneously replenishing Mrs. Kaguya's energy—for some reason, he suddenly found it hard to say.
Fortunately, at that moment, an energetic voice suddenly rang out.
"Miko! Natsuki!"
Natsuki looked over at the sound. A girl with short blonde hair and a figure even lewder than Miko's—Hana Yurikawa—was waving while happily running over.
An indescribable gravitational force appeared out of nowhere, like universal attraction, drawing everyone's gaze.
A phrase unconsciously appeared in Natsuki's mind:
The little bunny hopping around is so cute.
"Hana, good morning."
A faint smile appeared on Miko's face.
"How warm." Mrs. Kaguya extended the tip of her tongue, licking her lips with an exceptionally alluring motion. "This girl has a very warm feeling about her... Natsuki-kun, could we trick her into coming home?"
Sorry, that's completely impossible.
Don't talk about criminal topics right in front of Miko!
But having said that, Hana Yurikawa really wasn't an ordinary person. Natsuki could see what looked like warm, flame-like light emanating from her. He currently didn't know what it was.
Miko glanced over, her expression hesitant. Because Hana was right beside them, she couldn't speak to Mrs. Kaguya.
"Don't worry, Miko." Mrs. Kaguya explained. "I can't feel your temperature, but just now I sensed the warmth from your friend's body, so I was curious for a moment. That's all."
Miko breathed a sigh of relief and nodded slightly.
Her good friend Hana was completely oblivious, her voice cheerful:
"We have exams today! After the exams, it's Golden Week vacation—super exciting!"
"Miko, do you have any Golden Week travel plans?"
"None at all." Yotsuya Miko's salted fish aura was in full force. "I plan to stay home and not go anywhere."
Travel was meant for beautiful scenery, but for Miko, she could see all kinds of evil spirits wherever she went. She could no longer experience the joy of traveling.
"Eh, what a shame." Hana sounded regretful. She looked past Miko, tilting her head toward him. "What about you, Natsuki?"
Several days had passed, and Hana had already forgotten the button incident. She could talk easily and naturally with Natsuki again.
Natsuki pondered for two seconds before speaking seriously:
"I'm going to witness the grandeur of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, take photos with the Sphinx, debate philosophy with Socrates, and personally participate in the war between Athens and Sparta."
"S-so amazing!"
Hana's eyes widened, her face full of admiration.
"That's the tourism simulator game, isn't it?" Yotsuya Miko exposed the truth.
Don't look down on tourism simulators—when Notre-Dame Cathedral caught fire, the staff even used the tourism simulator for reference!
Though that was a rumor.
"The game can let you do that much?" Hana's eyes sparkled. "I want to play too."
Natsuki said casually:
"When you have time, come play with Miko."
"I'll remember that."
"..."
The three chatted as they walked, quickly arriving at school.
Mrs. Kaguya had stayed beside Hana the entire way, and her body had clearly solidified somewhat. This good friend could unexpectedly be used as a power bank.
They happened to encounter the ice sculpture young lady getting out of her car not far away.
"Eh, it's Kaguya... Every time I see her, I think she's super beautiful." As Hana spoke, she looked toward Natsuki curiously. "Speaking of which, why did you get in Kaguya's car that day, Natsuki?"