Kaguya-sama: Love Is War wants me to turn myself in.

Chapter 449 The Underworld in Action

"Don't rush into action." Kaguya Shinomiya crossed her left arm over her chest. "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. First, we need to gather information about the Dean."

“Kaguya is right,” Natsuki Amamiya nodded. “There’s still some time before the mission deadline, so we should play it safe.”

"Everyone, stop talking." Kitagawa Kaimu put his right hand on his hip. "The guests outside are getting impatient. Let's take care of them first."

"..."

The discussion is complete.

Everyone got busy again.

"Natsuki-kun, let me do the fish cleaning."

Chizuru Mizuhara volunteered to stay in the kitchen instead of going to the front of the restaurant. As a primary school student who is only 1.2 meters tall with short legs and arms, it would be illegal to use a child laborer to have her work in the front.

Amamiya Natsuki looked at Mizuhara Chizuru and said:

"Are you sure it's okay?"

"Don't worry." Mizuhara Chizuru smiled. "I live alone and often cook for myself."

Amamiya Natsuki stepped aside, saying, "Then it's up to you."

Without saying a word, Ms. Mizuhara tied on her apron and looked at the strange fish that had grown up drinking nuclear wastewater, showing no fear whatsoever.

Snapped!

He reached out and grabbed a strange fish, slammed it onto the cutting board, and cleanly and efficiently cut off its belly. His movements were quite skilled, clearly indicating that what he had just said was not a lie.

Amamiya Natsuki glanced at it twice and then felt relieved: "That's a relief."

"Don't slack off, come and help." Zhu Zhu said, putting her right hand on her hip. "Shoko and I are exhausted."

“As office workers, it’s enough to do your job well.” Natsuki Amamiya looked at Zhu Zhu. “Let’s start by refusing to work overtime without pay, unless we are paid for it.”

There is no overtime pay.

"Special rewards are also acceptable."

Zhu Zhu narrowed her eyes: "What reward do you want?"

"..."

Natsuki Amamiya didn't speak, her gaze sliding down thirty centimeters.

Zhu Zhu's face flushed red instantly. She took a half step back, nervously covering her skirt, and glared at him shyly, saying:

"You idiot, you idiot, you idiot! Where are you looking?!"

"Huh?" Mizuhara Chizuru, who had just finished dealing with a strange fish in nuclear wastewater, turned around and looked at him, her tone puzzled. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Zhu Zhu quickly shook her head. "It's just to stop him from slacking off."

The fact that she was going commando was so shameful that she didn't want others to know.

Mizuhara Chizuru blinked, her expression remaining calm as she smiled slightly:

"Then I'll get back to work."

Amamiya Natsuki walked over to Zhu Zhu, leaned close to the girl's ear, and whispered something in her ear:

"Zhu Zhu, you don't want your secret to be discovered, do you?"

Zhu Zhu: "..."

Natsuki Amamiya pointed to her cheek and continued:

"If you don't want to be found out, you know what to do, right?"

"Damn it!" Zhu Zhu clenched her fists, unable to contain herself any longer. "Get out of here right now!"

"I'm leaving."

Natsuki Amamiya turned and left the kitchen.

As she watched Amamiya Natsuki's figure disappear, Zhu Zhu frowned, sensing that something was amiss.

After thinking for a moment, it suddenly dawned on him: "Wait a minute, could it be that idiot Natsuki is trying to slack off by deliberately letting me kick him out?"

Komi nodded silently.

"...It's infuriating!"

Natsuki Amamiya left the kitchen and went to check out the dining room in front.

The restaurant is operating normally—a security guard came to dine and dash, but Kaguya Shinomiya waived his bill and then hired security to maintain order, so the incident of someone dine and dash is unlikely to happen anytime soon.

In addition, a number-taking system has been implemented, which has greatly reduced the service burden.

After exchanging a few words with the silly young lady, Amamiya Natsuki left the restaurant and arrived at the door of an empty room.

dong dong dong.

She raised her hand and knocked on the door, then pushed it open. "I'm coming in."

The worn-out bearings emitted a dull, grating sound. When the door was pushed open, the interior was filled with an impenetrable darkness, oppressive and deathly silent.

Snapped.

There were no lights in the room, so Natsuki Amamiya took out a lighter and gently lit it.

In the dim and cold room, even the flame of a lighter turned a cold, eerie green, as if it would go out at any moment.

"Miss Sadako?"

Amamiya Natsuki called out, quickly scanning the area, but did not see Sadako.

"Hide and seek?" Amamiya Natsuki smiled. "Miss Sadako, remember to hide well, I'm coming to find you."

"..."

The room was deathly silent; no one responded.

Amamiya Natsuki walked to the bedside, half-squatted down, and peered under the bed:

"Tsk, not under the bed."

Walking around the bed to the wardrobe, Amamiya Natsuki extended a finger and gently knocked on the wardrobe door.

"Is Miss Sadako inside?"

"..."

I opened the wardrobe, but still didn't see anyone.

"Could it be inside the closet?" Natsuki Amamiya turned around and walked to the closet. "Sadako-san, I'll give you ten seconds. If I catch you, there will be a punishment."

"ten."

"Nine."

"Eight……"

Before the countdown was even finished, Natsuki Amamiya suddenly reached out and yanked open the closet door.

Wow.

In the dim light of the lighter, the hair of a woman named Sadako, whose face was covered by black hair, trembled as if she were shivering.

Liar!

There were supposed to be ten countdowns, but there weren't that many at all!

Noticing Sadako's resentful gaze through her hair, Natsuki Amamiya explained:

"Once you've counted them all, there's nothing left to expect... Surprised? Unexpected?"

"..."

Miss Sadako said she didn't want to talk.

"Come out quickly," Natsuki Amamiya said. "I've prepared a limited-edition dish for you, just for you. None of the other customers outside will get it."

The cooking guide is still ongoing.

Since this Sadako hasn't agreed to become an employee yet, Natsuki Amamiya prepares limited-edition dishes for her from time to time to increase her favorability.

Upon hearing that there was food being prepared, Ms. Sadako silently emerged from the cupboard.

This human... is very strange.

As a ghost story, her rule is fear. Anyone who sees her and develops fear will make her stronger.

Strangely, the humans in front of her didn't exude any fear whatsoever, making Ms. Sadako quite uncomfortable and giving her a sense of unease.

But as strange as it may be, I'll still eat the food because it's really good.

As Miss Sadako pondered, she reached out with both hands to take the dishes from the table.

"Wait a minute." Natsuki Amamiya held the dish above her head. "Since you failed at hide-and-seek, shouldn't you accept some punishment first?"

The reason why Natsuki Amamiya is not afraid of Sadako is very simple.

Because every time I see Ms. Sadako, a strange message about "Himura Milk Industry" appears before my eyes, and because I have seen Ms. Sadako's true face before, I am not afraid at all.

“The punishment is simple.” Natsuki Amamiya looked at Ms. Sadako. “When you’re eating later, comb your hair up.”

"don't want……"

Miss Sadako quickly shook her head, her voice weak.

“Then call me Master.” Amamiya Natsuki held up two fingers. “Choose one of the two punishments.”

“I won’t choose any of them…” Miss Sadako’s voice was soft and gloomy, “I don’t want to be punished.”

Amamiya Natsuki put on a stern face: "A bet's a bet, it seems you want both punishments."

"No... I didn't bet with you."

"..."

Miss Sadako didn't realize that she, who had been taciturn and unwilling to utter a single word, was now becoming more talkative without her noticing.

Feeding completed.

Judging from the employees' goodwill towards her, Amamiya Natsuki packed up her things, said goodbye and left, turning to go to the restaurant's underground storage warehouse.