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

Upon hearing this, Fujiwara Chika widened her beautiful eyes and asked in confusion:

"What does going to the cafeteria have to do with Mengye?"

For some unknown reason, Fujiwara Chika's cheeks puffed up quickly, and the dark ribbon on her forehead began to tremble. She clenched her fists and said:

"You wouldn't be bullying Mengye behind my back, would you?"

"I didn't, I didn't," Natsuki Amamiya said quickly, grasping Chika's small fist. "Let me explain first..."

Fortunately, the matter was simple and was explained in no time.

Fujiwara Chika's anger quickly subsided, and she naturally didn't suspect that Amamiya Natsuki had lied to her. She frowned and said:

"Speaking of which, Mengye was indeed not in good spirits at breakfast this morning. She kept yawning and had some dark circles under her eyes. She only told me that she had a nightmare last night, and didn't say anything else..."

Fujiwara Chika grew increasingly nervous and worried, saying:

"Could it be that Mengye was chosen by the game just like us?"

Now that there was no one else in the classroom, Natsuki Amamiya reached out and hugged Chika tightly. The sweet fragrance of the girl filled his nostrils, and he whispered:

“I’ve tested it. Mengye and her friend can’t see the evil spirit, so they’re obviously not players. However, this world is abnormal, and we might encounter something else.”

Fujiwara Chika tightened her pretty face and said seriously:

"Let's go find Mengye now!"

As it concerned her younger sister, Fujiwara Chika couldn't possibly feel at ease.

"It's not too late to see you at the cafeteria at noon," Natsuki Amamiya reassured her. "Nothing will happen during the day, don't worry."

Fujiwara Chika calmed down a bit. "Alright then, let's hurry up and go to class."

"Wait a minute." Amamiya Natsuki hugged Chika and said seriously, "I was just wronged. I can't get up without a kiss."

Fujiwara Chika: "...You're bullying me!"

After physical education class.

Worried, Fujiwara Chika didn't even change her clothes, still wearing her gym uniform, and pulled Amamiya Natsuki along as they headed straight for the cafeteria.

Not long after arriving at the cafeteria, I saw Fujiwara Moeha and the junior high school girl from yesterday walking in hand in hand.

"Big sister, what brings you to the cafeteria?" Fujiwara Moeha asked curiously.

"I suddenly felt like eating at the cafeteria." Fujiwara Chika's gaze shifted to Moeha's friend, and sure enough, she noticed that the other person had dark circles under her eyes, looked tired and listless, and her expression turned serious. "Moeha, did you have a nightmare last night?"

Fujiwara Moeha said, feeling wronged:

“I told my sister this morning that I had a terrible nightmare last night, but you were too busy looking at your daily horoscope to listen to me.”

"You watched it with me too, didn't you?" Fujiwara Chika said somewhat guiltily, her hair tied in a ponytail, which was still tied up and swaying energetically behind her. "Just tell me about your dream from last night in detail."

Fujiwara Moeha asked, puzzled:

Why is my sister suddenly concerned about nightmares?

"Everyone, let's eat first," Natsuki Amamiya said from the side. "We can talk while we eat."

The four of them ordered their own food, then sat down around a table in a corner with their dishes in hand.

Amamiya Natsuki and Chika sat together, while Fujiwara Moeha and her best friend sat on the other side.

"Moeha, tell me again about last night's nightmare," Fujiwara Chika asked impatiently.

"Oh……"

Fujiwara Moeha was a chatterbox to begin with, and as soon as her two little lips touched, she started talking non-stop.

Since it was her first time having a nightmare, Fujiwara Moeha was in pretty good spirits, and the content of the nightmare was similar to her previous descriptions.

Looking at her listless friend, Moeha, who hadn't even touched her chopsticks yet, Amamiya Natsuki broke off a disposable bamboo chopstick and handed it to her, saying:

"You can eat now."

The junior high school girl's voice was dazed as she took the chopsticks and said weakly:

"Thank you, senior..."

Xiaohua's nightmare was the same as Mengye's: being unable to move during sleep paralysis, remaining in a rare state of lucidity in the dream, and watching helplessly as a woman approached her from outside. At this moment, the eerie woman had already entered the bedroom and was only a short distance from the bed.

"I have a feeling that something terrible will happen once that woman comes to my bedside." The junior high school girl's face showed fear, and her eyes welled up with tears. "I tried not to sleep, but I couldn't help it. I was so sleepy. My parents are too busy. I told them about the nightmare, but they just thought I was imagining things and said they would take me to see a psychologist this weekend... It's not a psychological problem at all. A lot of people in the classroom had the same dream!"

"Hana, eat something first." Fujiwara Moeha's voice was gentle as she softly comforted her friend. "After school this afternoon, let's go to the shrine to pray. Maybe then you won't have nightmares anymore."

The elementary school girl's eyes were misty as she shook her head and said:

"Visiting the shrine is useless; I've already been there."

Amamiya Natsuki and Chika exchanged a glance, then said in a deep voice:

"How many people in your classroom have had nightmares so far?"

“Hmm…” Fujiwara Moeha tilted her head and thought for a moment, “But at least more than half of the people dreamed about it.”

Fujiwara Chika frowned and said:

Who had the nightmare first?

"do not know."

The two junior high school girls shook their heads in unison.

"I don't remember exactly, but it was a few days ago, when some people in the class suddenly started discussing nightmares."

Amamiya Natsuki interlaced her fingers and asked again:

Have you encountered any strange people or any particularly memorable events in the past few days?

Both girls began to think seriously, but unfortunately they still couldn't find any clues.

Fujiwara Moeha bit her chopsticks: "I haven't done anything these past few days, and I haven't encountered any strange people or things. I've just been going to class, shopping, and going to karaoke, just like usual."

No wonder you're sisters; your interests and hobbies are exactly the same as your older sister's—eating, drinking, and having fun.

Xiaohua followed up timidly, "I usually play with Mengye-chan."

"Natsuki, what should we do?"

Fujiwara Chika cast a worried glance at her.

Xiao Hua's panda eyes were not faked; this matter is clearly not as simple as a prank.

"Take it easy." Natsuki Amamiya squeezed Chika's fingers under the table. "After we finish eating, we'll go to the junior high school to take a look for ourselves."

"..."

Had lunch.

Everyone headed to the junior high school together.

The junior high and senior high schools are on the same campus and are actually very close to each other. Before long, we followed Mengye to the junior high classroom.

"Senior, we've arrived at the classroom," Fujiwara Moeha invited warmly. "Come in and play with your older sister."

“I prefer to observe from the shadows.” Amamiya Natsuki stopped in her tracks. “Chika, go in and ask her.”

"give it to me."

Fujiwara Chika nodded in agreement and walked into the classroom with Moeha.

Natsuki Amamiya stood in the corridor, observing silently through the window.

Most people in the classroom had already finished eating their lunches. Some were spacing out, while others were talking, but the atmosphere was noticeably somber.

Amamiya Natsuki glanced over and saw five junior high school students with obvious panda eyes. They looked tired and listless, like frightened birds, easily startled by the slightest disturbance.

Clearly, the contagious nightmare was not a prank.

A moment later.

Fujiwara Chika and Moeha walked out of the classroom together.

"Moeha and I have done the count," Fujiwara Chika said in a low voice with a serious expression. "There are thirty people in the classroom, and twenty-one of them have had the same nightmare so far."

"I never imagined so many people would have the same nightmare." Fujiwara Moeha clutched her chest, clearly shaken and sensing something was amiss. "Senpai, this can't be explained by 'what you think about during the day, you dream about at night,' can it?"

"Don't panic, trust science," Natsuki Amamiya said calmly. "Besides your classroom, have any students in other classrooms had nightmares?"

"Please wait a moment, senior, I'll go ask."

Fujiwara Moeha turned and walked into the classroom next door.

This adorable leaf serves in the student council of junior high school, is very popular, and gets along well wherever it goes.

A short while later, Fujiwara Moeha came running out and whispered:

“I asked around, and no one else had the same nightmare. It seems that only our class dreamed about that woman.”

Everything has a source.

There was nothing wrong in the other classrooms, but the collective nightmare broke out in Mengye's classroom, so there must be a reason.

Natsuki Amamiya gently pressed her finger to her brow, a sudden thought flashing through her mind, and asked:

"Mengye, has anyone in your class been absent from school these past few days?"

Fujiwara Chika immediately understood.

By reverse reasoning, the more severely a person is tormented by nightmares, the closer they must be to the source.

“Someone didn’t come to class today,” Fujiwara Moeha said quickly. “It’s Hinata-chan who sits in front of Hana. She said yesterday that the woman had already walked to her bedside and even saw the woman’s face clearly.”

Fujiwara Moeha continued:

"Yesterday we had art class, and Hinata-chan even drew that woman during art class. I glanced at it and it was so scary."

Fujiwara Chika quickly pressed for an answer:

"What does that woman look like?"

“Hmm…” Fujiwara Moeha held up a finger and looked up, “The mouth and eyes are black holes, just like those scary pictures. A lot of people were frightened back then.”

Amamiya Natsuki said in a deep voice:

"Where is that painting? Do you know where it is?"

"I don't know, I went out to play after class." Fujiwara Moeha shook her head. "The teacher didn't ask us to hand in our homework, so maybe Hinata-chan took it home or threw it away."