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

Speechless all the way.

The three quickly arrived at the designated ambush location.

"This is it." Fujiwara Chika put her right hand on her hip and surveyed her hunting grounds with satisfaction. "We'll split into two groups and ambush them from the left and right. I guarantee we'll give them a good scare."

Accountant Kashiwagi nervously followed Fujiwara Chika, holding a small flashlight.

As darkness fell, the surrounding forest became increasingly eerie and shadowy, and Accountant Kashiwagi dared not leave anyone's side.

"It's still more than ten minutes until seven o'clock." Natsuki Amamiya glanced at her phone; the test of courage was scheduled to start at seven in the evening. "Let's wait a bit."

After a while.

Fujiwara Chika's eyes flickered, and she suggested:

"Waiting like this is so boring. How about we each tell a scary story?"

"Huh?" Accountant Kashiwagi was taken aback, and stammered, "Um, the horror story or something... how about we just forget about it?"

"Don't be afraid, Kashiwagi-chan." Fujiwara Chika raised her chin, her voice clear and crisp. "We are the demons now."

Amamiya Natsuki casually said:

"Since we're just killing time anyway, let's find something to do to pass the time."

"Then I'll start." Fujiwara Chika cleared her throat, quickly lowered her voice, and held up a finger, saying quietly, "Kashiwagi-chan, do you know the profession of haunted house experience tester?"

Accountant Bai nodded: "I've seen it online."

"The story I'm about to tell is about a haunted house experience specialist," Fujiwara Chika said in a low, melancholic voice. "The protagonist of the story is Ms. Sato..."

"Ms. Sato had just graduated from university and her first job paid very little. She also had to repay student loans from high school and university, so she was living in dire financial straits."

"On this day, Ms. Sato accidentally saw a job posting recruiting experience testers. All you need to do is sleep in a haunted house for three days to receive a reward of 200,000 yen."

"This money was incredibly tempting for Ms. Sato, who had just graduated. After much hesitation, Ms. Sato decided to sign up."

"On her first day in the haunted house, Ms. Sato didn't dare to sleep. She sat at a table and read until dawn. She only felt a chill in her neck from time to time and her shoulders were inexplicably stiff. Other than that, nothing else happened."

"The next night, Ms. Sato still didn't sleep, feeling her shoulders getting stiffer and stiffer."

"On the third night, Ms. Sato suddenly remembered a legend from her hometown: by simply bending down and taking a photo from under her legs, she could capture things that were normally invisible..."

Fujiwara Chika looked at Accountant Kashiwagi and tilted her head, saying:

"Kashiwagi-chan, guess what Ms. Sato photographed?"

Accountant Kashiwagi clasped his hands to his chest, swallowed hard, and stammered:

"What did you photograph?"

Fujiwara Chika turned her head and said:

"President, take a guess."

After a two-second pause, Amamiya Natsuki replied, "...You took a picture of Ms. Sato's panties?"

Upon hearing this answer, Accountant Kashiwagi looked over speechlessly.

Perverted student council president!

In horror stories, the things shown on camera are definitely not panties!

Snapped.

next moment.

Suddenly, something pressed down on both of Kashiwagi's shoulders, and then a hand was raised in front of Kashiwagi, a voice saying in a low voice:

"These are the photos taken that night."

"..."

Accountant Bai Mu's eyes widened, and she involuntarily looked at her phone, holding her breath instantly.

The photo shows a young woman sitting at a table, and above the table is the ghost of someone who has hanged themselves, with the ghost's feet resting on the young woman's shoulders, one on each side...

“Woooaaaaaaa——!”

Kashiwagi cried out in fright, her face turning pale and tears welling up in her eyes. "I...I want to go home!"

"It's just a cartoon picture," Fujiwara Chika quickly reassured her. "Don't be scared, Kashiwagi-chan."

Accountant Kashiwagi sniffled, her eyes brimming with tears, and said:

"This story is terrifying!"

"Eh, is it that scary? It's really quite ordinary." Fujiwara Chika turned to look at Amamiya Natsuki. "President, do you think it's scary?"

For players, this kind of horror story is not scary at all and doesn't evoke any fear whatsoever.

"I almost fell asleep listening to that." Amamiya Natsuki put away her phone and said, "The story I'm about to tell you is ten times scarier than the one you just told."

"No, no!" Accountant Kashiwagi quickly grabbed Amamiya Natsuki's arm, looked up at her with teary eyes, and said, "President, please stop talking."

There are even more terrifying stories, ten times more frightening than this one, that would probably scare people to death.

I absolutely don't want to hear it anymore!

As the soft, warm touch pressed against her arm, Amamiya Natsuki was surprised to find that this seemingly ordinary cypress accountant was actually more developed than the young lady.

“Then let’s not talk about it.” Natsuki Amamiya looked at Chika and said, “If we really scare Kashiwagi to tears, no one will be able to work. Let’s talk about it after the test of courage.”

Accountant Kashiwagi: "..."

After the test of courage is over, if you tell any more scary stories, I'll definitely cover my ears and run away immediately!

Several more minutes passed in the blink of an eye, and it was officially 7 p.m.

"President, you hide in the bushes on the left," Fujiwara Chika instructed. "Kashiwagi-chan and I will hide behind the trees on the right. You come out first to scare them, and when they lower their guard, Kashiwagi-chan and I will jump out from behind and give them a fright."

"receive."

Amamiya Natsuki nodded and walked into the bushes.

Only the accountant, Bai Mu, turned pale, suddenly recalling something she had overlooked earlier.

"The student council president was standing in front of me, and Chika-chan held her phone up to my face... Who...who pressed down on my shoulder?!"

A cold wind blew by.

The forest rustled.

Accountant Bai Mu quickly hugged his arms and shook his head vigorously.

illusion.

It's all an illusion!

I must be hallucinating because I'm too nervous. It's all fake and won't scare me!

As the test of courage officially began, not long after, someone walked over with a flashlight on the path guarded by Amamiya Natsuki, Chika, and the others. There were no streetlights in the forest, and although the mountain path was not particularly rugged or dangerous, one still had to watch their step, so a flashlight was a necessary piece of equipment and not considered a violation.

Natsuki Amamiya squinted and looked over. She could see a man and a woman walking hand in hand, clearly a couple.

"President, we're ready."

The little finger trembled slightly, and Secretary Qianhua sent a reminder through the red string.

Amamiya Natsuki responded with a tremor, indicating that she understood.

As the man and woman approached, Natsuki Amamiya pressed the button on her portable speaker, and a strange, mournful weeping sound immediately rang out.

"what--"

The man and woman were startled, and the girl trembled and hid in the boy's arms.

Immediately afterwards, Natsuki Amamiya put on a demon mask, emerged from the bushes, and spread her arms as if to pounce.

"Reiko, don't, don't be afraid, I'm here." The boy hurriedly shone his flashlight on Amamiya Natsuki, pretending to be calm, and said, "He's wearing our school uniform, he's obviously a classmate in disguise, don't be afraid."

Snapped.

As soon as he finished speaking, the boy suddenly felt a light tap on his shoulder, followed by a chill running down his neck, and a soft voice sounded from behind him:

"...And what about us?"

The boy froze, instinctively turning his head to look. He saw two girls, one on each side, wearing blood-stained dresses, pale-faced, with blood trickling from their mouths, staring at him with their heads tilted to the left and right.

"A ghost!"

The boy felt a chill instantly surge from his tailbone to the top of his head, and his heart almost stopped beating. He pushed his girlfriend away from his arms, took off running, and disappeared into the night in the blink of an eye.

"asshole!!!"

The girl, who had been so gentle and trembling just moments before, was suddenly enraged. The fear on her face vanished, replaced by anger and fury. "How dare you abandon me and run away! You promised to protect me forever!"

The frail girl instantly evolved into a Valkyrie, her face no longer showing any fear, and she chased after him with murderous intent.

Sure enough, some girls are born actresses. They may seem delicate and frail, unable to even open a bottle of soda, but it's all an act.

Watching the two disappear into the night, Accountant Kashiwagi stared in disbelief and whispered:

“Have we gone too far?”

“Not excessive.” Natsuki Amamiya said calmly, “Courage contests are supposed to be scary places. It’s like going to a haunted house. If the staff there don’t move and are just playing on their phones, that would be excessive.”

"That's true..." Accountant Kashiwagi still felt a little guilty. "Will that couple break up?"

Fujiwara Chika crossed her arms and couldn't help but retort:

"Knowing there were no ghosts or monsters at the test of courage, he still abandoned his girlfriend and ran away alone. He can't blame anyone else for the breakup."

“That makes sense.” Natsuki Amamiya nodded in agreement. “A test of courage isn’t a haunted house, so it’s not really that scary. So I have a guess… did that guy want to break up with his girlfriend, so he deliberately left her alone and ran away?”

Accountant Kashiwagi: "..."

Before long, more onlookers came over with flashlights. Amamiya Natsuki, Chika, and Kashiwagi hid again on both sides of the road, continuing to play the role of the ghosts blocking the way.

There's not much to say about what happened next. The participants in the courage test were mostly men and women in pairs. Almost every girl would give a couple of screams, and the boys would usually step forward to protect the girls... As for how much of it was acting, we don't know.

"That's strange," Fujiwara Chika wondered. "Why isn't anyone coming to participate in the courage test alone?"

Accountant Kashiwa tilted his head and thought for a moment, then whispered:

"Perhaps single people would feel embarrassed to show up in such a setting?"

"..."