Chapter 183: Circus Ghost Stories
The chirping of insects gradually faded into silence. On the cherry blossom tree, the last few withered leaves drifted down, leaving its branches stark and bare against the sky.
In the blink of an eye, two months had passed. Winter had arrived.
In the crisp early morning, Haruto wrapped himself in the scarf and pulled on the gloves Yakumo Ran had carefully hand-sewn for him before making his way to Eientei.
After more than two months of quiet, the fifth Death Game instance had finally stirred. It was faster than he'd anticipated. According to what his other acquaintances in the game had described, the interval between the fourth and fifth instances should have been half a year for those who didn't actively seek them out.
"Any news from Miko and the others?" Kaguya asked, pulling off her headphones. She leaned back in her gaming chair, swiveling to face Haruto.
"Not a peep. I guess their instance isn't over yet," Haruto replied with a shrug.
Compared to him and Kaguya, who treated the Death Game like an inconvenient chore, Toyosatomimi no Miko and Satori Komeiji were practically workaholics, frequently diving into instances to clear stages and grind levels.
Of course, after the last grand banquet, Haruto had tried his own hand at exploiting the system. He'd grabbed a complete newcomer and dragged Youmu along for a speedrun, hoping to trigger a reward loophole. He hadn't expected the Death Game to be one step ahead; it denied him the coveted physical strength percentage bonus, fobbing him off with a few ghost artifacts that were more novelties than anything useful.
"You don't think they'll get into trouble, do you?" Kaguya probed.
"Nah, they went in together," Haruto said, waving a dismissive hand. "With their two sets of eyes—one specialized against humans, the other against youkai and ghosts—as long as the instance isn't completely sadistic, they'll be fine. Besides, I left them a little trump card for emergencies."
"What about Youmu? I haven't seen her around."
"She's on her way. She'll make it in time."
Haruto skillfully kicked off his shoes at the entryway, padded over to Kaguya's bed, and promptly burrowed under the covers, wrapping himself into a human burrito. He peeked out from his cocoon and glanced toward the open window, a cool draft seeping into the room.
"Aren't you cold?" he asked.
"I am," Kaguya replied, her fingers a blur across the keyboard as her mouse darted across the pad. She was still fighting for a last-ditch victory in her ranked match. "But my sense of responsibility is fueling me to continue the fight."
"How about you close the window first?"
"I'm in a ranked match. You go close it, Haruto."
"I'm already horizontal," he mumbled, shrinking deeper into the quilt until he looked as though he'd been completely sealed away by the bedding.
Kaguya rolled her eyes, her hands moving even faster. A mere five minutes later, the match ended.
She set down her mouse and keyboard and stood up. But instead of heading for the window, she kicked off her own slippers and, with a mischievous glint in her eyes, dove straight into the quilt with him.
"Hey! Your hands and feet are freezing! Don't press them against me!"
"Hah? Have you no shame, Haruto! This is my bed, and my quilt!"
The two immediately dissolved into a playful tussle under the covers.
It was at this moment that Youmu arrived. Finding the door unlocked, she hesitated, hearing sounds from within that weren't... quite right. Gently, she pushed the door open a crack and peeked inside, only to be greeted by a scandalous scene—
Princess Kaguya was pinning Haruto-sama down, the two of them tangled in the same quilt, the princess's face flushed a vibrant red...
"I'm so sorry! I... I'll come back later!"
Youmu snapped into a ninety-degree bow, her head nearly buried in her chest. She turned to flee, almost tripping over the threshold in her haste. Slamming the door shut behind her, she left only her half-phantom counterpart floating blankly in the spot she'd just vacated.
Back on the bed, the two combatants finally registered what had happened. The quilt, however, was now hopelessly tangled around them; the more they struggled, the tighter it seemed to bind them together, leaving Kaguya almost completely pressed against Haruto.
Haruto shot her a gloomy look that screamed, 'Look what you've done.'
Kaguya, however, looked entirely unbothered. In fact, a wicked spark lit up her eyes as if she'd just thought of something wonderfully fun. She narrowed her eyes and giggled.
"Weren't you complaining about being cold, Haruto? I was just helping you get some exercise to warm up. Every time I finish 'exercising' with that immortal turkey, my whole body feels nice and warm."
"That's because you drink the giblet soup afterward," Haruto retorted instantly.
If Mokou had overheard Kaguya's words and witnessed this so-called "exercise," a massive question mark would have materialized above her head. Exercising with her involved tearing off limbs and crushing hearts, but with Haruto, it was rolling around in bed?
Of course, if Mokou were forced to choose, she would absolutely pick the former. Choosing the latter with Kaguya would be a fate worse than suicide.
"So, Haruto... are you feeling anything special?" Kaguya purred, pressing down a little lower. She leaned close to his ear, her voice a low, soft whisper that felt like a warm breeze, seeping into his ear canal and making his entire being feel humid and heated.
Haruto nodded with utmost seriousness. "I am. I'm very, very thirsty right now. I really, really want to drink an ice-cold soda."
Kaguya's face darkened. She took a deep breath. "That's not what I mean. I mean that kind of feeling, you know..."
"Yeah," he insisted, his expression unwavering. "I'm really, really, really thirsty. And I really, really, really want to drink an ice-cold soda."
Kaguya's fist clenched at her side. "And I really, really want to give you a punch right now."
Haruto glanced at the countdown timer displayed in his vision—just under half an hour remaining. He reached out, gently pinched her chin, and with a smooth motion, flipped their positions and sat up. A few rays of winter sun happened to stream through the window, illuminating his face as he adopted a feigned look of innocent confusion.
"Well then, Kaguya," he murmured, his voice a low thrum. "Are you feeling that special something?"
Gulp...
A visible tremor ran through Kaguya's body, and she swallowed hard. Then, she shook her head violently, shouting with a huffy blush.
"You're cheating! You're not allowed to use one of Yakumo Ran's charm techniques!"
Haruto maintained his look of pure innocence. "I've only just started. Only a ⑨ would fall for it that easily."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Kaguya's already flushed cheeks deepened to a shade of crimson, and she turned her head away slightly.
"You know, Kaguya, you're actually quite cute like this."
"You're doing it again—"
Kaguya started to shout her protest, but in the next moment, her lips were covered.
A moment later, a delicate silver thread broke between them.
Two minutes after that, the two were acting as if nothing had happened. Haruto called Youmu back into the room, though the poor girl's face was now even redder than it had been before she fled.
The countdown entered its final two minutes.
The three of them tidied themselves up briefly and sat on the edge of the bed, waiting.
The moment the timer hit zero, the familiar sensation of dizziness enveloped them. It was much milder than the first time, a gentle disorientation rather than a nauseating spin.
When their vision cleared, the dim outline of a circus appeared before them.
Haruto's eyes swept across the surroundings.
Colorful flags, a silent merry-go-round, rows of empty animal cages... all the facilities were no different from what one would find at an ordinary circus. In fact, they seemed too ordinary, too old, radiating a feeling of long-standing disrepair.
But it was precisely this "ordinariness" that allowed a hint of deep strangeness to seep out from the edges of the night. It reminded Haruto of a set from an old television program, where every detail was deliberately placed to "look exactly like a circus," a sterile imitation that was completely devoid of life.
As far as the eye could see, the open space of the main arena was filled with a dense crowd of figures.
Hundreds of players were gathered here, their faces a mixture of nerves, vigilance, bewilderment, and forced calm. An instance with dozens of people was already considered large-scale; with this many participants, the death rate would undoubtedly be astronomical.
The area was packed, yet a bizarre silence permeated the air, punctuated only by the sound of suppressed breathing and cautious, hushed whispers.
"A large-scale instance..." Kaguya murmured, looking at the circus buildings and the surrounding crowd with a flicker of interest. "It's the first time I've seen so many people."
Tap... tap-tap...
The unhurried sound of footsteps echoed through the tense quiet. A figure crossed a threshold of shadow and appeared before them all.
It was a middle-aged man dressed in a dull, almost tacky tuxedo and a pitch-black top hat. A perfect, unmoving smile was fixed on his face.
"Distinguished tourists!" he boomed, his voice and movements carrying the exaggerated flourish of a stage actor. His entire being radiated an unnerving cheerfulness. "I am the Ringmaster of the Dream Circus."
"Welcome, welcome to the Dream Circus! I will be your guide for this three-day circus tour. To ensure you all have a... memorable journey, please be sure to follow our 'tourist rules'."
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