Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 133, Section 9: "Should I unlock all character CG flashbacks within one day?"

After returning the flashlight at the exit, Masumi deliberately took a detour to avoid bumping into the crowd and returned to the entrance of the haunted house.

Mami was already waiting there.

"Wow, you're so slow, Masumi-kun. Were you so scared that your legs went weak?"

As soon as Masumi got close, she was gently nudged by Masumi's elbow.

"No, but Qian'ai was terrified."

"Ah~ In the end, I still couldn't overcome my fear."

"If people could change so easily, they wouldn't be human."

Mami asked curiously, "What is that? A god?"

"Well... I'd say he's like a superman, I mean someone like Nietzsche."

"Nietzsche? Is that the new Superman actor? Has Henry Cavill been replaced?"

"forget it."

When I arrived at the entrance of the haunted house for the second time, the same female student was there to handle the inquiries.

"Welcome! Are you two...?"

It seems that the student has received some professional training, and can maintain a good attitude no matter what unexpected situation arises.

However, the way he looked at Masumi was a little strange.

"Here's a flashlight. Have fun, you two."

The female student blinked meaningfully, emitting an eerie light.

"Thank you."

After entering the classroom, Mami looked around, muttered "Eh" softly, and then said to him, "Masumi-kun, that female student was looking at you a little strangely just now."

"They probably think of me as a two-timing scumbag."

“I think so too.” Ms. Mami laughed heartily. “Let’s count your sins, Masumi-kun!”

"This was your idea, wasn't it?" Masumi said helplessly. "But since I agreed, I do bear some responsibility."

Mami suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"What, are you scared?"

Mami didn't answer, but just squinted and stared at him.

"Masumi-kun, don't you think your tone just now sounded a little familiar?"

"Is that so?" Masumi thought for a moment and said, "Kamishiro?"

"Hmm." She nodded. "Rinne's attitude towards you has been a little different lately."

"I felt it too."

"So what are you thinking, planning to use your position as the young master to openly harass me?"

“I never thought that way.” Masumi shook her head gently.

"And to be honest, what Kamishiro said was quite ambiguous. This coffee shop is very important to her. Maybe she just wants to find a like-minded companion. It wouldn't be good if I was just imagining things. Even if it were true, we can't just make promises so easily."

"Okay, okay, that sounds convincing, but I don't want to hear it." Mami covered her ears: "If I listen to this scumbag's seductive words, I might end up becoming part of his harem and be played with, which would be terrible."

Am I that scary?

When two people who aren't afraid of ghosts go to a haunted house together, the atmosphere suddenly loses all its horror, especially since Masumi has already been there once.

He stretched listlessly, and his left arm, which he had just lowered, was suddenly entangled.

"what?"

"After the CG that triggers the haunted house event, just taking a simple stroll around feels a bit boring."

"If it's for the experience, that's fine, but please don't hug so tightly, it'll prevent your blood from flowing back."

"Hey, where did all the blood that was supposed to be supplied to my fingertips go?" Mami teased. "Could it be..."

She paused the sentence at a perfectly suggestive point, then said meaningfully:
"I've heard that in the dark, because of visual impairment, other senses become quite sensitive."

“This is a sacred high school campus,” Masumi reminded him.

"Yes, because for many people, the place of 'becoming a god' is the school infirmary, so calling it sacred is quite appropriate."

This guy... please stop now.

My second haunted house visit, which had absolutely no atmosphere whatsoever, came to an end.

The two walked out of the classroom, and it was Haiyue's turn next.

Since the tickets are for one-time use, Masumi will have to buy her own tickets from her second visit onwards.

"Please come in, gentlemen."

The female student watched them walk into the haunted house with a complicated look in her eyes.

The two walked silently through the narrow passage.

Using the cheap white light emitted by the flashlight, Masumi traced the girl's beautiful, fair profile with her eyes.

Hanekawa looked very calm.

Are you the type who isn't afraid of ghosts?

"Masumi..."

"Ok?"

"Don't be... afraid... I will protect you..."

"Um, I'm not scared."

As Masumi said this, she saw Kaigetsu reach into the pockets of her hoodie, rummage around for a moment, and then pull out a string of prayer beads and a cross, which she hung on her left and right hands respectively.

"If there are ghosts... let me... vanquish them..." The jellyfish girl was fully armed and had a serious expression.

Masumi twitched the corner of her mouth. "Where did these things come from?"

"Next to the haunted house... there's a mystery research club... setting up a stall..."

I see. Is this considered an upstream and downstream supply chain?
As expected of one of Kobe's top high schools for college entrance exams, the students are all very bright.

"The ghosts in haunted houses are all people dressed up, so those things are useless."

“Is that so…” Haiyue tilted her head. “I thought… there would be… ghosts and monster students at school…”

"How could that be? It's not a comic book."

"...Ghost members...aren't they ghosts?"

"It's a human being, that's just a description."

"Oh."

The jellyfish girl's eyebrows drooped slightly, as if she were troubled, and her lips silently parted: "Since she's human... there's nothing I can do..."

Did she really think that she could exorcise ghosts and monsters with just these two things? Masumi sighed quietly.

In the pitch black, Haiyue handed the props in her hand to Masumi.

"Transform into Masumi...protect me..."

Hearing the girl's voice, Masumi was slightly taken aback. Her emotionless blue eyes, as deep as the ocean floor, reflected her nodding expression.

"Oh, give it to me."

He reached out and took the rosary and crucifix that Haiyue handed him. The exorcism tools felt light and flimsy, probably made of plastic. Would these things really work?

"Hmm... I'll leave it to... Masumi..."

Haiyue breathed a sigh of relief.

Upon getting closer, Masumi noticed that Masumi's lips were trembling slightly due to nervousness, and there must be many things that couldn't be discovered without getting closer.

"Masumi...so calm..."

After placing the prop in her palm, the girl did not separate from Masumi's hand, but instead clung to it like Chiai and Seno.

Her slender arms were as soft as the limbs of a moon jellyfish, yet possessed a warm touch unlike that of any other marine creature.

"Masumi...aren't you scared?"

Seeing Haiyue tilt her head like a little bird to ask her a question, Masumi nodded, "After all, knowing that it was built by humans, there's nothing to be afraid of."

Fear often stems from the unknown.

"……so."

Hearing him say that, Haiyue lowered her eyes, her thin eyelids trembling slightly, as if she were pleased, and a quiet smile bloomed on her lips:

"Hmm... with Masumi around... I'm not so scared..."

It's certainly a good thing to have someone trust you, but having just heard that from Chiai not long ago, Masumi blurted out a question:

"What do you think of me, Yu Chuan?"

"Masumi..."

After uttering his name, Haiyue suddenly pressed her cherry lips together, quietly watching the white circle projected by the flashlight on the wall, a thoughtful expression on her face. "...Scumbag."

"Huh?" Masumi blinked in surprise. Was she really that bad? Even Hanekawa...

"Teach that scumbag a lesson..."

"I'll go prepare... the body..."

A soft murmur sounded in her ear, and only after hearing the complete sentence did Masumi realize that Kaigetsu was repeating the whispers among the students.

“Someone wants to… sabotage Masumi…” she said with a worried look in her eyes.

"That was just a joke, I wasn't serious."

"Oh."

Haiyue nodded expressionlessly, seemingly trusting his words, her cheeks visibly relaxing.

Seeing the girl's relaxed profile, Masumi felt her emotions waver slightly. She shifted her gaze to the side, grabbed her flashlight, and moved forward through the narrow passageway of the haunted house.

Since it was his third time, he was already very familiar with the route, but considering Haiyue, he still deliberately maintained a slow pace.

"In my eyes... Masumi is a good person..."

The jellyfish girl's reply drifted over slowly a few minutes later.

Masumi was slightly taken aback. Was this the answer that Hanekawa had been thinking about for so long?
Meeting Masumi's gaze, Kaigetsu simply tilted her head slightly, looking at him with the eyes of a small animal.

"Because Masumi... will be very patient with me..."

"Like... like this now..."

"Just because of this?" Masumi smiled bitterly.

However, he had only asked casually and did not expect a profound answer, so he simply gave a light reply.

"This level isn't even that good."

Perhaps it was because Haiyue looked so vulnerable as she gently tugged at his sleeve with her fingers that Masumi felt a surge of protectiveness towards her, while also hoping that she would remain more cautious.

“Things as trivial as spending time with someone are the least worth mentioning.”

Masumi unconsciously adopted a serious tone: "Hikawa also needs to be more wary of people who get close to her."

Haiyue shook her head slightly, but definitely.

“To me… Masumi is a good person… Being by Masumi’s side… makes me feel safe… Nothing else matters…”

This was the first time Masumi had ever heard her speak such a long passage in one breath.

The usually taciturn girl took a deep breath, uttering words that were about to spill from her lips. Her fragile words, if spoken outdoors, would probably have been easily blown away by the chilly air of late summer and early autumn.

Only in the pitch-black world of a haunted house can it reach the listener's ears undisturbed.

Masumi lowered her eyelashes quietly, as if savoring every word she spoke. In her eyes, Hanekawa Kaigetsu was a simple and pure person. The more she experienced, the more Masumi envied that purity.

He had always thought that the girl was like that until he witnessed Haiyue escaping from the LiveHouse, and then he realized that it wasn't entirely true. The simple world was just the clear weather after the storm, leaving scars.

He doesn't like to talk, and he rarely shows his emotions through facial expressions. This closed-off nature of his is like—

"Jellyfish".

Haiyue suddenly pointed to the flickering light in front of the passage and said expressionlessly.

“There… there are jellyfish floating there.”

"It's a will-o'-the-wisp, not a jellyfish."

"Oh."

Haiyue lowered her eyebrows slightly, seemingly a little listless.

"Look closely...it's glowing...so...it's not a jellyfish..."

"Don't jellyfish also glow?"

“No.” She shook her head seriously. “Jellyfish themselves…cannot emit light…they must gather light from the sun…”

"Even jellyfish wouldn't work in such a dark environment..."

As Haiyue spoke, she stared intently at the flickering will-o'-the-wisps: "However... if we eat them... perhaps that would work..."

"What to eat?"

Haiyue often says some inexplicable things, but Masumi has developed enough patience for it. Time is not something to be cherished for him now.

"The light emitted by will-o'-the-wisps..."

"That definitely won't work."

"Um... I was just kidding..." Haiyue blinked childishly and admitted frankly.

So she can joke too.

"However... Masumi is like the sun to me..."

“Masumi is very brave… so being with Masumi… makes me feel braver too…”

"so."

Masumi responded, wishing she could have a little more of the courage that was no longer of any use to her.

My right hand was gently grasped, and my fingers were held by fair and smooth skin. My skin, slightly sweaty from nervousness, was slippery, like a jellyfish.

"Ok?"

“Masumi is so gentle… I want Masumi to be gentle only to me…”

"Don't say such strange things." Masumi smiled wryly, but didn't pull her hand away.

"It's limited to inside the haunted house, I suppose."

◇

This was my fourth time entering the haunted house. At the entrance, the female students' gazes changed from looking at the "scumbag" to looking at the "scumbag."

The difference is that the former has people who like it and there is a chance to "turn over a new leaf" and get gold, while the latter is completely beyond redemption.

"Tsk, that female student was staring at Masumi with such eager eyes just now."

Kurokawa Mio's jealousy was almost overflowing, and a dark flame of sadism surged from the depths of her eyes.

"Where did you get that 'enthusiastic' feeling?" Masumi sighed, seemingly resigned.

"By the way, Kurokawa, you're not afraid of ghosts at all, are you?"

"Ah."

"Why are you hugging me so tightly..."

"It's because I like Masumi."

She gave an answer immediately, and her unwavering response almost made Masumi stumble.

"Are you okay? Masumi."

"No, I just tripped over a doll." Masumi shook her head, the scent of blonde hair wafting into her nostrils.

Kurokawa gave a somber yet mature smile, gently resting her cheek against his chest as if seeking warmth.

The alluring fragrance, the tightness surrounding her body, and the softness against her arms all gave Masumi a dizzying, uneasy feeling.

Is this really a haunted house?

It seems that ghosts aren't the only things that can get your heart racing and your blood pumping.

◇

After getting rid of Kurokawa, who had a rosy complexion and a satisfied look on his face, Masumi arrived at the second-year students' school building for the fifth time and saw the black-haired girl waiting there.

"Sorry for the wait."

"No, I just arrived too." Rinne nodded calmly.

What's it like when a couple is late for a date? And the dynamic is reversed, Masumi thought to herself.

“Let’s go,” she said softly.

"Ah."

The last time, the female student at the entrance seemed to have finished her shift and gone to enjoy the cultural festival, or perhaps she simply couldn't stand the "scumbag" anymore.

Instead, two male students with acne-covered faces appeared. Upon seeing him, their eyes gleamed with eagerness, and they even bowed to him respectfully, saying, "Senior! x2"

"Uh, you've mistaken me for someone else."

"No, I didn't mistake you for someone else." The male student nodded admiringly. "You will always be our mentor on the path of life!"

Another boy handed him a flashlight, his face also plastered with a fawning smile:

"We've tampered with the props; they won't light up in certain areas. Please enjoy yourselves without worry."

...No, how can I feel at ease if the flashlight is turned off?

Was it really an EMP? Is that against the rules for high school students?
"Also, after the tour, if possible, could you please offer some guidance..."

The male student nervously rubbed his fingers together, his expression full of anticipation.

(End of this chapter)