"I can't get married..."
Fujiwara Chika knelt in the corner, covering her chest with trembling hands, faint steam rising from her head.
If a boy sees your naked body, you can never get married again.
"I have my eyes closed."
"What's the use of closing just one eye?!"
"…"
Their first attempt at two-player cooperation was pretty good—except it revealed some problems.
First, Fujiwara Chika explained the forced name change skill can only modify one person's name. If the second person is designated as Zhang San, the first's name reverts.
Then there was the question of Amamiya Natsuki himself.
He could only capture the vengeful spirits' bodies, but couldn't destroy their souls.
The vengeful Harley Quinn in front of him was clearly unhappy and kept threatening to "teach him a lesson later."
In short, he could control the body, but not the spirit inside.
Though Natsuki didn't care much about the spirits' souls—he just liked watching the vengeful spirit rage silently—it was still dangerous.
The best solution would be to eliminate the spirits entirely, but they lacked that ability.
Thinking of this, Natsuki's thoughts turned to Shinomiya Kaguya. He didn't know if his weapon would be useful.
"Where's Kaguya-chan?" Fujiwara asked after putting her clothes back on. "Why didn't she come with you?"
Natsuki shook his head.
"Kaguya-san isn't with me. Everyone's in separate rooms. She should be next door."
"Then let's find her." Fujiwara's eyes sparkled. "I'll tell you—Kaguya-chan looks fearless, but she doesn't even dare watch horror movies alone."
"You can't go out now. The corridor is too dangerous in the dark."
After briefly explaining the situation, Natsuki's gaze returned to Harley Quinn's ghost.
There was still some time before darkness faded—and since there was nothing better to do, he thought, why not play some cards for a while?
"Human, what do you want to do?" the ghost's voice sharpened.
"Let's play a game," Natsuki said, releasing her shoulder. He pointed at Fujiwara and said seriously, "Chika is my apprentice. I'm training her."
"Huh?"
Fujiwara looked over, surprised. When did I become your apprentice? she wondered.
"You've beaten her so many times," Natsuki continued, crossing his fingers, "If people hear that, where's my face? I have to win it back."
"So it's just for your face!" Fujiwara shouted. "Give me back my bra!"
"Foolish human." The ghost sneered and sat at the card table, licking her lips. "You'll regret this."
"I'm going to the bathroom first."
In just a minute, Natsuki was back.
"Can we start now?" the ghost urged impatiently.
"Okay." Natsuki nodded and sat down.
"Wait." Fujiwara pulled him aside, whispered worriedly, "Better not get angry. If you lose, your body might go out of control."
"Don't worry." Natsuki whispered back. "I cheated."
"Eh hey hey?"
"…"
Natsuki quickly sat across the card table.
Fujiwara and Rikka knelt beside them, nervously watching.
The deck had fifty-four cards. One big joker was removed, leaving one small joker.
After a quick shuffle, the game began.
The rules were simple: two people took turns drawing cards and discarding pairs. Both played fast—soon it was the final showdown.
"Human, you're doomed to lose." The ghost smiled viciously. She didn't pull tricks like before—she grabbed a card from Natsuki's hand.
"This card table has a special power: if one party refuses to end the game, it continues. Let's see how many clothes you have left."
"Look at the card you drew first," Natsuki said calmly.
The ghost glanced down, eyes wide.
"How—how is this possible?!"
She had drawn the devil card.
"You lose." Natsuki threw his cards on the table. "Fulfill the bet."
"How did we win?" Fujiwara stared in disbelief.
"When I traveled through Skyrim," Natsuki said gravely, "people called me the God of Gamblers. I only stopped traveling after I was shot in the knee that year."
"Amazing!"
Rikka's eyes sparkled with admiration.
The ghost looked down at her outfit: colorful twin ponytails, thick smoky makeup, a tight shirt showing her waist and abdomen, and tiny denim shorts. Pretty cool for a ghost.
"For you." She handed over the bloody baseball bat.
Natsuki took the prop. "Game continues."
Moments later, the ghost lost again and exploded in fury.
"Impossible! How could you beat me?!"
"If you lose, you lose." Natsuki was unmoved. "No one wins every time."
"…"
The minute limit was up. The ghost, chest heaving, reluctantly took off her shirt.
Natsuki was disappointed.
You're an evil spirit—still wearing underwear? Bad review.
"Come again. I don't believe I'll lose again!"
"Can evil spirits be shy?" Fujiwara asked.
"Of course not."
"Then please don't cover yourself while saying that."
"…"
The game went on.
The ghost lost again and had to remove her denim shorts. In a blink, like Fujiwara, she was left with just one last piece.
"Impossible!"
Her chest rose and fell, refusing to accept defeat.
"Human, you must have cheated."
"Cheating is skill. As long as I don't get caught, it's fair." Natsuki smiled. "Tell me how I cheated."
"...Human, I'll remember you!"
The ghost vanished, transforming into a card drifting down.
"What?"
Natsuki picked it up—it was a summoning card to call the Harley Quinn ghost once more for battle. But it could only be used once. That was a direct loss for him.
The cheating method was simple.
The bat specimens on the wall weren't ordinary—they were parts of evil spirits. You could see through the wall using them. That's why Fujiwara always lost.
Knowing their weakness, Natsuki had gone to the bathroom and secretly cheated with his thumb. He almost won over the opponent's panties.
"The corridor's getting brighter." Fujiwara exclaimed softly. "Hurry, let's find Kaguya-chan."
The three walked to the corridor and knocked on the next ward's door.
"Kaguya-chan, we're here… eh?"
Fujiwara entered first and her eyes widened.
"Why are there three Kaguya-chans?"
Natsuki paused, surprised to see three identical Shinomiya Kaguyas. Their clothes, appearance—even their eyes were exactly the same.
The first Kaguya, pale-faced, said, "I was imitated."
The second: "They're all fake."
The third: "Sometimes another appears. Both of these are fake."
Not only can it imitate, it can copy infinitely?
Natsuki wanted to pull Fujiwara away.
"Let Kaguya copy for a while. When you have 500 Kaguyas, send them all to the construction site to move bricks—you can earn enough to buy a house in half a month!"