Kaguya-sama Wants My Surrender!

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"Food... Food that glows..." 

As Kaguya looked at Chika, now dazed and muttering incoherently, her pink lips moved slightly. With a sigh, she raised her hand to her forehead and said, 

"I take that back." 

Amamiya glanced at her and shrugged. "There's a saying: 'a broad mind makes a fat body.'" Taking Chika's wrist, he gently guided her into a chair to prevent her from collapsing entirely. "If your mind is broad enough, you can fall asleep anywhere." 

In truth, Chika hadn't fallen asleep. She had merely yawned and been dragged into the nightmare. Apparently, true sleep wasn't a requirement; a fleeting moment of drowsiness was enough. 

As he explained, Amamiya pulled Umi over, seating her in another chair before turning to Kaguya. 

"Your hand," he said, extending his own. 

After a brief pause, Kaguya silently held out her hand. 

Their hands met. 

Her skin was soft, smooth, and cool to the touch, like delicate jelly. It was so pleasant that it stirred an idle temptation to press or pinch it, simply for the sensation. 

"…What are you doing?" 

Kaguya's cheeks flushed as she turned to glare at him, her tone sharp with embarrassment. 

"It was just once," Amamiya said defensively, though his hand lingered longer than necessary. 

Once became twice. Then a third time. 

With a growing sense of irritation, Kaguya snapped, "How do you expect me to feel sleepy when you keep pinching my hand like that?" 

"My apologies," Amamiya replied earnestly, though his sincerity felt questionable. "Sometimes, my hands and knees seem to act on their own." 

Kaguya forced a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I recently saw something on X: If you don't need your hands, you can always donate them to someone who does." 

"You're using X now?" Amamiya exclaimed, feigning shock. "Amazing. Truly groundbreaking." 

Kaguya puffed her cheeks in mild irritation. "Even elementary school students can do that!" 

"…" 

Their banter soon quieted. Amamiya wisely decided to end the conversation before it spiraled into yet another tangent. 

The room fell silent. 

Closing his eyes, Amamiya held Kaguya's hand, focusing on letting the growing fatigue draw him into the same state as the others. 

After a while, a strange weariness overtook him. 

It felt as though cold water was creeping into his body, a sensation that seeped deep into his consciousness. When Amamiya opened his eyes again, he found himself staring at a dazzling silver moon hanging in the sky, its soft light bathing the world in a serene glow. 

Looking around, he saw a courtyard stretched out before him. A massive cherry tree stood at its center, its blossoms fully bloomed. The air was filled with delicate petals drifting in the breeze, creating a dreamlike scene. 

The courtyard was paved with white sandstone paths that wove chaotically yet harmoniously. Nearby, bamboo water spouts and stone lanterns dotted the landscape, along with a cluster of bamboo and a serene pavilion. The atmosphere exuded tranquility. 

Groups of tourists wandered about, admiring the blossoms and the moon in hushed tones. 

Amamiya turned his gaze downward, realizing he was standing on a wooden corridor. White lanterns hung at regular intervals beneath the eaves, casting a warm glow that illuminated the exterior of what appeared to be a hotel. 

"Who am I?" he muttered, frowning as he rubbed his temple. "Where am I?" 

His thoughts were hazy, as though he had just woken from a deep sleep and couldn't quite piece together reality. 

But then something stirred in his memory. 

"I came here for a solo trip… to a hot spring hotel…" 

He looked down at his right hand. 

There was a lingering sensation—a delicate, warm touch, as if he had just been holding someone's hand moments ago. 

"Why would I come to a hot spring hotel alone instead of staying home and playing games?" The thought surfaced briefly in Amamiya's mind but was quickly swept away by an unseen force. 

"Maybe I get restless when it's too quiet," he muttered to himself. "Let's head back to the room first." 

Then a question occurred to him. "By the way, where is the room?" 

As if prompted by his own confusion, a memory quietly filled the gap, and a room number appeared in his mind. 

Amamiya began walking along the corridor. 

After a short while, he came across an elderly woman sweeping the hallway. Her hair was wrapped in a towel, and the strands peeking out were entirely silver. Deep wrinkles lined her face, and her back was slightly hunched with age. 

"Tch. Still working so hard at that age," Amamiya remarked inwardly. "No wonder the retirement age in this country is practically 80." 

Continuing on, he noticed a girl standing under a cherry tree. 

Her appearance was striking—she resembled a sculpture carved from ice and snow. 

Her skin was pale as snow. 

Her crimson eyes exuded calm indifference. 

Her aura radiated a coldness that kept others at a distance. 

Her beauty was breathtaking, her profile sharp and refined. 

Though, her figure lacked the curves some might expect, a detail that might draw a sigh from others. 

"Shinomiya-san?" Amamiya murmured to himself in surprise. "Fancy meeting my classmate here. What a small world." 

As if sensing his gaze, the icy girl turned her head to look at him. 

Their eyes met for a moment. 

But her expression remained indifferent. She turned away just as quickly, as though Amamiya was no more than a passing stranger. 

Unfazed, he continued walking. 

Although they were classmates, they had barely interacted. They didn't sit next to each other or behind one another, and since the semester started, not a single word had passed between them. To him, they were practically strangers. 

But… why a bunny girl outfit? 

Her attire seemed odd, to say the least. 

Then again, people were free to wear whatever they wanted. As long as they weren't running around naked, it wasn't worth dwelling on. 

Amamiya pressed on. 

Soon, he spotted another girl. This one was dressed in a devilish costume, holding a set of clothes, her face lit up with a bright, cheerful smile as she stepped into the hot spring bath. 

A strange sense of familiarity flickered in his mind. 

"Forget it," he muttered, shaking his head. "Probably just mistaking her for someone I know." 

Amamiya entered his room without further distractions. 

The first thing to do upon returning indoors? 

Wash your hands, of course. 

It was an ingrained habit—practical and instinctive. 

He slipped off his shoes, stepped inside, and headed straight for the bathroom. 

The hotel's bathroom was modest, with a rectangular mirror above the sink. 

But as he glanced into the mirror, Amamiya froze. 

Floating above his head was a line of inexplicable text. 

[You have successfully entered the nightmare world.] 

[After close observation, you discover your cognition has been distorted.] 

[You decide to use Miko's advanced clairvoyance to break through the distortion.] 

"What the..." Amamiya muttered, raising a brow as he stared at the text. 

Waving his hand above his head experimentally, he tried to touch the floating words, but his hand met nothing but air. 

The message stayed exactly where it was, unaffected. 

"Nightmare world… cognitive distortion…" Amamiya frowned. The absurdity of the situation gnawed at him. "Some kind of prank for a reality show?" 

But what if it wasn't? 

Shaking off the thought, he calmly washed his hands. "How do I use Miko's advanced clairvoyance, anyway?" 

As he silently pondered this, a sudden warmth surged into his eyes. 

Amamiya shut them instinctively. 

When he opened them again and glanced back at the mirror, his expression shifted. 

"…I remember now." 

Miko's clairvoyance could negate illusions and nightmares, breaking through cognitive distortions. 

With the ability activated, the effect of the distortion melted away. Memories flooded back, piecing together his true reality. 

"Kaguya, Umi, Chika… and myself." 

"There's no doubt about it now. We're all trapped in this nightmare world." 

Recalling the staff and tourists he had encountered earlier, Amamiya's thoughts churned. 

"That means everyone in this hotel has been dragged into the nightmare world. So what's the situation now? 

"...A multiplayer online dream connection?"