章 10: Chapter 10: Classmate Ghost, Please Give Me Hush Money
There's no such thing as a free lunch, and an equal exchange is only fair.
Sacrificing fat in exchange for heavy foods would probably be great news for countless people trying to lose weight.
Unfortunately, Chika wasn't one of them.
"Absolutely not!"
The pink-haired girl clutched her chest tightly with both hands and complained, "It's not useless fat! When you get married and have a baby, the baby needs this fat for milk, right?"
You're thinking way too far ahead. Let's get through this situation first!
"Fujiwara-san, stay calm. Panicking will only cloud your judgment," Kaguya said coolly, her face an unreadable mask of calm. "We can't buy the food. Our only option is to exchange for it. Right now, the most reasonable way is to exchange blood…"
As Kaguya finished speaking, she glanced at a hooded player sitting a short distance away, smirking smugly. "If I'm not mistaken, that's what 'he' did."
Chika blinked, unsure. "You mean, like a voluntary blood donation?"
"That's right."
"Well, we could give it a shot…" Chika hesitated, "I donated blood once before, and it hurt so bad I cried. Kaguya-chan, have you ever donated blood?"
"…"
Amamiya quietly glanced at the top of Miss Kaguya's head, where a line of text appeared:
[Sorry, I've never done it. I'm terrified of needles… Just seeing them freaks me out. I hate shots the most!]
She speaks so rationally, as cold as ice, but her real thoughts are so far from it. This is the classic case of saying one thing and feeling another, isn't it?
No, scratch that.
It's a complete character breakdown.
Amamiya suddenly had a thought: 'If only we could bring pets.'
If we had a cow here, we could get through this situation easily. Blood? Check. Plus, freshly squeezed milk could count as food too… Too bad Fujiwara-san doesn't count.
As he mused, a vengeful girl appeared, her long black hair covering her face. Bloodstains splattered across her school uniform.
"Move aside! Move aside!"
Chika quickly grabbed Amamiya's sleeve and pulled him out of the way.
The ghost girl wasn't interested in them. She shuffled over to the cafeteria window, handed over a white bone coin, and received a plate of pork chop rice with suspicious ingredients. She returned to a dark corner, sat down, and began eating awkwardly. As she fumbled with her chopsticks, the piece of meat fell to the floor with a soft plop.
Amamiya watched carefully, and suddenly, words appeared above the ghost girl's head:
[Danger! Danger! Danger! If the chef saw me drop food, I'd be dragged back to the kitchen and turned into ingredients!]
"Shouldn't she tie up her hair before eating?" Chika whispered, a note of pity in her voice. "I feel like helping her with it."
An idea sprang to life in Amamiya's mind.
'The spirits in the cafeteria can buy food using the currency from the ghost school. Humans? We don't have that money.'
But these evil spirits sitting around definitely do.
Why not just take the money from them?
Plan confirmed.
"We don't have much time," Kaguya reminded them, her voice as calm as ever. "Let's focus on ourselves for now."
"But Kaguya…" Chika looked at the stone bowl they were handed, her face filled with despair. "This isn't donating blood! They're asking us to bleed ourselves dry!"
"I have an idea I'd like to try."
Amamiya stood up and began walking toward the vengeful spirit girl.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Chika asked, startled.
"Just watch," Amamiya said with a wave.
He approached the ghost girl, sat beside her, and without hesitation extended his hand. "I need some hush money."
"Meow?"
The ghost girl, who had been struggling with her food, looked up in confusion.
What did this human just say?
Hush money?
Where did he get the nerve?
"You just dropped food on the ground and didn't pick it up," Amamiya said sternly. "How dare you waste food in the cafeteria? Hand over some hush money, or I'll call the chef over."
"…"
The ghost girl pushed her hair aside, revealing her hollow eye sockets. Her voice rasped like dry leaves. "You foolish human. Unless you know the chef's name, he won't bother listening to you."
"Is that so?" Amamiya nodded. "Thanks for the advice."
A twisted grin formed on the ghost girl's face as she leaned closer. "Foolish human, become my food!"
Amamiya, unfazed, calmly said a single word: "Oink."
"…"
The grin froze on the ghost girl's face as she stared at him in disbelief.
Amamiya continued, "You're wasting—"
Before he could finish, the ghost girl trembled and hurriedly put her hands together. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, please forgive me!"
The head chef rarely left the kitchen, but when he did, it was always a nightmare. He 'hated' food waste. Anyone caught wasting food was dragged to the kitchen, where they'd become the next meal.
The ghost girl knew better than to risk it.
Even though she was already dead, she certainly didn't want to become reserve ingredients.
"Hush money. Now."
Without hesitation, Amamiya extended his hand.
Is it wrong to extort a ghost?
Of course not.
"…"
The ghost girl, trembling, reluctantly pulled out a bone coin and handed it over.
Amamiya took the coin, noting its cold, smooth texture. It was clearly made of bone, but felt oddly like jade.
"This is all you're giving me?"
Amamiya eyed the coin, unimpressed.
"That's… all I have," the ghost girl whispered, looking close to tears.
'That's sad', thought Amamiya. 'She really doesn't have any more.'
Satisfied, he pocketed the coin and stood up to leave.
"That looked like…" Chika, who had been watching from a distance, whispered, "a bully shaking down a poor elementary school kid."
That's no elementary school kid. That was a full-grown vengeful spirit!
Amamiya turned to Chika. "Fujiwara-san, it's time to donate blood."
"I-I'm sorry! I was wrong!" Chika quickly apologized, sensing the trouble she was in.
"It seems this is a viable strategy," Kaguya mused, her lips pursed. "Earlier, the experienced player mentioned that every game has hidden rules. Perhaps trading with the ghost students is the hidden rule here?"
"Trade?" Chika said, incredulous. "That wasn't a trade. That was Amamiya bullying a vengeful spirit until she cried!"
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