Seeing the topic change, Kaguya let out a sigh of relief.
If Chika were to tell Haruto what she just said, Kaguya would honestly want to find a hole to crawl into.
Last night, it was true—Kaguya had been tossing and turning precisely because she had plans with Haruto. What she didn't know was… Haruto had already overheard their conversation outside the door.
He rummaged through his backpack, and using it as cover, retrieved a small jar from the Kamui Space.
The jar had no label or branding on it.
When opened, it contained a faint, white substance—almost like a small jar of snow.
Chika sniffed it curiously.
A faint, pleasant fragrance wafted out.
It wasn't like floral perfume or anything too strong, but it was strangely memorable.
"Never seen this eye cream before. Is it some new brand?"
Chika asked curiously.
Haruto shook his head.
"It's not available on the market yet. Still in development—this is just a sample."
Chika and Miko immediately understood what he meant.
Before any product is officially launched, a select few always get their hands on early samples. These samples are usually premium versions—before cost-cutting and efficiency tweaks—and are often used as gifts or favors.
Even the Fujiwara family occasionally received such items. But Kaguya, however, knew this wasn't just any product.
This was clearly a product of the Foundation.
Haruto handed the small jar to Kaguya, signaling her to try it.
Kaguya looked at the snow-like "eye cream".
It looked so flawless, she hesitated to ruin its perfect surface. She took just the tiniest bit and applied it under her eyes. Then, unsure how to proceed—given that it was from the Foundation—she looked at Haruto hesitantly.
Sensing this, Haruto chuckled softly and simply pulled Kaguya down to sit.
Then, with a light touch, he gently massaged under her eyes.
Kaguya was clearly not expecting this.
She instinctively closed her eyes, and her face flushed a deep red.
Sitting there with her back ramrod straight, she was a bundle of nerves. This kind of physical contact with a boy, Kaguya had absolutely zero experience.
But the sensation between her brows and eyes was… incredibly soothing.
It felt like all her fatigue had melted away.
Time seemed to slow.
When the warm, gentle touch finally left, Kaguya remained still, eyes closed. That was until a sudden exclamation from Chika broke the silence.
Kaguya opened her eyes with a huff.
"Your dark circles are completely gone! That stuff works so well! Haruto, can I have one too?"
Chika asked in amazement.
Kaguya immediately wanted to interject.
No matter what, she wanted to keep this jar of eye cream. Not just because of the effects, because of what Haruto had just done.
But before she could speak, Haruto said,
"I only brought one jar today. Next time."
He placed the small jar directly into Kaguya's hands.
At that moment, Kaguya's heart started racing uncontrollably. Chika pouted but nodded helplessly.
"Then next time, you have to bring me one too! With this, I won't even be afraid of staying up late anymore!"
Haruto agreed with a nod, but he had no intention of giving one to Chika.
The true identity of the contents: RA Cell Repair Agent.
A product of the Foundation.
Once applied, it automatically repairs nearby cellular tissue. Forget dark circles—even severe, gruesome wounds could be healed rapidly. Since Kaguya was a Foundation staff member, giving it to her as a benefit was fine.
But Chika hadn't joined yet, there was no way Haruto would casually hand over such an advanced piece of tech.
Kaguya carefully stored the jar.
This was, after all, the first gift she'd ever received from Haruto.
With Haruto's arrival, the atmosphere in the student council room became cheerful and lively.
Especially Yu Ishigami, who seemed visibly relieved.
Before this, he was the lowest-ranked in the room and didn't even dare to speak. But now that Haruto was here, he felt much more at ease.
"Hey hey! Let's talk about urban legends!"
Chika suddenly suggested.
Her mind always jumped around—no one ever really knew what she was thinking.
"Urban legends? That's just nonsense made up on the internet."
Kaguya replied flatly.
She clearly didn't want to continue with this topic.
After all, she was only just getting used to the internet and still didn't know much. Plus, Haruto was finally here, why waste the time on ghost stories?
They should be talking about romance!
"Oh come on! It's fun! What's wrong, Kaguya? You scared?"
Chika smirked, using reverse psychology.
Kaguya immediately fired back.
It worked like a charm.
Yuu leaned toward Haruto and whispered,
"Senpai… I think Secretary Fujiwara might not have much longer to live."
Haruto raised an eyebrow.
"What? She seems perfectly lively to me."
Yuu lowered his voice even further.
"She looks lively, but Fujiwara-senpai is actually incredibly dangerous. President Shinomiya sometimes looks at her with a terrifying expression… Based on my calculations, Fujiwara-senpai probably won't make it past two months. I'm probably next."
He said it so seriously that Haruto almost cracked.
At that moment, Chika had somehow pulled out a flashlight. She closed all the curtains in the student council room.
The room dimmed instantly.
Chika sat in the center, flashlight held under her chin, casting eerie shadows on her face. Under the flashlight, her face looked unusually pale.
Kaguya hadn't taken her seriously before, but the sudden shift in atmosphere made her nervous.
Not because of Chika's makeup or acting…
But because Kaguya knew that scary things really did exist.
Things like Tomie. Things like Anomalies.
When the mood shifted, it became easy to scare yourself.
Kaguya instinctively inched closer to Haruto.
"Hey hey, has anyone heard of the urban legend Kisaragi Station?"
Chika whispered eerily—though it was more cute than scary. Still, both Kaguya and Miko clearly started to panic.
Haruto, on the other hand, looked intrigued.
Kisaragi Station was a well-known urban legend in Japan. Its fame was on par with things like the Slit-Mouthed Woman.
Haruto hadn't expected this world to have that legend too. Chika continued in her spooky voice,
"They say… if you board a late-night train that doesn't exist, it'll take you to Kisaragi Station. That station isn't part of this world. Once you arrive, you disappear forever. A friend of a friend—let's call her A—once boarded a nonexistent late-night train."
"Even though the last train had already departed, she saw a train pull in at the station."
"Once she boarded, she noticed the other passengers looked strange… Their faces were pale and gray. The train didn't stop every 6–7 minutes like normal. It ran for 20 minutes straight without stopping."
"She tried to text her friend, but had no signal. She went to the conductor's room—no one was there! The train just kept going, six or seven hours straight. Outside the windows, all she could see was a gray, hazy fog."
"Too scared to speak to anyone, she waited until the train finally stopped and bolted out. The station she arrived at looked completely abandoned, shrouded in mist. Above her, the sign read: Kisaragi Station."
"In a panic, she turned to get back on the train—only for the doors to slam shut and the train to depart. All the passengers were at the windows, grinning at her with terrifying smiles."
"When she turned around, she saw—AAAH!"
Chika suddenly screamed.
The eerie buildup paid off immediately.
"AAAHHH!!"
Kaguya and Miko screamed in unison.
Haruto suddenly found his arms grabbed tightly—and someone had even dived into his chest.
"Hahaha! Gotcha! Scared you, didn't I? I tell the best ghost stories!"
Chika gleefully turned on the lights.
What she saw made her and Ishigami freeze.
On the sofa, Kaguya was clinging tightly to Haruto's arm, head buried in his shoulder. And Miko—who had been sitting across the room—had apparently run over and jumped into Haruto's lap.
Both of them were trembling.
Haruto was half-laughing, half-exasperated.
If you're that scared, why didn't you stop Chika from the beginning?
Especially Miko.
Haruto clearly remembered—when the topic of urban legends came up, didn't she seem super into it?
And now she's the one who freaked out the most?
Is this what they call: "All bark, no bite, but still insists on playing?"