Chapter 199: Darkness Beneath the Lamp...

  "I remember now!"

  Satania clapped her hands loudly, the sharp sound echoing in the room and instantly drawing everyone’s attention. With her usual over-the-top confidence, she lifted her chin and grinned. "I think the host said that if someone gets a sudden scare, the bubbles will stop appearing!"

  "But where are we supposed to find a sudden scare right now?" Vigne sighed helplessly, resting her hand on her cheek.

  "Then let’s tell ghost stories," Satania declared proudly, puffing out her chest. "I’ll start! I’ll start!"

  The red-haired idiot cleared her throat dramatically, placed a hand on her hip, and began, her voice dropping an octave. "On a dark, windy night, a young girl was walking home alone. Suddenly, she was attacked by a terrifying robber. The girl was trembling, tears in her eyes, begging not to be hurt. But the robber sneered and said, 'Who’d even want a flat chest like that—ouch!'"

  Bang!

  Before she could finish, a heavy thud shook the air, followed by silence.

  "Vigne, should we throw this thing off the balcony? It’s taking up too much space in here," Gabriel said coldly, lowering her fist. Her golden hair framed a face filled with murderous irritation.

  "Let’s just… not," Vigne said quickly, sweat trickling down her temple as she gave an awkward laugh.

  "So all we need is a good scare, right?" Raphiel purred, her voice sweet as honey. She twirled a lock of her silver hair between her fingers, then raised one delicate finger, eyes glinting with mischief. "That’s easy."

  "Eh?" Vigne blinked in confusion, not even having time to react before Raphiel suddenly flashed behind her, hands reaching forward to grab her chest from behind and squeeze.

  "Nyaa, it got bigger again," Raphiel teased with a grin.

  Vigne froze, her face instantly blazing scarlet. Her shoulders trembled, and she threw a mortified glance toward Kouya sitting nearby.

  "R-Raphiel, l-let go already!"

  Being groped in front of a boy... that was just too much to bear!

  Her whole body stiffened, heart hammering, but as it turned out, Raphiel’s “method” didn’t work at all. The pink heart-shaped bubbles still floated happily above Vigne’s head, shimmering faintly in the dim light.

  "How about watching a movie instead?" Gabriel suggested, rubbing her temples. "If it’s a horror movie, it might scare her better."

  "W-Well… I suppose we can try that," Vigne said after a moment of hesitation, fiddling with her fingers.

  Everyone agreed it was worth a shot. Of course, the best way to watch a horror movie was alone, at night, in pitch darkness with headphones on—but it was the middle of the day, sunlight spilling through the windows, so the effect was lost.

  They hurried to pull the curtains tight and shut the door, darkening the room. It wasn’t perfect, but at least it created a shadowy, enclosed atmosphere.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  In Japan, most people watched movies either at theaters, on Blu-ray, or through online streaming. Kouya didn’t have a Blu-ray player, so he sat down at his computer, fingers tapping quickly as he searched for something online. After a moment, he found a movie titled “The Scariest School Horror Movie in History.”

  "Sounds promising… though that title doesn’t inspire much confidence," Vigne murmured curiously.

  Kouya smirked faintly. "Yeah. Anything that needs to brag that hard probably isn’t that good."

  They rearranged the sofa a bit to face the screen and lined up neatly. The sofa wasn’t particularly large, but since the girls were petite, everyone managed to fit—barely. Vigne ended up in the center, Gabriel and Kouya on her left, Raphiel and Satania on her right. From above, it looked like a picture-perfect formation.

  ...

  The movie began, the chilling music creeping through the dim room. The eerie violin and low percussion made the walls feel closer than before.

  Vigne sat upright, her posture stiff, her eyes locked on the screen—but those pink heart-shaped bubbles still floated lazily above her head, completely ruining the mood.

  The opening scene revealed a deserted school bathed in a dying orange glow. The evening wind whispered through broken windows. Shadows stretched along the cracked walls, and weeds crawled through the floor tiles, making the place look hauntingly desolate.

  A group of thrill-seeking students appeared, holding an old, yellowed newspaper detailing a mysterious fire that destroyed the school years ago. The camera followed them through the creaking hallways—then suddenly, a tall, thin shadow darted past, and a blood-curdling scream split the silence.

  It was a predictable opening—reckless teens entering a haunted place for fun. Overused, maybe, but enough to keep the audience awake.

  Then came the inevitable stupidity: splitting up, walking off alone, calling for each other in echoing corridors. A perfect chain reaction of bad decisions—like a horror movie version of “each hero dies saving the last one.”

  Before long, the movie reached its first tense moment.

  A pale, slender ghost loomed silently behind one of the men.

  Vigne gripped the edge of her skirt tightly, eyes wide, holding her breath.

  Then, from the right, Satania suddenly muttered, "That ghost looks ugly."

  "Eh?" Vigne twitched.

  "She doesn’t even have eyebrows. Anyone without eyebrows is obviously evil."

  Oh, come on! You just shattered the entire mood!

  Even the Mona Lisa doesn’t have eyebrows, and no one calls her ugly!

  Vigne, who’d been fully immersed moments ago, let out a small sigh. The tension evaporated instantly.

  The movie dragged on. For something labeled “the scariest,” it was shockingly bland—and with Satania’s running commentary, there was zero sense of horror.

  In fact, the next part made everyone laugh.

  One of the characters, injured, got trapped inside a sealed room. Kouya leaned forward slightly, expecting the usual setup—ghost behind him, phone dying, the works—but no.

  The door was electronic, locked with a passcode. Trembling, the man began to type—but pressed the wrong key.

  He panicked, erased the code, and tried again.

  Then he made another mistake.

  Erase. Retry.

  Faster and faster, more frantic with each attempt, his hands shaking uncontrollably. By the time he finally bled out from his wounds, the ghost hadn’t even appeared. He’d literally died from stress and blood loss.

  "Wow, that’s... unique," Kouya said dryly.

  The group burst into laughter.

  Then came another scene—a man and woman alone in the abandoned school, the camera slowly zooming in as they began kissing feverishly. Their lips clung together, breaths heavy, almost devouring each other.

  The dim glow from the monitor flickered across the girls’ faces, painting their cheeks in pink.

  Even though their health classes had covered far more explicit things, the atmosphere now was completely different. There was tension in the air—nervous, warm, and embarrassing.

  Gabriel, who normally looked half-asleep, found her own face flushing. She turned away quickly, glaring sideways at Kouya, remembering what had happened the day before.

  "Why are you glaring at me?" Kouya shot back, unimpressed.

  Gabriel puffed her cheeks in frustration, reached out to pinch him, but before she could, Kouya grabbed her hand and held it tightly in his.

  Her blush deepened instantly. She glared harder, eyes narrowing like daggers. "Pervert! Let go!"

  "No way!" Kouya grinned defiantly.

  'You started it first. Letting go now would just mean losing.'

  So what if I hold it?