"Eh eh eh, why did your clothes fall onto the floor?!"
Chika was shocked and horrified.
Why?
I'd like to know why too!
Natsuki looked at the scattered clothes beside him, feeling slightly dazed.
When Yukino had transformed, she'd been able to keep her clothes on—so why had his fallen off?
Calm down.
Deep breath.
Natsuki pondered briefly and quickly arrived at a possibility.
The players in the game were merely subconscious entities. The clothes on their bodies weren't truly real—just like with Mrs. Kaguya. A person could become a ghost, but clothes couldn't become ghosts.
The clothes on Mrs. Kaguya's body were nothing more than part of her subconscious. In other words... Mrs. Kaguya had actually been in a nude state the entire time.
Back to the point.
The sheep transformation clearly worked on the same principle.
A person could turn into a sheep, but clothes weren't included in the transformation.
It was just like those common invisibility users in movies and TV shows—most people had to take off all their clothes when going invisible.
The sheep transformation in reality had a similar effect to invisibility.
"There's no time." Chika said anxiously. "Amamiya-kun, hurry and hide on the bed."
She then looked at Mrs. Kaguya beside her: "Grandma Kaguya, please pick up the clothes."
"Leave it to me."
Mrs. Kaguya briefly materialized and picked up the clothes from the floor.
Natsuki walked to the bedside, gave a light hop, then hid among the pile of plushies at the foot of the bed, pretending to be a stuffed animal.
The crime scene was swiftly cleaned up.
Chika quietly breathed a sigh of relief, then pulled the door wide open.
Thump.
A little head crashed into Chika's chest—clearly having been eavesdropping outside.
"Onee-chan, what were you doing alone in your room?" Fujiwara Moeha covered her forehead and straightened up. As she looked Chika up and down, she complained: "You took so long to open the door, I almost couldn't resist calling the police."
"It wasn't even a full minute." Chika retorted. "And calling the police is way too much."
Fujiwara Moeha folded both arms across her chest. She was a cute girl with a face similar to Chika's, slightly shorter in height, with twin tails. Though only a middle schooler, her bust far exceeded a certain ice queen's:
"What exactly were you doing just now, Onee-chan? Why did you suddenly scream so loud?"
"That, well..." Chika's gaze flickered for an instant. As a politician's daughter, she hated lying—but when it was truly necessary, lying was completely fine. "I was just playing on my phone and suddenly saw a super scary horror video, so I got startled."
"Liar."
Fujiwara Moeha denied it outright.
"Eh?"
"If that were true, Onee-chan could have just told me that from inside the room. Why would you keep dodging and refusing to open the door?"
Chika: "..."
That made so much sense, it left her speechless.
"You actually lied to me. Onee-chan must be doing something unspeakable..."
Fujiwara Moeha rested her right hand against her chin, activating deduction mode. She walked past Chika, pacing through the room—then reached out and pulled back the covers.
Whoosh.
Under the blanket was absolutely nothing.
Natsuki lay among the pile of plushies nearby. His heart skipped a beat.
Good thing he hadn't hidden under the covers—otherwise he'd have been caught red-handed.
"Eh, when did Onee-chan buy a sheep pillow?" Fujiwara Moeha's gaze quickly landed on Natsuki. Her eyes sparkled. "So cute."
Natsuki remained perfectly still, playing the part of an ordinary sheep pillow.
Fujiwara Moeha reached out her hand: "Onee-chan, can I have this sheep pillow tonight..."
"Absolutely not!"
Chika quickly shook her head.
"I'm not asking to keep it. I just want to sleep with it for one night."
"You... you drool in your sleep."
"Onee-chan drools too. You have no right to criticize me."
"Anyway, this sheep pillow is very important." Chika quickly walked over and used her body to shield Natsuki. "If you really want one, I'll buy you a new one tomorrow."
After all, Natsuki wasn't a real pillow. If Moeha touched him with her hand, she'd be able to tell the difference instantly.
"I want this sheep pillow." Fujiwara Moeha puffed out her cheeks. "Just the other night, Onee-chan took my shark pillow away."
"That, well..."
"..."
Chika knew she was in the wrong. Faced with her sister's offensive, she could only cast a pleading look at Mrs. Kaguya.
"Leave it to me."
Mrs. Kaguya smiled and nodded. Her gaze fell on a roll of tissue paper sitting on the desk. She extended her finger and gave it a light push.
Thud.
The tissue roll tumbled to the floor.
"Eh? Tissue?"
Fujiwara Moeha looked down—then turned to look at Chika, whose face was flushed crimson, whose eyes were tense, who looked guilty as a thief, whose clothes were disheveled. She blinked—and then her face quickly showed an expression of sudden realization.
"I see."
"Onee-chan is already a high schooler. With so much academic pressure, wanting to release some stress is perfectly normal..."
Fujiwara Moeha spoke as she walked toward the exit, obediently closing the door behind her. "I'm going back to my room. Onee-chan, you can continue."
"There's no way I can continue!"
"..."
"Little Moeha is quite adorable."
Mrs. Kaguya sat in the chair, smiling sweetly.
"Moeha misunderstood me. There's no way I'd do that kind of thing alone."
Chika looked ready to cry.
Natsuki rose from the pile of plushies and walked to the edge of the bed, looking down. Having turned into a sheep, looking down from the bed made the floor seem especially high.
"Amamiya-kun, I'll hold you." Chika's eyes lit up. She quickly opened both arms.
"No need."
Natsuki flatly refused.
Unfortunately, since he was currently Pretty Sheep, the words that came out were naturally bleating sounds.
"Ahh, so cute."
The pink-haired girl's eyes sparkled even brighter. She quickly tossed aside the distress of being misunderstood by her sister, plopped down on the edge of the bed, and began petting the top of Natsuki's head. "Amamiya-kun, bleat one more time."
Bleat at your sister!
He wasn't a real sheep—who would just keep bleating nonstop?!
"I still have grooming tools for Pesu in my room. Amamiya-kun, do you want me to brush your wool?"
Natsuki was getting more and more irritated. Are you going to go outside and get a handful of grass next?!
As Natsuki's will to resist grew stronger and stronger, the game notification sound soon rang in his ears.
[Transformation is about to end. Please prepare]
Having received the warning, Natsuki drew in a deep breath and prepared to jump down to the floor. But the moment he moved, Chika scooped him into her arms.
Natsuki struggled with all his might.
Unfortunately, how much strength could a Pretty Sheep possibly have? He absolutely couldn't break free from Chika's hold.
"Don't jump around. What if you fall from that height and get hurt? I'll carry you down..."
Before she could finish speaking, Chika suddenly felt her arms grow heavy. Immediately after, an irresistible weight pressed down on top of her.
With a soft thud, the exceptionally springy mattress trembled beneath the two of them.
"Mmph..."
Chika let out a pained groan.
Their eyes met.
Their breaths mingled.
The distance between their faces was barely a fist's width apart. Natsuki could clearly smell the pleasant fragrance emanating from the pink-haired girl—a sweet scent like milk and fruit mixed together.
"Amamiya-kun..."
The pink-haired girl's voice was faint. Her expression was dazed at first. After a second of bewilderment, her lashes suddenly began to tremble—and then she squeezed her eyes shut in a panic.
What do you mean closing your eyes?
Hurry and open them wide and protect yourself!
Natsuki suddenly felt an inexplicable impulse.
As long as she's cute, being an airhead doesn't matter...
The next moment.
A voice brimming with resentment echoed through the room.
"What are you two doing right in front of me?!"