Back at the inn, after sorting out all the students' room assignments, Shichen finally returned to his own room.
As a teacher, he had a single room to himself. However—
"Come now, Shichen. All you have to do is choose me. Swear your allegiance to the great Yamai Kaguya, offer both body and soul to me. Just say the word and it shall be so."
"Negative. Choosing Kaguya yields absolutely no benefit. Please cast your sacred vote for Yuzuru."
Of course, Kaguya and Yuzuru had followed him back. Neither had let go of his arms; each clung to one side, soft chests pressed firmly into him.
"You two… aren't your arms tired, clinging to me like that?" Shichen asked helplessly.
"Tired? Doesn't exist."
"Agreement. If Kaguya isn't tired, Yuzuru cannot possibly be tired," Yuzuru replied.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Kaguya snapped, immediately offended.
"Ugh… don't you feel embarrassed at all like this? You two have basically never even interacted with a guy before, right?" Shichen continued.
"Up until now we indeed have not dealt with men, but what does that have to do with embarrassment?" Kaguya asked, genuinely confused.
"Because…"
Shichen didn't finish. Instead he lowered his head and let his gaze drift blatantly up and down both their chests.
"What do you… eh?" Kaguya froze for a second, then suddenly realized and stiffened all over.
"Understanding. Don't worry, Shichen. Kaguya's so small there's no way you'd feel anything," Yuzuru said serenely.
"W–what! I am not small! We're obviously almost the same size!" Kaguya yelled back, too angry to be embarrassed now.
"Denial. Yuzuru is far larger than Kaguya. Shichen, you should be able to tell," Yuzuru added.
"Mm, it's true. Yuzuru is a bit bigger than Kaguya," Shichen nodded gravely.
He didn't even need to touch them—visually it was obvious Yuzuru had a slight edge.
They were supposed to be two halves of one being, and yet there was this tiny difference. Kind of amazing, in its way.
"Damn it!" Kaguya's face went scarlet, teeth grinding.
She knew it, so she had no real confidence to refute it.
"So, can you let go of me now?" Shichen asked again.
"I…" Kaguya hesitated, glancing at Yuzuru.
"Rejected. This, too, is a form of feminine charm. To make Shichen fall for Yuzuru, releasing his arm is impossible," Yuzuru said.
"In that case, I'm not letting go either!" Kaguya hurried to add, tightening her grip as if that would prove she definitely wasn't small.
They were definitely not small; pressed into him like this, the softness and elasticity were very obvious, making it hard not to get lost in the sensation.
"Hey, could you three stop acting like I'm not even here?"
At last, Murasame Reine, the homeroom "teacher"—spoke up in her usual sleepy tone.
She'd been in the room the whole time; Shichen had brought her along as well.
"And you are? Why are you here?" Kaguya finally noticed her and asked.
"I'm just a teacher from the school. Don't mind me."
"A teacher? Whatever. I don't mind a bystander watching from the side—but if you try to interfere with this duel, I won't show mercy!"
Kaguya finished her threat and turned back to Shichen.
"Shichen, hurry and declare that I'm the more attractive one. It may be brief, but to receive my favor is your greatest honor."
"Doubt. If we're talking about men who'd be happy being confessed to by Kaguya… that number should be close to zero," Yuzuru deadpanned.
"Hmph! No matter how you provoke me, the outcome of this duel won't change. Come on, Shichen—tell us: between me and Yuzuru, who has more feminine charm?"
"Question. Between Yuzuru and the tiny Kaguya, who is cuter?" Yuzuru followed up.
"Hold it! What's with that subtle insult?!"
"Ignoring. Compared to little Kaguya, Yuzuru is obviously more…"
"You're making it worse!"
The two bickered while still clinging to him, leaving all three of them stacked like a charm sandwich.
Shichen, honestly, was kind of enjoying this. Being squeezed between two identical beauties—what normal guy wouldn't be happy?
Unfortunately, they were so aggressive that he couldn't very well respond openly. He needed backup.
He glanced at Reine, silently pleading.
She drooped her eyelids, looking half-asleep as always, but after a moment's pause she sighed and spoke up:
"You two are Kaguya and Yuzuru, right? What exactly do you mean by 'duel'?"
"I'd like to know that too," Shichen added.
"Hm? Didn't I say?" Kaguya tilted her head, thinking. "We were originally a single Spirit called Yamai."
"Agreement. But at some unknown point, Yamai split into two people," Yuzuru nodded.
"Split into two…" Reine studied them, her gaze moving back and forth.
The hairstyles and expressions were different, but their facial features were identical—like a reflection in a mirror.
"And why did that happen?" Reine continued.
"Hmph! Only the goddess of fate in the heavens knows. A bored, malicious goddess, sick of monotony, sometimes throws down dice with results that make no sense at all," Kaguya grumbled.
"Summary. Kaguya means: she doesn't know either," Yuzuru translated.
"I see…" Reine said, face unreadable.
"But what does that have to do with your duels?"
"Because the moment we laid eyes on each other, we understood the fate engraved in our bodies and blood. The true Spirit Yamai can only have one existence in this world!"
"Explanation. The moment they split, Yuzuru and Kaguya understood that, in the end, the two bodies would be merged into one," Yuzuru said, pointing at herself. "Further explanation: the original Yamai's personality is gone. Which means that when the merging happens, either Yuzuru or Kaguya will be the dominant personality of the new Yamai."
"So that's why you're fighting. And that typhoon just now was because you two were brawling?" Reine asked.
"Exactly!" Kaguya said proudly, finally letting go of Shichen to cross her arms. "We've been battling for a long time. We have already completed ninety-ni—"
"Stop. I don't care how many duels you've had. But are you aware Shichen hates Spirits who cause pointless destruction?" Reine cut in.
"What?" Kaguya froze, then turned to Shichen, suddenly nervous.
"Is… is that true?"
"Mm. To be precise—I can't accept wanton destruction," Shichen nodded.
"Wanton destruction… We didn't really wreck that much. Today is the first time we decided to settle things with a full fight…" Kaguya said carefully.
"Clarification. Yuzuru and Kaguya aren't malicious, rampaging Spirits. Please don't misunderstand us, Shichen," Yuzuru added.
"Is that so? I'll believe you for now," Shichen said with a small smile.
"Thank goodness…"
Kaguya visibly relaxed, then immediately latched back onto his arm, glaring challengingly at Yuzuru.
"Hint. Stop humiliating yourself, Kaguya. You let go of Shichen and he didn't even react. Clearly you're too small," Yuzuru teased.
"W–what? That's not true at all!"
"Denial. It is simply the truth."
"You… I…"
"If you want him to fall for you, put his hand on your chest," Reine said blandly from the side.
"Eh? His hand… on my chest… there's no way I could do that!" Kaguya squeaked, turning bright red.
"Mocking. Kaguya can't do it? Yuzuru can," Yuzuru replied.
"Then go on, do it!" Kaguya shot back.
"Proof. I shall show you… mm."
Yuzuru let go of Shichen's arm and lifted his hand. But barely halfway up, she stopped, frozen.
Her face didn't change much—but her ears were very red.
"Hmph~ You can't do it either, can you?" Kaguya crowed.
"…" Yuzuru fell silent, unable to argue for once.
In the end, they were still inexperienced girls; that kind of move was just a bit too bold.
"Sigh… So, to decide which one gets to be the 'true' Yamai, you want to see who can conquer Shichen first, is that it?" Reine said, clearly done with the nonsense.
"Yes…"
"In that case, come with me," she said, getting up.
"What do you mean?"
"Shichen isn't that easy to conquer. I'll teach you how."