"The cafeteria, huh..."
Natsuki pondered for a few seconds. "Let's go take a look."
The three walked along the path, and soon a cafeteria building came into view.
"Come to think of it, our school has a cafeteria too. I've eaten there with friends—the food is super delicious." Chika walked with her hands behind her back, looking around. "Kaguya-chan, have you ever eaten at the cafeteria?"
"No."
Kaguya answered coolly.
"What about you, Amamiya-kun?"
"I have," Natsuki replied.
"Ooh, what do you like to eat? I love the cafeteria's teriyaki chicken cutlet—it's top-tier delicious."
Natsuki sighed silently, finally confirming that Fujiwara-san before him... really was a big-brain genius.
This is a crisis-filled vengeful spirit school. Could you show a little respect?
The journey was uneventful—they encountered neither other players nor ghost students.
The three soon arrived at the cafeteria entrance. After exchanging glances, they stepped inside.
The next moment, the scene before them suddenly transformed.
The lighting was dim, the yellowish glow flickering unsteadily as if about to go out at any moment.
A faint smell of blood hung in the air, along with some other indescribable odor.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
The dull sound of a knife chopping through bone came from the back of the cafeteria.
Apart from that, no other sounds could be heard. The entire cafeteria felt oppressively silent.
There weren't many customers inside—just some ghost students. As Natsuki and the two living girls walked in, every spirit simultaneously raised their heads to look.
These vengeful spirits all had deathly pale faces, lifeless and still. Some didn't even have eyes. The sudden movement startled Chika, and she couldn't help but let out a small cry.
"Why are there vengeful spirits in the cafeteria?!"
Obviously? Students coming to the cafeteria to eat is perfectly normal, isn't it?
Kaguya remained ice-cold and expressionless, as if nothing in the world could trouble her. But the text above her head told a completely different story.
[So scary so scary so scary.]
At the same time.
A cold, raspy voice echoed in all three of their minds.
[You have entered the scene: Vengeful Spirit Cafeteria]
[Game Rules: Good students must eat on time. Please finish your Last Supper and give a five-star review]
[Cafeteria Dining Code: Each meal must be no less than 200 grams]
"If we just have to eat something to pass, this seems way easier than Red Light, Green Light."
Chika's eyes lit up.
"Easy?" A cold laugh rang out. "I hope you won't start crying later."
Natsuki followed the voice and found a hooded player. Whatever they had been through, their face was pale and drenched in cold sweat. Before them sat a bowl of soup with... black mist congealing into skull shapes, floating eerily above the surface.
"What kind of dish is that?"
The smile on Chika's face gradually froze.
"Looks like the kind of dish that could kill you." Natsuki's eye twitched. He took a deep breath. "Anyway, let's check out the serving window first."
The three walked up to the cafeteria window.
The dull sound of chopping meat stopped. Then a figure emerged from the darkness.
It was a pig-headed humanoid, nearly two meters tall with a burly build. In its hand was a blood-dripping cleaver. Its apron was splattered with so much blood that its original color was unrecognizable.
As the pig-headed butcher appeared, the ghost students in the cafeteria all lowered their heads in unison. Maximum intimidation achieved.
"Good evening. What would the three customers like to eat?"
A deep, raspy voice emerged from the pig-headed butcher's mouth. It pointed to a notice board. "Here is today's menu. Please make your selection."
Natsuki looked at the board and found only a few dishes listed.
[Today's Special: Borscht of Unknown Ingredients—please don't be surprised no matter what you find]
[Today's Special: Mystery Meat Cutlet Rice Bowl—please don't ask about the meat's origin]
Natsuki scanned down the list. Good grief—every single item was nightmare fuel. There wasn't a single normal human food.
"Is it really okay to eat this kind of food?"
Chika couldn't help but whisper her complaint.
The three soon discovered that whether they'd get a stomachache was one thing—whether they could even get food to eat was another matter entirely.
"The cafeteria closes in thirty minutes. Please finish dining within the allotted time." The pig-headed butcher's voice was deep. "Anyone who fails to finish their meal, or fails to eat within the dining period, will be kept in the cafeteria."
"Um, thank you for the warning..." Chika blinked, wanting to slip away, then let out a small cry. "Huh? The door's gone?!"
Hearing this, Natsuki looked behind them. The cafeteria door had vanished, leaving only a dark reddish mist.
Leaving easily was apparently not an option.
He turned his gaze back to the pig-headed butcher. A line of text slowly appeared.
[True Name: Oink]
[Despises the act of wasting food]
"In that case, we have no choice but to eat."
Lady Kaguya crossed her right arm over her chest, her expression as calm and composed as ever.
But then came the problem.
"Customers, please pay first." The pig-headed butcher's voice was low.
"Huh, we have to pay?"
Chika's eyes widened.
The pig-headed butcher silently gripped its bloody cleaver. "Are you trying to dine and dash?"
"Please don't misunderstand." Kaguya quickly pulled Chika behind her, her expression serious. "We absolutely despise people who dine and dash."
"Let me try something."
Natsuki suddenly thought of a possibility. He quickly pulled out his wallet from his pocket and produced a thousand-yen note featuring Hideyo Noguchi. Then the worst-case scenario unfolded.
"The cafeteria only accepts campus currency. Human world money cannot be used." The pig-headed butcher's tone was flat.
Completely understandable.
This was a vengeful spirit school, after all. Not being able to use human money was perfectly normal.
"Money doesn't work here..." Chika looked pitiful. "Then how do we buy food?"
"Customers may choose to barter." The pig-headed butcher began wiping down the counter. "Two hundred grams of food only requires two hundred grams of body tissue in exchange. Fair trade, no cheating."
"Would clothing work?"
"No. It must be body tissue with the potential to become ingredients."
This cafeteria is basically Sun Erniang's bun shop, isn't it?! Serve buns to customers up front, customers pass out after eating, drag them to the back kitchen to make more buns—an endless cycle!
Natsuki finally understood why that hooded player had looked so smug when they first walked in.
"For you humans, two hundred grams of body tissue won't be fatal." The pig-headed butcher's voice was low. "Blood, muscle, bone, useless fatty tissue—all can be exchanged at equal value."
"Useless fatty tissue..."
Something clicked in Natsuki's mind. He couldn't help but glance at Chika.
Kaguya likewise pressed her lips together and looked over.
The useless fat was right before their eyes—more than enough to cover what three people needed.
"What are you two looking at?!" Chika hurriedly covered her chest and couldn't help but cry out. "Not the oppai!"
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