Chapter 495. Kikyo: Shinomiya Kaguya, What Did You Say?
Amidst this mutual staring, Shinomiya Kaguya's lips trembled slightly. She wore a gaze filled with grief, indignation, and worry. Finally, she shuddered and voiced her worst fantasy: "I cannot accept this."
Shirogane Miyuki knew then that a thick, solid wall had already formed between them.
...Under Fujiwara Chika's provocation, an emotional Kaguya had shouted to vent her feelings, but she quickly reverted to her usual self, as old habits die hard. She turned her head, her face flushed red as she stared at the video, refusing to look at anyone else in the Student Council.
She seemed to be playing the ostrich, burying her head in the sand to ignore the fact that "her feelings were now common knowledge to the whole world."
Of course, she knew she couldn't hide it... which meant that even in this situation, she was still thinking: 'Do not vent your emotions, do not express your feelings. Stay reserved. Stay passive.'
She still insisted that her President Shirogane must be the one to take the initiative and confess to her.
Fujiwara Chika, frustrated that her friend wouldn't "straighten out," came over and glared at her. "What is wrong with you, Kaguya-san!"
"You don't understand." Kaguya shook her head, lowering her voice. "The one who confesses first loses. Especially now that the President is a transmigrator—he holds the high ground... If I'm the one to confess first, I'll lose everything completely.
If that happens, the President might not cherish me if I'm a total loser in this game. So, at the very least, he must be the one to confess so I can properly maintain our romance!"
Chika was stunned. She hadn't expected Kaguya to be so stubborn as to come up with such twisted logic.
She couldn't help but place her palm on Kaguya's forehead, muttering to herself, "You don't have a fever... Then if you don't seal the deal now, how can you be sure the President will still want you as the future broadcast continues?"
'Has Princess Kaguya forgotten the tales of Emilia, Rem, and Anastasia?'
"Hmph!"
Kaguya gave a confident, crooked-mouthed smirk. "Do you think characters as rare as Emilia are just lying around everywhere?"
"I'm betting my entire life's destiny and all my luck on this: I bet the women in this new world are all of the Setsuna and Kureha variety—nothing to fear!"
If they were only at Kureha's level, then the "world's best President" would certainly not have a change of heart. His love wasn't that cheap.
Kaguya struck a pose of great valiance, but her posture was instantly shattered by one sentence from Chika: "Oho, I see. I get it now. To put it bluntly, you're just a coward, aren't you?"
The flat-chested heiress stumbled.
She was about to reclaim her honor and engage in a verbal battle with Chika, but on the screen, the Student Council members had reached the time to go home, and a new scene began.
Suddenly, the five individuals, each with different mindsets, immediately refocused their attention on the future.
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「After bidding farewell to his Student Council companions, Shirogane Miyuki walked down the street, feeling regretful that he hadn't hardened his heart to throw a 'straight-ball' confession today. Then, he suddenly heard a faint, vague cry for help.」
「He looked around and found the sound coming from a well not far away.」
「Shirogane immediately rushed over, wanting to see if someone was actually in the well. If there was, he would call the police. A human life was at stake; it was an extreme emergency.」
「But he didn't expect that as he rushed to the edge, he somehow couldn't stop his momentum and plunged headfirst into the well.」
「Accompanied by the brilliant scenery of an extraordinary space-time crossing, an unknown amount of time passed before Shirogane finally returned to the material world, falling onto the ground.」
「"This place is... an isekai transmigration!?"」
「Looking up to survey his surroundings, what met his eyes were towering trees, fresh air, and lush, green nature. It didn't look like Japan—it didn't even look like Earth.」
「Though he didn't know how he knew... Shirogane Miyuki remembered that he seemed to have watched the isekai journeys of two people: one named Hikigaya Hachiman and one named Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.」
「Therefore, using those two senais as a reference, he quickly accepted the current reality.」
Shirogane Miyuki's memories regarding the "viewing experience" and the merging of the Emilia and Healer worlds with Earth had clearly been temporarily suppressed.
However, this was within the expectations of all the smart people; after all, there was already the precedent of Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
This was just the beginning. Everyone was patient, watching without speaking, waiting for Shirogane to expand the worldview before discussing it.
But the modern era of the Inuyasha world was different.
The people there had analyzed that an Earthling had crossed into another world, and they were all incredibly excited. However, no matter how they searched, there was "no such person" as Shirogane Miyuki or Shinomiya Kaguya, making the high-ranking officials very anxious.
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「Shirogane Miyuki knew very well that he was just a very hardworking ordinary person. He didn't possess the profound and comprehensive wisdom of his two predecessors, so he didn't act rashly. Instead, he planned to follow their example.」
「First, he had to be cautious. Second, he had to protect his school bag, as the items inside might fetch a good price in another world.」
「The urgent priority was to find a human settlement, as there might be demonic beasts in the wild.」
「Following the flow of a small stream he found, Shirogane walked for half an hour. He had reached the outskirts of the forest and was about to exit.」
「Suddenly, he saw a beautiful woman leaning weakly against a large tree. She looked as though she would die soon if no one helped treat her.」
「She wore a very formal red-and-white Miko (shrine maiden) outfit, had straight bangs, and her long black hair was smooth and striking. Although her face bore no expression, her exquisite features were of a beauty that could make one forget to breathe.」
「Even though the Miko robes covered her body, one could tell she had a very good figure.」
「This Miko lady looked up at the sudden uninvited guest and, with an ethereal and beautiful voice, asked politely: "Is there something I can help you with?"」
「...Total defeat.」
「Although Shirogane wasn't a shallow man, he couldn't help but subconsciously compare the girl he was most familiar with to this Miko.」
「The result went without saying. Whether in terms of facial features, figure, or voice, Shinomiya Kaguya was utterly incomparable to her.」
「To compete with this Miko in terms of looks without falling behind, one would likely need to be at the level of Emilia or Priscilla.」
「However, after the initial shock of her beauty, Shirogane put those thoughts aside. Because compared to praising her looks, there were more important matters at hand.」