The Karuta Club.
Four people sat around a table playing bridge, snacks and drinks scattered beside them.
Pandora shot a sidelong glance at her eccentric Senior, who was currently nibbling on a piece of taiyaki. “Senior Gymnopedie, aren’t you a fourth-year? Why are you being so cautious when dealing with a mere freshman?”
“This is a school. We must follow the rules, or we’ll be punished,” Gymnopedie replied.
Nopeti—as she was often called—stuffed the fish tail into her mouth and licked the red bean paste from her fingers before adding, “It’s fine to break them, as long as you don’t get caught.”
Pandora let out a cold snort. What a tasteless, cowardly woman. Nopeti only ever targeted fragile underclassmen who had no way to fight back.
A few days ago, Pandora had tried to throw herself into the Senior’s arms, hoping to use the Sinful Fragrance to control her. To her surprise, the strange Senior had stripped her bare like a little lamb, sniffed her, and then claimed the “scent was wrong.” She’d said a “fresh loli” didn’t smell like that and promptly gave up, even looking at Pandora with a hint of suspicion.
You’re the strange one here!
Pandora ground her teeth, deeply disappointed. Someone like Nopeti would never get to taste a top-tier girl. As the saying goes, it’s better to have one bite of a fresh peach than a whole basket of rotten apricots. The way this Senior ate—shoveling food like a sow at a trough—was truly revolting.
A mocking smile touched Pandora’s lips as she clapped her hands. A figure walked in from outside.
Pointing at the chestnut-haired girl, Pandora said, “Senior, I’ve brought the ‘prop’ you asked for.”
Gymnopedie’s eyes lit up. She leaned forward. “Is this her?”
“Correct. My roommate, Delia. A loyal little puppy who only listens to me,” Pandora said proudly.
Delia stood with her head bowed, showing no outward signs of anything being amiss.
“Give us a demonstration of her proficiency,” Nopeti suggested. “I don’t want things to go sideways later and waste one of my Mystic Arts.”
Pandora clapped again. “Come, do the ‘Loach Catching’ dance.”
Upon receiving the command, Delia took two chopsticks and shoved them into her nostrils, hooking the bottom ends with the corners of her mouth. With a slumped face and a wooden tray held in both hands, she spread her legs and began a bizarre, comical dance.
“Wonderful!” Pandora cheered, clapping happily.
Nopeti rested her chin on her hand, carefully scrutinizing Delia’s expression. The girl showed no shame whatsoever; there was only a chillingly serious dedication to fulfilling her master’s task.
“It’s a bit much, but that’s exactly what we need.” Nopeti nodded repeatedly.
“So, what’s the plan?” Pandora asked, narrowing her eyes.
“A long time ago, I obtained a highly specialized Mystic Art—Number 089, ‘High-Speed Actuary.’ It’s not combat-oriented. Although it’s incredibly rare, it was useless to me… until now. My plan is to have our ‘prop’ absorb 089. She will become a hybrid of an accountant and a value actuary. A person like Wang Yue won’t be able to resist that kind of utility,” Nopeti said with a mysterious smile.
“True. Who wouldn’t want a talent like that?” Pandora agreed.
She knew about High-Speed Actuary. It provided immense calculation power—the ability to organize accounts, conduct audits, and ensure books balanced perfectly without a single error.
“For a Witch, the primary method of ‘connecting’ is through the bedroom. If Wang Yue wants to keep her close, she’ll definitely take her to bed… I smelled the scent of a virgin on her. That’s good. It will surely trigger Wang Yue’s carnal desires,” Nopeti said with satisfaction.
“You might be misunderstanding something. Not everyone is a pervert like you… but no matter. Wang Yue will surely connect with Delia in some way. Now, tell me the core of the scheme.”
“Have you ever heard of ‘Gaslighting’?” Nopeti smiled thinly.
Being well-read, Pandora naturally knew the term. It was a form of psychological control through deception and the distortion of facts, usually within an intimate relationship. The term originated from a story where a man dimmed the gas lights in his house; when his wife expressed confusion, he insisted it was her imagination and that the lights were fine. The wife eventually began to doubt her own sanity amidst the flickering lights, ultimately descending into madness and hanging herself to death.
In short, it was a form of psychological murder.
“You plan to have Delia deceive Wang Yue after they connect?” Pandora’s eyes sparkled.
“Exactly. But we won’t use gas lights. We’ll use Wang Yue’s empathy.”
***
The Silver Moon Phantasm.
Dorothy walked into the laboratory. To please her master, she had specially put on a brand-new maid outfit today, complete with a cute little apron and slimming black stockings. The stockings provided a nice elasticity and a significant shaping effect.
Her “chubby” legs tended to look even fatter in white stockings. While some might like that, she needed to hide the extra weight for now. Dorothy had even canceled her afternoon tea for the past few days to diet.
With such a huge sacrifice, I must have lost at least thirty pounds, right? I look thinner and thinner in the mirror. Master will surely praise me!
Dorothy was feeling wonderful. She hurried to Wang Yue’s side, only to suddenly see a human head resting on the laboratory table!
In an instant, her scalp went numb. Her entire body froze, pinning her to the spot.
She recognized that face. Due to blood loss, the fair skin had turned stiff and sallow, giving the delicate, beautiful face a waxen appearance. Combined with the signature straight bangs and long black hair, who else could it be but Pandora?!
The pink-haired girl’s lips trembled, but she couldn’t squeeze out a single word. Fear gripped her heart. Her back turned cold, and her legs refused to move.
Wang Yue was stroking the top of Pandora’s head with serious focus, like an antique enthusiast inspecting the age of a relic. Hearing footsteps, she turned toward the little maid, her eyes narrowing into slits.
“Oh, it’s Dorothy. Hehe, you caught me.”
“Uugh…”
The pink-haired girl shuddered violently. She made a pathetic whimpering sound, her face scrunching up as she stammered, “I… I didn’t see anything… Master… my eyes are failing me…”
“Heh…”
Wang Yue reached out and tilted Dorothy’s chin up, forcing the girl to look at her through a face distorted by terror. In a low, melodious voice, she asked, “Tell me, what do you think classmate Pandora is thinking right now?”
“U-Uuh… that her neck hurts?” Dorothy’s very silhouette seemed to be vibrating with fear.
“Can’t you be a bit more romantic? Maybe she’s thinking: ‘What a cute, chubby loli. If only I could swap into her body, how wonderful would that be…’?”
“Eeeek—!”
Dorothy twitched in terror and collapsed to the floor. She clutched her head, shrinking her neck as she begged, “Spare me… I don’t want to swap heads… waahhh…”
Wang Yue almost burst out laughing. She pulled the girl up and said, “It’s a fake. Classmate Pandora is still alive and kicking.”
It was a head woven from the variegated fibers she had extracted from Pandora’s rib. It was a perfect 1:1 replica that had taken a lot of effort to create—her latest masterpiece. It should have been an incredibly complex task, but the Mystic Art “Puppet” made everything simple.
The only flaw was that it had no brain. Human brains were far too complex; she didn’t want to waste time on that yet.
Wang Yue rapped her knuckles against Pandora’s head, producing a hollow thump-thump sound.
Sweat beaded on Dorothy’s forehead as she let out a breath of relief, feeling like she had just escaped death.
Wang Yue suddenly looked puzzled and muttered to herself, “Classmate Pandora is truly amazing. How come her head hasn’t started smelling yet? It’s been kept at room temperature for days, yet it still looks fresh.”
Dorothy didn’t even dare to breathe. This sounded macabre. No matter how she looked at it, the head seemed real—it even had fine peach fuzz, and the cross-section showed realistically crafted blood vessels, vertebrae, muscle, and nerve fibers.
Wang Yue took out a box, placed Pandora’s head inside, and carefully sprinkled it with talcum powder for preservation. Then, she turned to stare at Dorothy, her voice softening. “Have you made up your mind?”
Hearing this, Dorothy turned serious. She bit her lip until it deformed. After a moment, she nodded vigorously.
“From now on, I will only eat the candy Master gives me. Please help me, train me. Even if I try to run away, you must drag me back.”
Wang Yue smiled with delight. “I will train you well… until you are free from the influence of sugar.”
