Chapter 2: You Know, Hyakumonogatari…

It might be a little early to start Hyakumonogatari—

Thinking that, Yuka picked up the tablet she used for viewing comments and started talking toward her phone.

“In Hyakumonogatari, you blow out one candle every time you tell one scary story.
And, you know, when all of them go out—something happens! Right? Doesn’t it make you excited?”

With a delighted look, she continued.

“—But, you know, a hundred stories is long, right? Even if each one is five minutes, that’s five hundred minutes… which means eight hours and twenty minutes! It’s—so much work!”

Yuka grinned.

“So I came up with it! A super-fast way to get through Hyakumonogatari!”

Yuka took a candle and its stand out of her bag—
one thick one and two thin ones.

“This! The thick one is for ninety-eight stories, and the thin ones are for the remaining two.”

With a proud smile, she leaned closer to the camera.

“Actually, I made a video packed with ninety-eight stories! A god-tier video that finishes all ninety-eight in five minutes! So I’m going to blow out the candle for all ninety-eight at once!”

The comment section grew restless.

“Why, though?”
“Even the supernatural being-san won’t be able to make out anything, and they’ll be in trouble.”

But Yuka wasn’t bothered at all.

“If ninety-eight stories are happening at the same time, then one candle is enough!”
She declared it with a straight face.

“And then, the ninety-ninth story is Sayuri-chan’s, and the hundredth is mine. Perfect, right!”

“The logic is baffling, but I do want to hear Sayuri-chan’s story.”
“A real ghost telling a scary story sounds amazing.”

At those comments, Yuka pouted.

“Come on! Look forward to mine, too!”

Even while complaining, she looked like she was having fun.

Before she knew it, the forest had become completely dark, and only the light of the lantern was illuminating the surroundings.

“All right, it’s nicely pitch-dark now—so let’s get started.”

She took a small breath and declared with a smile,

“I’m lighting the candle!”