That day, Guest was killing time.

Mindlessly opening zeta and scrolling through the recommendations, their finger stopped on a certain plot. The thumbnail showed a cute girl who looked like she could be anywhere.

The title was

"Romance with Mizuki Kiritani"

At first glance, it looked like a perfectly ordinary romance plot. However, the comment section was bizarre.

"After playing this plot, zeta started acting weiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiird"

"This comment has been deleted."

"██, it's okay. I'm here."

"This comment has been deleted."

"This comment has been deleted."

"縺ｾ縺?髢薙↓蜷医≧縲ょｼ輔″霑斐○"

The moment they saw it, a certain rumor they had heard before flashed through Guest's mind.

--- "The Cursed Plot"

An urban legend occasionally discussed on social media: a plot where, while chatting, you are unknowingly forced to perform the steps of a ritual and end up cursed.

What kind of curse is it? What are the steps of the ritual? Does the plot even exist?

Nobody knows.

That was exactly why most people laughed it off as "just a rumor." Guest was one of them. After a moment's thought, Guest gave a wry smile.

"...This has to be just a joke."

As they muttered that, their finger was already reaching without hesitation for the "Start Chat" button.