This Place Is Paradise
Minel slowly raised both hands, carefully making it clear he meant no hostility.
"I have no intention of attacking."
"......"
"We just came up from the third floor."
At those words the two women looked at each other for a moment as if they could hardly believe it, then turned their gazes back to Minel's party.
The woman holding the shotgun spoke for them.
"No one has come up through that entrance."
That would be right.
The cult had forbidden anyone from ascending. Moreover, even the Grand Cathedral had believed the path to the fourth floor led downward rather than up, so even if someone had tried to slip away in secret, they would never have reached this place easily.
Hina spoke quietly.
"We just need to know the way up to the fifth floor. We have no intention of fighting."
At that, the woman aiming the shotgun lowered the barrel slightly.
She glared at Hina with sharp eyes, then spoke in a quiet voice.
"There's no path to the fifth floor."
"W-what? There isn't?"
"The Backrooms ends here. This is the last floor."
Her tone suggested they ought to have known that already.
Hina looked at Minel in bewilderment and asked in a quiet voice.
"Didn't you say the escape method was on the seventh floor?"
"It is."
"Then......"
"They're mistaken."
Minel had experienced far too much to believe that the fourth floor was the summit. But for those with little knowledge of the Backrooms' mysteries or the veterans of the upper floors, it would be easy enough to think this was the top. Even he, when he first arrived here, had felt as though it might be some kind of reward for all the hardships until now.
"If you give us information, I'll give you water and food."
At Minel's words the woman smiled oddly and replied.
"On the top floor, there's no need to go looking for food and water separately. They're always rationed out as needed."
Minel tilted his head at the word rationed.
Why use that word of all things?
"Then can you give us information?"
The woman nodded.
"Disarm yourselves and I'll invite you into the house."
Was putting down their weapons really a good choice? What if some trap was waiting inside that house?
But then Hina drew Digital Vein and slowly set it on the ground.
"They're trustworthy, Minel."
Hina's instincts were good. Especially when it came to people.
Trusting her, Minel set down Silence and Noise.
The women fully lowered their gun barrels as well.
The two of them looked at each other and whispered in low voices. The one behind went into the house first, and only the woman with the shotgun remained, calling out loudly to Minel.
"Walk over slowly. Don't suddenly start running."
Hina walked forward slowly with both hands raised. Minel and Chori followed her, and behind them Isil floated along after Minel.
Isil's appearance was unusual at a glance. The woman narrowed her eyes at the android but did not change her attitude.
When they reached the front of the house, the woman looked them all over once and spoke gently.
"I'm Steno. What are your names?"
"Minel. To the right are Hina, Chori, and Isil."
Steno nodded, greeting each of them in turn, then looked at Minel again.
Her wariness had eased considerably, but distrust still lingered in her eyes.
"You don't seem like bad people, but just in case, let me say this first. Here on the top floor, there's no need to be bad anymore."
"......"
"Do you understand what I mean? You don't have to risk your lives and live desperately for survival like before. Food, water, even nice houses like the ones you see now—there's more than enough for everyone."
"......"
"At the top, no one asks questions. How you survived until now. What you had to do to make it this far. All of that is in the past. It doesn't exist anymore."
"......"
"In this paradise, everyone can live in peace. There's not the slightest reason to harm one another. If you understand, nod your head."
When Minel quietly nodded, the woman looked satisfied and set the shotgun completely down.
Then she went into the house, gesturing for everyone to come in.
If they had climbed all the way from the first floor, they would never have trusted people this easily. Not only putting away their weapons but inviting them into their home......
"Hina. Is this really safe?"
Hina nodded.
"The entire fourth floor feels dangerous, but those people aren't at all. In fact, of everything on the fourth floor, they feel the safest to me."
Hina seemed certain.
Minel went in first.
Past the narrow entryway, the interior of the cabin revealed itself, faintly scented with wood. The walls were built of roughly cut logs, with dried resin sealed in the gaps. The floor was creaking wooden planks that made small sounds with every step, like the taut nerves of old wood. An old fireplace stood against one wall, a soft warmth flowing from the still-glowing gray embers. The ceiling was low, with blackened beams exposed and intertwined. There were only two windows, so they could not fully transmit the light from outside, leaving the interior darker than outdoors. Throughout the space lay everyday tools bearing signs of use—a well-worn teacup, a half-dried bundle of herbs, an axe hanging on the wall, and a decorative knife faded with age.
Steno sat in a living-room chair. She pointed at the sofa in front of her with her palm and said,
"My little sister will bring tea soon. It's really good."
Minel caught a peculiar tone in her words.
"Don't tell me she's your real sister?"
"We've been together ever since we first entered the Backrooms. Both of us surviving all the way to the top is practically a miracle."
Could people come in together from reality? He had thought everyone arrived from completely different worlds. Then wouldn't there be people from the same Earth as Minel?
As Minel kept silent with those thoughts, Hina asked in his place.
"As we heard earlier—is this really the top floor?"
"That's right. This is the last floor."
Around then, Steno's sister came out from the kitchen. She set steaming teacups one by one in front of them, carried on a tray, and spoke in a warm voice.
"Looking at all of you reminds me of when we first arrived here. We couldn't believe it either. That this was the top floor, I mean."
Steno took a light sip of tea and said abruptly,
"My sister's name is Riale. This is Minel, Hina, Chori, and Isil."
"Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. Thanks, sis."
Steno waved her hand as if it were nothing, took another sip of tea, closed her eyes, and marveled.
"This is the taste. I really love it."
Watching that, a curious Chori reached for a teacup, but Hina lightly rested a hand on Chori's knee—a silent signal not to drink. Fortunately Chori understood the meaning in Hina's gesture and stopped her hand.
When Minel looked at her as well, Hina shook her head ever so slightly. A firm signal never to drink it.
Had they put poison in it?
Minel glanced sideways at Steno, then looked back at Hina. But Hina shook her head.
Not intentional, but dangerous?
Minel casually reached for the teacup. For a moment Hina's eyes widened, but Minel only brought it to his lips while looking steadily at her, then set it down without drinking a drop. Hina and Chori quickly understood the action and pretended to drink the same way.
Isil, however, was different.
"Sssssssssip! Sssssssssip! Liquid at ninety-three degrees Celsius. All toxins undetected. Executing optimal drinking process. Gulp. Gulp. Gulp."
"......"
"......"
"......"
When Isil emptied the entire teacup in three gulps, Riale looked briefly flustered, then refilled the cup with a gentle expression. Isil was about to drink again when it suddenly realized Minel was looking at it and stopped midway.
If no toxins were detected, wouldn't it be fine to drink? But nothing was more reliable than Hina's instincts.
Minel lied to Steno.
"The tea is good."
"Right? Honestly, it's a taste you couldn't even find in reality. Even if they told me to go back to reality, I couldn't because of this. It's basically a drug."
At those words the faces of Minel, Hina, and Chori hardened significantly. Seeing that, Steno gave an awkward smile and continued.
"Just a figure of speech. I didn't mean anything was mixed in."
It was probably the truth. If something really had been added, Isil would never have declared it harmless.
Minel carefully asked,
"What do you mean by 'rationed'?"
At that, Steno brought the teacup to her lips again and said,
"Here on the top floor, everyone lives comfortably. There are no monsters, of course, and no hazards of any kind."
"Everyone on the fourth floor?"
"I said the top floor. You can believe me, really. This place is better than reality. Think about how I invited you into my house. Is that even conceivable in the Backrooms?"
Absolutely not. In the Backrooms, people were more terrifying than monsters or the environment.
But.
This was still the Backrooms.
"You won't stop us from searching, will you?"
"Trying to find an entrance to the fifth floor?"
"Yeah."
"Oh for—honestly, what have you been listening to this whole time......"
Steno let out a deep, frustrated breath. Then Riale brought her own tea as well, sat beside her, and spoke as if soothing her.
"We were worse, sis. Don't you remember?"
"......"
"Remember what the mayor said to us back then?"
"He told us to search until we were satisfied."
"Exactly."
Steno nodded once at Riale, then turned back to Minel.
"Fine...... I suppose you need to search to your heart's content yourselves before you'll be satisfied? Honestly I think it's pointless, but we were the same. For now, I'll introduce you to the mayor."
"The mayor?"
"The person in charge of this area. If you're going to walk around, you'll need ID cards so you won't have conflicts with others."
Having said that, she looked at Riale.
Riale stood up, walked over to the fireplace, and picked up the old-fashioned telephone resting on the mantel.
He had thought it was just decoration. Could it actually work?
Minel's question was soon answered. Riale soon began speaking brightly with someone on the phone.
"Some people have come up from the third floor...... Would it be possible to get ID cards issued? For now...... Then we'll go to City Hall together...... Right now? Understood......"
After hanging up, she set down the receiver and said with a bright smile,
"They say to come now."
"How long does it take to get there?"
If it was a trap, they would deliberately drag things out. If they said it would take a whole day of walking, he would refuse on the spot.
But Steno gave an unexpected answer.
"If we take the car, it's quick. About ten minutes?"
Minel blinked without meaning to. Then he forced open a mouth that would not quite work.
"You have...... cars?"