Chapter 4
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My eyes snapped open.
At the same time, a sharp, stinging pain flared at the back of my neck.
“You piece of trash…”
I was muttering viciously when I froze.
A soft sensation brushed my fingertips, a plush bed beneath me...
Instead of a heavy dress, I was wearing a light negligee and a cardigan, as if someone had changed me.
Taking all of that in, I clenched my fist.
Cold sweat streamed down my spine.
With trembling pupils, I slowly scanned my surroundings.
An old room that somehow still looked luxurious filled my vision.
Cobwebs stretched across the ceiling, a worn wardrobe, and a dirty marble floor buried under dust.
Through the large window visible between the torn curtains, rain was lashing down violently.
“No way…”
I hurriedly threw off the blanket and stepped down from the bed. The cracked marble creaked beneath my feet.
Goosebumps rose all over me.
Praying desperately that it was not so, I grabbed the handle of the large glass door leading to the terrace.
Click, click-click!
No matter how many times I shook it, the door would not open.
“This is insane!”
Unable to believe it, I grabbed a nearby candlestick and drove it straight into the glass.
But it only bounced back, as if an invisible barrier had been stretched across it.
How many times did I strike it?
Clatter!
My hand shook violently as I dropped the candlestick.
“Ha...”
A quivering sigh spilled from between my lips like smoke.
It seemed that the original work’s coercive force had activated, and I ended up inside the abandoned hotel, the main stage of the horror game ⟨The Child’s Secret⟩.
I rubbed my face repeatedly with dry hands and barely managed to steady my shaking breath.
My body felt weak, as if the cold from being soaked in rain for two straight days was finally catching up to me.
I clasped my trembling hands together and clenched my teeth. There was no time to despair.
Without even thinking of putting on slippers, I approached the door barefoot and flung it open.
The hallway was pitch-dark.
The faintly flickering candlelight was hardly any help.
The silent corridor felt like something could leap out at any moment without it being strange at all.
It was the exact hotel hallway from the horror game I had seen countless times in illustrations.
A shiver ran through my entire body.
Moistening my dry lips with my tongue, I slowly stepped into the corridor.
In response, the aged, cracked marble let out a long creak.
The cold sensation of the marble against the soles of my feet made me shudder once more.
Since the concept was a ridiculously expensive hotel, even the floors were entirely marble.
To shake off the fear, I distracted myself with pointless thoughts as I headed toward the lobby.
I did not care where the others were.
I had to find the main entrance we came through as quickly as possible.
“I need to find it before the door closes.”
It might already be closed, but I couldn't let go of that sliver of hope.
Feeling along the wall and relying on the faint candlelight, I barely managed to find the stairs leading down.
Fearing I might summon a demon, I went down on tiptoe as quickly and quietly as possible.
Soon, an excessively wide lobby came into view, along with the massive main door.
It was the very door Friedel had opened when we entered the hotel in the game.
I ran straight to it and pulled.
But it did not budge.
I grabbed the handle, leaned my weight back and yanked hard, then shoved it with all my strength.
“Hng…!”
……
But the door made no sound and showed no movement at all.
"Why won't it open!"
So, because I already came in, this means it is over?
Just when I was sinking into despair, a system window popped up with a crackling static noise.
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[Main Quest Activated!]
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Main quest?
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[Main Quest ⟨Survive the Abandoned Hotel While Avoiding the Demon⟩]
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[Objective : Exit through the escape gate inside the hotel
Time Limit : Until you die
Completion Reward : Survival
Failure : Death]
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Is this some kind of wordplay?
If I failed to escape, I would die anyway.
The reverse was the same. If I escaped, of course, I would live.
It is seriously giving something that obvious as a reward!
Perhaps sensing my blazing, furious glare, a window labeled [Loading…] appeared, then soon flashed as new text formed.
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[Additional rewards will be announced at a later time.]
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…So there was more?
But that was not the problem right now.
No matter what, I had entered this damned horror game and been forced to participate.
“Those damn bastards!”
A vicious curse burst out before I could stop myself.
I told them over and over how much I didn’t want this!
I slammed my forehead against the main door and clamped my mouth shut.
There was no choice. Every exit was blocked, and the only thing I could do was find the escape gate.
Just knowing that a gate capable of letting me escape existed brought a small sense of peace.
Before I even had time to catch my breath, another window appeared.
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[Sub Quest ⟨We’re Trapped in Here!⟩]
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[Objective : Let others know that you are trapped inside the hotel!]
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[However, you must not let them sense anything suspicious.]
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[Completion Reward : A panacea that will thoroughly cure your staggering condition!]
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[On failure, the “Future Conqueror of This World”, already suspicious of you, will feel a surge of murderous intent toward you!]
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The ‘Future Conqueror of This World’ was Halloway.
That damned suspicion…
It was not like I could even see where he had gone anyway…
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[Oh no! “Future Conqueror of This World” Halloway finds you suspicious!]
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[Halloway’s current danger level is “No matter what you do, you’re suspicious”.]
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[Danger Gauge has increased by 10.]
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[If it reaches 30, the hotel difficulty will increase by two levels, lowering your survival probability.]
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[Example : Probability of losing one arm, 85%]
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Damn it, that is brutally vicious!
I almost spat a curse straight up at the needlessly considerate system window.
Taking a deep breath, I calmed my heart and mind, lifted my forehead from the door, and looked at the quest.
Wake someone up while looking frightened enough not to seem suspicious. And then…
As I thought it over, I suddenly noticed something strange and furrowed my brows.
…But that is not the problem right now.
I urgently looked back at the floating window.
There, a sentence written in red stood out clearly.
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[Danger Gauge has increased by 10.]
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The danger gauge went up by 10?
Why?
I had not done anything yet.
Had I done something suspicious earlier while outside?
And no matter how I thought about it, I could not understand how it had jumped by a full 10 all at once.
At this rate, if I acted suspiciously just two more times, I might enter hard mode immediately.
At that moment, a clear, ringing voice came from below.
“Sister!”
“Wahh!”
I clutched my clothes tightly and slid straight down to the floor.
Before I knew it, Halloway was standing right in front of me.
“M-my heart nearly stopped.”
“Then you’d be dead.”
Do not say things like that.
You really are a menace.
My heart, which had been pounding madly at that voice, calmed as if doused with cold water.
"...Since when have you been here?"
“Just now! Ever since Sister went ‘Hng!’!”
“That means from the very beginning.”
You damned kid.
No, he is not really a child. A young man? No, not that either…
Then… Boss?
Yeah, boss. He is the final boss of this island after all.
I must have been pretty worked up. My thoughts were drifting in completely absurd directions without me realizing it.
“Sister, but why are you using formal speech?”
Because I want to live.
I was being as cautious as possible, afraid that if I spoke casually to the boss, he might deem me rude and cut my throat.
“I respect even children.”
“But you’re speaking casually right now.”
“I decided not to do it from now on.”
When you are scared, all kinds of nonsense come spilling out.
I cleared my throat softly and changed the subject.
Anyway, what mattered now was not looking suspicious.
Even though I already looked suspicious…
But this is just how I am, so what am I supposed to do?
“But why aren’t you asking me anything?”
“Huh? Asking what?”
“You saw me trying to open the door. And swearing, too.”
Staggering as I got to my feet, I quickly scanned my surroundings.
For an abandoned hotel, the lobby was fairly clean.
The front desk above, three staircases branching upward, eerie artworks and statues set along the walls and various corners, and a fountain on one side thickly covered in black moss.
There seemed to be more on either side of it, but it was too dark to see clearly.
Without realizing it, fear drove me to move closer to Halloway.
“I did see it… But why do you keep coming next to me?”
“Because I’m scared.”
“Even if you’re scared, wouldn’t a child be even more scared?”
Well…
Is that really something you, pretending to be a child, should be saying?
I swallowed the urge to snap back and held it in.
“I’m an adult who’s more timid than children. Anyway…”
I began my acting in earnest.
Sniffling, I tightly grabbed Halloway’s small hand.
“The door won’t open…! We need to tell the others!”
I had to clear the quest and get the medicine.
When your body is sick, you cannot do anything.
Halloway’s dark red eyes stared straight at me, rippling like blood.
At the same time, a system window appeared.
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[Danger Gauge has increased by 3.]
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[Halloway’s total danger gauge is now “13”. If it increases by 17 more points, the difficulty will rise.]
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…Do I just look suspicious by default?
Or was my acting too awkward?
The gaze he had been using to size me up withdrew.
Since it only went up by about 3, it seemed he had decided to just keep watching for now.
That was a relief.
From here on, I needed to be as careful as possible and successfully complete the sub-quest.
With that in mind, I stopped the small talk and went straight up to the second floor with Halloway.
My body felt waterlogged and heavy, and I kept stumbling, so Halloway, uncharacteristically for a demon, supported me.
At that moment, I froze.
It was because the arm Halloway had wrapped around my waist was surprisingly warm.
When Halloway’s warmth touched my shivering, chilled body, I unconsciously glanced at him.
Cold and hurting…
My head was spinning to the point that it was hard to think straight.
I blinked a few times, then my legs gave out, and I slumped down heavily.
This won’t do.
Even if he was the boss, he did not seem to have any intention of killing me right now.
If that was the case, I should use everything I could for now and run the moment it felt dangerous.
I looked at Halloway, who appeared warm.
For an instant, the vague afterimage of a man I could not clearly distinguish overlapped in front of him.
I’m going crazy. Now I’m even seeing hallucinations…
I rubbed my eyes and looked at him again.
It did not seem like he would complain about being hugged.
He also showed no sign of revealing his true nature.
Then maybe it would be fine, just for a bit.
I called out to him in a slightly weak voice.
“Um, Boss.”
The title slipped out of my mouth before I knew it.
It was because “final boss” kept looping in my head.
Damn it, this is bad. If the danger gauge goes up again…
But instead of a window appearing, Halloway placed the back of his hand against my forehead and spoke.
“Halloway.”
F*ck, that is scary.
Is a kid saying his own name supposed to be this terrifying?
“Ha… um. Halloway. Can I ask you a favor?”
“What kind of favor?”
“…I think I caught a cold, so could you hold me for a bit? You’re really warm.”
"I'm warm?"
Seeing him ask back, I snapped curtly.
“Forget it if you don’t want to.”
As I braced myself against the wall to stand up, Halloway opened both his arms.
“No! You’re having a hard time, Sister!”
Seeing Halloway agree so readily, I hugged him with a slightly brighter expression.
His warm body heat seemed to spread through my entire body. It felt like I was melting on my own.
I tried to get up while holding Halloway so I could go wake the others, but it was not enough.
“…We need to tell the others about this.”
I need to get the medicine.
Should I stay like this for a bit and then go?
But if someone wakes first and finds out we can't leave, does that mean the quest fails?
All kinds of stray thoughts filled my head, and my eyes slowly drooped half-closed. Halloway grabbed my body and shook me.
“Sister, are you okay?”
“No.”
“You’re honest. But are you really that worried about not being able to get out?”
I furrowed my brow and asked back instead.
“Aren’t you? I thought it was strange, a hotel on a remote island, and sure enough… It’s exactly the same situation I saw in a horror ga—no, a novel. It’s raining, there’s thunder, and the doors won’t open…”
As I muttered and lamented the situation, Halloway stayed quiet for a moment, then nodded as if he had realized something.
“That’s true. You only came into an abandoned hotel to avoid the rain, so of course it would be scary if the door wouldn’t open.”
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[Wow! Rejoice! The “Future Conqueror of This World” Halloway has completely withdrawn his suspicion toward you!]
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[The Danger Gauge starts from zero!]
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…Huh.
So it can go down too?
Without realizing it, I hugged Halloway tightly.
Warm and cozy.
At that moment, a window popped up in front of my eyes that was enough to snap my cat-like drowsiness wide awake.
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[Congratulations!]
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[Favorability toward you has increased by 0.1%!]
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[Favorability : 0.1%]
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What? Suddenly? What did I even do?
No, more than that, with a favorability level like that, do not even tell me.
I am not happy at all.
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