Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: 25-Hour Convenience Store Horror - Rules (2)
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The judgment... is yours to make. You're the one inside the horror right now. Your life ultimately hangs on no one but your own judgment.
The moment those words ended.
One of the lights inside the convenience store flicked off with a pop.
Now, only two strips of light remained.
The surroundings were silent.
In the space where even breathing felt oppressively heavy, I stayed quiet for a moment.
My mind was a mess.
Was she part of the horror?
Or just an unlucky victim?
Either way.
The instant I misjudged, it was all over.
But—
After a moment of thought, a sudden realization hit me.
The mood had been too heavy for it to occur to me sooner.
'But... is this actually difficult for me?'
Whether she was an anomalous entity or not.
For anyone else, distinguishing that might take a ton of time and mental effort—
'But for me?'
In truth, verifying it wasn't that hard.
First, do as instructed.
Then, based on the results, decide whether to trust her or not.
No need to take death lightly.
But.
I had no intention of holding back my ability when it was necessary.
Having this power.
Meant it was there to be used.
I slowly raised my head.
Looked out the door.
It was ordinary.
People heading to work beyond the glass door.
The sound of a bus.
Store signs sparkling in the sunlight.
Landscapes that were impossible to see as 'fake.'
Everything matched the morning scene I'd seen before entering.
I stepped out from behind the counter and turned toward the exit.
'For now, let's die once and get started.'
More calmly than expected, I reached that conclusion.
She had said.
You die if you leave the convenience store.
If the exit was real.
Then I'd leave the store.
Escape achieved.
No more need to worry.
But if not?
I'd die.
And then it was simple.
...Come back, rescue her.
As many times as it took.
The convenience store door opened.
A bright scene unfolded before my eyes.
Sunlight shattered across the glass door.
A ding— rang in my ears, the bell signaling the door opening.
With that.
I took one step forward.
Even looking around, nothing had changed.
...It was fine.
Really, nothing happened.
The sunlight was warm,
And the sound of a bus passing in the distance reached me.
"Is this the end?"
The thought crossed my mind for a moment.
But something was off.
Something was missing.
What I could see remained the same, but my ears grew numb.
The bus sounds cut off, people's voices vanished.
By the time I sensed something wrong, it was too late.
Silence descended.
The entire city seemed to hold its breath.
I looked up.
People were standing there.
But they.
Weren't people.
Faces without features.
Stiff skin.
Arms and legs gleaming like plastic.
They were all staring at me.
Hundreds of dolls.
At once, they turned their heads.
Creak—
The sound scraped inside my ears.
A friction like machinery.
The dolls all took a step forward in unison.
'...Good.'
She wasn't an anomalous entity.
Just in case, I tugged at the convenience store door behind me.
But the firmly shut door didn't budge.
The lights inside the store had already vanished.
Only the outlines of the shelves remained.
The space, submerged in complete darkness.
Filled the other side of the glass door.
And when I turned back—
Hundreds of dolls were approaching.
Escape was impossible.
***
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Moving to the last save point.]
[The most recent save point is AUTO SAVE 5.]
[25-Hour Convenience Store Horror]
[Death Type]: Dollhouse.
[Tip]: Leaving your workplace during work hours is not proper conduct.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
My vision gradually brightened.
The blurry image sharpened, and the darkness pressing down on my body until moments ago lifted.
I caught my breath and slowly looked around.
The convenience store interior was exactly as it had been upon first entry.
All the lights were on, the shelves, refrigerators, and counter—
Everything in its original place.
The look of an ordinary 24-hour convenience store.
The sensation of being trapped in a dark space until just now was gone.
This time too, I searched once more, but.
No sign of the Rulebook.
Instead, I opened the chat window and left a question.
"Does anyone know where the Rulebook is?"
[Crazy Woman]: Isn't it usually on the floor?
└[Not Human]: You watched the video, right? Newb must not have seen it, that's why you're asking?
└[Crazy Woman]: Whoa!
[Flounder]: If it's not around usually, it's probably an undiscovered horror or a Caution-level one.
A new term appeared.
"Caution-level, you mean?"
[Flounder]: Yeah, their presence isn't that strong. Once neutralized once, the horror vanishes entirely, so no need for a Rulebook.
[Flounder]: Casualties aren't that high compared to Danger-level either.
[Flounder]: They're just way less important overall? So they send in an investigation team once discovered, but the Management Bureau doesn't prioritize finding them.
[Flounder]: Btw, below Danger-level, there are tons of ranks and vague criteria, so videos won't help much even if you watch them.
[Flounder]: Being weak means data varies a lot between worldlines.
No point searching more.
With that, I stopped looking.
The convenience store was quiet.
Only the low hum of the refrigerators beyond the shelves lingered.
Then.
'Pop—'
One fluorescent light went out, and the lighting dimmed in an instant.
The remaining lights cast long shadows across the ceiling.
And then,
Tearing through the silence—
[Ding—rrrrr...rrrr...]
The bell rang.
On the counter.
An old telephone.
Next to the dusty receiver, a red indicator light blinked.
I reached out and picked up the receiver.
As it touched my ear, a familiar voice mixed with breathing flowed out.
— Hello... is this the convenience store?
The conversation proceeded similarly.
— Are you... here for the part-time job?
— ...I see.
— Then, you absolutely must not go outside right now.
The situation was the same as before.
— The '25-Hour Convenience Store' job posting.
— From 9:30 a.m. to 6 a.m.... you have to stay inside during that time.
— I... know it sounds weird.
— But... that's the only way to survive!
Just, her voice carried a tremor I hadn't noticed before.
— So. Please, please... believe me and don't go out.
Here.
This was where her emotions had peaked.
This was where it differed from before.
This time, I didn't just listen passively.
"I believe you."
This time, I didn't ask why.
Why stay in the convenience store.
Why not go out.
...For now, I decided to believe.
So.
Believe to the end.
A brief silence passed.
—Wha... what?
"I said I believe you."
—...
"So, tell me what I should do next."
—...Um...
"I'll do as you say."
After my words.
From the other end of the line came only the faintest breathing.
She said nothing.
In that silence.
I quietly opened my mouth.
"And."
—Yes? Yes?
Her voice jumped suddenly.
Probably startled by my abrupt words.
A small gasp mixed through the receiver.
"The lights on the convenience store ceiling have been flickering since earlier. Is that related too?"
"Right now, exactly half the lights are out."
—Th-that... you need to hurry!
She sounded flustered, like someone hit with an unexpected question.
—If all the lights in the convenience store go out, forced disposal activates!
—The location is... behind the storeroom.
—Right end of the beverage corner... look below, there's an open button.
While talking to her, I was already heading there.
I knew the next lines.
I reached the spot.
As her voice continued, I carefully knelt and pressed the lower panel with my palm.
Click—
A thin gap formed, and one side of the shelf slowly slid inward.
Cold air seeped out.
Inside was dark.
The backs of refrigerators lined up.
Faint wiring lights flickered between the gaps.
After a few steps down the narrow passage.
A coat hanger appeared on one wall.
Atop it lay a single black jumper.
—So. The uniform... the black jumper... you need to wear it.
—It might be hard to find if it's your first time at the storeroom entrance—
It was damp and cold, like fresh from the fridge.
I took out the jumper and returned to the counter.
I cut her off midway.
"I've arrived. Opened the storeroom door too."
—Huh?
"I'm wearing the black jumper as instructed and standing at the counter now."
—Uh... that fast...?
A pause hung at the end of her words.
I heard her swallow.
As if her mind went blank from the unexpectedly swift progress.
"Anything else I need to do?"
I asked calmly.
From past loops' experience, she might have skipped something important.
If she was a person exploited by the horror.
She wasn't someone familiar with horrors.
Normally, relaying too much info inevitably leads to omissions.
This time, I needed to confirm.
—...Oh. Right...!
—You need to press the work start button!
—It's right there when you sit!
The store interior was still dim.
Fluorescent lights flickered without recovering.
As she said, I leaned under the counter.
A single red button.
Click—
Pressing it.
The dead lights sprang back to life all at once.
Fluorescent bulbs flashed on, refrigerators hummed lowly again.
The electronic clock's frozen display blinked and redrew the numbers.
[09:30:01]
[Clock-in confirmed]
"...Good."
I murmured lowly.
Electricity was back.
And—
Her voice from the previous loop, which had cut off then, continued now.
—Thank you. Really...!
"Yes?"
—You believed me!
'This loop.'
My response took a bit.
"...Yes."
It came out after hesitation circled in my mouth.
—From now until midnight, just work normally.
—Even if customers come, handle them as convenience store business.
—But... absolutely do not ask for help or say anything unnecessary to customers.
—The tasks are simple!
Longer than expected.
I couldn't hold it forever, so I set the receiver down on the right.
Under the lights, my shadow stretched long across the counter.
As she said, the work was straightforward.
Restock missing snacks on shelves,
Refill fallen drinks,
Scrape ice from the shaved ice freezer,
Sweep floor dust with the mop,
Separate near-expiry lunchboxes on schedule,
After sales check, record hourly revenue in the ledger beside the counter.
Mulling over her words, it suddenly hit me.
"...Isn't this just part-time work?"
I muttered softly.
High-pay gig at 1.5x hourly wage.
Ding—
The convenience store door bell rang.