Chapter 31
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: School Night Security Rules
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School Night Security Rules
“Uh, so…”
My mind was a mess.
One liar would be one thing, but three?
Even though I’d played plenty of horror RPG Maker games, I was terrible at these kinds of puzzles.
After all, even if you died, you’d just respawn at your last save.
I’d never really used my brain, always just guessing my way through.
But this time, a simple guess wouldn’t cut it.
Get it wrong, and you die.
Facing that fact, I felt a chill, as if a knife were at my throat.
‘Who the hell is it…?’
The painting was quickly being colored in.
There wasn't much time left.
I had to choose something, anything, before I died from running out of time. Just as I was about to say “screw it” and strike one of the figures…
The painting suddenly shimmered, and splashes of red erupted everywhere.
It was too strange a change to be a time-out.
“…What the?”
I stared forlornly at the chaotic painting.
Looking closer, only the figure of the third woman remained.
The other three women were covered in blood, cold and dead.
Their dead, unfocused eyes slowly turned toward me. The sight made my hair stand on end.
The painting, with all but one person drenched in blood, was simply gruesome.
I tried to look away, but new text floated up over the painting.
[Correct.]
I hadn't touched the painting at all, yet the puzzle was solved. The inexplicable situation was as bewildering as it was bizarre.
“What the hell…?”
First off, I was immensely relieved I hadn’t died, but something about it felt unsettling.
The painting, too, had changed from its original form.
The women who had become cold corpses were nowhere to be seen.
Only the lone survivor remained, now presented as a solitary portrait.
[■■]
The title was blacked out, but I instantly recognized the subject of the portrait.
“…It’s Jin Dayeon.”
The woman in the portrait looked exactly like the Dayeon I’d first met in the art room.
Back then, I thought it was just an exquisitely painted picture, but it turned out to be a real person.
I gazed at the portrait. The resemblance to Dayeon was uncanny.
Maybe I should take it, just in case.
I tried to remove the frame, but it was stuck fast, as if glued to the wall.
No matter how hard I pulled, it wouldn’t budge, and my hand just ended up tingling.
It was as if the frame had become part of the wall itself.
“…That’s strange.”
In the end, I had to leave the painting where it was.
I couldn’t take it without completely smashing the frame.
What was the deal with this portrait? The more I thought about it, the more complicated it seemed.
I wonder if Dayeon would know anything if I asked her.
Leaving the baffling mystery behind, I left the art room.
As I stepped into the hallway, I sensed a presence.
I quickly turned around, but no one was there; the hallway was silent and empty.
Was I just imagining things?
Given the circumstances, it felt wrong to just dismiss it as my imagination.
Still, it was probably best to stay away.
If I ran into the security guard, it would be a pointless death.
I forced myself to ignore it and headed for the music room.
The door hadn’t been opened while I was gone.
The music room was still locked. I knocked to let her know I was back.
-*Knock, knock*
“Everything okay in there?”
I said, knocking on the door. A moment later, I heard Dayeon’s voice from the other side.
“Welcome back.”
“…What is it this time?”
“I’ve been waiting. So, what’ll it be? Dinner? A bath? Or perhaps…”
“I found the sheet music in the art room. Try putting it on the piano.”
I breezily ignored her and passed the sheet music through the gap in the door. I heard a rustling sound as she picked it up.
“Moonlight Sonata?”
“Yeah. I don't know for sure, but I figure something might happen if you put it on the piano.”
“I’ll give it a try.”
I heard the pitter-patter of her footsteps, followed by a metallic click from inside the music room.
It sounded like she was swapping out the sheet music.
“Anything change?”
“That’s weird. Nothing’s happening.”
Dayeon passed a music sheet back through the gap. It was the “Für Elise” score that had been on the piano originally.
[Acquired Sheet Music #1.]
According to Dayeon, the Moonlight Sonata score was now on the piano.
But nothing had changed in the music room. The piano didn’t even play.
After playing by itself all this time, the piano remained stubbornly silent.
So the Beethoven portrait must have been related to the piano performance.
“If you bring Mr. Beethoven from the art room, it’ll probably play for you.”
“I’d like to, but I can’t…”
Dayeon’s reasoning was plausible, but unfortunately, it was next to impossible.
When I got the sheet music from the art room, the Beethoven portrait had already been sliced in half.
At this rate, it wasn't a haunted piano anymore, just a regular one.
To think I’d found the sheet music but couldn’t get it to play.
Stuck between a rock and a hard place, I’d hit a dead end.
As I was wondering what to do, Dayeon asked an unexpected question.
“Should I try playing it?”
“You know how to play the piano? Can you even read music?”
I asked, half in doubt.
If it were anyone else, maybe, but coming from Dayeon, I found it hard to believe.
There was a high chance she’d just say that and then hammer out some bizarre, clumsy tune.
“Just wait. I’ll play it right now.”
For once, Dayeon’s voice was full of confidence.
I heard her brisk footsteps approach the piano, and even the sound of the chair scraping.
Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much.
How good could she possibly be?
If Dayeon had any real piano skills, she would have definitely bragged about it the moment she entered the music room.
So, her confident declaration that she would play didn't exactly inspire my trust.
At best, she probably took a few piano lessons as a kid. That’s what I was guessing when…
A piano melody began to drift through the gap in the door.
Dayeon had started to play.
-♬♪♪♬♬♪
The faint notes of the song echoed out.
A sorrowful yet beautiful performance flowed from the music room, through the door, and into the hallway.
I pressed my ear against the door to listen, only to jolt back in surprise.
She could play the piano this well?
There wasn't a single mistake in Dayeon's playing.
The rhythm wasn't off, nor was the performance sloppy.
It was flawless, as if I were at a concert by a famous musician.
It was so good I began to doubt if Dayeon was really the one playing.
As I stood there listening blankly, I heard a faint *click*.
The sound came from me.
More precisely, from my inventory.
“An item?”
Wondering what it was, I opened my inventory.
One item was shimmering as if imbued with light.
It was one of the blue books I'd found in a pile in the library. I carefully placed my hand on it, and a message appeared.
[The seal on the Blue Book (2) has been broken.]
Don't they usually say 'unlocked' in these situations?
Not 'unlocked,' but 'seal has been broken.'
The unusual word choice felt jarring. Something was definitely fishy.
As I pondered the strange and grotesque blue book, Dayeon’s performance of “Moonlight Sonata” was coming to a close.
-♬♪♪♬♬♪
The song ended, beautiful from start to finish.
Dayeon, apparently satisfied with her own performance, began to show off.
“So? Pretty cool, right?”
“Yeah, it was okay.”
“I'll give you a chance to give me a round of applause.”
I gave a half-hearted clap and turned my attention back to the blue book.
It seemed the book’s seal had been broken by Dayeon’s performance.
What in the world could be inside?
I took out the Blue Book (1) that I'd opened before to check it again.
[Blue Book (1)]
[The Funniest Story in the World]
【Once upon a time, there lived a boy named Conrad. As his mother was leaving, she told him,
“Conrad, don't suck your thumb.”
But Conrad sucked his thumb behind his mother's back. And just then,
Snip!
One piece! Two pieces!
The devil appeared and cut off Conrad's fingers!
Conrad had no more thumbs to suck.】
“Hmm.”
That was the end of Blue Book (1). Reading it again, I still couldn't make sense of it.
I flipped through the rest of the pages to see if there was anything hidden, but they were all blank.
“There are no clues, so what the hell—”
-*Heeheeheeheehee! Eeheeheeheehee! Eeheeheeheeheeheehee!!!*
“Shit!”
A bizarre laugh echoed from somewhere. Caught off guard, I was so startled that I threw the book to the ground.
“Dammit, scaring me like that…”
Then, a pained groan drifted out.
-*Ughhh…*
I couldn't believe it, but the sound was coming from the book.
The laughter from before, the groan just now—it was all coming from the book itself.
-*Fwoosh!*
The book seemed to cough and sputter before bursting into flames.
The book, now burning fiercely, was reduced to a pile of ash in an instant.
The fire didn't spread, consuming only the book.
It was as if it was telling me not to read any more of the blue books.
“So that's it for volume one, I guess.”
Next, I took out the Blue Book (2).
The item’s detailed description appeared.
[Blue Book (2)]
【A book with a blue cover. The title on the cover reads 'School Night Security Rules'.】
School Night Security Rules.
The title was obviously weird and mysterious.
Why was something like this in the library?
Still, I had no other choice.
With the music room locked and Blue Book (1) burned to a crisp, this item was my only clue.
[Read the Blue Book (2)?]
【Read / Do not read】
Hoping I wouldn't hear that strange laughter like with the first book, I carefully opened it.
[Blue Book (2)]
[School Night Security Rules]
【This school provides a guide for night security.
The contents below must not be disclosed to outsiders. Any responsibility for incidents arising from ignoring these articles rests solely with you.
Please act in accordance with the manual provided.
1. While patrolling the hallways, if you encounter a guard wearing the same uniform as you, hide immediately.
This school employs only one night guard.
The person you have encountered is not a guard affiliated with this school.
2. While passing the teachers' office, if you find a computer operating on its own, pretend you haven't seen it and walk past.
If the power cord is unplugged, plug it in to supply power.
The computer will shut down on its own shortly thereafter.
3. If you hear the sound of croaking frogs, do not panic. Proceed to the laboratory.
Take the taxidermied snake specimen displayed on the lab wall and place it in the hallway. The sound will subside.
4. While patrolling the hallways, if you discover an anatomical model, move it to the science lab immediately.
If any of the anatomical model's body parts are missing, replace them with your own.
5. If you are reading this guide in the middle of the 2nd-floor hallway, in front of the music room door, do not, under any circumstances, turn around.
6. While passing through the school, if for any reason you encounter ■■, commit suicide on the spot.
7. There is no Article 6 in this guide. If you see any content for it, please ignore it.
5. ■□■□□■□□■■□】
“…What the fuck.”
The content was far more incomprehensible than the first book. I was speechless.
As I was staring blankly at the blue book…
Something shiny fell out from between the pages with a *clink*.
…It was a key.
[Acquired the Underground Stairwell Key.]
The very underground stairwell key I had been searching for all this time.