"You…"
Maki instinctively took a step back.
Although Takumi had hidden his emotions perfectly throughout their earlier exchange, the sharp-eyed girl still sensed something unusual about him.
But Takumi didn't care; his attention had already shifted elsewhere—to the hallway lined with tall cabinets.
If he entered Room 205 now, he could still stop Maeda Miwa in time and keep that loudmouth from drawing the monsters over. But he didn't know how to pick a lock, and in this loop Green hadn't yet mistaken him for a veteran player—so getting his help wouldn't be easy. More importantly, with nothing having happened yet, what reason could he possibly give to convince everyone that they needed to break into Room 205 immediately to restrain the disaster waiting inside?
Both Kaguya and Maki, who had come out of the room with him, weren't fools, and Green, that expert at clinging to strong players, was shrewd as well. As for Yamamoto Hiroshi, best not to mention him; and the black guy seemed to have already aligned himself with Tanaka.
As for Tanaka himself—Takumi would have loved to kill the bastard—but considering that the man carried supernatural tools, owned both a handgun and explosives, and was tough enough to take a beating from a physical Horror Story entity without dying, it was probably best not to provoke a direct confrontation for now.
So what should he do?
After a brief moment of thought, Takumi made his decision.
"You're Japanese too, right?"
Before Tanaka could say anything, Takumi went straight to Yamamoto Hiroshi.
He knew that this middle-aged man was stubborn to the core—even if he knew something was wrong with Shirakawa Apartments, he would never believe it was actually a Horror Story world unless he saw undeniable proof. Otherwise, he'd remain the worst kind of dead weight in the team.
If he could help it, Takumi would never have approached him at all.
But unfortunately—Yamamoto Hiroshi was the resident of Room 206.
When the original occupant of a room wasn't present, entering it could very well be dangerous—so Takumi had to make this guy come along with him.
"You—you too, huh? Um, could it be this place is actually filming some kind of reality show? Which production team is behind this? This is way too much, don't you think…" Hearing Takumi's accent and realizing he was from the same country, Yamamoto Hiroshi felt a bit of relief, then nervously asked his question.
"Who knows. But I just found some really weird stuff in my own room. Did you have anything like that in yours?" Takumi said this with a perfectly straight face, misleading Yamamoto Hiroshi while enduring the suspicious gazes of Kaguya and Maki behind him.
Not far away, Tanaka frowned. He had originally planned to talk to the newcomer who had just stepped out, but the man's dismissive attitude made him wary. Suspecting that the other might be another veteran player, he dared not act rashly and, unlike last time, refrained from approaching.
As for Green, although he didn't mutter anything this time, unable to understand what Takumi was up to—and disliking those two students, Kaguya and Maki—he still chose to return to his room and lock himself inside, just like before.
"You mean there might be cameras hidden in my room?"
By now, Yamamoto Hiroshi had been so thoroughly misled by Takumi's few words that he was nearly boiling with indignation, ready to storm off and smash up Room 206.
"Possibly. But those cameras are usually really well hidden. We can look for them together."
Takumi said this with utmost seriousness, his tone so sincere it didn't sound like he was lying at all.
'This guy… he's so strange…'
Kaguya, who had been watching the corridor the whole time, frowned deeply. She still couldn't figure out what Takumi was trying to do. Beside her, Maki, who likewise couldn't reach a conclusion, had already stepped forward, intending to confront Takumi directly.
That was when the scream came, right on cue.
From inside Room 205, Maeda Miwa—who had somehow awakened and discovered the corpse beneath her bed—was now screaming at the top of her lungs. Her voice was so shrill that everyone on the second floor could hear it clearly. And in another moment, when the woman ran out still screaming, her voice would fill the entire building.
Then, that formless thing appeared.
"What's going on?"
Startled, Yamamoto Hiroshi instinctively wanted to go check.
"You planning to follow the script your kidnappers wrote for you?"
At those words from Takumi, Yamamoto Hiroshi ground his teeth and stopped, then turned and opened the door to Room 206.
By this point, Yamamoto Hiroshi had been completely convinced by Takumi and decided to join him in searching the room for the so-called "hidden cameras left by the production crew."
"Shinomiya-san. Shijō-san."
Once Yamamoto Hiroshi had opened the door and stepped inside, Takumi walked to the doorway himself, grabbed the frame of Room 206, then turned to look at the two girls who were still watching the situation unfold.
"I know I look suspicious. It's true—I know who you both are. And as for the situation we're in right now, I do have at least some understanding of it."
"You can choose not to believe me and go along with the others—or, we can cooperate a little. It's entirely up to you."
"My time's running short. You've been observing all this for a while now—have you made your decision yet, young ladies of the Shinomiya and Shijō families?"
The slightly provocative words made Kaguya narrow her eyes.
"Ha? Pretty straightforward, huh. Then why did you hide your emotions just now? And now you say this— you're just trying to get us to follow you into the room, right?"
Maki bluntly laid bare Takumi's aim; the look she gave him grew even more wary.
Being seen through was a given.
But even if he was seen through, that didn't mean he would definitely fail.
"You're quite bold. Do you think you can handle the two of us? State your name."
Kaguya fixed Takumi with an icy gaze, her voice as cold as ice.
"Takahashi Takumi. It seems you've made up your mind, Shinomiya-san."
Standing at the door, Takumi spoke with a light laugh, although in truth he was trembling and pleading in his heart, begging that Maeda Miwa in 205 would come out a bit later, begging that invisible ghost thing to come down a bit later—basically, just give him a little more time so he could hurry and talk these 2 young ladies into coming in first.
"Hmph. There are plenty of red flags, but you don't look like the one organizing all this. Then I'll see what exactly you're trying to do."
In the end, although even more suspicious, Kaguya—who prized her pride more than Maki did—still decided to act together with Takumi. Only, compared to the previous temporary alliance, her vigilance this time was much higher; one could basically say she was guarding against Takumi as a potential enemy.
"So you're really going along with him, Oba-san… forget it, let's just see what this guy plans to do."
As Kaguya moved, Maki, though still wanting to wait and see, decided to act with her as well; the 2 of them entered 206.
At last…
Maeda Miwa's screams had already erupted in the corridor.
That black guy was supporting her, turning back to look at Tanaka and asking something.
Knowing things were about to go bad, Takumi immediately closed the door. He no longer concealed his expression, so Kaguya and Maki both realized he was afraid of something in the corridor, and realized what his true purpose had been in deliberately provoking Kaguya to come over.
"What's in the corridor?"
"If you want to know, you'll find out soon. In any case, absolutely do not open the door."
Having thrown the bolt on the door, Takumi turned and said in a grave tone, then headed deeper into 206's interior corridor.
With his spiel, Yamamoto Hiroshi should by now have found the supply crate in 206; if the earplugs inside were still there, there would be 2 pairs. If he bundled up some scraps of cloth or the like to make a makeshift pair, that would more or less do for the moment as well.
The only passage to the 1st floor that Kyosei had mentioned in the hallucination was in 206.
He hoped this was the right choice. Even though he had the rollback cheat, the limit on the number of uses was still unsettling. He didn't want to experience consecutive deaths, accumulate massive mental stress, and then suffer a catastrophic failure and go mad.
As he was thinking this, Takumi suddenly heard a voice.
[I don't care what your goal is. Don't get in my way.]
It was Tanaka's voice.
A voice carrying a trace of chill, delivering a very direct warning.
[I have no interest in what you came here to do. The core obsession item of this apartment—I, "Tanaka the Ghost," am determined to obtain it. Weigh your options carefully.]
Hah? What's this?
Is he taking me for a veteran player who wants to compete with him?
Wait, no—what the hell is he talking about? A core obsession item? So that was the goal he made such a mess over last round?
Takumi was utterly stunned to hear such words. Out in the corridor, Tanaka—who had just finished speaking—realized something was wrong and immediately began running toward Room 210.
[Step—]
In the dim stairwell, slow and steady footsteps had already begun to descend, moving toward Maeda Miwa's ear-piercing cries.
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