"Actually, we could have Mrs. Kaguya scout ahead first."
Kaguya offered the suggestion in a low voice.
"I was thinking the same thing, but unfortunately that won't work." Natsuki shook his head. "Back in Andy's room, I already tried summoning Mrs. Kaguya. There was absolutely no response."
Mrs. Kaguya, who could be summoned freely during Midnight Subway, could not be called upon at all in the current dungeon—and the game had offered no explanation whatsoever.
That was strange.
"...Andy?"
Kaguya tilted her head slightly, looking at him with a puzzled expression.
"One of the world's top hundred must-watch classic films. The Shawshank Redemption." Natsuki said. "After the game ends, you should give it a watch."
"Also—the main character's name is Andy. Not Shawshank."
Kaguya frowned in confusion: "Why are you making a point of emphasizing that?"
Of course it was because there were always people who watched the movie and still didn't know the main character's name!
"..."
Natsuki spoke as he cautiously pushed the door open. He waited several seconds. After detecting no problems whatsoever, he murmured in a low voice:
"Let's go in."
The result was that the very moment Natsuki stepped inside, he felt something land on his shoulder—and the next instant, his body went dead heavy, seized by an unknown force.
"Don't come in..."
Natsuki's heart sank. He tried to call out a warning—
"It's already too late." The ice queen's voice carried a hint of reproach. "I'm already in."
"What fell on my shoulder?"
Natsuki quickly regained his composure and asked.
Kaguya pressed her lips together: "It looks like... cobweb?"
The next moment.
Under the control of an unknown force, both their bodies began moving of their own accord, stepping deeper into the room.
Natsuki still had Mr. Billy tucked under his arm. As they walked, he said: "Mr. Butler, this hardly qualifies as proper hospitality, does it?"
Mr. Billy spoke in his unhurried way:
"This room is occupied by other guests as well. What you are doing right now constitutes trespassing. What do the two of you think about that?"
They had only walked a few steps when Natsuki was surprised to discover that a small stage had materialized inside the room.
Three chairs sat upon the stage. Three young girls occupied chairs assembled from white bones. From left to right: Chika Fujiwara, Yukino Yukinoshita, and the middle-school-syndrome girl Rokka.
"Amamiya-kun, Kaguya-chan!"
The moment the pink-haired girl spotted them, she was both shocked and delighted.
"Don't shout." Natsuki quipped. "We got caught too."
Under the control of the unknown force, Natsuki and Kaguya walked up onto the stage. Immediately after, a heap of ghastly pale bones came rolling out of the darkness. With a series of crack crack crack sounds, they assembled into two bone benches beside Rokka.
In the end, Natsuki and Kaguya sat down on the bone benches against their will. The ribs of some unknown creature interlocked and curled inward, wrapping around them like an embrace—pinning them firmly to their seats.
The moment they sat, Natsuki felt his body regain the ability to move. Unfortunately, the chair held him fast. There was no getting up.
"Welcome. Today's quiz game has welcomed two more guests."
A gravelly, piercing voice suddenly rang out from the darkness.
Natsuki followed the sound and looked up—and there, clinging to the ceiling, was an enormous web. A spider the size of a car wheel crouched upon it, its body a dull ash-white. Even someone who wasn't afraid of spiders would feel their skin crawl at the sight of this thing.
"Oh? Mr. Butler is here too?"
The giant spider's crimson compound eyes rotated, quickly spotting Mr. Billy tucked under Natsuki's arm.
"I have been temporarily immobilized by this player." Mr. Billy's tone was perfectly composed. "Miss Spiderling, please enjoy your game as you see fit. There is no need to worry about me."
"Hey now, isn't the name 'Spiderling' a little harsh?" Natsuki looked up at the giant spider overhead and couldn't help but complain. "The gap is way too big, isn't it?"
"A name is just a label." Miss Spiderling let out a light huff. "You are welcome to call me Spider Lady, if you prefer."
There was absolutely no connection between you and the word "Lady" that anyone could see!
Natsuki pondered for two seconds: "How about I call you Whitey?"
Chika leaned forward and peered over: "Don't take advantage of the fact that others haven't read the manga, and bully them, okay?"
"What's the quiz game?"
Kaguya spoke up—surprisingly boldly. Faced with a spider of this magnitude, she merely pinched her brows together slightly. Not a trace of fear on her face.
"A good question..."
Miss Spiderling crawled along the web.
Kotoriyū Rokka tilted her head to look at her. The middle-school-syndrome girl's ahoge drooped slightly as she explained: "It's basically like one of those answer-the-questions shows on TV."
"If you answer a question wrong, the chair keeps tightening."
Miss Spiderling's eyes swiveled toward Rokka, her tone displeased: "Human. Don't steal my lines."
"S-sorry."
"Since our two new guests have only just arrived and do not yet know the rules, allow me to go over them once more." Miss Spiderling's gravelly voice carried clearly through the room. "I ask the questions. You answer. The questions come in two formats: buzzer rounds and full-participation rounds. In buzzer rounds, the first person to answer correctly earns a point, which can be used to cancel one round of punishment."
"In full-participation rounds, every single person must answer."
"During the game, no living thing in this room is permitted to tell a lie."
"The moment someone lies, everyone is treated as though they have all lied. The chairs will tighten inward and punish all of you. Is there anything you don't understand?"
"Got it."
Natsuki nodded. The rules were simple and clear.
"Then—the game begins." Miss Spiderling's voice rose with energy. "Let's start with an easy warm-up question... Please listen carefully."
"Imagine a single rope whose total length is exactly one centimeter longer than the circumference of the Earth. Now wrap this rope around the Earth's equator. If you were to lift the rope up evenly—how high off the ground would it be? Could a person fit underneath it? Could a person crawl through the gap?"
"The countdown starts now. Please buzz in."
"Eh eh eh?!" Chika couldn't help but cry out. "How is this supposed to be easy?!"
"Mew? What does the question even mean?" Rokka's expression was utterly blank. "I can't understand a single word of it."
Kaguya's dark brows tightened: "It sounds completely illogical at first... but..."
"I know the answer." Natsuki buzzed in.
"Very good." Miss Spiderling extended one leg and pointed it at him. "This player. Please give your answer."
"Heh. It's nothing but a simple physics calculation..."
Natsuki did the mental math quickly and gave his answer: "A person can absolutely fit underneath."
"Excellent." Applause—of all things—erupted from somewhere in the darkness. Miss Spiderling announced: "Your answer is completely correct."
Miss Spiderling sounded genuinely pleased: "It really is a simple question, isn't it?"
"It really is that simple?" Chika's eyes went wide. A sudden existential crisis flickered across her face. "Why couldn't I understand it at all?"
Rokka: "I couldn't understand it either, mew."
"Then... punishment begins."
Natsuki looked at the others and quickly noticed that the ribs of the bone benches had begun contracting inward.
Kaguya, Yukino, and Rokka were all fine—slender builds meant the tightening barely registered. But Chika's face couldn't help but betray a look of discomfort.
The troubles of the Ōpai aliens.
"Then, the quiz continues..." Miss Spiderling wasted no time, quickly moving on. "The second question is a full-participation round. Every single person must answer. The moment someone lies, all of you will be punished."
"Please listen carefully."
"Have you... read any 18+ manga?"