[Congratulations, player. You have been selected]
[Game constructing...]
[Construction successful]
[Please prepare. You will enter the game in 10 seconds]
"It's a triggered dungeon like Midnight Subway."
Natsuki made the judgment instantly.
The next moment.
A hand reached over and tightly gripped Natsuki's right hand.
Natsuki turned his face to look at the tense Kitagawa Marin and gave a slight nod.
"Don't be nervous... because being nervous won't help anyway."
"..."
Ten seconds passed in an instant.
Natsuki felt his vision go dark. A slight dizziness washed over him. The next moment, he'd already arrived in a narrow, dark space.
"Amamiya-kun?"
Kitagawa Marin's tense, soft voice reached his ears.
Natsuki spoke quietly: "I'm here."
"That's good."
Kitagawa Marin immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Being randomly dropped into a game versus entering together with someone—the sense of security was completely different.
"Our luck is terrible." Kitagawa Marin said miserably. "We just came to the supermarket to buy stuff. How did we get selected by the game?"
"I haven't even put my contacts in yet!"
Natsuki's eye twitched. He couldn't help but say:
"At a time like this, stop worrying about your contacts. Your eyes are so pretty—you don't need contacts at all."
"Eh eh eh?"
The blonde girl's pretty face flushed slightly red. She muttered quietly: "Amamiya-kun actually knows how to please girls now."
Who has time to please you? I'm telling you to focus on what's important and stop obsessing over contacts!
Letting out a quiet breath, Natsuki quickly calmed down.
When soldiers come, deploy generals to block them. When water comes, use earth to dam it.
Regret was one of humanity's most useless emotions. Having accidentally been selected by the game, there was only one thing to do—
Clear the game.
Unfortunately, Chika Fujiwara wasn't by his side. The "evil-sweeping duo" combo technique couldn't be used. His sense of security instantly plummeted... As expected, the pink-haired airhead was the best guardian spirit candidate.
"What's your main quest?"
Natsuki asked as he opened his own game panel.
[Current Scenario: Hide and Seek Battle Royale]
[Main Quest: Please complete a game of hide and seek. Try not to be eliminated. Once eliminated, you bear the consequences]
[Game Duration: 120 minutes]
[Friendly Reminder: I am a remnant of the old world. The new world has no ship that can carry me!]
[Note: Whether hunter or prey often depends on a single thought]
"It's Hide and Seek Battle Royale. We have to play hide and seek..."
Kitagawa Marin read out her main quest. Their tasks were identical down to the letter.
"What's with that friendly reminder?" Kitagawa Marin planted her right hand on her hip and complained. "That's clearly what Whitebeard said."
At the same time.
In the corner.
"Eh, a horror game?"
Ai Hayasaka stood in the shadows, her eyes widening slightly, her consciousness somewhat dazed.
One moment she'd been in a brightly-lit convenience store. The next moment, she'd arrived in a dim, damp environment filled with a musty smell—and knowledge about the horror game's existence had inexplicably appeared in her mind.
This wasn't a hallucination.
Her consciousness was clear.
Her body showed no signs of discomfort.
Listening to the conversation between Natsuki and Kitagawa, Hayasaka quickly calmed down.
"They seem very aware of what's happening... so they're veteran players?"
"What about the young miss?"
Hayasaka couldn't help but think of Kaguya Shinomiya.
With simple analysis, the spy maid quickly reached a conclusion.
Without question, the young miss was also a game player.
Natsuki and Kitagawa—they weren't aliens, visitors from another world, or psychics. They were actually unlucky players selected by the horror game.
...
"The room is so dark, and the air has a strange smell." Kitagawa Marin covered her nose. "Amamiya-kun, what do we do now?"
"It should be the smell of the sea." Natsuki's tone was calm. "First check the room, then leave here."
"Eh, why?"
"If we could clear the game just by not moving, what would be the point of hide and seek?"
"That makes sense."
"..."
After chatting for a bit, Natsuki's eyes had begun adapting to the surrounding environment.
A faint damp, musty smell permeated the air, along with a heavy scent of the sea. The room occasionally swayed lightly. There was only one small window on the wall—pale moonlight shone in from outside, barely allowing visibility.
Natsuki ignored the unpleasant smell in the air. His gaze quickly landed on the only long table in the room.
On the table sat a compass, a directional compass, a parchment map, a miniature figurehead, and more—looking chaotic and disorganized.
A prompt quickly appeared before his eyes.
[After careful inspection, you confirm this is a captain's cabin]
Natsuki said:
"If I'm not mistaken, we should be on..."
"A ship."
An unfamiliar girl's voice suddenly spoke from the corner.
"Eh eh eh?!" Kitagawa Marin jumped in fright. "There's someone else in the room!"
Natsuki narrowed his eyes and looked toward the corner.
Hayasaka quickly emerged from the dim corner and stood in the pale moonlight, letting Natsuki and Kitagawa see her clearly.
Kitagawa Marin blinked. "She looks somewhat familiar..."
Natsuki said:
"She's someone who was shopping with us at the convenience store. I caught a glimpse of her."
Golden-blonde short hair tied in a high ponytail, dressed in black from head to toe—this getup feels quite subtle. No wonder we didn't notice her until now.
"I'm terribly sorry—I wasn't intentionally hiding from you just now." Hayasaka's acting exploded. She tried to play a pitiful girl, covering her chest with her right hand, her pretty face slightly pale, her voice tense. "Could you explain what just happened? I was clearly shopping at the convenience store, then suddenly appeared here with strange voices in my head..."
"Eh?" Kitagawa Marin said in surprise. "You're a first-time player entering the game?"
Hayasaka spoke timidly: "I-I suppose so?"
"Oh no—your luck is terrible."
"..."
Hayasaka bit down lightly on her teeth. Even having just entered the game, she could imagine its cruelty.
Regret.
Deep regret.
If she'd known she'd encounter such bad luck, she would have gone straight back to the villa earlier instead of entering the convenience store!
"Horror games are very dangerous. If you're not careful, you'll be left behind in the game..."
Kitagawa Marin planted her right hand on her hip, imparting gaming experience in the tone of a "veteran player." As expected—the desire to teach was one of humanity's natural instincts.
"I see." Hayasaka continued playing the pitiful, weak, and helpless newbie player, her voice timid. "My name is Yumiri Hanamori. Nice to meet you. Please take care of me."
As a spy, having multiple backup names is perfectly normal, right?
"Hanamori-chan, right?" Kitagawa Marin quickly said. "For the rest of this game, just follow behind me and Amamiya-kun."
"...I'm deeply grateful!"
"Stop talking so much." Natsuki stood before the captain's cabin door and tried pulling it. Unfortunately, it wouldn't budge. "The door won't open."