Chapter 23: This Style is All Wrong, Isn't It?!
King Chen looked at the weary young man and the two equally drowsy girls before him, and a soft sigh escaped his lips. There was no reproach in his steady, capable expression, only genuine concern for his teammates and the younger generation.
"This is an instance," he reminded them, his voice low and earnest. "You need to be more vigilant. We absolutely must arrange for someone to keep watch at night."
"Understood," Haruto replied without argument. "We'll keep watch tonight."
He could tell the older man was truly worried for them. He shot a sidelong glance at Kaguya, who was standing nearby, trying her best to look innocent. She guiltily averted her gaze, refusing to meet his eyes.
With Haruto's promise, King Chen finally seemed to relax.
Just then, the tall woman from his team, who had been standing behind him, seemed to notice something. She stepped past King Chen, walked straight into the room, and approached the bed.
She stared down at the sheets, quilt, and pillow, all of which were completely out of sync with the room's dreary, dilapidated style. An incredulous expression bloomed on her face.
"Where did you get these? Are these quilts and pillows part of the guest room?"
Her question prompted the others to peek inside. When they saw the thick down comforter and the pillow printed with a cheerful cartoon character, a wave of confusion washed over them. This style was clearly… wrong, wasn't it?
"Of course not," Haruto answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I brought them myself."
At this, the expressions on everyone's faces grew even more peculiar. They knew that instances could produce cursed artifacts, and some of those artifacts provided storage space. They weren't unfamiliar with the concept.
But… "You're using such a precious ability to carry… quilts?" the tall woman voiced the collective, baffled thought in everyone's mind. She finally understood why the three of them had slept so soundly.
"...Is that not allowed?" Haruto looked slightly embarrassed before adding, "I don't have any more pillows or sheets, but I do have two new quilts. Do you want them?"
The tall woman was momentarily speechless. But then she recalled how she'd shivered through the cold, damp night, and a strained smile touched her lips as she nodded. "We'll take one. Thank you."
Haruto flicked a finger. A jagged tear in reality—a Gap—instantly split open in the space beside him. From the darkness within, a swarm of grotesque, unblinking eyes crowded the edge of the portal, all staring out. If the tall woman hadn't already cleared three instances, the sight would have made her scream.
It wasn't the fear of a mere ghost. This was a primal, deep sense of terror—the feeling of being watched by something ancient and unknowable, a chilling certainty that death could descend at any moment.
'This is definitely not just some simple cursed artifact!' Her thoughts raced, and a cold sweat instantly soaked through her clothes.
"Xiao Liang? Xiao Liang!"
The calls of her teammates finally snapped her back to reality. Due to the angle, the others hadn't seen the eerie spectacle within the Gap.
"Sorry, sorry," she stammered, forcing a grateful smile at Haruto. "I was just thinking about something."
It was better to avoid trouble. The woman, Xiao Liang, decided to act as if she had seen nothing. She reached out to accept the offered quilt.
"Here's another one for you," Haruto said, pulling the last quilt from the Gap and handing it to Liu Wensong, the leader of the third team. Liu Wensong thanked him and had one of his members take the bedding back to their room.
"Young man," King Chen spoke up again, "did you happen to bring any food?" He gestured vaguely downstairs. "We just checked the cafeteria on the first floor. There's nothing."
Hearing this, the others all looked at Haruto with expressions of renewed hope. Since previous instances had always provided sustenance, almost no one had thought to bring their own supplies.
"...Sort of."
Sort of?
The single, ambiguous phrase puzzled everyone. A moment later, they watched as Haruto reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a clattering assortment of bottles and jars, successfully stunning them into silence. Someone picked up a few of the bottles to examine them. After confirming they were, in fact, just condiments—oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar—their expressions became incredibly colorful.
Filling a precious storage space with a bedding set was one thing.
But bringing an entire pantry of seasonings without any actual food? That was an absurdity that defied all logic.
Then again, remembering how they had collectively labeled Haruto as mentally unstable just yesterday, their furrowed brows relaxed into a shared look of resigned understanding.
King Chen said no more. He simply took the guesthouse layout map from his pocket and began to assign tasks.
"The guesthouse has three floors. Since we have three teams, each team will be responsible for searching one floor. The focus is on finding clues and food." He looked around at the group. "This place isn't that large. If we still can't find any food after a full search, we'll head to the beach together and see if we can catch some seafood to tide us over. Any objections?"
Everyone shook their heads in agreement.
King Chen then turned his gaze to Haruto's trio. "You're young, and your team is small. You can choose a floor first."
No one objected to this arrangement. Between the life-saving quilts and the valuable information Haruto had shared yesterday, they all felt he had more than earned the privilege.
"I'll take the first floor," Haruto said without a moment's hesitation.
His decision surprised everyone.
According to the map, the first floor contained the most unknowns. Besides a handful of guest rooms, it was filled with miscellaneous storage areas, rooms with unclear purposes, and even some spaces that were completely unmarked. In contrast, the second floor consisted entirely of guest rooms, making it an obviously simpler and safer choice.
Since Haruto had made his decision, King Chen didn't press the issue. After assigning the remaining floors to the other two teams, he led his own people upstairs.
"Brother Haruto, why did you choose the first floor?" Yotsuya Miko asked curiously once they were alone. She was certain he had a good reason.
Before he could answer, Kaguya spoke up, puffing out her chest proudly. "Because the first floor is the most important. It might be more dangerous, but that's where the deepest clues are usually hidden. In an instance, having more information is more important than anything else."
Yotsuya Miko nodded, only half-understanding. "So, Brother Haruto doesn't trust the others and wants to keep the key clues in our own hands?"
Haruto remained silent, which was as good as a confirmation. They might hesitate when it came to exploring haunted corridors, but when it came to crucial intelligence that could affect the entire game, he had to be the one to secure it.
"What do you think of those people?" Haruto turned and asked Kaguya.
"What's to think?" Kaguya shrugged. "King Chen is a decent uncle. That writer seems fairly normal, too. As for the others, I can't really tell yet."
Haruto pondered for a moment, then began assigning their tasks. "Miko, you're responsible for the marked guest rooms. Kaguya, you search the storage rooms and those other unclear areas."
Clap.
He clapped his hands together decisively. "And with that happily decided, let's get a move on."
"Wait, wait!" Kaguya's eyes went wide. "I can understand leaving the guest rooms to Miko, but what about you? What are you going to be doing?"
"Me?" Haruto said, his tone matter-of-fact. "I'm responsible for supervising you two, of course. All the areas are assigned. What else is there for me to do?"
Kaguya pointed a trembling finger at him. "How can you say that with a straight face?! Put a hand on your conscience and say that again!"
Haruto didn't speak. He simply placed one hand over his chest in a solemn gesture. With the other, he summoned a smartphone from a Gap and pressed play on a recording.
A proud, familiar voice echoed from the speaker:
"From now on, it'll be your Sister Kaguya protecting you and carrying you!"
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