Chapter 56: Have You Always Been This Gutsy?
"Since you didn't use a Tracking Card, how did you all enter together?"
Seeing that Haruto genuinely seemed to have no idea what he was talking about, Xie Lin's surprise deepened into outright confusion. Haruto's trio certainly didn't look like they had just met on a whim.
"Just a little trick," Haruto replied with a dismissive wave. "Not worth mentioning."
'A little trick?'Xie Lin was hardly naive enough to believe such a casual statement. He had once stumbled upon rumors in a hidden corner of the forums—whispers of'powers existing outside the Death Game'—though he had always remained skeptical. If Haruto wasn't lying, then this was likely proof of those very powers.
Since Haruto clearly had no intention of elaborating, Xie Lin didn't press the matter. He smoothly changed the subject, and they began chatting about life outside the game.
Gradually, the row of seats across from them began to fill.
Just as the last few players were settling in, the Housekeeper walked over slowly. She was supporting a young girl who held a blind cane—it was Lin Xuelao.
"Please take your seat as soon as possible."
The Housekeeper led her toward a single, ornate chair positioned near the grand staircase, then bowed deeply.
A collective tension seized the room. Every player present froze, their movements halting mid-motion. From the corners of their eyes, they all stared at that one special seat.
Anyone with a shred of sense could see that it was the host's private chair, a place of honor definitely not meant for a guest.
It was a trap.
No sane, rational person would ever step into such an obvious snare.
But... the girl was blind.
"I'm sorry," Lin Xuelao said, her voice calm. "It seems there are no more spare seats. Could I trouble you to bring me another chair?"
Fortunately, the girl hadn't been lying about her abilities. She tilted her head slightly, her expression placid, as if she truly could perceive the general layout of the room through sound alone. Yotsuya Miko, who was seated closest to her, couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"Please be seated," the Housekeeper repeated, her voice flat, as if she hadn't heard the request at all.
The air in the dining hall fell into an eerie, suffocating silence.
Not a single player offered to help. Instead, they were all secretly relieved they had chosen rooms nearby and hadn't been the last to arrive.
As they saw it, the girl had three options.
One: Forcibly seize someone else's chair.
Two: Run down to the first floor to find a spare one.
Three: Hope someone was willing to share their seat.
The first option was out of the question. Who among them wasn't a veteran player who had cleared at least three instances? As long as they weren't dead weight, they would have received rewards from the game, and their physical fitness was far from weak. A fight was a losing proposition.
As for the third... it was feasible, but no one knew if the rules even permitted two people to share a single seat. No one was willing to shoulder an extra ounce of danger for a complete stranger.
So they waited, watching to see what she would choose. Whether she lived or died, her fate would serve as a valuable data point.
Lin Xuelao seemed to understand her predicament, yet her face showed no signs of distress. Gripping her blind cane tightly, she turned and began to walk swiftly toward the staircase on the right—presumably to search for another chair.
But as she passed by Haruto's table, she felt a gentle tug on the hem of her skirt.
Lin Xuelao turned her head, a flicker of confusion on her face. Before she could speak, she heard the distinct scrape of a chair being pushed back from the table.
Then came the young man's voice—calm and unhurried.
"Sit here."
Lin Xuelao froze, unable to process the meaning of his words for a long moment.
It wasn't just her. Every other player in the room was stunned, their faces masks of pure disbelief.
This was no one's first or second instance. Those who had survived this long had repeatedly tested the grim boundaries of human nature. Self-preservation was a lesson etched into their very bones.
Randomly showing kindness?
In the Death Game, that was practically a synonym for slow suicide.
"What are you spacing out for?" Haruto tugged at her skirt again, but Lin Xuelao remained standing there like a statue.
"No!" Her voice rose sharply as she took an abrupt step back. "I can't... I can't do that..."
The girl's eyes were shut tight, her long eyelashes trembling violently. If, at the beginning, she harbored a sliver of suspicion that Haruto had given her the Talisman Card merely to use her, that doubt had now completely vanished.
She turned to flee, but she had only taken a single step before a pair of strong hands grabbed her and forcibly pressed her down into the now-empty chair.
Haruto's strength was immense. No matter how she struggled, she couldn't break free.
"Haruto, you..." Yotsuya Miko started, her heart aching for the pitiful girl, but she wasn't willing to trade Haruto's safety for it.
"I'm confident," Haruto said, giving Miko a reassuring look. "Besides, I just want to verify something." He then gestured for Kaguya to hold Lin Xuelao down.
Kaguya complied without a word, her expression betraying not the slightest hint of worry for Haruto.
"Let me go! Let me go..." Lin Xuelao's voice began to tremble, laced with sobs. "He... he's your companion, you... how could you..."
No matter how stubbornly the girl fought, she couldn't escape Kaguya's firm grip.
Beside them, Xie Lin watched Haruto with a complex gaze. He couldn't comprehend this act of willingly taking on a risk for a stranger, but that didn't stop him from feeling a deep sense of respect.
The other players felt much the same. If someone had demanded they sacrifice themselves to save another in the name of kindness, they would have sneered and cursed them as a sanctimonious hypocrite. But Haruto hadn't made a scene or used moral blackmail. He had just silently shouldered the risk himself. They couldn't understand it, but it was an act worthy of respect.
After all, who could guarantee they would never find themselves in a desperate situation, in need of a helping hand?
Thus, under a storm of gazes—a mixture of admiration, incomprehension, and raw emotion—Haruto calmly walked toward the master's seat next to the Housekeeper and pulled out the ornate chair.
Of course, Haruto had no idea that everyone's thoughts were so complicated. He really was just doing this to verify a piece of information; saving the girl was simply a convenient side effect.
He sat down with a natural air, keeping a casual eye on the Housekeeper.
"Honored guest, this is the master's seat," the Housekeeper said, her lips pulling back into a smile. The expression was stiff and eerie, as if forced open by an invisible pair of hands. "Please find another seat."
Haruto didn't get up. He didn't even respond, treating her warning as if it were nothing but thin air.
"Honored guest, this is the master's seat. Please find another seat," the Housekeeper repeated, her tone a fraction colder this time.
"I'm sitting here," Haruto replied with a smile of his own. "So what?"
Those simple words successfully stunned everyone present. First, there was Kaguya openly criticizing the Housekeeper upon their arrival, and now Haruto was defiantly confronting her at the dining table.
Xie Lin's gaze flickered between Kaguya and Yotsuya Miko, his eyes practically screaming the question, 'Have you guys always been this gutsy?'
Kaguya simply shrugged.
Yotsuya Miko's initial worry began to dissipate, replaced by a familiar sense of weary helplessness.
'Ah,'she thought.'There's that familiar feeling again.'
"...I apologize for my rudeness." The Housekeeper's expression shifted and twisted for a moment before eventually settling back into its initial calm and respectful demeanor. "Please enjoy your meal, everyone. After dining, you may return to your guest rooms or freely explore the ancient castle. However, please note, do not go to the third floor. The Castle Master dislikes being disturbed by outsiders. I will come to clear the table once everyone has finished."
Having said her piece, she lingered no longer, turning and walking with measured steps directly toward the third-floor staircase.
The first person to breathe a sigh of relief was not Yotsuya Miko, nor any of the other players, but Lin Xuelao. Her eyes were red and brimming with tears. She quickly raised a hand to wipe them away before they could fall, lowering her gaze in silence.
Disbelief was written on every other player's face. They had never expected Haruto to resolve the situation this way. They silently committed this method to memory, thinking that even if they arrived last next time, they wouldn't have to worry about seating.
They had no idea that this very thought would nearly get them killed not long after.
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