Chapter 197: The Ability to Transform into a Rabbit
"Find anything?" Kaguya's voice drifted from behind him.
Haruto turned, handing her the thin booklet he'd just found. "This is the Red Staff Member's Rulebook. It seems they're on a three-day time limit, just like the Tourists. The main difference is they have no clear mission objectives."
He paused, collecting his thoughts. "My guess is it's similar to the Mermaid instance. When the clock runs out, they're either killed by the plot or simply left behind to await the next batch of victims… I mean, Tourists."
Kaguya accepted the rulebook, her eyes scanning the text before passing it to Youmu. "Haruto, do you remember what that unhinged-looking Red Staff Member was screaming on the first night, before we entered the Residential Area?"
Haruto tilted his head. "I don't recall the exact words, but the gist was that the Residential Area had become the Animal Zone, the Animal Zone was the real Residential Area, and anyone who went in was doomed."
"You forgot the most crucial line," Kaguya corrected, a sharp glint in her eyes. "He said—'animals are irrational.'"
"You mean… it's about sanity?" Haruto caught on instantly.
Kaguya nodded. "I speculate that every person here—or rather, every being that still maintains a human form—has a sanity value. According to his rant, the fundamental difference between humans and animals is rationality. If we sort everyone by their sanity levels, it's probably Tourists at the top, then Blue Staff Members, and finally Red Staff Members."
She tapped a finger against her chin, her theory taking shape. "The Red Staff Members… their sanity is teetering on the very brink of what defines an animal. But that also means they might be the group most capable of regaining their sanity if given the chance."
She paused, letting the weight of her words sink in. "Therefore, the Red Staff are severely polarized. They're either completely insane, no longer truly human… or they're exceptionally clear-headed, with a level of lucidity that might even surpass that of a brand-new Tourist who just arrived."
As Kaguya laid out her analysis, a clear picture began to form in Haruto's mind, a potential path to clearing this instance. The key was to maintain the minimum sanity required to be classified as 'human.'Let that value slip, let the definition of your own humanity become blurred, and you'd be left behind, a permanent fixture waiting for the next cycle. Lose your sanity completely, and you would devolve into an'animal,' trapped here forever until death finally claimed you.
The seventh rule for Tourists and the fifth rule for Red Staff seemed to conflict, but with this new perspective, they didn't. The Animal Zone wasn't a trap; it was a last resort—a desperate choice made only after one's sanity had dropped to a critical threshold. For an ordinary Tourist, there had to be a simpler, safer way out. That was why the existence of the Animal Zone and its associated clearance method were hidden from them.
The Red Staff, on the other hand, already had low sanity, so there was no point in hiding it. In fact, by entering the Animal Zone and becoming Zookeepers, they could actually recover a great deal of their lost rationality.
Haruto rested his chin in his hand, his mind racing. The question now was, how does one become a staff member? Was it as simple as putting on the red uniform, or was there some kind of test?
"Are you the Tourists for this session?"
A hoarse voice suddenly echoed from the tent's entrance. The three of them looked up to see a man with a thick beard and deep-set, weary eyes walking toward them.
"Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking about others' identities?" Haruto countered, not answering the question. "You're a Red Staff Member here, aren't you?"
The bearded man's expression darkened. His gaze swept over their faces, a silent threat in his eyes as if committing their features to memory. Then, he forced a stiff, unconvincing smile.
"This is a working area. Tourists shouldn't be here. You should head back and focus on collecting your stamps."
Haruto shook his head. "We are not Tourists."
The bearded man froze, a frown creasing his brow as he scrutinized the trio. After confirming he'd never seen them before, his suspicion grew. "Then who are you?"
"We're shareholders in the circus," Haruto replied, his tone utterly placid. "We're just here to see how our business is running."
The man's face went rigid, his mouth twitching violently. He stared at Haruto as if he were looking at a complete lunatic.
'Shareholders?'he thought incredulously.'What shareholders? And why would they sneak into our living quarters when no one is around? What a pathetic lie! Couldn't you even come up with a better excuse?'But even as his mind screamed'fraud,' a sliver of doubt kept him from acting. He couldn't afford to gamble. What if it was true? Large-scale instances like this sometimes connected to smaller ones. What if there really were circus shareholders?
He let out two dry, rasping laughs. "Well then, please, take your time. I have something to attend to."
Kaguya, standing beside Haruto, watched in mild surprise. She hadn't expected the man to actually fall for such a blatant fabrication.
"Hold on," Haruto said, his voice stopping the man in his tracks.
The bearded man paused and turned back, his forced smile plastered on his face. "Is there anything else, sir?"
"Where is the Animal Zone?" Haruto asked directly.
At his words, Kaguya's brow furrowed slightly in confusion.
The bearded man's face flashed with an 'I knew it' expression, but he maintained his servile smile, choosing not to expose their lie just yet. "Just walk to the right for about five minutes. You'll see a small, closed-off house. The Animal Zone is inside."
"One more question," Haruto continued. "How does one become a staff member?"
"As long as you have the clothes, putting them on makes you one of us." The man answered this question freely. After all, these impostors wouldn't live past tonight. Now that he was certain they were fakes, the urgency to leave had vanished, and his smile became a little more genuine, a little more predatory.
"You three leaders, please wait right here. I'll go find someone to entertain you."
"Entertain?" Haruto's lips curved into a knowing smile. "Are you sure you're not just calling your friends to come kill us?"
Kaguya raised an eyebrow. Though she didn't understand Haruto's plan, she was already rolling up her sleeves, ready for a fight. It was only when Haruto leaned in and whispered a few words in her ear that her eyes lit up, a spark of pure, unadulterated excitement dancing in her dark pupils.
The bearded man's face fell, his pleasant facade crumbling. He hadn't expected them to be so direct. Just as he was about to spit out a threat, he heard a sharp whoosh cut through the air as a colorful, round object shot straight for his forehead.
'A hidden weapon!'
He tried frantically to dodge, but it was too late. He could only squeeze his eyes shut in terror, convinced his life was over.
The next second, however, there was only a soft thump against his brow. A crumpled paper ball bounced off his head and rolled onto the dusty ground.
The man froze. He tentatively touched his forehead, then stared at the harmless paper ball. After confirming he was completely fine, a flush of heat crept up his neck, shame quickly curdling into rage.
"You're toying with me!" he roared.
"Toying with you?" Kaguya spread her hands, a picture of innocence. "Of course not. You didn't seem to believe us, so I'm just giving you a little demonstration."
The man frowned, about to demand what kind of proof that was, when a sudden, intense itch erupted from his feet. At the same time, a dizzying sense of imbalance washed over him, as if his legs were no longer his own. He frantically pulled up his pant legs, and his eyes widened in horror at what he saw.
Where his feet should have been, there were now two rabbit's feet, covered in grayish-white fur.
"W-What did you do to me?!" he shrieked, collapsing to the ground as his pupils trembled violently.
"I'm showing you," Kaguya repeated, her tone laced with playful amusement. She spread her hands wide. "As shareholders of the circus, isn't it perfectly reasonable for us to be able to turn people into animals?"
Her dark eyes scanned him from head to toe, as if she were seriously considering which part of him to transform next.
"What, you still don't believe me? I don't mind proving it to you again."
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