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88. Top Secret and Thousand Blade Festival [5]

 

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Translator: Saitama-sensei Editor:Ryunakama

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88. Top Secret and Thousand Blade Festival [5]

When we went through the haunted house door, there was a dimly lit small room.

「This is…」

There was a large poster there.

It was the instructions of the haunted house.

 

Because it is dangerous, please do not run in the building.

If you feel sick, please wait on the spot. The students of this class will come to pick you up immediately.

There are some representations which use manipulation-type soul dress. Please bear that in mind.

Then, please be careful and continue forward.

 

The instructions were like a real haunted house, and my expectations naturally grew.

「Ria, Rose.」

「Y-Yes…!!」

「What’s the matter with you two?」

Just calling out, gave them a jump.

(…I wonder if it’s really all right.)

A little, no, I’m plenty worried, but…

Since they stubbornly insist on not being『afraid』, there’s nothing I can do about it.

「We’ve read the instruction, so let’s continue on.」

I pointed to the only door in the room.

「Y-Yeah, yes!」

「Aa, r-right…!」

Then, I slowly opened the door.

Beyond that point was a narrow passage with black curtains on the left and right.

Light blue lighting illuminates the floor and shows the direction.

「He-hee… Q-Qu-Qu-Quite a nice atmosphere isn’t it… Well, I’m not afraid at all, though…」

「R-Right… The president and senpais did a pretty good job… I’m also not afraid at all though…」

「Ahaha, it certainly has a good atmosphere.」

I took a step forward, smiling at their brave front -『click』- the sound of a lock was heard from behind.

「「Hii!?」」

Ria and Rose let out a shriek and tried to open the door behind us.

However, the door was locked and could no longer be opened.

「W-WW-WW-What do we do… Allen?!」

「L-Locked… We’re locked inside?!」

Ria and Rose shook my body violently, bewilderedly.

The two trembling this much was something rare, and was rather cute.

「It’s okay, so calm down…」

I said gently, trying to calm Ria and Rose.

「U-Un… Thank you.」

「Fuu… s-sorry, I lost my composure.」

And when they regained their coolness,

「Let’s move on.」

We finally started to go into the haunted house.

I walked in the lead, whereas the two followed behind me; Ria on the right and Rose on the left.

Their hands were tightly clutching the sleeves of my uniform, and it was very hard to walk.

However, there was no way that I could say 『It’s a little hard to walk…』
to the two of them who were trembling.

(Even so, the『sound of door locking』was a good touch that induced anxiety.)

The reality of being『trapped』reminds human beings of the feelings of oppression, fretfulness, and dread.

In that sense, the current trick was a simple but very good『introduction』.

(If I’m not mistaken, the general manager was Ferris-senpai, wasn’t it…)

When I looked around, I saw a broken mirror, one indoor slipper of a pair, a half-open locker, and so on. Props which induced fear indirectly caught the eyes.

(All of them are clever props. They didn’t spare a thought in inducing fear.)

Should I say, as expected of the haunted house that made more than ten people faint last year.

(Fufu, it’s getting a little fun.)

As we went down the narrow, dark course, a student dressed as a short old-man with a bent waist slowly came toward me, tapping his cane on the floor.

「Oh, you guys…! I wonder if you’re still alive…?!」

Then, he began talking without waiting for our reply.

「We『dead souls』are bound by the『keystone』at the far end of this building, and are unable to enter Nirvana. I’d like to ask you guys a favour. I want you to find the『curse dispelling amulet』somewhere in this building and place it on the keystone.」

Apparently, the condition to clear this haunted house is to listen to his request, and help the dead souls bound to the house reach Nirvana.

「Just like how there are dead like me who can reason, there are also dead who can’t and will attack the living at first sight. Be very careful.」

Having said that, he walked away somewhere.

「Curse dispelling amulet he says…」

「I see, it seems like we have to look for it first…」

With a clear purpose, the two were completely absorbed into the world of the haunted house.

「Well, then, let’s go find the curse dispelling amulet.」

「Un.」

「Aa.」

After that, the two of them, who got used to the atmosphere here, came to walk shoulder to shoulder with me.

As we advanced to through the narrow passage, we came out to a wide spacious room

(There is something here…)

The moment I tried to cross the hall while being slightly cautious, the sound of wings flapping and the ominous cries of ravens resounded.

「「Hiiii!?」」

Ria and Rose hugged me involuntarily. But the trick is not over yet.

Cold wind blew from all sides, and a big doll in red clothes attached to the ceiling began to rattle.

「「A-A-Aaaa…」」

While their eyes were glued to the ceiling,

(So, the ”floor”, huh…)

After checking the ceiling quickly, I calmly shifted my eyes to the floor.

(A big doll that outright attracts attention. This is probably a typical trick which shifts people’s gaze.)

Then,『blood-painted hands』which would probably grip our ankles came from the floor.

Perhaps this was the note『representation using manipulation-type soul dress.』

(As expected, it came from the floor after all. Even so, the『hand』looks quite realistic. I wonder if it’s made of clay or something…)

While thinking about that, I easily avoided the creeping hands.

At that moment,

The blood-stained hands gripped the ankles of the two who were distracted by the doll above.

「「KY-KYAAAAAAAAAAAAA?!!!」」

The two, who had been completely fixated on the doll, shrieked like hell.

「C-Calm down, calm down! It’s okay! Because it is a prop hand!」

When I spoiled the trick,

「R-R-R-Really…? Oh, it’s true…」

「I-I was surprised as hell…」

They must have been terrified.

Ria and Rose trembled with tears in their eyes.

「Take a deep breath. Take your time to catch your breath.」

「U-Un…」

「A-Aa… yeah……」

They probably panicked a lot.

「「Hi-Hi-fuu… hi-hi-fuu…」」

They practiced the wrong breathing method simultaneously.

(Well, as long as it helps them calm down.)

When they gradually began to regain their composure,

「「Hi-hi… HIII!?」」

A scroll fell from the ceiling.

I picked it up as it rolled on the floor and checked the content.

「…I see, it’s a map.」

It was a rough sketch map of this haunted house.

The curse dispelling amulet is probably at the location where it’s marked with a red x-mark.

(Even so, top, bottom, top, huh…)

It’s a clever trick to shift people’s attention around.

「Yoshi, let’s hurry ahead.」

「「U-Un…」」

If we stay here for too long, the two will not be able to sleep all night.

(…Perhaps, it’s already too late even.)

Thinking about that, we resumed searching for the curse dispelling amulet.

(Kuh, as expected of Allen-kun. He easily saw through the trick!)

(What should we do, Sie?! As expected, he’s quite strong!)

(T-The way things seem, I don’t think we’ll be able to scare him though…!)

(I-It’s okay. We still have a lot of set ups!)

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After that, Ria and Rose braved through the haunted house despite falling for various tricks.

Ria grabbed my right hand, and Rose, my left. Both of them firmly grasped it and didn’t let go.

The only problem was that it was difficult to walk.

(And more importantly…)

The “soft” feeling on my arm from a while ago. I can’t help but worry about it.

I tried to distance myself indirectly several times, but…

They never left.

As I walked down a narrow passage in such an indescribable situation, we came out to a place that was wide open.

(This is definitely our destination.)

Looking at the map, we are at the red x-mark on the map.

(But man, they really put a lot of work into this…)

The place looked like a temple.

There is a main temple in the center, and large statues placed on either side of it.

And right in front of the main temple was an offertory box and a pure white amulet adorning it.

It was probably the curse dispelling amulet for the curse.

「T-There it is! It’s over there, Allen!」

「W-We did it… With this we can finally…!」

When we finally found what we were looking for, the two ran towards it in high spirits.

However, it was too obvious that there would be a trap there.

「W-Wait both of you!」

I tried to stop them, but…

My voice did not reach the ears of Ria and Rose, who were oscillating between fear and joy.

「We did it! We got the curse dispelling amulet!」

「Yoshi, if we find the keystone after this…!」

The moment the two of them got the curse dispelling amulet and smiled with joy,

「Give it baaaaaaack!」

A bloodstained woman jumped out of the offertory box directly behind them.

「「……N-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!」」

The two reached the critical point of fear, and ran to the back of the haunted house at full speed.

「Hey, Ria!? Rose!?」

……They were gone.

Well, this is a haunted house built by the president and senpais.

I’m sure there will be no danger to the both of them.

「You both did well…」

Even though they’re poor at scary things… they did well to endure so far.

While sending generous praise to their guts, I proceeded through the haunted house.

I got the curse dispelling amulet that was dropped by Ria and Rose, and enjoyed the various set-ups prepared by the president.

And finally,

「Is this the end, I wonder?」

I placed the curse dispelling amulet on the keystone which was in the back of the building.

Then, a tranquil music which is normally played at churches sounded, and the door at the end of the keystone opened slowly.

It looks like the exit is ahead.

(This was a lot more fun than I expected…)

After successfully completing the clear condition of the haunted house, I proceeded to the exit pointed to by the light.

At that moment,

「BOO!」

The president, dressed in a white ghost costume, jumped out of the shadows of the pillars.

It was a development I expected, so… I wasn’t particularly surprised.

「Thank you, president. There were a number of elaborate props that were aimed at the gaps of consciousness. It was a lot of fun.」

When I conveyed my honest impression,

「……Eh? T-Thank you… No, that’s not the point!」

She stared at me blankly for a moment, and soon pouted sullenly.

「W-Why didn’t you get surprised at all?! And the surprise just now… Any human being would have definitely been surprised!」

The president said so in desperation, getting angry unreasonably.

「A-Ahaha… Sorry.」

I scratched my cheeks with a wry smile.

Indeed, the last surprise attack was a wonderful fright that aimed at catching a psychological blind spot.

It’s a wonderful attack that precisely targets the moment when the curse dispelling amulet was placed on the keystone and everything was over – the moment when the on-edge mind finally relaxed.

However,

「I could smell your nice smell from behind the pillars, so, unfortunately, I knew you were hiding there, president.」

Man is surprised at the unexpected.

Conversely, not surprised at the expected.

And then,

「N-Nice smell…」

She probably noticed her mistake, as she blushed red.

「Yes. Well then, I have to find Ria and Rose… So I will take my leave here.」

Thus, I cleared the president and senpais’ special three classroom haunted house.

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