Chapter 36: Never gonna give you up!
[You have both been discovered by Tezcatlipoca. The most logical action now is to take Baobhan Sith and run.]
[Please perform a very-hard Agility check.]
"A very-hard check, huh…"
That meant he had to roll a D face or a direct great success (E), otherwise it would be an automatic failure.
This wasn't going to be easy!
The dice rolled—and the result was EX.
[Check result: Agility — Great Failure.]
Despite having rolled the worst possible outcome, for some reason, Eikou still felt like his body could move on its own.
If that's the case, then why should he sit here and wait to die?
I'm gonna defy fate and rewrite my destiny!
"Baobhan Sith, follow me!"
He grabbed her hand tightly. Baobhan Sith widened her eyes.
"Hold on tight, I'll protect you properly!"
Without a hint of hesitation, Eikou shouted, then firmly gripped her hand and ran straight for the exit.
The two of them sprinted down the hallway, with Eikou running at full speed from the start, trying to put as much distance between themselves and Tezcatlipoca as possible.
But what surprised him was that even though he was running that fast, Baobhan Sith still managed to keep up with him. Even without him dragging her along, they were running perfectly in sync.
Makes sense, he thought. Her Agility stat is nearly equal to mine.
And it seemed Tezcatlipoca wasn't chasing after them—Eikou only heard the sound of his and Baobhan Sith's footsteps, no third person behind them.
[The two of you kept running for quite a while.]
[Feeling that you had completely escaped the pursuit, you snuck into a teacher's office.]
Click!
As soon as they dashed into the room, Eikou turned and locked the door behind him.
Then he kicked two nearby chairs with his foot and used them to barricade the door—just in case Tezcatlipoca decided to burst in!
"Phew…"
After finishing all that, Eikou finally let out a breath of relief.
We're safe now—at least for the time being.
Tezcatlipoca hadn't chased them at all from beginning to end.
Though Eikou didn't quite understand why—he had clearly rolled a great failure—yet they still escaped smoothly.
Even though they were in a very safe spot now, Baobhan Sith was still holding tightly onto his hand. Very tightly—so much so that it was like her grip couldn't be shaken off no matter what.
He could feel it. She must really be scared.
Could it be that, in such a life-threatening situation, she was affected by the suspension bridge effect?
"Ahem…"
If that's the case, then he should probably show the gentle and reliable side of a proper british gentleman.
"Alright, you can let go now, Baobhan Sith. Even if you're not holding on so tightly, I'll still protect you. If Tezcatlipoca-sensei tries to break in, I'll hold the door so you can escape. Don't worry."
"Really?" a voice suddenly responded.
Huh? Eikou suddenly felt that something was very wrong… that wasn't Baobhan Sith's voice.
A strong gust of wind blew in, yanking the curtains down. The teacher's office went pitch dark—you couldn't even see your hand in front of your face, and he couldn't make anything out clearly.
He slowly turned his head, following the arm he was holding onto—and saw that he was facing a tall, skinny shadow.
"..."
Baobhan Sith… did she start going to the gym with Heracles?
"Baobhan Sith…?"
His eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, and he could vaguely see the other person wearing a fearsome-looking mask.
The owner of the hand he was holding… was Tezcatlipoca.
They were holding hands.
Holy shit! He grabbed the wrong person—he'd accidentally been holding Tezcatlipoca's hand!
So the one he'd grabbed earlier wasn't Baobhan Sith—it was Tezcatlipoca!
So this was the true consequence of a great failure.
Tezcatlipoca took a step closer. Then another.
Eikou stepped back each time—until his back hit the door.
But he had forgotten he'd blocked the door with the chairs earlier.
Thud! His leg hit one of the chairs, and he fell straight into it.
"Uaaaaoaoaoaoaoaoao!"
"Gahhh, somebody save meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
Eikou's terrified screams echoed throughout the haunted house.
...
Five minutes later.
「I've never felt pain like this before」
「I never thought this relationship would last forever」
「Baby, stay with me」
「Tell me that your love is all around me」
「The stars are smiling at the moon…」
"Ahahahahahaha!"
In the haunted house's resting area, the clear, bell-like laughter of a young girl rang out, cutting through Tristan's serenade.
Gawain—who had already been eliminated—was tearing open a pack of Artoria-themed trading cards, while Tristan had pulled out his instrument and was singing a love song.
When the laughter rang out, both of them instinctively turned to look at the two who had just stepped out of the main entrance.
It was Eikou, wearing an expression of utter despair, and Baobhan Sith, beaming with radiant joy.
"What happened?" Gawain asked. "This young lady looks so cheerful—don't tell me you passed the test of courage?"
"Not at all. We both got caught by Tezcatlipoca."
The red-haired girl smiled as she replied.
"Then why are you so happy?"
"Ask your roommate over there."Baobhan Sith pointed at Eikou, who was standing nearby with a pained expression.
"I did it to protect you, okay? I deliberately diverted the firepower onto myself. All things considered, I did end up protecting you." Eikou tried to defend himself.
"We were both about to get caught, and this guy suddenly grabbed Tezcatlipoca's hand and sprinted a hundred meters full-speed, dragging him along without even looking back, hahahaha! I already asked BB for the security footage. I'm planning to watch it with Mother later."
"Stop spreading my embarrassing moments already…" Eikou sighed.
[You've just completed a terrifying yet unforgettable haunted house adventure and cleared the second floor.]
[With your current strength and your team's capability, you're still not ready to challenge BB-chan's haunted house.]
[If you manage to climb to the top of this tower in the future, you may earn more lavish rewards and even encounter new characters.]
[Before the school year ends, this place will remain open.]
[You've received a reward: Encouragement Dice x1]
[You now have a total of four Encouragement Dice, which can be used to re-roll four dice results.]
Eikou read the system message like it was one of those "Traveler, please return here later to explore" signs from games.
In other words, when he got stronger, he could come back and challenge this haunted house again, unlock new items, and maybe even unlock branching storylines with other characters.
If BB was the one behind this haunted house, then it was definitely tied to characters from Mooncell.
"..."
No rush. He still had an entire school year ahead—plenty of time to progress.
[You and Baobhan Sith have shared a haunted house adventure that's hard to forget—in more ways than one.]
[This memory has become your strength.]
[Your Magic Resistance has been raised to EX rank.]
"Now that the haunted house adventure is over, I won't be sticking around."
The red-haired girl gave a proud wave,
"Bye-bye, dummies."
"You're not even gonna let us walk you out?" Eikou asked.
"No need. I already contacted a servant to pick me up. The car's almost here."
Of course. She wasn't giving him a single opening.
"What's with that disappointed face? Don't tell me you're feeling lonely now that I'm leaving?" Baobhan Sith asked with a sly smile.
"Then I'll be blunt. Yeah, I am."
"Oh…"
Baobhan Sith was slightly surprised—she hadn't expected such a direct answer.
"Flattery won't get you anywhere with me."
[Baobhan Sith's affection toward you has increased.]
She quickly returned to her usual cocky and aloof demeanor, laughing:"But since you said that, I'll be honest too—tonight wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be."
She pulled out a copy of the camera footage.
"Anyway, with this, it was worth the price of admission."
"Yamete-yo."
"Totally humiliating, right? I already told you, the suspension bridge effect doesn't work on me. In the end, you just brought it on yourself."
Baobhan Sith stuck out her tongue teasingly, then gracefully walked out of the haunted house.
Under the pale moonlight, the red-haired girl suddenly turned back and gave a mischievous smile:
"You human brat—if you want to conquer me, you're a thousand centuries too early! Come back in ten thousand years!"
Tristan, ever the mood-setter, began to strum a soft melody.
「The stars are smiling at the moon」
「What sights do your eyes hold」
「If I confess, won't I become weak and helpless?」
「I need your smile beside me」
「If you could hold me tightly」
「I'd feel how close your heartbeat is」
「This feeling… might last forever」