[Lifespan: 2 days]
Hoshino slowly opened his eyes.
The night was deep. Moonlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling window, scattering across the uneven texture of the tatami like crushed silver foil—bright, delicate, and cold.
Kneeling silently by the futon was Kobeni Higashiyama, her face unreadable.
Hoshino rubbed his cheeks. They stung.
Scary as hell.
He rolled onto his side, turning his back to her, tugged the blanket up behind his head, and mumbled, "If I said I did it to save you, would you believe me?"
He didn't expect a yes. After all, this was the girl who managed to have two near-death experiences in one day.
"I believe you," Kobeni said unexpectedly.
Hoshino froze and turned back to look at her.
Her face was shadowed against the light, her expression hidden in the dark.
"Don't look at me like that, it's creepy. How about you stab me again instead?" Hoshino muttered.
"I saw your Devil."
"Huh?"
"It told me to ask you…" Kobeni hesitated. "Why aren't you in pain? How are you still alive?"
Hoshino blinked, pressing a fist against his lips. Then he nodded slowly. "I see."
He'd wondered that himself.
The Aging Devil cost lifespan, the Muscle Devil demanded pain tolerance—but the Pain Devil? It wanted something else entirely.
"So that's it. It wanted my pain—or maybe Futoshi Hoshino's pain—but it doesn't know he has other Authority, or that he's actually eighty-eight years old."
If he were still eighteen and used the Pain Devil this often, forget pain—he'd be dead already.
"The landlady checked you earlier," Kobeni said. "She said you're fine."
"Yeah, got it."
"It's late. You don't have to keep kneeling like that," Hoshino said, lifting his blanket and patting the futon beside him. "Come under the covers."
"No way." Kobeni shuffled backward, returning to her own futon. She slipped beneath the quilt.
A brief silence.
"Thanks," she whispered, her voice as faint as a mosquito's. "Thank you… for saving me. Twice."
"It's fine." Hoshino answered seriously. "You've given me plenty of benefits too."
"…" Kobeni's face burned. She screamed silently, Why would you say that out loud, you idiot?!
"Hey, Kobeni-san! You asleep?"
"…"
"Hey! Hey! Hey!"
"Someone was eavesdropping outside around ten last night," Kobeni said stiffly, changing the subject.
"Did you catch them?"
"Eh? Were we supposed to?"
"…Forget it."
They kept chatting idly for a while until Kobeni asked, "That thing about having three days left to live—was that a lie?"
"Two days," Hoshino corrected.
"Seriously? You don't even look worried. You were just lounging around in the hot springs."
"The existence of matter and the laws governing it don't bend to human will," Hoshino said lazily, stretching under the covers. "When the cost of failure's this high, there's only so much I can do.
"Gather information methodically, analyze logically, choose boldly—and accept the results calmly."
Then he told her what he'd heard earlier and what he planned for tomorrow. Kobeni agreed.
"Sleep. We've got an early start."
"Mhm."
Her breathing soon settled into a slow rhythm.
Hoshino lay there, eyes closed, mulling over something that had popped into his mind mid-conversation.
Does the Silkworm Devil even have reproductive isolation?
It mattered.
Silkworm moths fertilized internally, but females laid eggs shortly after—usually near where they died.
That meant the eggs wouldn't be far from the body, especially in winter.
But what if it could mate not just with its own kind—but with other species?
Animals moved around. The distance from the original corpse could be huge.
If it were fish or birds, though, well—he'd just have to hunt them down and eat them.
"Not a bad way to go," he muttered. "Better than dying anxious."
His thoughts began to unravel as sleep crept in.
Then, beside him, Kobeni suddenly sat up.
"Oh-ho~ Kobeni-san, what's got you up at midnight?" Hoshino teased.
She didn't respond. She just stood, leaving the futon.
He didn't think much of it—just figured she'd grown up poor, had weak kidneys from bad food as a kid. He shut his eyes again.
Until he heard the soft slide of the shoji door.
Hoshino opened his eyes, frowning. "Where're you going this late? It's two degrees out there. You're not even dressed! You'll catch a cold!"
No answer.
But he could hear her bare feet stepping off the tatami onto the wooden floor.
"Sleepwalking?"
He sat up fast and followed.
Out in the hallway, his expression twisted.
Every light along the corridor was out. Behind him, a window at the far end let in a sliver of pale moonlight—the only anchor holding the darkness back.
The entire inn was silent. Deathly still. Like something had its hand wrapped around its throat.
Every sliding door along the hall stood open, each room swallowed in deeper black.
Kobeni walked forward, step by step. The distance, weight, and rhythm of each footfall were exactly the same. Her slender figure was slowly being devoured by the dark.
The sight hit a primal fear deep inside him.
"Is she… possessed?" Hoshino swallowed hard.
Terror flickered in his eyes—but vanished the next time he blinked, leaving only ripples.
Thud!
His calf muscles coiled like springs, then exploded. Hoshino shot forward like lightning.
He didn't think about what was hiding in those unlit rooms—or what had happened to the inn.
He was just a student who'd read too many books.
When faced with fear, the body had to move faster than the mind. Like when he'd saved Yurie Hoshino the first time.
Either act before instinct could stop you—or crush that instinct entirely.
Right as Kobeni reached the corner of the corridor, Hoshino caught up and grabbed her wrist to pull her back.
He hadn't expected her strength to be that freakish—she yanked him forward so hard he almost fell.
"Okay, okay! Trying to make me look weak, huh? Fine, no Devil powers then."
Grumbling, he crouched, easily hoisting her over his shoulder. "You've got a lot to learn, Kobeni-san."
She writhed and struggled, but with no footing, she couldn't break free.
"Yep. No conscious control," Hoshino muttered, staying wary in case she tried a chokehold, joint lock, or went for a hidden knife.
But she didn't. In this state, Kobeni seemed to be following a single, mindless program.
He glanced at one of the pitch-black rooms. Empty.
He sped up unconsciously, feet pounding until both left the ground at once.
He sprinted all the way back to the Starfall Room.
The door slid shut with a soft click.
"Haa…" Hoshino exhaled shakily.
Of all things, ghosts were his number one fear.
Thailand, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong—he'd seen too many ghost movies in his past life. The creepy ones, the ones that appeared out of nowhere—never got easier.
He dropped the slippery, eel-like Kobeni onto the futon. She tried to sit up, but he threw the blanket over her again and pressed down.
Then he lay on top, tossing his own blanket over both of them.
The two of them, plus two layers of futon, made a human sandwich.
After a while, Kobeni's struggling grew weaker.
They hadn't eaten dinner, and after that much exertion, Hoshino was completely spent.
He drifted off in seconds.