"What… do you even know what you're saying?"
Faced with Takumi, who had opened his mouth and immediately started talking about dealing with Fujihana Middle School's core obsession, Mai looked like she wanted to say something but stopped herself. In the end, she could only force out a strained smile and ask the question.
"Of course I do. I'm serious. The reason I rescued Kumagai-san was also because I wanted to find someone who could assist me. I hope Kumagai-san can help me carry out the raid on the dormitory building. Of course, if Kumagai-san truly isn't willing, I won't and can't force you. After all, this really is extremely dangerous."
Takumi spoke in a calm tone, his attitude steady and composed. It was obvious that he genuinely meant it.
'No, seriously, is there something wrong with you?'
Mai, who considered herself someone who had already seen all kinds of players, really could not hold it together at this moment.
This was a Red Moon-level instance, for God's sake. And it was Fujihana Middle School, of all places—an extremely abnormal place where a monster like Alice existed, something that completely overturned everything players thought they knew about aberrations. After so many repeated runs of the Campus Horror Stories instance, among its four areas, only Hayadate Elementary School and Fujihana Middle School still had core obsessions that had never been broken. The reason was simple: those two places were just too difficult.
Just surviving in a place like this was already incredibly hard for players, let alone taking the initiative to delve deeper into danger and try to crack the core obsession. A so-called Red Moon-level player like her, if she decided to tackle a Red Moon-level instance, would definitely gather several squads totaling ten or twenty people, collect all the information they possibly could in advance, and only then enter the instance carefully to explore in team formations. Even then, they usually would not dare truly make a move until they had gone through several instance missions first.
But what was this supposed to be now? One half-crippled Red Moon-level player with all her equipment gone, one kid who looked like he had some skill but, at the absolute most, could only be counted as a fairly capable Red Moon-level player, and then one ordinary person who looked like she could not do anything at all—and on top of that, just a high-school-aged little girl.
These three miserable misfits were going to crack the core obsession of an instance that several Red Moon-level squads had failed to break? What a joke. It would be more accurate to say they were going to throw their lives away.
"Uh… young man, while it's true that being able to find Alice's doll room and bring an Obsession Item out of it is seriously impressive, honestly, you should know better than anyone just how twisted this place is, right? And judging by the look of it, you don't actually have any especially good way to deal with that Alice, do you? And even so, you're still planning to break this area's core obsession?"
After thinking it over for quite a while, Mai cautiously tried to offer Takumi some advice, hoping to change his mind.
"I know. With the level of our current hastily assembled team, trying to deal with that Alice isn't much different from courting death. But I still have to try. I have no choice but to do this."
While estimating in his heart how much time it would take for that Alice to recover, Takumi continued speaking to Mai in front of him.
"..."
Mai was left somewhat speechless.
She had already put it that bluntly, and he was still dead set on this suicidal course. Yet this guy was also her lifesaver, so she could not quite bring herself to just walk away and ignore him. Could it be that he really did have some method? After all, according to him, he really had taken the Obsession Item tied to Alice in the Teaching Building area, as well as the dolls imprisoning players. But something like that...
Wait. Looking at the way this man carried himself, he did not seem like the kind of fool who liked to go all in and recklessly gamble everything on one desperate charge. He should know exactly what he was doing.
And when he answered her just now, there had also been a trace of helplessness in his expression.
"You've been cursed?"
Mai frowned and asked.
"Cursed?"
Takumi was a little surprised. He had not expected this player to suddenly say something like that.
"You don't look stupid. You don't seem like the type who'd do something like this for no reason and gamble with your own life. So have you been cursed? Don't tell me that if you don't break this place's core obsession, you can't leave?"
Mai asked in all seriousness. Takumi's attitude had clearly made her notice something, which was why she had come to this conclusion.
In a certain sense, she really had guessed correctly, so Takumi simply went along with it and showed a helpless expression.
"...You could say that. In any case, I can't leave. But there's no way I can do it alone, so I can only try to find helpers."
As he said this, Takumi shrugged and let out a sigh. Mai, meanwhile, put on an expression that said "just as I thought" and raised a hand to cover her forehead.
"What a pain. Never thought I'd end up caught up in something like this one day."
Saying that, Mai let out a deep sigh. Somehow, in a way no one knew how she managed, she tossed aside the curtain she had been using to cover herself, and a light set of casual clothes was already draped over her body. Then the woman casually pulled a cigarette from her pocket, lit it, and turned her gaze toward the passage ahead.
"Then let's go."
That was what she said.
"Although I wasn't responsible for investigating the dormitory building, I still know the rough situation there. It's even more dangerous than the Teaching Building. Once we go in, we'll be split up and randomly assigned to separate dorm rooms, and then each of us will receive a puzzle. That puzzle can only be solved by the person who gets it. You absolutely cannot reveal your puzzle to anyone else. As for the rest, once you see the relevant rules, you'll understand. Remember one thing: those rules may not necessarily be able to restrain Alice, but they definitely do restrict us. There's no fairness in this game. No matter what happens, preserving your own life must always be the top priority."
Mai's expression had already turned grave and serious.
Even knowing that getting involved in this might very well get her killed again, she still chose to help Takumi. She had decided to push into the dangerous place ahead.
As for why... probably because a debt had to be repaid in kind. Someone had saved her life, so she ought to give something in return. That was not something she needed to agonize over. If she had truly been the kind of person who clung to life and feared death, then she would never have actively chosen to take part in Red Moon-level instances in the first place. She would have been like most players, repeating the cycle of five Dusk-level instances and one Dark Night-level instance, barely scraping by in miserable survival.
She could live that way, yes—but what would be the point? She had become a player and obtained supernatural power. Was it really all just for this? If that was the case, then how would it be any different from the old corporate-drone life she used to live, staying up late every day working overtime?
"Thank you."
Seeing Mai decide to help him, Takumi immediately felt much lighter inside, and he could not help sincerely thanking her.
"Let's make one thing clear first. If things really go to hell, I might not be able to save you. My abilities are limited right now. And putting that aside, are you really going to bring this little girl along too? I really can't see what ability she has that would let her survive the exploration ahead."
Seeing Takumi like this, Mai could not help but give him one more warning. Only then did she shift her attention to Miko, who from beginning to end had had no way to join the conversation.
"She may not be a player, but she has an innate perceptive ability. She can see many things we can't. Bringing her along is absolutely necessary."
Takumi said this seriously, his attitude extremely firm.
If I don't keep Miko by my side, and Alice or some other ghost thing possesses her somewhere we can't see and then sends her back after us, then we really will be in for a cheerful GG with full-on hearts-and-guts spilling out.
Takumi did not say that part aloud. He only muttered it inwardly in his mind.
"I-I'll do my best not to hold you back…"
Sensing to some extent that she was being disliked, Miko spoke in a small voice. But faced with Mai's gaze, which for some reason made her feel intensely creeped out, she still instinctively hid behind Takumi, who made her feel safer.
"Fine, do whatever you want. You're the client, after all. Just don't ask me to do the impossible."
Seeing Miko's obvious dependence on Takumi, Mai shook her head and said nothing more. She directly stepped forward toward the passageway.
The Alice upstairs, who had been immobilized, was by now almost at the point of recovering her ability to move.
So Takumi did not hesitate. He immediately brought Miko with him and followed behind Mai.
At this moment, the girl at his side was practically moving pressed right up against him, instinctively reaching out to grab his sleeve.
That kind of action made Takumi somewhat concerned. After all, this was already the start of the third loop. At this point, Miko should not have seen that many strange things yet, so logically speaking, she should not be feeling such a strong sense of dependence on him.
It was a little concerning, but the power of the blessing could confirm that Miko was completely and utterly human right now. Alice also should not have been able to complete a possession of Miko at this point.
In truth, even Miko herself did not understand it, nor was she aware of it. Somehow, she had vaguely developed a certain sense of dependence and trust toward Takumi, and even a bit of guilt mixed into it.
As though she had already gone through a difficult exploration together with him.
As though she had already been protected by him more than once in dangerous situations.
As though, under coercion, she had already hurt him many times.
Even though none of those memories had been inherited, perhaps because of some special reason, Miko seemed to have retained a blurry impression of them. That was why, compared to the first two loops, she had developed favorable feelings toward Takumi much earlier.
That was also why, in both the second and third loops, Takumi had chopped off a girl's arm to establish his authority, yet in the third loop Miko had not developed the same fear toward him as she had in the second. Instead, she instinctively felt that what Takumi had done was something that was [understandable, forgivable, and acceptable], so she simply had not cared about it at all.
Creak—
Mai pushed open the entrance to the Residential Wing and stepped inside from the corridor at the boundary between the Teaching Building and the dormitory building.
Takumi and Miko followed right behind her, and the three figures disappeared into the darkness.
Then the door slowly swung shut, closing on its own in utter silence. Only the reflection of a golden-haired girl remained in the glass window of the door, the corners of her lips hooked in a faint smile.
[New friends are coming to play games with Alice again~]
Her voice gradually carried off into the darkness, spreading toward the distance.
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