At this very moment, in the real world, inside the Gotō household.
Gotō Hitori, whose long pink hair looked slightly disheveled and whose face was deathly pale, felt that she was not far from dropping dead on the spot.
Inside her room were Shijō Maki, Fujiwara Chika, Shinomiya Kaguya, and Aoyama Nanami. Including herself, a full five girls were squeezed into a single room, making the space feel somewhat cramped.
Among them, Maki and Chika had no choice but to crowd together with her because they needed to share control of that remote body. Nanami, whom Kogawa Shu had called over, sat nearby with a deeply worried expression, responsible for ensuring their safety if anything went wrong.
Kaguya, sitting in the corner, was extremely worried about her maid, whose whereabouts were unknown, but she had still chosen to come along. However, she remained restless the entire time, her expression gloomy, the sort of state that made people feel pressured just by looking at her. And very obviously, Gotō Hitori was the type who easily noticed abnormal behavior from the people around her, so by now, she had already imagined several versions of a bullying scenario based on Kaguya's reaction.
Ah… So many people… There are so many people in my room, and more than half of them are people I've barely interacted with. My safe house… the only place that gives me peace of mind, the only place that doesn't make me feel scared, has now been completely invaded…
Gotō Hitori looked around.
She wanted to crawl back into the cardboard box by the side of the room, but when she had crawled inside earlier, the remote-control signal had become too poor and had nearly cut off their connection with Takumi's side. So she could only cry helplessly and give up on the place that made her feel safe.
This time, her gaze turned toward the trash can.
If she crawled inside, she probably would not have to endure this feeling of being stared at from every direction. In that case…
"Hitori-chan, how are things over there?"
Nanami's voice pulled the girl back from the delusional realm she was about to enter. Looking at this girl, who had taken care of her many times over the past few months and had also managed her like a fussy old mother many times, Hitori could not help making a tearful, miserable face again.
I almost forgot. Aoyama-san is here. She would definitely pull me out. Unlike Nijika, who usually just tries to persuade me from the side, Aoyama-san really will physically drag me out of all sorts of dark corners, and she does it with such practiced skill that it's like she has already dealt with a lot of problem girls before.
So no matter how unwilling she was, right now she could only sit there obediently and stay still.
"The situation is still all right, I think. Takumi-kun managed to rescue an old player named Kumagai Mai from the Instance. Right now, that old player is leading him, and there's also a girl named Yotsuya Miko with them, a girl born with powerful perception. The three of them are planning to investigate a certain place, and we're discussing things with them to see if there's any good way to support them and reduce the danger."
Before Hitori could successfully organize her words—speechcraft 45—and answer, Maki answered one step ahead of her.
"Kumagai Mai? Ah, so it's Kumagai-san. She's actually still alive…"
Nanami spoke with some surprise, her tone carrying a trace of emotion.
"Is that Kumagai-san a really impressive person? I can clearly feel that Takumi-kun respects her a lot, and she also gives off the feeling of a squad leader."
Chika, who was sitting on the other side of Hitori, also opened her eyes and asked. The two pink-haired beauties sitting together really did give off the feeling of actual sisters. Though in reality, their personalities were worlds apart—basically complete opposites.
"She's extremely impressive. Kumagai-san has always been a famous and powerful figure among Red Moon-level players. She once served as vice-captain of the Slacker Crew, possesses multiple powerful Obsession Items and an extremely practical Dark Night-level blessing, and she herself is resilient and kind. She's the sort of person who often takes the initiative to help newcomers and shoulder risks for others. A lot of people have received her help. I've worked together with her too, and she helped me several times."
Nanami pushed up the glasses she was wearing as she answered Chika very seriously.
Additionally, she was also a terrifying existence who could drink without ever getting drunk. During several player gatherings, she had drunk countless people under the table. Even among Red Moon-level players, very few could outdrink her in a direct contest. Supposedly, her greatest record was drinking an entire ton of one-hundred-percent-pure industrial alcohol. Nobody really knew what kind of problem these players with superhuman physiques had that made them insist on drinking that stuff.
And because she had fused a powerful Obsession Item called the "Bronze Eye" into her own body—an item capable of immobilizing Aberrations—Kumagai had gained the bizarre nickname "Blue-Eyes Kumagai."
Incidentally, Nanami knew several players who liked card games. For some reason, every time they heard Kumagai's nickname, they would reveal extremely complicated expressions, as though they had heard a joke they desperately wanted to comment on but could not really explain to people outside the circle.
Still, there was no need to share amusing player anecdotes like that here. Better to wait until Takumi and the others returned safely first.
Only…
Could they really come back safely?
Nanami could not help thinking that in her heart, having already witnessed far too many painful partings between the living and the dead over the years.
[Campus Uncanny]
A dangerous place considered one of the most complex, difficult, and perilous among Red Moon-level Instances. It possessed four confirmed zones, along with one unidentifiable zone, and was believed to contain eight core obsessions.
To fall into such a dangerous situation—and during the stage before the Instance had even officially opened, when normal entry and exit were impossible…
If they truly managed to come back alive, it would not be an exaggeration to call it a miracle.
Nanami felt that miracles probably did not exist. Yet, because she knew at least some of what Takumi's team had experienced, she did not dare reach that conclusion completely. After all, the events at Shirakawa Apartments, where they had dealt with two veteran players, and their direct first-attempt breakthrough of the fixed phase in Red Nut Grey Cave were already things on the level of miracles.
So she merely told Maki and Chika, very seriously, about some of Kumagai's powerful performances inside Instances, reassuring them so they could relax. Everything else, Nanami swallowed back down into her stomach without revealing the slightest trace of it.
Maybe miracles really could happen.
Or perhaps that Takumi himself was simply special.
After all, according to the information Kogawa Shu had investigated, every Instance he had participated in so far had been abnormal. And now, by only his third Instance, he had already been dragged into Red Moon-level difficulty.
It was almost as though…
As though something was deliberately paying attention to him.
It was at that moment that Maki suddenly frowned slightly, seemingly having exchanged some sort of communication with Takumi's side. Then she turned her gaze toward Hitori beside her.
"Gotō-san, can you do it?"
Inside the Instance, Takumi had just asked whether Kumagai Mai and Yotsuya Miko could be brought into the mental link. Since Hitori was also inside the link, she naturally understood what Maki meant.
In response, the girl gave a slight nod and took out a music box stained with faint smears of dirt and blood.
As the key was wound, a tiny dancer wearing a ballet dress popped out from the music box.
Yet no music actually played.
However, Maki, Chika, and the three people currently inside the Instance—Takumi, Mai, and Miko—all heard a pleasant melody begin to play.
Moreover, the sound was not coming from any direction around them. It was being played directly inside their minds.
Mai, who was already familiar with this Obsession Item, knew that Hitori was acting, so she did not react much.
Miko, on the other hand, was startled badly, because mixed into the music, she could also hear the sound of a girl crying. It made her scalp crawl with fear and left her completely at a loss.
{Good. In that case, Miko-san, you can finally say the things you didn't dare say before, right?}
Now that the entire team had gained telepathic communication, Takumi immediately turned his gaze toward Miko.
And it was also at that moment that Mai, having sensed something, frowned and walked to the window of the ruined room, looking toward the hospital.
She saw Toyama Akira, already dressed in a patient gown.
Standing behind one of the windows, he also raised his head and looked in her direction.
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