"The reality of the world..."
Kaguya's dark brows drew together slightly as she looked around. At some point, the frost accumulating inside the castle had grown thicker and thicker.
"There's no way to prove it." Kaguya shook her head. "If this world is something like a 'brain in a vat' scenario, then there's absolutely no way to verify it."
The so-called "brain in a vat" hypothesis suggested that all human perception was converted through brain signals—meaning there was no way to prove whether the world one occupied was reality or a dream.
Sight, hearing, touch—all of it could be the aggregation of subconscious information within a dream.
Natsuki had even once considered that the various "prompts" his eyes showed him might also be products of a dream—until he came up with a way to prove otherwise.
It was common knowledge.
Everything in a dream was composed of knowledge the brain had previously absorbed.
In other words, you would never encounter a person or thing in a dream that you had never seen before.
So then...
Yukino Yukinoshita stood quietly in the corner, observing in secret. Just as her gaze swept past the second floor, the girl's movements suddenly froze.
"It appeared?"
Natsuki, who had been keeping an eye on Yukino, stepped forward half a pace and asked in a low voice.
"Mm."
Yukino bit her lower lip, her pretty face turning slightly pale. She gave a soft sound of confirmation.
Natsuki followed the black-haired girl's gaze and looked up toward the second floor.
At the point where the second floor's corridor connected to the first—the very spot where Jack had stood in Titanic—a woman had silently appeared.
The woman wore a black evening gown. Her figure was quite impressive. She had short, practical hair. And on her face, she wore a mask.
The mask was peculiar—half angel, half demon.
Natsuki narrowed his eyes slightly, staring intently.
A prompt quickly appeared before his eyes.
[You have discovered the 'Masked Witch.' What kind of expression lies beneath her mask?]
[The joys of a witch are beyond the experience of ordinary people—provided you can capture her interest]
[Difficulty: High]
[Unlockable Achievement: Sisters Rice Bowl]
"Sisters Rice Bowl..."
Natsuki stared at the decidedly inappropriate achievement prompt and had already guessed the woman's identity.
This achievement could only be unlocked with real biological sisters.
In which case, without a doubt...
"She's your older sister, isn't she?"
Natsuki turned to look at Yukino, his tone certain.
Yukino's eyes widened slightly. Surprise was clearly written across her face: "How did you know?"
"That's not important."
Natsuki withdrew his gaze.
What was important: verification complete.
Earlier in the library, Natsuki had made a request of Yukino: imagine something that wouldn't appear in ordinary literary works—ideally something only she alone knew about. And she absolutely must not tell anyone else—not even him.
Humans cannot create something in a dream that they've never encountered before.
This was the first time Natsuki had met Yukino in a game. It was even less possible that he'd ever known or encountered her older sister.
The "Masked Witch" before his eyes was an existence whose identity only Yukino Yukinoshita knew.
Yet the prompt had clearly revealed the woman's identity. Working backward—the prompts that kept appearing before his eyes were confirmed to be real, not false.
After catching that one true butterfly, the truth of the world had finally been exposed.
"It's time to go."
Natsuki suddenly spoke.
"Eh?" Chika looked at him in confusion. "Where are you going, Amamiya-kun?"
The other players likewise turned to look.
Natsuki spoke as he walked:
"Halfway up the mountain. The place where we first woke up."
"Why go there?" Chika followed after him, pondering aloud as she analyzed. "...Did you leave something halfway up the mountain?"
Natsuki nodded: "Correct. You guessed it in one try."
"So perfunctory." The pink-haired girl puffed out her bun-shaped cheeks. "That expression is super perfunctory."
If you know it's perfunctory, why bother asking? Everyone arrived in this world completely empty-handed—what could possibly have been left behind halfway up the mountain?
Complaints aside, the pink-haired girl still stuck close to Natsuki's side, without the slightest hesitation or delay.
The "evil-sweeping duo" naturally had to stick together like焦不离孟,孟不离焦—焦 could not be separated from 孟, and 孟 could not be separated from 焦.
Kaguya, needless to say, naturally moved together with him—united in advance and retreat.
Yukino quietly followed, her expression thoughtful.
Kotoriyū Rokka needed no convincing—identify the right coattails to grab and cling tight. That was all there was to it.
The other four stranger players exchanged glances. Though they followed as well, their expressions carried obvious hesitation.
"Um, may I ask why we're leaving?"
A female stranger player asked tentatively.
Natsuki's voice was steady:
"If you want an explanation, I'll tell you everything after the game ends."
"Eh?"
The female player blinked—then quickly began nodding like a pecking chicken: "I-I understand."
After the game ends... It seemed the boy before them had already figured out how to clear the game.
In that case, don't ask anything. Just obediently follow along.
Natsuki walked up to the castle's main entrance and pushed the door open with his hand. Biting cold wind came howling in, driving snow into the castle.
"So cold."
"The snow still hasn't stopped."
"It feels like it's coming down even harder now."
"..."
All the players shivered in the blizzard.
Natsuki stepped out of the castle. His right foot immediately sank into the accumulated snow, and bone-chilling cold surged over him.
"Everyone, look!" A cry of alarm suddenly rang out. "The countdown is dropping way faster!"
Everyone hurriedly checked their quest panels. The death countdown was plummeting at double speed.
Seeing this, some immediately lost their nerve.
"Maybe we should go back to the castle after all?"
"It's way too scary out here."
Natsuki took two steps. The snow came up past his ankles, making walking extremely difficult. After pondering for two seconds, he suddenly said:
"Back to the castle."
"Hm?"
Kaguya looked at him in surprise.
Natsuki wasn't the type to issue contradictory orders or act on every passing whim. Having just come outside moments ago, only to turn back now—he definitely had a plan.
What was he trying to do?
As Natsuki retreated back into the castle, the other players all followed him in.
"Human, why have you come back?"
The werewolf miss hadn't gone upstairs yet. Seeing Natsuki return, she was quite surprised.
Natsuki spoke with sincere earnestness:
"I did something very inappropriate to Werewolf Miss earlier. I'm very sorry."
The werewolf miss tilted her chin up and let out a haughty huff: "Hmph. Good that you know."
Natsuki continued:
"A verbal apology can't make up for my regret. So before we part ways, I'd like to give Werewolf Miss a gift."
"A gift?"
The werewolf miss's ears twitched. She couldn't help but ask: "What gift?"
Perhaps feeling her tone had been too eager, the werewolf miss quickly turned her head away with a haughty huff:
"Human, offer me one of your arms as a gift, and I'll consider forgiving you."
Natsuki hid his right hand behind his back. Under Kaguya's shocked gaze, he stepped up to the werewolf miss and spoke with gravity:
"Bend down. I'll put the gift on you."