Normally, room service hours were strictly during the day. They'd never appear at night like this.
However, Hayato recalled the single word "cleaning" the female receptionist had left behind in that instant they'd passed each other earlier.
She was giving him a hint. But was the receptionist's hint well-intentioned or malicious?
"Ha-Hayato-kun."
Hoshino Ai, sitting beside Hayato, gently shook his arm and spoke carefully.
"I think I heard room cleaning service sounds."
"I, I heard it too."
Kuroda Hikari immediately spoke up.
This meant all three heard it clearly. This wasn't an individual auditory hallucination.
Sssss...
The sound of a cleaning cart sliding across the hallway floor.
Knock knock knock...
The knocking sounded once more.
"Room service."
"Does the guest require cleaning service?"
A middle-aged woman's voice, around thirty or forty years old, rang out from the hallway again and again.
After receiving no response from inside that room, she took another step and pushed her cleaning cart toward the next room down the hall.
Again, the regular knocking and inquiry sounds.
Closer.
Even closer with each room.
The female cleaning staff member walked room by room methodically.
Each sound hammered at Hoshino Ai and Kuroda Hikari's hearts like a drum.
Both suppressed their inner tension, waiting for Hayato's decision.
Click...
Suddenly, the sound of a door lock opening rang out clearly.
After the routine inquiry, the female cleaner didn't leave this time. Instead, she opened the room's electronic door lock.
"It's room 304."
The room next door.
The female cleaner entered room 304 to clean.
"No, that shouldn't be right! Before we returned to our room, wasn't the hallway twisted? Weren't the room orders all scrambled?"
Faced with Hoshino Ai's confused question, Hayato provided a calm explanation.
"The hallway twisted because we triggered Rule 6, which brought the first-floor lobby's female receptionist up. But now the receptionist has left, and we've also returned to the room. So the room order and hallway have most likely returned to normal."
After Hayato finished speaking, he stood up. He gave the two a meaningful look.
"Go out and look, and we'll know for sure."
Instantly, Kuroda Hikari's heart tightened with dread. Out there was the hotel staff member, the female cleaner.
"If we went out, wouldn't we run right into her? What if the cleaner was pretending to be next door but was actually waiting in front of our room?"
She voiced her theory nervously.
"I... I think Kuroda-san has some good points. How about..."
Hoshino Ai started stating her view, but immediately changed her tune.
"But I'll always support all of Hayato-kun's decisions."
Kuroda Hikari's eyes widened in shock.
She'd thought Hoshino Ai would be on her side and persuade Hayato to abandon the idea of going out!
This made her look like the only coward!
Are all idols this cunning?
"Hayato-senpai, you... You decide!"
"Put on your shoes. Follow my arrangements."
Hayato had a theory about the love hotel's infection rules. All that remained was verification and a bit of luck.
He looked at the room's clock.
Currently 1:15 AM.
Meanwhile, cleaning sounds came from next door.
Swish swish swish...
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
The sound of a broom sweeping.
Thud thud thud...
Suddenly, the sound of a heavy blade falling rang out. Like chopping meat and bones with brutal force.
One sound after another, stimulating the two girls' fragile hearts.
Both girls knew what had been in room 304, but they instinctively denied that theory. They felt they were overthinking.
"Let's go!"
Hayato came before the door and opened it wide.
The moment the door swung open, the hallway scene came into view.
Just as Hayato had said, the hallway had returned to normal.
All three walked out and looked next door. That was room 304. Right now the door stood open, with clearer cleaning sounds occasionally coming from inside.
There really was a cleaning person inside working.
Hoshino Ai's gaze fell on Hayato's face. She thought Hayato-kun would definitely use his superpower to go in and investigate!
But even after the cleaning staff member pushed the cart loaded with cleaning supplies to the doorway, she never saw Hayato show any inclination to use the time stop to enter the room and observe and collect clues.
Was I... wrong?
Hoshino Ai couldn't help thinking.
The cart slowly emerged from the room.
"Ugh..."
In an instant, Hoshino Ai's eyes widened. The hand pulling Hayato's sleeve immediately withdrew to cover her mouth. Her eyes stared wide at what was in the cart's trash bin.
Gulp...
A swallowing sound.
That was a corpse. Dismembered limbs and severed hands lay scattered in the black trash bin. The bloody flesh was mangled beyond recognition. Occasionally, patches of tender skin seemed to declare what this had once been. And that spherical object with scattered black hair sat quietly at the very top of the trash bin.
As the cart moved, the blood-stained hair shifted, revealing dead gray eyes staring at nothing.
The chestnut twin-tailed girl almost screamed the moment she witnessed it. But rationality restrained her at the last second. She could only tightly shut her eyes, her hands gripping Hayato's sleeve, her body trembling uncontrollably.
Only this way could she not be afraid.
In that moment, both girls understood!
The chopping sounds earlier were the cleaning staff dismembering Kamimura Miho's corpse!
Nausea and revulsion intensified under the strong, bloody smell wafting from the cart.
Both girls wanted to vomit.
Right then, the cleaning staff member pushed the cart and left room 304. Just as she was closing the door, Hayato paused time.
Bzzt...
Hayato entered room 304, quickly looked around, came back out, and returned to his original position.
Hoshino Ai felt reassured. She believed Hayato must have found the clue to clearing this. Dealing with this dangerous human-dismembering cleaning staff member would absolutely be no problem.
Time resumed.
Bzzt...
The cleaning staff member, stained with dark red liquid, closed room 304's door. Then she looked up at Hayato and the two others.
"Guest, are you checking out? Which room needs cleaning?"
"Room 306 needs cleaning service. Thank you."
Watching Hayato communicate with the hotel staff member as if nothing was wrong, completely unconcerned, Hoshino Ai and Kuroda Hikari's hearts jumped to their throats.
Didn't the rules say to ignore non-existent hotel staff?!
"I understand."
The cleaning staff member's behavior showed absolutely no hostility.
Making people feel safe.
"Oh, room 307 also needs cleaning."
Room 307 was Sawanaga Taisuke and Kuroda Hikari's room. And Sawanaga Taisuke was still hiding alone inside.
"Guest... you are not room 307's guest."
The cleaning staff member's words suddenly became somewhat stiff.
Hayato patted the waist of Kuroda Hikari, hiding behind him, giving her a meaningful look as a reminder.
"3... 307 needs cleaning..."
She mustered all her courage to say that sentence.
"I understand."
The cleaning staff member pushed the cart first into room 306 and began cleaning.
Five minutes later, the cleaning staff member pushed the cart to the tightly closed door of room 307.
Knocking sounds rang out.