When Stelle saw the vaguely familiar label, her first reaction was utter confusion: This got past the censors?
Also, what did "XX" even mean? Why were those two characters replaced with "XX"?
"This room was originally meant to be a recreational escape room, but under the influence of some mysterious force in the hotel, it's transformed," Duke Inferno explained. "Not only has the door become indestructible, but the conditions for leaving have grown stricter."
"For example, my previous task was to defeat a hundred Sweet Dream Troupe members. It took me quite a while, but…"
Picking up on Duke Inferno's implication, Stelle scratched her head awkwardly. "No worries, If— uh, I mean, Ifrit. Leave this task to me."
Click, click, click—
As soon as she spoke, the nameplate made a sound, and the "XX" gradually morphed into "Repent."
A room you can't leave unless you repent.
"Repent?" Firefly blinked. "What counts as repentance? And how does the door even recognize it?"
"Ladies, I have an idea. Allow me to try."
Duke Inferno stepped to the door and said softly, "I repent for my crude words earlier, which offended the Beauty."
Click!
A faint sound came from the door, as if the lock had partially opened.
The three exchanged glances, realization dawning: So, all you have to do is confess your past "sins" in front of the door, and it counts.
That seemed way too easy, didn't it?
"It worked?"
Stelle tried pulling the door, but it remained firmly shut—it hadn't fully opened.
In other words, they needed to keep "repenting" a certain number of times to leave.
But for them, now that they'd figured out the trick, leaving didn't seem too hard. After all, they had an Annihilation Gang member like Duke Inferno here. Sure, he followed Idrila the Beauty, but he was still a follower of Destruction. Surely he wasn't that innocent, right?
Duke Inferno paused, then continued, "I repent for unintentionally taking lives during the Annihilation Gang's great merger war."
…
The door didn't budge, nor did the lock make a sound.
Duke Inferno froze, then tried again. "I repent for once committing theft for my family, stealing a basket of flatbreads."
…
The door still didn't move.
Duke Inferno pondered for a moment. "Ladies, I think I understand this door's judgment mechanism."
"The sins we repent for must meet a condition: they must be 'unpunished.'"
"For example, my crude words earlier went unpunished, so it worked."
"But the two things I just mentioned—I've already paid a heavy price for them."
"Sorry… I might not be much help this time."
Duke Inferno followed the Beauty and lived his life cautiously. Finding unpunished sins to confess from him might actually be impossible.
Stelle sighed helplessly, racking her brain for a long time before saying, "I repent for seeing Pom-Pom give my companion a special coffee but not stopping it or telling the truth."
Click—
The lock opened a bit more.
Firefly's eyes lit up. "I repent for rigging the dice when dividing chores with Silv— uh, with a friend, dumping all the work on a quiet guy who's bad with phones."
Click—
The lock opened further.
Stelle and Firefly shared a grin, getting more enthusiastic:
"I repent for secretly sending Dan Heng's sketchbook to Guinaifen. Now she can't stop laughing whenever she sees Jing Yuan, hahaha!"
Click—
"I repent for when a friend named Kaf betrayed me. I locked her in a room and punished her harshly afterward!"
Click—
"Me, me, me! I repent for recording Welt whenever he goes into his chuunibyou mode. He thinks no one noticed, but the entire Express crew, including Shush, knows, hahaha!"
Click—
"I repent too! A friend named Silver Wolf was secretly online-dating recently. I took a million credits from her online partner and planted a pinhole camera in her room!"
Click—
Stelle was getting carried away, flinging her hand proudly. "I repent for knowing every time March changes clothes in the morning. Heh, but I just pretend to be asleep."
Click, click—
…
After the lock clicked twice in a row, the room fell eerily silent.
The grin on Stelle's face stiffened. Oh no, oh no, I got too excited and spilled that! Wait… no, no! Where's this murderous aura coming from?
"Stelle…"
A pair of small hands grabbed Stelle's face, forcing her to turn. "What did you just say?"
"What's this about 'knowing every time March changes clothes in the morning'? Are your living conditions that bad? You two share a room?"
Gulp—
Stelle swallowed hard, nodding stiffly.
"Oh, you should've told me sooner!" Firefly smiled. "I've heard of the Nameless' reputation. Those who carry the torch for others shouldn't freeze in the cold. Once we're back in reality, I'll donate some money to you guys. How's that?"
"N-No, that's not necessary. Actually, we have enough rooms on the Express."
"…Hehe, don't be shy with me, okay?"
"…"
Duke Inferno quietly shuffled to the corner, his instincts telling him it was best to be a pure decoration of the Beauty right now and definitely not overhear anything he shouldn't.
After barely smoothing things over, Stelle realized, to her dismay, that even after all their confessions, the lock still hadn't fully opened.
The problem was, she didn't seem to have any more sins to confess.
Even if she did, they'd probably just be about her and March, but… no, no, better think of something else.
Firefly pondered for a moment, then a spark lit in her eyes. A playful smile curled her lips as she looked at Stelle.
She leaned in close, her voice soft. "Stelle, for the sake of us all getting out, are you willing to sacrifice something?"
Stelle, unsuspecting, replied, "Of course! Got any ideas?"
Firefly nodded. "I do, but I need to confirm one more time: are you willing to sacrifice something?"
A bad feeling crept up, but Stelle braced herself and said, "Y-Yeah, I'm willing."
Firefly smiled, then suddenly grabbed Stelle. Under Stelle's stunned gaze, she decisively leaned in—
Firefly's lips crashed against Stelle's, her breath hot and teasing as she pressed herself closer.
The kiss was anything but gentle, a fervent collision of lips that sent a jolt through Stelle's body. Firefly's tongue slipped past Stelle's lips, exploring with a bold, deliberate intensity, coaxing Stelle's tongue into a tangled dance. The wet, slurping sounds of their kiss filled the air, a mix of soft gasps and the slick exchange of saliva as their mouths moved together.
Stelle's head spun, her face flushing as Firefly's tongue swirled against hers, each movement deliberate and teasing, drawing out a shaky moan from Stelle. Firefly's hands gripped Stelle's waist, pulling her flush against her body, the heat of their closeness amplifying the dizzying sensation.
Saliva glistened on their lips, a faint string connecting them as Firefly briefly pulled back, only to dive back in, her tongue plunging deeper, claiming every inch of Stelle's mouth with a fervor that left Stelle trembling.
The kiss grew messier, their breaths mingling in short, ragged gasps, the wet sounds of their tongues sliding and intertwining growing louder. Firefly's lips were soft yet demanding, her tongue flicking and curling with a rhythm that made Stelle's knees weak.
Stelle's hands instinctively clutched Firefly's arms, her fingers digging in as she tried to ground herself against the overwhelming sensation, her mind clouded by the taste of Firefly and the slick warmth of their shared saliva.
Five minutes later.
Firefly released a dazed, soulless Stelle and sauntered lazily to the door. "I repent… for just now…"
"For forcibly stealing a young girl's first kiss."
Click—
With the sound of gears turning, the door opened.