"Hahaha! Interesting!"
Bai Yuze clapped and laughed, finally understanding Yukino's little trick.
"What? You believe me now, right? If you still don't, you can go see for yourself, see if what I'm saying is true or false."
"You… you didn't lift our clothes while we were unconscious, did you…?"
Yukino remained stubborn, trying to deny Bai Yuze's claim, but even she didn't believe her own words. Her clothes were neat, and wouldn't being seen naked be even more terrifying than arriving in The Strange World?
"Oh? I'm not that bored. You showed them to me. Our relationship is quite intimate, you know!"
Watching Yukino's tsundere and stubborn expression, Bai Yuze felt a desire to tease her.
"Intimate? How intimate?"
"Cough, cough, your panties are…"
"Stop! Don't say another word! I believe you!"
Bai Yuze's words were the last straw for Yukino. She should have realized it earlier; if he knew their situation, then their relationship was self-evident.
She never expected to meet the guy who had her body here. It was truly a blessing in disguise… No, it was a nightmare!!!
Seeing Yukino on the verge of collapse, Bai Yuze knew he had gone too far, but there was nothing he could do.
Yukino was unwilling to believe him, which made the escape plan difficult to succeed. Therefore, he could only coax her, making her mistakenly believe that he and the two of them were in that kind of relationship, prompting Yukino to trust him.
As for the color of the panties… Bai Yuze claimed he didn't know; he was just pretending to know.
After all, if they knew each other so thoroughly, then the loop must be real!
Tuanzi also blushed upon hearing Bai Yuze's words. She hadn't expected her past selves in previous loops to be so open, giving herself away here… However, Bai Yuze's looks still pleased Tuanzi greatly.
Tuanzi also trusted her own judgment. Since she had chosen Bai Yuze before, she would just go with the flow.
It was just that having to share one person with Yukino… was still hard to accept… No one wanted to share what they loved.
"Yuze-kun!"
"Hmm?"
"Please take care of me from now on!"
Seeing Tuanzi's solemn expression, Bai Yuze quickly explained.
"You're overthinking it. We haven't reached that point yet!"
"Really?"
Hope ignited in Yukino's eyes.
"Yes! Really! It was just a simple look at the panties!"
"….Go to hell!!!"
To solidify the team, Bai Yuze chose to tell a small lie within a big lie, but one lie requires countless other lies to cover it, and eventually, it becomes true!
"So, what's your plan now?"
Since they had chosen to believe Bai Yuze, escaping this house was the only important thing at the moment.
"This house has four floors. I haven't found a way out in previous loops. I suspect the way out is in the basement, but I haven't figured out how to get into the basement yet."
"Should we still go to the second and third floors?"
"Yes! There are items we need there. Oh, and we haven't gotten the clock from the hallway yet."
Bai Yuze slapped his forehead and quickly walked out. He remembered everything that happened in the last loop clearly.
So, when he reached the clock, he didn't say a word, directly setting the time to nine o'clock.
Then he ran back to 102 and announced.
"It's nighttime outside now. We need to return to our respective rooms to rest. We can only come out when it's morning outside."
"Ah? You mean I have to share a room with that corpse? No way!"
Tuanzi looked unwilling, to which Bai Yuze comforted her.
"There's no choice. The first night is like this, but I promise you, you only need to spend one night with it! Remember! No matter what happens, don't panic."
"…Alright then…"
Although Tuanzi was extremely reluctant, for the safety of the team, she still made a concession. Of course, the girl's concession also contained a little secret thought.
"Okay, good night. Remember to check the time. Just come find us at seven in the morning."
Bai Yuze tucked the scalpel back into the male corpse's neck, said good night to Tuanzi, and then returned to 104 with Yukino.
Almost the moment they entered the room, all the lights in the hallway went out.
"Too many loops, has something changed?"
Bai Yuze muttered to himself. He made a shushing gesture to Yukino, then sat down against the wall, closing his eyes to rest.
Yukino also squatted in a corner. Having nothing to do, she could only stare at the clock beside Bai Yuze, watching the second hand move.
Soon, a knock on the door sounded, accompanied by "Tuanzi's" crying from outside the door.
Because Bai Yuze had explained the situation beforehand, Yukino in the room did not show surprise or panic.
Yukino tightly closed her eyes, trying to distract herself from the sounds outside the door.
Meanwhile, Bai Yuze was pondering whether his actions were "reading a guide in advance" or "answering with an open book."
Time passed quickly. As before, the wooden door of 104 was kicked open with a bang, and Tuanzi tearfully recounted what she had seen to Yukino.
"You two stay here. I'm going to find the Front Desk."
Seeing Tuanzi crying, Bai Yuze expressed helplessness. After all, this required a process of acceptance. Talking on paper was ultimately just talking on paper; no matter how well it was said, it would eventually fail in the face of reality.
Bai Yuze patted Tuanzi's head to comfort her, then walked out of the room without looking back.
Walking to Room 108, Bai Yuze knocked on the door. After hearing some movement inside, Bai Yuze stepped back two paces.
Soon, the wooden door of Room 108 opened. The Front Desk was still in his strange attire, and his voice was still deep.
"Something wrong?"
"The room is a bit dirty. I'd like to find some cleaning tools."
"Cleaning tools are in 107. Let me find the key for you."
The Front Desk rummaged through the key tray, picked out a key, and handed it to Bai Yuze, but Bai Yuze didn't take it.
"Front Desk, I'm a bit lazy. I suddenly don't feel like cleaning the room anymore. Can I switch rooms?"
"Switch rooms now? Why didn't you say so when you arrived?"
The Front Desk's voice was muffled, showing no emotion, but Bai Yuze knew that not refusing meant there was room to negotiate.
"Who would have thought the rooms on the first floor would be so dirty, and someone playing pranks in the middle of the night, making it impossible for me to sleep."
"Hmm… people certainly need more rest. I can give you the key to the second floor, but the original residents on the second floor don't have good tempers. I need to check if your brain is normal."
"How do you check?"
Bai Yuze was a bit confused. Why had the Front Desk become a riddle-solver? Although the guy's attire already made him seem like a riddle…
"I'll ask you a question. If you answer correctly, I'll give you the key to the second floor."
"What if I answer incorrectly?"
"Simple. Leave an arm as compensation. That way, when you have a conflict with the guys upstairs, I can use this to save you!"