At the stairway on the edge of the second floor, Kaguya reached out to brush back her long black hair. Her cold gaze swept over Takumi beside her, then turned toward Maki, who had yet to return to her room in the distant corridor. Her lips parted slightly, but in the end, she said nothing.
The two of them were very close.
Whether in the tone of their conversations or in their expressions, that kind of atmosphere between them could only exist between people who had a very good relationship.
As a member of the Shijō family, a branch of the Shinomiya family, Shinomiya Kaguya knew Shijō Maki quite well. She could be sure that in Shijō Maki's usual social circle, it was impossible for her to have ever met someone like Takumi. Considering the clock rewind that both Takumi and Maki had mentioned, perhaps the two of them had already lived in this apartment for a long time. It was just that, in the end, everyone else had failed to survive, and unable to find a way to escape, they had decided to use the clock to rewind everything and start over.
At least, judging from their consistent tone when speaking to others, that seemed to be the case.
But Kaguya felt that things might not be that simple. Although there was no concrete evidence, although it was only intuition, Kaguya believed that Takumi and Maki were hiding some kind of shared secret from everyone else.
It was indeed something that weighed on his mind, but… the key issue right now wasn't that. What truly mattered at the moment was how to escape from the Shirakawa Apartments—how to leave this place.
"Takumi-san."
Before stepping into the stairwell, Kaguya turned around to look at Takumi and spoke seriously.
"I don't care what reason Maki has for trusting you. Since we're acting together now, I hope you can show enough capability and value."
"If this really is a deadly game that can lead to death, then only by everyone doing their utmost can we have any chance of achieving final victory."
"I hope you don't perform too poorly and make me question Maki's judgment."
It had to be said—Ice Kaguya's way of speaking was really not cute at all. Compared to the little angel Maki, she was far behind.
Of course, for Takumi, who understood the story, he knew that Kaguya couldn't really be blamed for this. After all, the Shinomiya conglomerate that Akasaka had created was basically a mental asylum, and for someone educated in such a cursed environment, the fact that Kaguya was merely sharp-tongued and cold-hearted was already an unfortunate sort of good fortune.
Even so, while he could understand her, Takumi had no intention of being polite to her either. He knew very well that with people like her—so proud and haughty—showing deference would only make her look down on him even more.
"Who disappoints who isn't certain yet, little greenhouse flower. If this operation ends early because of you, that's when I'll really start to look down on you."
Takumi lifted his head, striking a boldly provocative pose.
"Hmph. At least when it comes to being rude, you certainly don't disappoint. Let's go. According to what you said, this staircase leads to the third floor no matter whether we go up or down, correct? In that case, let's move immediately and see just how dangerous this so-called third floor of yours really is."
Kaguya frowned even tighter and stepped straight forward.
Takumi followed closely behind, the two of them entering the corridor one after the other.
A chill drifted through the air.
Darkness enveloped everything.
As he walked within it, Takumi couldn't tell whether he was ascending, descending, or simply walking straight ahead. It was as if direction and elevation had already lost their meaning in this darkness—he could no longer sense which way was right.
However, that eerie sensation didn't last long. Very soon, Takumi's vision cleared again, and that chaotic, twisted third floor once more appeared before his eyes.
Only, unlike before, perhaps because it was daytime now, this distorted area was no longer shrouded in darkness. Instead, there was light—its source unknown—illuminating all the twisted corridors and scattered furniture around them.
"To think a place like this actually exists…"
Kaguya's voice wavered slightly beside him. Even though she had already seen the corpses summoned by the Blood Puppet, compared to this nightmare-like, warped, and eerie space, its impact was clearly far greater.
However, though Kaguya was shaken, she quickly adjusted her emotions, regaining her usual calm and unruffled composure.
She hadn't come here to stroll around or sightsee. She was here to act together with this unfathomable man beside her, to uncover the secret hidden within this chaotic place, to seek a way to escape it—to seek a hope of leaving here alive.
"Let's go."
Takumi had already taken a step forward.
"Mm…"
Kaguya gave a small nod, said nothing more, and carefully walked beside Takumi, moving through the warped corridors toward the front.
What could be waiting for her ahead?
The girl couldn't help but wonder in her heart.
"Ah…"
Then, her steps suddenly stopped—her hair had gotten caught in a gap between the warped wooden walls.
Takumi immediately noticed her situation, stopped, and helped her free her hair.
"The terrain here is too complex. With your hair down like that, it's easy to get it caught. Tie it up."
As he said this, Takumi looked around, and when he couldn't find anything suitable, he tore a strip from his own T-shirt and handed it to Kaguya.
"…Thank you."
Not expecting an accident right at the start, Kaguya felt a bit embarrassed as she quietly expressed her gratitude. Taking the strip of cloth, she didn't mind the suspicious red-and-white stains on it, and directly tied up her hair to make sure it wouldn't hinder her movements.
"It's fine."
Takumi only noticed the stains on the cloth when she took it, but by then it was too late to say anything, so he simply kept a straight face and replied casually as if nothing had happened.
Why did it suddenly feel like he'd just tied his own brain to Kaguya's head? …Wait, that sounded weird. Better not think too much about it.
"Sorry for the trouble. It's fine now."
Before long, Kaguya, her hair now tied up, turned around and spoke calmly to Takumi.
But at that moment, she noticed that his gaze wasn't on her—it was fixed on something further down the corridor.
Following his line of sight, Kaguya also looked ahead—and saw several doll-like things about 1 meter tall that resembled children. They were approaching while letting out giggling laughter, yet their dragging footsteps made not a single sound on the floor.
"Those damn things again—move!"
Takumi lowered his voice, patted Kaguya's shoulder, and quickly turned to flee. Realizing something was wrong, Kaguya immediately followed, running as the laughter of the "children" behind them grew louder and louder, closing in at a speed no human could possibly reach.
That sound… those children…
No—wrong. They weren't children. Those things… were interfering with their thoughts?
In the end, Takumi and Kaguya managed to climb atop a tall cabinet just in time, avoiding those entities whose appearance and voices both carried the traits of mental contamination.
Being forced to press her body against a man's while lying flat on a cabinet was hardly a pleasant experience, but with such bizarre entities attacking, Kaguya could only endure it, forcing herself to maintain a calm, expressionless façade, pretending not to mind.
As for Takumi, he didn't have any particular thoughts. He focused on watching the "children," guarding against them carefully, and paid no attention to his physical contact with Shinomiya Kaguya. He remained alert for any other monsters that might appear elsewhere, fully prepared to trigger the clock rewind at any time. He completely ignored the fact that the soft, fragrant body of the delicate girl was pressed tightly against his own.
Her body seemed a bit firmer—and perhaps more elastic—than Maki's?
Takumi found himself noting the subtle differences in physical sensation between the two girls as their bodies touched.
A few minutes later, those things gradually drifted away, allowing the two of them to climb down from the cabinet.
"So this is the third floor of the Shirakawa Apartments?"
Recalling how her mind had momentarily gone hazy when she heard those eerie voices, Kaguya frowned and spoke in a low tone.
"This is only the beginning."
Takumi's expression hadn't changed from start to finish. He spoke calmly, then once again stepped forward.
Ahead, in the dim corridor, the warped architectural structure stretched toward an unknown destination.
The only thing that could be confirmed now was that they could not stop walking—remaining still was absolutely forbidden.
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