"…Huh?"
Faced with Natsuki's question, the bespectacled girl—a background character—looked blank for a moment before realizing what was asked. She pushed up the glasses on the bridge of her nose and said:
"The spot where we spawned into the instance was right inside this room."
As she spoke, the bespectacled girl turned to look at Yukino and said softly:
"Ms. Yukinoshita mentioned wanting to explore the room at the time... but then, for some reason, she suddenly seemed in a rush to leave."
"Hehe~"
Yukino stuck out the tip of her pink tongue and winked playfully.
"I suddenly had a bit of a physical issue and panicked a little. Please don't take it to heart."
Natsuki said:
"Ms. Yasui, please take me there to have a look."
"Alright." The bespectacled girl nodded gently. "Follow me."
"..."
Thump, thump, thump.
The sound of their footsteps echoed through the deathly silent corridor; though the atmosphere was eerie and chilling, no monsters appeared at any point.
A short while later.
Guided by the bespectacled girl, Natsuki arrived at the door of a room on the fifth floor.
"The first room near the stairwell on the fifth floor..." the bespectacled girl said softly. "This is definitely the place."
"Mhm." Yukino nodded in agreement. "I remember it being here, too."
Natsuki stepped forward, grasped the doorknob, and gave it a gentle turn.
Click.
Unlike the other rooms, this door opened successfully.
Pushing the door open and stepping inside, they were greeted by the sight of an ordinary-looking living space.
The bespectacled girl said softly:
"It's an empty room; there was no one inside when we checked it before."
Natsuki gave a slight nod, then said:
"I'll check it again."
"Sure, take your time."
The bespectacled girl shrugged, not holding out much hope.
She had already given the room a cursory check earlier but found nothing. She didn't think Natsuki was anything special; after all, while everyone on the internet claims to be a master detective, in reality, most people are just ordinary folks.
Holding Yukino's hand, Natsuki paced slowly around the room, searching for clues. "There are two sets of toiletries in the bathroom, and a wedding photo of the couple hanging on the wall—so it must be a home for two, right?"
Haruno murmured as she looked around.
"The room is spotless; there are handmade clay trinkets and a puzzle made of building blocks... it feels like such a warm, loving home..."
"I give up, I give up." Haruno clung to Natsuki's arm, leaning against him like a koala and acting coquettishly. "The place feels so normal—I can't spot anything unusual at all. I'll have to leave this to you, Natsuki-kun."
Natsuki stopped at the kitchen entrance and said softly:
"Not everything is normal... take the kitchen, for instance."
"Huh?" Haruno blinked in surprise and peered curiously into the kitchen. "What's wrong with the kitchen?"
Natsuki replied:
"It's too clean."
Haruno tilted her head in confusion:
"It's perfectly normal for a kitchen to be clean; it would be strange if it were dirty and cluttered, wouldn't it?"
Natsuki shook his head, slowly scanning the kitchen with his eyes, and spoke softly:
"There are handmade pottery pieces and jigsaw puzzles in the room—signs that the owner doesn't lead a hectic life and has the leisure to truly enjoy it... yet, there isn't a single trace of the kitchen having been used."
The bespectacled woman walked over, looking puzzled:
"But all the pots, pans, and dishes are right there, and there's no shortage of seasonings or utensils... so what do you mean there are no signs of use?"
Amamiya turned to look at her and asked:
"Ms. Yasui, have you ever cooked for yourself?"
She nodded:
"Of course I have."
Amamiya asked again:
"Then, what is one item in a kitchen that is easily overlooked but absolutely essential?"
"Hmm..."
She crossed her arms over her chest, hesitating for a moment.
"Oh, I know!" Haruno raised her right hand, her voice crisp and sweet. "Is it the lack of a cleaning rag?"
Amamiya looked at Haruno and nodded:
"Correct. Full marks."
"Hehe~"
Haruno tilted her lovely face upward triumphantly, wearing an expression that seemed to say, "Hurry up and praise me."
Seeing Yukino—who was usually so cool and composed—make such a face created a striking contrast. The bespectacled woman glanced around the kitchen, puzzled:
"It really does seem like there's no dishcloth... but it's just a dishcloth. Is that a problem?"
Natsuki spoke softly:
"Anyone who cooks at home knows that cleanup is crucial, and a dishcloth is an essential kitchen item. This kitchen looks fully equipped, yet lacks a dishcloth—which proves that no one has actually used the stove to cook."
The bespectacled woman countered:
"Even so, what if the couple simply doesn't know how to cook?"
Haruno raised a slender finger:
"Cooking isn't going to war; if you don't know how, you can learn. People with the free time to assemble building blocks or mold clay at home certainly have plenty of time to learn to cook."
"Yet, while this kitchen appears to have everything else, it lacks a cleaning cloth, indicating the kitchen has never been used for cooking. That raises the question: could those heartwarming decorations outside be fake, too?"
A look of bewilderment crossed the bespectacled woman's face; she still didn't quite grasp the point and asked in confusion:
"This place is an illusion anyway, isn't it? So what does it matter if it's fake?"
Haruno gently wagged her finger and smiled:
"Ms. Yasui, don't forget: before Amamiya-kun appeared, we didn't realize we were in an illusion. We thought we were just trapped in a loop."
"..."
Fair enough.
The bespectacled woman still couldn't fully understand why a single dishcloth in the kitchen mattered so much. It was an illusion, after all—wasn't it normal for everything to be a facade? What was the issue?
Natsuki didn't explain further; he turned and walked out of the kitchen, saying:
"If the entire house is an illusion, people might overlook inconspicuous details. However, the most beautiful and prominent areas will always be kept pristine and polished—much like how, when we go out, we all like to present ourselves as clean and well-groomed..."
Following Natsuki's gaze, the bespectacled woman looked at the wedding photo hanging on the wall.
In the photo, a man in a suit and a woman in a pure white wedding gown were snuggled close together, beaming brightly. "Open it up and you'll see."
Haruno stepped forward and reached out to take the wedding portrait down from the wall.
As she removed the protective glass cover, the photograph inside seemed to succumb to the ravages of time; it rapidly yellowed and curled at the edges before the image itself dissolved into a wisp of grey ash and vanished completely.
Yet, tucked behind the large frame lay a stack of ordinary photographs.
Natsuki reached out, took the photos, and began flipping through them one by one.
The first image to catch his eye showed a young man and woman—their faces still bearing the fresh, youthful look of high school students—holding hands; they were clearly a couple in the midst of a teenage romance.
The second photo showed the pair standing beneath a cherry blossom tree amidst a flurry of falling petals, with a university campus visible in the background.
The third photo captured them celebrating a birthday together.
The fourth showed them traveling together...
The stack of photos chronicled the lives of two strangers.
Time flew by; before they knew it, they had graduated from university, entered the workforce, and begun their careers.
Initially, they worked hard and used the savings they had painstakingly accumulated—along with money from their parents—to purchase a home that was still under construction. In the photo, the couple smiled happily, their eyes bright with hope, standing before a rising apartment complex teeming with workers in the midst of a bustling construction site.
The next photo.
The background was still the construction site, but the subjects had changed; instead of the couple, there was now a crowd of people—men, women, young, and old—holding up banners. The text on the banners was somewhat blurred, yet upon closer inspection, one could still make out a few words.
Haruno read them aloud softly:
"Company bankrupt... person in charge siphoned off assets... fled overseas..."
Those few indistinct words were enough to make the smiles on their faces quietly fade away.
And it wasn't just their smiles.
In the subsequent photos, the couple remained, but the workers at the construction site dwindled, as did the protesters fighting for their rights, until eventually, everyone was gone. All that remained was a lifeless, abandoned building project and a landscape littered with debris and trash. The smiles had vanished from the couple's faces, and the light in their eyes had gone out with them, leaving behind only a look of helpless numbness and despair. He finally finished looking through the photos; at the very end of the stack lay a yellowed envelope.
Natsuki picked it up and slid out a sheet of letter paper. The handwriting was elegant and graceful, yet the message it conveyed was chillingly cold.
"It was a breakup letter..."
Reality, after all, is no fairy tale. Two young people, fresh out of college and yet to walk down the aisle together, found themselves suffocated by the crushing weight of an unfinished housing project and exorbitant loans. Ultimately, they parted ways, each going their separate paths.
The final straw—the one that broke the camel's back—was a medical diagnosis...
"He even developed cancer?"
Yukino let out a soft sigh.
Natsuki silently folded the letter and tucked it back into the envelope. A notification indicating the completion of the stage appeared before his eyes, and he spoke softly:
"Let's review all the clues we've gathered."
Yukino nodded slightly and said:
"The owner of this house must be the man in the photos—Mr. Hirata. He and Ms. Sachiko had been dating since high school; they were deeply in love and inseparable even after graduating from university. However, things changed once they entered the workforce and purchased a home that was still under construction."
"The company went bankrupt, the boss fled overseas, workers went on strike, the construction project stalled indefinitely, and the homebuyers fought for their rights... but it was all to no avail."
"With no hope of construction resuming and massive monthly loan repayments creating a suffocating burden, Ms. Sachiko ultimately chose to break up with him."
"Then came Mr. Hirata's medical diagnosis—the final straw. He ultimately chose suicide, and this house... this house was his beautiful, cherished dream."
"..."
As her voice trailed off...
The space around them began to warp and distort. It was as if a colorful soap bubble had been gently pricked; with a soft pop, all the warmth, beauty, joy, and hope vanished instantly, revealing the true face hidden beneath the dream—a cold, gloomy, and utterly despair-inducing unfinished building. Natsuki said calmly:
"We should be able to walk out of this unfinished building now."
Haruno stretched, then wrapped her arms around Natsuki's arm:
"It's all thanks to Natsuki-kun; otherwise, who knows how long it would have taken us to get out."
Just as Natsuki had predicted, the path downstairs was completely unobstructed. The three of them walked out of the unfinished building with ease, never again encountering the disorienting loop that had trapped them before.
"We're out! We're out!"
Haruno cheered happily, standing on tiptoe to plant a kiss on Natsuki's cheek.
"We... really made it out?"
The bespectacled girl looked dazed, her head still spinning.
A gust of cold wind finally snapped her back to reality; as her gaze fell upon Natsuki, a wave of shame washed over her.
Oh god, how embarrassing!
She had assumed everyone was just an ordinary person and held absolutely no hope for the boy before her—only to discover he was a genuine ace detective, while she was the only fool.
The truth had been hidden right where they first arrived, yet she had overlooked it entirely, even dismissing the others' actions as unnecessary. If not for this boy, she might well have remained trapped in that unfinished building until she died!
Just then, a low growl echoed from within the dilapidated structure, followed by the sound of some creature sprinting toward them.
Startled, the bespectacled girl hurriedly took a half-step back, saying nervously:
"Something's coming!"
Natsuki said calmly:
"Don't worry, it's just a couple of puppies."
As he spoke, two vicious dogs burst out of the darkness, one after the other, and stopped right in front of the trio.
Looking at their massive, waist-high bodies, blood-red eyes, mangled flesh, and mouths full of jagged fangs, cold sweat instantly broke out on the bespectacled girl's forehead.
You call these terrifying hellhounds "puppies"?
What kind of puppy is that terrifying?! But the very next moment, the bespectacled bystander watched in shock as one of the menacing black dogs actually lolled its tongue at Natsuki and wagged its tail furiously; the other dog, while not wagging its tail, clearly wore a look of eager anticipation on its face.
"Here, eat up."
Natsuki took out two packs of egg-yolk pies, tore open the wrappers, and tossed them over.
The bespectacled bystander felt a wave of dizziness; had she really just seen... a look of fawning obsequiousness on that black dog's face?
Natsuki turned to the bespectacled girl and asked:
"Ms. Yasui, have there been any changes to the main quest objectives?"
"Ah..." Snapping back to reality, the bespectacled girl hurriedly said, "Let me check... The main quest details have been updated."
"It used to be about lifting the curse of lingering resentment, but now it's changed to fulfilling Mr. Hirata's final obsession."
Yukino tilted her head and mused:
"Mr. Hirata's obsession... it must be that unfinished building, right? But with a construction project that massive, there's no way just the few of us could get work started again, is there?"
The bespectacled girl pushed up her glasses and analyzed the situation:
"It could also be an ex-girlfriend he broke up with. After all, a relationship spanning so many years isn't something you can just let go of... though finding his ex-girlfriend inside this instance dungeon seems incredibly difficult, too."
At this thought, the bespectacled girl couldn't help but feel a sense of despair; the joy of having just escaped the endless loop vanished completely.
Natsuki spoke up:
"We still have plenty of time. We can take our sweet time trying to fulfill that obsession—let's head back and get some rest for now."