"Only the countdowns differ..." Chika pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose, striking Detective Conan's classic pose as she pondered. "The key must lie in the countdowns."
Natsuki said flatly:
"Stating the obvious isn't exactly helpful."
Whether or not the countdowns mattered was something everyone already knew. The real problem was that no one knew what they actually represented.
"Could it be the remaining game time?" One stranger player guessed. "As long as we hold out until the countdown ends, we can leave the game?"
"That's possible."
Everyone turned their attention to a lone player standing quietly in the corner.
This boy was thin and lean, the kind who clearly saw very little sunlight—his complexion was noticeably pale. His hair was messy, and he came across as quiet and introverted, a man of few words.
Among all the players, his countdown was the shortest—barely over two hours.
Whether the game ended when the countdown hit zero would become clear soon enough.
"Oh right, we don't even know each other's names yet." Chika's social butterfly attribute shone brilliantly. "My name is Chika Fujiwara. What's yours?"
The thin boy spoke quietly: "...Just call me Izumi."
"Amamiya-kun."
Fujiwara Mom gave Natsuki a subtle look.
Natsuki caught on and spoke up: "Natsuki Amamiya."
"Shinomiya."
"Kotoriyū."
"Yukinoshita."
Humans are creatures with a powerful tendency toward conformity. Once someone takes the lead and establishes an order, the people after them will unconsciously follow suit.
After going around the group, the names of the other five stranger players were finally known. A basic foundation of team trust had been laid.
"The countdown is only a few hours—it'll be over in the blink of an eye." Chika proposed. "How about everyone just stays here in the hall and waits until time runs out?"
Kaguya folded both arms across her chest: "I veto that."
"Eh?"
Chika turned to look at her, puzzled. "Kaguya-chan, why do you refuse?"
"Because it's too cold." Natsuki complained. "Have none of you noticed that the temperature keeps dropping? If we just sit here doing nothing, we won't last until the countdown ends."
Chika hesitated: "It can't be that bad, can it?"
"It's that bad." Natsuki extended a finger and pointed. "Look at that door over there. It's already starting to frost over."
The players all turned their heads to look at the wooden door through which they'd entered the castle. To their shock, a thin layer of frost had begun forming on its surface.
"When we came in just now, was there any frost on it?"
One player asked hesitantly.
"There wasn't." Yukino Yukinoshita's voice was calm and even. "If frost is forming on the inside, the frost on the outside must be even thicker. The fact is, there was no frost on the outside of that door when we entered."
"That makes sense."
"If we don't do anything, I have a feeling we'll freeze to death."
"There's a fireplace over there. How about we all look for something we can use to warm up?"
"..."
After the realization that the temperature was quietly dropping set in, everyone quickly sprang into action and began working to save themselves.
"Let's all move together. Don't scatter." Chika reminded the group. "In horror movies, the actors who go off on their own always end up getting the short end of the stick."
You don't need to spell that out—no one in their right mind would wander off alone in an environment like this! It takes a horror movie to produce people that foolish!
And that was precisely the case here.
Not a single person entertained the idea of acting alone. Everyone walked together, keeping within two meters of one another, and began exploring the castle.
This was a typical European medieval castle, its main structure built from stone, complete with pointed spires and narrow windows. The interior was primarily wood—sofas, long tables, candelabras, carpets, murals, and the like, all present and accounted for. It looked quite exquisite and luxurious.
Unfortunately, the castle was utterly empty. Only an eerie silence and stillness pervaded.
Natsuki and Chika walked at the very back. After all, in horror games, the people at the rear were always in the greatest danger. With both of them bringing up the rear, they could deploy their evil-fighting duo's combined technique at a critical moment—preventing any vengeful spirit from silently creeping up on them.
Moving forward, the black-haired girl walking just ahead of them suddenly stopped in her tracks, staring blankly at a mural on the wall. Her pupils contracted ever so slightly.
"Yukino, are you okay?"
Chika asked with concern.
Not bad at all for a social butterfly—they'd only known each other for minutes and she was already on a first-name basis!
"I'm fine. No need to worry." Yukino shook her head, withdrew her gaze, and continued walking.
Natsuki looked at the mural where the black-haired girl had stopped.
It was an oil painting. The subject was a noblewoman who appeared regal and dignified, her hands folded neatly across her chest, her posture poised and graceful. Unfortunately, only a sharp little chin was visible—everything above it, her face, had become inexplicably blurred.
"An oil painting where you can't see the face..." Chika's expression grew serious. She quietly tugged on Natsuki's sleeve. "Amamiya-kun, let's walk along the opposite wall. Be careful—the woman in the painting might suddenly crawl out and drag us inside."
Natsuki squinted at her: "Please don't jinx things."
"I'm not jinxing anything. That's literally how it goes in horror movies."
Though... this painting really wasn't an ordinary painting.
As Natsuki stared at it, a prompt appeared before his eyes:
[Taking a closer look, you notice this painting is quite peculiar]
Peculiar indeed—but exactly what was peculiar about it, he couldn't quite articulate.
The castle's owner seemed to have quite the artistic sensibility. Then again, it could also just be a matter of keeping up appearances. Either way, the castle was filled with murals. You could spot one every so often along the way.
The content of these oil paintings was all different, but without exception, every single one had some portion that was blurry and indistinct—impossible to make out properly.
The prompt before Natsuki's eyes kept appearing without pause.
[Taking a closer look, you notice this painting is quite peculiar]
By the time he'd walked further along, Natsuki had grown accustomed to it. These paintings were obviously all peculiar in some way.
"No good—we can't find any firewood at all."
The boy walking at the front gave up and stopped.
"There's actually plenty of firewood." Natsuki suggested. "I think that wooden door right there would work nicely."
"Hey now, that's a bit much." The boy couldn't help but say. "It's not like any of us is Steve. No one can rip a wooden door apart with their bare hands."
There was actually plenty of wood throughout the castle, but no one could pry any of it free without tools.
Fortunately, the group soon stumbled upon something suitable for warmth.
A library.
The shelves were lined with all manner of books—more than could be counted.
"How about burning books to stay warm?" One player's eyes lit up as they quickly proposed. "In that movie The Day After Tomorrow, the main characters are trapped in a library and use exactly that method to keep warm."
Natsuki nodded: "I think that works."
The suggestion was quickly met with unanimous approval from everyone present.
Gorky once said that books are the ladder of human progress. They could equally serve as fuel for warmth.
"Everyone, let's carry the books over to the fireplace together." Chika took the lead.
Natsuki walked up to the bookshelf, preparing to grab some books. His gaze swept across the cover of the one already in his hand, and he stopped short in surprise, his eyebrows rising.
"How to Raise a Loyal Boyfriend... what book is this?"