NCSHG CH 05

Chapter 5

‘Affection level…’

There had to be something wrong with the system.

It was a reasonable suspicion.

This system was nothing like the one I used to know.

It had never notified me when the affection level rose by just 0.1%, and more importantly, it was supposed to be impossible to raise Halloway’s affection level by even 0.001%.

No one had ever managed to gain a single point of affection from Halloway.

That’s why everyone assumed the final boss was an un攻略able character.

But if his affection level rose by 0.1%, that was actually a big deal.

If I could somehow use that to my advantage…

“Wait…! There aren’t only three endings!”

It suddenly came back to me.

Every game had that one extra ending—

A hidden ending.

I dug into my memories, trying to recall the scraps of information I had about it.

According to the developer, it was related to Halloway.

Now that I think about it, the developer was suspicious in many ways too.

The difficulty level was hellish—almost as if they didn’t want anyone to beat it.

Even when players complained and begged for balance fixes or hints, nothing ever changed.

Strategies didn’t help.

The available choices changed every time, and the story would veer off in unpredictable directions.

It was creepy—almost like you were talking to a real person instead of an NPC. Some people liked that realism at first.

But not for long. Eventually, they cursed the developer, demanding any kind of hint, but were met with complete silence.

Players said it felt like talking to a brick wall, and many nearly developed anger issues.

There weren’t many players to begin with, but they did leave reviews and share their experiences.

And yet—not once did I see a single post about raising Halloway’s affection level.

If it had happened, the community would’ve exploded. But since it didn’t, that confirmed it—

No one had ever done it.

That meant I was the first player to ever raise the final boss’s affection level.

Should I be happy about that?

…No, definitely not. How long would it take to reach 100% at this rate?

It had to be pure coincidence.

Maybe it wouldn’t even go up again. So I decided to treat it as if it didn’t exist.

Besides, what I wanted was to escape, not some hidden ending with the boss.

When I stayed silent, Halloway tugged on my sleeve and studied my face carefully.

“Noona, are you okay?”

“If I rest a bit, I’ll be fine.”

I reflexively hugged the warm Halloway tightly.

Were demons supposed to be this warm?

The moment I felt his body heat, the tension drained from my body, and I leaned on him without realizing it.

Then I froze.

I was hugging the final boss.

Anyone who saw this would probably faint on the spot, but once my fever broke, I planned to pretend it never happened.

He was just too warm to let go…

Like a personal heater in winter.

Sure, the final boss being right in front of me was important—but my survival came first.

And to survive, I’d even use the final boss if I had to.

“Then…”

Just as Halloway was about to say something, the door in front of us burst open—Moran stepped out.

This was her room?

I hadn’t known where the others were staying, so my eyes went wide.

She looked equally surprised to see me there.

“Miss Evelyn? What are you doing here?”

My first thought was, Perfect.

Now I didn’t have to go looking for her to start the side quest.

I started acting right away, my voice trembling as I poured out my story.

“S-something terrible’s happened, Moran!”

Seeing my sudden panic, Moran looked startled.

“What? What do you mean something terrible—wait, your face is so red!”

No wonder my head throbbed—I must have a fever.

I shook my head and shouted,

“That’s not the problem right now! We can’t get out of the hotel!”

I pushed Halloway gently aside and reached for Moran.

She took my hand and knelt to meet my eyes, wiping the sweat-damp hair from my forehead with care.

“Miss Evelyn, what are you talking about? Calm down and explain slowly.”

“The door to the outside—it won’t open!”

I kept up the act, pretending to sob, while Moran looked at me with concern, clearly at a loss for words.

“Um… Miss Evelyn is ill, so…”

Her expression said, You’re not making any sense.

I wanted to tell her, You’re the one who doesn’t get it, but I bit my tongue.

“If you don’t believe me, check it yourself! It’s true!”

My shouting drew the attention of the others staying nearby. One by one, the doors opened.

Everyone came out and approached us.

Cletta took one look at me and tried to hand me his coat, but I refused.

He sighed softly. “Evelyn, what happened this time?”

This time?!

Well… he wasn’t wrong, so I didn’t argue—just snapped irritably,

“The door won’t open!”

“What door?”

“The main entrance!”

Even though I spoke in earnest, none of them seemed to believe me.

Can’t blame them—after everything I’ve done, I probably looked unreliable.

They probably thought I was just too weak to open it myself.

Maybe my yelling didn’t help either.

So I lowered my voice, trying to sound serious.

“Go check it yourself. See if it opens.”

I looked straight into their eyes, filled with sincerity.

Cynthia clicked her tongue. “If it doesn’t open, can’t we just break the window?”

I gestured toward the window with a grim look—Go ahead, try it.

She frowned, and Werner sighed, stepping forward.

His expression said, Fine, I’ll just do what she wants so she’ll stop yelling.

He slammed the hilt of his sword against the window. And then—

Thunk!

The sword rebounded, as if it had hit an invisible barrier.

Everyone froze.

A heavy silence fell. No one dared to move.

“…”

“S-Sir Werner! T-try again!”

Alhulf’s trembling voice broke the silence. Werner struck again—

But it bounced off just the same.

Cletta reached for his sword, then stopped midway.

“…The aura’s blocked.”

Werner checked—indeed, no energy flowed.

“Damn it!”

He stomped in frustration.

This hotel was demon territory, meaning no one could use magic, aura, or anything at all.

That’s why the demons had been able to slaughter them so easily.

Even if they could use it, I wasn’t sure they could win anyway.

“For now, we should go downstairs!”

Moran’s trembling voice urged everyone to head for the lobby.

As they rushed off, Cletta paused, glancing back at me and Halloway.

I waved a hand. “Go. I’ll stay here with Halloway. Just check it.”

I wasn’t lying, after all.

His eyes wavered, but he eventually sighed.

“Stay put. I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t order me around. Just go.”

I could stay wherever I wanted.

Despite my snippy tone, Cletta looked oddly amused.

I was dumbfounded.

Everyone hurried downstairs, leaving only Halloway and me in the hallway.

We exchanged meaningless looks—I glared, refusing to back down.

“Noona, your eye veins are showing.”

…Damn it.

I closed my eyes quietly.

Even lost a staring contest.

So much for trying to win at something.

Then, a few minutes later—Alhulf screamed from below, terrified.

“AAAAH! T-try harder! It has to open somehow!”

He was yelling so loud I could hear it from upstairs.

At that exact moment—

[Side Quest: <We’re Trapped Here!> — SUCCESS!]

[You’ve received: “A Perfect Cure-All for Your Wobbling Self!”]

A pill appeared in my mouth. I swallowed it obediently.

[You’ll be fully healed in about 2 hours.]

My recovery sped up almost immediately.

The chills faded, and the pounding headache dulled.

Soon, I felt well enough to move again.

Once I was sure, I stepped away from Halloway.

He blinked up at me with his pretty, confused eyes.

“Why? Noona, you said you were cold.”

“I’m feeling better now. Thanks to you, Halloway.”

I smiled faintly and stood.

“You’re going somewhere?”

“Yeah.”

I wasn’t much help—but neither were the others.

At least I knew the game’s mechanics, so I had a better chance of surviving long enough to find a way out.

The hotel was huge, so it would take time, but judging by the side quests and the items I was getting, things weren’t entirely hopeless.

Besides, if I stuck around Cletta’s group, I might get another ridiculous choice like “W-what’s a divine relic?” and embarrass myself again.

I wasn’t stupid.

And I didn’t want to be that annoying side character who dragged everyone down.

I’d die of frustration before the demons even touched me.

“Can I come too?”

…Are you crazy?

Of course, I didn’t say that out loud. Just as I was about to gently refuse, a choice box appeared.

[Halloway looks at you expectantly.]

[➤ What will you say?]

1. Why would you come with me?
   ((⊙_⊙)？)
2. Stay here and hang out with those annoying people.
   (（＾∀＾●）)
3. Let’s play rock-paper-scissors. If I win, I go alone.
   (=￣ω￣=)

…What the hell is wrong with these options?!

Was the system bugged, or was it always this stupid?!

None of them were normal.

Rock-paper-scissors was the least ridiculous, so I picked 3.

I raised my fist with a deadpan expression, mimicking the goofy emoji.

“If I win at rock-paper-scissors, I go alone.”

“I refuse.”

…Huh? He refused?!