NCSHG CH 14

Chapter 14

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[Upon success, the goal point will be revealed.]

I immediately called them over to the table and told them to sit. Then I handed each of them a mug.

“If you can keep holding onto that mug and talk with me for ten minutes, I’ll go with you.”

Of course, they could always run away in the middle of it.

But if I said that out loud right now, they’d probably drop the mug immediately, so I didn’t.

“Are you kidding me?”

“If it looks like a joke, you’re free to leave first.”

“……”

Werner sighed deeply and took hold of his mug. Moran, without saying a word, did the same and looked at me.

At least they seemed willing to go along with it for now.

But what are we supposed to talk about for ten minutes?

There didn’t seem to be any specific topic—if there was, the system would’ve told me.

“Sir Werner, Moran told me you were with Kreta. Why are you alone now?”

“Monsters swarmed in, and we got separated naturally. May I ask a question, too?”

“Go ahead.”

“Why are you barefoot?”

I looked down at my feet. After all the running and stepping on debris from collapsed walls, they were a complete mess.

Only then did the pain rush in all at once—my soles throbbed.

“I lost my slippers.”

“You’re bleeding.”

“Well… it’s not like I’m going to die from a little blood, am I?”

“Then why are you covered in it?”

“I rolled through Friedel’s blood.”

“E-Evelyn…”

Moran fidgeted awkwardly, glancing between Werner and me. Werner gave me an odd look.

“You seem… quite different from before entering the hotel.”

“Let’s just say I’ve accepted my fate. Or maybe I’ve just tasted extreme terror.”

Seeing how calm I looked, Werner nodded in understanding—as if my words made perfect sense.

“That does seem likely.”

I didn’t understand why he believed me so easily, but I guess my past behavior made it unavoidable.

From a meek Evelyn, to a crying, panicked mess after arriving on the island, and now calm and collected—people changing that fast tends to make others just accept it.

When Moran instinctively tried to set her cup down, I stopped her quickly.

“Keep holding it!”

She flinched and gripped the mug tightly with both hands.

“May I step out for a moment?”

“No. You have to hold that and talk to me for ten minutes.”

“Can you tell me why?”

“I just… want to. After all the chaos and running, I want ten minutes of normal conversation without worrying about anything.”

At that, Werner fell silent. Instead, Halloway tugged on my sleeve.

“Am I not enough company for you?”

“I just wanted to talk to people I can lean on.”

“Adults, you mean?”

“Yeah. You’re too young for me to act weak in front of.”

“After all the times you already did?”

Quiet, brat.

We had about a minute left.

After a while of pointless conversation, Halloway had his head down on the table—probably asleep.

Then, with about thirty seconds remaining—

[Halloway is bored. He decides to kill Moran and Werner.]

…Just like that?

Well, thank God I’m not the target…

[You decide to calm Halloway’s murderous urge and ease his boredom.]

Me? Why me?!

Why do I have to be the one to entertain this little psycho?

But, as usual, the system didn’t care what I thought.

[➤ What will you do?

1. Hit the head of the sleeping Halloway hard.]

And then what, I die right after?

This was the worst start imaginable.

[2. Tug on the hair of the sleeping Halloway.

3. Bite the head of the sleeping Halloway hard.]

It’s like the system had a personal grudge against Halloway’s head.
Or maybe it just wants me dead.

None of the options looked good.

“This is insane…”

“Miss Evelyn?”

Don’t call me that… or I might actually cry.

Any of those three choices would probably get me killed immediately.

Then again, since his affection for me wasn’t that low, maybe he wouldn’t kill me right away.

While I was agonizing, clutching the mug in one hand and my head in the other, the system chimed again:

[Escape route revealed.]

[The map will disappear once the exit is found.]

Bzzzt—

A map of the 3rd floor appeared before me, glowing.
The red dot marked our current location, and the white one was the exit.

“You can set the mugs down now. Thank you.”

I should probably say goodbye too, but there was no time.
Before the pursuer appeared, I needed to pick an option and get out.

I stared at the cursed choices.

Then I noticed something:
Option 1 and 3 both said “hard.” Option 2 didn’t.

So maybe… gentle? Less deadly, at least.

A gamble—but I chose 2.

As soon as I pressed it, my hand moved on its own. My heart pounded like crazy.

I tried to resist, but it didn’t help. My hand reached for Halloway’s hair.

“Miss Evelyn, you look… strange.”

Ignore him.

My hand touched Halloway’s hair—and gripped.

Too much, maybe?!

“Why, sis?”

Please, gently! Gently!!

There was no “hard” in the text—please!

Thankfully, my prayer worked. My hand tugged his hair very softly.

“Huh? Sis?”

He called again. Relieved I wasn’t dead, I smiled brightly.

“Ah, sorry for waking you. We have to go.”

“It’s fine! Let’s go then!”

I reached out my hand, and he happily took it.

[Halloway’s boredom and murderous intent subside.]

I sighed in deep relief.

Looking at the now-fading translucent map, I hurried toward the exit—pretending to stay cautious, so the others wouldn’t suspect anything.

“Where are you going?” Werner asked.

“Where else? Just scouting around. Do you have anywhere else to go, Sir Werner?”

He couldn’t answer.

Of course not—there was nowhere to go in this trapped hotel.

We just had to wander until we found a way out.

Then Werner stopped me.

“Let’s find you some shoes first.”

“I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt.”

When I refused again, he blocked my way.

“Then, until we find some, I’ll carry you.”

“There’s no need for that kind of kindness.”

“If you injure yourself further, it’ll be harder to move later. Don’t refuse.”

I could, but if I let him help me, I’d feel too guilty when he inevitably dies later.

So I shook my head.

“I can manage on my own. You already helped me enough outside the hotel.”

I pushed past him and walked on. Halloway grabbed my hand and spoke.

“Hey, sis—back when you were hiding in the closet…”

“Can we not talk about that?”

Of course, he didn’t listen.

“Why were you dancing?”

I was wondering when he’d ask that.

Even Moran perked up, curious.

I forced a smile. “Well…”

“I was shocked how bad you were at it.”

That little brat—!

I pinched his cheek in irritation.

“That ‘bad dancing’ saved your life, you know! You ungrateful little—!”

Halloway giggled, cheek still in my hand.

“So, because you danced, I was safe?”

Ah—crap.

I quickly let go and muttered, “Sometimes when I lose my mind, I dance to overcome fear.”

Maybe my past weird behavior helped, because—

“Oh, I see!”

He believed me instantly.

Werner, listening in, frowned. “Dancing?”

I ignored him. Moran and Halloway, thankfully, didn’t answer him either.

We were here.

I took a deep breath.
Even though we were chased, we somehow reached the escape point.

Werner frowned, staring at my feet.

“Miss Evelyn, your injuries are worse—”

“Slippers would just slow me down. Don’t worry—it’s my feet.”

They hurt, but it was manageable.

I swung the door open.
Inside was a small banquet hall.
At the far end stood a doll—shaped like the pursuer.

Found it.

—Found you!

Cold sweat trickled down my back.

It said the same words I did, but meant something completely different.
I turned around.

The pursuer was rushing toward us with eager steps.
I ran into the banquet hall and shouted:

“Now I’m the tagger!”

Everyone looked at me like I was crazy, but I locked eyes with the pursuer.

It glared silently, murderous intent radiating from its gaze.

My legs nearly gave out. Werner rushed to support me.
Halloway hesitated to help, then awkwardly withdrew his hand.

“Are you okay? Let’s run!”

Werner lifted me in his arms before I could respond.

“Ah!”

Whether I screamed or not, he ran toward the back door of the hall as the pursuer stopped, raised its arms, and yelled:

—So annoying! I could’ve killed you!

Stomping in frustration, it stormed away from the hall.

Werner and Moran stopped, stunned.

“Was it because you said you’re the tagger?” Moran asked.

I shrugged. “Seemed like a kid who just wanted to play, so I tried shouting it. Guess it worked.”

Once we were safe, a system message appeared.

[Story 05 ‘You’re It!’ completed!]

[The revolver is at the end of the hall.]

At the far end of the hall, a holographic glimmer appeared.
I squirmed in Werner’s arms.

“Put me down!”

“I’ll put you down once we find your shoes.”

So stubborn.

“Just for a second! I’ll get back in your arms right after, okay?”

“Only for a moment.”

Sucker.

“Yes, yes.”

He reluctantly set me down.
Halloway reached for my hand, but I ran toward the shining spot instead.

There it was—a revolver, along with a shoulder holster.

[‘Revolver’ obtained!]

[Revolver — Feature: Powerful.]

Yeah, thanks for the useless description.

I strapped on the holster and checked the bullets—only six.
Not much, but better than nothing.

“A gun?”

“Yeah! Miss Evelyn, how did you find that?”

“It was just… right there.”

Wearing a cardigan over a negligee with a shoulder holster looked ridiculous, but I felt secure.

A sword and a gun—nice.
Guess I’m becoming a weapon collector now.

“I’ll carry you again,” Werner said.

“I’m fine. I have a weapon.”

“You still don’t have shoes.”

“Oh, for—! Why are you so obsessed with shoes?!”

“I’m worried about you!”

“Chivalrous Werner, please direct that worry toward someone else.”

I snapped and grabbed Halloway’s hand.

“You said you’d let me carry you after you were done.”

That sounded wrong.

“I lied.”

“You’ll lose credibility.”

Why does he talk like that?

“I don’t care.”

Annoyed by his persistence, I muttered softly:

“Unlocked room.”

[Room 205 — ‘This room is very safe!’]

Room 205, on the second floor.

Then that’s where we’re heading.

If it said “safe,” I needed to find out whether it meant safe from monsters or demons.

We needed at least one safe area to rest, after all the fights and exhaustion.

And since it was “unlocked,” it probably meant go there.

So we went down.
Before, a transparent barrier blocked the stairs, but now—after completing the story—it was gone.

As I lightly hopped down, Halloway asked, “Aren’t you gonna do that thing?”

He meant the pantomime I did in front of the invisible wall earlier.

“No.”

Not a chance.

Moran followed behind, puzzled.
“Why go down instead of up?”

“There might be other survivors below.”

“You say you don’t care, but you sure do.”

That was the only excuse I had.

Surprisingly, Werner and Moran didn’t complain further—they just followed quietly.

One story cleared.