“Miura-san, aren't you going to join the surprise event?”
“No, I'll pass. I'm going to find Yu now. I saw him come back just now.”
Standing in front of Hayato Ezaki, Yumiko Miura smiled and waved her hand, declining Hayato Ezaki's invitation. After speaking, she turned and ran back to the inn without waiting for Hayato Ezaki's response.
Yumiko Miura had just seen Yu Nakano participate in the courage test with Nino Nakano, which made her breathe a sigh of relief.
If she hadn't seen Kotori Katsura and Yotsuba take the lead in approaching Yu Nakano, she would have gone straight to him. Maybe she could even leave a good impression on Nino.
Although Kotori Katsura had stolen the opportunity today, she would be able to see Yu Nakano every night for the next six days. She didn't believe that Kotori Katsura could overtake her!
Yumiko Miura didn't know that Kotori Katsura's mother had already been planning to arrange a marriage between Kotori Katsura and Yu Nakano. She even went to see Maruo Nakano about this. Of course, these were all just later developments.
Seeing Yumiko Miura leave without hesitation, Hayato Ezaki was stunned. After a moment, he shrugged his shoulders and turned back to the center of the crowd.
At this time, there were three people in the crowd wearing garlic necklaces, with cameras and flashlights on their heads, and each holding a talisman in their hands. They were standing tall and proud in the curious gaze of the crowd.
“This event has only selected three lucky winners. We will present it to everyone through live streaming. Teacher Hiratsuka has been sent by us to grade homework, but it won't be long. You only have five minutes!”
“The time limit is five minutes. Go to the fourth floor of the inn where the monster is rumored to be imprisoned and stick the talisman on the door of room 414, then return along the original path. Completing this will get you a mysterious prize!”
“Since the fourth floor of the inn has been locked, we need to climb the stairs this time. Ready? Go!”
Sho Tobe raised his hand, attracting everyone's attention. After speaking, he pointed to three folding ladders not far away. The ladders were extremely long, and they looked frightening at a glance.
Sho Tobe and the others had previously climbed to the fourth floor using these ladders.
“Alright!”
The three chosen people looked at each other. The tallest one, a boy named Murakami, nodded, put the talisman in his pocket, and ran towards the ladder.
Seeing this, the other two followed closely. They were all students from the school basketball team, not only tall but also strong and agile. Under the exclamations of the students, they quickly climbed to the second floor.
Soon, the three of them arrived outside the fourth floor of the inn. They looked in and saw a clean corridor and several doors.
The three didn't hesitate, opened the window, and went inside.
“It's so ordinary, nothing special.”
After taking a look at the decorations, Shimada, one of the three, shrugged his shoulders and said dismissively.
“Don’t you guys feel a little cold?”
The slightly stout, dark-skinned boy said. The boy was named Izumiyama. Judging from his physique, he was undoubtedly healthy, but he was now rubbing his arms.
“It is a bit cold, but forget it, hurry up and stick the talisman on and we’ll go back.”
Murakami was also rubbing his hands. After speaking, he took his talisman out of his pocket and walked towards the target, room 414.
Soon, the group came to a room sealed with a white rope barrier. A single talisman was attached to the door, giving it a sense of legitimacy. Without a doubt, this was room 414.
Seeing this, Murakami decisively flipped over the rope barrier and stuck the talisman on the door with a “啪”. He turned and gave his companions a glance.
They only had five minutes, so they had to be quick.
The other two understood and were about to flip over the rope barrier when something tripped them, causing them to fall together. They pressed directly on the rope barrier, breaking it.
“Creak~”
A teeth-grinding sound came from the door in front of the three. The sliding door actually opened a crack.
“Hiss~ It hurts! This, this door, how did it open?!”
Holding his knee, Shimada stood up, but he was surprised to find that the sliding door had actually opened a crack!
You know, this was a sliding door, it wouldn't be blown open by the wind, and there was no wind just now!
For a moment, the inn's ghost story flashed through Shimada's mind. His eyes were filled with fear. He immediately slapped his talisman on the door. Without waiting for the other two to react, he ran towards the way he came.
Seeing this, Izumiyama also panicked. He casually slapped his talisman on the door, not caring whether it was attached or not. He turned and ran, even brushing aside the intact rope barrier.
On the other hand, Murakami was much calmer. He followed behind the two, slowly climbing down the stairs.
However, none of the three noticed that after they stuck the talisman on the door, the original white talisman emitted a puff of black smoke. As if it had lost its stickiness, it lightly floated to the ground.
“Gukijekijekijekijekijekijekijekiji~”
An eerie laughter echoed, starting to reverberate through the fourth floor of the inn.
...
“Huh? Yu isn't in the room?”
Yumiko Miura returned to the room and found it empty. She looked puzzled. Did he go to Yotsuba Nakano's place?
But she had just seen Kotori Katsura and Yotsuba Nakano, and they weren't with Yu Nakano.
Frowning, Yumiko Miura decided to change clothes. She rummaged through her luggage and quickly found a light purple yukata she had prepared.
The yukata pattern wasn't very complex, but it looked very beautiful. This was also one of Yumiko Miura's favorites.
“Change, change. I’ll make him swoon when Yu comes back!”
The girl giggled, her tone full of anticipation. She seemed to be picturing Yu Nakano’s surprised expression when he saw her dressed like this.
After a while, Yumiko Miura had changed into her yukata and tied a knot on her robe. Since she had already soaked in the indoor hot springs, Yumiko Miura didn't plan on taking a bath.
“Hmm hmm~”
Standing in front of the mirror, Yumiko Miura admired her clothes, a satisfied smile on her face. Suddenly, the girl noticed her hair.
“I heard that boys like mature girls. Should I put my hair up?”
She held her hair in her hands and muttered to herself. She wasn't very good at tying her hair, after all, she usually left it down. Besides, her curly hair would be a bit troublesome to tie up.
Just as Yumiko Miura picked up her phone to ask how Bunko tied her hair, a figure suddenly appeared in the reflection on the phone screen.
The figure was completely white, naked, with a pair of black and red eyes on its chest and a wide, terrifying mouth at its navel. And, the figure had no head!
“Ah!!”
“Plop!”
Seeing the figure, Yumiko Miura screamed and her hand trembled, dropping her phone directly to the ground.
Ignoring the phone, the girl looked behind her, but there was nothing. Let alone a monster, there wasn't even a hair.
Seeing this, Yumiko Miura rubbed her eyes, filled with disbelief:
“No, it's impossible! Just now, I saw it so clearly!”
“Could it be that the light flickered?”
She looked up at the room’s light and thought. But now the atmosphere in the room was too eerie, Yumiko Miura didn't dare stay here alone, so she walked towards the door, wanting to find Bunko and the others.
But when she opened the door, the dark corridor blinded Yumiko Miura.
The corridor’s lights were still working properly when she came back, why...
Just as she was puzzled, an eerie sound entered her ears:
“Thump~ Thump~”
The sound was like something stepping on rotten woodboards with one foot, and what's more...
It was getting closer!
......