Ghost Mansion of Gooongpo.
The name of the event is actually like this.
As the name suggests, it’s a mini event created solely for entertainment purposes by the production team.
Here’s the most important point.
There’s no way to clear this mini event.
If you’re lured by the NPC’s words offering a mansion and enter it with a character…
━You end up trapped in the Ghost Mansion of Gooongpo while an entertainment event unfolds!
The method for clearing explained in the game is to solve all the challenges that come up.
It could be quizzes, specific actions, or keys.
But in the end, in the last moments, it’s impossible to clear.
What you can get are event CGs of the character participating with you and some moe scenarios.
And of course, rising affinity.
When I played, I often brought characters with low affinity to participate.
So, for someone like me, who doesn’t need to raise affinity, there’s really no reason to join this event.
But that’s just applicable to me, the possession.
“Wow! Are you really giving us that mansion?”
Emily, being the protagonist, completely fell for the talk about receiving the mansion.
“Ken, what do you think? Shall we give it a try? Grandpa looks troubled.”
“Troubled, really troubled! Oh my, is there no kind young person to help…?”
“Grandpa, what do you need help with?”
“That mansion is a headache… I don’t know since when something strange has attached to it, but every time I go in, weird rooms keep appearing. If I could open those rooms until the end, it seems it would be solved, but I just can’t. I can’t even sell it like this… solve it, and I’ll give you the mansion.”
“See? What do you think? Wouldn’t Ken be able to do something?”
Curiously, Emily’s eyes sparkled as she urged me to respond.
Hmm, how should I explain this?
It’s just an event that can’t clear anyway, wouldn’t it be a waste of time and effort to bother?
“…Um, Emily.”
After shaking off Emily from the old man, I whispered softly.
“We don’t know what’s inside, and looking at the fact that no one has succeeded when they say they’ll give us the mansion, it seems like no one has solved it.”
It’s impossible to succeed in the first place.
It’s difficult to explain why, so I just vaguely brushed it off.
But perhaps that didn’t convince Emily, as she replied with a dissatisfied face.
“…Hmm, is that so? But I feel like Ken could do it.”
It’s a bit troublesome that her trust in me is so strong.
“And Ken, I just thought of a method…”
Emily, having some thoughts, whispered back at me.
“Since we can get it anyway… can’t we just smash the door to the room?”
Emily confidently presented her idea, looking quite proud, but what a foolish method.
“No way, it can’t be that easy.”
Clearing an impossible event… that’s just…
…Wait a minute.
For a moment, upon hearing Emily’s words, something bright flashed in my mind.
It wasn’t about solving the mansion, but rather information regarding another impossible labyrinth.
‘What if we could solve this mansion, could that also apply to the labyrinth…?’
I had vaguely thought it was impossible, but.
Looking back, there were many things that had been possible in this real world, despite being impossible in the game.
A prime example would be Raphne’s pendant.
That was an item that doesn’t even exist in the game.
It wasn’t in the item crafting category, but I made it myself through a combination of similar items.
And the ruined rune sealing stone I smashed to obtain a subspace pocket.
That too couldn’t be destroyed unless you had a certain level of strength, but I managed to break it after repeatedly hammering it.
Then.
‘…I can test whether this mansion can be cleared or not.’
After a moment of thought, I smiled at Emily, who was waiting for my response.
“Okay, then shall we give it a shot?”
“Wow! Really?”
When I gave a positive answer, Emily looked way more pleased than I expected.
Is it really that good?
“I’ve always wanted to live in a mansion! Ah, is it too spacious for just the two of us?”
“Eh? What do you mean?”
It’s indeed a big mansion to live in just the two of us.
But the ownership should be thought about after clearing it first.
Two?
Is there someone else?
At my puzzled expression, Emily’s cheeks turned red as she looked flustered and looked away.
“Ah, hahaha. I was just saying that.”
Anyway, she seems excited at the thought of acquiring the mansion.
First, if we’re going to challenge the Ghost Mansion of Gooongpo, we need to gather people.
Of course, in the game, it’s an event for just Emily and one other character.
But since finding hidden keys inside the mansion requires numbers, it’s beneficial to have more people.
After all, my goal isn’t to own the mansion.
I simply wanted to confirm whether or not it can be cleared.
So I gathered as many people as I could.
“Wow~! Are we going to explore the mansion? It sounds fun!”
First, there’s the seemingly free-spirited Alicia.
“Need a hand? Got it. I’ll help.”
“It sounds fun! I want to join too!”
Siegfried and Elise willingly joined when I asked them.
“If you need Ken, I’m all in… but you’re not living in the mansion, right…? If you are, you have to take me with you!”
“I’m not sure if I’ll be useful, but I’ll give it my all.”
Then Raphne and Mary joined in, making a total of seven including Emily and me.
“Ken! I brought Adrian along!”
“He said he found something interesting to do. If it’s alright, I’d like to help too.”
As we gathered people, Emily and Adrian waved at us while waiting at the entrance of the academy.
Wait a minute… what’s busy guy doing here?
Is he monitoring Raphne leaving the academy…? Or did he tag along because it genuinely looked fun?
Well, the more the merrier.
Moreover, it’s better to have an even number rather than an awkward odd number.
So, with Adrian included, the total number of participants for the mansion challenge became eight.
“Is this the mansion? I feel like a ghost is going to show up!”
“Don’t say ominous things before we even enter.”
“Eek! Z-Zik, what if we get lost? What if we trip and fall…?”
As we reached the mansion’s front, everyone had different reactions, but mostly the girls were scared.
Which is understandable since while the mansion was certainly grand, the surrounding vines, spider-webbed windows, and untidy fallen leaves combined to create a deserted school vibe.
It somehow felt chillier as we entered through the main gate.
“Ken, I’m scared…”
Raphne, also frightened by the atmosphere, clutched my right arm.
“R-Raphne, come on… you’re quite the scaredy-cat, aren’t you? This isn’t that big of a deal.”
“Mary. I’m trembling a lot though.”
“I-I’m cold… K-Ken, don’t stray from my side.”
She was a freezing mage shaking as she gripped my left arm tightly.
Being in a scary place, even without getting wet, her scaredy-cat persona was showing.
“I’m scared too. Let’s stick together.”
I could hear Emily’s voice trailing behind.
She was already tugging at the hem of my clothing as her arms were trapped.
It was quite uncomfortable to deal with these three clinging onto me.
“Hehe, this is quite something. I’m glad I came. My heart is racing.”
“How can you be like that? I find it commendable as a man.”
“So you really did charm three, huh… what a player.”
Alicia, Adrian, and Elise enjoyed the comical sight.
If I had anticipated this, I should have brought a smaller group.
“Alright, I’m opening the door.”
With Siegfried, who was the bravest among us, leading the way, we entered the mansion.
━Creeeak…
Upon opening the rarely used old door, a musty breeze flowed out with the dust.
“Ugh! Ugh! Dust got in my mouth!”
Alicia, caught off guard, stuck out her tongue and started panicking.
The eerie atmosphere of the mansion was unveiled.
“…Wow, it’s cleaner inside than I thought!”
“Can you please not say ominous things?”
“W-What’s ominous?! Ken, you’re scary for saying that!”
Accidentally casting a spell that summons blue spirits, Elise trembled and protested.
But as she said, it was indeed cleaner than expected.
It seemed like only the door was dusty.
Or rather, the reason the inside looked clean was apparent.
“Is this even the mansion…? The layout is totally different from what we saw outside!”
Emily responded after entering through the door.
That’s right.
Originally, a grand hall would welcome us in this grand mansion, but what greeted us instead was a long and narrow corridor.
With no windows, no portraits, just strange wallpaper and somewhat dim lighting.
And at the end of the corridor was a single door.
“Do we… have to go there…?”
“Yes, there’s only one door.”
“Ugh, K-Ken. Don’t you dare leave my side.”
Perhaps she might regret coming here now. If I had known she would get this scared, I would have warned her in advance.
For someone like me, who is immune to horror games, this event was merely a mansion exploration.
Still, it should be fine as there’s no risk of injury or death.
Clack, clack.
The sound of eight pairs of feet echoing against the smooth marble floor filled the corridor.
Some people could be heard nervously swallowing their dry throats.
Before long, we reached the end of the corridor.
“Surprisingly, nothing happened!”
Alicia seemed to be alright now, a curious smile on her face as she bounced on her feet.
Unlike before, I stood at the front in front of the door.
“Well, I’m going to open the door now. …From here on out, don’t panic no matter what happens, and if you’re really scared, feel free to turn back and exit.”
I explained even about how to quit the event as I scanned the faces around me.
Adrian and Alicia were smiling.
Siegfried’s stoic face remained unchanged.
And the rest looked tense or shivering.
Having checked everyone’s condition, I turned to the door and grabbed the doorknob.
Now, opening this door would mark the true start of the event.
The problem is, what the first challenge will be is unknown. It’s random.
It could be a quiz, or searching for an item.
With that in mind, I slowly opened the door and entered.
One by one, the rest of the group followed me into the room.
Ken opened the door to the eerie room, and everyone entered one after another.
Passing through what felt like some strange barrier at the threshold, blinking against the bright light for a moment.
As the surroundings came into focus…
“…K-Ken.”
“Raphne? …Where is everyone else?”
Left alone in the room were only Raphne and Ken.
This left Ken feeling a bit confused.
In the game, events proceed with two people, so he hadn’t expected the rest of the group to disappear.
‘…Something must be wrong, right?’
Perhaps, since it was a two-person event, each of the other participants must have gone in pairs as well.
Just as Ken thought that,
“Mary? Where is everyone? Ken, where are you?”
“E-Emily… ugh, I-I don’t know… b-but please don’t leave my side…”
Mary was sniffling, hidden under Emily’s embrace.
“Wow! Everyone is gone! …And now we’re left alone, the handsome one! What will happen to me now!”
“Um… this is a bit disconcerting.”
While the shouting Alicia was a bit flustered, Adrian was scanning the surroundings.
“Z-Zik! Everyone disappeared! This is bad! What if we can’t go back now?!”
“Ken already said so. If you’re scared, you can just turn back. I’m with you, so don’t worry.”
“Ugh…”
Lastly, Elise and Siegfried parried to enter the room together.
They all reached different rooms, but the structure of each room was the same.
On one wall of the room, a bed and a small table.
On the opposite side from the entrance, a solitary door stood menacingly.
“…W-What is this?”
And looking towards the exit, Ken’s expression changed in alarm.
That was the same for everyone else.
Above the exit door, the way to escape this room was written:
[■Must do X to exit the room.]
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