“……Which room do I need to go to?”
Raphne also found the phrase, staring blankly as she recited it.
There was an artificial scar in front of s. It felt sinister.
‘Well, it is an entertainment event.’
By the way, the letter that precedes s is key. Combined, it’s kiss.
Of course, there are characters attempting other combinations.
In such cases, they often get smacked by Emily, creating a comedic atmosphere.
In any case, if you kiss, the door opens.
However, it’s also a trap set by the production team.
There’s a separate answer to open the door.
“S says to do it. …What could that mean? Ken.”
Fortunately, Raphne seemed to be oblivious to its meaning.
Alright, then I’ll just act naturally, pretending to examine the door, and when I push it open…
“A bed, and… a table?”
At that moment, Raphne, carefully observing her surroundings, seemed to realize something about the room’s setup.
“…Ah.”
And then our eyes met.
“Se-se-se-se, se-eek…!”
“No—!! It’s not that, Raphne!! It’s a kiss, a kiss!! The designer made that on purpose to create a misunderstanding!!”
I waved my hands, correcting her misunderstanding as Raphne’s face flushed like it was steaming.
Whether she hadn’t heard me or was pretending not to, Raphne slipped a bit closer.
“I-I-I’m fine with it…!”
“W-What do you mean?”
“I’m fine even if we do it right here!”
“So, what are you talking about?!”
She, with the breath of a wild beast, trembled as she placed her trembling hands over my chest.
Her moist eyes looked up at me, and whether from embarrassment or excitement, her cheeks were flushed.
A strange atmosphere began to flow.
“Ken….”
Raphne gently closed her eyes.
To her, I said…
“No, you just have to push it to open.”
“…Huh?”
Even still, there’s no way I could do something like that in this strange mansion.
Of course, it would be a lie to say I wasn’t tempted.
I went closer to Raphne, who was panicking and approached the exit to push the door aside.
Click.
After feeling quite a strong resistance, the door slid open smoothly.
A sliding door.
It looked sophisticated with a luxurious design and had a handle typical of sliding doors.
But if you look closely near the handle, it’s written:
[Push to the side.]
In other words, the phrase written above the door, […Which room do I need to go to?] is a trap.
It’s the production team’s scheme to create a mu-huh atmosphere among the characters.
Raphne, who was blankly staring at the open door, puffed up her cheeks as she understood the situation and shouted.
“A kiss, at least that much should’ve been fine!”
She definitely heard me say kiss earlier.
Raphne looked at me with teary eyes, seeming to feel disappointed over not even getting a kiss.
‘…She’s probably a bit upset.’
I’d already kissed before, so it wasn’t hard…
I approached the sobbing Raphne and gently patted her shoulder.
Then, the sulky-looking girl looked at me.
Not missing that moment, I kissed her forehead.
“…K-Ken.”
“Since this is still outside, I thought it’d be better to keep it at this level.”
It was me who did it, but I suddenly felt shy, sensing the heat rising to my face, and I looked away.
Plop.
Then, Raphne lightly hugged me.
It seemed my previous behavior had quelled her anger.
“……Ken.”
Yet Raphne’s eyes, looking up at me, were dark and frightening like before.
“Then when we return to the tower, be prepared.”
“…Y-Yes.”
The instinct I’d have to suppress as a man upon returning to the tower sent shivers down my spine.
Thus, we escaped the room.
After exiting and passing through a short hallway, we opened the next door to find ourselves in the mansion’s hall.
“Did we come out first?”
“…Of course, Ken opened the door immediately.”
“S-Sorry.”
It seemed like she was still not fully recovered.
The hall had a mix of an elegant atmosphere and a gloomy vibe.
When we looked back, the door we had opened had transformed into the mansion’s main gate.
At the main gate, there were stairs heading to the second floor and passes to other rooms on both sides.
First, since we had to act with everyone, we sat on the stairs, waiting for the others to come out.
A bit later.
Creeeak—.
The next ones out were Mary and Emily.
Far from the tense faces they had when entering the mansion, the two looked flustered, avoiding each other’s eyes.
As they opened the door and scanned the surroundings, they found us.
“Oh, Ken! You made it out safe!”
“So, it’s a relief. Of course, we’re in the same room….”
Having learned the others disappeared from the same room, the two suddenly froze.
Then, as if on cue, they dashed toward me.
“W-Wait a second…! So, how did you and Raphne get out?! Don’t tell me you…?!”
“Did you, did you kiss?! If not…!”
Naturally, coming out of that kind of room implies one has accomplished the command, so it makes sense to think so.
But I didn’t touch Raphne out of concern for her.
I commend my past self for suppressing my instincts as a man.
“…Calm down, guys. The command text in that previous room was a trap. The door opens just by pushing it to the side.”
“Right, Ken literally did nothing and opened the door immediately.”
Seeing Raphne’s puffed-up cheeks at my response, the two seemed to calm down.
“Ah, I see. I assumed….”
“So that’s how it worked. Great observation, Ken.”
It’s not that I’m great; I just happened to know the answer.
…Wait a minute.
If Mary and Emily didn’t know how to come out, then…
“H-Hey, how did you two get out?”
Upon my unexpectedly panicked question, the two collected themselves again, looking embarrassed.
“N-No!! It’s not like that with Emily and me…!!”
“Y-Yup!! Seriously, it was just a kiss on the cheek!! We kissed cheeks and the door opened!!”
So they did kiss each other on the cheek.
Well, the definition of a kiss isn’t strictly limited to the lips.
From their perspective, it would make sense to start from the cheek. I guess it opened right away.
There wasn’t any cheek kissing like that in the game, so I couldn’t imagine it.
Maybe earlier, Raphne and I also opened the door with a kiss on the forehead.
…But a kiss on the cheek, huh?
Who initiated it?
Emily… or perhaps Mary?
“Ow?!”
“What are you imagining! You pervert!”
Bright-red cheeks, excited Emily attacked my side.
They said imagination is free, after all.
In any case, the two emerged safely and joined us on the stairs as we waited for the others.
And then.
Creeeak…
The third pair to appear were Adrian and Alicia.
Unlike Mary and Emily, who had just come out, the two stepped out of the room without any awkwardness, looking bright.
…It didn’t seem there was a kiss atmosphere.
Did they notice the trick?
“How did you two make it out?”
It seemed like Emily was also wondering about the same thing as she spoke up first.
“Ah~! Are you referring to the ? ”
“No, I mean a kiss, a kiss!! Can you be a bit more indirect?!”
Shouting in panic, Alicia grinned playfully, laughing as if it was amusing.
“Mmhm, of course, I knew. I was just kidding.”
At Alicia’s unfazed statement, Mary turned red and looked away, while Emily also subtly averted her gaze.
“We created false memories that we kissed thanks to her hypnosis. Then the door opened.”
“When I put the charm on the pretty senior, click! It opened!”
With Adrian’s explanation, Alicia confidently made a peace sign.
I get it, hypnosis.
It seems using hypnosis to deceive the party is acceptable.
…But wait, that means Adrian has a memory of kissing Alicia.
Yet he still maintains his devil-may-care smile.
How can he stay so nonchalant…?
“Only the seniors are left.”
Emily glanced around to confirm.
Just as she said, the remaining ones were from the same team. …It seems like it’s taking longer than expected.
After that, we all sat on the stairs, waiting for the last team.
With so many people, the atmosphere lightened even in the eerie mansion.
As we waited a while.
Creeeak…
The last two.
Siegfried and Elise stepped through the door cautiously.
“…….”
“…….”
The two outside exchanged looks and couldn’t meet each others’ eyes, their faces flushed.
Even the normally calm Siegfried’s face was red as he covered his mouth with his arm.
Elise, with her glowing red face, hid behind her hand, hopping nervously.
‘They… kissed.’
“Well, they did.”
“Wow~ They really went for it.”
“It’s youth, after all.”
Responses from Emily, Alicia, and Adrian echoed what I was thinking.
Hearing their voices made Elise flinch and notice us.
“O-Oh~! So you all were here! I-I thought I’d lost you all….”
And then she noticed Alicia’s lascivious grin, her face turned as red as a strawberry.
“W-What’s with that expression!! Why are you looking at me like that?!”
“Huh? Oh, I was just thinking it’s a lovely moment~”
“Don’t say things like a grandma when you’re a junior!! You perverted old lady!!”
With Elise shouting in embarrassment, everyone had safely entered the mansion.
