Chapter 15: [Shadow Mansion] A suspicious mansion investigation team! Yuki and Rin’s final exploration to uncover the truth!! [Yuki / Rin / Lunaverse] (2)

After getting the room key from Gonzalez in the lobby, we headed straight up to the second floor.

We screamed a few times on the stairs since it was so dark, but… I doubt anyone thought it was weird.

I mean, it’s nighttime right now…

Dark places are scary, okay?

I can’t even walk down a dim alley at night without a flashlight.

I turn on the lights to go to the bathroom too…

Rin, on the other hand, didn’t show a hint of fear or surprise.

Like, how is her nerve system even wired?

She was the one who said she was scared in the beginning, but now I’m the one jumping—and the chat’s cracking up.

The stream was going well, so I didn’t mind too much…

…Still kinda irritating though.

I swear, I’m never doing a horror game again.

Anyway, we got to Room 205 and opened the door.

It was a spacious double room right past the entrance.

Fitting for a four-story mansion like the one on the title screen, the interior was decorated like a literal palace.

“But now it’s just the two of us…”

“…?”

“Alone in a sealed room.”

“W-What are you saying right now?!”

“Whatever happens in here now… no one outside will ever know, right?”

“……”

–?

–LOL

–Ooh la la…

–Alone in a locked room… sounds like pure love

–You know what you have to do

–Hehe~

–Bye bye!!

–Yuri is purest romance!!

And just like that, my reflexive dirty joke turned chat into a sea of suggestive nonsense.

(TL note: “Shimoneta” [下ネタ] refers to sexual jokes or innuendo.)

Rin must’ve checked the chat, because her face immediately turned red as she shrieked at me.

“T-This is absolutely NOT what it looks like!! N-Not at all!!”

“Sure, keep playing hard to get.”

“P-Playing hard to get?! It’s just a game! That’s all this is!!”

“You say that, but your body’s being super honest, you know?”

I tilted my character’s head forward and shoved her face right into Rin’s chest.

But her reflexes were insane—she twisted out of the way and dodged my headbutt at the last second.

“Dang. You’re way too fast.”

“……”

“I was hoping I could, you know, rub your nipples a little.”

“D-Don’t say such indecent things!!”

“Why not? We’re both girls. It’s fine~”

What matters is the pure desire to bop the boob.

Yuri needs no justification.

After all, nothing is more lewd and sacred than yuri.

“Back off!!”

But I guess Rin wasn’t into that.

Her face flushed even brighter, she headbutted me right back.

So I faked getting knocked back and let out a soft moan.

“Hnngh~♡”

“……”

Oops.

That moan came out way too real.

–???

–Wait what was that moan LOL

–That was way too sus

–Ahegao noises

–O-oh…

–Someone likes the spicy stuff

Chat reacted exactly as expected.

While I smirked in satisfaction, Rin tried to get things back on track.

“A-Anyway!! We should find the guidebook! Let’s move forward with the game!”

“The guidebook, huh… oh, isn’t that it on the desk?”

“…Huh?”

–There it is

–Wow, even while joking they’re still progressing the game

–This… is a pro?

–You can really feel the experience

–Chicken coop sme— (Message deleted)

“Shut up. Let’s read the guide already.”

Someone in chat said I smelled like a chicken coop.

I deleted that message immediately.

Then I picked up the booklet on the desk and started reading.

---

[1. Welcome to Shadow Mansion. Beneath the shadows where even moonlight does not reach, may you rest in peace.]

[2. Please remain quiet in the mansion. Loud noises disturb the other guests and may provoke them.]

[3. For the same reason, running in the hallways is prohibited. It bothers other guests… and might wake the dog.]

[4. At night, always carry a lamp while moving around. This is for your safety. Ensure the lamp has enough oil.]

[5. There is no Room 401 in this mansion. The fourth floor is used for storage. If you find Room 401, run to the stairs immediately.]

[6. The basement is off-limits. The locks are old and you could get trapped. If you hear anything from the basement, notify staff.]

[7. We hope you have a pleasant stay at Shadow Mansion.]

---

“That’s what it says.”

“Hmm… there are a few things we’ll need to be careful about.”

“Yeah. And words like ‘moonlight,’ ‘dog,’ ‘lamp,’ and ‘locks’ were all bolded.”

–Ooooh

–Here it comes

–Shadow Mansion is GOATED

–Big scream incoming??

–LOLOL

–Kyaaaaaaaa!!

“No more screaming. I’m not a kid. A game like this isn’t gonna scare me.”

“Didn’t you freak out earlier when nothing even happened?”

“…What did you just say?”

“N-Nothing!!”

Look at this little brat with the sharp comebacks.

After this stream, I’m definitely putting her in her place.

As the senior here, I can’t let her get cocky.

She needs a good old-fashioned online beatdown to snap her out of it.

BANG—!!

That’s when a loud thud echoed from outside the room.

“Hiiieeek…!!!”

I let out a dumb little scream and slowly turned the camera toward the door.

BANG!! RATTLE RATTLE, BAAAM—!!!

The door shook like it was about to break off its hinges.

I immediately backed away and hid behind Rin like a shield.

“…What are you doing?”

“Protect me, Mama Rin.”

“I-I can’t do anything!! This is just a game event, right?!”

“I dunno… I’m scared…”

–LOL

–Yuki’s being extra cute today

–That scream was top-tier

–So adorable…

–LMAO

–ADORBS

–700

“I-I mean… that’s not what I meant…”

The truth kinda slipped out.

Flustered, I blushed all the way to my ears and whacked Rin lightly.

“Do something!! Anything!!”

“Fine! I’ll go, okay?!”

Rin tiptoed cautiously toward the door.

She stopped right before it, then opened it.

There was nothing outside.

“Nothing here.”

“…Wait, nothing? That can’t be right…”

“Maybe it was just the wind?”

“There’s no way! The whole door was shaking like crazy!”

–Scary

–Yep, this is textbook horror game stuff

–Yikes

–Too cute

–Yuki doing horror = instant cuteness

–Can she just play horror games forever?

“N-No way!! It’s terrifying!!”

“But weren’t you the one who said it wasn’t scary earlier?”

“T-That was…”

I didn’t think the game would feel this real.

Also, the neighborhood I live in is kinda sketchy, and it was getting close to midnight, so everything felt ten times scarier.

“We should probably head outside and look around.”

“Wait, what?! You’re just gonna open the door like that?”

“…Is that a problem?”

“Of course it is!! Didn’t you read rule number 4?!”

–Ahhh

–Ooooh?

–Wait, she actually remembered

–Why isn’t she a dumbass?

–Isn’t ‘short flat = dumb’ like… the default setting?

“…I’m not an idiot. I remember the rules, okay?”

You guys are the idiots, Yukidan.

All you ever do is roast me over the dumbest things.

I gave them a slightly pouty look, then opened my inventory and pulled out the guidebook again.

---

[4. At night, always carry a lamp while moving around. This is for your safety. Ensure the lamp has enough oil.]

---

“Looks like we need to find the lamp first.”

“The lamp, huh?”

“Yeah.”

That rule about needing a lamp when moving around at night?

If we go without it, we’ll probably get insta-killed.

Or some unspeakably terrifying ghost will appear.

“Lamp… where would it be…”

I started scanning the room.

About ten seconds later, I spotted it—a lantern sitting on a small nightstand next to the king-sized bed.

“Found it!!”

I dashed over and grabbed it.

When I hit the F key, the oil lamp lit up.

[■■■■■■■■■□]

The gauge in the top right showed it was nearly full.

Looks like I wouldn’t need to worry about oil for now.

“Okay, now that we’ve got the lamp, should we head out?”

“Wait, no—give me a second to mentally prepare—”

“…Yuki, if we don’t move, the game won’t progress.”

“Alright!! Fine… I’m going. Don’t rush me!”

–LOLOLOL

–She’s such a scaredy-cat

–This is adorable

–Scared?

–She’s totally scared

–LMAO

“…Yukidan, all of you shut up. Keep teasing and I’ll end the stream right here.”

–Aahh…

–^^7

–We’re sorry, ma’am ^^7

–^^7

–My cat typed that, I swear;;

The moment I threatened to hit the ‘End Stream’ button, chat shut up fast.

I sighed, pointed my lantern forward, and moved toward the door.

“Alright. Let’s go?”

“Let’s.”

And just like that, the game resumed.

---

We left the room and headed up to the next floor.

Why?

Because there were footprints in the hallway.

Sticky-looking, dark footprints led all the way to the stairs going up to the third floor.

Of course, it wasn’t uneventful along the way.

Lightning struck a few more times, and I clung to Rin while sobbing.

I thought I’d be fine after the first one, but jump scares hit harder than expected.

And seriously, how is Rin so unfazed?

While I screamed loud enough to burst speakers, Rin just kept that calm, gentle voice like nothing was wrong.

Not even a tremble.

What’s her heart made of, titanium?

Is she that “my heart is steel and my body is blades” type?

Honestly, her unshakable composure was scarier than the horror game itself.

We reached the third floor via the pitch-black stairs.

Down the hallway, the vanishing point stretched into the shadows.

Lanterns on the walls flickered occasionally with soft light.

The red carpet below our feet was filled with intricate patterns so ornate they almost hurt the eyes.

–Yikes

–It looks darker somehow

–Why is the atmosphere so creepy

–Where’d the footprints go?

–Seriously, where are they?

–Yeah, wtf?

Viewers were wondering where the footprints disappeared to.

And sure enough, the red carpet that should’ve been covered in them was spotless.

“What the—where’d the prints go?”

“Perhaps they went no further than this.”

“No way. It’s just the two of us up here.”

I looked around just to be sure.

No one else.

No footsteps. No presence.

It was just me and Rin.

And right when I stepped off the staircase and onto the carpet—

[■■■■□□□□□□]

“What the hell?! What’s happening?!”

–??

–Wha?!

–Half the oil vanished?!

–Dude

–The lights are going out

Like something had punched a hole in the tank, the lamp’s oil began draining rapidly.

The gauge emptied in seconds, and the flame died out in my hands.

At the same time, the hallway lanterns all went dark.

The world turned black.

Like a tidal wave, the shadows swallowed everything.

The only thing left was the faint red outline of the world—eerily dim and wrong.

“Ngghhh…”

I turned around.

Behind me was Rin, still calm as ever.

And then—

–Grrrrrrrrhhh…

Standing at the end of the footprints.

Dripping black ooze onto the carpet.

A pitch-black shadow…

was right there.