Chapter 66

Ｒｅａｄ ｏｎ ＫａｔＲｅ​ａｄ​ｉｎｇＣａｆｅ

**V-Spe Gamers! (4)**

**[Blue Horn]**

“Oh, this one’s worth—”

**[$120]**

“120?! This could keep us going for weeks!”

– …What is this lol
– A kid yelling “This could keep us going for weeks!” while picking up junk in a rundown building…
– Kinda feels like I’m watching a documentary about a child living in the slums. I feel kinda bad now.
– Stay strong, Nacchan. Get stronger, Nacchan!
– More importantly, watch out for bad guys lurking around there!

A kid in the slums, huh… And bad guys? Wait, does that mean there are others here?

Well, even if there are, I can just run away before they catch me. Besides, my inventory’s already full anyway.

Alright, I think this is enough. Time to head back.

If it’s Toya, she probably already got back to the ship before me, no worries.

_Step, step…_

“…Who’s there?”

– Oh no lololol
– Must be one of the “bad guys”! Run, Nacchan!
– If you hear footsteps in an abandoned place, rule number one is RUN
– RUUNNN!!

But then I heard footsteps approaching.

I cautiously asked, but got no reply.

Uhhh… this isn’t some hostile enemy or something, right? It’s not… right?

And then, under the flickering ceiling light, I saw the owner of those footsteps.

“Toya?”

– No.
– Run, Nacchan.
– That’s not Toya anymore!!!
– RUN IMMEDIATELY!
– If you die here, the whole day’s wasted! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!

You’re kidding, right? This is a joke, isn’t it?

Under the light stood someone who looked exactly like Toya.

Orange suit, black helmet. The same character who had entered this building with me.

“Come on, you’re all just trying to mess with me, right? Right?”

“…”

“…Toya? Ah—AAAAAAAH?!?!?!”

They’re running at me. They’re charging. THEY’RE CHARGING!!!

The moment the figure began to sprint toward me, I bolted in the opposite direction.

This is way too scary to be a joke! But they look exactly like her!

Still, every situation has a certain _vibe_, and this one screamed “RUN.”

Whether it was Toya or not didn’t matter—running was clearly the right move.

“W-Where’s the exit again? Was it this way? No, that’s not it—ugh…”

My inventory was full of valuable loot. All I had to do was get back, but all the hallways looked the same and I couldn’t tell where I was going.

Footsteps echoed behind me.

No matter how far I ran, I couldn’t find the exit.

Wait… didn’t they say there was a time limit in this game?

**[Current Time: 5:30 PM]**

“…Huh?”

– Hurry and get back to the ship, Nacchan! lol
– Once the sun goes down, you’re guaranteed to die lol
– Why is she running in circles?
– Wait… Nacchan’s got no sense of direction, doesn’t she? lol
– lololol

Why am I “guaranteed to die” when the sun goes down?

I tilted my head, confused by this unknown threat, but kept moving anyway.

I wanted to stop and think, but the sound of footsteps right behind me wouldn’t let me.

No matter how much Toya liked to tease, she wouldn’t take it this far.

In other words, this wasn’t Toya chasing me—it was something else.

Maybe something trying to hurt me.

“W-Wait? I think this is the entrance! I found it!!”

– Finally, an escape lol
– Can Nacchan become the last survivor?!
– I believe in her! Nacchan can make it out alive!
– But… she’s kinda bad at the game lol
– lol

Look, being good at the game doesn’t matter right now! What matters is that I found the exit!

One more step forward, and the door we entered through appeared to welcome me.

Finally! Freedom! Escape! Hang in there, guys! We’re gonna be fine with this haul!

With my heart pounding, I stepped out the door.

Yes, just as I stepped outside—

**[Current Time: 7:00 PM]**

“…The sun’s down, huh?”

– lololol
– RUN TOWARD THE SHIP RIGHT NOW!!
– You survived this long, now RUN
– The moment it gets dark, _it_ appears…
– RUNNNN

I glanced at the chat, puzzled by the sudden panic.

But I quickly understood why they were freaking out.

Actually, no, there was no _understanding_ involved. The moment I saw it, I knew.

Something that looked like a tree… but way too big to be one—an enormous monster stood right in front of me.

“…It hasn’t noticed me yet, right?”

The one bit of luck: it had its back turned. It hadn’t spotted me.

I swallowed hard and began to move. Slowly, carefully.

I kept my voice low, not wanting to draw attention.

“Please excuse the whispering. You guys don’t really want to see me get grabbed by that thing either, right?”

– Actually, I kinda do.
– I’ll donate 10,000 yen if you run up to it yelling lol
– Unexpected deaths are way more entertaining than deliberate ones lol
– Just focus on surviving for now lol
– Live, Nacchan. You can do this!

Surviving was always the goal, thanks.

Whenever the monster shifted, I ducked behind nearby trees or junk, constantly checking for cover as I crept forward.

Thankfully, night didn’t mean instant death.

At this pace, I could probably make it back to the ship by 9.

No—_would_ make it.

“Hah… phew…”

– She actually made it back lol
– Aww, too bad. I really wanted to see her get eaten by the giant
– Congrats on being the last survivor, Nacchan!
– Wait, does that mean Toya died?
– Yeah, pretty sure she did. No updates from her at all lol

Really? I’m the last survivor?

I let out a breath of relief from the ship’s deck and looked around… but Toya was nowhere to be seen.

So the Toya I saw in the building wasn’t the real one, huh.

Also, that monster is huge… way bigger than the ship. Hope it doesn’t just pick the whole thing up and toss it.

I glanced toward the wandering giant one last time before moving the camera to the cockpit, thinking it was about time to close the hatch.

“…Toya?”

“…”

“What the—if you came back, you should’ve said something! Do you know how scared I was? Some Toya lookalike kept chasing me!”

“…”

“…”

Crouched between the cockpit and a cabinet—someone.

Wearing a black helmet. The same model that had chased me through the building.

Toya. Or someone who _looked_ like Toya.

But since the Toya lookalike was in the building, the one hiding here must be the real one.

…Right? It _had_ to be.

**RRRAAAAGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!**

“KYAAAAAAHHHHH?!?!?!?”

The crouching “Toya” stood, turned its head—revealing a grotesque face.

The moment I realized you _shouldn’t_ be able to see a face through a helmet, it screamed and grabbed my character’s face.

And then—

**[All employees aboard the ship have died. Returning to Company HQ for new hires. Thank you for your service.]**

—The game was over.

– lolololol
– So it chased her all the way to the ship?!
– I didn’t think it could follow that far lol
– I guess it came out because Nacchan was the last one alive
– All that effort to dodge the giant, and she still dies like that lol
– lol
– lol

The chat exploded with reactions, but I couldn’t say a word.

I held my breath, clamped my hands over my mouth, hunched over with my eyes squeezed shut.

A reflex born from experience.

That awful cough rising from my throat felt like it took forever to burst out.

“Hack! Cough, cough cough! _Hack cough_, cough!!”

“Natsu?!”

My chest hurt more than my throat.

Even though this body was small, the coughing felt like it was rattling my entire chest cavity.

Toya rushed over, clearly startled, and gently rubbed my back.

Her hand was soft, comforting—but once a cough starts, it’s hard to stop.

The others, seeing me like this for the first time, stood frozen with wide eyes.

“Hhhah… hhgh… hic… _cough cough_…”

I tried to keep it in by clamping my mouth shut, but I couldn’t suppress the sound completely.

Still, at least one good thing: I recovered faster than usual.

Maybe my health had improved a little.

…Yeah. Good thing I’ve been going on those daily walks.

With that thought in mind, I exhaled slowly.

Fables