Chapter 14: [Shadow Mansion] A suspicious mansion investigation team! Yuki and Rin’s final exploration to uncover the truth!! [Yuki / Rin / Lunaverse] (1)

To start with:

I’ve never played a horror game in my life.

Not back when that survival game set in a pizza joint was trending.

Not recently, when the one set in a toy store blew up either.

Not even once have I played a horror game.

Not because I’m a scaredy-cat or anything.

I just didn’t have time, and there was never a good reason to.

There are so many fun games out there—why bother with horror?

…It’s definitely not because I was scared, okay?

So today’s stream is my first-ever horror game.

Please don’t be too scary…

Actually, wait.

It can be as scary as it wants.

After all, before me—the embodiment of peak masculinity… no, peak femininity—the one and only Yuki-sama, even the scariest ghost is just a weak little loser.

“Rin, are you ready?”

“Ah, yes! Just finished setting up.”

As she finished speaking, her red-haired martial arts character started moving on my screen.

Her long hair was tied only at the end, and it swayed gently with her movements.

“Okay, I’m starting the stream?”

“Yes.”

I hit the “Start Streaming” button.

The stream timer in the top-right started counting, and viewers began flooding in.

[Yuki has started a live stream.]

[【Shadow Mansion】Exploring a haunted mansion! A spoiled noble lady and a martial artist dive into a horror game!! 【Yuki / Rin / Lunaverse】]

–It’s LIVE!!

–She’s streaming──!!!

–Yukigenyo!

–Good evening, Natsuki!

–YukiRin collab LET’S GO!!!!

–KonNatsuki~

–That stream title tho

–Horror game??

–Thankyouthankyouthankyou

–Yuki’s doing horror?!

–I haven’t even started watching and it’s already hilarious LOL

The chat was hype about the horror stream.

I guess everyone’s excited to watch cute girls squeal in fear?

Sorry to disappoint.

I’m way too unbothered for that—it might end up being a boring stream.

Should I pretend to be scared just in case?

Anyway.

“Yukigenyo~ Yep yep, it’s Yuki. Hello everyone.”

“KonNatsuki!! Greetings, people of the Demon Cult! I am Natsuki Rin, the swordswoman who cuts through moonlight!”

–Why is Yuki’s greeting so half-assed LOL

–(insert martial arts salute gif)

–Yukigenyo~

–KonNatsuki

–Yukigenyo~

–LOLOL

The moment the stream started, Rin slipped right into her RP dialect.

This was, what, her third stream? But she was already locked into her character really well.

Ah, youth…

She adapted so fast—unlike me and Miho, who are halfway through our twenties.

I mean, I did break character on purpose, but still.

“Seeing you talk all fancy like that, I feel like I should be speaking like a noble lady too…”

“Y-You don’t need to, really. Speak however’s comfortable.”

“Yukigenyo~ Greetings~ I am Lady Amano Yuki, hailing from the moon~ Pleased to make your acquaintance~”

–LMAO

–Too late now

–The ‘desuwa’ has arrived

–RP debut on the 5th stream lol

–“Deja-wa~”

–AHAHAHAHA

–Yuki-sama… that’s just sad

“Excuse you?! Do you know who my father is? My father is—hello?—the president of Lunaverse, okay?!”

–LOL

–Broooo

–She’s gone full ‘K-princess’

–THIS is what you call a ‘K-lady’??

–So what’s your dad gonna do about it?

“I’m sorry. Truth is, I’m an orphan. I don’t have a dad.”

“Wait, what?”

–?

–?

–Huh??

–…orphan?

–????

Rin immediately followed up, shocked.

And the chat exploded with question marks.

“What do you mean? N-No, I mean… what dost thou mean?”

Oops. I think I just stepped on a landmine.

Rin, who’d been perfectly in character until now, was clearly rattled. Must’ve been a bad joke.

“Forget it. Let’s just keep playing!”

–?

–Umm…

–🙉🙈🙊

–Just type ‘lol’ and move on

–Yeah… just lol

–???

–lol

–lol

Yeah, maybe no more depressing jokes on stream.

Viewers come here to laugh, not hear sad stories.

I quickly changed the subject and pulled up the game screen.

The title appeared in a spooky font, with a gloomy mansion behind it.

[Shadow Mansion]

“So, Rin! Can you explain the game a bit?”

“Huh? L-Like the lore?”

“Yeah. We’re skipping the tutorial anyway.”

–Skip on

–Stop skipping!!

–This is peak K-VTuber behavior

–Yikes

–Rin debuting as Speedwagon LOL

(TL note: Robert E.O. Speedwagon is a character in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure known for dramatic exposition.)

“Uh… well, Shadow Mansion is based on an urban legend format called the ‘Napolitan horror tales.’ You start with a list of rules. If you follow them, you survive and escape the mansion.”

“Easy. Just follow the rules?”

“Exactly. Though… sometimes the game makes it hard to follow them. But that’s part of the challenge.”

Makes sense. It’d be boring if everything went by the book.

You need curveballs once in a while.

Still, I was more amazed by something else.

“…Hey, doesn’t that RP style get exhausting?”

I could maybe understand using it in short dialogue, but she was going full formal monologue with zero stumbles.

At this point, she wasn’t playing her character—she was the character.

Now that’s commitment. Even if I had more stream experience, I couldn’t match that level.

“No, I’m fine. A true martial artist must always maintain honor and dignity.”

You say that, but it still seems tough.

If it were me, I’d start mixing up my speech endings within the first five seconds.

“So wait, Rin—you’re the leader of a demonic cult, right? Does that make you the Heavenly Demon?”

“I am not the Heavenly Demon. Just a lowly member of the Four Heavenly Kings…”

“Four Heavenly Kings?! That’s sick. So you do use attacks like ‘Heavenly Demon Punch,’ right?”

“There is no such technique in the Heavenly Demon Arts. And besides, I was once a member of Mount Hua Sect, so I’m unfamiliar with those teachings.”

“Mount Hua? Like volcano? So do you shoot fireballs or what?”

“…What?”

–LOLOLOL

–SHE SAID WHAT?!

–‘Mount Hua’ LMAO

–She really said Volcano LOL

–Wrong Hua, dumbass

–Traditional wuxia fans are about to riot

–Triggered

–This is why… kids these days…

–This ain’t wuxia anymore!!

“Wait, did I mess up? That ‘Mount Hua’ isn’t like the lava volcano one?”

“It uses a different character. Not ‘fire’ Hua (火), but ‘flower’ Hua (華).”

“Ohhh. Got it.”

See? Wuxia’s hard.

All those Chinese characters and factions…

I usually just split people into “good guys” and “bad guys” when watching those movies—this is too much.

“The romantic ideal of Mount Hua is to make plum blossoms bloom from your sword.”

“Heh, for real?”

“Yes. At the height of battle, the scent of plum blossoms rising from your blade… cherry blossoms dancing in the wind. Quite romantic, is it not?”

“Wait—your body gives off the scent of plum blossoms? Isn’t that dangerous?”

“…What?”

–LOL

–Wuxia but unhinged

–Honestly yeah, if your body smells like flowers something’s probably wrong

–Does chicken coop smell count?

–What am I reading

–???: “She’s a fresh little girl—of course she smells nice!”

“I mean, wouldn’t that be really dangerous? If your bodily fluids smelled like plum blossoms?”

“…I said ‘aura,’ not bodily fluids.”

“Oh, so like, if a Mount Hua master reached their climax, would they smell like blossoms?”

“……”

–????

–HAHAHAHA

–I’m getting dizzy

–I CAN’T

–Mount Hua masters release floral-scented…

–How would Namgoong Hyung know that?!

–Bro’s too far gone

Welp.

The convo went completely off the rails again.

I did want Rin to loosen up, but if we kept joking like this, we’d never start the game.

Time to focus.

[Multiplayer] ◀

As soon as I selected the mode, the screen began fading to black.

I created a room, typed Rin’s ID into the search bar, and invited her.

“Is your ID ‘Yuki1014’?”

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“Accepted. It’s about to begin.”

We waited a moment for loading.

Then the screen faded back in, revealing a front desk that looked like it belonged in a haunted hotel.

An old woman stood behind it.

[Gonzalez: Welcome. Checking in?]

[Gonzalez: Welcome to Shadow Mansion.]

[Gonzalez: Strange name?]

[Gonzalez: Well, it’s a very old hotel.]

[Gonzalez: There have been… rumors lately, but…]

[Gonzalez: As long as you follow a few rules, you’ll be just fine.]

“Safety rules?”

“Probably like those viral urban legends. ‘Napolitan’ horror stories.”

“Ohh, like those safety guidelines that go wrong?”

I’d seen a few on NewTube.

There was one about museum rules, I think…

Honestly, I never really watched horror stuff, so I didn’t know much.

The old woman—Gonzalez—continued:

[Gonzalez: Oh, right.]

[Gonzalez: Shadow Mansion assumes no responsibility for accidents caused by not reading the handbook.]

[Gonzalez: Please make sure to read it carefully.]

“This place is totally running a scam. ‘We’re not responsible’—really?”

–LOL

–lol

–Time to report this

–Call the cops, this hotel’s cursed

–LMAO

–What kind of business is this?

“W-Well, it’s just a game… maybe let the little stuff slide?”

“…Fine. Whatever.”

While I grumbled, Gonzalez emerged from behind the counter with a key.

[You received Room 205 Key!]

[Gonzalez: Here’s your room key.]

[Gonzalez: Have a good night.]

[Gonzalez: May the shadows keep you safe tonight…]

As she finished, the screen faded again, and when it came back, a male character’s face appeared.

He was looking around—probably Rin, trying to get a feel for the controls.

“That’s it for the tutorial?”

“Seems so.”

“I’ve got the key for Room 205… should we head there now?”

–Yup

–It’s getting real now

–So dark… and creepy…

–Where’s the handbook though?

–I’m scared

–Creepy~~

–d-d-d-damn

–Yikes

Chat was getting all jittery, so I looked around.

Sure enough, the horror vibe was in full swing.

The big lobby was dimly lit with candles. The chandelier barely glowed at all.

There were staircases to the left and right, but it was so dark, even max brightness wouldn’t help.

“Looks like the right stairs go up.”

“Oh yeah, Room 205 means second floor.”

“Let’s go quick. I’m… starting to get scared.”

“Hehe, got it. Let’s hurry.”

Looks like Rin’s more scared than me. Feels like a win.

No way the mighty Yuki-sama would be scared of a horror game.

I’ll breeze through this and reward myself with some Nunenune snacks—

CRACK-THOOOOM!!!

“KYAAAAAHHH!!!”

–That scream tho LOL

–Cute

–AHAHAHAHA

–SCREECH

–lololol

–adorbs

“W-W-What was that just now?!”

“It was thunder. No need to be afraid.”

“B-But that sound…”

–HAHAHAHA

–hehehe

–Scaredy-cat

–lol

–Oh no, are you scared?

–Totally scared

–Flat girl = small heart LMAO

“I—I wasn’t scared at all! And you—whoever called me flat—I remember your username!!”

“Flat? What’s flat…”

“……”

“…Oh.”

(Thought bubble: The one who messed up the ramen)

Rin stared at me with eyes devoid of highlight.

They were filled with… pity.

I trembled and muttered:

“No… I mean… I do have A-cups…”

“S-Sorry… that made me feel kinda bad…”

“…sniff”

–LOL

–Coaster

–HAHAHAHA

–When’s the frying pan-sized merch coming out?

–I’d totally use that merch tho

–LOL

Chat, of course, pounced at the chance to clown me.

With a dead look in my eyes, I trudged up the stairs to the second floor.

“…Let’s just play the game.”

“W-Wait for me!!”

And so, with the usual crowd teasing my chest size…

The horror game collab continued.