I Saved the First Victim of the Horror Game (The Idol in My Class), and She Became the Ultimate Sweet Heroine Who Smiles Only at Me - 14

Chapter 14: Near-Kiss Event: Trigger Condition – Just Making Eye Contact

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Murase-san’s warmth reminded me that I needed to pull myself together.

Well, I suppose something on that level might have been within the realm of expectation.

“That aside, do you think the torii rumor has anything to do with this?”

I let that question slip out quietly. The rumor said, 『If you pass through the torii at midnight, you won’t be able to come back』—but I couldn’t see any connection at all between that and the current rumor about a mass murder.

“Isn’t that just a typical test of courage thing?”

Hoshino-san replied to my comment.

“The ‘someone will die at midnight tonight’ one is so famous it’s ridiculously famous.”

Honestly, I didn’t really know what exactly was so famous or how famous it was. But now that she mentioned it, there was something eerie about the moment the date changed. And if we were talking clichés… There was also the Hour of the Ox.

Hmm…

Murase-san would be discovered with her abdomen slashed open… right? Which meant, if things followed the plot summary, it wouldn’t be something spiritual attacking. It would be something physical… right?

“Stareee.”

“W-What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing…”

While everyone else was watching the campfire, Murase-san was staring straight at me without changing her expression at all. No, it wasn’t “nothing” at all!

“I’m suuuper curious, though.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“That’s impossible!”

Murase-san turned away with a huff. I simply couldn’t believe that this girl only had a few hours left to live.

“Shall we head to sleep soon?”

One of the three girls, the black-haired Nanase-san, murmured that.

“Huh? It’s just about to get fun! Let’s make a late-night snack!”

Yamamoto reacted to Nanase-san immediately.

“I’m good.”

Nanase-san slipped smoothly into the tent.

So mysterious… She felt different from the cheerful Hoshino-san and from Murase-san, who was sometimes called “Air-chan.” What was with this mismatched trio?

“Ahaha, Nanase is the same as always.”

Hoshino-san made a slightly troubled face. Standing here in front of them, it didn’t feel like it, but they were all game characters… right? Which meant that in the game, they probably each had some kind of “role.” Just like how Murase-san had been the first victim.

“…”

Okay, I needed to organize my thoughts.

Hoshino-san was bright and talked normally with everyone. She was probably the type to become a central character in the story. She worried about us and was genuinely kind. Somehow, she gave off main-heroine vibes.

The other girl, Nanase-san, was so mysterious that I honestly couldn’t get a read on her. In this situation, splitting off alone first made it feel less like Murase-san’s move to die first and more like Nanase-san’s, but…

Yamamoto was obviously the troublemaker. The other guys seemed like they were just going along with things because they had to…

“Miocchi, shall we head to bed too?”

Hoshino-san called out to Murase-san.

“The girls’ tent is over there. Ueno-kun, you’re not allowed to follow us.”

“Huh?”

“What do you mean ‘huh?,’ That’s clearly isn’t the right response.”

Hoshino-san grinned. Th-This was bad! Logically, Hoshino-san was right, but separating myself from Murase-san right now was extremely dangerous! Something unseen was definitely trying to eliminate her.

“I want to stay with Murase-san for a little longer!”

“Huh?”

“Let me stay with Murase-san tonight!”

“Ehhhhhh?!”

Hoshino-san’s shrill scream echoed through the night forest!

“W-Wait a second!? What do you mean by that!?”

“I mean exactly what I said!”

I was desperate.

“I’ve got a bad feeling if we split up! If I’m not with Murase-san—”

“Hey, Ueno!”

Yamamoto hurriedly cut in.

“I didn’t hear anything about a sudden confession!? Why you didn’t tell me?!”

“That’s not it! It’s not like that!”

“No, that totally sounded like that!”

Tanaka nodded exaggeratedly. They completely misunderstood!

“…”

Meanwhile, the person in question, Murase-san..

“U-Ueno-kun…?”

Her face was bright red, and she covered her mouth with both hands. Her gaze was darting everywhere.

“Since when were you two in that kind of relationship!? You didn’t seem like that at school!”

Hoshino-san’s retort came flying in at high power.

“I told you, it’s not like that!”

I shook my head frantically.

“It’s not about liking someone or dating or anything like that—”

“Eh, but the way you said it just now—”

“I’m talking about survival rate!”

The atmosphere froze instantly at my words.

“…Survival rate?”

Hoshino-san blinked blankly.

“I think Murase-san tonight—”

I started to say it, then swallowed the words hard. There was no way I could just say, “You’re destined to die.”

“…I feel like she’s going to run into danger.”

“Is that just a hunch?”

“It’s a hunch, but not just any hunch! We’re in a place like this! You never know what could happen! So let’s all protect Murase-san together! The guys should protect the girls!”

That line had come out pretty cheesy. But it wasn’t a bad proposal. This way, we could cooperate and get through the night together!

“Well, I guess since we’re in a place like this…”

After saying that, Hoshino-san glanced toward the depths of the forest.

“Honestly, I probably wouldn’t be able to fall asleep right away like Nanase either… Maybe just for tonight, we should stick together.”

“Hoshino’s being serious for once.”

Tanaka widened his eyes. How rude.

“Shut up. I can read the room when I need to.”

Hoshino-san put her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest.

“Alright, let’s assign roles.”

“Roles?”

“Lookout duty. Also managing the campfire. And we’ll keep track of headcount so no one wanders off alone.”

As expected of the social butterfly! She took charge fast. That really helped.

“Then Tanaka and I will take lookout duty.”

“What if I need to go to the bathroom?”

“Do it there.”

“How cruel!”

Yamamoto and Tanaka traded jokes, but everyone’s gaze naturally drifted toward the dark forest. It had been unnaturally quiet for a while now. I couldn’t even hear the wind. We each took our positions and agreed to stay within sight of one another. Murase-san and I ended up tending the campfire together. We fed it firewood and made sure it didn’t go out. In the darkness, the fire flickered like a living creature.

“Hey, Ueno-kun.”

“Hmm?”

She suddenly called my name, and I stopped what I was doing.

“Thank you.”

“Where did that come from?”

“Because you’ve been staying with me this whole time.”

The way she said that pierced straight into my chest.

“You know… in times like this, I always feel like I’ve been alone.”

She smiled softly as she said it. Her profile, illuminated by the firelight, was strangely close.

“It’s fun being with you, Ueno-kun…”

Our eyes locked.

…She’s close.

The crackling of the fire sounded unusually loud. Before I knew it, our faces had drawn close enough to almost touch—

“GYAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

“—!?”

Murase-san and I both jolted at the same time and reflexively jumped to our feet. The campfire popped sharply as sparks flew.

“W-What was that!?”

“That was Yamamoto’s voice!”

The scream had come from deeper in the forest, from the direction where he was supposed to be on lookout duty!

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