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 - 22-23

Chapter 22: Mission ①: Check the Girl’s Chest Pocket! (Difficulty: Hard)

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…What!?

The unnatural window that suddenly took over my vision turned my thoughts completely blank. That eerie blade Sato-kun had thrown away was laying in the corner of the room, half-sunken into darkness. At first glance, it looked like nothing more than an old, worn knife. But my soul was screaming.

Don’t ever pick it up.

If I picked it up right now, it might become a means of defense to protect Murase-san. But my heart was shouting that I absolutely must not touch it. Even though I was called the Lost Item Collector, my instincts refused to let me pick that one up.

“Ueno-kun, what’s wrong?”

Still clutching my sleeve, Murase-san peered up at me anxiously. Nanase-san and the others’ footsteps faded away. From the closet behind us, I thought I heard the sharp crack of wood snapping.

What should I do…? How can I protect her!?

With trembling hands, I stared at the choice before me. If I took the blade, maybe I could buy some peace of mind. If something happened, I would at least have a way to fight back. But the image of “last time,” burned into my mind, refusing to fade.

I hesitantly reached my finger toward [No].

Not picking it up was the right choice… right?

What lingered at my fingertips was not the satisfaction of retrieving a lost item, but a tingling sense of relief, like I had narrowly avoided a deadly poison.

“…It’s nothing. Let’s go, Murase-san.”

“Okay.”

This time, I firmly took her hand again, interlacing our fingers. From the darkness behind us, I thought I heard the blade tap against the tatami with a faint clink…, like a fingernail striking it, but I didn’t turn around even once.

A second choice had appeared. That meant from a game strategy standpoint, maybe I hadn’t made a mistake…

Just as I was struggling with that unanswerable thought… I noticed a piece of paper at my feet, wedged into a splintered gap in the old tatami. It was unnaturally white and clean for this place. Strange. It definitely hadn’t been there before…

“This…”

This time, my Lost Item Collector instincts kicked in, and I picked up the paper as if drawn to it. Scrawled across it in was rough handwriting, yet horribly familiar. The words were…

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

【Emergency Memo: To Myself】

Do not pick up the blade.

If you didn’t pick it up, then you were right. Have confidence. Last time, I picked it up and hurt Murase-san. I was the starting point of that storyline. When you meet Hoshino-san next, check her “left pocket” without hesitation. If you want to clear this game, make sure you pass through the first torii gate. That’s the flag that triggers everything.

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

My heart thudded violently in my chest. That distinctive flick in the strokes! The slight upward slant to the right! This was unquestionably my handwriting. But when did I write something like this!? Wasn’t this only my third loop!?

“Ueno-kun…? That paper… what is it…?”

Murase-san looked up at me with a trembling voice. There were countless things bothering me, but one sentence pierced my heart more than anything else:

【Last time, I picked it up and hurt Murase-san.】

That’s ridiculous… I’ve been trying so hard to protect her. There’s no way…

“Murase-san, get away from me!”

Half-panicking, I shoved Murase-san away.

“—Eh!?”

Thrown off balance, she fell onto the tatami. Tears of confusion welled up in her eyes.

“U-Ueno-kun…? Why… all of a sudden…?”

Right now, my head was a mess. My mind was filled with the contents of the memo and the fear that my own hands might hurt her. Damn it. I meant to push her away to protect her, but I’d done the one thing I absolutely shouldn’t have done!

But I wasn’t given even a second to drown in regret.

“What are you doing?”

“Gwaaahhhhh!”

Letting out a pathetic scream, I leapt into the air. There, sliding open the veranda sash with a rattle, stood Hoshino-san, her cheeks puffed out in annoyance.

“…You’re loud. You’ll bother the neighbors.”

“There aren’t any neighbors around! And more importantly, why are you here!?”

“I heard everyone’s voices. Also, what’s this?”

Hoshino-san casually picked up the blade that had been lying on the floor.

“H-Hold on, Hoshino-san! Don’t touch that!”

I shouted as if my heart were about to leap out of my mouth. I didn’t know how, but I had a feeling that whoever held that blade could become the starting point of the nightmare. It was the most dangerous item we had right now!

“…Uh, your face looks scary. It’s just an old kitchen knife, isn’t it?”

Hoshino-san lifted it lightly. For a split second, the air in the room seemed to freeze, but she calmly tossed it out into the yard.

“It’s unsanitary. Anyway, were you two wrestling on the floor or something?”

“It wasn’t wrestling! Absolutely not!”

I hurriedly supported Murase-san by the shoulders and helped her stand. Tears still pooled in her eyes as she clutched my sleeve with a soft “Uu…” The awkwardness from shoving her just moments ago ran down my back in cold sweat.

That’s right, the memo! Hoshino-san’s “left pocket”!

“Hoshino-san, sorry! I just need to check something for a second!”

“Huh? W-wait!?”

Without hesitation, I reached toward the left pocket of the white shirt Hoshino-san was wearing…

“W-What are you trying to do!?”

Murase-san grabbed my arm tightly to stop me. Large tears had gathered in her eyes.

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Chapter 23: Mio Murase Sinks Deeply

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“Ah, no, Murase-san!? There’s a very good reason for this…!”

I tried to explain on reflex, but the strength with which Murase-san gripped my arm was astonishing! The look in her tear-filled eyes as she stared at me didn’t feel like fear… it felt more like something closer to anger, something harder to put into words.

“You just told me to get away from you earlier…”

“N-no! It’s not because of some impure motive…! Just read this memo for now!”

Desperately, I thrust the “Memo to Myself” in front of Murase-san’s face. But it seemed the words weren’t registering in her eyes at all.

“The worst… Ueno, you’re such a pervy demon. Should I report you?”

Hoshino-san, whose white shirt pocket I had targeted, looked at me like I was garbage. She firmly guarded her chest with both hands. Aaaahhh, this was the absolute worst reaction! I seriously didn’t have those kinds of feelings at all!

“N-no, it’s not like that! I just want to retrieve what’s inside Hoshino-san’s pocket—”

“That made you sound even more suspicious. Death penalty.”

“I phrased it badly! But please! Just let me check for one second!”

The more I talked to Hoshino-san, the more tears pooled in Murase-san’s eyes. The tears were on the verge of spilling over.

“Ueno, you boob-obsessed alien.”

“I-it’s not that, I just want to check what’s inside!”

“Ew, you’re seriously dangerous. Even with Miocchi right here…”

“I said that’s not it!”

The more flustered I became, the deeper I dug my own grave. The more I spoke, the more I sounded like a pervert. In this situation, investigating a chest pocket was completely impossible. Damn it! Even though I had finally found something that looked like a strategy hint!

“So Ueno-kun is actually kind of lewd. I didn’t know you were looking at Hoshino-san like that…”

“I’m not! Absolutely not! The only one I care about is Murase-san’s—no, that’s not what I meant!”

My brain felt like it was about to boil over. Murase-san’s small hand tightened painfully around my arm. This was like a complete reversal of our positions at the first torii gate!

“When it was me, you didn’t look at me like that…”

Murase-san’s face was as red as a perfectly ripened tomato.

“Wait, wait, Murase-san, you’re saying weird things too!”

“I was so nervous when we were in the bath, and when we slept together…”

“W-Wh—!?”

A strange sound escaped my mouth. So Murase-san really did remember before! That suspicion turned into certainty. She probably just didn’t realize what she was saying right now, but she clearly remembered the previous me!

“Sorry… This is my fault…”

“Ah…”

Regaining just a bit of composure, I stopped trying to force my hand forward and raised both hands instead. With our hands still overlapping, we ended up in a synchronized hands-up pose. The sheer stupidity of it loosened the tension for just a second, but at the same time, a single tear slipped from Murase-san’s eye.

“Why do I feel this awful…?”

“Murase-san?”

“I didn’t want to feel sad, so I tried not to change my expression… That’s why even when people called me ‘air,’ or said I didn’t stand out, I kept telling myself I was fine…”

Slowly, Murase-san let go of my hand.

“It hurts to be with you, Ueno-kun. It hurts when I’m reduced into invisible ‘air’ when I’m with you…”

“Huh?”

“I want to be alone for a little while…”

Just like that, Murase-san ran toward the entrance, as if fleeing from me.

“W-wait!”

The floor creaked loudly as she ran down the hallway.

This was bad, bad, bad! Even someone as clueless about horror as me could tell this situation wasn’t good. 

The guy who says something like, “I can’t stay with you, I’m going back to my room!” is always the first to die. That’s common knowledge for all humanity, right!?

“Murase-san, don’t! Don’t be alone!”

I hurried after Murase-san.

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