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 - 24-25

Chapter 24: Please Become My Heroine!

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I ran outside, desperately chasing after Murase-san in the darkness. I always thought she seemed laid-back, but she was surprisingly fast on her feet. I couldn’t catch up! Hoshino-san could wait, I had to prioritize Murase-san! Surely the first “victim” would be her, so the others should still be safe!

“Murase-san! Stop!”

As we raced down the hill, a wide area lit by flickering lights came into view. I could even see a two-story building.

So this is where the school used to be…

It was hard to see in the dark, but faintly, I could make out something like a jungle gym. Compared to the school I went to, it was smaller, but there was no doubt it was a school building and a courtyard.

“Ahhh! Murase-san, that’s really not a good idea!”

Without hesitation, Murase-san ran straight into the schoolyard and then, almost as if sucked in, entered the building itself.

Wait, wait! What is this parade of death flags?! An abandoned school building in a deserted village can only spell trouble!

“Murase-san! That’s seriously not a joke!”

My heart was about to leap out of my chest as I followed her through the entrance. The moment I stepped inside, a dusty, sticky air unlike the cold outside hit my nose. It was the smell of something dead.

“Haa… haa… Murase-san!”

I tried to catch my breath. How could she just walk into the building like that? Normally, it should be locked with chains or something, right?! The dark wooden hallway was dimly illuminated only by the faint green of the emergency exit lights. In that light, I could see Murase-san’s back. She stood frozen in front of a classroom door, slowly turning to face me.

“W-Why are you following me…?”

“I can’t just leave you alone! And where do you think you’re running off to!”

I felt like I could sense someone else nearby. For some reason, schools always felt like they still carry traces of people. I had to get Murase-san out of here as soon as possible.

“B-But I…”

“For now, don’t leave my side! We don’t know what could happen next!”

“Why are you trying to protect me like this…?”

“B-Because I’m worried about you, Murase-san…”

“But… You were trying so desperately to touch Hoshino-san’s chest just now…”

“It’s not the chest, it’s her pocket!”

Murase-san glared at me with tearful eyes. This might be the first time she had shown such raw emotion.

“That’s… um, because I felt like there might be a hint hidden there…”

“You must prefer girls who are straightforward, like Hoshino-san, Ueno-kun.”

“That’s not it! I swear it’s not like that!”

Where are we even having this conversation? But Murase-san couldn’t stop speaking.

“I… I already have a sense of my role in this world…”

“Huh?”

“I know if things go on like this, I’ll die! I know I’m not the heroine!”

I was too shocked to speak, and my chest tightened painfully. These might be the words I least wanted to hear from her…

“Th-That’s…”

“Idols always look good as victims, right? Quiet girls are convenient, after all…”

“…”

Murase-san was looking at this world from a meta perspective. That was unexpected. An idol as the first victim would surely make a big impact in a game. Quiet girls… Well, they were probably easy to use. She was seeing this world analytically, from a third person perspective. But I looked at Murase-san as more than just a game character.

I mean, I could never just casually check Murase-san’s chest pocket. It’s like in an RPG when the hero rummages through someone’s house without permission. 

That was the feeling I had before.

Murase-san was real to me…

Huh…?

Something felt off… I felt like I was forgetting something important. Hadn’t I met Murase-san before, in some other context…?

“Murase-san, there’s something I want to tell you…”

“…”

As I searched for the words, a faint tap echoed behind us. Something rolled across the wooden floor. We both turned around and saw an eraser fall in a classroom, white dust slowly spreading.

“Is someone there?”

“I don’t know. But don’t go closer.”

I gently grabbed Murase-san’s wrist. She didn’t resist, unlike just a moment ago. Her fingertips were cold, the cold of a living person.

“I need to tell you something before anything happens.”

“Uh… okay?”

I thought maybe my past self felt the same thing as Murase-san, wondering what he could even do. He probably hated that he lived a normal, uneventful life. That was why he wanted to validate himself by picking up someone else’s lost item…

“Murase-san…”

So I—

“Please become my heroine.”

“Eh… huh?”

I wanted to affirm her existence. When she asked why I was protecting her, this reason alone was enough.

“Is… is that a confession!?”

“…Maybe it is.”

“Ehhhhhh!”

Even in the darkness, I could tell Murase-san’s expression had completely broken.

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Chapter 25: A Confession One Hour After Meeting!

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Murase-san’s scream echoed through the silent school building once again. The sheer volume briefly blew away the lingering horror vibe. Her face was flushed bright red, and instead of shaking off my hand, she gripped my sleeve tightly, like she was handling something fragile.

“C-confession…? W-what, but, just a moment ago you were, um, touching Hoshino-san’s… chest… Eh!?”

“That’s… That was related to the game thing! What I want to say of my own will now is about Murase-san!”

I had blurted it out in the heat of the moment, but strangely, I didn’t regret it. Murase-san was panicking, her eyes darting back and forth, but eventually, she looked down and whispered in a barely audible voice.

“…Don’t you think the timing is a bit unfair…?”

“Yeah, it might be.”

“Technically, as an idol, romance is forbidden…”

“You’ve said that before…”

For some reason, we both slipped into polite speech. I didn’t know what time it was exactly, but probably less than two hours had passed since we woke up at the torii. I had confessed just a little over an hour after meeting her. Well, in real time, maybe more, but still!

“…It’s unfair. Really.”

Murase-san repeated, squeezing my sleeve as if drawing out her words. I could feel her tremble through the fabric. I figured it was less from the fear of this place and more from the shock of my sudden confession.

“For the first time, I feel like someone other than my parents… has affirmed my existence…”

“That’s an exaggeration.”

“So such a thing can happen.”

Saying things like that made it impossible to leave her alone… This distorted romance might have started from a bizarre situation, but it was true that I genuinely wanted to do something for this girl from the bottom of my heart.

“Um, I’d like to hear your answer, if possible…”

“Y-yeah. Um, I… also…”

Just as Murase-san was about to speak,

Rattle-rattle-rattle!

The sliding door of the classroom beside us slammed open with incredible force. I jumped in surprise. I glanced inside, but the room was empty. From the pitch-dark classroom, a shrill, ear-piercing screech sounded, like chalk scraping violently across a blackboard.

“Eek…!”

Then the green emergency light started flickering on and off. In rhythm with it, from down the hallway came the bouncing sound of a basketball, “thump… thump…,” getting closer.

W-what the hell! I thought the paranormal phenomenon wouldn’t happen this time, but it showed up out of nowhere! Why now of all times? This was really inconvenient! I quickly pulled Murase-san’s slender body close.

“U-Ueno-kun!? That’s awfully bold of you all of a sudden…”

“Not that! Be more alert!”

Her face burning like fire, Murase-san shrank into me, burying her face against my chest. But I had zero luxury to appreciate her softness. Honestly, that had been the case the whole time, geez!

Even as we did this, the “thump… thump” sound was definitely approaching. The hallway was one path… To escape, we had to move toward the direction the sound was coming from. There was only one other way out…

“Murase-san, this way!”

I scooped her up and ran toward the classroom whose door had just slammed open. For a moment, that ear-piercing “Kiiiiiii!” sound from before nagged at me, but the approaching “thump… thump” was the far more immediate threat.

“Eh, wait, Ueno-kun!?”

“Through the window, let’s get out!”

The classroom was eerily silent compared to the chaos before. Moonlight poured in, bathing the neatly arranged desks in a ghostly glow. I closed the sliding entrance door and rushed to the windows. But as soon as I grabbed the crescent latch…

“…It won’t open.”

“Eh? Why?”

Murase-san pounded the window with trembling hands, but the glass didn’t budge. The schoolyard was visible outside, yet it felt as if an invisible, absolute “wall” blocked the way.

“C-could it be… we’re trapped?!”

Then—

Rattle-rattle-rattle…

The sliding door of the neighboring classroom slowly creaked open. I couldn’t see anyone, but I knew for certain someone was there!

“Murase-san, the locker!”

There was only one place left for us to hide. We squeezed into a janitor’s locker together.

The cramped space left no room for movement. Fortunately, there were no mops or brooms, but it was barely enough for two. There was no time for complaints. I pressed Murase-san’s body inside and shut the door from the inside.

“Mm…”

In the dark, I could hear her small breath. It was so tight that it was beyond mere closeness. Her soft body and the sweet, distinctly feminine scent filled the dusty locker. My heartbeat was loud, I couldn’t tell if it was mine or Murase-san’s overlapping with mine.

—Rattle.

The classroom door opened. The sound traveled through the metal locker.

Thump… thump…

Slowly, as if searching for something, the sound of a basketball bouncing entered the classroom. Compared to earlier in the hallway, it sounded heavier, wetter somehow.

“Where is everyone…?”

A small voice, clearly separate from ours, whispered. This girl’s voice..

“Hoshino-san…?”

Murase-san whispered in my arms, tense to the extreme. Outside, the voice was that of the game’s main heroine, Hoshino-san.

Normally, this should have been a moment to rejoice at reuniting with an ally, but cold sweat ran down my back. Her voice had no life at all, like a recording being played in slow motion, unnatural and eerie. And…

Why is she still holding that thing!?

Through the gap in the locker, I could see Hoshino-san clutching the knife she was supposed to have thrown away!

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