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 - 30

Chapter 30: Murase’s Change and the Truth Behind the Torii!?

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“W-When did you two start being like that!?”

Hoshino-san’s reaction was intense.

“Just now, I guess…”

“J-Just now…? What were you doing while you were going through the torii!?”

Her voice cracked. It didn’t sound like a simple surprise, it carried something closer to impatience, even panic. Her hands were still gripping Murase-san’s shoulders, trembling slightly.

“What do you mean… Ueno-kun worked really hard to protect me.”

Murase-san said it shyly, tightening her grip on my hand. Her warmth felt comforting, but anxiety still clung stubbornly to the back of my mind.

“Woo-hoo! Way to go, Ueno! Didn’t know you had guts like that!”

“Shut up!”

Yamamoto teased me mercilessly. Just like that, the horror atmosphere completely shifted. It really did feel like a romantic comedy now.

“Your face is totally red, Ueno!”

“It’s just the campfire heat!”

“Nice. The suspension bridge effect, huh? I should’ve gone through the torii with Air-chan too.”

“Yamamoto, you’ve seriously been annoying this whole time!”

Don’t call her Air-chan! 

We had no idea what might happen next, and he was fooling around like this…!

“I’m rooting for you, man. Do your best.”

“E-Even you too, Sato-kun…?”

Handsome Sato-kun said that with a bright smile. He even looked relieved somehow.

“What, Yamamoto? If you’re jealous, you should’ve gone through the torii with Hoshino-san.”

“Ehh!? Me and Hoshino!? Uh, Hoshino’s kinda scary…”

“That’s rude!”

Tanaka teased Yamamoto, and Hoshino-san snapped back. Everyone seemed cheerful, it felt like a genuinely good atmosphere.

Is it really true that someone here might kill Murase-san…?

As laughter echoed around us, I alone felt a cold sweat running down my back. Talking with them made that thought inevitably creep into my mind. If things followed the original outline, someone would appear to kill Murase-san. …And someone besides Hoshino-san had knocked me out last time. I couldn’t fully trust any of them.

“Why did we even choose a place like this for a stupid test of courage…?”

Suddenly, Nanase-san—the mysterious girl—spoke up. She looked incredibly sleepy.

“Because this place is trending?”

Yamamoto answered her with a slightly exasperated look.

“That’s it? Usually there’s more of a reason.”

“A massacre village? That obviously sounds interesting.”

That part was real… wasn’t it? Without thinking, I glanced at Hoshino-san.

“….”

She was staring down at the fire with a solemn expression. I hadn’t noticed last time, but looking now, she was clearly shaken.

“…Don’t say it sounds interesting.”

Her voice was so faint it almost disappeared.

“What? You like that kind of story too, don’t you?”

“I don’t hate it, but…”

A brief tension passed between Yamamoto and Hoshino-san.

“Hey, hey, let’s all get along. It’s a camping trip, after all.”

Sato-kun stepped in with an awkward smile. They really were good people… I didn’t want to believe someone among them could do something like that.

“Ueno-kun, you look pale.”

Murase-san, standing beside me, peered into my face. Her expression was brighter than it had been at the beginning.

“I’m fine. The smoke just got in my eyes.”

“Do you want to lie down in the tent?”

“No, I’m okay.”

“Really? Don’t push yourself.”

I don’t have the luxury of not pushing myself. This might be the last run, after all.

“Miocchi, can I talk to you for a second?”

Just as I was thinking that, Hoshino-san called out to Murase-san.

“What’s up?”

“I kind of want to talk alone with you…”

Is this part of the original event?

Murase-san blinked, clearly not expecting it.

“Only if Ueno-kun comes too.”

She clung tightly to my arm.

“Eh, Ueno’s in the way though.”

“Is everyone here just rude!?”

Even while joking, Hoshino-san’s expression remained dark. If I hadn’t been here, Murase-san probably would’ve gone with her normally. That worried me, but I couldn’t stop it.

“Murase-san, maybe you should go?”

“No. I won’t be even a millimeter away from Ueno-kun.”

She refused firmly. Murase-san had gotten stubborn.

“Fine, fine. Then Ueno can come too.”

“Huh, really!?”

“Why are you happy about that? Gross.”

“Don’t call me gross.”

That stung a little. Still, for me, this wasn’t a bad development.

“Geez, when did you two get so lovey-dovey…”

Hoshino-san stepped away from the campfire and walked toward the darkness. Murase-san and I followed, still holding hands. Yamamoto and the others’ noisy voices gradually faded, replaced by the chirping of insects and the rustling of trees in the wind.

“…Miocchi, if anything dangerous happens, tell me right away.”

“What do you mean?”

“I feel like something dangerous might happen soon…”

It sounded sudden, but for us, it wasn’t. In the darkness beyond the campfire’s glow, I couldn’t clearly see her face.

“Listen! I actually—”

“Hoshino-san.”

I stared at her intently. She definitely knew something. And if we were going to ask, it had to be now.

“I want you to tell us what you know.”

“What I know…?”

“I was wondering if you were troubled about something… I happened to see a house with a nameplate that said ‘Hoshino.’ It’s not the rarest surname, but it caught my attention.”

I guided the conversation carefully, making sure not to agitate her. It was almost like leading questions, but I couldn’t afford to worry about that.

“….”

Even in the darkness, I could tell Hoshino-san held her breath. The crackling of the fire popped faintly in the distance. She averted her eyes and hugged herself tightly with trembling fingers.

“If I told you the rumor was true, would you be creeped out?”

“I’d be creeped out, but I wouldn’t be.”

“Which is it?”

For just a moment, it seemed like she smiled faintly.

“…My father. He’s from here.”

“What?”

“You could call it a cult settlement. They believed that for the village’s peace and prosperity, offerings to the gods were necessary. During droughts, when crops wouldn’t grow, they apparently abducted outsiders and offered them to the gods…”

“Offerings?”

“My father apparently brought my mother here when they were dating…”

Hoshino-san looked at me with tears threatening to spill.

“My father protected my mother and left the village… I know, it sounds unbelievable, right?”

“I believe you!”

I answered without hesitation. Hoshino-san’s eyes widened, as if the tension had drained from her.

“U-Ueno?”

“I want to hear more about that story! And about the torii too!”

There was absolutely no reason for her to lie to us here. That story had to be the truth!

“T-The torii…?”

“Hoshino-san, you feel guilty about something related to that, don’t you!?”

I pressed her a bit too forcefully.

“….”

After a brief silence, she slowly opened her mouth.

“I received this letter at home…”

Saying that, Hoshino-san pulled the familiar letter from her chest pocket.

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

To the Traitor of the Village

Your parents have become an impurity that must be erased for the sake of Sakuragafuchi. The punishment for breaking the generations-old ritual and communicating with outsiders continues until your bloodline ends. The next time you visit this village, you must offer yourself as a “sacrifice.” Otherwise, your loved ones will sink one by one into the deep abyss. First, pass under the torii and purify the impurity.

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

The wording hadn’t changed from before. It seemed Hoshino-san had been keeping this letter in her chest pocket all along.

“I thought that passing through the torii might be a way to find the Hoshino family… I thought maybe someone was looking for the traitor… Looking for someone to take revenge on…”

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