The inside of the horror house was pitch-dark.
It was so dark you couldn’t see an inch ahead, and the gloom gave off a very eerie atmosphere.
"Wow, this is even darker than I expected. Is everyone here?"
"Yes. It really does deserve to be called a horror house. It looks like they lowered the indoor temperature and brightness to create a frightening atmosphere."
Maria seemed more interested than scared.
Judging by the way she was analyzing it, she was probably gathering data again.
"H-Hai... can I hold your hand?"
"Yes? Of course you can. It’s dark, so let’s be careful."
Yoshino either got scared or simply couldn’t see well, but either way, she gripped my hand tightly.
『That’s right, that’s right. As expected of Yoshino! Sneaking in a hand-hold like that!』
"N-no, Yoshinon... this is just because I can’t see well..."
Yeah, it seemed like she really just couldn’t see well.
While Yoshino was holding one of my hands, I felt something from the other side too.
"Hai. Would you mind holding my hand too?"
Maria tugged on my collar and asked me to hold her hand.
There was no reason not to, so I opened my clenched hand and said,
"Here you go."
"Yes. Thank you."
My other hand went to Maria, and we kept moving forward.
"Ooh! Shido! It’s dark!"
"Tohka! Please don’t run off!"
Up ahead, I could hear Itsuka-kun and Tohka talking.
From the sound of it, Tohka had gotten excited and dashed ahead.
Then suddenly, a piano rang out.
The sharp sound of several keys being slammed at once made me flinch.
"Eek...!"
I heard Maria’s cute little scream, and the pressure on the hand she was holding tightened.
"Ugh, jump scares are rough..."
I’d seen everything there was to see in the world of Dark Souls, but jump scares were still hard to deal with.
Things that were just gross, scary-looking, or disgusting didn’t really bother me anymore, since I’d already seen all of that in Dark Souls.
But things suddenly popping out of nowhere were something I could never get used to.
Unless you knew it was coming in advance, you were bound to be startled by any sudden change.
After passing the piano, we heard the sound of a coffin opening, followed by something breaking.
Kugugugu— KWAANG!
"Hyaaa!"
This time, the pressure on the hand Yoshino was holding tightened.
"Wow, that’s some scary staging..."
"Itsuka-kun, you’re surprisingly brave?"
"This much is—"
Just as Itsuka-kun started to say it was no big deal, a ghost appeared.
Shaaah—!
"Aaaaaah!!!"
And then came Itsuka-kun’s scream.
That was not the reaction of someone who had just said "this much."
"What exactly do you mean by ‘this much’?"
"...It’s pretty scary."
In the end, Itsuka-kun had to admit his slip and correct himself, which was a little pathetic.
After we left the horror house, Yuzuru and the commander were waiting at the exit.
"Shin. Looks like you’re out."
"You took a little longer than expected. Sorry to have kept you waiting."
I apologized to Yuzuru for taking longer than expected.
We should have been able to get out a little earlier, but there had been an issue in the middle.
"S-sorry..."
Yoshino bowed her head deeply and apologized.
That’s right.
The problem we’d run into had been caused by Yoshino.
"It’s all fine, so please lift your head. Yoshino. No one is blaming you."
Still, it wasn’t as if Yoshino had caused the problem on purpose.
While we were walking together, she’d gotten startled and clung to me completely, and that was when I realized Yoshinon had disappeared.
So the delay had only happened because I spent time searching for Yoshinon in the darkness. It wasn’t Yoshino’s fault.
She hadn’t deliberately wanted to lose her, either.
"Negative. No problem. I was just chatting with Kotori and relaxing."
Yuzuru even added that the soft serve she’d bought afterward had been delicious.
"That’s right, that’s right! Soft serve! It was really delicious~"
"Well, I’m glad. Shall we go somewhere the two of you can enjoy too?"
At my words, Yuzuru pointed at one of the rides.
"Suggestion. Then how about that one?"
"Coffee cups?"
What she was pointing at was the coffee cup ride. In simple terms, it was the kind of ride where you turn the handle in the middle and the cup-shaped cars spin around.
"I think it’s good."
"It really does look like a giant coffee cup."
"That’s because that’s how they made it. You sit in the seat inside the cup and spin around."
"I know that. I’m just wondering why it has to be shaped like a coffee cup."
"I’m not sure about that either."
While Maria and I were talking about the shape of the coffee cups, someone tugged on my clothes.
『Hey, hey, Hai~』
I wasn’t sure whether to call it the person who tugged on my clothes, but in any case, it was Yoshinon.
"Yes? Yoshinon? What is it?"
"Um, Hai... I, uh..."
『Just say it honestly, Yoshino~ Yoshino gets dizzy because everything spins around, so tell him you’re going to watch from here.』
I roughly understood what Yoshinon meant.
Yoshino probably got motion sickness on the coffee cup ride and wanted to just watch instead of riding.
"That makes sense. It’s the kind of ride that’s hard to handle unless you’re used to it. Then Yoshino, please rest here. But you’ll be alone. Is that okay?"
"Then I’ll stay too!"
As soon as I said that, Mana volunteered to stay behind.
When I asked why, she said she wasn’t really into coffee cups.
And while she was at it, she said she wanted to talk with Yoshino too.
"Then we’ll be back."
And so, everyone except Yoshino and Mana got on the coffee cups.
The people in the same cup as me were Maria, Mayuri, and the Fire Keeper.
On Itsuka-kun’s side, the commander, Rinne, and the young lady rode together, while Kaguya, Yuzuru, and Miku all took the same cup.
"Ahh~ Riding with the twin sisters too? Is this fate~"
"H-Hai! Save me!"
"Request. Hai. Please save me!"
The two of them were being tightly hugged by Miku.
I offered a prayer for their souls and waited for the ride to start.
"Oh, it’s starting."
Then the music began to play, and the coffee cups slowly started turning.
"Hai. The floor is turning along with the music... it almost looks like it’s dancing."
Maria’s eyes sparkled as she watched the floor begin to spin, looking amused and fascinated.
"Is that so? Oh, by the way, if you turn this table-shaped handle in the center!"
When I gave the handle in the center a bit of force and turned it, the coffee cups spun faster.
"Ah, this is..."
The cup completed one fast rotation, and this time Maria turned it.
"I see. So this is how the cups spin."
"What do you think? Fun, right?"
"Yes. It’s a very simple ride, but it’s really well designed."
Seeing Maria enjoying herself so much made me smile too.
"Aaaah, Hai! This is a little dizzying!"
"Honored guest, this is a bit much for me..."
The other two who had ridden with me were complaining about the motion sickness.
Looking at them, I said,
"It’s probably better than over there."
In the direction I pointed, there was a coffee cup spinning at terrifying speed.
"Kukuku! Kahahaha! More! Faster! Let us revel in a wild party inside this revolving world!"
"Acceleration. Yah!"
"Kyaaaaa!!!"
The coffee cup Kaguya and Yuzuru were riding in was spinning so fast it might as well have been a centrifuge.
Seeing Miku’s soul getting separated along with them, maybe it was a soul separator.
"Ugh. That’s a bit much."
Mayuri frowned at the sight.
The Fire Keeper had already closed her eyes and was leaning against me.
"This is a little troublesome."
Honestly, I wanted to do that too, so I was a little disappointed.
After the coffee cups ended, we went back to where Yoshino and Mana were.
"Oh, you’re back?"
"Yes. We had a good time."
Yoshino said she was relieved and stood up from her seat.
"Then next is that one! Let’s ride that one!"
This time, Mana pointed at another ride.
"I understand. I think I get it, Mana. So the warm-up’s over now?"
"What on earth are you talking about?"
But I had no idea which ride Mana was talking about.
There were too many rides in the direction she was pointing at.
Though from the way Yuzuru was talking, it sounded like something really intense.
『Huh~? Hai-kun doesn’t know? Of course it’s that one! That one! The jet coaster~!』
"Eek."
The moment I heard "jet coaster," I frowned.
Of course I hated roller coasters the most.
Do you know what it feels like to be grabbed by a boss and crushed at high speed?
I do.
I know it too well, so I don’t really like roller coasters that give me a similar feeling.
"...A jet coaster is apparently supposed to be amazing."
"I’m interested too."
"Th-then, let’s go..."
But if everyone else wanted to go, I guess I had no choice.
And so we headed for the jet coaster.
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