How a Nuisance Character Survives a Horror Game Chapter 15

This was the safe zone.

Compared to the chaotic beginning, when everything had happened one after another, the monsters had become quiet.

Then again, all that early chaos had been caused by Holloway’s whim, so this was closer to how things originally should have been.

The monsters in the game had only begun moving actively somewhat later.

Anyway, I put on a pair of slippers I found nearby and searched the room for anything different from the other guest rooms.

“This room is in better condition than the others. Maybe it used to be one of the more expensive rooms.”

Moran looked around with mild curiosity.

Because of the hotel’s design, the size and extravagance of the rooms varied according to their price.

The bedroom contained one large bed.

The connected sitting room had a large sofa and table.

There was also a medium-sized bathroom on one side.

‘Is this really nothing more than a safe place, exactly like the window said?’

I was slightly disappointed when I couldn’t find anything unusual.

As I diligently searched every corner, Holloway asked,

“Big sis, are you looking for something?”

“No.”

Even if I were, do you think I’d be crazy enough to tell you?

Once I confirmed there was nothing, exhaustion suddenly washed over me.

Since I didn’t trust Moran or Werner, there was no way I could sleep in front of them while openly carrying my weapons.

I especially didn’t trust Moran.

Between what she had done with Holloway and the subtly infuriating way she spoke……

I could easily imagine falling asleep for a moment and waking to discover she had taken my gun and sword before secretly running away.

I shouldn’t sleep.

But I should at least rest.

I collapsed against the sofa.

Holloway immediately scurried over and sat pressed against me.

“Big sis, aren’t you hungry?”

“I am……”

With all my strength gone, I slowly began leaning toward Holloway.

Werner stopped me.

Then he gently guided my head onto his own shoulder.

“What are you doing?”

“Isn’t it better to lean against an adult than a child?”

“Hah.”

A cold breath escaped Holloway’s lips.

“A child.”

Muttering those words, Holloway repeatedly frowned as though something deeply displeased him.

It was not a good idea to irritate the final boss.

I pushed Werner’s hand away, placed Holloway on my lap facing me, and hugged him.

I buried my face against his shoulder and mumbled,

“This is much better.”

“Right? You like my arms better too, big sis?”

Holloway’s voice instantly became excited, as though his bad mood had never existed.

He stroked my hair.

That touch made me drift dangerously close to sleep.

N-No.

Wake up.

Instead of waking up, I completely passed out.

***

Apparently Evelyn had fallen asleep within moments.

Her breathing soon became steady.

Without anyone needing to say anything, everyone present fell silent.

Holloway comfortably leaned into Evelyn as she slept with her arms wrapped tightly around him.

For some reason, the steady rhythm of Evelyn’s heartbeat felt soothing.

Werner was the one who broke the peace.

He held out his hand toward Holloway.

“I’m going to move Miss Evelyn to the bed. Can you get out of her arms?”

Instead of answering, Holloway stared up at him.

Something about this man irritated him.

The man continuously hovered around Evelyn even though she clearly disliked it.

Evelyn rejected him repeatedly, yet he didn’t seem to care.

As though deliberately showing Werner, Holloway pointed toward Evelyn’s arms wrapped around his waist and smiled.

It was a beautiful smile, almost as though it carried the scent of baby’s breath flowers.

His softly curving eyes.

Thick white eyelashes.

Red lips drawn into a gentle arc.

Every feature made it impossible to look away.

“Big sis won’t let me go!”

Werner’s eyes sharpened.

“Then I suppose I’ll have to move both of you.”

He was about to lift the awkwardly sleeping Evelyn when—

the faint contact startled her awake.

“What? Why are you touching me? Are you trying to take my weapons?”

“You looked uncomfortable, so I was only going to move you to the bed.”

“I wasn’t asleep.”

Evelyn shamelessly lied despite her face still being heavy with sleep.

Holloway realized that as long as Werner and Moran were present, Evelyn would never sleep comfortably.

She couldn’t sleep in front of those two.

Yet she could sleep peacefully in front of him.

That fact alone brought a satisfied smile to Holloway’s lips.

[Holloway’s Affection increased by 3%!]

[Affection has exceeded 5%.]

[Accordingly, ‘Attachment’ and ‘Possessiveness’ have been unlocked.]

[Current Possessiveness and Attachment values are based on your choices up to this point.]

[Affection: 5.5%

Attachment: 1%

Possessiveness: 8%]

Evelyn narrowed her eyes at the numbers.

‘……Wait. Possessiveness? Why is that number so high?’

Her sleepiness disappeared instantly.

On top of that, both new stats had unlocked merely because affection had barely exceeded 5%.

Rather than feeling happy, an ominous sensation slowly crawled up her body.

Evelyn licked her dry, cracked lips.

‘This seems…… dangerous.’

While Evelyn stared blankly at the numbers, Holloway’s small hands cupped both of her cheeks.

“Big sis, you’re not going to sleep, right?”

Holloway brought his face closer and whispered quietly enough that only she could hear.

“You can’t sleep in front of anyone except me, right?”

There was a hint of obsession in his voice.

Evelyn couldn’t answer.

Ding.

[Possessiveness has reached 10%.]

[Affection: 5.5%

Attachment: 1%

Possessiveness: 10%]

[If Possessiveness is at least 10% higher than Attachment, you will move closer to the Confinement Ending.]

[If Possessiveness remains at least 10% higher than Attachment for 24 consecutive hours, ‘Unhappy Confinement Life’ will begin.]

……W-What life?

Evelyn’s eyes became as wide as saucers.

[For this occasion only, a Special Quest will be generated.]

[Would you like to accept the quest to increase Attachment?]

[Yes] / [No]

Without hesitation, Evelyn repeatedly smashed the ‘Yes’ button.

She had no idea how Attachment was supposed to increase.

Under those circumstances, there was no choice but to accept this quest.

A confinement ending?

And an unhappy one at that?!

She had forgotten.

Before being a horror game, this was also fundamentally a dating simulation with basic romance elements.

And of all possible romance targets—

it had to be the final boss!

Evelyn, who had planned to simply increase his affection and conveniently escape, wanted to cry over how naïve she had been.

[Special Quest Accepted.]

[Quest: Increase Attachment

Objective: Satisfy hungry Holloway’s appetite. Prepare and serve him something delicious.

Warm food will melt Holloway’s frozen heart, even if only a little!

Time Limit: 5 hours

Clear Reward: Holloway’s Attachment increases by 10%.

Failure: You will move closer to the Confinement Ending.]

[The nearest ‘Dining Room: Lounge Bar’ is located to the right of the first-floor lobby.]

***

I was actually the hungry one, but this worked out perfectly.

I decided to go to the dining room and cook something while waking myself up.

The only thing I knew how to make was something like soup, though……

I changed the subject to dispel the strange atmosphere.

“Let’s find the dining room and see if there’s anything we can eat.”

“Yes, big sis!”

Fortunately, Holloway didn’t force me to answer his earlier question.

Thanks to that, the peculiar atmosphere disappeared almost immediately.

Werner and Moran stood as well.

“Do you know where the dining room is?”

“Aren’t they usually near the first-floor lobby? If it isn’t there, we can search.”

I didn’t particularly care whether they followed.

But perhaps they were hungry too.

Or maybe they wanted to keep watch so Holloway and I wouldn’t escape.

Either way, both came along without complaint.

“Do you know how to cook?”

Werner knew perfectly well that I had lived as a noble my entire life and had no reason to know how to cook.

“No. But I can make simple soup. Holloway, is soup okay? I’ll see what ingredients there are and make something else too if I can.”

“You’re going to cook for me?”

“Yeah.”

That’s how I’ll raise Attachment.

I don’t want an unhappy confinement life.

If I’m going to be confined at all, I’d rather it at least be a happy confinement life.

More importantly, I had no desire to remain trapped inside this hellish hotel.

“Then am I the only one eating it?”

“Huh? No……. Sir Werner and Moran are here too, so everyone will probably eat together.”

“Aha. I see!”

Did you actually understand?

Holloway’s chilling smile made me uneasy.

And that unease proved correct.

Once we reached the first floor and turned the corner toward the dining room—

we ran directly into a monster.

The creature wore an enormous pumpkin mask.

In both hands, it carried gigantic axes.

Thick blood dripped from the blades.

The instant the monster saw us, it abruptly jumped straight upward.

Apparently it was building momentum, because the moment its feet touched the ground, it launched itself toward us like a projectile.

Moran screamed in surprise.

“Aaaaaah!”

Her scream startled me even more, making me flinch.

“Run! Just run first!”

We tried to flee immediately, but all strength left Moran’s legs and she fell.

Before I could do anything, Werner quickly lifted Moran, slung her over his shoulder, and began running.

I ran toward the second-floor safe zone.

Werner tried to join us a moment later, but sharp spears suddenly began falling from the ceiling one after another.

Thud, thud-thud!

They were so sharp and hard that every spear embedded itself into the floor the instant it fell.

Dozens of spears landed between Werner and me.

In an instant, Holloway and I became separated from Werner and Moran.

The monster took advantage of the opening.

It rapidly caught up to us, raised its gigantic axe, jumped, and slammed the weapon directly into the ground.

CRACK!

The impact shattered the floor.

The resulting shock wave reached us.

The violent shaking launched Holloway and me into the air as though we had bounced.

Unable to land properly, both of us rolled across the floor.

Werner saw us and shouted,

“Miss Evelyn!”

“Don’t worry about me! Just run!”

I have a gun!

“But……”

As Werner hesitated, the enormous monster’s body split in two.

The horrifying sight made all of us momentarily stop and stare blankly.

Two identical monsters stood back-to-back.

Apparently one had chosen us as prey while the other targeted Werner’s side.

Both swung their arms wildly and charged.

Realizing this was hardly the time to stand around watching, Werner hurriedly ran.

I bit down on my lip and cursed.

By the time I got back on my feet, the monster would already have me.

“Damn it!”

Using a bullet this early felt wasteful, but I had no choice.

I was about to draw my gun when—

someone suddenly hugged me from behind, lifted me into the air, and pushed me straight against the wall.

It wasn’t Holloway.

A thick arm wrapped around my waist with enough strength to lift me effortlessly.

An adult man.

Before I could say anything, I heard a calm, low voice.

“Keep your face pressed against the wall.”

Despite the harsh words, the voice itself sounded gentle.

I couldn’t see what was happening behind me.

For a moment, I heard several heavy thuds.

Then silence descended.

“Th-Thank you…….”

Even after I thanked him, no answer came from behind me.

The man didn’t move either.

He was apparently still embracing me from behind.

With my face still pressed against the wall, I cautiously asked again,

“Is it gone?”

When I tried to turn my head slightly, I felt the man’s forehead touch the back of my head.

“I told you not to turn around.”

The arm around my waist tightened.

His breath, carrying a hint of amusement, brushed the side of my neck.

Caught in the strange, heavy atmosphere, I found myself stammering.

“W-Why? Am I not allowed to look?”

“No. You’re not. Because……”

His fingers toyed with mine.

In a dangerously seductive voice, he whispered low,

“There’s a very wicked little brat behind you.”

[Possessiveness increased by 2%.]

[Attachment increased by 1%.]

[Affection: 5.5%

Attachment: 2%

Possessiveness: 12%]

[Possessiveness is 10% higher than Attachment!]

[23:59:59 remaining until ‘Unhappy Confinement Life’ begins.]

[Increase Attachment quickly!]