How a Nuisance Character Survives a Horror Game Chapter 17

Shhhhh……

Only after the sound of running water came from the bathroom did Holloway sit on the sofa.

Staring out the window, Holloway became lost in thought.

There were currently six people on this island, including Evelyn.

Because it had been so long since they’d last had prey, the demons had yet to reveal themselves.

For now, they were simply watching the humans’ movements.

But no one knew when their patience would run out.

That was simply the kind of creatures demons were.

Holloway was no different.

The moment his patience ran out, Evelyn—currently showering in the bathroom—would probably become his first victim.

She might even become one of those naked corpses she hated so much.

When his thoughts reached that point, the corners of Holloway’s lips rose slightly.

Then a voice suddenly cut in directly in front of him.

“What’s got you looking so happy?”

Dilaf, sitting cross-legged while hanging upside down in midair, stared curiously at Holloway.

Dilaf had bronze skin and striking red hair, and his eyes were covered by a black blindfold.

“Why are you here?”

Holloway indifferently pushed away Dilaf, who had leaned close to his face.

Apparently unaffected by being upside down, Dilaf spun lazily through the air and spoke.

“The Empress sent humans again.”

Looking thoroughly irritated, Dilaf repeatedly raised his middle finger into empty space.

“What the hell is with that damned Empress of the Balone Empire? Why does she keep sending humans here? And she only sends weaklings who aren’t even entertaining.”

Holloway answered without much interest.

“Who knows.”

“Suriel sprayed her scent on them. You can smell it, right?”

The distinctive sticky fragrance Suriel had placed on the intruders stimulated Holloway’s sense of smell.

As long as that scent remained, they could tell where their prey went.

The same scent also clung to Evelyn’s group.

Shhhhh.

At the sound of the shower, Dilaf’s ears perked up.

He glanced toward the bathroom and sounded mildly impressed.

“Does she have no fear?”

“I’m here.”

Holloway rubbed the corners of his lips, which kept threatening to twitch upward.

Dilaf tilted his head at that minute change.

He leaned slightly closer to inspect him more carefully.

Holloway lowered the hand covering his mouth.

‘I could’ve sworn he was smiling.’

Holloway’s lips were pressed into the same straight line as always.

‘Was I imagining it?’

Dilaf looked away and counted the intruders, grinning mischievously.

“There are nine intruders the Empress sent this time. What should we do? Maybe cut only their tendons and make them crawl around?”

Instead of answering, Holloway slowly rose from the sofa.

The small child’s body gradually grew.

By the time he fully straightened his legs, he had transformed completely into an adult man.

Tall.

Perfectly proportioned.

And above all, a face that was in a class of its own.

Two vertically aligned beauty marks beneath his left eye only enhanced Holloway’s sensual appearance.

There probably wasn’t anyone who could resist being captivated by his beauty.

His breathtaking appearance naturally bewitched those around him without Holloway needing to do anything.

Even Dilaf, who was himself a demon, was no exception.

Feeling his mind become hazy, Dilaf violently shook his head from side to side to break free of the enchantment.

Holloway swept his long silver hair, which reached his waist, back with one hand.

A long earring reaching his exposed collarbone swayed gently.

As always, the reason the Empress of the Balone Empire had sent people was to steal something from this hotel.

Holloway left the room to deal with the intruders personally.

He had arranged things so monsters could never approach this room, meaning Evelyn would remain safe until he returned.

So he needed to finish quickly and return to pretending he had obediently waited for her.

Dilaf blocked Holloway’s path.

“Wait. You’re killing them yourself, Boss?”

“To finish it quickly.”

With those words, Holloway vanished from the spot without a trace.

***

The water was a little cold, but expecting hot water here would be greedy.

Still, since this was a hotel, I had at least expected shampoo or something.

You bastards, do you think running a hotel is a joke?!

You don’t even have shampoo?

If you operate a hotel like this, no customers are ever going to come!

I furiously worked the soap into a lather while trying to calm down.

At least there was soap, but my hair was going to become insanely stiff.

My hair was already somewhat curly, so once it dried, it would probably look completely wild.

Still, I repeatedly comforted myself by thinking it was better than feeling filthy.

My cold had completely disappeared by now, and all signs of the fever were gone.

That, at least, was fortunate.

The cold water striking my body washed away all the blood caked over me.

The sight of red water flowing around my feet was so unsettling that I lifted my chin to avoid looking at it.

I had abandoned Friedel like that, but I was still human.

Now that I finally had some time to breathe, the image of Friedel desperately begging for his life kept appearing in my mind.

Unable to bear it, I squeezed my eyes shut.

“Think about something else. Something else.”

The moment I realized this was a horror game, I’d already abandoned any expectation that everyone could survive.

Let’s just think of Friedel as the bastard who tried to use me as a human shield.

I nearly died because of him.

If I hadn’t abandoned him there, he undoubtedly would’ve killed me somehow.

I wanted to live.

Leaving him behind bothered me, but I kept repeating that it wasn’t my fault.

To shake off the thoughts, I scrubbed my body vigorously.

Holloway had promised to stand guard outside, so no monsters would appear.

……Right?

If he wanted to kill me, he would’ve done it already.

And no warning windows were appearing, so I decided to relax at least a little.

Once my hair was completely covered in bubbles, I closed my eyes.

I could already feel how stiff it had become.

Ding!

At the familiar notification sound, I wiped the soap away and opened my eyes.

[Someone has infiltrated the hotel. The number of people inside the hotel has increased to 15.]

……Someone infiltrated the hotel?

Who?

Thinking I might have read it wrong, I blinked several times.

In the game, excluding the demons, only seven characters ever appeared.

There had been no other humans.

Naturally.

This was a remote island.

Unless someone became stranded here, it was difficult to reach in the first place.

“But how……?”

Did someone else have the terrible luck to encounter a typhoon?

Could such a coincidence happen twice in succession?

Or maybe they were survivors from the same ship who had only now discovered the abandoned hotel.

“……I don’t know.”

I decided to stop pondering a question that had no answer and scrubbed my hair again.

I’d find out once I met them.

With that many people, I was bound to encounter at least one while moving around.

I tried to dismiss it as unimportant, only for the notifications to begin ringing loudly again.

As more windows appeared one after another, all I could do was stand blankly beneath the shower.

[2 people have been dismembered. The number of survivors has decreased to 13.]

[4 people have been decapitated. The number of survivors has decreased to 9.]

[3 people have had swords driven through their hearts. The number of survivors has decreased to 6.]

I was speechless at the horrifying messages.

The red letters flashed frantically as though soaked in blood.

A chill ran down my spine, and goosebumps spread across my entire body.

Unable to say anything, I merely rubbed my arms and stared at the windows.

When the notifications announcing those deaths continued flashing instead of disappearing, my breathing gradually quickened.

It felt as though the gruesome scenes I had seen in illustrations and the thick smell of blood that had stabbed my nose when I fell into Friedel’s blood were rising around me again.

That smell couldn’t possibly still be there, yet I unconsciously covered my nose.

Since the notifications showed numbers rather than names, they weren’t members of our group.

If one of us had died, their name would have appeared like Friedel’s.

The fact that nothing appeared made it even more unsettling.

Almost as though the system didn’t consider those people human.

……Was this the demons’ doing?

Or Holloway?

I couldn’t tell whether I was trembling from the cold water or fear.

“……Holloway?”

Without realizing it, I murmured his name.

No answer came.

I shut off the water and hurriedly wrapped myself in a towel, then called him more loudly.

“Holloway!”

“…….”

Why isn’t he answering?

Did Holloway really kill all of them?

Holloway hadn’t been outside.

I was certain.

Then perhaps every one of those murders had been Holloway’s doing.

Just imagining him returning to me covered in those people’s blood caused all the strength to leave my legs.

Unable to endure it, I collapsed onto the bare floor.

The cold from the marble seemed to seep straight into my bones.

My teeth began chattering.

Wrapping both arms more tightly around myself, I called desperately again.

“Holloway!”

“…….”

Still no answer!

He really did go kill them……!

Clutching my ominously pounding heart, I squeezed my eyes shut and shouted,

“Hey!”

“Hey……?”

Sorry.

Hearing Holloway repeat the word in a displeased voice, I cleared my throat.

Now that he had answered, my trembling eased slightly.

“W-Where did you go?”

“Nowhere. I dozed off for a moment. Why?”

Holloway’s excessively calm voice sounded exactly like that of an innocent child, which only made it more frightening.

There was no way Holloway wouldn’t know what happened inside this hotel.

I released a thin breath and tried to ask casually, but I couldn’t hide the tremor in my voice.

“Did anyone come here?”

“…….”

It was silent beyond the door.

A strange silence settled between us.

Just as I began regretting the question, he cheerfully replied,

“No one!”

“……No one?”

“No. Nobody came. But……”

His voice lowered beyond the bathroom door.

It pierced my ears like a nail.

“Why are you trembling, big sis?”

[Holloway has begun to suspect you.]

[Danger Gauge increased by 15.]

I nearly fainted at how sharply the Danger Gauge had risen.

Apparently, even though his Affection and Possessiveness had increased, the numbers were still so low that Holloway showed me no mercy.

I deliberately coughed loudly.

I was about to explain that I was trembling because I was cold when—

[Holloway suspects you. You decide to calm his suspicions.

➤What should you say?]

Huh?

I already thought of an excuse!

Can this shitty choice window disappear?!

I screamed internally at the selection window that had suddenly appeared.

Ignoring me, the system presented another magnificent set of options.

[1. Have you ever washed yourself with water this cold? If you don’t know, shut up! (While furiously losing your temper.)

1. (Throwing open the door) Look at me! Look at this state I’m in! Look at my blue lips! How could I possibly not be trembling?!
2. You’re terrifying! I know you went out and killed people! I-I can smell blood! (Like a lunatic.)]

You’re the lunatic.

Not one of them was remotely normal.

As I stood frozen, hopelessly staring at those merciless choices, another notification appeared.

[5 seconds remaining.]

Aagh!

Uaaaaaagh!

I clutched my hair and screamed internally.

W-Which……

Which one do I choose?!