How a Nuisance Character Survives a Horror Game Chapter 24

Alhulf pouted, clearly preparing to cry in the most irritating way possible.

Generously, I offered him comfort.

“Maybe there’s so much blood on your face that he can’t tell what you actually look like.”

Of course, I wasn’t trying to boost his confidence.

I just didn’t want to watch him cry.

Unfortunately, Alhulf took hope from my words and furiously wiped the blood off his face.

Even if he met that bastard’s aesthetic standards, Suriel would eventually rip out his fingernails and toenails.

Alhulf obviously didn’t know that.

Looking slightly hopeful, he turned toward Suriel.

Suriel asked incredulously,

“What exactly changed?”

“…….”

Alhulf lowered the corners of his mouth and silently protested toward me.

I looked away.

What do you want me to do?

Suriel doesn’t like you.

Apparently Alhulf had received enough compliments about his appearance throughout his life to possess some confidence.

Repeated rejection left him looking dazed.

Then he pointed resentfully at me.

“Th-Then what about Lady Evelyn?!”

“Why are you dragging me into this? Don’t tell me you think you and I are on the same level.”

Impossible!

I stared at Alhulf in shock.

He hesitated before muttering softly,

“O-Of course you’re more beautiful than me……. But everyone has different tastes.”

“No. Everyone’s eyes work the same when it comes to beauty.”

“Why are you so confident?”

“Because—because……!”

I proudly pressed a hand against my chest and shouted,

“Because I’m…… pretty!”

Fucking gorgeous!

Overwhelmed by my intense confidence, everyone fell silent.

Alhulf briefly stared, seemingly captivated by my dazzling appearance, before shaking his head and seriously asking,

“Really? You honestly think that?”

“Do you know my greatest strength? I’m honest.”

I hummed a line from an idol-group song.

Everyone stared at me in admiration.

Well, that’s according to me.

Whether it’s objectively true is none of my business.

Ignoring the sudden silence, I brushed dust off Cynthia’s dress and straightened her hair.

Cynthia quietly clung to my sleeve and wiped away her tears.

“Big sis.”

“Yeah. Wait a second.”

Only after giving Cynthia one final inspection and confirming she had no serious injuries did I look down at Holloway.

“What?”

“You really are……”

Why is he looking at me like I’m pathetic?

“Really what?”

“Nothing. It’s just nice seeing how well you take care of people.”

Anyone could tell he was being sarcastic.

The implication was obvious.

I could barely keep myself alive, yet I would probably die early because I kept taking care of everyone else.

I was about to argue when a question suddenly occurred to me.

‘Suriel is being way too quiet.’

This silence is bad.

I cautiously glanced sideways at Suriel.

Our eyes immediately met.

Ah.

Shit.

Suriel gave me a meaningful smile before nodding to himself as though he had made a decision.

He extended one slender hand toward me.

His neatly manicured nails were extremely sharp.

Sharp enough to draw blood with the slightest scratch.

Suriel’s smile twisted grotesquely.

At the same moment, the candles illuminating the corridor abruptly went out.

“Aagh!”

Cynthia screamed.

Suriel’s excited voice followed.

“I’ll take your hair instead of Cynthia’s. You passed my aesthetic standards. Be happy.”

The atmosphere was sinister.

Suriel’s face flushed with excitement as though the very thought thrilled him.

His voice was creepy enough to make my skin crawl.

While everyone else froze in fear—

I rejoiced exactly as instructed.

“WAHAHAHAHA!”

I leaned backward and laughed heartily.

Suriel flinched at my manic laughter.

Apparently he had only put out the candles to frighten us, because they immediately reignited and illuminated the corridor again.

Doesn’t he understand that makes him even scarier?

Not wanting to admit he had been slightly overwhelmed, Suriel became irritated.

“What are you doing? Are you mocking me?”

“You told me to be happy. So I was happy.”

“…….”

[Everyone present has identified you as ‘a crazy person.’]

Is laughing once really such a crime that everyone labels me insane?

“I think I’m starting to understand what Dilaf meant……”

Suriel muttered quietly before striding toward me.

He was shorter than Dilaf, but still extremely tall.

No wonder Cynthia had panicked while being chased around by someone that huge.

Ah.

Not ‘huge.’

Tall.

“Not easily frightened, huh? Now I want that hair even more.”

Suriel reached toward the hair Holloway and I had only just managed to tame.

Before I could dodge, Holloway stepped in front of me.

“Don’t touch big sis!”

“……Holloway.”

What miracle is this?

That obnoxious bastard is actually protecting me?

I was just beginning to feel touched when the system shattered the moment.

[Holloway says your hair is doing most of the work for your looks, so cutting it would be disastrous.]

Fuck.

Should I hit him?

Holloway and Suriel merely stared at each other for an irritatingly long time.

Have a death match or something.

I considered leaving them to deal with each other, but I didn’t like the sly look in Suriel’s eyes.

So I quietly covered Holloway’s eyes.

He was the final boss.

But because he constantly looked like a child, I unconsciously continued treating him as one.

Visual impressions were surprisingly powerful.

“You shouldn’t look at things like that.”

“Things like that?”

[Suriel’s current Danger Level: ‘You’re pretty, but I’ll kill you whenever I feel like it.’]

[Suriel is offended by your words.]

[He desperately wants to cut off your hair immediately, but hesitates because Holloway is standing in his way.]

Hahaha!

Behold the final boss shield, you bastard!

Using Holloway as my shield, I became even more aggressive.

“Yes! Things like that! Look what he did to Lady Cynthia……!”

“Evelyn……!”

Tears gathered in Cynthia’s eyes as she looked deeply moved.

Suriel and I both sucked in a breath at the same time.

“P-Pretty.”

“Pretty.”

Our gazes collided.

[Suriel looks at you and thinks, ‘We understand each other a little.’]

I really hate that.

But that wasn’t the real problem.

The moment she heard the word ‘pretty,’ Cynthia reacted violently.

“I hate hearing that word now! Evelyn, if even you say that to me again, I won’t forgive you.”

I pushed Cynthia’s face away when she rolled her eyes and ground her teeth threateningly.

Scary.

Startled by the push, Cynthia immediately suppressed her anger and stubbornly hugged me again.

“Why are you doing this?”

Please stop.

Cynthia buried her face against my chest and merely sniffled.

No.

She muttered,

“Kill that bastard for me.”

Hey.

Don’t say something like that to me.

I can’t do it.

[9th ‘Set Me Free’ Story begins.]

[Objective: Liberate the human body parts collected by ‘Demon of Temptation’ Suriel.

Destroy every glass jar containing a body part to clear the story!

※Do not die to the demon Suriel before completing the objective.]

……Excuse me?

No.

Wait.

The fact that a story had suddenly appeared wasn’t even the main problem.

You want me to personally destroy Suriel’s entire collection?

If I do that, I’ll die!

You know that and still gave me this quest?

Who guarantees my survival after I destroy everything?

[Clear Reward: Flamethrower

Failure: Death]

Desperately hoping otherwise, I searched for a Reject button.

There wasn’t even an Accept/Reject option.

Which meant the moment a quest appeared, I was forced to complete it.

“Ah, I’m going insane!”

I screamed and tore at my hair.

“Big sis, what’s wrong?”

Instead of answering Holloway, I glared murderously at the system window.

Completing the quest itself was one thing.

The problem was what came afterward.

Once Suriel discovered I had destroyed his collection, I might receive the full force of his rage and die.

Then……

My eyes landed on the words ‘Clear Reward: Flamethrower.’

The only solution was to receive it and immediately use it against Suriel before running away.

Or, before then, I could work hard to raise Holloway’s values and survive by using him as a shield.

Those were the only two ways I could see to survive this quest.

Tears filled my eyes.

Because completely ignoring my burning anxiety, the story had already begun.

[The souls trapped inside the glass jars begin crying out for salvation.]

[Their bodies are located on the fifth floor. You naturally decide to head there and grant them freedom.]

I’m not kindhearted enough to save strangers like that.

And the fifth floor is too many stairs away.

I’m tired.

My useless whining earned no answer.

Instead, Holloway shook my arm.

“Big sis!”

“Huh?”

“If you keep ignoring me, I’ll hate you.”

“Oh, really?”

“…….”

[Holloway clicks his tongue, thinking, ‘Has she finally lost her mind?’]

No.

I’m just too busy to pay attention to you.

Even though I didn’t want to, I had to reach the fifth floor somehow……

But how?

If the body parts were on the fifth floor, Suriel might stop me from going there.

There was no chance he would happily allow me to invade his territory.

Grrrrrgle.

Hearing a cheerful stomach rumble while considering every possible scenario, I clicked my tongue at Suriel.

“That’s what happens when you walk around with your stomach exposed. Yours makes twice as much noise as everyone else’s.”

“You’re imagining things. That wasn’t me.”

Suriel looked wronged when I refused to believe him.

Holloway cleared his name.

“It came from the person hugging big sis.”

“I guess I relaxed enough to get hungry.”

Cynthia was shameless.

Given our situation, embarrassment was probably the least of her concerns.

As I stared at Cynthia, whose stomach apparently came equipped with a ship-horn alarm, an idea suddenly flashed through my head.

What if I pretended I was trying to return to where Cynthia had been and ‘accidentally’ took the wrong path to the fifth floor……?

“Lady Cynthia, where exactly were you?”

“Fifth floor. I went all the way up there avoiding monsters and then ran into that fucking bastard! The worst!”

Apparently he liked being called a monster.

Suriel twisted his body around with a blissful face like a drunk.

Ugh.

I saw something I really didn’t need to see.

“Are there guest rooms on the fifth floor too?”

“No. The fifth floor feels more like a recreation area.”

“Recreation?”

“A casino, swimming pool……”

Oh-ho.

A swimming pool.

I’m not going.

No matter where you are, water ghosts are always the most dangerous.

[If you fail to arrive within the time limit, you will be forcibly transported to the fifth floor.]

[Time Limit: 2 hours]

You fucking bastard!

You’ve blocked every possible retreat!

Thank you so much!

“You really managed to climb all the way to the fifth floor?”

So energetic.

Rather than physically climbing five floors myself, maybe I could spend two hours making excuses and stalling until the system transported me alone.

While Suriel wasn’t there, I could find every glass jar containing body parts, break them, and then pretend I had absolutely nothing to do with it.

My eyes sparkled at the brilliant idea.

This is it!

That’s the plan!

Cynthia suddenly shouted in a shrill voice, looking terrified.

“The lifting platform here actually works!”

A lifting platform was a moving platform designed to travel up and down.

Since this world didn’t have elevators, it served roughly the same purpose.

The difference was that unlike an elevator powered mechanically, the lifting platform used wind magic to float through the air while rising or descending.

‘Long ago only wealthy people used them, but these days platforms can operate on cheap mana, so even commoners use them regularly.’

Wealthier building owners often modified gates instead, creating something closer to an elevator that transported people directly.

So the fact that a lifting platform requiring mana could function inside a place where even aura couldn’t be released was understandably frightening.

Alhulf looked confused.

“A lifting platform? But this place is abandoned……”

“Exactly!”

……A lifting platform.

I carefully recalled the game.

This hotel was completely saturated with demonic energy.

Naturally, since it was demonic territory.

The platform must have been modified to operate on demonic energy rather than mana.

Because this entire place was surrounded by it.

For someone like me who already knew the truth, it wasn’t particularly surprising.

But since I was supposed to know nothing, naturally I needed to act frightened.

“Do you think it still works?”

“When Evelyn ran away saying she refused to enter the hotel, I should’ve gone with her!”

That wasn’t what I asked.

I vaguely responded to Cynthia, who clearly still wasn’t thinking straight.

“Then Sir Werner and Cletta would’ve dragged you back anyway.”

Like me.

Alhulf finally seemed to notice how strange my tone was.

He cautiously asked,

“Why are you saying something like ‘it wouldn’t have mattered’ so angrily?”

“Because I’m annoyed.”

“Do you dislike me?”

“Oh-ho!”

I began enthusiastically applauding his correct answer.

Alhulf’s eyes filled with tears.

I felt like a bully.

Which was accurate.

Better to insult him enough that I didn’t become attached.

That way, even if he abandoned me later, I wouldn’t be disappointed.

Fortunately, thanks to Holloway keeping Suriel in check, Suriel didn’t do anything.

It seemed like remaining near Suriel during those two hours might actually help me.

Then when the system transported me alone, I could gain at least a little head start.

I remained completely still while meticulously building my plan.

Then—

“……Evelyn?”

A familiar voice came from behind me.

I turned to identify the speaker.

My vision suddenly shook violently.

The owner of the voice—Cletta—had run over and embraced me tightly.

“Cletta?”

“Evelyn, you’re alive!”

His arms tightened around me.

His warm breath, filled with relief, brushed the back of my neck.

“Could you let go?”

“I was worried about you. Can’t I have even this much?”

“No. You can’t.”

Despite my firm rejection, Cletta merely laughed without loosening his arms.

Instead, I was pulled even deeper into his embrace, which made me feel awful.

[Holloway’s mood becomes filthy.]

[Hidden function ‘Jealousy’ has been activated!]

W-What function?

Hidden function?!

Without thinking, I reflexively looked toward Holloway.

He was staring coldly at Cletta.

The moment he noticed my gaze, he met my eyes and automatically curved them into a gentle smile.

[Current Jealousy: 16%.]

[Warning: If Holloway’s Jealousy approaches 70%, someone may die!

As Holloway’s Jealousy increases, the chance of misfortune affecting someone near you every 20 minutes rises by up to 10%!]

That’s some terrifying jealousy.

So instead of hurting me, it makes everyone around me unlucky?

Are you trying to drown me in guilt until I die?

As though that wasn’t enough, the system continued taunting me.

[Jealousy: Extremely easy to raise and lower!]

Easy?

Easy according to me?

Or easy according to you?

[₍₍ (◝ ・ω・) ⁾⁾₍₍ ( ◟ ◝ ・ω・) ⁾⁾₍₍ ( ◟ ◝ ・ω・) ⁾⁾ ◟]

[This is the ‘Deal With It’ dance.]

Okay.

I’ve decided.

I’m killing you.