How a Nuisance Character Survives a Horror Game Chapter 9

Holding the hand of Holloway, who was practically a massive bomb, I diligently searched for the exit.

The soles of my feet throbbed, but I deliberately didn’t look for slippers.

They would only fall off while running away from a monster anyway, so I kept walking barefoot.

Speed is important here.

“Big sis, what exactly are you looking for?”

“Just……. I’m looking around in case there’s some clue for getting out of here. And I’m looking for the others while I’m at it.”

I couldn’t tell him this was a game.

And even if I could, he wasn’t exactly a trustworthy demon.

I needed to keep it secret, yet everything I was doing probably looked suspicious to Holloway.

I gave him a vague explanation, but fortunately he seemed to believe it.

No window appeared saying the Danger Gauge had increased.

“Why are you looking for the oth—”

Before Holloway could finish, a sweet voice reached us.

“M-Miss Evelyn?”

Click.

The person who opened the door and came out was none other than Moran.

Her thoroughly disheveled appearance made it obvious that she had barely escaped from a monster.

“Moran.”

The instant I called her name, Moran burst into tears and threw herself into my arms.

I released Holloway’s hand and patted Moran’s back.

Perhaps the comforting motion released her tension, because Moran hugged me even tighter.

“Miss Evelyn! I-I was so scared……!”

Moran buried her face against my shoulder and sobbed.

[‘Moran Eleanor’ has joined you.]

[Gather Companions (1/2)]

Good.

It was accidental, but I had one person.

“Shh. It’s okay.”

I took the crying Moran into the room for now.

Since the tagger was around, staying inside a room wasn’t necessarily a good choice.

Still, judging by the lack of nearby noise, it seemed fairly far away.

I seated the still-trembling Moran on the sofa and asked her what had happened.

“Moran, what happened in the lobby?”

“W-Well…….”

Moran grabbed both of my hands as tightly as though they were a lifeline and refused to let go.

Seeing her crying so pitifully suddenly made me want to protect her.

‘So this is the heroine’s power.’

Moran’s popularity had been through the roof in the game too.

Needless to say, she was beautiful.

And even when trembling with fear, she tried desperately to protect everyone.

Of course, because she even defended frustrating characters, people later complained that Moran herself became frustrating and irritating.

But Moran isn’t at fault for protecting them…….

Holloway, sitting beside us, glanced at Moran and then looked away.

Would she look pretty even to Holloway?

If she did, wouldn’t there have been at least one notification in the game saying his affection had increased?

Maybe beauty doesn’t work because she isn’t prettier than he is.

“We tried to open the door leading outside, but just like you said, Miss Evelyn, it wouldn’t open. Then a monster suddenly appeared……. Sir Werner and Lord Cletta were protecting me when……”

Moran lowered her head without finishing.

“Did they die?”

At my question, Moran was horrified and waved both hands.

“What?! N-No! I meant we got separated!”

Then why did you trail off like that…….

“No one died, right?”

“Everyone was alive when we got separated…….”

I soothed Moran as she sniffled and wiped away her tears.

“So were you on the third floor this whole time?”

“No. I only came up just now. I heard voices and hurriedly hid, but fortunately it was you, Miss Evelyn!”

Saying how lucky that was, she hugged me once more.

I quietly remained in her arms while thinking.

If she only just came upstairs, that meant this game system had been applied only to me.

I couldn’t go down or up, yet Moran had freely come up to the third floor.

So I was the only one trapped and unable to go anywhere.

Why me, though?!

At least the maddening selection windows from the beginning weren’t appearing.

They showed up in some ridiculous situations, though.

Please.

Just stay gone.

While anxiously wondering whether another selection window designed to drive me insane would appear, I comforted Moran, who still hadn’t fully recovered.

“Let’s find the others first.”

I only said that because I couldn’t tell her we needed to avoid the tagger while searching for the exit.

But Holloway apparently disliked something about that and tugged at my sleeve.

“Do you like having lots of people around? Isn’t this woman enough?”

‘This woman’…….

Does he actually have any intention of hiding his identity?

Then again, even in the game he said things several times that should have exposed him, but because he looked like a ‘child,’ nobody suspected him.

People constantly dismissed it with, ‘He’s just a child.’

There was no reason for an adult in this world to take the appearance of a child.

Even if someone wanted to, no magic or technique advanced enough to accomplish that existed.

Demons were different, but demons weren’t creatures people encountered easily either.

In the first place, ordinary sacrifices weren’t enough for a summoning magic circle capable of calling a demon.

And practically no one had the ability to perform one.

As far as I knew, Holloway had been a demon from birth and, for some unknown reason, had been sealed on this island.

Nothing was known about the island or hotel either.

Other than the first explanation window of the game.

“Having more people increases our chances of survival.”

“You saw that man earlier. He tried to use you as bait. What if that woman tries to use you as bait too?”

Holloway……

Is he starting to drive wedges between us?

“Right? Big sis! You protected me in that dangerous situation, so I can trust you, but I don’t know about that woman. Let’s not stay with her. It makes me nervous. Okay?”

……You’re the person making me the most nervous here.

“What are you talking about, Holloway?”

Moran opened her mouth, then closed it again.

After a moment, she smiled reassuringly and crouched so she could meet Holloway’s eyes.

Even in the game, Moran had been the character who cared for Holloway the most.

Being compassionate, she had kept the young-looking Holloway close and constantly protected him.

I had once wondered whether becoming close to him might at least let her avoid a death ending.

Instead, the result of that route was even more horrific.

Holloway personally cut Moran’s throat with a sword.

In that gruesome illustration, Holloway hadn’t looked even slightly sympathetic as he killed her.

He merely looked empty.

Of course, all of his behavior had been an act.

In every bad-ending illustration, Holloway’s face was completely devoid of emotion.

“I would never betray you. I don’t know who that man was, but I would never do something like that, Holloway.”

Moran gently took Holloway’s hand.

He coldly shook her off and tightly grabbed mine instead.

I quietly tried to pull my hand away, but this little child’s grip strength was incredible.

It won’t come out!

Looking hurt, Moran hugged her knees and looked up at me.

“Why exactly is Holloway……?”

“He’s a child. He must be extremely frightened.”

“Who was that man? Who was he that Holloway can’t trust people this much?”

“Ah…….”

Should I tell her or not?

As I had said repeatedly, Moran was a heroine who embraced even the characters who constantly put the group in danger.

That included me, but anyway.

Because of her kind nature, she hated seeing people die regardless of the reason.

Even when there was no other choice.

As I hesitated, Holloway spilled everything.

“The man with khaki-colored hair tried to use me as bait! Big sis saved me, and then that man became the monster’s target and died.”

So, as the owner of the hotel, he did know Friedel was dead.

But he seriously isn’t even trying to hide anything in front of me…….

I’m supposed to be someone who doesn’t know that yet.

“You’d do the same thing!”

‘You,’ huh.

That’s new.

“I wouldn’t! Especially using a child as bait……!”

Moran’s tearful protest suddenly stopped.

Then her eyes widened.

“Don’t tell me you mean Friedel?”

“Ah, yes. Well…….”

I was about to explain what had happened when Moran covered her mouth with both hands, looking shocked.

With tears in her eyes, she asked in disbelief,

“You left him to die? Miss Evelyn, how could you…….”

Wait.

Why do I suddenly feel like I’ve become an incredibly terrible person?

“Was there truly no way to save Friedel? Even if he did push Holloway, how could you turn your back on someone who had been with us ever since we were stranded on this island?”

I frowned at Moran’s reproachful expression.

“I could never do that…….”

I knew the kindhearted Moran well.

I also knew that, although slightly altered, this was something she had said in the game after Friedel barely survived by using another person as bait.

And I knew that even then, she had been unable to abandon Friedel and continued taking him along.

I knew the world was at least somewhat livable because people as righteous as her existed.

But I was not kind enough to tolerate her blaming me like this.

“Are you saying that I should have died instead of the man who tried to kill Holloway and me?”

Normally, everyone around us would have taken Moran’s side.

But there was no one here to support her.

More importantly, Holloway and I had been the ones who nearly died.

And yet instead of worrying about us, she was worrying about Friedel and criticizing me as though I had personally killed him.

It was difficult to look kindly upon that.

When Moran had said this line to Friedel in the game, I hadn’t thought much of it.

Hearing it directed at me felt completely different.

Apparently she hadn’t expected me to respond that way, because Moran’s eyes wavered.

It was understandable.

Before regaining my past-life memories, I had been quiet and gentle.

Even after arriving here and becoming a whining nuisance, I had still been unable to argue back when someone criticized me.

After moving her lips silently for a moment, Moran calmed herself.

She took my hand and began coaxing me gently.

“Miss Evelyn, that isn’t what I mean. Regardless of what happened, someone died.”

“If I had saved that man, I would have died. I’m asking whether that’s what you wanted.”

“N-No! Why are you twisting my words like that?”

Because I’m already pissed off!

The group didn’t have a good impression of me anyway, so I pressed Moran without restraint.

“You’re the one who made them easy to twist. How would you have felt if I said the same thing to you?”

“I would have realized my wrongdoing and apologized.”

What the hell?

Seeing Moran display the qualities of an actual saint made me painfully realize something.

If this continued, Moran and I would constantly clash.

And each time, I would be the one frustrated and irritated.

Because everyone else in the group would take Moran’s side.

For the sub quest, Cynthia or Werner would be better.

Both of them were moderately selfish and worked hard to survive, but neither used other people as bait.

If someone harmed them, though, they retaliated in kind.

Cynthia was unpredictable because of her jealousy toward Moran, but without that factor, she could judge situations coolly.

The companion quest required two people.

I’ll choose Cynthia and Werner.

Werner disliked me, but considering he had brought me into the hotel rather than abandoning me, he was a responsible man.

Once the quest ended, I could separate from them without looking back.

“It can’t be helped, Moran.”

“……What?”

I couldn’t say that leaving someone to die was a good thing.

But in that situation, there had been nothing else I could do.

I needed to protect my own life, even if I was the only one who survived.

More importantly, the final boss was sitting right beside me.

“Moran and I aren’t compatible. I can’t promise that something like this won’t happen again. I don’t want to be lectured every time it does.”

Apparently, in Moran’s eyes, I still looked like an immature child.

She sternly admonished me.

“Miss Evelyn, I’m not blaming you. You’re already having a bad influence on young Holloway. Leaving someone to die and running away in front of a child—that was wrong.”

If he were actually a child, do you think I would’ve let him see all of it……?

Of course Moran didn’t know that.

“Big sis.”

Holloway’s irritated voice reached my ears.

I inhaled deeply and was about to speak when—

[Holloway wants to kill Moran.]

[Moran believes Friedel’s death was your fault.]

I can see that……

I stared incredulously at the window that had suddenly appeared just to explain the situation.

Then a chill ran down my spine.

Wait.

Don’t tell me……

[The situation is going badly.]

[➤What should you say?]

N-No…….

No, no!

But I couldn’t stop a window that had already appeared.

I desperately prayed that the options wouldn’t be idiotic.

But I already knew.

This game system hates me.

[1. That’s exactly the kind of person I am! (Proudly pounding your chest!)

1. Then from now on, I’ll be fair and abandon Holloway too. Will you forgive me then? (With the gentlest expression in the world.)
2. Holloway! Are you really going to sit there while your big sis is being lectured like this? You terrible child! (With a face fiercer than a goblin.)]

Staring at those catastrophically terrible choices, I muttered hopelessly,

“……Is not choosing an option available?”