"Hehehe, this frog is just too adorable~"
Despite being a tough guy, Tanaka had absolutely no resistance to the sheer cuteness of this little frog.
Though it didn't speak, its lively expressions and animated movements brought out an undeniable charm—obedient, lovable, and utterly irresistible!
Honestly, who could withstand such an adorable, well-behaved creature!?
No one!!
With the help of the little frog, Tanaka successfully progressed to the next stage.
According to the game's hint, both sides needed to be symmetrical. This seemed to be the key to unlocking the next room!
He tried opening the door.
Sure enough, it wouldn't budge.
Tanaka carefully examined the differences between the two sides.
After a few minutes of adjustments, he nodded in satisfaction.
"As expected of me!"
However...
"What's going on? Did the game bug out?"
"The two sides are perfectly symmetrical now, so why won't the door open!?"
Frowning, Tanaka pondered for a moment before noticing the white note stuck to the wall—the very note that provided the initial hint!
In that instant, his inner detective awakened.
A flash of inspiration struck!
Without hesitation, he controlled his character to interact with the note.
Both sides must be symmetrical.
[Remove the Note]
[Do Nothing]
"Of course!"
A bright smile spread across Tanaka's face.
The exhilarating rush of solving a puzzle washed over him—it was moments like these that made puzzle games so thrilling!
Without a second thought, he selected Remove the Note.
A new message immediately popped up.
...Both sides are now symmetrical.
You hear the sound of a lock clicking open.
Feeling triumphant, Tanaka was about to leave the room when he noticed the little frog still sitting obediently on the chair.
Quickly, he walked over and attempted to pick it up. As expected, he successfully added it to his inventory.
"Ahh! This little guy is just too cute!!"
With that heartfelt exclamation, Tanaka moved into the next room.
Following his usual routine, he first examined the note in the room.
After entering this door, proceed to the next door without looking around.
"Don't look around, huh."
Tanaka nodded thoughtfully before turning to inspect the bookshelf.
[The Witch's Diary]
[Read]
[Don't Read]
"Come to think of it, I've seen something like this before."
Though he wasn't too invested in the game's story, his curiosity got the better of him, and he instinctively chose Read.
————————————————————————
Mom and Dad don't love me either.
So, I X them.
Since then, I've been living here alone.
————————————————————————
"???"
Tanaka nearly burst out laughing.
What kind of devoted child was this!?
Absolutely brutal.
He muttered a few sarcastic remarks in his mind before moving into the next room.
The moment he stepped inside—
A sword came flying straight at him, impaling him on the spot.
"??"
Staring at the GAME OVER screen, Tanaka sat there in stunned silence.
His face darkened as he reluctantly selected Load Game.
But as soon as he saw the last save point, his expression soured even further.
"Oh, come on!!!"
His save point had sent him all the way back to where he first got the little frog.
Which meant...
He had to redo everything!
Even if it wasn't that much trouble, it would still take several minutes to repeat the process.
"Damn it!!"
Grinding his teeth, Tanaka begrudgingly retraced his steps.
Once again, he aligned the two sides, opened the door, and prepared to move forward.
This time, however, he wisely decided to return to the previous room and save the game first.
"A Saint Seiya never falls in the same place twice..."
Better safe than sorry!
Praising his own foresight, Tanaka once again moved forward.
As he stepped into the next room, a flying sword came at him.
This time, he skillfully dodged to the left—
—Only for something to drop from the ceiling and crush him flat.
"!!"
"DAMN IT!!!"
The GAME OVER screen appeared once more.
Tanaka felt like his intelligence had just been repeatedly slammed into the ground.
"What kind of BS is this!?"
Going straight gets you skewered. Dodging to the side gets you crushed.
Was this a no-win scenario...?
"Wait a second."
After entering this door, proceed to the next door without looking around.
Recalling the note's warning, Tanaka's eyes gleamed with understanding.
"Is it possible... that the key is to not read the note at all!?"
Determined to test his theory, he re-entered the cursed hallway.
As expected, a sword came flying at him.
Tanaka swiftly dodged to the side—
—And this time, nothing fell from the ceiling.
"Whew."
Exhaling in relief, a victorious grin spread across Tanaka's face.
"Hah! This game is nothing before my brilliance! Tremble before me! Mwahaha!"
Upon spotting the black cat—a save point—Tanaka immediately rushed over to trigger it.
————————————————————————
[Yo! I'm here too. It's my job, after all.]
————————————————————————
"Now that I think about it, why is this black cat the only character with voice acting?"
Though a bit puzzled, he didn't dwell on it and continued reading the cat's dialogue.
After recalling the diary entry from earlier, Tanaka felt as though the game was telling a complete story—one he had previously ignored by skipping through everything.
But now that his interest was piqued, he decided to pay closer attention and piece together the narrative.
Clicking ahead, the black cat continued speaking.
————————————————————————
[...Why did you insist on coming here?]
[She doesn't have much time left.]
[Soon, she'll be saying goodbye to you.]
————————————————————————
"Who is she? The witch?"
No one was there to answer his question.
————————————————————————
[You know, cats are elegant creatures. I especially love black cats' bodies.]
[It'd be a shame if you were gone.]
[Such a beautiful thing... Dead cats aren't easy to come by.]
————————————————————————
Upon reading the phrase dead cats, Tanaka suddenly recalled the sack he had seen earlier—the one filled with feline corpses.
Was there a connection?
No... there had to be a connection!!
A fresh discovery ignited his curiosity, but without any concrete answers, he felt a pang of frustration.
————————————————————————
[...Want my help?]
————————————————————————
[Nod]
[Shake Head]
————————————————————————
"Heh, I love saying no to smug characters like this."
"But not when it comes to saving!"
Scoffing, Tanaka decisively chose Nod.
Of course, it had to be the save option!
As soon as he secured his progress, he turned to inspect the bookshelf.
After all, in a game like this, how could anyone resist investigating something shining on a bookshelf?
————————————————————————
[There's a book titled Demons and Witches.]
————————————————————————
[Read]
[Don't Read]
————————————————————————
"Duh. Read it!"
And so, he turned the page...
————————————————————————
"Demons feed on human souls, but they don't have a physical form, so they can't kill people directly."
"Witches give human souls to demons in exchange for teaching them magic."
"Once humans form a contract with demons, they are called witches."
————————————————————————
"So, the witch refers to a woman who made a contract with a demon, right?"
"The Witch's House... does that mean this house?"
Tanaka nodded thoughtfully, then a new question surfaced in his mind.