With the crowd's expectant gazes on him and his staunch supporter, Kaguya, voicing her determination to stand by him, Kanade Natsukawa had no chance of escaping his "walk into the lion's den."
Resigned to his fate, he climbed the steps toward the haunted house alongside Kaguya Shinomiya.
This "haunted house" wasn't the ordinary kind you'd find at an amusement park—it was haunting in the literal sense. Instead of a typical door, the entrance was framed by a grotesque demonic face. The pathway leading up to the house seemed to vanish, replaced by a gruesome throat carved into the demon's open maw. Just one glance at the setup was enough to make anyone feel queasy.
Yet Kanade remained unfazed.
Why? Simple: it was familiar.
From his past endeavors of trying to win favor with others to his club activities, Kanade had experienced his fair share of haunted houses and similar attractions.
Initially, he'd been startled countless times. But over time, repeated exposure dulled the fear, leaving him unaffected by the jump scares and immersive settings.
However, he remained cautious. These types of attractions thrived on unexpected frights—often targeting participants at their most unguarded moments.
Whether you thought you were in a safe zone, believed the scariest parts were over, or assumed the staff wouldn't pick on someone visibly terrified, something always jumped out at the worst possible time.
Sometimes, the scares went beyond jumps—they'd chase you, reveling in your flight. The more you ran, the more enthusiastically they pursued, as if unlocking their inner sadist.
Not that Kanade would run, of course. His reactions rarely went beyond a startle. But the same couldn't be said for the girls who accompanied him.
Some screamed and trembled, others froze in place, hugging themselves in fear. These reactions, while dramatic, were manageable. What Kanade dreaded most were those who pretended to be brave but were paralyzed with terror, stubbornly refusing to admit it. Supporting such a partner was emotionally exhausting.
In comparison, girls who bolted were preferable—they moved, and that movement often hastened the end of the ordeal.
Kanade couldn't help but wonder which type Kaguya would be.
"We're going in, Kaguya. Ready yourself."
"Yes, I'm ready, President."
With that, the two stepped inside, bracing themselves for the challenge.
The interior was far darker than the flashlight-lit area outside. It was pitch-black, as if even the faintest light had been swallowed.
As Kanade's eyes adjusted, he began to make out faint shapes around him. But it wasn't the darkness that drew his attention—it was the steady, deliberate sound of footsteps approaching from deeper within the house.
The opening act, already? They weren't wasting any time.
Kanade frowned and instinctively pulled Kaguya behind him, his gaze fixed on the source of the sound.
The footsteps echoed from within the house, unbroken since they'd entered. Finally, their source emerged—a hunched old woman leaning heavily on a battered cane.
"Heh, another pair of fools courting death."
The speaker was an elderly woman with a twisted, sinister appearance. Her face was marred with blackened patches, her skin unnaturally dark, and her deep wrinkles seemed heavy enough to crush flies. She glanced at them dismissively before shaking her head and turning to leave without another word.
Seeing this, Kanade quickly called out, "Excuse me, ma'am… uh, elder? How can we leave this place?"
He had anticipated a sudden scare but was instead greeted with an RPG-like scenario. There was no way he'd let such an obvious NPC-like figure leave without extracting some information.
"Leave? Heh, that's impossible! Unless… you find the spirit of the one who died unjustly here. Only then will you be able to escape."
"Uh… and after we find her, we…" Kanade began to ask another question, but heavy footsteps behind him abruptly cut him off.
Thud. Thud.
The steps fell like hammer blows, resonating directly in his chest.
"I think… I smell the scent of the living…"
Accompanied by raspy breaths, a grating, teeth-on-edge creaking sound began. It was as if the floorboards themselves were collapsing under immense weight—or as if something was chewing through them. The sound grew louder, closing the distance.
"I'm so hungry!"
"..."
Kanade turned to Kaguya, only to find her looking back at him. Their eyes met, and without hesitation, they both shouted:
"Run!"
Though neither had seen what was behind them, the combination of heavy footsteps, eerie noises, and the old woman's creepy makeup was enough to convince them—whatever it was, it wasn't worth seeing.
Thankfully, neither of them was foolish enough to stay and investigate. It was clear the challenge involved fleeing from whatever monstrosity lurked behind them while searching the house for the unjustly slain spirit. This "spirit" was likely the key to escaping—probably someone who would stamp their card.
"What now, President?" Kaguya asked as they ran. This was her first time playing such a game, and despite the fear, she found herself genuinely intrigued, momentarily forgetting her initial reasons for participating.
"Should we split up? It might be faster to search that way…"
"No, we'll stay together," Kanade replied firmly.
"There's no rule about how quickly we need to finish. We can search the rooms one by one. The only thing we need to avoid is getting caught by… whatever that is."
"Besides," Kanade added, raising his right hand, "aren't we supposed to hold hands the whole time?"
He hadn't let go of hers once.
"Uh…" The eccentric heiress froze.
Oh, right! She had completely forgotten about that rule!
Close one. I almost let the President figure out the truth!