The ominous sound of footsteps grew closer, the steady "tap, tap" echoing through the hall. Then, the steps abruptly stopped, followed by the creak of a door opening.
A figure wearing a bird-beak plague doctor mask emerged from the room.
Scanning the area, he appeared to be searching for something. His gaze soon fell on the flashlight deliberately left on the ground.
"They've run off…" he muttered, stepping toward the flashlight. Picking it up, he calmly turned it off before retreating back into the room, closing the door behind him.
Silence returned.
"..."
"..."
Moments later, the door creaked open again. This time, the plague doctor stepped out holding a skeleton. Muttering to himself, he shuffled toward the corner piled high with bones.
"Not enough corpses… Need to find some fresh ones…"
After tossing the skeleton onto the pile, he didn't even glance at it. Leaving the door wide open, he sauntered off in another direction.
"..."
Once it was clear the doctor wasn't doubling back, Kanade Natsukawa finally stood, helping Kaguya Shinomiya to her feet.
Before this, they had been hiding right behind the door, waiting for the right moment. To divert attention, Kanade had intentionally rolled the flashlight to the opposite side, simulating a clumsy escape.
It worked—though the doctor hadn't seemed particularly interested in pursuing them, as if the escape attempt was beneath his notice. Instead, he had quietly resumed his "work."
Even so, they hadn't dared to make a sound until they were certain he had left.
"This is our only chance to grab the objective," Kanade said in a hushed tone.
From what he could tell, this stage required timing and observation. The doctor's muttering about needing "new corpses" was a hint: this was the window to retrieve the necessary item. Delaying any further would risk running out of time entirely.
Kaguya nodded in understanding.
Kanade carefully guided her to the doorframe, propping her up so she could keep an eye on the doctor's movements. Meanwhile, he sprinted into the room to search for the mission item.
To accommodate challengers, the objective was placed in an obvious spot. Sure enough, Kanade quickly found it: a heart-shaped gel object, stained with fake blood, sitting on the operating table.
He grabbed it, wiped his hands with a nearby cloth, and rushed back to Kaguya.
Despite being in her "childlike" personality, Kaguya seemed unusually obedient, diligently watching the hallway without turning her head.
Kanade tapped her lightly on the shoulder to signal the task was complete.
To his surprise, she turned with a puzzled expression.
"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice tinged with confusion. "I wasn't daydreaming or anything! I was being responsible!"
"Pfft…" Kanade almost burst out laughing.
Clearly, his swift completion of the task had misled her into thinking he was scolding her for slacking off.
"You've got it wrong," Kanade explained with a smile. "I found the item already. Let's get moving."
"Oh, that's fast!" Kaguya remarked, surprised.
Despite her comment, she wasted no time clambering onto Kanade's back.
With her securely in place, Kanade hurried toward the next pathway. He didn't even spare a glance at the eerie decorations around him.
It wasn't about speedrunning for the sake of breaking records—it was survival. With his stamina nearing its limit, every second saved mattered.
Shortly after they left, the plague doctor returned, strolling casually with another skeleton in hand.
Humming a cheerful tune, his good mood was apparent. Finally, a pair of challengers had arrived!
Based on the noises he had heard earlier, they must have entered his room. Wanting to make things more fun, he had deliberately left, intending to give them some breathing room to strategize.
Returning at just the right time, he had planned to "catch" them in the act of searching for the item, savoring their rising tension and fear as he drew closer.
His goal wasn't to actually find them—oh no, that would be too easy and ruin the experience. Instead, he wanted to dangle the threat of discovery over their heads, heightening their anxiety without pushing them to the brink of despair.
"Let the cat-and-mouse game begin!" he thought gleefully.
...Only to freeze in his tracks as he reached the room.
"...Huh? Where'd they go?!"
Worse still—the item was gone!
He was flabbergasted.
He had been gone for less than two minutes! How had they managed to clear the objective so quickly?
"Are they hacking?!"
Meanwhile, Kanade was already rushing into the next location: a classic horror setting—the slaughterhouse.
Learning from their previous encounter, he gave Kaguya strict instructions to stay silent and keep her mouth covered. They were going full "stealth mode" this time.
Though Kaguya didn't quite understand the term "stealth mode," she dutifully nodded. To emphasize her commitment, she made a gesture of zipping her lips shut.
It was childish, but undeniably cute.
Kanade couldn't help but smile and gave her a thumbs-up before ruffling her hair affectionately.
Kaguya, enjoying the attention, purred like a contented kitten.
"..."
Kanade found himself glancing at her.
Honestly, "Child Kaguya" was surprisingly endearing. In some ways, she was easier to handle than her usual self—more approachable, less intimidating.
For a moment, he entertained the thought that spending time with this version of her wasn't so bad.
Notes-Read advances chapters in patreon.com/Shadow_D_X, i have finished uploading the whole series in patreon, a total of 274 chapters you can find it in the collections, thanks for supporting me and special thanks to all the patrons for joining