My love index is at its maximum.

Kikawa Yui held her breath instantly.

slowly.

Slowly turning my head to look, I was immediately startled.

The interior resembled a slaughterhouse, with moving ambient lighting displaying yellow and blue hues. Numerous human remains were carelessly discarded on the ground, and staff members wielding samurai swords and wearing demon masks were cruelly dissecting a "living person."

Even though she knew it was fake, the terrifying sound effects combined with the eerie lighting, the bloody scene, and the stench made even Yui Kichikawa feel uneasy.

"Whoo~"

"It's fake, it's fake, don't be afraid~"

Kikawa Yui covered her nose, composed herself, and turned around while loudly reminding, "There's a rather bloody scene here, Shiori, what are you doing?"

At the other end of the corridor.

Shiori Ninomiya wrapped her arms tightly around Tsukasa Tazaki's neck, and their lips pressed together.

Hearing Yui's reminder, the little cutie finally let go, lifted her head from Tsukasa's arms, and smiled sheepishly: "Well, well, Shiori-chan was just too scared, so she asked Kiki to give me a courage buff. Yui-chan is so brave, she shouldn't need Kiki to do that, right? If she does, it would be such a disappointment..."

Tsukasa Tazaki: "..."

The more lovable a person is, the more unbearable they can be when they turn bad.

He helplessly raised his head and looked at Kikawa Yui in front of him.

Inside the slaughterhouse, yellow and blue ambient lights shone in an alternating pattern, overlapping around the blonde girl and making her and the floor around her appear green.

"...Let's hurry up, the people ahead have probably already gone out." Tsukasa Tazaki pulled Shiori Ninomiya's hand and walked forward.

Shiori Ninomiya giggled, "Alright~ Let's go!"

With such a cheerful expression, there wasn't a hint of fear on her face... Kikawa Yui knew she had been tricked again, and felt a tightness in her chest from anger.

Facing Tazaki Tsukasa's apologetic smile, she gritted her teeth and remained silent, continuing to walk ahead.

The haunted house is quite large.

Human remains, headless generals, samurai with their intestines spilled out, ugly monsters, and inexplicably falling spider webs and fake rats are everywhere on the road.

Shiori Ninomiya held onto Tsukasa Tazaki's hand tightly: "Is Kiki afraid of this kind of thing? Even if it's fake, I'm still quite scared..."

"There's nothing scary about the props," Tsukasa Tazaki said calmly.

To be honest, he would also be afraid of unknown horrors. If he came in alone, he might keep screaming "Ahhh!" to ward off his fear, then rush forward blindly, and eventually get lost in the haunted house.

But it's different when there are women around.

Even if I get startled occasionally, I can still grit my teeth and pretend to be calm and collected.

“Big brother doesn’t seem afraid at all.” Ninomiya Shiori then looked at Kikawa Yui, her thoughts swirling in her mind.

While getting goosebumps, Qichuan Weiyi said casually, "It's alright. I can come to this kind of place often. Just treat it as a test of my courage."

Just then.

Suddenly, a doll appeared in the previously empty corridor in front of the three people.

"..." Qichuan Yui stopped in her tracks immediately.

In the dim light, a geisha-style doll dressed in a kimono with a deathly pale face gave the three a chilling smile. Staring into those lifeless eyes for too long could induce a strange sense of unease.

"There's a saying that dolls represent bad luck," Tsukasa Tazaki said, his expression somewhat unnatural as he recalled some urban legends.

"...What?" Kikawa Yui looked at his face, her expression stiff.

“These dolls are also called substitute dolls, which can protect a daughter from misfortune when she gets married,” said Tsukasa Tazaki. “Legend has it that a soul lives inside each doll. Some dolls grow up with the child, some dolls have hair that grows long, and there are also rumors that they wander around the house at midnight.”

“…Kiki, shut up.” Shiori Ninomiya stopped him from continuing.

Tazaki noticed that her small hand holding his was trembling slightly, and guessed that she was frightened, so he didn't say anything more.

"...Let's go." Despite feeling unwell, Yui Kikawa took a step forward.

As I passed the doll, a chilling, cold laugh suddenly came from somewhere.

Hehe~

It was like the harsh sound of fingernails scraping against a blackboard, instantly giving you goosebumps all over your body.

“...It sounds like a doll is laughing!” Shiori Ninomiya’s eyes were completely closed.

"Hurry up!" Yui Kirikawa urged.

The three continued forward, and after a few steps, they suddenly heard very obvious footsteps behind them, and laughter returned.

Shiori Ninomiya instinctively recoiled: "The doll is alive..."

Kikawa Yui slowly turned her neck, wanting to turn around and see what was going on.

"Don't look back!" Tsukasa Tazaki shouted.

He remained calm on the surface, but to be honest, he was a little frightened.

He hadn't thought much of it at first, but after the story of the doll's supernatural aspects came up, he now felt as if a soul truly lived inside the doll behind him...

Gan!

He has a sharp tongue.

The paranormal events I described scared even myself...

“Tasaki…” Yui Kizawa called out, her voice trembling.

"what?"

"That thing..."

"what happened?"

"Under my feet..."

Tsukasa Tazaki immediately lowered his head.

The doll, which had been standing a little over a meter behind the two, suddenly lay down at Qichuan Yui's feet. Its dark, lifeless eyes were staring at him with inexplicable deep affection.

If there really is such a thing as a soul in this world.

That doll probably contains the soul of a young girl, and she might be experiencing some strange emotions right now.

"hiss……"

Tsukasa Tazaki turned around, looking straight ahead: "Um, do you two still have the energy?"

"What happened?" Shiori Ninomiya opened her eyes a crack.

"You should keep your eyes closed."

"Oh……"

"Xiao Wei".

"what?"

"...Let's keep going."

"Ok!"

Yui Kawakawa stopped trying to be brave and shrank behind Tsukasa Tazaki, using him as a human shield to push him forward.

The three continued their journey through the chilling, blood-stained, dimly lit haunted house, being chased by heads several times along the way, and then harassed by headless soldiers searching for their heads.

Finally, a light appeared in the darkness ahead; the exit was near.

Just as the three of them breathed a sigh of relief.

A corpse suddenly fell from a short distance away, startling the three of them for a few seconds.

"Puff~"

A dull thud resounded.

That was the sound of flesh hitting the hard floor, a sound that Tsukasa Tazaki could vouch for with his own integrity.

"Woo~ woo~"

Qichuan Wei's expression changed: "Something has arrived."

A chilling black mist billowed from both sides of the corridor, obscuring all vision. Suddenly, a humanoid monster with two horns appeared, sprawling on the ground and voraciously devouring the corpse…

"Goo~"

Tsukasa Tazaki swallowed hard.

A chill ran down his spine, and he couldn't help but mentally criticize the staff's lack of professionalism.

The three of them didn't move at all.

The surroundings became quiet.

Then... the monster, which was eating, suddenly looked up, its scarlet eyes glaring at the three fresh prey.

"Awoo~"

It roared to the sky and charged towards us.

"Ah!" Yui Kikawa instinctively closed her eyes and snuggled into Tsukasa Tazaki's arms.

next second.

With a clang, a cage fell from the sky, trapping the three people inside.

The monster howled outside the cage and kept banging on the iron cage.

Tsukasa Tazaki held the two girls' warm, trembling bodies in his arms.

A mind free of distractions.

After an unknown number of seconds, the monster left, the cage slowly rose, and the three regained their freedom.

With the two girls' waists supported, Tazaki Tsukasa slowly walked towards the light.

Stepping through a door, a cool breeze blows in, and the sun-drenched world feels like a distant memory.

"It's finally over..." Shiori Ninomiya let go of her hand and ran towards Sakura Kuriyama, who had been waiting there. "It was really scary. I'm so glad you didn't come in, Sakura..."

Yui Kikawa's entire body was tense.