It seems that Guanghui seemed to hear people's whispers.

Kaori was terrified of horror stories, and she frantically glanced around at the group reflected in the ice mirror. Worried that Shizuku's joke about "the number of people increasing unnoticed" might come true, she rubbed her arms in fear, her skin covered in goosebumps.

"Did anyone else hear anything? How's Shia?"

Hajime looked around at the people around him, confirming with them.

"No, I didn't hear anything. I couldn't sense anyone else besides the people here."

Even with his eyes closed and his ears focused, he couldn't pick up any sound. The others shook their heads, seemingly hearing nothing in particular.

“…I did hear that…”

"Could it be that you are too tense?"

"Ryutaro... maybe."

After realizing that no one else heard it, Guanghui showed a confused expression, thinking that it might be his own illusion. Hearing Ryutaro's caring words, Guanghui agreed without any confidence.

“…Shia, I’m counting on you.”

"OK."

Just when everyone agreed that it was Kouki's illusion, only Hajime's eyes were full of vigilance. He asked Shia, who was the most reliable in reconnaissance, to be careful.

Although Shia thought it was Kouki's illusion, seeing Hajime's serious expression, she nodded in agreement with a serious expression. Then Shia moved her rabbit ears busily, focusing even more on detecting the enemy.

After that, the group moved forward smoothly. When they passed several forks in the road without hesitation, Guanghui stopped again.

This time he yelled.

"It happened again! It wasn't just my imagination! I heard it again!"

"K-Kyoukai?"

Kouki desperately tried to find the owner of the voice, and Shizuku looked at him with confusion in her eyes.

The look from his companions made Guanghui even more confused. He spoke excitedly and tried his best to defend himself.

"I heard it clearly this time! He said, 'Is it okay to continue like this?'"

"No, but Kouki, I didn't hear anything."

"Y-yeah, I didn't hear the bell either..."

"Yeah...I didn't notice any sound either."

Faced with a situation that happened to "only him", Guanghui felt the uneasiness in his heart gradually growing.

He felt like he was left alone in the dark, feeling extremely frightened and uneasy. At the same time, he also felt extremely angry that his companions could not understand his feelings.

As if to vent the restless emotions in his heart, Guanghui roared loudly into the air.

“I’m not lying! It’s true!… Damn it, who are you?! Where are you hiding?! Stop sneaking around and come out if you have the guts!!”

"Kui! Calm down!"

Shizuku comforted Guanghui, while Hajime looked at Shia.

"Shia."

“No, I didn’t hear anything either…”

I could have predicted this from the fact that Shia didn't hear it last time, and sure enough, it looked like the rabbit ears didn't pick up the sound this time either.

“…Hajime, is there any magical reaction?”

"No. The same thing happened when I encountered zombies and ogres. It seems the ice walls of this maze have the ability to conceal magical reactions. I can't rely too much on the Magic Eye Stone."

"Well, regarding Kouki's situation, while it's possible that she's suffering from mental illness due to the pressure of the Great Labyrinth, that's too sudden. It's better to think of us as being interfered with in some way."

"But Shia's rabbit ears didn't hear anything, and Hajime-kun couldn't sense anything either. There's no way to defend against it like this."

While they were discussing, Guanghui, in order to prove that he was not crazy, was eager to find the owner of the missing voice. At this time, Hajime said to Guanghui:

"Tianzhihe, calm down a bit."

"Nagumo, what I said is true. I really..."

"I know. I'm not going to say it's your imagination."

"what?"

Guanghui knew firsthand how casually Hajime treated them, so when he heard Hajime say that he believed his empty words, Guanghui's eyes widened in surprise.

Whether it was the shock or the relief of being trusted, Kouki finally calmed down. Hajime ignored him, looked around at everyone, and said:

"We should assume we're being interfered with in some way. If the whispers in our ears are part of this maze's trials, then it's highly likely that everyone present will be affected, not just by Tian Zhihe. I don't know the purpose of this trial, but... I haven't figured out a way to counter it yet. Everyone, please be extremely cautious."

Indeed, it would be safer to consider "mysterious phenomena" as "interference from the Great Labyrinth" rather than treating it as an illusion.

Rather than believing Kouki's words, this advice was a reasonable decision made by Hajime while challenging the Great Labyrinth.

Ryuutarou, initially perplexed, nodded in agreement. And though their own reflections in the ice mirror felt even more eerie, they continued on their way.

Not long after that.

──You don’t believe it.

“Again…”

The whispering sound once again entered Guanghui's ears.

The whispering and the words spoken were particularly unsettling. Like a cat's claws scratching a smooth wooden surface, it was deeply unpleasant and filled with rage.

However, Guanghui did not scream in panic this time. Although he could not be said to be as calm as usual, he still had enough energy to remain calm.

The unknown is the easiest thing to make people feel mentally unstable, but now at least there is "interference from the Great Labyrinth" as an answer.

Guanghui barely suppressed the uneasiness that welled up in his heart and began to think about the whispers, trying to get as much information as possible. Then, Guanghui discovered something that made him very concerned.

“…I’ve heard that voice before.”

Yes, I feel like I've heard this whisper before.

Whose voice is this? Where have I heard it before? Kouki tilted his head, searching his memories, while Shizuku and the others looked at him worriedly.

"Kui-ki, are you okay?"

"Shizuku...yes, I'm fine. I heard the noise again, but..."

"but?"

"I don't know if it's my imagination, but I feel like I've heard that voice somewhere before..."

Hearing what Kouki said, Shizuku held her chin with her hand and thought for a moment.

"...There's a monster with mimicry in Hartrie too. It really seems like the Great Labyrinth is interfering. Perhaps it's imitating someone we know. Kouki, don't be fooled. Tell us anything you discover immediately."

"I understand. Shizuku, you should be careful too. If what Nagumo said is true, you might hear that voice soon too."

"Okay, I'll pay attention."

Shizuku smiled faintly, and Guanghui felt his restless spirit gradually calm down, his expression regaining composure. His childhood sweetheart was always there for him, encouraging and supporting him. Her words and smile naturally brought a smile to Guanghui's face.

But after that──

──Did you notice?

"!"

When I heard that voice, I felt like someone was grabbing my heart.

It was as if the most delicate, tenderest part of my heart, the one I least wanted to be touched, had been invaded. The intense discomfort gave me goosebumps, and I even felt dizzy. Kouki's eyes, as if pleading for help, immediately turned to Shizuku, who was walking beside him.

However, the childhood sweetheart did not ask worriedly as usual, "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Instead, he showed the same stiff expression as Guanghui.

“Shizuku, you’re not…”

"...Yes, I heard it too. It was a woman's voice, a voice I felt I had heard before. She said, 'Are you running away again?'"

Finally, people other than Kouki also heard the whispers. This almost confirmed that the interference was truly from the Great Labyrinth.

Hajime stopped and looked at Kouki and Shizuku.

"Tianzhihe, what did you hear?"

“…I heard a man’s voice. He said, ‘Did you notice?’”

"Oh? The voice and words change depending on who's listening... What does that mean? Do you have any idea?"

In response to Hajime's question, the two of them were about to answer "No", but for some reason they couldn't say it. It felt as if someone grabbed their shoulders and whispered in their ears, "Really?"

Kouki and Shizuku both wore troubled expressions, swallowing back the words that were on the tip of their tongues. Seeing each other's expressions, they realized they shared the same feelings.

"Shizuku-chan? Are you okay? Are you feeling unwell—"

Kaori walked to Shizuku's side with a worried look on her face, and then Ling screamed "Ah!" and jumped up in fright.

"Rin, did you hear that too?"

"I heard it."

Kaori was startled when she saw Ling jump beside her. She asked and found out that she had heard it too.

Ling looked around nervously, and then, as if in a domino effect, even Ryuutarou let out a cry of "Uuuuu!?"

Hajime glanced around and asked Ling and Ryutaro:

"Have you officially started interfering? Taniguchi, Sakagami, what did you hear?"

Perhaps he was trying to infer the intention of interference, or even the content of the new trial, from the content of the conversation. Hajime glanced at Tio, who was very reliable at such times. Tio immediately understood what Hajime meant and nodded in response.

Ling's expression was as if her mouth was filled with bitter gourds. She replied:

"Uh~... What Suzu heard was very similar to what Kouki-san heard. She asked me, 'You've already noticed this, right?'"

"Ah~ Mine is similar to Shizuku's. She asked me, 'How long do you plan to keep deceiving yourself?'"

Even Ryutaro seemed unusually lifeless, his expression as if he was carrying some unspeakable worry.

However, perhaps it was as expected, as did Kouki and Shizuku, they both seemed to have no idea what the whispers meant. They felt a gray fog creeping over these words, which lacked meaning yet were difficult to ignore.

"...How abstract! To the extent of misleading people, I feel it's a bit too indirect..."

Hajime tilted his head, wondering why he didn't ask directly to confuse the target, such as "where to go" or "what to do".

"Rin and Ryuutarou, did you two also hear familiar voices?"

"Hmm~ Now that you mention it...it does seem like I've heard it somewhere before."

"Ah, yeah, I feel that way too."

The two nodded in agreement, and Tio seemed to be lost in thought.

Silence enveloped Hajime and his group, and it felt as if the air had grown heavier.

To dispel the damp air that clung to her body, Yue clapped her hands and said:

"...Well, let's go ahead now."

"Yeah, that's right."

There is no point in thinking more here. If you don't move forward, everything will just be wishful thinking.

Guanghui and the others nodded vigorously in agreement. After seeing this, they smiled at the moon and set off again.

──Where are you planning to go back to?

"……oh."

He took a step forward, then heard a whisper in his ear. Hajime frowned briefly, then continued on his way.

Just as Hajime had heard the whispers, Yue and the others soon began to hear them as well. However, despite exchanging information, no one stopped.

After that, the group continued walking in the maze where they could not get lost for about three hours, and the compass told them that they were indeed approaching the end.

If all went well, Hajime and the others would be able to break through the maze in just a few hours. However, the closer they got to the end, the more frequent the whispers increased.

No, it wasn't just the frequency; the mental impact seemed to increase over time. Words whose meaning I initially couldn't comprehend began to gradually transform into fragments of memory, like a monster emerging from the darkness.

Their mood was like watching black ink dripping onto white paper, and the pure white color was gradually dyed black bit by bit.

Every time a drop of ink falls, the words ring in your ears without any whispering, and you even feel the illusion that your stomach is full of stones.

──We’re going to make the same mistake again.

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