Chapter 41

How a Regressor Conquers the Tower of Urban Legends

Chapter 41

"..."

"..."

The mascot and I stared blankly at the map together.

"What do you think this is?"

"...?"

The mascot tilted its head at my question.

Right.

Every time I asked something, it always answered that it didn't know.

So of course this time would be the same...

nod.

"You know?"

"!"

It nodded again.

How?

The mascot I knew was trustworthy and always incredibly helpful, but whenever something involved thinking or knowledge, it was usually completely useless.

"??"

"You're imagining things."

Damn thing was way too perceptive.

I watched the mascot tilt its head with one hand under its chin and asked,

"So how do we clear it?"

"?!?!!!?!?!?!!!!?!?!!"

The mascot desperately waved its arms and gestured with its entire body.

I understood absolutely nothing.

"..."

"..."

"Just explain it when we get there."

"!"

The mascot would figure something out.

With that thought, I looked back at the whiteboard.

"..."

Let's see.

How far had everyone ahead of me gone?

Last time I checked, No. 11 had been on Floor 12, right?

I looked at the board.

[No. 9 — Floor 13]

[No. 11 — Floor 12]

[No. 24 — Floor 10]

[No. 56 — Floor 10]

...

[No. 77 — Floor 9]

...

[No. 118 — Floor 9]

"Hm...?"

Aside from No. 9 and No. 11, most people had stopped on either Floor 9 or Floor 10.

So these really were special floors.

Everyone seemed to be struggling.

Unease rose inside me too, but I barely managed to suppress it.

Even if the road ahead was difficult, I could do it.

Probably.

I still had no idea when I'd finally escape this place.

After calming myself, I looked back at the whiteboard.

What had everyone written this time?

[9. Next floor is brutal. I'm going to die.]

[11. Well, as long as we survived, that's what matters. Everyone, let's keep going. Still, getting only three pyramids after all that seriously makes me want to cry.]

[24. Greetings. I am affiliated with the Management Bureau. There is a certain interesting word that keeps bothering me. They call us participants, but I do not remember ever saying that I wanted to come to a place like this. Is it possible that we agreed to come here and then had our memories erased?]

[77. Seeing numbers that used to be here disappear is... how should I put it? Bitter. Everyone, let's do our best and make it back home.]

"..."

I stared at their messages of encouragement.

Then I picked up the marker.

What should I write?

[150. What are your families like?]

I didn't know why I wrote it.

Maybe I was simply curious.

People whose names, faces, and ages I didn't know had been protecting my life.

And I was protecting people whose names, faces, and ages I didn't know either.

I wanted to know a little more about them.

Not long after I wrote it, new words began appearing on the whiteboard as though someone else were writing from the other side.

[151. I have a younger sibling. And my parents.]

[152. Only child.]

[153. I'm the youngest. If they were going to take someone, they should've taken my older brother instead. He would've been great at this kind of thing.]

[154. I have two children.]

I quietly read every answer beneath mine and committed them to memory.

I didn't know why.

It just felt like something I should do.

Only after memorizing all of them did I finally stand.

"Let's go."

"!"

I remembered every single one.

By the time I finished showering, the mascot was already sprawled across the floor.

I watched it for a moment, then lay down on the bed and looked toward the shop.

The door was still firmly closed.

How many ornaments did I have now?

"Was it six?"

Six was actually quite a lot.

No. 11 had said he'd only had three.

Maybe earning ornaments was harder than I'd thought.

I closed my eyes while lying on the bed.

For now...

Let's sleep a little.

With that thought, I closed my eyes.

"!!!"

"Gah! What?!"

"?!?!?"

I woke up to the mascot shaking me.

I had only just closed my eyes—

36:12:23

Twelve hours had passed.

It felt like I'd blinked.

Give me my time back.

"...I slept for a while, huh?"

"!"

The mascot nodded.

I looked toward the shop.

The door was now open.

"Shopping time."

"!"

The mascot nodded enthusiastically.

I slowly walked inside.

As always, three glass display cases were waiting.

"Hmm."

What should I buy?

Let's check them one by one.

I examined the first display case.

"A handkerchief?"

"?"

It was a handkerchief.

A plain black one with nothing particularly special about it.

The price...

Five ornaments.

I slowly read the description.

[Handkerchief of Courage]

[While held, your courage will increase dramatically.]

[It is generally useful against entities that induce fear through visual perception.]

[However, when using it, take care not to be consumed by excessive courage.]

"..."

It sounded useful, but...

"That side effect is a little..."

"...!"

I already knew what it was like to freeze from terror or become unable to think properly.

I'd experienced that myself.

Still, the side effect bothered me.

"Excessive courage..."

Too much of anything was bad.

Too much fear.

Too much courage.

"For now, let's skip it."

Personally, I felt like being overly cautious probably gave you better odds of survival in this building than being too brave.

I'd only buy it if I had ornaments left over after everything else.

Let's see.

The second item was...

A remote control with only one button.

More precisely, a remote with one enormous red button.

I had absolutely no idea what it did.

I narrowed my eyes and read the description.

First, the price was...

"...Twenty ornaments?"

"?!"

That was absurdly expensive.

The mascot apparently thought the same thing, because it threw both arms into the air in shock.

What kind of ridiculous item cost that much?

Unable to suppress my curiosity, I kept reading.

[Explosion Remote]

[Each time the button is pressed, a random object within your field of vision will explode.]

[The blast radius depends on the size of the object. At maximum, an explosion comparable to a nuclear bomb without radiation may occur.]

[Living beings are included among possible objects.]

"..."

I understood why it was expensive.

But...

"I can't buy this..."

"...!"

Maybe if I were someone who could survive explosions.

But my only ability after getting caught in one was returning to the elevator entrance.

In other words, this had a high chance of becoming a suicide button.

It might be useful in the right situation, but...

"It's expensive and insanely risky. Who would even buy something like this...?"

"!"

Maybe it was expensive because someone out there could actually use it properly.

I smacked my lips and looked away.

So once again, all my hopes rested on the third item.

I turned toward it nervously.

"...?"

A single sheet of A4 paper sat inside the display case.

What was this?

I narrowed my eyes and read the title.

[Renovation Approval Form]

"Renovation Approval Form?"

"??!"

The mascot immediately shot upright.

Why?

What was so important about a renovation approval form?

[Floor 0.5 will be renovated.]

[New rooms and functions will be added.]

[Upon renovation, the number of residents on Floor 0.5 will increase, and the existing residents will feel great gratitude toward you.]

"..."

Renovating Floor 0.5.

Honestly...

"Ugh... hmm."

It did seem like something worth investing in.

Then I checked the price.

"...Fifteen ornaments?"

Fifteen?

That was insanely expensive.

The remote that could blow up practically anything cost twenty.

And renovating Floor 0.5 cost fifteen?

How should I put it?

It felt disappointing.

Other people would probably think the same.

After all, the renovation only affected Floor 0.5.

For people like us who had to keep going outside and clearing floors, it wasn't an item that directly helped us survive.

This place was perfect for sleeping and resting.

But unless I was drowning in ornaments, spending that many here felt wasteful.

Maybe I should just save them.

That thought lasted only a moment.

"!!!!"

"You want me to buy this?"

"!!!!!!!!!"

The mascot grabbed my arm and clung to me as though begging.

"Uh..."

"!!!!!!!!"

"..."

Whenever the mascot expressed an opinion this strongly, there was usually a reason.

"Still, it costs fifteen..."

"!!!!!"

"..."

"!!!!!!!!!?!?!!!"

"Okay, okay! Give me a second...!"

I calmed the mascot as it flailed wildly and asked,

"You're recommending this because it'll help me a lot, right?"

"!"

The mascot nodded.

"Sorry for asking again, but... you're absolutely sure?"

"!"

"..."

If it was insisting this strongly...

"...All right."

The mascot hadn't said a word when I'd bought the headset.

And without that headset, I probably would've been completely ruined a long time ago.

If this mascot was telling me I absolutely needed to buy something...

"!!!!"

It grabbed my arm and shook it enthusiastically, clearly thanking me.

"No. I trust you."

It was simply mutual trust.

The mascot trusted me.

So I trusted it.

That was all.

At my answer, the mascot froze for a second.

Then it hugged me tightly and nodded.

"But what kind of rooms appear after the renovation?"

"!?!!!!!?!"

"...Should we just renovate it and find out?"

It would probably remain difficult for the two of us to hold a smooth conversation through gestures until the day finally came when we could understand each other's words perfectly.

So...

"Then I guess we don't buy anything this time."

Unlike usual, I'd be returning to Floor 0.5 again after clearing Floor 9.

If I earned as many ornaments as possible there, I could probably buy the Renovation Approval Form next time.

I wouldn't even have to wait long.

Anyway, shopping was done.

"..."

I checked the clock.

Still about thirty-five hours left.

"Want to sleep some more?"

"!"

Sleep was the best medicine.

With that thought, I lay back down.

The moment I closed my eyes, I fell asleep like I'd been knocked unconscious.

We finished preparing for Floor 9.

Calling it preparation was generous.

All we could really do was sleep properly, bring a pillow, and sharpen another piece of the sofa frame so I could stab myself in the neck if necessary.

"...We really have no information this time."

With the café or the hospital, I at least knew what kind of place I was heading into.

I could prepare based on that.

But this time...

"..."

I knew absolutely nothing.

The only thing I knew was that it was a single small room.

That was it.

After waking up, I'd tried everything I could think of to learn more.

Nothing worked.

I stepped into the elevator and sighed as the doors closed.

"Do you think asking for a week-long vacation is too much?"

"...!"

"Yeah. Probably."

I chatted with the mascot while looking ahead.

Before long, a dry announcement sounded.

<Floor 9.>

Ding!

The doors opened.

I immediately pulled out the notebook.

"All right. Let's see..."

[9. It absolutely never moves.]

"...?"

What had No. 9 written?

The instant I wondered...

Ding!

The cheerful chime rang in my ears again.

The doors opened.

I looked forward.

<Floor 9.>

The same dry announcement echoed again.

Cold sweat ran down my back.

I had just died.

And I had absolutely no idea why.