How a Regressor Conquers the Tower of Urban Legends
Chapter 55
Clunk.
The elevator doors closed.
"Haah..."
I closed my eyes once, opened them again, and looked ahead.
The elevator doors I'd grown so familiar with that I was sick of seeing them were right in front of me again.
My thoughts were a mess.
I still had no idea what was actually happening.
Then...
Ding.
Classical music started playing.
"...?"
Classical music?
That had never happened before.
Why was it suddenly playing music?
I looked up at the ceiling in confusion.
The music stopped.
An announcement followed.
<Floor 10 is currently under construction. Please wait for a moment.>
"Didn't you say you'd finish everything while I was clearing Floor 10?"
<If you wish, you may move in immediately. However, some finishing work remains incomplete, and there may be minor inconveniences or lingering threats directly related to your life.>
"Finishing work is important. I'll wait."
Come to think of it, taking longer on construction meant they were being careful for the customer's sake, didn't it?
If so, I was perfectly willing to wait.
I nodded and remained still.
After a short silence, the announcement continued.
<First, we will report the results of your Floor 10 clear.>
"Go ahead."
<Among all participants who have applied so far, as well as those who will apply in the future, you have cleared Floor 10 in the shortest amount of time.>
Participants who would apply in the future?
"Thanks for the compliment, but you did make things pretty convenient for me."
And so had the shop owner currently keeping me here.
<Being able to receive favor is also a form of ability.>
"..."
<Favor is not given to just anyone. It is granted because the recipient has done something worthy of it, or because there is a valid reason for them to receive it.>
"That's true, but..."
Why did it sound so strangely human?
I stared at the elevator display for a moment.
Then...
<...Settlement will now begin.>
After a short pause, the results began.
<First, all participants who clear Floor 10 will receive a small reward.>
"A small reward?"
<Your personal trait will become stronger.>
"Trait?"
A trait?
What was mine?
The only thing I had that could even be called a trait was regression.
Wait.
"...No way."
<Correct.>
How the hell did regression get upgraded?
I couldn't even imagine it.
"How?"
<That cannot be disclosed.>
"What?"
<You must discover it yourself.>
"..."
Would it kill you to be a little more helpful?
<Additionally, Participant No. 150 has achieved the fastest Floor 10 clear both among current participants and all future participants. An additional reward will therefore be granted.>
CLATTER—!
Something came pouring down noisily.
"!!!"
The mascot immediately crouched and started picking everything up.
I didn't even need to look to know what it was.
"How many?"
"!!"
At my question, the mascot proudly spread both hands and showed off the pyramid-shaped ornaments.
I counted them.
"...Ten?"
"!"
The mascot nodded.
Ten.
Not bad.
Actually, that was pretty good.
The only thing that worried me was how much more expensive the items in the next shop might become.
As I stood there thinking, the classical music started again.
"You're still not done?"
<Not much longer remains. Thank you for your patience.>
The announcement answered calmly.
Then the music continued.
I had no idea how much time passed.
Finally...
Ding!
<Construction has been completed.>
"Oh."
The elevator moved with a clunk.
Not long after, it stopped.
<You have arrived at Floor 0.5.>
The doors opened.
Good.
Let's get out.
I was about to step outside when—
<Good work.>
I stopped.
Could that thing even say something like that?
"...Yeah."
I stared at the elevator speaker, strangely out of character with those words.
Then I turned away.
Clunk.
The doors closed behind me.
A new home, huh?
Let's see.
"Da-da-da-daaa~ da-da-da-daaa~"
"?"
"You have to do this when entering a new home."
Remember it.
Leaving the confused mascot behind, I stepped inside.
"...Wow."
The room that greeted me was much larger than before.
If the old version had been about the size of a home with two bedrooms and a living room...
This one felt more like a large apartment with around five rooms and a much bigger living room.
There were even two beds.
"!!!!!"
The mascot happily dove onto one of them.
I watched it, then looked around.
The whole place had brighter colors now too.
Not bad.
No.
It was good.
I checked the timer.
How long did we get to rest?
[72:00:00]
"...Oh."
Three whole days?
Floor 10 had certainly been exhausting, but still.
Three days.
Nice.
I was definitely going to sleep as much as I wanted.
As I thought that, I noticed a piece of paper.
It had been neatly taped to the wall where it was easy to see.
The handwriting was clean and orderly.
[Thank you for waiting, dear customer.]
[The renovation service itself has been advertised for quite some time, but this was the first renovation request we have ever received. As a result, some minor problems occurred during finishing work.]
[Those issues have now been resolved. However, as an apology for making you wait, we would like to offer a 20% discount on your next renovation.]
[Many rooms have been prepared for your convenience. Please feel free to inspect them.]
[Everything necessary to help you continue through this place has been prepared, so we sincerely hope you use this floor to relax as much as possible.]
[Additionally, while all visible issues have been resolved, please contact the shop immediately if any of the following occurs.]
[1. All room lights suddenly turn off.]
[2. You wake from sleep and the remaining time on the display is no longer decreasing.]
[3. You feel an inexplicable killing intent.]
[4. You discover a locked door other than the shop.]
[In particular, if situation No. 4 occurs, immediately run to the shop and close the door behind you.]
[The shop will protect you.]
[For any other unusual phenomena, or events that may appear unusual, please understand that they are either intentional or naturally occurring and need not concern you greatly.]
[Thank you for using our shop. We will continue striving to improve our service.]
"..."
This was nice and all, but why were there so many things I had to watch out for?
I looked around.
Just as the shop—or shop owner—had said, there were definitely more rooms than before.
Where should I start?
I scanned the area and decided to check the old rooms first.
The map room.
"Hm."
The interior itself didn't seem particularly different.
I looked around before my attention landed on the status display.
Come to think of it, how far had everyone else gotten?
Let's check No. 9 and No. 11 first.
I looked over the map.
"..."
Both were on Floor 14.
I see.
Floor 14...
Looks like they'd made it there safely.
Most of the others were...
On Floor 12.
There were more people on Floor 12 than Floor 11.
Maybe Floor 12 was harder.
Or simply longer.
I should keep that in mind.
Then I read the messages people had left on the whiteboard.
[11. I'm exhausted after clearing Floor 10. I read what No. 24 wrote, and yeah, I can see his point, but honestly, I don't really want to know more than that.]
[24. I was already thoroughly scolded. I will be more careful about saying negative things in the future.]
[24. Everyone, please keep going.]
No. 24 sounded a little dejected.
[77. At least I got to rest once. Hopefully the next floor will be easier...]
[77. I was already dying from exhaustion.]
Everyone had written something.
What should I write?
I thought for a moment and left something short.
[150. Good luck.]
Almost immediately, more messages began appearing beneath it.
[151. Thank you, as always.]
[153. Where did No. 152 go? They suddenly stopped writing.]
[154. I survived thanks to you. But I also learned a lot.]
[154. We can't keep surviving forever just by reading what the people ahead wrote.]
[154. We need to improve ourselves too.]
[154. For a while, I'm going to focus on properly understanding my own ability.]
"..."
They hadn't been doing that already?
I stared at the whiteboard for a moment, then looked away.
"Floor 11..."
Since the map room let me see the next floor in advance, maybe I should check Floor 11 first.
I examined the map carefully.
"...?"
It looked unmistakably like a house.
I scratched my cheek and turned away.
A house.
Meaning it was small.
Rather than being about escaping from somewhere, it might require some unusual method like Floor 9.
I'd keep it in mind.
I had no idea what kind of gimmick a house could involve, though.
After nodding to myself, I headed for the doll room.
Unlike before, the dolls were now arranged neatly in a row.
Three of them in total.
The giraffe doll.
A dog doll.
And finally, an otter doll.
Was that really an otter?
It looked close enough.
More importantly, I was happy to see the giraffe doll.
Just holding that thing made me feel calmer.
Then let's—
"!!!!"
"Whoa! You scared me. What?"
Before I could move, the mascot suddenly threw both arms wide and blocked my path.
"..."
Its movements were much more serious than I'd expected.
I looked at it in confusion.
"!!!!"
The mascot shook its head violently, then carefully examined all three dolls.
It didn't seem jealous.
So what was this?
I studied the dolls too.
After a while, the mascot handed me the otter doll.
What?
"What's this?"
"!!!!!"
The mascot proudly rubbed beneath its nose and held the otter out with one hand, as if telling me to just read it.
Fine.
I took it.
"..."
I carefully read the writing on the doll's tag.
[Substitute Otter Doll]
[This otter doll will do anything in your place.]
[It can receive curses on your behalf, become the source of a curse on your behalf, and even receive blessings in your place.]
[Give the otter any role you do not wish to perform, or send it anywhere you do not wish to go.]
[The otter will do its absolute best to help you!]
[※Caution※ If the otter is damaged, it must be repaired.]
[Our company assumes no responsibility for any unfortunate incidents caused by failing to repair it.]
"...If this thing gets torn, doesn't that mean I'm in serious trouble?"
"!"
Why are you nodding so confidently?
That means I'm the one who gets screwed.
"!!!"
Maybe it understood my concern.
The mascot picked up the doll and mimed sewing it.
"Oh. You can repair it yourself?"
"!"
"How?"
"!!!!!"
The mascot pointed at its scarf and began gesturing wildly again.
I couldn't understand the details.
But if it was saying it could repair the doll, then fine.
I nodded and took the otter doll with me.
Unfortunately, unlike the giraffe doll, it didn't have any ability that made me feel calmer.
"Then..."
Let's see.
I'd already checked all the rooms that existed before.
Which meant...
"Let's go."
It was time to see the new rooms.
