Why is my Isekai in the Slice of Life anime was become a Horror Story?

Chapter 37: The Type Who Likes and Wants to Marry

As soon as Takakai's expression changed, Kaguya immediately turned her head to look in the direction Takakai was staring at.

Maki reacted a bit slower but soon realized something was wrong and picked up the wall clock, ready to turn back at any moment.

"Don't, it's useless," Takakai waved his hand, signaling Maki not to waste the chance to turn back time.

In this turn-back of time, there was no escaping that thing. It was certain that even if they turned back again, the situation wouldn't improve.

The key point was that turning back time through the wall clock was essentially the power of this Shirakawa apartment building, and this thing was definitely the true core of Shirakawa. It was impossible for the "tenant" to surpass the "landlord," so for Takakai, who had understood the "taboo," turning back time, no matter how many times, would be futile.

Whether the turn-back would have an effect or not was uncertain. In theory, it should have the highest priority, but the power of this thing lay in "understanding." Tsk, now was not the time to think about this. The thing was still just standing there, not yet acting. They couldn't do anything that would provoke it. It took effort to obtain something with clues, so at least they had to be patient and gather more information first.

"Is this something that can't be mentioned?"

Kaguya stepped forward, looked at Takakai, and asked calmly.

Takakai gently nodded.

"Just here?" Kaguya asked again.

Takakai blinked. He then noticed the figure that had been in the room before was no longer there. Initially, he thought the person might have temporarily left, but when he turned his head, he realized the person was standing on the ceiling, right above him, with their neck twisted backward, looking down at him.

"..."

So, he nodded again.

"Is it safe?" Kaguya continued to ask.

Takakai knew she was asking whether his current condition was dangerous, whether it could harm others. He lowered his head and thought for a moment. He realized that he saw this thing because he had witnessed an important scene, so as long as he didn't speak about it, the situation wouldn't change.

Although this strange entity was theoretically the scariest thing in Shirakawa, it still had to follow the "information exchange" rule. He had received the information but hadn't yet exchanged anything, so in this case, a temporary balance would be maintained.

Thinking this way, the outdated first rule wasn't entirely useless, but sadly, by the time he understood it, it was too late.

"Don't ask, don't mention, don't think," Takakai slowly spoke, seriously addressing everyone in the room.

It seemed like a reddish-yellow liquid, mixed with mucus and blood, fell onto Takakai, but upon closer inspection, there was nothing there.

And then, before Kaguya and Maki could think about it further, Takakai took out the key and cassette tape for room 304.

He briefly recounted his experiences at 109, carefully avoiding mentioning anything related to [children]. Since he had adjusted the clock once, now, Green was curled up in the corner of the room, his face pale like a corpse, unable to hear anything. Sun Dajun, due to his age, had slower brain responses and couldn't hear clearly either. Only Kaguya and Maki were quick enough to understand what Takakai was saying and could think deeply about it.

"Key to Room 304 and the cassette... Sanchez's investigation at 109 was very thorough. By following his steps, we will gradually uncover the deepest truths of the entire apartment building... However, I can't see how this truth will help us escape from this building. On the contrary, the more we know, the harder it will be to leave."

Kaguya, leaning against the wall, thought for a long while before slowly speaking. Her gaze revealed some concern.

"That's true, but right now we have no other clues to follow. Maybe Room 309 is a new lead, but we don't know anything about the situation on the third floor. Oh... but Kai-kun did say the stairs on the second floor all lead up to the third floor, so I think we can focus on exploring the third floor next."

Maki, realizing there were topics they couldn't discuss at the moment, clapped her hands and shifted the conversation to the next course of action.

After that, everyone in the room discussed briefly, and during the process, both Kaguya and Maki completely avoided the topic of [children]. Clearly, they had a clear understanding of how Takakai had touched on the forbidden subject.

Time passed, and the light outside the window began to fade.

After two rounds of exploration, Takakai and Maki, who was injured, both needed rest. Therefore, it wasn't suitable to continue exploring that day.

As for whether they should try to act during the night, everyone agreed that it was too dangerous. Moving around at night in this perilous apartment building was risky; it was better to rest for the time being.

"Kai-kun, you're sure you're alright, right?"

Before nightfall, around 5:30 PM, everyone returned to their rooms to prepare for the evening. Before heading back, Maki, her head wrapped in bandages, stopped for a moment, looked at Takakai with concern, and asked.

"I'm fine. At least right now, there's definitely no problem. Don't worry."

Takakai spoke while raising his hand, bending his arm, and forming a heart shape with his fingers.

"Ha, who's worried about you? If you're fine, then don't make that sickly face. We still need to continue exploring tomorrow. And please, stop with that weird gesture. It's not cute at all when a guy does that."

Maki almost immediately furrowed her brows, snorted, then hugged her chest and turned to go into Room 208.

What a typical tsundere.

Takakai couldn't help but inwardly sigh at her reaction.

Turning around, Takakai walked toward the door of Room 204. However, before he could enter, a voice came from behind.

"Also... don't push yourself too hard. If you really feel unwell, it's okay to stay behind."

When Takakai turned around, Maki had already closed the door to Room 208, and he couldn't see her expression anymore.

Clearly wanting to express concern, but not being able to say it outright, doing so in this awkward way... But this was a typical tsundere personality, wasn't it? He felt like she was the type he could easily tease.

Thinking this, Takakai felt much lighter. If it weren't for what he saw when he returned to his room—that thing standing in the corner of the hallway—his mood might have been even better.

Also, the reason Takakai always referred to it as [that thing] wasn't because he was deliberately avoiding any descriptive terms. It was simply because, from his perspective, the entity could only be described that way. He couldn't make out its shape clearly.

As for its form, it appeared to be a child about five or six years old—very short, very small—and its whole body was indistinct, impossible to identify any features. It could only be described as a "blurry" version of a human shape.

If one observed closely, they would notice the image of the entity gradually becoming clearer. However, Takakai didn't want to go down that path, so he maintained an attitude of ignoring it.

Ignore it.

Pretend it doesn't exist.

As long as he maintained this attitude, there wouldn't be any problems.

But would there really be no problems?

Thinking of something, Takakai stopped in his tracks, instinctively about to turn around and look at the figure, but in the end, he restrained himself and continued walking toward the living room.

Was this really possible?

Was everyone so indifferent, unconcerned about the brutal actions happening right before their eyes?

Takakai wanted to dismiss this thought, but in the end, he couldn't find a reason to convince himself, so he remained silent, pretending not to see that thing behind him, and simply walked into the living room.

Kaguya, holding a wall clock, was already standing inside the room.

When Takakai entered, she coldly asked if the main door and living room door were locked. After receiving a confirming answer, she nodded and said nothing further.

Notably, the hole in the living room door had been repaired by Sun Dajun. Although it was just a wooden plank nailed up to cover the hole, at least it completely separated the hallway from the living room, ensuring that nothing from the hallway could peer into the room.

The light outside the window was almost gone.

The time on the wall clock in the room showed nearly 7 PM.

It felt as though time was passing a little faster in this apartment, or maybe it was just his impression.

Takakai glanced at the small figure standing by the kitchen door, the faint outline barely visible in the dim light. Then, he closed his eyes, leaned back against the wall, and decided to rest for a moment. After all, as the lead explorer of the day, his mental state was far from stable. Takakai guessed that even if he slept straight through until 8 AM tomorrow, it wouldn't be a problem.

"Takahashi-san, may I ask you something?" Kaguya, sitting not far from Takakai, suddenly spoke.

"What is it?"

Takakai turned his head toward Kaguya, confirming she was the one speaking. There was no other reason to mimic her voice before responding.

"You really like Maki-san, don't you? You have feelings for her?"

Immediately, Kaguya's voice, devoid of any fluctuation, surprised Takakai.

What kind of strange question was this? I'm sure this is a horror story set, not a romance film, right?

Or maybe she's asking this to ease the tense atmosphere of the past few days?

Takakai didn't understand why Kaguya was asking this.

But if he had to answer, it was really simple and easy. In questions like these, Takakai always gave short and straightforward responses.

"Of course, I like her. How could I not like such a cute girl?"

"I like Maki-san to the point that I want to marry her, take her as my wife."

Takakai's tone was extremely serious, with no trace of joking.

"R-really... really? To that extent?"

Even in her cold state, Kaguya seemed slightly flustered by this answer, to the point where her voice wavered.

Of course it was true.

Just like I'll always like Lafite, Yukikaze, Akashi, Amiya, Rosemary, Scathach, Artoria, Rin Tohsaka, Ilya, Ayanami Rei, Chino Kafuu, Rem, Emilia, Furukawa Nagisa, Sakurajima Mai, Kato Megumi, Eriri, Reimu Hakurei, Kanna, Gokou Ruri, Tokisaki Kurumi, Misaka Mikoto… ah, maybe that's too many, I can't even read all of them.

"Ahem, that's just my personal wish. Now, we should really focus on survival first."

Takakai lightly coughed, as if to temporarily put aside the topic.

"I see…" Kaguya seemed to be lost in thought, remaining silent, and the room fell into quietness once again.

It should have been like this.

Boom!!!

A sudden loud explosion rang out from the second-floor hallway.

In the intense tremor, Takakai was knocked to the ground. Kaguya, startled, quickly grabbed the wall to steady herself.

Before either of them could react further, a series of gunshots—bang bang bang bang—echoed in the hallway, accompanied by the sound of someone running quickly by.

And a cold, eerie air swept through the entire second floor.