Surviving as an Idiot in a Horror Game

If I had known that, I obviously wouldn't have acted suspiciously in front of Yeniel from the start.

I quickly went over my actions in my mind, but I couldn't figure out what exactly looked so suspicious.

'I need to get a grip.'

It would be troublesome if I became more suspicious. Since trying to clear up suspicions could only increase the suspicion level, I had to act perfectly like April.

The others hurriedly entered through the open door.

"Lock it right away! So they can't come in!"

Yeniel shouted.

After letting the Crown Prince in first, Max, who entered last, hastily closed the door.

Bang-! Crash! Crash!

Although it was pounding madly on the door from outside, we were 'for now' safe.

"Fortunately... it can't come in. But I'll stay alert since we don't know when the door might break."

Even Cyan looked a bit shaken by the demon worshipper.

Room 203 was one of the rooms you might typically imagine in a mansion. A room with carpet, sofas, and furniture.

If there was one difference, it was the empty coffin placed in the center of the room.

It was an alien sight that didn't blend at all with the noble surrounding interior.

"Why is there an ominous coffin where a bed should be? Phew."

Max glared at the coffin as if it was inauspicious. I approached and stared intently into the coffin.

"W-what are you doing, Lady April? Why are you looking at that?"

"I'm seeing if there's treasure! Hmm, but I don't see any."

Actually, I wasn't sure. I couldn't remember well because my brother had played more of the 2nd floor section.

'There was something. There was some doll, and a key was found somewhere too.'

The Crown Prince checked with Yeniel.

"Lady Yeniel. About the ancient language you read while looking at the ceiling earlier, what did it say?"

"It said, 'The key is among several rooms. Find the key.' Your Highness."

"That might be where we start. Among several rooms. Do you think it's a metaphor? It seems literal to me."

Yeniel seemed to ponder for a moment before answering.

"I'm interpreting it literally as well. But I'm not sure of the exact meaning. For now, it seems best to search room 203 more thoroughly."

The four of us - me, Yeniel, Cyan, and Max - searched room 203.

The Crown Prince was taking a short rest. The neck that had been bitten by the spider was now almost half purple and looked in very bad condition.

But even after carefully examining the bed and furniture, we couldn't find anything that looked like a key or clue anywhere.

As I became anxious, I momentarily thought about revealing the existence of the master key and searching for it together.

That was obviously not something April would do.

Calm down.

I took a deep breath and steeled myself.

'I need to act properly. I absolutely must not be found out that I'm not April. For now, it's just Yeniel who's suspicious.'

Because Yeniel could influence others too.

Then the suspicion level of 50% would quickly be reached, and I would become a potential execution target.

"Lady April, do you have something you want to say?"

It seems I had been staring intently at Yeniel without realizing it.

"No! I was just looking because Lady Yeniel looks so smart and cool."

I laughed deliberately.

I also confirmed that the suspicion level doesn't rise just from staring intently.

[Yeniel's affection has increased.]

How could someone have affection for a person they're suspicious of? I really couldn't guess Yeniel's true feelings.

Rustle- Rustle-

That's when the sound was heard.

A sound like paper and fabric rubbing against each other. It didn't even last a few seconds.

It clearly came from inside the room.

"D-didn't you just hear a strange sound?"

Max, lacking in character but full of fear, startled and looked around.

"A sound?"

Yeniel's expression slightly hardened.

"Where did you hear it? Inside the room? Outside the room?"

"Well, it seemed to come from inside the room...? Is that important?"

Max didn't seem to realize why Yeniel became serious about his answer, but it was an important issue.

The fact that a sound was heard from inside the room meant that the demon worshipper was outside the door of room 203, and a monster was inside, cornering us.

Thump-! Thump!

The sound of the demon worshipper striking the door of room 203 from outside echoes loudly intermittently. As if it had no intention of giving up on us.

The firmly locked door gradually began to shake slightly.

It was a situation with no way out. Even Cyan and the Crown Prince wore tense expressions.

But fortunately, unlike what they were worried about, the sound just heard wasn't made by a monster.

"April knows."

I smiled brightly and raised one hand.

Inwardly, I worry if the suspicion level will rise.

Reading the context of the conversation, understanding the intent of the question, or showing willingness to help the group, etc...

The reasons for the suspicion level rising were endless.

But since I was the only one who heard the exact sound, what could I do? I had to explain.

"It was the sound of paper."

I chirped cheerfully.

"April always wears a velvet dress when taking music lessons. Because it makes me look elegant like a swan. I heard the sound that's made when I put sheet music on my lap then."

It sounded like sheet music touching microfiber cloth.

Something I occasionally heard when I followed my brother to the violin academy he briefly attended when he was young.

"So, you're saying it was the sound of velvet fabric and paper rubbing together?"

Cyan summarized my opinion.

Yeniel has partially resolved her suspicion.

Suspicion level decreases by 2%!

Total suspicion level 10%

I don't know why Yeniel partially resolved her suspicion this time.

'Well, it's better that the suspicion level went down.'

Even though I think it's stingy that it only went down by 2% compared to the 15% increase.

"What kind of childish nonsense is that! Paper on a velvet dress."

Max frowned at my words. Then he mutters inadvertently.

"Velvet? ...Come to think of it, wasn't there velvet lining inside that creepy coffin?"

Max's eyes widened. Soon he approached and looked into the coffin, then shouted.

"There's a note inside the coffin! Your Highness!"

It was the first moment Max had been helpful to the group.

"Well done, Max. This is what's written on the note. Can everyone see?"

The Crown Prince held up a worn piece of paper that Max had respectfully offered with both hands.

red

That was the only sentence.

"Lady Yeniel. Could you recite the sentence you saw outside once more? Let's combine it with this note."

The group tries to match the two clues they've gathered.

"It was 'The key is among several rooms. Find the key.' Since it was visible in front of the big door outside, it's likely to be a clue to open that door."

Cyan picked up on Yeniel's words. Cyan then explains to the Crown Prince.

"That huge door didn't have a keyhole. It was blocked. So maybe it's not that we need a real key, but that the condition needed to open the door is the key. If we combine them - 'If you grant eternal rest, the door at the end of the corridor will open.' That's how it would go."

Click-

As if Cyan's words were recognized, a sound came from somewhere. The sound of something clicking into place and moving is heard.

'I thought the 2nd floor of the temple was like an escape room.'

You have to search various places on the map annoyingly.

All locks were structured to be unlocked only by solving puzzles.

The most annoying thing was quests where options only appeared after exploring all possible areas to investigate.

[Yeniel: (It seems there's no way. Should we give up? Let's check the one last time.)

[Yeniel: ......! (If we melt the door with the obtained reagent, it seems a hole big enough for a person to pass through will form.)]

[Yeniel: There's no way to open a door without a key. __So let's try 'melting' this door.]

[Max: We've searched everywhere and there's nothing! Argh!]

[Yeniel: (Max kicks the wall out of frustration.) ......!]

[Yeniel: (A crack formed in the wall, perhaps it was a weak spot.) There's a gap here. I think we can widen it if we apply more impact.]

We probably fulfilled some condition like that too. That's why a paper suddenly appeared inside the coffin.

And the location of the 'click' sound we just heard was from the bottom of the coffin.

As I carefully examined the inside of the coffin, I noticed that the velvet cloth lining the bottom looked slightly unnatural.

'Is there something?'

I reached out and slightly lifted the velvet cloth.

Max, who was looking into the coffin next to me, suddenly acted surprised and reached out his hand.

"Your Highness! There's something else inside the coffin."

Something was shining on the bottom.

It was a bundle of keys.

'See?'

Max reaches out as if trying to steal the credit. I quickly grabbed the bundle of keys and passed it to the Crown Prince.

"Your Highness, it's a gift. It's the shiny thing April found. I want to give it to Your Highness because we're friends."

I narrowed my eyes gently.

I innocently ask Max, who was a step too late.

"Oh my, Sir Max. Why are you just standing there? Is Sir Max looking for shiny things too?"

As if he was trying to snatch it.