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

Interlude 1-11: Bocchi-senpai is so strange.

Actually, after completing the quest in the Shirakawa apartment complex and witnessing its destruction, Takakai had wondered whether the beginner's quest he had completed was somehow different from the ones others experienced.

At that time, what he thought about was how unreasonable the difficulty of this beginner's quest was, coupled with teammates who were all schemers, to the point that he had to die twice in order to complete it.

However, after hearing the words of the elderly man, Takakai realized that the difference might not only lie in the quest itself.

"I see... Oh, we haven't... Ah, we want to check out a few more places first. If we decide to buy the admission tickets, we'll definitely come back to find you."

Despite the storm of thoughts raging inside, Takakai managed to stay calm, forcing a smile as he spoke to the old man in front of him.

At first, he had planned to make up an excuse like "I forgot to bring the ticket," but halfway through, Takakai suddenly worried that the strange prop that didn't seem like a normal item might not be something that should be forgotten. So, he quickly changed his words.

"Hmm? What's the matter, do you still want to check prices at a few more places? Heh heh, it's up to you, just don't regret it," the old man said.

The old man didn't know what Takakai was thinking, but it was clear that Takakai's refusal made him somewhat uncomfortable. He gave Takakai a glance before turning away and sitting down at a stall along the hallway.

It seemed that he had made the old man upset, but the issue was that Takakai really couldn't take out any Obsession. If this were to be discovered, everything might turn worse.

"Kai-kun, what should we do next?"

Shijo Maki seemed somewhat tense, realizing that the situation they were in might be very different from the average beginners.

It's best not to reveal any information about the first quest.

Takakai thought to himself.

He still wasn't sure whether killing Old Guo and the betraying girl would lead to others seeking revenge. Especially after discovering Maeda Miwa's mysterious and gruesome death, Takakai became even more concerned. Initially, Takakai thought it would be best not to reveal that he had obtained the Obsession of those two players, but now it seemed like even revealing which quest he had participated in might not be advisable.

But if that's the case, how would they gather information about the game?

"Let's find the girl we met earlier."

After some thought, Takakai spoke.

"Huh, find her?"

Shijo Maki was surprised when Takakai mentioned the girl with the guitar from earlier, her eyes involuntarily glancing at him once more.

"Umu... At least she doesn't seem like a bad person. In this situation, we can only choose someone who seems like they can answer we questions, Seems to be safer."

Takakai said helplessly, silently hoping that his judgment about Bocchi wasn't too off. He prayed that he wouldn't encounter a version of Bocchi who had been "transformed" into a brutal, super-powered demon.

Then, the two of them continued down the hallway, observing the surroundings while searching for the girl they had met earlier.

Takakai noticed that the stalls mainly sold two types of items: one was props that didn't seem to be Obsessions at first glance but had strange effects, like dust in glass jars—similar to what Old Guo had used—or purple sheets with blood writing on them, which just looking at made one feel uncomfortable.

The second type of stall was where players traded Obsessions. It was simple: I offer my Obsession, you offer yours, and see if a deal could be made.

It seemed that player transactions were still at the simple direct exchange level. Considering that the player community had formed only two years ago, it was clear they were still operating on a small scale, not yet fully developed.

"Have you heard? The entrance tickets for the Shirakawa apartment complex have all been invalidated."

Some players were chatting, and their words caught Takakai's attention.

"It seems like it's true. I heard that the side quest is currently being 'fixed,' right? I wonder which player managed to obtain the core Obsession. I hope it's a normal person. I don't want to see the core Obsession lose control in real life again."

"Who knows? The actions of the strong are unpredictable. I heard the [Female mask gang] failed, and now they're hunting down people who participated in the Shirakawa apartment quest. A few days ago, they even killed a beginner who survived that quest."

"Oh, the ones using [Substitute flesh and blood]? Gross, just hearing about it makes me sick. I hope they don't come to this market and cause trouble."

"Right. But guess who managed to get the core Obsession from that quest?"

Takakai and Shijo Maki walked past the two players who were talking without stopping, appearing completely uninterested in their conversation, then continued further down the hall.

As soon as the two of them had passed, the two players stopped, looked in the direction Takakai and Shijo Maki had just gone, and whispered to each other, "It doesn't seem like them," before losing interest and not paying attention to them anymore.

'They deliberately shared interesting information to bait us into revealing if we were the ones who completed the Shirakawa apartment quest? What the hell is going on?!'

Thanks to his ability to sense hostility, Takakai noticed that the two players had something off about them, but he kept his expression unchanged, silently complaining to himself.

He wasn't sure whether the information they had intentionally leaked was true or false, but [Female mask gang]? And that Obsession name, [Substitute Flesh and Blood]? Now that he thought about it, he hadn't found the Obsession the woman used to replace Maeda Miwa. Was it a kind of "body" after all? Was it something that had to be inserted into someone's body to be used?! It was a relief that their group had locked that woman in room 205, using the "dead body rule" to seal her. Otherwise, if her Obsession went out of control and created something terrifying, the mission might not have succeeded.

Takakai and Maki continued on, passing by the players selling items, taking some time to search, and eventually discovering the pink-haired girl was also in this abandoned underground market.

She didn't look so well.

She walked into a shop, which, unlike the other stalls, was neatly organized, occupying a vacant room as a small shop. She spoke shyly with the shopkeeper for a long time before finally walking out holding a small jar, sighing. She looked as if she were about to cry.

"Hello there, we meet again."

Takakai and Maki suddenly appeared in front of her, greeting her seriously.

"..."

The pink-haired girl didn't respond immediately.

When Takakai and Maki suddenly appeared, she seemed so startled that she froze on the spot, her entire body momentarily turning into an abstract painting. After a moment, she returned to normal, opening her mouth and then closing it several times, eventually awkwardly managing to say, "H-Hello," although her voice was so quiet that even Takakai, with his enhanced hearing, could barely make it out.

"I hope to receive your help."

Takakai continued, his face extremely serious.

"Huh?"

The girl's expression was full of surprise, instinctively taking a step back.

"My girlfriend and I are facing some difficulties. Thinking it over, out of all the players I've met, you seem really capable, and you look like a good person, so you should be able to help us. I hope you can answer some questions for us. Can we count on your help?"

Takakai lowered his head deeply, sincerely pleading with the pink-haired girl.

Maki furrowed her brows deeper and deeper, but she didn't hesitate, lowering her head in sync with Takakai. She didn't argue with him now, obediently following his lead.

"Huh?! Huh?!"

The girl took another step back, and Takakai could feel her face almost turn pale.

She opened her mouth.

From the shape of her lips, it seemed she wanted to refuse.

Though she tried hard to speak, her lips trembling a few times, she seemed like she didn't want to help Takakai and Maki.

Then, she spoke.

"Okay... Okay then..."

It was as though she had run out of breath, lowering her head. No, it looked like she was about to melt into the ground and become a slime, answering so helplessly.

"...You're not bullying her, are you?"

Maki turned to Takakai and whispered with suspicion. She had noticed tears in the corners of the girl's eyes, and she looked like she was about to cry.

"Hey, at least I'm seriously asking for help." Takakai retorted to Maki, then turned to the pink-haired girl.

"My name is Takahashi Takakai, and this is my girlfriend, Shijo Maki. In short, could you find a quieter place? We really have something important to ask, and we're a bit worried others might overhear."

Takakai bowed his hands once more, earnestly pleading.

The pink-haired girl, with an expression as if she had given up, nodded slightly and said, "Alright," then led them further.

It didn't take long for the three of them to reach the so-called "quiet place."

It was a small room at the very end of the abandoned underground plaza. On the door was a picture of a small cat. Gotoh Hitori, whose nickname was Bocchi, opened the door and looked inside. After confirming that no one was inside, she seemed even more lethargic before leading Takakai and Shijo Maki into the room.

"Here... well... the influence of the Obsession power, so sound doesn't travel outside..."

Gotoh Hitori, who entered the room first, turned back and spoke in a very soft voice to Takakai and Shijo Maki.

On the way there, the girl had introduced herself to the two of them. By the way, it took her about 30 seconds to introduce her name.

"Well then, Gotoh-san, thank you for trust us, I think you can help us understand a lot of things, so we're hoping for your help. We sincerely apologize for the trouble, but neither Maki nor I have a admission ticket for transactions, and we're not sure how to communicate with those players."

Takakai noticed that this room resembled a classroom. In one corner of the room were piles of desks and chairs. As he spoke, he took down two chairs. He dusted off one and handed it to Maki, while the other one he just quickly wiped off before sitting down. As for Gotoh Hitori, she had already sat on the only chair placed alone in the classroom. All the desks and chairs were pushed to the back, with only one set left in the middle. Takakai felt as though someone occasionally came here to rest, but since that wasn't important at the moment, he didn't think too much about it.

"No... ticket? Huh, huh huh? Are you... are you the group that did the Shirakawa apartment mission?"

Gotoh Hitori, who had been quietly bowing her head earlier, suddenly lifted it, looking at the two as if she had realized something.

Though she seemed like a shy person who couldn't interact normally, she still reacted very quickly when it came to matters related to horror stories. This made her seem like someone with a lot of experience. Takakai hoped his decision wasn't wrong.

"Yes, both Maki and I are players who completed the Shirakawa apartment quest."

Takakai nodded slightly, not denying the truth.

"You're being honest with me... Am I... am I really trustworthy?"

The girl didn't expect such a straightforward approach and seemed shocked. She took several deep breaths to calm herself, then pointed at herself as if she couldn't understand Takakai's decision.

"It's just intuition. By the way, Gotoh-san, do you know about 'Blessing'?"

Using Blessing as a means to confirm the other party's goodwill, Takakai decided to be more straightforward and asked her directly.

"Blessing... You... are new players? Wait a minute, Blessing? New players? And got Blessing??? Wait, wait, wait... and you dealt with the 'Female Mask Gang'?!"

The expression on Gotoh Hitori's face at that moment was truly indescribable.

Amazement? Panic? Sadness? Despair? Pain? Frustration? All the emotions showed on her face, like a pie chart slowly falling apart, making Gotoh Hitori look like she was about to melt into a puddle right there on the chair.

And, as expected, she started crying.

"You... you're not new players."

Gotoh Hitori's voice trembled as she wiped away the tears from both her cheeks.

"Huh? Not? But we really just finished our first mission."

Takakai didn't understand Gotoh Hitori's meaning, stunned for a moment, then wondered.

"You... are the boss..."

The next words from Gotoh Hitori echoed from a corner of the room where she had hidden in a cardboard box. Her sluggish response came from within the box, as if the shock had caused her to completely close herself off.

When did that box appear there?

"Are you really sure there's no problem with believe this person?"

Feeling even more puzzled by Bocchi's behavior, Shijo Maki couldn't hold back and turned to Takakai, voicing her doubt again.

"Maybe she's trustworthy. At least, she's shown goodwill toward us, right? Hey, Gotoh-san, could you step outside for a bit? It's hard to talk like this."

Takakai forced a smile, trying to ask Gotoh Hitori to step outside to continue their conversation.

Finally, after a few minutes, the three of them had returned to their normal state, sitting in the center of the classroom, looking at each other to continue the conversation.

"So, that's the situation. Right now, we're really struggling and don't know how to get something like a beginner's guidebook. As for the Sacrifice Game, our knowledge is almost nonexistent, and we can only rely on a few scattered hints from that voice to make educated guesses. Gotoh-san, could you provide help on this matter? We can use the Obsession of the two veteran players as a form of exchange."

After explaining their difficulties and confirming that Gotoh Hitori understood these issues, as well as continuing to hold no ill intent toward them and showing goodwill, Takakai finally felt reassured and seriously made his request.

In stark contrast to her previous attitude, Gotoh Hitori became incredibly serious this time. She nodded lightly at Takakai and Maki with a solemn expression, then stood up.

Was she about to go get the so-called "beginner's guidebook"?

Looking at the majestic stance of the girl, Takakai couldn't help but wonder what Gotoh Hitori was planning to do.

Then, Takakai saw Gotoh Hitori pick up a guitar.

Takakai: ಠ_ಠ ???

Maki: ಠ_ಠ ???

Gotoh Hitori: ヾ(⌐■_■)ノ♪ !!!

Deng deng——

Her slender fingers suddenly slid down.

The clear sound of the guitar rang out at that moment.

With an extremely focused expression, Gotoh Hitori began playing the guitar and singing with great energy.

Deng deng deng——Deng deng deng deng deng——

"Sacrifice Game has three difficulty levels: Dusk, Dark Night, and Red Moon~"

"Dusk is easy, but tickets are rare; Dark Night is complex, Red Moon courting the death, dying in the mission means dying in real life~"

"Dark Night has a rule false, half of the moon blood is false; two A-level missions will level up, but if you get stuck, you'll be targeted~"

"Obsession is the core that decides the mission, completing it means ruining the game; Obsession losing control means everyone loses, thrown into the mission~"

"Cinders scatter and cannot rise, the purple talisman exchanges lives for monsters; divide and kill among players, arson and murder happen every day~"

The girl was full of energy, strumming her guitar and rattling off a series of words.

Honestly, at that moment, Takakai was somewhat dizzy by Gotoh Hitori, a mysterious veteran player.

As for Maki, sitting beside him with her mouth agape, she was likely in a state of extreme shock as well.

She used this method to state the rules that the players had summarized? Since she had social anxiety and couldn't speak directly to ask for the "player's guidebook," she simply resorted to using her musical skills to force herself to sing this information?

Though her singing was good, it felt completely meaningless...

Unsure how to react, Takakai could only force himself to hide the indescribable expression on his face and then try to memorize what the other had sung, attempting to extract useful information from it.

...

Yo, Gourmet readers, is me Curse Chef here.

I have a vote on pa.treon for new fanfic translations, I'm not sure which one to choose so I'll let you guys choose, I'm making it public so if you're interested, please vote.

Have a nice day.

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