Why had it been built there And why had it been abandoned No one knew Around a dozen people had seemed to live there about a year before but the building had been badly damaged one day and the people had simply disappeared The locals say they were attacked by someone Broken windows would be one thing but apparently there are holes in the walls floor and ceiling too A bear wouldn’t be able to do that
Yeah
It was just past eight that evening They were having a barbecue for dinner again and everyone’s excitement had dropped when Mutsuki brought out his wild plant salad
And you know what that means
Sakae had finished telling them a story the locals (who he claimed were his fishing buddies now) had told him
Time For A Test Of Courage
He shined a flashlight up at his face
It takes 30 minutes to walk to that villa and back That’s the perfect distance And it’s a single road so there’s no chance of getting lost
Isn’t that dangerous
Not at all I visited during the day and it was a normal mansion even if it was pretty run down
He had already prepared everything so he pulled out maps of the campground area that he had procured from somewhere
Mutsuki checked one and saw that it was indeed a single road to the ruined mansion he had seen from the slope
And while I was there I left some of my fishing equipment at 3 points in front of the mansion
We’ll split into 3 boy-girl pairs and go bring one of them back That sound good for the rules
The other five did not even try to hide their annoyance but Sakae ignored them and pulled out some lots he had made They were divided between boy and girl and A B and C They had no choice but to draw one each Mutsuki was C
Who’s the C girl
Oh Ibekusa We’re partners then
The test of courage began with a harmonious mood
Team A was Saya and Lucia It was an unusual pairing but it would not be a problem since both of them could get along with anyone When they returned in 30 minutes with a fishing rod they were smiling as if they had enjoyed a nighttime stroll instead of going through a test of courage Ah ha ha That was fun Lu
Yeah I’m glad I got to speak with you Saya I feel more confident now
So do I
Yeah gender means nothing when it comes to love
It was unclear what they had discussed but they did seem to be getting along quite well
Team B was Ange and Sakae
Ange still looked on edge Since the area was so comfortable for demons did it make an angel like her uncomfortable
And Sakae misunderstood her tension
Don’t worry Jiyuuni You have Tomono Sakae the reliable guy by your side so there’s nothing to be afraid of
Let’s just get going
He tried to act cool but she started without him
She must have kept up her quick pace throughout because they were back with a lure set a little faster than Team A’s time
Ow ow ow ow
Wh-what is it Sakae Ange did something happen
Nothing happened He just got scared by a rustling in the bushes and tried to cling to me I was on edge too so I accidentally elbowed him
A hit from the strongest angel’s elbow That was a real tragedy
And with that it was Team C’s turn
Let’s go Ibekusa
Machina nodded and they started walking down the mountain road
The dark road was honestly quite scary
Unlike walking to the lodge the night before they could not see their goal and it felt uncomfortably like they were descending into pure darkness
They had a flashlight but its light was weak and only made the trees blowing in the wind look all the more creepy The summer’s night wind was oddly damp and seemed to cling to their bodies
They would sometimes here rustling sounds from the bushes on the side of the road
(Why do I have to be with Ibekusa now of all times )
He was worried she had noticed him jumping every time he heard a noise from the branches or bushes
He had honestly wanted to be paired with one of the other girls
Ange would just sigh and forget it if he acted a little pathetic and Saya would have talked so much it distracted him from the fear
But he had been paired with the last person in the world he wanted seeing him acting pathetic
I-it’s kind of scary isn’t it
He tried talking to her but she did not respond
She walked calmly next to him as usual She probably only saw this as a game to go grab the items Sakae had forgotten
(Sigh Just calm down Ghosts aren’t real)
They descended the curving road and started down the side road that led to the mansion
He had honestly had a bad feeling when he had heard about the mansion
He could not be certain but he felt like the people vanishing from the mansion had to be related to how much demons liked this place And if wild Succubi had attacked it would explain the holes in the walls and ceiling that a mere animal could not have made But he did not like what that suggested happened to the people living there
His feet grew heavy at the thought of visiting the site of a dozen people losing their lives in a demon attack
(What if a ghost shows up Could Ange exorcise it She is an angel)