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

Chapter 6: The Investigation Team is Officially Formed

In front of the door, silence persisted for more than half an hour.

Shinomiya Kaguya leaned against the door for a long time before finally standing upright, no longer pressing her ear to listen to the sounds outside.

"The footsteps have gone downstairs," she whispered, then gestured to Takakai and Shijo Maki to move toward the end of the hallway.

The layout of Room 208 was no different from Room 204: a corridor stretched to the end before turning, creating the same odd perpendicular hallway structure.

Near the entrance to the living room, there was also a wall clock. Takakai recalled the time displayed on the wall clock in Room 204, added the elapsed time, and realized that the clock here displayed the same time as the one in Room 204.

Were the clocks in each room truly perfectly synchronized?

Takakai suddenly thought of a rule.

If this rule were entirely accurate, what would happen if I changed the time on this clock? Would it still be "Absolutely accurate"?

Though this thought crossed his mind, Takakai didn't act on it immediately. Testing the rule wasn't a priority right now. It was important to note that something strange had just occurred, seemingly contradicting the stated rules.

Clearly, it was still daytime, yet the rules stated that after 9 p.m., it would become dangerous outside the rooms. However, the bizarre incident just now completely contradicted this.

Perhaps the rules weren't wrong, and it was still safe outside, but an unusual, non-lethal event had occurred.

Alternatively, they might have misjudged the time, and it was actually nighttime. The light streaming in from outside was deceptive; it wasn't reliable to determine the time based on the light filtering through the boarded-up windows.

Or perhaps the rules were wrong, and the so-called living rules no longer held any guiding value—the listed rules no longer safeguarded the survivors in this place.

Taking everything into account, Takakai felt the third possibility was the most likely.

After all, according to the author of the rules, these were "living rules" emphasizing "living" rather than "surviving." Takakai believed that anyone capable of drafting such a set of rules wouldn't misuse words.

Moreover, if the author had managed to leave a copy of the rules in every room, it was likely that, at some point, survivors in this abandoned apartment building had formed a small community, living together. The rules might have been compiled during that time.

But by the time Takakai's group was dragged into this stupid "Sacrifice Game," the rooms had become utterly dilapidated, showing no signs of recent habitation. Even the rules were covered in dust, though not as severely as the other furnishings.

Thus, the rules they held were likely outdated, no longer precise or effective.

This hypothesis only deepened Takakai's unease.

No, it's too early to draw such a conclusion.

The strange event just now didn't breach the interior of the room—at least, they didn't notice anything unusual happening inside. So, the relative safety inside the rooms, as stated in the rules, might still be accurate.

However, neither Takakai nor Shinomiya Kaguya was currently in their original room. From this perspective, Takakai still thought caution was necessary.

Click—

As Takakai pondered, Shijo Maki, who was leading the way, opened the door to the living room and stepped in. Takakai followed, with Shinomiya Kaguya bringing up the rear.

The living room in Room 208 wasn't significantly different from that in Room 204. The main differences were a square coffee table instead of a small round one, a slightly worn-out sofa, and three or four small stools.

The kitchen door hadn't been dismantled and remained intact, though it was ajar.

Takakai didn't see any printed paper placed in this room. Perhaps the previous group of survivors had missed this spot?

"There's no need to worry about this room's safety. This is where I woke up. I've already checked it thoroughly," Shijo Maki said, leaning against the wall and turning to Takakai and Shinomiya Kaguya. As she spoke, she placed the rule sheet she was holding on a cabinet at the side of the living room.

Compared to the image of the "loser girl" Takakai had seen in the original work, Shijo Maki now exuded a temperament quite similar to Kaguya's—a hint of coldness and a commanding aura.

However, Shijo Maki's gaze at most made others uncomfortable, unlike Kaguya's, which was as sharp as a knife.

Ah, in the original story, Shijo Maki was considered either a "failed version" or a "warm version" of Kaguya. While her "failure" aspect was too prominent, often causing her to be overlooked, she was, in fact, the daughter of a top-tier financial conglomerate family.

Her knowledge, vision, and abilities were among the highest of her peers. It could be said that, if the "loser girl" label were removed, Shijo Maki would be an idealized version of Kaguya—a potential ally Takakai should seriously value and strive to recruit.

In fact, her value might even surpass Shinomiya Kaguya's, whose personality, shaped by harsh upbringing, made cooperation difficult.

In contrast, Shijo Maki was a true "little angel." As long as Takakai didn't do anything overly foolish, she would certainly never betray him.

"Takahashi-san, what do you know?"

Shinomiya Kaguya clearly trusted Shijo Maki. Hearing her confirm the room's safety, she turned to Takakai and asked.

"When in the hallway, at first, you were just observing your surroundings."

"At that time, you paid a lot of attention to the man who called himself Old Guo. Your gaze lingered on him multiple times. This interest was not only because he seemed to be the most reputable person in the group, but also for some personal reason of your own."

"Later, when you noticed his unusual behavior—entering a room and locking the door—you immediately decided to find a room to hide in. Your actions were almost guided by his."

"The same goes for when you read the rules. You seemed not to question the authenticity of the content, as if you had known or seen similar things before. So, as soon as you saw them, you understood them clearly."

"I hope you can explain these things. If you are honest, I think we can temporarily form a cooperative alliance. I believe that with my help and Shijo-san, you will realize how immense the support you can receive is."

Before Takakai could answer or even process the situation further, Shinomiya Kaguya spoke in a single, cold but rapid burst.

Clearly, while Takakai had been observing others, Shinomiya Kaguya hadn't been idle.

She had been closely watching Takakai, noting numerous peculiarities, and now laid them all out.

Takakai could sense that both girls in the room were highly vigilant.

Kaguya slightly bent her knees, clearly ready to strike at the slightest suspicious move of him. Meanwhile, Shijo Maki had stepped back a few paces, her left hand behind her back. At some point, she had grabbed an object resembling a rusty dinner knife or fork. Though corroded, a strike with it would undoubtedly "gift" its victim a bonus of tetanus.

Whether they became allies or enemies depended entirely on his response.

Raising both hands to ensure Kaguya and Shijo Maki could see them clearly, Takakai thought carefully before preparing to speak.

Actually, I'm a transmigrator. In my previous world, I participated in many horror story rules forums and loved reading infinity flow novels. That's why I paid special attention to the actions of people who might be "veteran players."

(T/N: Unlimited Flow/Infinite Flow is a genre originating from the CN novel Terror Infinity. The genre revolves around world-hopping involving fictional works (anime, comics, movies, games, and novels) and/or original worlds created by the author.

A genre featuring horror, challenge, and survival games. A character summoned into unique spaces separate from the real world and have to complete tasks, generally stuff like puzzles, survival or horror games. The final purpose is to survive.

Sauce: google.)

He had considered explaining it just like that—or concealing his transmigrator identity and mentioning only his knowledge of horror story rules.

But...

[Don't let anyone know where you're from]

He couldn't recall where he'd seen that sentence before.

Yet at this moment, it suddenly resurfaced in his mind, accompanied by an eerie chill of inexplicable dread.

He couldn't say that.

It wasn't just about not revealing that he was a transmigrator.

Mentioning Horror story rules or Infinite Flow was also out of the question because this was the world Takakai had transmigrated into, and those concepts only existed in his previous world.

He had confirmed this during a prior internet search, realizing that many familiar things from his old world simply didn't exist here.

Though he hadn't thoroughly explored whether Horror story rules and Infinite Flow were among them, if they didn't exist, revealing such concepts would undoubtedly expose him.

Wait—expose him to whom?

This thought left Takakai slightly confused.

But such concerns weren't relevant now, and he quickly set them aside. Once he had decided on how to introduce himself, Takakai gently adjusted his collar and began speaking:

"My name is Takahashi Takakai, 19 years old."

"I live alone in an independent house on XX street, and I've dropped out of school. I don't smoke or drink. Most nights, I play games until 11 p.m. before washing up and going to bed…....."

"Ahem ahem, what I mean is, playing games so much has made me someone with a very active imagination. Because of that, I've thought about combining the rules and notices posted in hotels or supermarkets with horror stories and turning them into works of fiction. I felt like it might make me famous."

"It's just that I hadn't gotten around to executing that idea before this situation occurred. So, when I saw the living rules posted here, I found them both intriguing and familiar. As for the man named Old Guo, his appearance and actions seemed highly suspicious from the beginning. Ever since I entered this place, I've had a hypothesis."

"The voice told me this was my first game, meaning these events have occurred many times before. There must be people who've gone through this repeatedly and accumulated a great deal of experience. I suspect Old Guo is one of them."

"So I decided to observe his actions. If he did anything unusual, there was a high chance something bad would happen. To preserve my life in such a situation, I figured the best course of action would be to mimic him."

Although his explanation veered dangerously close to the classic speech of a maniac obsessed with hands, Takakai ultimately managed to articulate his reasoning. While it might not have been enough to earn full trust, it was at least sufficient to justify his behavior.

To clarify, his claim about planning to write a story on Horror story rules wasn't entirely fabricated. For one, in his previous life, Takakai had genuinely considered such an idea. Secondly, similar musings were recorded in the journal left behind by the Takakai of this world.

Thus, he hadn't lied. No matter how you looked at it, what he said was true.

"… Is that so?"

Shinomiya Kaguya nodded slightly, her expression unreadable as she processed Takakai's answer, giving no indication of whether she accepted it or not.

"Enough with the pretense. Oba-sama must have noticed that this man is clever. Moreover, it's obvious he knows our identities. His expressions when looking at us were different from when he looked at others. Your name is Takakai, isn't it? You know who I am, don't you?"

From the other side, Shijo Maki finally spoke slowly.

She stepped closer to Takakai, twirling the fork in her hand twice. The first half of her comment was directed at Kaguya, but the latter part was a direct question to Takakai.

"I do. You're Shijo Maki, the young lady of the Shijo clan, and Kaguya is the young lady of the Shinomiya clan. During my first year after dropping out, I traveled all over Japan. When Shuchiin Academy hosted an event, I managed to enter once and saw both of your names on the academy's rankings."

Takakai answered calmly.

The parts about traveling across Japan and entering Shuchiin Academy during an open event were consistent with details in the journal. Whether or not he actually saw the rankings was fabricated, but at this point, the extent of his embellishments hardly mattered.

"Ah, so you're well aware of my and Oba-sama's identities. You've even entered the school where we study. And now, we all happen to appear in this haunted place together. Have you considered that your own words might have made you a suspect?"

Shijo Maki's sharp gaze bore into Takakai, her tone growing colder with each word.

"You're right, but it's the truth. Denying it would have been the real mistake. As for me being a suspect, I believe we all understand by now that this situation might seem like a simple kidnapping at first glance, but the forces behind it are far beyond what common sense can explain. Whether it's that eerie voice or the feeling of having our actions forcibly restrained, I think there's no need to overemphasize the obvious."

Faced with this petite yet imposing girl, Takakai maintained a calm tone, his expression steady.

The room fell into a heavy silence.

Shijo Maki folded her arms across her chest, her eyes still locked on Takakai.

Beside her, Shinomiya Kaguya refrained from any overt actions but silently assessed Takakai with an analytical gaze.

"...Fine. Oba-sama, I think this guy might be somewhat trustworthy. But seriously, are you really 19 years old? Why do you seem calmer than people in their late twenties?"

Finally, Shijo Maki sighed, waving her hand dismissively as her tone softened slightly.

Takakai recognized this as a sign that he had earned a basic level of trust from the brilliant girl—perhaps unlocking about 10% of her favorability.

Compared to Maki, Shinomiya Kaguya remained reserved, her continued silence evidence of lingering suspicion toward Takakai.

"Maybe it's because I've gone through quite a lot in life, or perhaps I've been dreaming of adventure stories like this since a young age. Ahaha…"

Takakai scratched his head and let out a dry laugh, offering an unconvincing response.

"But regardless, at least for now, I think we need to work together to figure out the current situation. While I'm confident in my own abilities and having Oba-sama around is a great reassurance, you, Takahashi Takakai, are sharp. I think you can tell that both Oba-sama and I possess extraordinary physical and sensory capabilities. So, as long as you don't do anything shady, we can work together. What do you say?"

With that, Shijo Maki made her decision. She gave Takakai a slightly haughty smile and extended her hand to him.

Did that mean she was speaking on behalf of Kaguya as well?

Takakai noticed that Shinomiya Kaguya seemed slightly dissatisfied with Maki's choice. It was evident that Kaguya wasn't yet entirely convinced or ready to fully lower her guard, and she likely wasn't prepared to propose an alliance herself.

Still, she made no attempt to object, silently acquiescing to Maki's initiative.

"Though I may not compare to the two of you, I'll do my best to contribute what I can."

At least for now, Takakai had earned a temporary place within the group.

In the crumbling, mysterious apartment building, a transmigrated protagonist and two waifus had formed an investigative team. Together, they embarked on a game of survival, racing to escape from real-life horror story rules.

Amid this surreal moment, Takakai couldn't help but muse:

'Huh, why does it suddenly feel like having these two adorable and trustworthy high school girls as teammates is like pleasing some otaku?'