Forty-Minute Speedrun, Reward: Karuta's Edict! Factory Master Z Appears: Six-tailed Fox, Death

Uesugi Tetsu stood at the doorway without moving an inch.

It was as if he could not hear the fox-masked woman beside him.

He could see thirteen empty chairs arranged one after another on either side of that figure.

After remaining silent for a long while, he turned his gaze toward the fox-masked woman beside him, who was bowing deeply.

Uesugi Tetsu raised his head again and looked toward the only figure standing in the center of the vast hall behind the door.

That was another fox-masked woman.

She was exactly identical to the one beside him.

The fox-masked woman beside him spoke as if urging him on:

"The fifth round of the Grand Karuta Tournament has already begun. My lord, please come in."

Uesugi Tetsu still stood where he was and let out a laugh.

"So it really was you."

He closed his eyes and recalled every fox-masked attendant he had seen in Hanafuda Market, remembering their movements, tones, postures, and gazes.

"I already felt that something was wrong... Even if they wore identical masks, how could attendants possibly be so similar?"

The fox-masked woman in the center of the hall said nothing. The voice of the woman beside him had already turned cold and hard, like the stiff grinding of mechanical gears meshing together.

"My lord... please enter..."

If I don't go in and progress the scenario soon, I'll probably black out again like I did at the entrance to Hanafuda Market.

"All right, then. I'll go in."

Uesugi Tetsu shrugged and stepped into the hall without further hesitation.

The instant his entire body entered the hall, a faint bang came from behind him.

The redwood doors behind him had closed.

When Uesugi Tetsu turned around again, he saw that the fox-masked woman standing not far away had