The Puppeteer had just left the room when he suddenly sensed that something was wrong. He whipped around and saw, to his shock, a Ghost Shadow floating outside the window at the end of the corridor, watching him with a cold sneer.
—As if ghosts had run amok, one classic haunting scene after another suddenly erupted before his eyes.
"Aah—!!"
A scream rang out, echoing through the entire Apartment.
1st floor.
Hearing the shouting from upstairs, two Room Doors opened at once.
The otaku excitedly poked his head out. "The ghost showed up again? Who did she scare this time? She's really active today!"
The graduate student, on the other hand, looked annoyed. "Didn't those guests leave? Why is someone still screaming upstairs? Could it be the new tenant?"
As they spoke, there came a polite knock at the Apartment's front door. The two turned back in confusion, only to see Jiang Xia return and pull the door open from outside.
The Detective had clearly heard the graduate student's muttering. He answered openly, "It was probably Mr. Puppeteer."
"Mr. Banchō?" As the group headed upstairs, the otaku shook his head and refuted Jiang Xia. "He wouldn't be scared senseless by a ghost. He's one of the few kindred spirits who shares my hobby."
Jiang Xia sighed sympathetically. "You aren't afraid of paranormal phenomena because you genuinely like them. But your 'kindred spirit' isn't afraid of ghosts because he's the one creating those paranormal phenomena.
"And now, even though he didn't do anything, a 'ghost' appeared. That's why he's so terrified and out of character."
As they spoke, they reached the Puppeteer's floor and stopped at the stairwell.
The otaku craned his neck out and saw the Ghost Shadow outside the window, not yet fully faded away, as well as the