"What!?"
The snake man hadn't expected Himeko to say that. But Himeko soon offered an explanation.
"The haunted house didn't begin when we entered the tutorial, but the moment we stepped into the darkness of the main entrance. After we passed through that stretch, the notice we saw at reception-along with the reception desk and everything written on that notice-was all fake, right?"
The smile vanished from the snake man's face, and his eyes narrowed slightly. "How did you figure it out?"
"I started suspecting something when I saw you could change forms. And you kept steering me back the way I came, whether subtly or openly. That made me even more certain that the conditions for clearing the haunted house and failing were very simple."
Standing before the door she had used to enter this space, Himeko offered her deduction.
"Keep moving forward, and you clear it. Turn back, and you fail. That's how most haunted houses work, after all. You probably have other tricks, like leaving various monsters along the path ahead, but we both know those won't work on me."
"So you appeared in front of me and tried to talk me into leaving."
The snake man fell silent. He gave no answer, but silence was often the best answer.
That was precisely what proved Himeko had guessed correctly.
"And if I remember correctly, ever since we entered the haunted house, neither the [staff] nor the [dangerous creatures] have attacked us of their own accord, even when they had the chance. Or could it be... your actions are restricted somehow? You can only attack players after they turn back or attack first?"
"That's why you separated the four of us in this space."
Himeko unraveled it layer by layer, stopping just short of reciting the haunted house monsters' ID numbers.
The snake man opened his mouth, then shut it again. Himeko's guesses were spot-on, and trying to argue his way out would do little good.
Even if he said something now, Himeko would spot the problem a second later, then beat him senseless for stubbornly refusing to admit it.
"You're absolutely right. But so what if you know? What can you change..."
Had it been some other unintelligent dangerous creature that was difficult to kill quickly and slippery enough to escape easily, Himeko really would have struggled to reach the others before the haunted house killed them.
But the snake man had evolved. It could speak human language, and it could understand it, too.
Himeko strode forward and used her fists to tell him exactly what she could change.
"Wait-stop hitting me! Stop!"
Battered and bruised, the snake man lay on the ground.
"Can't you be reasonable?!"
"You're quite right. I can't change anything, but after that, you'll have no leverage left to threaten me with."
Himeko held her weapon against the snake man's neck.
"When that happens, perhaps I might start a fire and burn this entire haunted house, or even the Amusement Park, to ashes."
"I give up! I give up! Please, just take everyone and go! Don't come back!"
The snake man wailed inwardly. What kind of people had he been running into these past two days? Why did they start throwing punches at the slightest disagreement?
They either smashed people with ice or set mountains on fire. He was suffering terribly.
"Where are the others?"
The snake man, who had lost several teeth, flicked out his forked tongue and hissed a few times. Before long, the other three walked back through the original door.
"Huh? Why am I back here again? Wasn't I being chased by a van?"
Muttering, Taco glanced around and spotted Himeko at the edge of the area, along with the burning giant tree.
"Huh? It thawed out? What's going on? Now it's on fire, too?"
Himeko briefly explained what had just happened, and the snake man nodded repeatedly, confirming that she was right.
"Oh-so that's what happened! Can I beat him up, then?"
"Count me in!"
Weir and Taco rubbed their hands together, eager to give it a try.
"Again? Just go clear the place already!"
The snake man couldn't take so many people beating it in turns. Right now, it only wanted to hurry up and send this red-haired terror on her way.
"Wait. I have more questions."
Himeko had no intention of leaving just like that.
She still had plenty of questions about the Amusement Park and the haunted house. She couldn't simply leave.
"Lady, what else do you want to know?"
The snake man really couldn't take it anymore. How could she have so many demands?!
But it had no choice in the face of superior force, whether it wanted to answer or not. If it didn't answer honestly, the saw would come swinging down.
"Oh, whatever you want to ask, I'll tell you everything I know!" The snake man moved the saw blade away from its neck, sincerity written all over its face.
"Why can you speak human language?"
This was what Himeko was most curious about.
Of the vast majority of Amusement Park Monsters she had encountered so far, apart from ones like Himechi Cat that had been peeled off her own body, most had no understanding of human nature and only knew how to bite and tear on instinct.
The few that could speak a little human language could only repeat a handful of simple words, calling out "Mommy" and the like.
One like the snake man, which spoke clearly and could communicate without any difficulty, was genuinely rare.
"Because I'm fucking awesome! You won't find anyone stronger than me in the whole Amusement Park," the snake man said bluntly.
"So that's how it is."
Himeko took him at his word and glanced at her exploration progress.
[Amusement Park exploration progress: 47%]
It had gone up quite a bit, but there was still a long way to go before it met the mission's requirement.
There was no need to rush the exploration progress, though. Right now, she should focus on another condition.
"Are there any hidden rewards in the Amusement Park? Where are they?"
"You're asking that directly? Not even going to beat around the bush and fish for clues?" The snake man froze.
"How would I know?"
The snake man was drenched in sweat, but fortunately, Himeko didn't attack it for failing to answer. After that, Himeko asked her final question.
"When did that pink-haired girl come here? And where is she now?"
The first two questions had come from Himeko's curiosity. She wanted to uncover the park's secrets. If she got answers, everyone would be happy; if not, that was fine, too.
Whether monsters could speak human language didn't change the fact that they died when killed. She could also slowly explore the park for its rewards.
But when it came to March 7th's safety, Himeko couldn't be casual.
"You mean that little terror who came in smashing and hitting things just like you? A couple of days ago, she came running into the haunted house, yelling her head off, and started snapping photos of everything with a camera. A staff member went over to tell her not to take pictures and scared her, so she beat us up and started running around. We couldn't catch her, and she even demanded a refund. But she hadn't even paid to get in."
Snuck in without a ticket?
Himeko remembered the ticket scanner that had been smashed to pieces.
It seemed March 7th wasn't the only one who had entered without a ticket.
Thanks to Himeko, everyone who used the same entrance as her had been classified as a ticket dodger because their tickets couldn't be checked.
Even if they really did have tickets in their hands.
"Where did she run off to?" Himeko asked with some urgency.
"How would I know? That girl ran like she had engines strapped to her feet. She shot right out in a flash. Someone finally managed to get a hand on her, only to get an ice pillar smashed over their head. They still haven't woken up."
Weir listened to every last word and reached a conclusion. "Miss Himeko, it sounds like your friend doesn't really need worrying about."
"That girl... is rather lively."
Lively? In the real world, wouldn't that already be a crime?!
But on closer thought, this place didn't seem particularly legal, either. Even if they killed everything that moved, no one on all of Blue Star could find a single charge to convict them on.
"Which way did that girl go?"
The snake man didn't dare conceal anything.
"After she ran out through the exit, she went toward the Amusement Park's east gate, shouting about Trailblazing, a train, and stuff."
It looked like, from now on, the haunted house would need to put up a [No Trailblazers allowed] sign at the entrance.
Before you continue