Does this thing really count as a vehicle?

After asking everything she wanted to know, Himeko did not kill the snake once it had served its purpose. But beside her, Weir tugged at her sleeve and began egging her on to kill the stupid snake for the rewards.

"Miss Himeko, think of all that lovely cash!"

"Uh... the Astral Express doesn't need upgrading."

"What if you kill it and it drops something useful? Snake-poop coffee? A complete set of high-end cookware?"

Himeko was tempted for a moment.

"No! Don't listen to him! I don't eat coffee beans! My digestive system works perfectly well, too!"

Snake Man was terrified that Himeko would get carried away and slice him up, skin him, and rip out his tendons.

"All I usually do is kill a few people and listen to their dying screams to cheer myself up. I'm certainly no heinous villain!"

"Listen to that! Is that anything a human would say?!" Weir kept clicking his tongue as he hid behind Himeko, repeatedly signaling with his eyes for the others to come hide, too.

"I'm a snake! Why would I talk like a human?! Hiss, hiss, hiss~~~"

Snake Man seethed, itching to charge forward and tear Weir's mouth apart.

"I have no intention of becoming its enemy, and I trust it won't give us any trouble now. Isn't that right, Mr. Snake Man?"

Himeko gave him a way out, and Snake Man practically scrambled headlong to take it. "Of course, boss. The exit is that way."

Snake Man respectfully pointed Himeko toward the exit while taking out a walkie-talkie.

"Everyone, listen up! If anyone dares give our honored guests a scare, I'll dock five hundred years of their wages! Acknowledge when received!"

With that, he put on an ingratiating smile.

"Everyone, this way~"

Following his directions, Himeko pushed open the door and found herself at the Haunted House's exit. She could even see the paths through the Amusement Park.

This was unquestionably a speedrun.

They stepped outside one after another. Apart from Himeko, each of the other three received a notification.

[Successfully cleared Amusement Park Key Area: Haunted House. Rewards: Skill Draw Attempt ×1, Vehicle Level +1]

Himeko knew nothing about this. After stepping through the door, she stopped the others.

"Everyone, hold on."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"I'd like you all to find somewhere relatively safe and wait a moment," Himeko said, turning back to stare at the Haunted House's exit.

Weir immediately understood and began preparing to make a run for it.

"You got it. Go ahead, don't worry about us! Even without Miss Himeko, we'll carry on..."

"You really have a way of making things sound awful." Washana covered Weir's mouth in disgust. Taco was rather confused.

"Wasn't what he said perfectly normal?"

"If you think he's normal, that can only mean you're not normal either."

These three teammates were a little odd, but at least they were not too slow. Much of the time, they understood the purpose behind her arrangements without needing much explanation.

Without hesitation, Himeko followed the Amusement Park's paths back toward the Haunted House's main entrance.

"What's she going to do?" Taco scratched his head as he watched Himeko walk away.

Washana opened her mouth, then closed it again. She was not particularly willing to explain the plot to this guy with a rusty brain.

"I'll handle this. Himeko's gone to farm monsters."

Taco opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Weir shut it for him.

"Just now, I asked Himeko whether she wanted to attack. Her answer was that the snake's abilities were a little strange, and she wasn't sure she could finish it off while protecting all three of us. So she chose to bring us out first, then go back alone to pick a fight."

"When did you two even discuss that???"

Taco's eyes widened as he tried to recall Himeko and Weir's earlier conversation, to no avail.

"That's not important."

"Fine, you're right."

"Were we holding her back again?"

Himeko had already disappeared from view. Washana clenched her fists, seemingly unwilling to accept it.

"No, we weren't. Oh, correction-I wasn't." Weir flashed a mysterious smile and beckoned the other two closer.

"Don't you find it strange? We got the Haunted House's rewards so easily. Could the place with the highest danger level really be that simple?"

"Uh... why wouldn't it be? Didn't the other monsters act the same way when they saw Himeko?"

Having followed Himeko from the start and witnessed firsthand how she killed anyone or any monster that stood in her way, Taco naturally saw nothing wrong with it.

"Then let me ask you: what was the Restaurant's danger level?"

Taco thought back and answered, "One."

"And what was the highest level of the monsters that appeared?"

"Three."

Taco remembered Pig Trotter Rice King's level very clearly.

"What's the Haunted House's danger level?"

"Three."

"And what level was that Snake Man who called himself the strongest? Don't tell me you didn't scan him out of curiosity."

"Also three... wait, you mean-"

"Exactly. It's not the Haunted House's boss at all. I even suspect we never left the Haunted House."

Weir signaled for everyone to check their Exploration Progress.

[Amusement Park Exploration Progress: 47%]

"I've been watching this thing since we stepped into the Haunted House. It went up by 5% when we entered, then another 5% when we saw that shifty-eyed snake. But it barely changed after that, right up until we left. Even if it did, that was probably down to other contestants somewhere else."

"But we already got the rewards."

"They must be sugar-coated bait to make us lower our guard!"

Washana wavered a little. "Are you sure your guess is right?"

"No idea. If I'm wrong, it doesn't matter. That snake will be done for in a bit. But if I'm right..."

"I have a way to check." Taco's gaze sharpened.

"String Bean, String Bean, tell me whether what Weir just said is true."

[I'll give you the most truthful...]

"Get lost, and take your idiotic AI with you!"

Washana flung the Smart Glasses aside and looked at Weir.

"Why didn't you tell Himeko something this important?"

"If everything really is as we think, I'm afraid that snake would overhear any normal conversation we had. The only reason I'm saying all this so openly is my Guardian Deity."

[Spatial Transfer: Three-Star Guardian Deity. Can only be activated once per station and requires a fairly long charging period before activation. Upon use, transfers everyone within a small area to an Anchor Zone preset by the user.]

"What are you planning to do?!"

"Run away, of course!"

Weir laughed wildly as light began to glow beneath his feet.

He had already begun charging when Himeko told them to find somewhere safe to hide.

All that talking just now had also been a way to stall for time and get the snake that might be secretly watching from behind the scenes to lower its guard.

After the light flashed and faded, the three of them vanished. They reappeared in the Restaurant.

Thanks to Himeko's forceful attack earlier, this place was exceptionally safe.

While there was no guarantee other contestants would not come, at least it had been thoroughly cleared of monsters.

Once they were somewhere safe, Weir showed Washana his completely empty pocket.

"Besides, who said I didn't tell Himeko?"

Meanwhile, Himeko had circled back to the Haunted House's main entrance.

In her hand, she held Weir's [Chariot].

[Chariot, level two. The Sun-Setting Empire Contestant's exclusive vehicle. I know it's complete bullshit to say this thing will turn into a so-called train someday, but the fact that it can be drawn only proves it really is in the gacha pool.]

[Level one effect: This vehicle can be handed to any contestant. While holding this chess pie... vehicle, any holder can cosplay as a walkie-talkie, establish contact with Weir, and open a voice channel. The holder gains a special ability bonus: Short-Range Warp. Upon use, the holder can appear anywhere within a five-meter radius of themselves. Cooldown: one hour. (Does this thing really count as a vehicle?)]

[Level two effect: Weir can initiate a castling request. Once the holder agrees, Weir can teleport once within a fifty-meter radius. After this teleport, the holder will be summoned to Weir's side. (Castling... what's the idea behind moving the king next to the opposing rook?)]