Chapter 245: The haunted house (2)

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Amamiya raised an eyebrow, a flicker of surprise passing across his otherwise calm face. 

Beyond the doorway lay a corridor. In the distance, a desolate ghost story town stretched out under the dim twilight. The sun hung low in the west, its crimson orb sinking slowly beneath the horizon. 

"Why... why did it open?" Sajuna blinked, struggling to process the situation. 

"Forget about it!" Her momentary hesitation gave way to excitement as she turned toward Amamiya, her pink hair swaying. "Amamiya, let's go! We can leave!" 

The sight of freedom made her heart leap. Stepping into the corridor would mean completing the haunted house escape task. 

Sajuna barely held herself back from dashing out but stopped in her tracks when Amamiya's sharp voice cut through the air. 

"Don't move!" 

"Huh?" Sajuna froze mid-step and turned to face him, her head tilting in confusion. "What's wrong?" 

"Come back here first," Amamiya commanded, his tone firm. 

"...Oh." 

Although still puzzled, Sajuna obediently retreated, her short legs carrying her back to Amamiya's side. She raised her head, her pink eyes wide with curiosity. "Aren't we leaving?" 

Amamiya pointed to the open door and asked, "What do you see outside?" 

Sajuna leaned forward slightly and squinted. "Hmm… the sky?" 

"And what's that red thing in the sky, setting on the horizon?" Amamiya pressed. 

This time, Sajuna answered without hesitation, "The sun, of course." 

The obviousness of the question baffled her. 'Why ask something even a toddler could answer?' 

"Then," Amamiya said, his gaze sharp as it met hers, "what about the sun we saw earlier from the balcony?" 

Sajuna's mouth opened slightly, her expression shifting from confusion to dawning realization. Her eyes grew wide. 

'The balcony and the entrance face opposite directions.' 

Just minutes ago, she had looked out from the balcony and commented, "The sun is setting." 

Yet now, there was another sun visible from the doorway. 

'Two suns?!' 

"There can't be two suns in the same sky," Amamiya stated calmly. "From a logical standpoint, either one is real and the other is fake, or both are fake. In either case, there's a high chance the scene outside the door is a trap." 

With that, he stepped forward and carefully shut the door. 

'Bang.' 

The sound of the latch falling into place was oddly reassuring. 

Sajuna exhaled a shaky breath, her shoulders relaxing as she hurried back to Amamiya's side. 

Now that she thought about it, it was absurd for the door of a haunted house—one that supposedly traps its victims—to open so easily. 

"What do we do now?" she asked, her small face tilted up toward him. 

If not for Amamiya's observation, she would have run straight into a trap without a second thought. 

'Every mistake is a lesson.' 

Sajuna made a mental note to listen to Amamiya's instructions more carefully from now on. If he said to go east, she would go east; if he said to go west, west it would be. No hesitation. 

"There's one room left to investigate," Amamiya said decisively. "We need to find the key to get inside." 

Sajuna pursed her lips and pouted. "But I already looked everywhere and didn't see a key." 

"No," Amamiya replied, his gaze shifting. "There's one place we haven't checked yet." 

Following his eyes, Sajuna realized where he was looking—and froze. 

At the ghost woman still in his grip. 

"Huh?" Sajuna blinked in alarm. "You don't mean… the key's with her?" 

"She doesn't have any clothes, let alone pockets," she added quickly. 

"Just because she's not wearing clothes doesn't mean she couldn't hide something," Amamiya said matter-of-factly. "In European and American prisons, inmates are strip-searched, yet some still manage to smuggle items using—" 

"Stop!" Sajuna interrupted, her cheeks flushing bright red. "What kind of nonsense are you talking about?!" 

"A 'prison wallet," Amamiya finished casually, ignoring her outburst. 

"You, you, you!" Sajuna stammered, her face glowing like an overripe tomato. "That's a vengeful spirit! Not some prisoner smuggling contraband! Don't say such ridiculous things!" 

Amamiya raised an eyebrow, a sly smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "You understood that term pretty quickly." 

"I did NOT understand it!" Sajuna turned her face away, her ears as red as her cheeks. 

"High school students these days..." Amamiya sighed theatrically. "They know more than they should." 

"You're also a high school student!" Sajuna snapped, glaring at him in embarrassment. 

Amamiya said with a smirk, ignoring her protests. "Now that you understand, the task of checking—" 

"Absolutely not!" Sajuna interrupted, her voice rising in a mixture of indignation and mortification. "If you do something like that, Miss Ghost will go berserk!" 

"…" Amamiya fell silent, but the mischievous glint in his eye remained. 

　　At that moment, a detached, emotionless voice echoed in their ears. 

'(I am a female high school student, and I prefer not to reveal my name. Despite my youth, I've amassed considerable wealth. While playing cards, I despise hearing people say they can't handle Aces.)' 

'(As a supernatural enthusiast, I ventured into Musashino Elementary School. The legend says the easternmost bathroom stall on the second floor houses a ghost story known as Hanako.)' 

'(Now, I hear the laughter of little girls lingering just outside the door.)' 

'(I hope Hanako doesn't find me hiding in the second-to-last stall...)' 

The narration abruptly ended. 

"Shinomiya-san?" Sajuna blurted out, her voice tinged with alarm. 

Amamiya turned to look at her, his expression unreadable. 'You can't handle Aces yourself, yet you're quick to judge others' intentions.' 

"I don't know," Amamiya replied calmly. "The information just now isn't enough to confirm if it's her." 

"The narrator explicitly revealed the hiding place—the second-to-last stall. That's clearly malicious," he added thoughtfully. "This increases the likelihood that the narrator is part of the ghost story." 

He turned to the silent miss ghost beside him, his tone brisk. "Miss Ghost, could you hear the narration just now?" 

The vengeful spirit said nothing, her face a mask of eerie stillness. 

"What a shame," Amamiya sighed, feigning disappointment. "It's much less entertaining to examine an unresponsive ghost." 

Sajuna's eyes widened in horror. "You… you're actually planning to search there?!" 

"Of course. A promise is a promise." 

"Don't keep your word on something so perverted!" 

Without missing a beat, Amamiya handed Sajuna the flashlight. "Here, hold this and light the way." 

Sajuna hesitated, her face betraying a whirlwind of emotions. Reluctantly, she took the flashlight, her grip uncertain. Her heart screamed for her to stop this madness, but she knew their predicament left no other options. 

Amamiya reached out, pulling off the paper bag covering Miss Ghost's head. Her bloodshot eyes stared back at him, but he remained unfazed. Calmly, he pried open her jaw. 

"Shine the light here, Sajuna-san," he instructed. 

With trembling hands, Sajuna stood on her toes and directed the flashlight toward the ghost's mouth. 

"Tsk. No key," Amamiya muttered as he peered inside. "Isn't the saying that the most dangerous place is the safest one?" 

"Wait, what's that black stuff in her mouth?" Sajuna asked, her curiosity briefly overtaking her fear. 

Amamiya reached in with two fingers, brushing against the substance. He pulled back and frowned. "It's cigarette ash and charcoal." 

"Why would there be cigarette ash in her mouth?" Sajuna tilted her head, confused. 

After a brief pause, Amamiya's brow furrowed. "Do you feel like the room is getting hotter?" 

Sajuna raised her hand, fanning her face. "Now that you mention it… yeah. And there's a strange burning smell." 

Amamiya's eyes narrowed as he turned back to the ghost, his tone cold and threatening. "If the key isn't in your mouth, I guess I'll have to check your 'prison wallet'. Sajuna-san, explain what that means to her." 

Sajuna's face turned scarlet, her voice rising in outrage. "I don't understand it either!" 

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," Amamiya promised solemnly. 

Sajuna bit her lip, clearly torn. Finally, she relented, leaning in close to the ghost's ear. Her voice trembled as she stammered through the explanation. 

"There… I'm done," Sajuna declared, stepping back quickly, her cheeks still flushed. "But it's not like she'd understand such a thing anyway—eh?!" 

Under the beam of the flashlight, Miss Ghost's eyes shifted. Then, a hoarse and grating voice, raw as though worn down by screaming, rasped out: 

"Door..." 

Sajuna's breath hitched as she instinctively ducked behind Amamiya. "She spoke?! But we tried—! The door won't open!" 

"Door..." the ghost rasped again, each word dragging painfully from her throat. 

Amamiya's expression sharpened with realization. "I think I understand now." 

Walking over to the bedroom door, he removed the sign hanging on it and flipped it over. Stuck to the back was a small, gleaming key. 

Sajuna stared at it, speechless. "...It was hidden there the whole time?" 

'The darkest place is under the lamp.' 

This hiding spot was even harder to guess than her mouth. 

"Talk about clever," Sajuna muttered, half-impressed and half-annoyed. 

Amamiya inserted the key into the lock. 

'Click.' 

The door swung open, revealing the room beyond. Amamiya raised the flashlight, its beam cutting through the darkness and landing on the bed. 

There, two figures lay motionless. 

Sajuna's breath caught. Her voice trembled as she whispered, "How… how is this possible?"