Chapter 50: This is not weakness, but each person has their own strengths.

Chapter 50: This is not weakness, but each person has their own strengths.

"The feeling… is a bit strange, isn't it?"

After tying one of the doll's ankles with a string and attaching it to the backpack strap, Maki turned her head to look at the doll resting on her shoulder, its eyes directed forward. Then, she glanced at Takakai standing next to her, her gaze suddenly becoming sharp.

"What's wrong? Is it uncomfortable hanging like this? Or should I try hanging it on the backpack instead? But if I do that, I'm afraid it will be hard to control the doll's movements."

Takakai, sitting seriously on the ground, asked with an innocent look in his eyes.

"It's just… I have this feeling that something's not right… Oh well, never mind. Oba-sama, let's go. Kai-kun, please take care like the camera and the warning device this time, and alert me and Oba-sama whenever there's danger around."

Although Maki still had some doubts in her heart, she said nothing more. She just reminded Takakai and then moved forward with Kaguya – who was silently standing beside her – towards the third floor.

The deep red doll, controlled by Takakai, sat firmly on Maki's shoulder, moving forward with her.

For Takakai, it was as if he had a second viewpoint, a second body. He could clearly feel Shijo Maki's body through her thin clothing, smell the fragrance of her brown hair – the scent of shampoo. When he reached out and touched her shoulder, he could feel every detail of her skin, as if he were truly touching it with his hand.

Wow, this is actually kind of interesting.

"I feel like the doll's gaze is a bit… strange. Is it just my imagination, Kai-kun?"

Right after that, the doll was lifted, forced to face Shijo Maki's purple-brown eyes directly.

Takahashi Takakai, who was controlling the doll, shook his head repeatedly.

"Don't waste time."

Shinomiya Kaguya, walking ahead, turned around and said, slightly displeased.

"Got it, got it, tsk, old people are so annoying, always urging you at the slightest thing."

Looking at the doll once again, since she couldn't see its expression and it made no sound, Shijo Maki couldn't understand what Takakai was thinking while controlling the doll. She helplessly placed it back on her shoulder and continued walking with Kaguya.

'It's clearly just a doll, so why do I feel so strange? Is it because Kai-kun is controlling it, so I subconsciously see it as Kai-kun? Or is this the nature of this Obsession?'

Shijo Maki thought for a long time without finding an answer, so she temporarily set the matter aside, not noticing that the doll on her shoulder was looking up at her hair before suddenly bowing its head.

"Huff—Ha—"

In the living room, Takakai took a deep breath.

At his age, this was the first time he could comfortably inhale the scent of a girl's hair like this.

If it weren't for the injury and his inability to move freely, Takakai might even want to jump up right there and shout "Saiko Daze!"

But now, he should focus on the task at hand.

Exploring the third floor was no trivial matter. Even though he had "dark thoughts," he needed to choose his moments wisely and couldn't afford to waste time.

Takakai's expression quickly turned serious.

When Shijo Maki and Shinomiya Kaguya entered the staircase leading to the third floor, Takakai immediately pushed aside all unhealthy thoughts in his mind, fully focusing on the task ahead, carefully monitoring every area.

Huddled in a corner of the living room, Maeda Miwa appeared quite frightened.

She watched as Takakai's expression shifted from extreme joy to a dazed look, then to a cold, emotionless face, and finally, a serious and frightening demeanor. Afterward, he slumped onto the sofa, closed his eyes, and appeared profoundly calm, resembling a madman, which made her feel terrified.

Could this man have been possessed by a demon?

Having previously used a stimulant, her mind was not entirely clear, and Maeda Miwa trembled, intending to run out of the house. However, when she saw Takakai open his eyes and look at her, she was so scared she couldn't move.

'What's wrong with this woman?'

Takakai was confused, not understanding what was going on with her.

But this didn't bother him much. At that moment, the focus was still ahead, where Shijo Maki and Shinomiya Kaguya had entered the third floor.

...

"It's really chaotic to the point of being unbearable. A building with this structure surely couldn't exist in the real world…"

Looking at the tables, chairs, and upside-down cups floating on the ceiling, Shijo Maki couldn't help but murmur in amazement.

"That's true. After all, this is a place like a nightmare. Be careful, we must pay attention to the sound of footsteps. The footsteps on the third floor are the traces left behind by [the debt collectors]. We mustn't let the sound of footsteps be discovered. But by following the direction of the footsteps, we can find Room 304."

Shinomiya Kaguya reminded her and proceeded forward. First, she crossed a winding corridor, then carefully peeked around to confirm that there was no danger before moving forward again.

Shijo Maki followed immediately, staying alert and keeping an eye on the blind spots in Shinomiya Kaguya's view, the two girls moving step by step in this completely distorted building.

"Up ahead."

Shinomiya Kaguya suddenly whispered.

Three porcelain dolls walked out together from a door not far ahead.

"Here."

Shijo Maki immediately spoke up, taking action first. Shinomiya Kaguya, without hesitation, followed her, and the two immediately hid on top of a cabinet that Shijo Maki had just discovered and mentally noted.

"Let's go."

As the dolls passed by, Shinomiya Kaguya jumped down, and Shijo Maki landed steadily on the ground. The two continued moving forward.

After going a little further, Takakai noticed a doll silently approaching from behind. He tapped Shijo Maki's neck, and she immediately turned around, spotting the doll, then whispered to Shinomiya Kaguya, "Behind!"

Then, Shinomiya Kaguya quickly moved toward the cabinet she had noticed during her 3-second scan.

Without a sound, Shinomiya Kaguya crouched down lightly, then jumped nearly two meters high, directly flipping onto the cabinet and stretching out her hand.

Shijo Maki, following closely behind, almost simultaneously jumped, grabbing Shinomiya Kaguya's hand, and together they landed firmly on top of the cabinet. Their rapid speed and smooth movements left Takakai, who was watching from the outside, in awe, unsure how to evaluate it.

"Hmm… a bit cramped…"

However, because the cabinet was quite small, Kaguya and Maki had to hold each other, and the doll controlled by Takakai accidentally fell between them, getting stuck in the middle and unable to move.

What's this feeling?

Sitting on the sofa, Takakai couldn't help but fall into thought.

Happiness? Heaven?

It felt like being gently embraced.

There was also a bit of warmth.

But the feeling wasn't very deep, and it was somewhat uncomfortable.

How should I describe this feeling?

This question contained philosophical depth.

Takakai couldn't find an immediate answer and simply sat still, thinking, which caused Maeda Miwa, curled up in the corner of the room, to become frightened once again, thinking that Takakai was contemplating something terrifying.

Before long, the danger passed. Shijo Maki, emotionless, jumped down from the cabinet first, holding the doll in her hands. She stared at it for a moment before placing it back on her shoulder.

Takakai rubbed his shoulder, where he had a small injury caused by Shijo Maki inadvertently using too much force while holding the doll.

When subjected to external force, it seemed like the doll would respond by doubling the force back onto the user.

As expected, using Obsession wasn't easy. These things always have both advantages and drawbacks.

"Earlier, when Oba-sama and Kai-kun explored, was it like this too, stuck together on the cabinet?"

Shijo Maki glanced around and, seeing no immediate danger, unhappily asked Shinomiya Kaguya, who was jumping down from the cabinet.

"...Does it matter? Focus on the task at hand."

Shinomiya Kaguya, momentarily halted by the question, didn't change her expression and coldly answered before continuing forward.

"I... uh..."

Shijo Maki, stumped by the retort, couldn't come up with a response and fell silent, continuing to move forward.

Does it really matter?

That person was just a boy she had met four days ago, what kind of relationship could he have with her?

The feeling was a little confusing, like there was some slight displeasure.

But when that guy was stuck between her and Oba-sama, it had to have been intentional, right?

Shijo Maki glared at the obedient doll sitting on her shoulder.

If the current situation weren't so unsuitable, she would definitely teach him a lesson.

Her complaints were quickly suppressed as Shijo Maki continued following Shinomiya Kaguya. Not long after, the two of them found the door to Room 304. This time, they were much faster than when Kaguya and Takakai cooperated, cutting the time nearly in half, with extremely high efficiency. They only had to avoid the porcelain dolls three times, and even the dolls that moved silently hadn't noticed them; they had detected them first and managed to avoid them in time.

The two of them didn't even need to find a room to rest for a while. Their stamina had hardly been depleted.

'Their efficiency seemed to far outpace mine…'

At this moment, Takakai felt quite embarrassed.

It felt like his first exploration, compared to the teamwork of Shinomiya Kaguya and Shijo Maki, was worlds apart.

No, wait, that's not right. It's not that I'm worse, it's that each person has their own strengths.

He could only tell himself that before, he had been assigned to a position that wasn't really suitable. Perhaps being in the back like this was better.

Consoling himself internally, Takakai redirected his attention to Shijo Maki.

Shinomiya Kaguya took out the key and opened the door to Room 304 again.

Creeeak—

After the unmistakable sound of the door opening, a dark hallway appeared behind the door.

Empty, filled with trash bags and bottles of alcohol, the strong stench of alcohol spread through the air.

This time, when observing through the doll's perspective, Takakai didn't notice anything unusual.

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