Ever since being drawn into the supernatural game, Hoshino Ai's nerves had been on edge, suspicious of everything. Apart from Rei, who gave her a sense of security, everything else felt dangerously uncertain.
This was a place where one wrong move could lead to encountering strange beings and losing one's life at any moment.
Just moments ago, she and Rei had walked for so long without seeing a single person. Now, upon entering the eerie Love Heart Love Hotel and reading the check-in rules, footsteps sounded at the entrance. This was definitely suspicious.
'Whoosh!' Hoshino Ai darted behind Rei, clinging tightly to him. Her hands gripped the hem of her clothes, her bright eyes filled with fear. She dared not look toward the entrance but couldn't help but want to see what was happening.
Rei shared a similar mindset, instinctively feeling that the owner of the footsteps was no ordinary person.
The likelihood of it being a supernatural being was high.
He glanced up, ready to activate his ability at any moment.
Two figures appeared in the lobby, one ahead of the other by a step.
The first was a middle-aged man in a black suit. His head was slightly protruding, and his belly was slightly rounded—a typical middle-aged, greasy man.
The other was a woman with shoulder-length black hair, wearing a beige dress and a black hat. She looked around twenty years old, still retaining a hint of youthful innocence from her student days.
Upon seeing Rei and Hoshino Ai, the middle-aged man's eyes lit up, and he hurried over.
"Finally, I've found someone! Do you know what's going on? Why did Tokyo suddenly get so foggy? No matter where I walk, I only find this one hotel," he said.
"Stop right there," Rei warned.
"What's your attitude, kid?" the man retorted.
In that instant, Rei's expression turned sharp, and his tall, sturdy frame exuded a powerful aura.
Even without any special combat skills, his youthful vigor and height were his advantages, not to mention his superpower as a backup.
The middle-aged man's heart sank, and he halted in his tracks.
Meanwhile, the woman with shoulder-length black hair's eyes flickered with surprise, and she couldn't help but size Rei up.
"Handsome, do you know what's going on?" she asked.
'Ding-dong…'
"Welcome," the hotel's mechanical voice sounded again.
A man and a woman entered side by side.
"There really are people in the hotel! I was so scared, thinking it would be creepy and empty!"
The man who entered sounded relieved, his tense tone easing. The girl beside him also seemed more at ease.
The young man had blonde hair, around sixteen or seventeen years old, wearing a black-gray T-shirt and beige sweatpants.
Beside the blonde guy was a girl with chestnut-colored twin tails, wearing a green off-shoulder top with floral patterns and brown shorts. She looked pure and cute, but her bright eyes flickered with a hint of unease.
Their arrival instantly became the new focus in the lobby.
"What's going on? What's going on…"
Suddenly,
the blonde guy seemed to notice something and looked stunned. He raised his hand, pointing…
"You… you're Hoshino Ai, Ai-chan!"
Hoshino Ai was taken aback. The blonde guy rushed over to her, but Rei stepped in front of the girl, blocking the blonde guy.
"Uh, sorry, I got too excited seeing Ai-chan. I'm Ai-chan's fan. I even went to B-Komachi's concert in Sakae City."
"The concert in Sakae City six months ago," Hoshino Ai recalled.
"Yeah, six months ago, I went with my friend Ken. It was amazing! I can't believe I'm meeting Ai-chan here!"
The guy suddenly remembered something and quickly added,
"Oh, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Saw, a student at Sakae Academy, and a loyal fan of B-Komachi and Ai-chan, hehe."
"Nice to meet you, Saw. "
But Hoshino Ai noticed Rei's expression change.
Could it be that he didn't like her talking to other men? Did he think this guy was dangerous, maybe a supernatural being?
Unconsciously, Hoshino Ai's eyes narrowed in thought.
Rei recalled a work from his past life, a series called *Days in School*.
The school and name matched perfectly. The chances of this being a coincidence were slim!
"And she is…" Rei asked.
"This is my classmate, Kuroda Hikari. We're from the same school, Sakae Academy. We bumped into each other at the mall and were heading back together when we got caught in the fog. Eventually, we found this hotel," Saw explained.
Rei's suspicions were confirmed.
This was truly *Days in School*. So, Kotonoha and Kotonoha must exist too, right? They should exist!
"Which mall were you at?" Rei asked.
Facing Rei's question, Saw seemed uncomfortable but didn't refuse.
"The mall about three kilometers from Sakae Academy."
It was Sakae City.
Rei and Hoshino Ai exchanged a glance.
This was definitely a supernatural event. People from different places had encountered the fog in a short time and ended up here. They must have been chosen by the 'supernatural game.'
"Hey, no matter what, I'm the oldest here! You kids shouldn't ignore me. Tell me, what's going on? Why can't we leave? Why is there only one hotel here?"
The middle-aged man suddenly grew irritable, feeling his authority was being undermined by the young students.
"Be quiet," Rei said.
"You…"
'Whoosh!'
In an instant,
the middle-aged man felt a flash before his eyes, and a heavy blow landed on his abdomen. The intense pain made him grimace and let out a painful groan.
"I'm not a fan of violence, but I believe a punch is the best way to calm you down right now," Rei said calmly.
His words instantly calmed everyone in the room.
"I'll say this once. Unless something unexpected happens, we've likely been drawn into a 'supernatural game.'"
The middle-aged man looked bewildered, but the woman with shoulder-length black hair paled, her expression worsening.
"No, it can't be! How… how could this happen to us!"
Even the girl with chestnut twin tails, Kuroda Hikari, looked terrified.
"This isn't an urban legend. It doesn't exist, right?"
But at this moment, facing the surreal reality, their hearts had already begun to accept it.
"What supernatural game? What is this!"
Soon,
with Hoshino Ai's explanation and Kuroda Hikari's additions, everyone roughly understood what a 'supernatural game' was.
The balding middle-aged man struggled to maintain his composure, his legs trembling.
Saw didn't look much better.
Rei observed the four of them closely.
Was there a supernatural being among them? Or were all four of them supernatural beings?