HTPTMOTMM Chapter 15

The Devil's Garden

The purple room in the annex, which was the subject of much gossip, was decorated like an ordinary child's room. The only difference was that there were many purple objects in the room, just like its name suggested.

According to the game's setting, the annex was previously used as a dormitory building for children but was now closed. And the owner of this room was a child who had once lived in Redford Manor but had passed away early due to an unfortunate accident.

However, the child's spirit still remained in the manor, and occasionally the sound of a child's footsteps could be heard in the annex. And the woman in a black veil who appeared in front of this room was known to be that child's mother...

Come to think of it, that was just how players interpreted it after seeing a woman looking for a child - the official setting never specifically said she was the mother.

Anyway, I entered the purple room and found the purple ribbon. The question from the woman in the black veil earlier contained a hint about what I needed to find in this episode. Since I already knew the content of this game, I didn't search the entire room but only checked the necessary places.

The jewelry box in the second drawer of the bedside table next to the bed. Inside it was the purple ribbon I was looking for. Since this was the first episode, it wasn't content that would drag on for long. So I tried to leave the room with the ribbon.

[Why aren't you answering?]

"Ahhhh!"

Bang!

If only the door hadn't slammed shut right in front of my eyes with a loud noise.

[I asked you a question, so why aren't you answering?]

"Don't, don't come close!"

The bewildered voice of Room 4 could be heard from outside the door. Ah, that useless old man. I told him to hold the door properly, but he didn't listen.

When the door was open, there was no particular feeling inside the room, but suddenly blatant cold air began to seep out.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

I shot at several objects in the room where smoky mist had begun to emanate with the gun I was holding.

Then, with a click, the door that had been locked just moments ago opened by itself.

"Uncle, I told you to hold the door properly, didn't I?"

"Hic!"

When I came out to the corridor, I saw a man cornered by the woman in the black veil, stuck to the corridor wall like gum.

As soon as I came out of the room, the face of the woman in the black veil turned toward me. I felt her piercing gaze and ran down the corridor.

"Anyway, I'm going first, uncle. The door will open in about 5 minutes, so bear with it!"

I wished the episode would end here, but there was still work to be done.

I had to take the purple ribbon from the room to the top floor of the annex. The place where the child who owned this ribbon had died. So I had to bring this item to the place where red corpse flowers had bloomed on the child's body for the annex door to open.

The woman in the black veil abandoned the Room 4 man and started chasing me. Depending on how many times I answered the woman's questions earlier, her chasing speed would vary, but with two times, I could escape without being caught even without much interference. As I said, this was only the first episode, so the difficulty wasn't that hard.

[Give... it... back...]

The ghost's voice echoing from behind was so thin and pitiful that I felt like I had become a wicked villain.

A little later, I reached the end of the corridor on the 4th floor where a mirror was mounted on the wall. I put the purple ribbon into a vase decorated with white chrysanthemums as if honoring someone's spirit.

Whooom.

Then, for a moment, I felt the air trapped inside the annex ripple.

Meanwhile, the woman in the black veil had arrived right behind me. When I turned around, I saw a hand reaching out toward me.

But that hand passed by me and touched the white chrysanthemums.

Flash!

At that very moment, white light spread across my vision. The woman's black veil fluttered. For a brief moment, what was revealed through it was vivid red hair like roses.

'Huh?'

I hesitated at the sight of the woman's appearance, which I had never seen directly in all my previous game rounds.

And before I could feel any doubt, a familiar yet unfamiliar vision appeared before my eyes.