The strange mollusk people stared at the strange visitors that passed through their lands but quickly returned to their idle lives after they left. Their brains were not developed enough to form complex thoughts about it, and the girls were soon forgotten.

  Caring for the giant trees in the deep layers of the Forest of Illusion was their purpose, which made them a strange kind of monster. Fighting was out of the questions, and even their self-preservation instincts were quite lacking.

  Iroha and her group left them alone. Something that they probably would have been grateful for if they had the ability to be.

  But unlike the peaceful girls, the next group that showed up wasn’t as nice.

  Arriving almost half a day later, a handful of monsters dragged their feet through their branches. These monsters were fairies, just like them, but not of the same kind. They resembled elves with long hair and pointy ears. The kind of being that could live and maneuver in the Forest of Illusions and feel right at home.

  There was, however, something clearly wrong with the elves. Their limbs weren’t moving properly, shoulders slouched, rotted skin. A human would have called them zombies, but the inhabitants of branches just stared naively.

  The ones on the front slowly closed in. They had daggers, bows, and other rudimentary weapons in hand, but their main weapons were their mouths, dripping with hunger.

  Once they got close enough. They lunged. And bit. And ate. Half of the natives ran. The other stared in awe and got caught.

  The last of the group of invaders didn’t attack or eat anything. He carried a crystal ball with both hands, and as he passed by the corpses, the mollusk monsters would rise from the dead. Joining the chase for the escapees.

  But the group was not to disperse too much. These undead were unintelligent, but they had a mission. One that the crystal ball forbade them from forgetting.

  After their numbers increased and the path forward was free of obstacles, the undead headed towards a dark tunnel found on the trunk of the largest tree nearby.

  That was the path their master commanded they take.

  “Where are we now? Is this a haunted house?” The latest door we crossed opened into the dark hall of a wooden mansion. Ririna’s first reaction was to pull out a lantern from her stuff, but the candles on the walls lit up before she could.

  “*Sigh…* Here we go again…” Carol crossed her arms angrily to hide her anxiety. Ghost didn’t affect her at all until somewhat recently. “At least, we got some experience now. We’ll be fine, right?”

  “I think so…” Flanne casually nodded. “I mean, where did you get the haunted idea from? This place seems quite safe.”

  “Are you going to ignore the candles burning on their own?” I asked.

  “We can.” Wait, really? “The candles acting on their own may be weird, but I don’t think there’s anything here that wants to harm us. Or rather, I don’t think there are any creatures in this mansion besides us.”

  The mood really made it look like a haunted house. There were no windows, and relying on the candles made everything dim. Every surface was made of wood, the corridors visible from the hall extended into darkness, and it was eerily quiet. We’re not in the wrong for expecting a ghost or two.

  “I- I’m with Flanne on this one… The Void’s life is very weak here… I almost can’t sense the Pillar’s influence.” Abby was spooked but did her best to do her job while covering her face with her hat. “As strange as it is, I think this is a safe spot.”

  “You’re joking… This creepy mansion is a safe spot? How many years do you think I’ve been adventuring? There’s no way we can actually stay here!”

  “Sa- Sarasa?!” Someone she looked up to argued back to her, and Abby got flustered. “I- it’s true! I swear! This is without a doubt the safest place we’ve come across so far!”

  “Nah… You gotta be messing with us…”

  “We’re not…” Flanne shook her head. “Looks can be deceiving in the Forest of Illusion. Haven’t you seen plenty of that already? We’re all tired from all the walking and need a place to rest, right? We’ll be putting ourselves in danger if we don’t take a break.”

  “And we’re not putting ourselves in danger here? Iroha, let’s keep going. We’ll find a better place to stop soon.” Flanne let out a sigh as Sarasa tugged on my skirt.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  Whatever we decided, Flanne would go along with it, but both she and Abby were sure their decision to rest here was correct.

  Looks have been very deceiving… Flanne’s not wrong… They say the mansion is safe despite how creepy it looks, but who’s to say it’s not the other way around?

  Maybe they see that it is safe, but it is actually dangerous? It’s a big risk to take, and one I can’t accept without first making sure.

  “Well…” Sarasa, Carol, Ririna, and Hecate were all uneasy about this. So was I, truth be told. “What if we take a look around first? If we don’t find anything dangerous, we stay, otherwise, we leave right away.”

  “It’s safe, but if that will put you at ease.” Flanne shrugged. “Follow me.”

  We went down one hallway until we reached a dead end. Then another, and another. Nothing jumped at us. No jump scares, no monsters. The only creepy thing was the way the wood creaked in certain spots.

  There wasn’t a single room we didn’t check, and we found some interesting places. The mansion had a kitchen, a big dining room, and even an indoor hot spring. Are they also interested? I mean, who wouldn’t be?

  For the time being, we returned to the hall to talk it out. “So? Did that clear up your doubts? We can’t stay here forever, obviously, but if we’re going to spend the night in the Forest of Illusion, this is definitely the place to do it.”

  “Ye- yeah… I think we’re fine now…” My voice was getting a little giddy. My girls’ faces were looking much brighter too. Oh no… This feels like a sleepover now… If only the candles didn’t make it so creepy…

  “Good! How about we eat dinner now? The stuff we packed, of course. I don’t think eating food found in the Forest is safe no matter how safe this mansion is.”

  Flanne was worried about the corrupting effect of the mist, but Hecate noticed something else.

  “Please. That food wouldn’t be good for eating anywhere. Didn’t you notice everything in the pantry was spoiled?”

  “Ahahaha…” Flanne let out an awkward smile. How could she forget something so obvious? “It was, wasn’t it? I guess you didn’t need my advice there.”

  “No worries. However, even if the food is bad, the kitchen seemed to be in working condition. If everyone’s fine with it, rather than eating the food we packed as is, I can prepare some dishes for us.”

  “Ehh?! A properly cooked meal in a place like this?! Count me in!” Sarasa vigorously nodded, and the others also agreed. Can’t wait for Hecate to overdo it and gain a skill to make hamburgers… That would come in handy… Not.

  “Ah, wait… Before dinner…” I spoke before anyone walked away. “How are we going to get out of this mansion tomorrow? We looked everywhere, and we didn’t find any way out…”

  “Did you forget about the main entrance?” Flanne pointed at the door behind me.

  “No… That’s where we came from, right? Won’t it just take us back to the clouds?”

  “Probably not… Even if it’s the same door, there’s no guarantee it connects to the same place.” She smiled it off. “Don’t worry too much. We’ll figure something out tomorrow.”

  We left it at that and got ready for dinner. Hecate cooked for us, and then we were off to the baths.

  “Ahhhhhhhh… Feels so nice…”

  The room had one large bath built into the floor that could easily fit all of us. The temperature was perfect from the get-go. A small stream of hot water flowing from a hole in the wall kept the bath nice and warm. I would think more about it and where the hell the water’s coming from, but it’s too nice for that…

  “We’re so lucky to find a bath like this for free… Nyaaa~”

  Carol scoffed. “You call this free? After how much work we did to get here?”

  “Yeah yeah… You’re totally right! Nyahahaha… This is a reward for our hard work. We earned it!”

  When the conversation of taking a dip came around, none of us ended up being able to resist. The water was good, but that didn’t mean this room was great for bathing. For one, there were no candles here, unlike in the hallways. Ririna set up a lantern for us, but we were still bathing almost in the dark. The atmosphere was very interesting…

  “Wa- wait…” I found myself floating towards the center of the bath. “Did we check the water for monsters? What if something shows up?”

  “If you were that worried, you wouldn’t be floating around like that…” Abby gave a little push to the body in front of her. Without her hat on and after letting down her red twintails, she looked almost like a different person.

  “Yeah… who cares if there are monsters in the water right now?” A dreamy sigh escaped Carol’s lips. “If you want us to worry, try getting up first and setting an example.”

  “I’m not getting up! If you’re cool with it, I guess we die here. Could be way worse.”

  “You’re not dying, you idiot… The bath’s good, don’t overreact.” With the last of her strength, Carol lightly kicked me. “And sit up properly… Now Sarasa’s copying you…”

  Another girl drifting around… No one would mind if I took her home, right?

  “She’s too influenceable sometimes. It’s such a pain in the ass…” Ririna pouted. “Wait… I- is Flanne starting to float too? Did she pass out?”

  “No… Just enjoying one of the wonders of life. Don’t mind me…” She started off sitting properly, but she was actually starting to float.

  It will become a problem if there are too many of us acting like idiots, so maybe I should behave for a change.

  “Let me squeeze here~” I crawled over to Hecate and Ririna and forced myself between them. They’re so soft… Between them and the bath, I don’t know which one I like most. No… That’s a big lie… They’re much better. Still… what a waste…

  “What’s wrong? Why are you making that face?” Hecate poked my cheek, and Ririna curiously leaned in.

  “I finally got in a bath with all my girlfriends, yet I can’t do anything because Galene and the others are here… It’s pure torture…” I whispered. “We should have taken turns using the bath…”

  “Ahahaha… You’re so silly…” Ririna blushed and looked away. “I think it’s a bit too early, but… We can try again some other day if you want…”

  “You’re gonna give me a heart attack if you say that…”

  “Too bad, huh, Iroha?” Hecate patted my head. “Ririna may not be ready yet, but if you can’t hold it, you can swing by my room later. I’ll take good care of you…” And took the opportunity to stroke my hair.

  “It’s not that I’m not ready… If you take her up on her offer, invite me too! I’m not getting left behin- Pfft!” All the determination poor Ririna gathered vanished when Carol splashed us. “What was that for?”

  “You were raising your voice. The bath is for relaxation, not shouting.” At the same time, she glanced at Galene and the others.

  Ririna didn’t say another word, and the three of us just sat in silence for the rest of the bath. Probably for the best.

  The night went by without any more antics. We were wiped from the trip, and soaking in the bath completely did us in.

  Telling night from day inside the mansion was impossible, but for us who had phones, it was no big deal. When the morning arrived, we waited for everyone to get up before resuming our journey.

  Flanne believed the door we took to get here would take us somewhere different and get us closer to the Pillar. We gathered in the hall and stepped out into a completely white world.

  “This is… the mist again, right? Not a cloud.” The ground was hard this time, and every footstep made a little tap. Galene immediately realized we were somewhere new.

  “Looks like it… This place is actually…” With a few more steps, the mist slightly cleared up, and we could see our surroundings for the first time. “It’s actually a town…”

  A maze of stone-paved paths surrounded by equally simple houses. The ceilings were high, and there were almost no gaps between buildings. By the time we were able to see, we found ourselves at an intersection. Where do these paths lead? It was impossible to see far with the mist.

  “Which way do we go, Flanne?”

  “That way…” She pointed to our right. “It should be that way, but…”

  “But what? Is it dangerous?” Flanne had a troubled look on her face and didn’t respond.

  “We’re certainly not alone this time…” Sarasa finished the thought for her.

  *Thud!* A piece of wood was knocked over vaguely behind us. No one could find the source of the sound with the mist in the way, but there was something much worse than what we could see.

  “Shadows?” There were definitely living things there… Moving from side to side and keeping their distance.

  “Looks like that’s the case…” Flanne sighed. “Sorry… I don’t know anything about this place, so I can’t tell you much.”

  “As long as you know the way forward, it’s alright. We came prepared to fight.” I was ready. We all were. Some nods were exchanged, and Flanne led the way. “Just a little longer.”