落とし穴１１８堀：ここはどこ？ (Part1)
Pitfall 118: Where am I?
Side: Enola
We were currently at the abandoned school, which was supposed to be a recreational facility, at the request of Lady Luna. However, due to an unexpected and bizarre complication, we had decided to leave and report back. But...
"A-it won't open!? What is going on!?"
The entrance door wouldn't budge, trapping us inside. Kagura didn't look like she was acting, and since I had confirmed it was a push-type door when we entered, it was impossible for it to stay shut even after she threw her entire body weight against it.
"Kagura, calm down. Is it locked?"
"Locked?"
"Oh, here it is, Kagura."
"Mikos-senpai, but isn't this already unlocked?"
"Regardless, let's try turning it."
Kagura turned the knob as instructed, but... *Click.*
"No good. It’s already unlocked."
"For now, let's try pushing it."
"Nngh!! It's no use. It won't open."
It still wouldn't budge. We tried turning the knob and pushing several times, but the door remained immovable. Eventually, since the door was made of glass, we tried throwing nearby vases at it, but the glass didn't shatter; only time continued to pass.
Just as I was wondering what to do, I remembered something.
"Ah, we can just contact someone using Call."
"..." "..." "..."
The fact that we had all forgotten we could use Call—myself included—showed just how panicked we had become.
"Let's all try contacting different people. Kagura, you try Yuki-dono. Mikos, try Ria-san. I'll try Lady Luna, and Solo, you try Eoid."
Everyone nodded at my suggestion and immediately tried to make contact, but...
*Static...*
Only an unpleasant buzzing sound echoed back. I thought it was just me, but it seemed the others were having the same issue. That was when I remembered something else: this was a zone where magic and skills were sealed.
*So, contacting anyone was impossible from the start, Lady Luna!!* I thought, but saying that out loud would be a bad idea, so I focused on organizing the situation to calm myself down.
"...Since magic and skills are disabled here, it seems impossible to force our way out," I said, vocalizing the situation to make it clear to myself.
"Then what do we do?"
"...We have no choice but to follow Lady Luna's rules and exit through the back door."
"Ehh!? But there's something in there! I'm sure of it!!"
Solo reacted sensitively to my words, but there didn't seem to be any other way out. I had tried throwing objects at the corridor windows instead of the thick glass door, but they hadn't cracked at all. This meant we had to use the official route to get out.
"Solo, it seems this is the only way, so we'll just have to endure it."
"Uuu..."
"It's okay. Mikos and I will protect you."
"That's right. Here, hold my hand, and you won't be scared."
Mikos said this to soothe the trembling Solo, holding her hand. With this, Solo should be able to keep moving.
"Alright, there's a high possibility that something is in here, so let's avoid unnecessary detours and head for the back door by the shortest route. Agreed?"
Everyone nodded.
"Then let's get going. It's just past noon, but it'll be troublesome if it gets dark. Well, if we're out of contact for that long, Lady Luna or Yuki-dono will likely move... Should we wait?"
"No. I can't wait for hours in a place this dusty."
"Even if we do wait, I think it's better to check if we can get out first."
"...I'd rather get out as soon as possible."
And so, we resumed our exploration of the abandoned school, but...
"That said, where is the back door?"
"Come to think of it, wasn't there a map on the bulletin board at the entrance?"
"Oh, that's right."
"Let's take a look."
Now that they mentioned it, I felt like I had seen one. I hadn't paid attention to it before, thinking I could just leave from anywhere if push came to shove. We stared intently at the bulletin board in front of the entrance, and sure enough, there was a map. It had been overshadowed by Lady Luna's sign, which was probably why it hadn't left an impression.
"Let's see... according to this map, it's on the exact opposite side."
"Well, it is the back door, after all."
"Still, structurally, the closest path would be to take the corridor on the opposite side of the staff room, but that's blocked off."
"The fire shutter is down, so that's definitely..."
As Solo said, the fire shutter was down, making the shortest route impossible. We had no choice but to take the route on the staff room side, but...
"What is this..."
In front of Kagura, who had muttered that, another fire shutter was down.
"We can't get to the other side like this. What should we do..." Solo murmured.
I hadn't expected this area to be blocked off as well. As I wondered what to do, Mikos answered casually.
"Well, there were stairs where we just came from, so doesn't that mean we should go from above?"
"..." "..." "..."
*Huh?* I thought, wondering why we would go up when we were trying to reach an exit on the first floor...
"I see. We can just take a different staircase down to the first floor."
"That's true. The second-floor corridor might not be blocked."
"...Yes, you're right. There was a staircase at the corner. Let's try going to the second floor from there."
Mikos was right, but for some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being led. However, I didn't want to say that in front of Solo. Since we had no choice but to go, there was no point in scaring her and slowing us down. Thinking this, we climbed the stairs and arrived on the second floor.
"It looks like we can't go to the third floor."
"Because the fire shutter is down."
"That's a relief. I was worried we might have to detour all the way to the third floor."
"Then let's hurry."
I took the lead and stepped into the corridor, when—
*Clatter... Slam.*
A door-closing sound echoed.
"..." "..." "..."
The sound came from the direction of the corridor we were about to enter.
"What do we do? It might be the pervert that Solo and Enola saw..."
"W-what should we do?"
Looking at Solo, she was trembling, and I felt we should take a detour...
"How about we just apprehend the pervert? And then squeeze the truth out of them. That would solve it. Mikos-chan, you're a genius!"
"...That's not a bad idea. Yes. We know for sure they ducked into that room, so there's definitely something there. We can seal the two doors, and if someone rushes in to apprehend the pervert, we might find out why we can't leave. If we avoid them now, they might set something up against us. Actually, for someone who created this situation, it's only natural they'd set something up. Regardless of whether I can catch them, I think we should confirm their true appearance and objective."
I feel bad for Solo, but as Mikos said, it's easier to handle if we take the initiative. If we're lucky, we might even find a way to escape.
"I understand. I think Mikos-senpai and Enola-san are right."
Perhaps convinced by my explanation, Solo's trembling stopped, and she seemed to regain her energy from the hope that we might be able to escape.
"If Solo is in, let's act immediately. It'll be a pain if they escape."
"That's right, just like Kagura said. Then, Mikos and I will handle the apprehension, and you two hold the doors from the outside."
"Eh? Mikos-chan is going to be on the apprehension team too?"
"Of course. It's easier to apprehend them with two people, isn't it? Or were you planning to leave it to just me or Solo?"
"Why don't you go, Kagura?"