落とし穴１５０堀：夏の怪談リバイバル 廃旅館の正体 (Part1)
**Pitfall 150: Summer Ghost Story Revival - The True Identity of the Abandoned Inn**
**Side: Taizo**
*Creeeak, creeeak…*
Accompanied by that gloomy sound, a woman in a bright red dress appeared from around the corner of the inner corridor. She was a woman who looked completely out of place in this setting.
No, if we’re talking about being out of place, that applied to us as well.
Nevertheless, in this situation, the way she moved with such agonizing slowness stirred up unpleasant imaginings. Goosebumps broke out across my skin, and my instincts screamed that she was dangerous. Following those instincts, I immediately hunkered down, hiding myself to slip out of her line of sight. Yuki and Taiki, sensing the same danger, did the same.
As we held our breath and listened to the fading footsteps, it seemed she hadn't noticed us, and the sound gradually drifted away…
"…Whew."
All three of us let out a deep sigh.
"…Just to confirm, do you think she’s the type we can just casually say hello to?"
"Nope. I vote for 'absolutely lethal'."
"Agreed."
Unanimously, we classified that woman as a dangerous entity. She was not someone to be trifled with carelessly.
"Right. Then the policy is to gather information while avoiding her. First, let’s read the newspapers scattered around this entrance to get the details. I’ll keep watch."
"Understood."
Fortunately, we were in a situation where we could gather some preliminary information, so we began our investigation.
"Taiki. First, show me that newspaper in detail."
I called out to Taiki, who had been scanning the paper with the air of someone reading a complicated document. Since the woman in red had appeared, we hadn't had time to look at it properly.
Now, looking over the paper again, it was undeniably dated September 25, 1923. The content was an article related to the Great Kanto Earthquake. It detailed the damage from the quake that had occurred on September 1st, written in the formal, archaic Japanese style of the era.
Taisho 12. That was back when I was still in the single digits of my age. I had indeed heard from my parents that such an unprecedented earthquake had occurred. There was no mistake. This was a genuine newspaper from that time.
"…Is there anything else?"
"Ah, well… there’s some small, handwritten text at the end of this paper."
"Handwritten?"
At the bottom of the paper he handed me, there were indeed handwritten characters. They read:
*“Due to the government’s focus on the city center, rescue efforts in the mountainous regions have been delayed, resulting in numerous casualties. The Yugen Inn, in particular, is surrounded by collapsed earth and sand. With many dead and no supplies left, those who survived the earthquake have descended into a hellish nightmare, killing one another over the remaining scraps.”*
"..."
Wait. What was the name of this inn again?
"Um, Taizo-san. This inn is called the Yugen Inn, right?"
"That’s right. If you say so, Taiki, then I haven't misheard it."
Good grief, was this intentional? Did they name it this on purpose? Or did they go out of their way to bring us to an inn where such a tragedy occurred? What a tasteless joke.
No, perhaps that’s not it. Perhaps I should say they prepared this situation to force us to take it seriously.
"Taiki. Switch with Yuki on watch. We need to discuss this."
"Understood."
Taiki nodded, and Yuki immediately came over.
"You don't look well. Did you find something troublesome?"
"Yeah, I found something absolutely the worst."
I explained the information while showing him the article. The amount of information wasn't vast, so the explanation ended quickly, and Yuki wore a look of extreme annoyance.
"Bad taste. Honestly, that useless goddess…"
"Usually, I wouldn't go that far, but today, I agree. Well, I suppose it just means she views us as formidable enough to warrant this."
"How troublesome. Still, I’d like to think there’s no actual threat to our lives, but…"
"Knowing her, she probably wants us to get serious. It’s best not to underestimate this."
Underestimating the opponent only to end up being devoured by a monster—that’s not a joke I want to be part of. Setting aside Luna’s intentions, we shifted the conversation back to dealing with our current situation.
"Now, as for how to escape this place…"
"Are there no hints in the newspaper? And why are there so many newspapers from that time scattered here? It says here that supplies weren't reaching this place."
"It’s likely a production. To convey that this is the site of that tragedy. The reason they were scattered here at the entrance…"
"Was to place them where anyone would naturally try to leave, right?"
"Exactly. A very rational layout. The guidance is perfect. And as for the name of the inn, they were even kind enough to put a sign over there."
My gaze fell upon a decaying sign that read, "Welcome to Yugen Inn." In this situation, no one would think the Yugen Inn here and the Yugen Inn in the newspaper were unrelated.
As I thought about that, I read the article again, but…
"It doesn't mention how to escape."
"There should have been survivors, but there’s no description of that."
"Well, they were fighting over supplies, so I suppose they couldn't exactly write the details."
"True. If they describe it as a 'hellish nightmare,' then what likely happened was…"
People killing each other. At worst, they might have even consumed those they killed. It’s a painful story, even if it was necessary for survival.
"Well, it’s a perfect place for a horror experience."
"It seems so. Now, what shall we do?"
"Is there any other information in the papers on the floor?"
"They’re all the same paper. They’re made to ensure we take an interest. I wouldn't say there’s absolutely no information leading to an escape, but…"
"Checking all of these would be back-breaking work. And more importantly…"
*Creeeak, creeeak…*
*Scrape, scraaape…*
"Yuki-san. Taizo-san. On the other side, from the corridor we came from, another one has appeared."
Along with the creaking sound of footsteps in the hall, Taiki whispered this, his lips barely moving. Yuki and I immediately crouched down and gathered toward Taiki.
"Good grief, it seems we don't have the luxury of gathering information slowly."
"Likely, there are patrols like that to ensure we can't stay in one place."
"No, you two are remarkably calm. Even though a blood-stained man with an axe just appeared…"
As Taiki said, we could see the back of a blood-stained man holding an axe within our field of vision. However, he wasn't heading toward us; he was just disappearing into one of the guest rooms, so there was no particular reason to be afraid.
"Should we just take him down? We could probably do it with the three of us."
"Whoa, Yuki-san. That’s the opposite of what we should do in this situation. If anything, that’s a death flag."