落とし穴１６３堀：攻略方針 (Part1)
**Pit 163: Strategy**
**Strategy**
**Side: Yuki**
We were currently gathered in the living room of the house provided as my base, deep in discussion.
"...Honestly, what a troublesome first dream to have."
"...Indeed."
That’s right. Due to Luna’s usual antics, we had been tossed into a different world as a "first dream." Apparently, the source of this world was a visual novel eroge called *Twilight Town*.
Well, for someone who actually played the game, seeing the characters might be fun, but I’ve never touched it. I had originally intended to spend the thirty days here in a relaxed manner, but...
"Why on earth does the town get blown to bits? What kind of scenario is that?"
According to Taiki, if things continue as they are, this town will be obliterated in twenty days.
I suppose there’s a chance nothing will happen, but I can’t exactly ignore a warning like that.
"And besides, why would a simple romance game have an element where the town explodes? The manual didn't seem that ominous."
The art on the manual—or rather, the package illustration—didn't seem out of place. It just showed the four main heroines with the town bathed in the red glow of twilight in the background.
Honestly, there shouldn't be any "town-destroying" elements in a romance game. Not unless it’s a sci-fi or horror scenario.
"The synopsis didn't have anything strange in it, either."
"You didn't read the manual from cover to cover, did you?"
"Hm? No, I read the controls and the character introductions, but..."
"No, no, I mean the place names and that sort of thing."
"Ah, I’m the type who reads that stuff later. I mean, who reads that first?"
If you learn too much about the setting beforehand, it leads to spoilers. My stance has always been to read up on the characters, but avoid the deeper lore.
"So you're that type. But this time, I’d like you to set aside that pride and read it. Or rather, let me explain it to you."
From there, Taiki began explaining the world of this game.
Simply put, *Twilight Town* masquerades as a standard romance game, but beneath the surface, it’s a hardcore horror story.
The protagonist had left this town originally because the spiritual disturbances were so severe that his health suffered, forcing him to seek treatment at a large hospital in another city.
The protagonist knew it was the work of ghosts, but he also knew his parents wouldn't believe him, so he went along with it quietly.
Naturally, leaving the area caused his health to improve, and after a few years, he was completely healthy.
The story begins with him returning to his birthplace now that he’s recovered.
"I get the premise, but how does the protagonist's spiritual affliction lead to the town being wiped off the map?"
The leap in logic is too great. And the requirement that he must be "united" with one of the four heroines makes absolutely no sense.
"Er, I don't know the exact details, but from what we've gathered so far, it's clear that all four heroines are suffering from their own spiritual afflictions—or rather, they're victims of the horror elements, right?"
"Well, yeah. It is a horror story, after all."
It would be a scam if the heroines weren't involved in that kind of business in a horror-themed game.
"Right. And since the protagonist is going to live here, he can't live a normal life without dealing with the root cause, so he sets out to solve it. In the process, he resolves the heroines' spiritual afflictions, which in turn removes the cause of the town's destruction."
"Okay, Taiki, you're jumping to conclusions again. You haven't explained why saving a single heroine saves the town."
The process and the result aren't connected. It’s like saying 1+1 equals 10 instead of 2. Where did the other 8 come from?
"That’s just how the scenario is written. If he doesn't end up with a heroine, he collapses on the 18th day and leaves town to see a specialist at a big hospital. Two days later, you hear on the news that a massive gas explosion occurred, causing a catastrophe where over half the town's residents were killed or injured."
"That’s absurd. The cause and effect are completely lost on me. And what kind of 'gas explosion' kills half a town?"
You’d need carpet bombing to achieve that kind of result. Unless there was a massive gas facility nearby, but usually, houses aren't built near such dangerous sites. In other words, even for the sake of a story, it’s an incomprehensible situation.
"The news report claimed that flammable gas had accumulated in the sewer system running beneath the town and ignited."
"If it’s underground, why would it cause that much damage above? And for an explosion to blow the whole town away, you'd need a strategic nuke. At that point, everyone on the surface would be dead. That’s some sloppy reporting."
"Well, it is a game world. Or maybe there’s a secret research lab for strategic nukes under the town."
"No way. That’s too far removed from a horror story. Besides, if the protagonist and heroines were feeling sick because of a nearby nuclear facility, there would be way more victims. The people at the lab would have noticed, and if it leaked, it would be a massive scandal."
"Ah, when you put it that way, you're right. But that’s all the information I have."
In other words, there’s almost no reliable intel. If I knew the cause, I’d march in and crush it, but I can't do that.
"If we don't know, then it can't be helped. We’ll just have to solve each of the heroines' problems. If we do that, the town won't vanish. Whether the protagonist succeeds in 'conquering' the heroines, fails, or collapses from spiritual possession, it won't matter."
"That sounds like a rather heartless proposal."
"Then Taiki, you should get involved with the protagonist and help his romance bloom. Though I think helping someone else's love life is the most difficult task there is."
To me, other people's love lives are far more troublesome. I can safely say that heading straight for the source of the horror is a more viable path.
"My apologies. We’re basically treated as mobs, so maybe that approach is better than running around trying to make a romance work. But are you sure? We’ll be the ones getting directly involved with the heroines."
"That’s the problem. Can't we just go in ourselves and smash the source of the strange phenomena? Does it have to be the person involved—the heroine—who goes there to solve it?"
It’s a common trope that the cursed person must be present to break the curse.
"Ah, I honestly don't know. But wouldn't it be more stable to follow the scenario rather than taking a gamble? We'd just be replacing the protagonist as the escort."