Rikka excitedly pulled the black-haired girl over. "Hey, remember when I first played? Yukino here totally saved my butt!"
The pink-haired girl waved cheerfully. "I'm Chika! Nice to meetcha. Thanks for showing us the ropes!"
"...Yukino," the black-haired girl muttered coldly.
Some players had already started trudging up towards the castle on the mountaintop.
Chika hugged herself, shivering. "Geez, it's freezing! Should we head to the castle too?"
It was Golden Week back in the real world - sunny and warm, with everyone in light clothes. But here? Ice and snow everywhere. The bone-chilling cold was already seeping in after just a few minutes of chat. They needed shelter, stat.
Even knowing the castle was probably dangerous, they had no choice but to go.
"Let's move," Natsuki nodded, taking one last look around.
A small, snow-covered mountain. They'd spawned about halfway up. Behind them, a dense forest, many trees collapsed under the weight of snow.
[You notice something odd about the forest in front of you]
"Huh?" Natsuki blinked at the sudden prompt. What's weird about it? Spill the beans already!
"Natsuki, come on!" Chika called. "We'll turn into popsicles if we don't get moving!"
Shaking off his confusion, Natsuki joined the girls in trudging through the snow towards the looming castle.
It wasn't far. Soon, all the players huddled outside the massive gates.
One player hesitantly approached the heavy wooden doors, giving them a light push. To everyone's surprise, they swung open silently.
The group exchanged uneasy glances. No one was eager to enter, but with the biting wind at their backs, they didn't have much choice.
Natsuki took a deep breath and stepped inside first.
The castle was eerily empty.
"Oh!" Chika's eyes lit up suddenly. She struck a dramatic pose, hand on her hip. "I've got it! It's the Blizzard Villa!"
............…..
"Snowstorm Manor..." Chika muttered softly.
Natsuki pondered for a moment. She's right, he thought. It really does fit the bill.
A deserted castle. A raging blizzard. Players trapped inside, isolated and helpless... It's textbook perfect.
The Snowstorm Manor trope is a classic in mystery novels. A group of unfortunate souls get stranded in a closed-off place, cut off from the outside world. Then, surprise surprise, a murder happens.
Could be a remote island with no way out. Or a villa where a flood's washed away the only road. Even a hotel on lockdown 'cause of some disease outbreak.
These Snowstorm Manor stories are a dime a dozen in the mystery genre. Some are so good they'll have you on the edge of your seat. But trust me, you wouldn't want to be one of the poor saps stuck in one for real.
As Chika's words sank in, the other players started to catch on.
"You're right, this is totally a Snowstorm Manor setup."
"Hold up, weren't we supposed to be in a horror game? When did this turn into a murder mystery?"
The mood quickly took a nosedive. The loners in the group started keeping their distance, eyeing everyone suspiciously.
Anyone who's binged Detective Conan knows the drill - in a Snowstorm Manor scenario, someone's bound to end up dead. And the killer? Usually someone you'd least expect.
Just then, Chika stepped up to the plate.
"Come on, guys, let's not do this," she pleaded, clasping her hands in front of her. "We should be working together to beat this game. It's already dangerous enough as it is. If we can't trust each other, we're just making it worse for everyone."
So bright! Is this what they call the light of hope in dark times?
Too bad it's not that simple. When you know there might be a 'wolf' in sheep's clothing among you, trust doesn't come easy.
"How about we all show our game panels?" some random player suggested. "We could check out each other's main quests."
Natsuki shook his head. "No can do. I already tried that earlier. The display function is locked. We can't show our panels to anyone else."
The player who spoke up frowned. "So... some people really do have different main quests than others?"
"I've got an idea," Rikka piped up, pulling a tiny mirror from her pajama pocket. "I got this magic mirror from a blind box the other day. It can detect lies. It's super accurate."
"Huh?" Chika's eyes went wide. "Like Snow White's magic mirror?"
"Pretty sure it was the Evil Queen's mirror, not Snow White's," Natsuki deadpanned. "And that thing's tiny. What are you gonna do, check for lies in people's pores?"
The "magic mirror" Rikka was holding was barely the size of half a palm. You'd struggle to see your whole face in it.
"Here, look," Rikka said, revealing the mirror's properties.
[The system displays the magic mirror's attributes to all players]
Natsuki peered at the mirror, surprised to find Rikka wasn't just spouting nonsense. It really was magical.
[Item: Magic Mirror]
[Origin: The Land of Honesty] [
Attribute: Prevents lies when looking at your reflection]
[Note: Acquired by a certain Gray Witch during her travels. She infused it with 'honesty' magic. Every morning, she asks it: "Who's the cutest in the world?" The answer? "Me, of course!"]
"Cute or not, she's definitely winning gold in narcissism," Natsuki thought.
Rikka's ahoge bobbed as she demonstrated. "I love tomatoes!" she said, then grimaced. "I hate tomatoes! They're terrifying! The seeds are monster eggs that'll hatch in your stomach!"
Natsuki rolled his eyes. "When you dislike something, you'll come up with a million reasons. No matter how ridiculous."
"Ooh, let me try!" Chika bounced excitedly.
Rikka handed it over. Chika peered at her reflection. "Magic mirror, I hate ramen-" She blinked in surprise. "I love ramen!"
"Of course! Who could hate something so delicious?" Chika beamed. "Kaguya, your turn!"
Kaguya frowned at the mirror. "What should I say?"
A dangerous question popped into her mind. This mirror could reveal her true feelings...
"I don't like any of the boys around me..." The words almost slipped out.
No. Patience. What if the mirror didn't deny it? Wouldn't that be like confessing?
Never surrender!
"Mirror, mirror, I like cilantro..."
"No, I don't like cilantro."
Natsuki gaped at her. "How can you not like cilantro? It's amazing!"
"It's revolting," Kaguya crossed her arms. "I can't stand it."
"What a shame. You're missing out on one of life's great pleasures."
"I don't feel like I'm missing anything at all."
"..."
"Here." Kaguya thrust the mirror at him, a hint of a blush on her cheeks.
Natsuki took the small round mirror, finding it looked pretty ordinary. He quickly said:
"I hate cilantro... I love it!"
Kaguya just stared at him, speechless.
Other players crowded around, eager to test the mirror's truth-telling powers.
"I love math class... it's super annoying."
"I believe the national soccer team can win... I don't believe it for a second."
"I hate Tifa... 3D Tifa is the best thing ever."
"I'm not into lolis... I'm totally into lolis!"
Some eyebrow-raising answers slipped in there, but the mirror seemed to work.
"So, we've all seen how it works, right?" Chika said. "Now, let's each tell our mission to the mirror. I'll start."
She looked into the mirror and spoke:
"Main quest: Stay alive. Sometimes the one who laughs last isn't the winner."
She paused, then added, "There's also this weird countdown. It says four hours and twenty-three minutes, and it's ticking down."
The mirror didn't react at all. Chika was telling the truth.
Natsuki went next.
"Main mission: survive... countdown is five hours and thirty-four minutes."
Once someone broke the ice, the rest followed suit.
Kaguya: "Stay alive... countdown is three hours and fifty-eight minutes."
Rikka: "Stay alive... countdown is three hours and twenty minutes."
Yukino: "Stay alive... Countdown is three hours and forty minutes."
One by one, all the players stated their tasks.