"Let's go. Try to get out of here," Amamiya said, exhaling lightly as he stood up.
"You're looking for the thirteenth step?" Hayasaka asked, rising to her feet. The pain curse that had plagued her body was completely gone now, leaving her feeling light and in high spirits.
"That's right," Amamiya confirmed with a nod.
While stripping the curse from the spy maid, Amamiya had continued the 'pen conversation' with Komi. Alone, his reasoning had limits, but with the combined insights of Kaguya and the others, they had arrived at a plausible conclusion: since they entered this strange space by stepping on the thirteenth step, escaping would likely require using the same step.
The problem, however, was the step's unpredictable nature—it changed location frequently. For example, after Amamiya had stepped on it and vanished earlier, the thirteenth step had disappeared entirely.
This meant that for most people, escaping such a space was nearly impossible.
Firstly, the step's location was entirely random.
Secondly, the vengeful spirits that roamed this distorted space were malevolent. Once they spotted someone, they would inflict unbearable pain. If that pain exceeded a certain threshold, the victim would mentally collapse and be lost to the void.
With a sprawling school building, eerie surroundings, and malicious spirits enforcing cruel rules, finding the thirteenth step again was akin to winning the lottery.
But, of course, none of these challenges were insurmountable for Amamiya.
The first hurdle—the location of the thirteenth step—was trivial.
While ordinary people would need to search every corner of the school and hope the step hadn't moved, Hanako-chan, a spirit herself and a fan of ghost stories, had a unique advantage. To her, the location of the thirteenth step stood out like a beacon in the darkness. Clear, unhidden, and precise.
With the step's position easily pinpointed, the notebook served as their communication relay.
All Amamiya had to do was follow the directions provided by the notebook and make his way there with the spy maid.
The only uncertainty left was verifying whether the thirteenth step truly was the key to escaping.
"Let's move."
"…"
With the notebook in hand, Amamiya led the way, while Hayasaka followed close behind. The pair slipped quietly out of the office and into the dim hallway.
The corridor was bathed in the same eerie, blood-red glow of the sunset as when they'd first arrived.
It seemed time didn't flow in this distorted space.
"The stairs are on the far left side of the first floor," Amamiya said after glancing at the notebook. He started walking.
"Senpai, let me go first," Hayasaka whispered, her voice cautious. "There are a lot of strange spirits in the building. If they see you, they'll curse you, and you'll end up suffering inexplicable pain all over your body."
They moved forward quietly, but after a short distance, Hayasaka stopped and clutched Amamiya's arm. She leaned in and murmured, "We can't go any further. There are evil spirits ahead. Let's take another route."
Amamiya gave a small nod. "Alright."
Having spent half a day trapped in this twisted space, the spy maid had already explored most accessible areas and learned the patterns of the vengeful spirits. These entities were peculiar—most remained fixed to specific locations and rarely moved.
The two eventually reached the first floor.
As they approached the corridor leading to the thirteenth step, the faint sound of sobbing reached their ears, drifting ominously from the bathroom.
"I'm not sure what's in the bathroom," Hayasaka murmured with a slight frown. "Rushing in blindly could be dangerous. The spirit in there might even be Hanako."
"It's not Hanako," Amamiya replied, shaking his head. "The ghost in there is a thirteen-year-old fifth-grade girl named Aqua."
"Eh?" Hayasaka blinked in surprise. "How do you know that, Senpai?"
"Simple—I've been inside before," Amamiya said matter-of-factly. "When I first arrived in this alternate space, I heard crying from the bathroom. For a moment, I thought you might be hiding in there, crying alone."
"Why would I hide in a bathroom of all places?" Hayasaka retorted, her tone laced with exasperation.
"Doesn't matter now." Amamiya smiled faintly. "Aqua-chan and I are already good friends."
"In the first place, how do you even know the ghost's name?" Hayasaka covered her forehead in disbelief. "Wait a second—you went into the bathroom and saw the vengeful spirit, but you weren't cursed?"
"Nope," Amamiya replied cryptically. "I've got a pretty good idea of how the rules work."
"…"
Seeing his unbothered demeanor, Hayasaka chose to trust him despite her reservations.
They soon arrived at the bathroom door. Amamiya stopped and called out toward the shadowy interior, his voice calm but firm:
"Aqua-san, want to come out and play for a bit?"
The faint sound of crying halted abruptly, replaced by an eerie silence.
Amamiya tried again. "I'm not a bad person. Come on out."
Hayasaka raised an eyebrow. 'A guy who insists he's not a bad person is usually anything but!'
When the ghost refused to appear, Amamiya shrugged in mild disappointment. The pair moved past the bathroom, heading for the far-left corridor.
"One, two, three, four, five… thirteen," Amamiya counted softly as his fingers brushed over the steps, one by one.
"This is the thirteenth step?" Hayasaka asked, her voice tinged with mixed emotions as she stared at the unremarkable staircase.
Along the way, she had taken the time to count other staircases—each had only twelve steps.
Earlier, when she'd been fleeing from the ghost Hanako, there hadn't been any time to count stairs, let alone connect them to any urban legends. If Amamiya hadn't braved this dangerous space to save her, she might have been trapped here forever.
No food.
No water.
Just an oppressive silence broken only by the unsettling sounds of the vengeful spirits.
And that painful, unpredictable curse—she doubted she could have endured it for long.
A pang of guilt struck Hayasaka.
Amamiya had risked so much for her, yet all she had been thinking about was trying to conquer him. Perhaps that had been selfish, even shallow.
"Senpai, I feel guilty," Hayasaka confessed softly, rising onto her toes to whisper in Amamiya's ear. Her voice carried an unusual gentleness. "You put yourself in so much danger to save me, and I didn't even thank you. It's disgraceful. I'm ashamed to call myself a Hanamori family maid."
She tilted her head slightly, closed her eyes, and tapped her cheek with a fingertip. "Here's my solution—I'll let Senpai kiss me. But only on the cheek for now. Nowhere else!"
Amamiya's expression didn't change. "Not interested. Just do a backflip."
Hayasaka's eyes widened as she clenched her fists. "Senpai, you're impossible!"
"…"
The two ascended the stairs, stopping at the twelfth step.
"Try stepping on it first," Amamiya instructed. "In most versions of the urban legend, the thirteenth step can only be triggered by one person."
"Got it," Hayasaka nodded without hesitation. With the notebook acting as a safeguard, she wasn't worried about Amamiya's safety.
Taking a deep breath, she raised her right foot and stepped lightly onto the thirteenth step.
In the blink of an eye, Hayasaka vanished.
Amamiya looked down at the staircase—the thirteenth step had disappeared, blending seamlessly with the rest. Evidently, it had shifted again.
Good.
The experiment was a success.
The thirteenth step was both the entrance to and the exit from this strange space. To escape, one simply had to find and step on it.