The goth woman retorted to him: "But, didn't you still doubt the existence of the tenth person just now? Or maybe someone sneaked in and left a letter and slipped out. ”

"That doesn't mean you're not suspicious." The hooded man said, "Even if someone else put it, you should be aware of it so close to the table." You should see who sent the letter, and if no one knows, it means that all three of you are in a group! ”

Alice argued eagerly, "Wait, uncle, could this envelope suddenly appear as a 'magic' by a mysterious man?" It's not like I've never seen that kind of power before. ”

"Heh, do I really believe that kind of thing? I had doubts about this long from the beginning, it must have been stereoscopic projection or something. Magic doesn't exist! ”

The hooded man then forced a confession: "If you can't answer who left the letter, please leave this house for all three of you, and don't come near us after that, otherwise I'm welcome." ”

Truth be told, there have been two murders now, and there are dangers lurking everywhere here, and the best solution is to find traces of the murderer's murder at the scene of the crime to prevent the next one.

And the hints that come with the mystery envelope can't be ignored.

Leaving the important clue collection location now and forming a grudge will definitely be troublesome in the future.

But......

"I see, since that's the point, I'll leave." The man in the hazmat suit said in a low voice.

Then the three of them left the room—presumably to the little house next door.

Only me, Natsume, and the hooded man are left here.

After they left, the hooded man laid down his weapon.

Natsume asked the hooded man, "Wouldn't it be dangerous if one of the few people who left wasn't the murderer?" ”

The hooded man said, "If that's the case, all I can say is that I'm sorry for that person." ”

Then I had the courage to open the envelope on the table, which was written in Latin.

The moment you touch the letter, you experience the feeling of being possessed, and your body reads the contents of the letter without being controlled by your conscious mind.

"It's a pity that another victim has been born among you. But there are some areas where the game progresses, and some of you have already obtained the first token, the Witch's Clock. ”

The hooded man asked, "What's that?" ”

I said, "It's a dangerous thing with special abilities, it brings danger, and you have to be careful to take it and put it in a designated place to resolve the crisis." ”

After that, I walked up to Natsume uncontrollably and asked, "Also, I want to know a little more, what's your name?" ”

Natsume replied, "Me? Natsumekaze. ”

"Natsumekaze...... What a good name. ”

It seems that the mysterious person wants to know this information, so he manipulated me to ask about it.

I threw away the letter and returned to normal.

There was an inexplicable sense of fear in my heart that permeated my heart, and cold sweat broke out on my forehead.

"Damn, are you alright?" Natsume ran over and helped me.

I weakly replied, "It's okay...... Just...... What the mysterious man said, the token, refers to the painting? ”

Natsume said, "I guess it's a real thing, after all, I've seen a lot of collectibles in the house that match the crops in the paintings." ”

"Then I seem to be a little impressed...... Seen somewhere. I said.

"Really?"

The hooded man said in surprise, "Wait, do you know each other?" ”

We hid our identities from each other, and he didn't understand our relationship.

Natsume said, "Yes, we are work colleagues. Anyway - you already know our names, don't tell us your ...... Isn't that fair? ”

The hooded man pondered for a moment and replied, "Waite." ”

Natsume stretched out his hand to shake him: "Okay, Waite." Since you just believed in us, it proves that we have the possibility of cooperation, do you want to try? ”

"Nope." He stepped back, raised his gun again, and pointed it at us, "What you just said is suspicious. ”

Waite looked at me sharply: "According to what you said, you've seen a clock before, right?" ”

"Uh......!"

"The mysterious person said that the clock has special abilities, assuming that this is true, it is likely that the person who owns the clock is the murderer, otherwise the crime will not leave no trace."

"Are you suspecting that we have clocks?"

"As long as you can't prove your innocence, you're all murderers."

Natsume retorted to him: "Wait a minute, if you want to say that we are suspicious, you are also suspicious!" You forced the other people away just now, and you can also suspect you in turn! ”

"If I were the murderer, I would have shot it a long time ago!" I carry a gun in my hand all the time, and I don't wear it as carelessly as you do. I used to be able to do it at any time, but did I? ”

This theory is barbaric, but it does have some truth.

"Don't argue, I didn't have a clock." I interrupted, "And I remember somewhere I've seen something like this—in a book about the mansion." ”

After hearing my words, the two stopped arguing.

"I'll find it."

I immediately ran out of the room, went straight to the study next to the kitchen, entered the secret passage, and through the secret passage came to the study of another house.

I found the book in the study, and when I was about to return, I suddenly saw movement in the box next to it.

In the next second, the lid opened, and a person came out.

This person is actually Hong Ying!

She stood up trembling, her body exhausted, her heart beating like a drum, and her eyes full of fear and panic.

I was surprised and asked, "Are you ...... How are you in here? ”

When Hong Ying saw me, she hurriedly pounced on me, and said excitedly and tremblingly, "Finally escaped!" ”

……

"What? You said that when you entered the secret room, the space became distorted? And then trapped inside. I asked, surprised.

"Yes......" Hong Ying replied as she walked with me, "this distorted space seems to be the curse of this house—I saw it in my notes." ”

She shook the worn-out notebook she was holding.

I said, "But nothing happened when I went in, and I went straight to another room." ”

Hong Ying said sullenly: "I don't know." Maybe...... I guess I made a mistake in chanting the mantra. ”

- No wonder, I haven't seen her for half a day.

"So, how did you get out?" I wondered.

"This ...... The memory of this part is a little unclear, I have to think about it. She said as she handed me the notebook.

I flipped through the notebook.

The note contains only a brief description of the "space", and does not write how to escape.

Several of the pages record stories about the "curse" of this mansion and seem to be something useful.

- Once upon a time, a noble count made a deal with a demon.

The Count was given an eternal lifespan at the cost of a heavy curse on his family, the "shark of the earth".

Because of this "curse", the count lost all his family.

The Count didn't want the "curse" to harm others, so he used the power he gained to seal the "curse" under the mansion and guard the place alone.

Time passed, and the Count grew tired of the heavy debt.

So he used his remaining power to create a treasure that "can grant any wish", attracting people with a heart to come and hunt for it, and using the power of the treasure hunter to remove the "curse" so that he could be freed.

Unfortunately, this "scavenger hunt" has continued again and again, and no one has been able to defeat the threat of the "curse".

Until one day, November 27, 2011, a time-traveler traveled from another timeline to take the Earl's role as a warden.

The Count was liberated.

However, the "curse" has not been removed, and the "game" continues.

And with the arrival of this new Keeper comes a new "curse......

That's what it looks like.

I broke out in a cold sweat at the sight.

—10 years ago, November 27......

Close the book, anyway, put it away first.

Hongying and I went back to the warehouse of the big house.

"This is it." I opened the "Mansion Inventory Brochure" and turned to the page where the treasure was introduced.

As mentioned above, they are magical items with great power and have several side effects.

It triggers the holder's insatiable thirst for power, causing them to become more and more selfish and inclined to use their power to satisfy their personal desires.

It erodes the wielder's sanity, causing them to gradually lose themselves and become more inclined to use violence and deception to achieve their own ends.

It will also have a certain impact on the surrounding environment of the holder.

However, it can only cause side effects if it is touched directly, and it will not be fine if it is indirectly touched.

"You mean ......," Waite looked at me nervously.

I replied, "If the murderer is really the owner of the clock, then he definitely satisfies this characteristic - he is insane." Now that the evidence is quite strong, I want to ask you, do you think we are not mentally normal? ”

Waite was speechless for a moment.

Natsume said, "By the way, we can follow this characteristic to find the murderer. ”

"But it's getting late, so let's go to bed first."

"Well, don't forget to watch out."

I glanced at Waite and walked out with Hongying.