Epi.12-3: Misaki’s Room in the Abandoned House

“That’s not it.
Things like a place appearing where it shouldn’t exist, or being sent back while you’re walking around—that kind of thing is way too scary, right?
But the one in this room is convenient, so there’s no problem.
It’s become incredibly easy to carry sake.
And I make sure to say thank you properly every time.”
With a cool expression, she lifted the glass to her lips.

“I see—”
Sayuri seemed to accept it, floating along lightly, but there were also voices saying “That’s scary, though” and “Who are you thanking?” that clearly weren’t convinced, and Yuka looked as though she were deep in thought.

And just when it seemed like she suddenly stood up, she said, “I’ll be right back,” and left the room.

Those left behind had no idea what had just happened, but after a short while the door opened again, and a breathless Yuka came back, saying, “They’re not connected, though?”

Still stunned, Misaki asked, “Did you seriously go all the way down to the first floor?” and Yuka replied, “Yeah, but it didn’t work,” before collapsing and slumping forward onto the table.

“Why don’t you let Misaki-san show an example?”
Sayuri cut in.

“It’s not really a big deal, is it?”
Misaki stood up and pointed the camera toward the door.

When she opened it, a run-down hallway came into view.
“Right now, it looks like this,” she said, then closed the door. “
And the first floor is like this,” she added as she opened it again—revealing a different run-down hallway from before.

“Sorry for bothering you even though I didn’t really need anything.”
Saying that, she closed the door and returned the camera to its original framing.

When she went back to her seat, she finished off the sake in her glass.
Seeing the confused comments—“That’s scary,” “What just happened?” “What were you apologizing to?”—she smiled and answered simply, “I was thanking the room.”

“Room-san! I want to go down to the first floor too!”
She shouted energetically and opened the door—but it was still the second floor.
After that, she tried several more times, but nothing changed.

“Why won’t it work? You let me go to the third floor…”
Yuka drooped dejectedly, and Misaki added a single remark—“When you went to the third floor, did you actually say thank you? That’s the kind of thing that matters.”
With a sly smile, she uncorked the next isshōbin.

After that, Yuka stood in front of the door thinking for a moment, then clapped her hands and said, “I got it!”
“Door-san, please! I want to go to the first floor!” she said as she opened and closed the door.
After that as well, she kept calling out to anything that came to mind—“Door handle-san, please!” “Hallway-san, please!”—but since she was outside the camera’s framing, the viewers could only be left confused.

“Ugh, come on! Misaki-san, please!” Yuka shouted, but Misaki muttered with exasperation, “You can tell that’s absolutely not it, right?”

Yuka trudged back and sat down.
Looking dejected, she said, “This is Misaki-san’s superpowerrr.”
The comments exploded at those words, and Yuka quickly regained her usual energy.

“There’s no way I could do something like that…” Misaki muttered, but it never reached anyone.

Glancing casually toward the corner of the room, she saw Sayuri, apparently bored with the conversation, laughing together with Shinobu.
When she turned her gaze back to Yuka, Yuka was cheerfully interacting with the viewers, wearing a sparkling smile and making big, animated gestures.

—This kind of thing isn’t so bad, either.
Before she realized it, her cheeks had naturally relaxed.

“Thanks.”

A quiet voice slipped from Misaki’s lips.