Mob Yandere

[Part 2/4]

"'Shitsu,' come on!"

With that curse, I kicked the door closed. Enhanced by my spiritual power, my legs sliced through the hair with a thud. The braid that had extended from the door flailed helplessly. It reminded me of a freshly sliced squid tentacle.

"Haa... haa... haa... Are you okay, Miss Tamaki?"

"Cough... Gah! Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Bear-san, are you alright?"

'Grrr...'

'(' ≧∀≦) I'm still going strong!'

Tamaki replied, while the onikuma groaned slightly fatigued. Hey, you idiot spider, your well-being makes me relieved.

"Well, now... How about this place? Is this the second room you mentioned?"

After taking a breather, I looked around and asked Tamaki, who nodded once or twice, acknowledging that this room was familiar to her. Thankfully, it was the right room. If it had been a different one, we would have had to turn back to the previous room.

"Well, I could predict that they'd bring out their first youkai to stop us, so they must be getting a little desperate, I guess."

I hoped that placing an obvious gatekeeper right after our entry meant that they were trying to prevent us from progressing further.

"Now, let's move on. It's only a little more than two hours until a whole day has passed outside, right?"

"Whether it's long or short, I can't really tell..."

'(*ノ▽ノ) My timing modulation is a bit off with our conversation, you know?'

I already felt like we had been inside 'Mayoiga' for several days. Even if they said only a day had passed outside, I couldn't really tell. And shut up, you idiot spider, don't talk anymore.

'Because it causes inconsistencies in our conversation. This technique applies a certain correction for the time difference. However, it seems that there is not a significant disparity in the flow of time between this room and the outside.'

"Well well..."

In other words, as the old man said, I should consider two hours in terms of perceived time as the time limit. It felt like being a grade schooler frantically trying to finish everything on the last day of summer vacation.

"I guess there's no helping it. It's better than time moving too fast, isn't it?"

"A reasonable perspective."

Tamaki encouraged me as I sighed. It was a sensible opinion. Unfortunately, the surrounding reality was beyond our control. Rather than just talking, we had to adapt to the situation and do our best.

"However... How should we go about searching?"

The never-ending corridors looked similar to the first room we entered and the one we were just in. The walls on both sides were filled with irregularly spaced doors. The reason for their basic similarity was probably that the fan movie creators reused assets. It's likely that even from a practical standpoint, 'Mayoiga' itself followed the same pattern. Its purpose for creating this labyrinth wasn't just to entertain wanderers.

"Well, I'm sure we've walked a fair distance by feel... but I wonder if the carcass of the youkai that Shishimai-san killed on the way is a landmark...?"

'It might be futile. This room should be connected to the core. It's unlikely to allow such easy markers. Besides, she probably removed the corpses long ago.'

The hummingbird immediately countered Tamaki's suggestion above my head and the spider says, '(･｀ω´･) Hey! Can you return my seat!!' Rather than that, can you please stop making yourselves at home on top of people's heads?

"Relying on the distance we've walked won't be helpful either. They can easily manipulate it."

"Th-Then, what should we do!? We can't just search randomly..."

"Of course not. I won't resort to such foolish means."

In the setting of 'Mayoiga,' we might ultimately be able to meet the main body, but it would be too dangerous and inefficient. There might even be traps that could lead to instant death. Considering the time limit until this place get blown away, it wasn't realistic.

...Or perhaps, that's why Botan let this guy come with me.

"That's why. Will you help me with that, Genbu?"

'Grrrrrrrrr...'

In response to my request, the worn-out bear youkai emitted a somewhat carefree growl. Tamaki looked puzzled by its reaction, so I took the time to explain why I chose the bear youkai for this task.

...According to one theory, while humans can identify only a few thousand to ten thousand different smells, dogs can distinguish hundreds of millions.

Furthermore, bears are said to have a sense of smell that is over five times more sensitive than that of dogs.

Dogs are commonly used for drug detection and military and police purposes due to their intelligence and obedience, not to mention their remarkably keen sense of smell among animals. But bears surpass even that, and considering that youkai's senses are already superior to those of wild animals, it's not difficult to imagine that the bear youkai's sense of smell is beyond what human could conceive based on my past knowledges.

"I see. But... how does that relate to finding the rooms?"

In response to my explanation, Tamaki showed a mixture of understanding and confusion, tilting her head in an uncertain manner. She seemed impressed by my unnecessary exposition but hadn't quite grasped its meaning.

"Well, you see, if we use the sense of smell of this bear youkai over there, we might be able to find the rooms hidden within 'Mayoiga's' core."

"Ah, I see. That makes sense!"

"Yes. So, please hold on tight to Genbu."

"Okay, I understa... huh?"

Tamaki nodded at my words but seemed puzzled by their meaning. Then, as she looked up at the huge bear before her, she couldn't help but chuckle.

"Um, Bear-san?"

'Grrrrr ♪'

'(＾ω＾) I have no idea what you're talking about!'

The bear, whose arm I had wrapped around Tamaki's side, immediately hugged her and buried its face in her chest.

"Hyaaaa!?"

Tamaki let out a surprised cry as she felt the bear's warm breath against her neck. The struggling Tamaki had no escape from the massive bear.

It was evident that even with a keen sense of smell, it would be pointless without the most crucial element—Tamaki's scent, leading to the core of 'Mayoiga.' And no consideration was given to Tamaki's dignity, embarrassment, or any other feelings.

"Hya... p-please, stop... no... nnnn!!?"

'Don't worry. The bear won't eat you. This guy just need you to memorize your scent. Endure it for a moment.'

'(*ノ▽ノ) Kyaa! It's exciting!!'

The hummingbird ruthlessly confronted Tamaki's plea, dashing any hope she had. There was no trace of sympathy or guilt in its words, typical of an exorcist.

"N-No... Hya, there, that's... noooo... Hyaun!!?"

'(´_ゝ) Nice, hurry up!'

"..."

Listening to the slightly inappropriate and agonizing scream of a girl, I stuffed my ears with my fingers and stayed silent. Seriously, idiot spider, why are you enjoying this?

The time it took for the bear youkai to fully memorize Tamaki's scent probably wasn't that long. However, during that time, a part of Tamaki's dignity had surely died.

'Grrrrrrrrr ♪'

"No way... haa, haa... I can't get married anymore..."

Gasping for breath and blushing, Tamaki collapsed into a sitting position, her face showing embarrassment and exhaustion. As she noticed her neck and chest were slightly damp, I handed her a towel without making eye contact.

'Don't cry like that. After all, you're not a pure maiden.'

"I am a pure maiden!!"

'(－∀・) I'm also a maiden!!'

Ignoring the hummingbird's exasperated remark, Tamaki immediately refuted its statement. Her voice was quite loud, seemingly concerned about her status as a maiden. Also, spider, don't butt into the conversation like it's natural.

'Alright, alright, I understand. So, stop making such a fuss. ...Really, you're overreacting just because a female youkai sniffed you.'

"Wait a minute. I feel like I just heard a new fact?"

I eagerly seized upon the new revelation that was casually exposed. I looked at the bear in astonishment, and our eyes met. The bear then winked and struck a pose like a gravure idol. It irritated me immensely.

'(*´ω｀*) If it's about striking a pose, I won't lose either!!'

"I didn't ask you to do that, did I?"

I brushed aside the playful remarks that ran through my mind for now.

'What are you doing? Come on, let's go. Lead the way, Genbu.'

'Grrrrrrrrr...'

Sighing at our reactions, the hummingbird landed on the tip of the bear's horn and commanded it to lead us. The bear youkai, sniffing the floor with enthusiasm, guided us deeper into the corridor.

'...What's wrong? Are you coming or not?'

"...Miss, I understand your feelings, but please hurry."

"Uuuh..."

In response to my request, Tamaki, who was handed a soaking wet towel, let out a sigh...

During our journey, we fended off several youkai attacks. The bear youkai's nose led us to a particular door. We stood in front of it with the cheerful bear youkai beside us. In other words, this was it.

"Let's hope this is it! Huh—!?"

I declared as I suddenly clashed with a youkai that appeared from behind. I blocked the attack of the two-legged, scissor-armed, sharp-beaked monster with my tantō. This one is...!?

"'Kamikiri'!?"

'(・`ω・´) You think you can cut my hair? I'll cut yours!'

The bipedal creature with scissor-like arms and a sharp beak barked. It approached, aiming to pierce my face with its beak.

"Whoa!?"

"Tomobe-kun!!"

The beak grazed my face, and Tamaki swung her wakizashi in response. But 'Kamikiri' caught the wakizashi with its other scissor arm.

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