Life in Another World With Narration

33 – The Curse of the Belle Epoque Mansion

This cannot happen.

I must have been walking inside the Belle Epoque mansion just now.

But now, I was tied to a wooden chair in an unknown basement-like place, unable to move.

Is this also a hallucination created by the mansion?

No, it must be a hallucination.

If not, the situation I am in now will become a life-threatening crisis of a lifetime.

Swoosh─ Swoosh─ Swoosh─

There was someone else in the basement besides me.

The face was unrecognizable because of strange noise, as if it had been mosaicized.

He was squatting down, sharpening a long butcher knife on a whetstone, and it was clear that he was a man based on his body type.

“…… !”

I tried to say something to him, but no words came out, as if his throat was filled with sand.

Even though I screamed with all my might, I couldn’t make any sound, as if I had pressed the mute button.

Looking around, I saw that this basement was filled with so many horrific devices that it could be called a torture chamber.

There is a wooden cross-shaped frame, a triangular wooden horse with sharp corners, and handcuffs, chains, and whips hanging on the wall.

On the cold stone floor, black, dried blood stains that belonged to no one knew who they belonged to.

“…… !!”

A man with noise on his face stood up holding a large butcher knife and slowly approached me.

He was a very large and strong-looking man.

He slowly stroked my face with his big, rough hands.

A goosebumps sensation came over my entire body.

Even though I tried to think that all of this was just a hallucination shown by the mansion, the vivid sensations gradually made me have no choice but to accept it as reality.

This…… Is it really a hallucination?

Or is this really what is happening to me?

As those questions slowly rose in my head, my confidence grew weaker.

Even everything I had done since coming to this world began to feel like a dream.

In reality, wasn’t it all a dream? Actually, isn’t this my real reality now?

Unbearable fear and sad feelings came flooding in from somewhere.

I was being swallowed up by that feeling.

What was I doing just now?

I…… Who is it?

『Yunoa was caught up in the curse of the Belle Epoque mansion and her mind was collapsing.

A fantasy of a terrible mansion experienced by all adventurers who visited this place.

It was enough to make even the most mentally strong person tremble with fear.』

At that time, I heard a narration in my head.

I feel my self, which had become distant, suddenly come back, like a light bulb that has gone out.

If it weren’t for the narration, I would have lost my mind.

Yes, this is clearly a hallucination.

It must be a prank by the ghost living in the mansion.

No matter how vivid it is, you will be able to endure it as long as you do not let go of the conviction that all of this is an illusion.

The man with noise on his face slowly raised my hand.

Then, he slowly touched my fingers one by one with his index finger, as if he was counting his fingers.

Then he held the butcher knife close to my little finger.

I immediately realized what he was going to do and was trembled.

“…… !”

No matter how much I scream, no scream comes out.

When on earth will this hallucination end?

The next moment, the man cut my little finger with a knife.

The feeling in my fingers that I had just had has disappeared.

I felt pain, but it wasn’t really the pain of having my finger cut off.

My mind is confused.

Is this really okay?

Doubts continued to sprout in my mind as to which side was reality.

The man now grabbed my next finger and pointed his knife at me.

I closed my eyes tightly, hoping that this terrible experience would end soon.

* * *

“Ha…… Ha… ….”

I don’t know how much I was tortured in hallucinations.

For what felt like hours, I was subjected to all kinds of terrible things by a man with noise on his face.

Even though the pain I felt wasn’t as strong as the real thing, it was a terrifying experience.

When I thought that there was no healthy part of my body and that I was really going to die.

I managed to escape the hallucination and return to the scene of the Belle Epoque mansion.

My body was shaking and I was out of breath.

Sweat was pouring down from my forehead.

Fortunately, there was no problem with my body.

In the hallucination, I felt like my entire body had been hacked to pieces by that man, to the point where no part of my body was intact.

I feel grateful once again that my arms and legs are still intact.

“We have to get out of here quickly…” ….”

The first thought that came to mind was that I had to get out of here quickly.

My mind was already exhausted.

I immediately understood the feelings of the man who ran into the guild with tears and snot pouring down his face and shouted to cancel the request.

If the narration hadn’t kept me sane, I might have become similar to that man.

“Sylphy!”

After I came to my senses to some extent, I became worried about Sylphy.

I called Sylphy’s name out loud and looked for her somewhere in the mansion.

“Sylphy! Are you okay?”

Sylphy was crouching in the kitchen inside the mansion.

“Sylphy?”

I walked closer and called her name again.

Sylphy was shaking, holding her head with both hands, as if trying to protect herself from disaster.

Did Sylphy also experience hallucinations of the mansion like me?

“Sylphy! “Let’s get out of here quickly!”

I grabbed Sylphy’s wrist and half-forced her up and shouted.

I was worried, so I looked at his face for a moment and saw that his two wide-open eyes were filled with tears with dilated pupils.

“Ah… Ah… ….”

“That’s enough! “For now, let’s go out and talk!”

First, it seemed necessary to calm Sylphy down in a safe place.

I quickly left the Belle Epoque mansion, taking her with me.

* * *

“…… Okay. “I definitely understand why adventurers have given up on requests.”

I left the mansion with Sylphy and moved far enough away.

Then, he sat Sylphy, who was still unable to come to her senses, in a suitable place and told Tina, who was waiting outside, everything that had happened in the mansion.

“It was almost dangerous for me too. “The hallucinations felt as if I was really experiencing them, and I couldn’t bear it if I didn’t hold on to my mind for a while.”

“Then…” “Shall we go back and cancel the request?”

Tina asked me as she took notes in her notebook.

All adventurers who have attempted this quest so far have given up.

It was natural.

Because you never want to go through this horrible experience again.

The person I had to solve didn’t even exist, and I couldn’t even figure out how to solve it.

But I had no intention of giving up.

First of all, didn’t I confirm with my own body that the terrible illusion presented by the mansion could not harm me in reality?

Furthermore, there was a narration that provided unexpected information to me.

Even if you can’t ask directly, you will definitely get clues if you investigate this mansion.

“No, I will continue the investigation. “Rather than that, I need to take care of Sylphy first.”

After saying that, he took out some holy water from the bag he had brought with him.

If it is not effective anyway, you can use it as drinking water instead of holy water.

I had Sylphy drink it slowly.

* * *

It was some time before Sylphy came to her senses enough to speak.

She was still shaking and wiping away tears from what had happened in her mansion.

“Sylphy, calm down. That’s not really reality. “It’s just an illusion presented by the mansion.”

“Well… Ugh… But I was very scared. “I still think that guy will appear in front of me.”

“Did you see it too? “A man whose face is strangely hidden and invisible.”

I asked Sylphy carefully.

Listening to her experiences is also part of the investigation.

I feel sorry for revealing the trauma, but now we need to gather as much information as possible.

“The senior is gone… Suddenly sitting on a chair… The man…… Ugh… …. I was so scared…….”

“Slow down and take a deep breath. “It’s okay now.”

I gently stroked the head of Sylphy, who was whimpering.

I took a break several times and slowly listened to Sylphy’s story.

Then one thing became clear.

“It’s the same… ….”

What Sylphy experienced was exactly the same as what I experienced.

In a strange basement, he is tied to a wooden chair and tortured by a faceless man.

The order of torture, the method of torture, and the timing of waking up from the hallucination, everything was consistent.

Is it just a coincidence?

If it’s just a horrible hallucination like a nightmare, each person will have a different experience.

But if you’ve had the same experience so far, wouldn’t there be some meaning to it?

As soon as my thoughts reached this point, I heard a voice in my head.

『Yunoa came to the conclusion that the illusion presented by the Belle Epoque mansion may not be a simple illusion.

According to his thoughts, the vision experienced by those who entered this mansion was not just a fantasy.』

I turned my head and looked at the mansion, which had a b*tchy atmosphere.

It is not just a fantasy.

Then what does it mean?

『The fantasy presented by the Belle Epoque mansion actually happened.』

* * *