I’m the Nuisance Character in the Horror Game
Chapter 3
I gently slipped my hand free from the small one gripping it.
Right now, I was face-to-face with a demon who could inflict pain worse than death upon me.
Instead, the moment our eyes met, my excitement subsided, and reason returned.
The desperate wish not to die made me coldly composed.
Next, I plunged into worry about how to escape from this final boss.
I wanted to tell him to buzz off since there was a cozy hotel right there, but doing so would be like throwing the protagonist group into a pit of fire.
“I don’t want that.”
Then should I hold on…? But then I’d die.
As I agonized over what to do, my body was suddenly lifted into the air.
The one who scooped me up was the protagonist, Cleta.
“Kyaaah!”
Startled, I flailed, and Cleta held me tight, calming me.
“Evelyn, relax! If you stay out here in the rain, you’ll die! Look at your condition!”
“You think I can see that?!”
“You’re shivering all over right now!”
“I’m shaking on purpose to maintain body heat!”
“Are you seriously saying that…!”
It was then, as I grabbed Cleta’s hair, demanding to be let down.
Thwack!
A sharp pain struck the back of my neck, and my consciousness faded into haze.
Amid it all, Werner’s voice came through clearly.
“It might be better to knock her out.”
With that infuriating remark from Werner, the world went black.
❖ ❖ ❖
Evelyn hung limp in Cleta’s arms, completely unconscious.
Werner frowned at the sight of her, eyes closed peacefully like an angel.
Her lips had turned blue, she’d even coughed up blood, yet she’d thrown a fit refusing to enter the hotel and run away.
As if that weren’t enough, she’d rolled in the mud or something—her dress and hair were a total mess.
Even now, her flailing resistance was absurd.
Ever since arriving on this island, Evelyn hadn’t grasped the situation properly.
No, she hadn’t even tried.
The once-calm Evelyn had done nothing but cry since the shipwreck, terrified, and Werner had grown increasingly weary of it.
He’d tried to understand how scared she must be, soothing her with the affection he felt, but only so many times.
Watching her complain and whine from dawn till dusk, Werner’s heart had gradually turned cold.
To the point where his fondness plummeted to rock bottom.
“What do we do now? When she wakes up, it’ll be even more chaos.”
“We have to take her in. Chaos or not, once we’re inside, what choice is there?”
It’d be easier to care for her indoors than out.
The atmosphere seemed eerie, making her reluctant, but once inside, out of the rain, her whining might lessen at least.
Irritably clicking his tongue, Cleta suddenly glanced at Evelyn.
Clearly, the Evelyn just before passing out was starkly different from the one who’d been whining since washing up on the island.
Seeing her snap irritably and spout ridiculous nonsense, Cleta was reminded of their childhood.
Recalling those days softened Cleta’s heart a little.
He’d quite liked the Evelyn from back then.
Gazing at her nestled quietly in his arms, unconscious, Cleta murmured softly.
“It’s like she’s back to her childhood self.”
“…Pardon?”
Werner asked again at the cryptic words, but Cleta didn’t respond.
Honestly, contrary to her reputation for being demure, Evelyn had been a tomboy.
Full of pranks, bright and charming—Cleta had once harbored romantic feelings for her.
But in noble society, such a personality was a disadvantage.
Evelyn hid her true self and acted prim.
By now, it had solidified into her real demeanor.
But it didn’t particularly matter to Cleta anymore.
As kids, they’d been close, so he’d liked her, but not now.
This time, his affection had actually waned.
He’d hesitated multiple times about leaving the sniveling, do-nothing Evelyn behind but couldn’t.
Considering her family after escape, abandoning her wasn’t easy.
He knew how the Rodriguez family doted on Evelyn.
That’s why he’d helped without frowning, but the unexpected turn of events was starting to amuse him.
Asking what “sick and tired” meant even after falling, or snapping irritably.
Especially her recent nonsensical outburst—it was just like the childhood Evelyn he knew.
“Given the circumstances, maybe her old personality is emerging.”
That seemed likely.
Watching Cleta show no concern for Evelyn’s bloody cough, Werner awkwardly changed the subject.
“Anyway, what about this little one?”
Werner pointed at Holloway.
The small, pale Holloway certainly stood out.
Looking at him, drenched and pitiful in the rain, they regarded him with worry rather than suspicion.
And why not? He was just a child.
They didn’t even suspect he might do something.
When Werner pointed at him, Holloway feigned a startled jump, as if waiting.
Then he clutched Evelyn’s unconscious finger tightly and shook his head vigorously.
His large eyes quickly filled with tears.
Shedding fat tears that evoked deep pity, Holloway pleaded in a trembling voice.
“D-don’t leave me… Sniff, the boat filled with water, and when I opened my eyes, I was here…”
Seeing Holloway babble incoherently, Cleta asked.
“You mean you were shipwrecked? Can you tell me what kind of boat it was?”
As if waiting, Holloway nodded frantically up and down.
He didn’t actually know what boat they were on.
He’d just inferred they were nobles from the washed-up wreckage and their attire.
If such people had arrived on the island together, they must have been at a party.
Having deduced that much, Holloway stammered, deliberately keeping it vague.
“It was a huge boat, with lots of people in fancy clothes. I think they said it was some yacht party.”
Hearing Holloway’s words, Cleta fell into thought.
A large boat with people in fancy clothes at a party—high chance it was the one they’d been on.
He recalled no other yacht party at the time.
After washing up, they’d seen no one else, assuming they were alone on the island, but apparently not.
“Then there might be more people here. Should we search?”
But in this howling wind and pouring rain, leaving the feverish Evelyn unattended could lead to disaster.
Werner stripped off his outer coat and draped it over Evelyn’s increasingly pallid body.
He didn’t know if it would help, but he couldn’t just stand by.
Cleta glanced briefly at Werner’s action before sinking into thought.
“Should we split up to search?”
Everyone was exhausted.
But there might be other children besides this kid…
Obviously, he had no memory of children on the boat.
The party had been adults-only invitations.
He wouldn’t forget a kid this cute anyway.
“Kid, what about your family? Did you board with family?”
Holloway shook his head at Cleta’s gentle question.
They looked ready to search if he said there were others.
Holloway’s goal wasn’t to have them hunt for someone—it was to get them into the hotel as soon as possible.
“I-I… I just came because they said I’d get money for running errands.”
In short, he’d boarded alone to work, with no other companions.
Werner’s eyes widened slightly in surprise at the answer.
There was no need for a child to help at a noble party.
Hosted by nobles, there shouldn’t have been a shortage of staff.
Werner asked in astonishment.
“…Errands? A kid like you?”
“Yes. Luckily, a sister I know got me in.”
Seeing Holloway smile innocently, oblivious, the two fell silent.
Cleta eyed Holloway before asking.
“Any other kids your age?”
“No. She said she barely got me in.”
Sensing a deeper story, Werner and Cleta couldn’t probe further.
If the child was alone, no need to search for others.
They’d be adults, capable of fending for themselves. If any, they’d find the hotel like them.
They had no duty to find and protect everyone.
They weren’t overflowing with energy to search anyway.
Everyone was tired and worn out—they needed rest. Searching after a good rest in the hotel wouldn’t be too late.
“Sir… No, Lord Cleta, what should we do?”
Werner deliberately used his name politely instead of title.
Holloway watched quietly.
“They’ll find the hotel wandering like us. We’re not in a position to worry about others right now. We have to protect Evelyn first. The bloody cough alone shows her condition is bad.”
“Then the kid…”
“We take him.”
“Th-thank you!”
Holloway smiled brightly even in the rain.
Werner and Cleta weren’t callous enough to abandon a child in this downpour.
Holloway’s gaze shifted to Evelyn as he watched the two not reject him.
He’d been observing them since they arrived on the island.
Enough to grasp their relationships roughly.
Among them, Evelyn was the most intriguing.
The woman who’d done nothing but cry suddenly changed the moment she saw the hotel—her eyes transformed as if she were someone else.
She’d even poked at the air with her fingers, doing idiotic things.
Running away, refusing to enter the hotel—that was odd too.
Normally, she’d collapse and cry, fitting her personality.
“Is she too scared to grasp the situation properly?”
But for that, she recoiled from entering the hotel as if having a fit.
As if she knew something was there.
A gleam flickered in Holloway’s red eyes.
“Did the empress send her?”
But that didn’t match the empress’s methods he’d seen so far.
She wouldn’t send someone in such an uncertain way to begin with.
“I’ll know once I dissect her. No.”
Holloway’s eyes landed on the approaching hotel.
“She’s going to die anyway, so no need to know.”
As Cleta and Werner drew near, the heroine Moran looked them over.
Then, seeing the unconscious Evelyn, she covered her mouth.
“Is she hurt? Wh-why is Miss Evelyn like this?”
“I knocked her out.”
Werner replied flatly, and Cynthia said good job before glancing at Pridel beside her.
Since Cynthia outranked him, Pridel placed his hand on the thick, massive door of the sealed hotel without complaint.
Rusted, it wouldn’t open easily, so Pridel exerted considerable force.
Creeeak…
The eerie sound mingled with the rain.
The heavy door opened, and they entered the hotel.
The air inside enveloped them, colder than outside.
At that chilling temperature, they involuntarily rubbed their arms.
Once everyone was in, Holloway lifted his head.
Gazing at the top window, invisible through the misty clouds, he whispered.
“Don’t get excited. We have plenty of time—savor it slowly.”
As if in response, the forest trees rustled ominously.
Holloway stepped leisurely into the hotel.
Evelyn’s limp body grew smaller through the door crack, and soon…
Boom!
The door shut.
