by Hirukuma,
Why is she stammering while she’s talking?
“Yeah, that’s the plan. Is it inconvenient for you, Lammis?”
“Huh?! No, it’s not, not really, but could we maybe…not do that?”
She’s being unusually negative about this. Her voice is quiet. Could Lammis be…bad with horror-type stuff? She’s clearly terrified.
“She’s always hated scary stories,” says Hulemy. “She’s probably just scared.”
“I—I am not! And I’m not a kid anymore, either, so I’ll be fine!”
No matter how you look at it, Lammis is pretending to be tough. I see—so she’s weak to this kind of stuff. It depends on just how horror-esque this stratum is, but it really can be too much for people who are bad at handling that kind of thing.
A long time ago, I had a friend who loved horror stuff. He showed me a lot of movies and made me go visiting haunted houses with him. My bitter experiences have allowed me to build up a bit of a resistance, so I think I’ll be fine.
“Ah, you don’t like scary stuff. The only enemies there are walking corpses and skeletons and maybe some ghosts—that’s all. It’ll be fine; I’m telling you. Hugehog fiends are way more disgusting.”
“Captain, normal people are scared of these things. Not everyone can be as boldly insensitive as you.”
Chided by the vice captain, Filmina, Kerioyl shrugs.
“I only know what I’ve heard,” says Hulemy. “What sort of place is the Dead’s Lament stratum?”
“Well, the sky is covered in thick clouds both day and night, with thunder and lightning flashing all the time; it’s chilly; and there are gravestones everywhere that look like they’re about to crumble apart.”
After hearing Filmina’s explanation, Lammis is now completely spooked, and she hugs me tightly. I can vaguely feel her trembling from our points of contact. She must really be scared.
At this rate, Lammis might not be able to come with us to the Dead’s Lament stratum.
“Lammis, are you seriously that scared?”
“C-C-Captain! N-n-no, n-not at all. O-only little kids would be scared of gh-gh-ghosts.”
“Don’t force it,” says Hulemy. “When you were little, you wouldn’t even be able to go to the bathroom at night if you heard a scary story.”
“Hulemy! You don’t have to tell them about stuff that happened a long time ago!”
She’s obviously embarrassed by it. At this rate, not only will she not be fighting, but she might not even be able to stick with us.
“Well, that’s a problem,” says the captain. “If Lammis can’t go, then we have to think about who will carry Boxxo. We don’t have anyone with her Might here.”
“You’re right,” agrees Filmina. “There is nobody here who can easily carry Mr. Boxxo. However, if Boxxo is unable to come, we will be unable to go on an extended expedition due to food concerns.”
“The King of Souls doesn’t stay in a specific place, so it’ll be a lot of work to find him. We can’t be without Boxxo if we want to settle down and really search.”
The captain and vice captain fold their arms and groan in thought. Even in a world where monsters roam about, ghosts and horror stories are frightening in a different way. I definitely understand not liking it, but without a means of movement, I’ll turn into simple luggage.
“W-wait, everyone. It looks like you’re deciding not to take me, but I’ll be fine, okay? Actually, I’m great with scary things!”
She’s obviously straining herself. She’s different than she usually is, judging by her tone of voice.
Sometimes you can’t say much without actually going there first, but… However I look at it, Lammis doesn’t seem ready to handle this.
“In that case, let’s visit the Dead’s Lament stratum once as a test,” suggests Hulemy. “Captain, there’s a settlement there, too, right?”
“Yeah, there is. It’s not as big as this one, but it’s fine in its own right. The stratum’s pretty popular among people with certain unique hobbies. I think regular people visit quite a bit, too, don’t they, Vice Captain?”
“Well, most just want to see how scary it is. It goes to show there is a demand for it. Ghosts and supernatural phenomena occur on a daily basis there, after all.”
It’s treated as a famous horror locale, then. People who are into that sort of thing must find it irresistible. I imagine bored rich people and youngsters looking for a good time would go there.
“Let’s try out Hulemy’s plan,” says the captain. “First, we’ll spend some time in the settlement and try to get her used to the atmosphere there. If she really doesn’t look like she can do it, we’ll think of something else. Sound good?”
Nobody has any arguments, so we’ll be moving to the Dead’s Lament stratum as a test. I’m worried about Lammis—the blood has completely drained from her face—but we’ll need to know how much it affects her ahead of time. It could be lifesaving.
The Dead’s Lament stratum, which we traveled to by way of the transfer circle, is a place beyond my expectations.
It’s even darker here than on the Origin stratum, and in the distance, I see frequent bolts of lightning and hear cries of thunder. The buildings constructed in the settlement are all moderately old and, for some reason, western styled.
Streetlights are set up at every turn, so walking isn’t an inconvenience. The residents seem to like black and dark blue; their clothing and buildings alike are in the same plain colors.
They clearly all got together and planned this. The only conclusion I can draw is that they’re purposely acting this way in order to up the fear factor.
There seem to be quite a few hunters here as well, and they wear normal hunting gear, like armor and robes.
“Well, I give ’em credit for setting the tone,” remarks Kerioyl. “How are you doing, Lammis?”
“Eek. I-I’m fine. Normal, I guess, really.”
She’s on pins and needles. She’s clearly suspicious of any and every thing around her. We get it, you’re scared, so calm down a little more. The residents here are giving Lammis strange looks as she trembles while carrying a vending machine on her back.
“Let’s go to the inn for now, I suppose…” Captain Kerioyl gives a weary smile. He seems to have given up. To be honest, I don’t think this is going to work, either.
Getting her used to this stratum is our goal, so today, our group is composed of the captain, Lammis, and Hulemy. We’re just going to be spending a few days in the settlement, but I’m not even sure she’ll last until tomorrow.
She jumps whenever anything makes a noise, which is shaking my view around a lot. I wonder if the carbonated drinks inside me are doing all right.
We arrive at the inn we plan on staying at for several days, but even the inn has the same spooky atmosphere.
For a building, it’s not very old, and on the outside, it looks fine. But for some reason, there’s ivy crawling up the walls. Even the light coming from the lantern placed in front of the entryway is just the right amount to set the tone.
It’s two stories tall, but one of the windows on the second-floor corner is boarded up. I wonder why. Wait, I think I saw a woman peeking out of the gaps between the boards… It must be my eyes playing tricks on me. Yeah.
Wouldn’t be strange at all for ghosts to show up in an inn like this. If this were a horror game, it would certainly get passing marks for its outer appearance.
“A-a-a-a-a-are we staying here?”
She’s so flustered she’s turning into an actual chicken. If she’s this scared, I’d love to send her back home, but she seems to want to tough it out.
“Yeah. And you know, if you can’t do this, tell us at any time. We’ll go back to the Clearflow Lake stratum.”
“Wh-wha-wha-what’re you going on about? I’m just peachy, mm-hmm, yes, sirree.”
Oh boy, she’s incoherent. Her accent is running rampant, too.
Hulemy sighs. “Captain, I’m with her, so we’ll be fine.
If things get bad, I’ll bring her home right away.”
“R-right. Thanks for that. I’ll come up with some other way to carry around Boxxo.”
I think that would be wise. But humans are adaptable creatures, so there’s still a possibility, however slim, that Lammis might grow resistant to this after a little while here.
I won’t get my hopes up, but I will give my all to protecting her.
Captain Kerioyl, at the front of our group, puts a hand on the entrance door and pushes. It opens with a sharp creak. Even that adds to the horror theme.
Past the door is a hall, but why is it darker inside than it is outside? Adding to that, the interior design is all done in black. It’s easy to see what kind of mood the owner was going for.
There are also portraits hung up high on the wall, which I wouldn’t think an inn needs. They look creepy, how they’re all faintly smiling, but it’s probably just the rest of the place having an effect on me.
It all exudes a spine-chilling atmosphere. Lammis… I understand that you’re afraid, but if you put your arms around me on your back and grab me that strongly—
[1 damage. Durability decreased by 1.]
Your fingers are digging into me, I tell you! Can’t you hear those awful cracking noises?
“Welcome… The Menagerie of Fools, correct? We’ve…been expecting you.”
A woman with black hair appeared in front of us, moving smoothly without a sound. The black dress is something you’d find on a French doll, and it fits her far too well.
Her hair is so long it might stick to the floor, and you can’t see much of her face, since her bangs are grown out, but her lips are so red it’s like she used blood as lipstick. The corners of her mouth are turned up meaningfully into a grin.
“Heeeee…”
Oh, Lammis hit her limit. She completely froze up and then fell straight back.
Coping with Ghosts
Lammis falling technically means that I fell to the floor with her, and right now, she’s unconscious and lying on top of me.
I think it’s just my imagination, but I feel something damp where her bottom is touching me… It has nothing to do with this, but maybe I should give her a stylish pair of panties later.
My only consolation is that vending machines specializing in women’s underwear do exist.
“Whoa, boy. I didn’t think she’d have it this rough.”
“You’d be surprised. This is tame compared to when she was little. I’ll bring Lammis to the room. Boxxo, what will you do?”
With Lammis well and truly passed out, Captain Kerioyl takes the wooden rack’s leather straps off her and puts the apparatus on his back. At this rate, I’ll get in the way of the inn doing business, so I change into a cardboard vending machine for now.
“Anyone could carry you like this. Landlady, would you mind if I set Boxxo up in front of the inn?”
“Not at all… That is the one I’ve heard about… A magic item with a mind of its own… Fu-fu, how mysterious.”
This person is the inn’s proprietress? It would probably be fitting if she did something like fortune-telling as a side job.
Hulemy picks me up and places me gently outside the inn. My regular place is steadily becoming “right next to the door.” Of course, that’s pretty much where every vending machine goes anyway, so I have no problem with that.
“Man, she was really scared. She’s always been like that, you know. Soon as she hears a scary story, she covers her ears and starts making noises. It takes me back.”
Hulemy smiles with her eyes, her expression gentle as she remembers their childhood days. She may be complaining about her now, but they’re pretty good friends. Whenever I watch the two having a conversation, there are moments they look like sisters.
“Normally, she would have run away a long time ago, but it looks like she doesn’t want to give in this time.”
Yeah, if someone’s that scared, you’d think they’d start crying and run away.
Maybe she’s trying her best to endure it because if nobody is around to carry me, it will cause trouble for people. If that’s the case, I’d rather she not force herself too much.
“Boxxo, you’re not getting the wrong idea, are you? The reason Lammis is so gung ho about conquering her fear is… Er, actually, I shouldn’t be the one to say.”
“Get one free with a winner.”
What was that supposed to mean? Hulemy said something deep, but now she’s just giving me a sidelong glance. She doesn’t bother to say any more.
Think for myself, is it? A reason she’s so stubborn about overcoming this… For a girl who wants to get strong to take revenge, maybe she thinks that if she can’t overcome this level of fear, there’s no point.
“Well, give it some careful thought. I’m gonna go check on her.”
You’re not going to tell me the answer? I want to throw a question at her as she leaves, but I don’t have the words for it.
It’s an unsolved mystery, but I have time. I can think about it at my leisure.
“Oh, what’s this? There’s weird stuff lined up behind the glass. What is it?”
Whoops, it’s my first customer from the Dead’s Lament stratum. It’s a young hunter-looking man wearing metal armor. He brings his face so close his forehead almost hits the glass to look at the products.
I guess it’s time for me to do business.
“Welcome.”
“Whoa! Who was that?! Was it one of you?”
“Uh, no. Sounded to me like it came from that box,” points out one of his companions. And now all three stare hard at me.
“Insert coins.”
“Whoa! The box seriously just talked. What does it mean, insert coins?”
The three just make a flustered racket without understanding where to put coins into. Right—normally those two words wouldn’t be enough.
I always had a bulletin board placed next to me with a simple user’s manual hanging on it so that first-timers could use me, too. Today, I don’t have that, so I’ll need to do something else.
Until now, the only thing I could do was repeat those words over and over, but I’ve started to get the hang of my body and features. I’ve scoped out various methods, and my search led me to several answers. Yes—I am an ever-evolving vending machine.
First, though it covers the items, I set up my LCD panel. Then, I play a video I recorded ahead of time.
“Whoa, there’s a woman in the box. Hey, miss, do you know how to buy things from this?”
The young man talks to the woman displayed on the panel, but a prerecorded image is obviously not going to respond. Instead, the woman—Lammis—ignores them and holds out a coin.
Then she wonders aloud what she should buy as she raises her index finger and makes a pointing gesture to the viewer. After that, she stoops down, and when she stands up, her hand is holding a can of corn soup. She twists the lid to open it, then drinks it happily.
The video ends there, but I keep it playing on a loop.
“What in the world? Why is the woman doing the same thing?”
“Maybe this is an illusion? The woman there is too small to be real. And she’s moving exactly the same way.”
For a short while, the group discusses one thing or another, and then they appear to reach a conclusion.
“So this woman is teaching us how to use this magic item, right?”
“Welcome.”
It took some time, but they managed to arrive at the correct answer. This time, they watch the video closely, and one of them, understanding how it works, buys an item.
“Nice! I bought it!”
“Oh, so that’s what you do?”
“I get it.”
At some point, people had formed a crowd, and now they’re watching the hunters who safely bought items in admiration. They look like the ones who were interested but didn’t know what I was, so they were watching me.
“You have to twist this to open it, right? Guess I’ll drink it…
Phew, this is great! It’s cold and refreshing. It’s melting into every fiber of my being!”
His reaction is the best advertisement I could hope for, and the others use the chance to buy one product after another. A lot of people are interested in both how unusual I am and the tastes they’ve never experienced before in this world.
I’m off to a great start. I’ll save up money for a while until Lammis comes crying to me that she wants to go home.
After selling a certain amount of items, I learned that warm products sell well on this stratum. A lot of the residents wear layers, so I guess it’s pretty cold here, though maybe not as cold as winter.
The temperature on Clearflow Lake was similar to early summer, and this seems closer to the opposite. My customers’ breaths aren’t visible, so maybe it’s around fifty degrees out.
As I think about it, customer traffic drops off, and people start disappearing from the road, too. My dim surroundings are taken over by complete darkness. It seems night has arrived.
It was dark during the day, but there’s a huge difference in how much light there is between night and day. There are streetlights in the settlement, but it’s like the darkness is pushing their light back, letting only a tiny amount of it filter through. I couldn’t say it’s enough light to go by even if I was being generous.
I’ve experienced many nights after becoming a vending machine, but the darkness of this one feels strange. It’s unnaturally dark out. There’s light coming from nearby building windows, but those are the only bright places—the lights don’t illuminate one bit of their surroundings.
It’s just a bunch of points of light in a black world; everything else is darkness. I guess if it’s this dark out, nobody would be walking around. Nothing makes the slightest sound. The sight is enough to make me start to lose my grip on whether this is reality or fiction.
The name Dead’s Lament is well deserved. Maybe the dark around here is unique. If anyone is going to go hunting monsters, they should avoid the night and move during the day.
I won’t be doing any business without a soul around, so I go into energy-saver mode just as some kind of faint light approaches.
