Chapter 136 The Bedroom.

—This has been a long time coming.

Faced with this smell, which, while not particularly strong, was still quite repulsive, Tsukino and Chiya's first reaction was surprisingly this.

It seems like it used to be like that.

The three of them were also present when they first officially became involved in the incident that occurred at Hope's Peak School.

Then, during that time, they also experienced this unpleasant smell while exploring.

...How should I put it? Shouldn't I avoid reminiscing in strange places?

Although they weren't particularly tense to begin with, the sudden thought that popped into their minds amused Tsukino and Chiya, and they relaxed a bit.

"Oh, so according to the usual procedure, shouldn't it be time for us to go down now?"

Although it wasn't dark yet, the underground space was pitch black without any light. Wang Ma Xiaoji poked his head out, squinted, and peered inside, but could only barely make out the ladder they used to go up and down.

"Kozuki, you should still have that, right?"

Wang Ma Xiaoji's words were vague, but Yueye and Qianye still understood what he meant.

The black-haired boy nodded, shifting his gaze from the hole in the floor that no one could ignore, and began to pick up his backpack, quickly taking something out of it.

It's a face mask. Tsukino and Chiya had taken this out of their bags before, and the three of them happened to be there at the time, so everyone knew that Chiya had this in her bag.

Even before everyone has officially gone down, they can faintly smell this indescribable odor at the entrance to the underground chamber. So, once they officially go down... Anyway, it's always a good idea to wear a mask first.

"Hahaha..."

Wang Ma Xiaoji suddenly burst out laughing, seemingly remembering something. His laughter sounded slightly distorted under his mask, but it was still filled with genuine joy that the other two present could feel.

Tsukino and Chiya cast questioning glances... well, calm ones.

Wang Ma Xiaoji met his gaze, and then stopped laughing after he had finished laughing: "Nothing, nothing, I just feel like this scene is so familiar~ Hey, shouldn't I say something sentimental at a time like this?"

"Thinking about it, it's true... It was only last semester when I unexpectedly met you guys in that incident in the preparatory course, but now when I think back on it, it feels like a lifetime ago."

Hyuga Hajime seemed to smile slightly. Although he didn't laugh out loud like Ohma, his heterochromatic eyes, visible on the upper half of his face not covered by the mask, curved slightly with the smile, revealing a touch of gentleness.

"It was the same back then. The three of us were exploring strange events together when we came across an unpleasant smell in a certain space, and ended up wearing masks... It's a familiar development."

Being caught up in a series of supernatural events was a turning point in the lives of all three present. But if we were to say who was most affected by this change... at least on the surface, it would be Hajime Hinata.

If he hadn't been accidentally caught up in it that day, he would probably still be completely unaware of the existence of strange beings and continue to live an ordinary life at Hope's Peak... No, perhaps that's not how it should be said? After all, according to the original future trajectory, after becoming Kamikura Izuru, he would still drift further and further away from an ordinary life.

"Huh? Is it really this kind of occasion?" Wang Ma Xiaoji thought for a moment, "Ah... alright then. I'll say something like a year-end summary. Let me think... right, right, first of all, I want to express my deepest regret that the total number of pranks I played this year didn't reach one million..."

Hajime Hyuga: "Isn't the goal of one million times a bit exaggerated?"

Wang Ma Xiaoji: "No~ These are the performance targets that my subordinates need to meet every year! It's okay if I, as the leader, fail to meet them once or twice, but if my subordinates fail to do so... hehe, do you want to know the consequences?"

Tsukino and Chiya: "Oma, the way you put it... makes people less interested in knowing."

"Then let's not talk about it anymore." Wang Ma Xiaoji readily gave up this time, explaining logically, "Because, with all the back-and-forth echoing each other, and reminiscing about the past and summarizing before the battle, this either means we're close to the final boss battle or they're setting a really scary flag. And judging from our current progress, I think it's more likely to be a flag, right? So for everyone's sake, I'll stop here for now~"

Tsukino and Chiya nodded: "That makes sense. Let's leave that for after we leave here."

Hajime Hinata looked helpless: "That just sounded more like a flag..."

The clues provided by the murder detective, the doll, Aurora, Junko Enoshima, Hope's Peak… all of these seemed to have been strangely intertwined at this moment. Tsukino and Chiya felt this was a sign that some mystery was finally about to be completely solved, but could it really be that simple?

There's no point in thinking about those things now; I can't really come up with a conclusion that I can truly convince myself of anyway. In short, let's just go now.

The one who took the lead became Hajime Hinata again.

This was Hinata Hajime's own suggestion. Logically and emotionally, having the person with all the Ultimate Abilities lead the way was indeed the most advantageous decision in every aspect. Tsukino, Chiya, and Ohma Kokichi were all aware of Hinata Hajime's abilities, so they naturally wouldn't say unnecessary things like, "Ah, but isn't this a bit dangerous?" or "How about I do it?"

The flashlight that Tsukino and Chiya had been keeping in their backpacks finally came in handy.

The underground space wasn't very large. After climbing down the ladder, which wasn't too old or dilapidated, and landing safely, the environment below was clearly visible to the three of them under the illumination of the lights.

to be honest.

Tsukino and Chiya thought to themselves.

The scene inside was somewhat beyond his expectations.

Although the indescribable stench became more pronounced due to the distance, the scene inside the secret room beneath the study seemed to have nothing to do with the supernatural or terrifying.

This is a bedroom.

The walls were painted a light pink. Against the wall stood a white single bed, covered with several cute cushions and plush toys, most of them rabbit-themed.

Besides the bed, the room contained a desk, a wardrobe, and a wooden barrel. The desk had nothing on it except for a small, exquisitely designed rabbit-shaped lamp. Hyuga Hajime tried to turn on the nightlight, but it was out of power and wouldn't work.

At the same time, Tsukino and Chiya arrived at the wardrobe with Ohma Kokichi.

The wardrobe contained what a wardrobe is supposed to be—clothes. The clothes inside were all exquisite and beautiful, and...the same type as the clothes worn by those Western dolls. The two of them worked together to search the wardrobe, confirming that apart from the exquisite and beautiful dresses, there was nothing else of note.

“The Sakuraba couple only have one daughter. However, everything here is less for their daughter and more for…” Tsukino and Chiya closed the wardrobe door, “…for the dolls.”

According to the detective who was very interested in dolls and therefore knew quite a bit about them, just like the Kujo family who once sealed away a certain doll, the Sakuraba family also has a doll here.

Ayatsuji Yukito said he had seen the doll in Sakuraba's house before. That doll was different from Aurora, who had troubled Tsukino, Chiya, and Ohma Kokichi for so long, but...

"By the way, did Kohinata lose her sense of smell along with her when she evolved?"

Lost in thought, Ohma Kokichi, who was already standing next to Tsukino and Chiya, moved a little closer. The purple-haired boy leaned close to Tsukino and Chiya and asked in a mysterious voice, seemingly soft but loud enough for everyone present to hear.

"Is it alright for him to be standing this close? He's practically Superman... no, if he's Superman, shouldn't his sense of smell be more sensitive than that of an ordinary human?"

"It's still within my tolerance range," Hyuga Hajime replied earnestly, standing in front of the wooden barrel.

The wooden barrel that looked particularly out of place in the bedroom was the source of the foul odor that the three of them had already noticed when they were still in the study above.

Although Ouma Kokichi teased Hinata Hajime about his sense of smell, the space below was actually quite small, and no matter where they stood, they couldn't escape the stench. However, at this moment, more than the tolerable smell, the three of them were clearly more concerned about what was stored in the wooden barrel.

“After parting ways with Ayatsuji Yukito, I investigated the Sakuraba family,” Tsukino and Chiya said. “The Sakuraba family matriarch died in an accident when her daughter was two years old. Then their daughter committed suicide by jumping off a building when she was in her first year of high school. After that, the head of the Sakuraba family moved away, and the shrine was abandoned as a result.”

Upon hearing this, Wangma Xiaoji gave a drawn-out "hmm" with an ambiguous expression, while Hyuga Hajime nodded. With the other two already prepared, he decided to step forward and open the lid on top of the wooden barrel.

It was at this time that...

"Thump!"

A sound suddenly came from under the bed.