Taichi Nanao/Soul Who Has Forsaken Heaven

Escape from the Haunted House!

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2Part 3

Taichi	Di, director-sensei! I mean, Cindy! I will protect you from the devils!
	O, of course, it’s, it’s going to be alright! No worries at all!
Izumi	(It doesn’t seems to be alright at all, I can’t help but to worry…
	Taichi-kun, is he going to be alright… Ah, that’s not it, I mean, Jonathan.)
Taichi	Uwah! There’s a mysterious looking shadow over there…..!!
Izumi	Ca, calm down! It’s just a shadow from the torch you’re holding!
Taichi	A, ah, it is….
Izumi	(I really didn’t expect things to go like this…)
	*Flashback*
Izumi	A pair ticket to a Haunted House?
Kazunari	Yep, it’s a puzzle-solving game with a limited time western horror theme. I’ve managed to get the invitation ticket~
	I thought director-chan won’t have any interest in it, so I’ve already promised to go with my university mates.
Izumi	If it’s puzzle related, Banri-kun and Chikage-san might be interested.
Kazunari	They said they were too pro for this.
Izumi	Well, that’s true. I should have expected that.
Kazunari	As you expected from Veludo City, it seems that they added an etude element inside as well.
	The participants were lost in the middle of the storm and they decided to take shelter in a mansion. The characters are carried into the settlement along with a group of travelers.
	The characters will be evaluated based on their puzzle-solving performance.
Izumi	That sounds very interesting!
	It really sounds like it can be a good practice for a play.
Taichi	I’m home.
Kazunari	Ah, welcome back~!
Taichi	What are you guys doing here?
Izumi	Just now, Kazunari-kun was giving me this pair ticket to a puzzle-solving event–
Taichi	A puzzle-solving event with director-sensei? I want to go!
Izumi	Really? That’s great!
	I can’t think of anyone who wants to join.
Taichi	Hehe, I’m looking forward to it~
Izumi	(Eh, but, Taichi-kun is not good with horror…)
Kazunari	Woah, Taicchan I’ll leave it to you to protect her.
Taichi	Of course! I’ll be the one protecting director-sensei!
Izumi	(Umm, no, most probably the one who needs protecting will be…)

Taichi	Uwah!
Izumi	(I was about to keep silence about the hint that Kazunari gave me beforehand, but I’m actually glad I listened to him before……)
Taichi	Fo, follow me, Cindy! I’ll definitely protect you!
Izumi	(I have a feeling Taichi is just getting pressured at this point, we actually got ‘lover’ as the scenario……)
	But really, if we don’t have that torch, it will be pitch black here.
	We have a time limit, if we don’t move forward soon ……
Taichi	Uwaaaaah! A knife! I… I… I’m going to be killed!
Izumi	Ca, calm down! We’re just in the kitchen!
Taichi	Oh! Tha, that’s it, as expected of Cindy!
Izumi	What will be the hint and where is it?
Taichi	Wah! There’s a head on the plate!!!
Izumi	Yo, you’re wrong! It’s just a roasted dish!
Taichi	A, ah, you’re right……
	Eh? There seems to be a letter there.
Izumi	Maybe, that’s the hint?
Taichi	The room that holds knowledge is connected to the outside and I have hidden the key within a book. Be careful, you should never be found by the devils of this mansion. Escape from their eyes. The devils are lurking in the shadow.
Izumi	What does that mean……?
	The next room is… a study I think.
Taichi	It, it seems that there’s nothing particular in this room.
Izumi	This is a great collection of books…
Taichi	Ah, I found a door!
	It’s locked…
	There should be a key around here somewhere.
Izumi	By the way, the letter just now mentioned ‘the room that holds knowledge’. So, is it about this room?
Taichi	Ah, that’s it! Then, this door should lead to the outside!
Izumi	Then the next will be the key within a book…
Taichi	Eh, with so many books around, we won’t know which book is the key!
Izumi	(There’s no helping it, it seems our character settings are already all around the place. It’s too difficult to keep calm and solve a mystery at the same time in a horror setting like this……!)
Taichi	Actually, I’m also curious about the last sentence in this letter.
	Be careful, you should never be found by the devils of this mansion. Escape from their eyes. The devils are lurking in the shadow.
Izumi	We have to be careful not to be found by the devils…
Taichi	But, there wasn’t any devils around.
Izumi	Maybe it’s actually a hint to find the book…
Taichi	Ah! Over there, there’s a statue of devils!
Izumi	You’re right.
Taichi	It’s also on that shelf! Also, this shelf over here!
	Cannot be found by the devils, maybe they are referring to the missing statues?
Izumi	I see! That means, the shelf without the statues will be, the one on top over there.
	But, there are still so many books on that shelf alone…
	It seems to be filled with books about devils.
Taichi	Ah! Only that book on that corner, it doesn’t have any ‘devils’ in its title.
Izumi	Then, that book is —-
Taichi	It’s such a high place…
Izumi	Ah, there’s a stool over there.
Taichi	I’ll go up!
Izumi	!?

Taichi	Eh!? Wh, what!?
Izumi	That’s……! The devils!?
Taichi	We have to hide……!
Izumi	(Th, the skeletons are floating!?)
Taichi	!!!
	Shh, hold down a bit.
Izumi	–
Taichi	Let’s hide here.
	Be quiet over here and we should be alright…… It’s going to be alright.
Izumi	……
	(The skeleton is, gone……?)
Taichi	Alright, let’s take the chance to get the book, Cindy.
	I’m pretty sure, inside this book……
Izumi	There it is! The key!
Taichi	The remaining time limit is…. Let’s hurry, Cindy!
Izumi	Right!
	*Move to Town*
Izumi	Ah, I’m so glad! We made it just barely!
	Jonathan…… I mean, Taichi-kun, that was fun!
Taichi	Ugh……
Izumi	A, are you alright!?
Taichi	Th, that was so scary!
Izumi	Now of all times!?
Taichi	I was so scared, I couldn’t think of anything else, by the time I realized I was just so focused on playing as Jonathan.
	And then, when I thought that I really need to protect my lover, Cindy, I could do everything somehow.
Izumi	(That, somehow sounds like Tasuku-san……)
	But Jonathan just now, I mean Taichi-kun, was very cool and reliable.
	My heart totally skips a beat as your lover.
Taichi	Really!
	Ah, but, that’s not me, that’s Jonathan……
Izumi	Well, maybe that’s the case, but the one playing Jonathan was Taichi-kun right?
Taichi	That’s true……. Honestly, I was really scared, but Cindy, I mean director-sensei, I tried to keep calm to protect you.
	As I thought… Director-sensei is really a special existence!

Chiaki