Why is my Isekai in the Slice of Life anime was become a Horror Story?

Chapter 33: Trust Once Betrayed is Not Easily Restored

The exploration of the first floor had to be temporarily put on hold.

The reason was simple: lifting the wooden board revealed a group of pale, white figures standing below, silently gazing up at everyone.

Those entities stood motionless in the kitchen below, and even after hours had passed, they showed no sign of disappearing.

Clearly, investigating the first floor was no longer an immediate option. The group had no choice but to postpone their actions and instead address some internal conflicts within their team.

After all, the danger they had just faced—and the lingering threat—was caused by one person's disobedience.

"Please… sir… I was just too scared at the time! I was wrong! I was really, really scared… don't do this…"

Green trembled, crouched, and pleaded desperately, but Kaguya only stared at him silently. Beside her, Sun Dajun, with a complex expression, handed the key to Room 209—recently removed—to Shijo Maki before leaving the room without a word.

Green instinctively understood what losing the key to one's door meant in such a terrifying apartment.

He also knew that his previous actions had betrayed Kaguya and the others.

As a drifter from the lower rungs of society, nearing 30 years old with nothing to his name, Green had a certain cunning that had allowed him to survive. Yet, like his lowly status, his cleverness was limited to petty tricks devoid of true worth.

Knowing he was useless, he clung to others for survival. But he lacked the self-awareness to improve his own chances of survival. When danger struck, he failed to recognize the correct course of action. As before, when it came to the critical decision of using the clock, he hesitated and tried to flee instead, ultimately leading to this reckoning.

It was reminiscent of his past, when he finally managed to join a gang and gain a sliver of power. Unable to resist stealing part of the protection money he was supposed to submit—despite knowing that if he turned it in, he would receive a share—he pocketed the cash anyway. As a result, he was beaten nearly to death and expelled from the gang. If not for a few old acquaintances who pitied him, he might have been killed outright.

Afterward, Green never found another decent position. He thought that experience had taught him a valuable lesson. Yet, when faced with another critical choice—this time a matter of life and death—he still made the wrong decision, compounding the situation.

Now, the steel wire Green had used for lock-picking was confiscated, and his prized knife had fallen into Kaguya's hands.

The strength he once prided himself on was effortlessly crushed by Kaguya—a "muscle queen" with superhuman prowess from an anime world.

At this moment, he knelt prostrate on the ground, devoid of any courage to resist.

"I thought you were someone with a bit of sense, someone who knew how to survive. But now I see your so-called intelligence is nothing but petty tricks. When it truly matters, you can't distinguish between what's important and what's not. You act clever but make all the wrong moves. How disappointing."

Kaguya twirled the knife in her hand, her icy gaze piercing through Green.

"Forgive me…"

Green didn't dare lift his head, his voice trembling as he tried to plead his case.

"Did I ask you to speak?"

Kaguya's next words froze him in fear, and he immediately fell flat to the ground, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.

Indeed, her aura was terrifying— Sasuga "Ice Princess Kaguya-sama."

Sitting nearby, Takakai couldn't help but marvel silently to himself.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Takakai would never have believed that a 17-year-old girl could possess such an intimidating presence.

But considering that Kaguya was a rare genius born into the powerful Shinomiya conglomerate family, it wasn't hard to understand why she had such a personality, though it still felt oddly surreal.

"Takahashi-san, I'm curious," Kaguya said, turning to Takakai, who looked as though he was enjoying a live drama. "Do you know anything about yakuza culture? Specifically, how a subordinate redeems themselves after failing to complete a task assigned by their superior?"

Why is she asking me? Takakai wondered. Was it because Shijo Maki, with her gentle nature, wasn't suitable for answering such a question?

Caught off guard, Takakai froze momentarily. He had been content merely observing the spectacle, but after thinking it through, he gave a response.

"Stuff them in a barrel, fill it with cement, and toss it into Tokyo Bay, like those Akikan main characters do?"

The moment Takakai spoke, Green nearly passed out from fear. He was convinced he might be executed on the spot, collapsing onto the floor like a puddle of jelly.

"Just kidding. I think it's more about cutting off fingers—like the pinky finger, right?"

Takakai's follow-up brought Green a brief sigh of relief. But as the meaning of the words sank in, his fear surged back.

"I don't know who is Akikan, but exactly," Kaguya said coolly. "We obviously can't kill you, Green-san. Any corpse in this place would turn into one of those bizarre creatures. But you've made a grave mistake—one that has rendered you untrustworthy. Therefore, you now have two options.

"First, you go into your room, and we lock your door lock. You won't be able to enter or leave freely anymore. You'd be confined to your room, unless you find a way to break the door down yourself. Naturally, no one will help you repair it."

As she spoke, Kaguya stood and walked toward Green, her cold demeanor suffocating.

"Or… you prove to me that you won't make such a mistake again. Words alone are insufficient; actions are required. So, give me your left hand and your pinky finger. If you can endure the process without screaming, I'll consider you to have enough courage to remain of use to me."

Her final words were laced with a chilling danger that made the air feel heavy.

Maki, knowing what was about to happen, frowned, adjusted her headband, and quietly left the living room. Like Sun Dajun earlier, she sought refuge elsewhere, unwilling to witness the gruesome scene.

Meanwhile, Takakai, with his somewhat twisted sense of humor, admired Kaguya's queen-like aura. He couldn't help but regret not having popcorn. If only he had something sweet to snack on while watching a yakuza-style finger-cutting scene—it would have been an experience, he thought.

To clarify, Takakai wasn't a fan of blood or violence. Even when browsing the web H questionable corners , he strictly stuck to wholesome "vanilla" romance content.

It was just that seeing Green suffer some well-deserved consequences felt deeply satisfying. After all, Green's reckless actions had nearly led to the group's annihilation.

The following events do not need to be described in detail.

Green, knowing there was no third option left, turned pale and extended his left hand.

The sharp knife plunged down, severing Green's pinky decisively and quickly.

Of course, even though this man tried his best to suppress his scream, the excruciating pain caused him to open his mouth, ready to emit a moan.

However, before he could yell out, Kaguya delivered a powerful kick to his neck, the force so strong that it almost broke his bones, causing all the sounds to be choked in his throat.

"You have bandages and iodine, dress it yourself. Next time will be in an hour. This time, you must watch the kitchen door. If you encounter another situation requiring a clock reset, I hope you don't disappoint me again."

After speaking, Kaguya turned and left, also stepping out of living room 206.

Due to the slight discomfort from the smell of blood and Green's sobs, Takakai also followed and left.

....

"It really was a finger cut, Oba-sama would indeed do this..."

Seeing Kaguya's expression as she left, Maki guessed what had happened in the room and couldn't help but shake her head with a sigh.

"Maki, your injury should be fine, right?"

Takakai, walking behind, asked about Maki's injury, receiving a "I'm fine" in reply.

Takakai walked closer to the door, and at that moment, Sun Dajun came out of the bathroom. His face seemed like he had just dealt with a bit of "stress," but his expression was still filled with melancholy, possibly because the serious situation made it hard to "relieve" the tension.

"Did he really cut his finger?"

Sun Dajun, a bit afraid, asked Takakai after a moment of silence.

"Umu, he did something so foolish, if we really went easy on him, that would be the real issue."

Takakai was unafraid, as he had no moral qualms; he didn't mind Green cutting his finger to atone for his actions.

"Oh dear, how did it come to this? We finally managed to gather together to think of ways to survive and escape..."

Sun Dajun sighed deeply, his expression very complex.

"This was inevitable. Green is clearly the type of person from the underworld; morals and right or wrong mean nothing to him. Only when he's in real pain does he know who to listen to."

Knowing that Sun Dajun still didn't fully understand, Takakai thought for a moment and then gave a brief explanation. Although this fat man couldn't run and ate too much, his skills in electrical repair, mechanical lock work, and simple woodworking were quite valuable. Takakai couldn't leave his teammate worried, so he needed to clarify the dangerous situation for him.

"I understand now, haiz, people, once they have it good, why bother looking for trouble."

Sun Dajun didn't say anything more, just shook his head, sighed, and walked off.

An hour later, the blood in the living room had been mostly cleaned up, and the severed finger had been taken back to Green's room for safekeeping. As for the door lock, it would have to wait until the next exploration to be fixed, in order to prevent him from doing something foolish and to make him realize that if he continued to act recklessly, he certainly wouldn't survive.

...

Creak——

The wooden board covering the hole was opened again.

Takakai looked down and saw a pale figure slowly lift its head.

"Still down there."

He turned and spoke to Maki, who was on watch in the kitchen.

"Kai-kun, if those things are still down there, then truly..."

Maki hesitated for a moment. Although they had discussed the details of the second expedition earlier, when it came time to actually act, she still couldn't bring herself to let Takakai take the risk.

"I understand, but this is the best option right now. And don't forget, we still need to give Green another chance to atone, don't we?"

Takakai smiled lightly after speaking, then turned to mock Green, who was sitting at the kitchen door with a haggard expression, his left hand bandaged. He then turned his gaze back to the hole in the floor.

The second expedition had become Takakai's only unavoidable choice.

According to the original plan, it should have been either Maki or Kaguya going down for the second expedition.

However, due to Green's arrogant actions, Maki was injured and unable to act, and Kaguya couldn't trust this man. To watch over the 1.9-meter-tall guy, someone with the highest combat ability was needed, and that could only be Kaguya. Sun Dajun was only capable of support and logistics. In the end, Takakai was the one left to continue the expedition.

"Don't worry, didn't we reason through this together earlier? Even though it's dangerous down there, theoretically, if it's an expedition, there shouldn't be any problems. Alright, I'm going now. We can't waste any more time, right?"

Takakai smiled at Maki once more, then he tightened the rope around his waist, closed his eyes, and jumped straight into the hole in the floor.

Splash——

The sound of hitting the water was clearly audible, and Takakai didn't hit anything.

The figures standing densely below the water seemed to not exist. They were illusions that couldn't be touched.

He didn't open his eyes, just clung to the wall and slowly walked out of the kitchen.

Creak——

The sound of the door opening was clear as the kitchen door, which he had previously closed, slowly opened.

Of course, Takakai didn't open the door himself; it was just that when he approached, it opened automatically.

No attacks occurred.

Until Takakai reached the living room, walked to the open living room door, and then entered the corridor, there were no attacks. Everything was silent, with only the sound of Takakai's breathing and the rushing water.

Just as had been reasoned from the very beginning.

Indeed, it felt so familiar.

Takakai couldn't help but silently marvel to himself.