Chapter 3

Standing right in front of me was a character I had always loved.

When I returned to my room after enjoying a massage after my bath, the shadow standing inside was the character I had most wanted to see.

I was so surprised to find someone in this room, which only I was supposed to be able to enter, that my heart nearly leaped out of my chest. But after realizing who it was, my heart started pounding for a different reason.

Wow, he looks even cooler than he did in the game.

Feeling that I needed to say something, I looked back at his emotionless eyes and opened my mouth at almost the same time as he did.

"Um..."

"A... cough!"

He seemed to be trying to say something but clutched his mouth and crouched down.

Hearing his dry cough and the wheezing, labored breathing, I hurriedly approached him and opened the cap of the tea I was holding, offering it to him.

Perhaps because the shape of the PET bottle was unfamiliar, he hesitated, looking at it and my face, but after a moment of hesitation, he put it to his lips.

Since the concept of death does not exist in this space, he probably isn't sick. I was relieved to see that he just couldn't speak.

After drinking a bit, he seemed to relax and his gaze shifted to my hand, which I had instinctively placed on his shoulder when I approached him.

Realizing that touching him without permission might be inappropriate, I was about to let go when he suddenly widened his eyes and grabbed my hand tightly.

The pain from his grip, which felt like it might make a cracking sound, ran through my hand.

"...Human?"

He asked, his voice hoarse and raspy.

"Yes, I'm human. I'm a human who was brought here just like you."

Hearing my answer, he let out a big sigh of relief.

However, his expression didn't change, and his eyes remained as emotionless as ever.

I knew that behind that unchanging expression lay various emotions.

He is a person with normal emotions; it's just that his facial muscles are dead.

This person's name is Soho.

Dressed in the color that represents him, Soho is the final boss from the otome game I loved.

He is a beautiful young man with long black hair tied back in a ponytail, but due to conflicts with his mother and brother, he has difficulty showing his emotions.

The game starts with this person, who was part of the ruling family of the protagonist's country, rebelling against his brother, the legitimate successor and maintainer of the barrier.

The game ends when the player defeats him, and he is confined to this space against his will, even though he should have been made to change into a white prisoner's uniform.

...The reason he rebelled was simply because his plea for proper recognition of his actions was not heard.

"Would you like to sit down?"

I suggested, pointing to the sofa as he crouched down.

While moving to the back of the room with him, I tried to organize my slightly confused thoughts and think about how to explain the current state of the room.

This room is filled with things that don't normally exist in this world, and in fact, that's all there is.

Since I never expected anyone to come, I had added items without any regard for the era or world.

I inwardly broke out in a cold sweat as he looked around the room, which I had filled with all sorts of things.

The only saving grace was that, due to the world's motif, items related to the otome game did not exist and could not be bought or found on the internet.

It was a big shock when I realized this, but now I was grateful.

I remembered that this person was supposed to be very intelligent.

It seemed more effective to push the idea that my special ability was responsible for the anomalies rather than trying to cover them up, so I encouraged him to sit down.

I intended to sit across from him at the table, but his hand, which was gripping mine painfully, showed no sign of letting go.

"Um..."

Not knowing what to do with the hand that wouldn't let go, I called out to him as he sat on the sofa, but his expression remained unchanged.

Struggling to speak, he whispered hoarsely.

"Sorry, just a little... There's nothing out there, just a space with unpleasant colors mixed together... and white rooms. Inside, there are only mad people or corpses. No temperature, no meaningful words, nothing."

His voice was broken and hard to hear, but I listened carefully, realizing he was trying his best to speak.

...This person was confined here about a hundred years before I was born.

If he had been alone in this space for that long without going mad, his hoarse voice and current state made sense.

Could anyone resist the urge to shake off the hand of their favorite character, who was so weakened and gripping their hand tightly?

I couldn't. Ignoring my own embarrassment, I sat down next to him.

I was glad I had made the sofa a two-seater and offered him more tea.

"Sorry."

I watched as he tried to make his voice less hoarse by sipping the tea.

During the game, he had argued that the political achievements attributed to his brother were also his, and that he, not his brother, was the one maintaining the barrier.

As the battles continued, his subordinates left him, and he was eventually confined here alone.

However, if certain conditions were met in the game, the truth would be revealed after the ending.

These conditions were extremely difficult to clear, requiring the player to complete a very challenging event after achieving the true ending with all the characters.

If cleared, it would be revealed that he had been supporting the country's politics from behind the scenes and was the true maintainer of the barrier, but this truth would only be known after the ending.

After being confined here, he would never be rescued, leaving a bitter aftertaste.

This hidden element made him extremely popular, but he never appeared in the sequel and had no route to be pursued, making him a heartbreaker for fans.

Seeing that his voice wasn't coming back, I offered him a notepad and pen.

While this world only had brushes, he quickly understood how to use the pen and wrote beautiful, flowing characters.

'Thank you, I am Soho. May I ask your name?'

"My name is Nadeshiko. I know the story of the prisoner in the Soho-colored clothes who rebelled about a hundred years before I was born and was confined here."

I said this as if I were asking, even though I already knew.

It was true that the story of the prisoner in Soho-colored clothes was known.

He paused for a moment when I mentioned a hundred years.

'What year is it now?'

"I was brought here about two weeks ago, so if you want the year, I can tell you."

After I told him the year, he looked down.

He muttered "a hundred years ago" and continued writing.

'That is indeed me. I did rebel, but I was the one maintaining the barrier, and I was the one handling the important, behind-the-scenes political work.'

"Is that so? Well, I was also falsely accused and brought here, so it's not impossible."

He tilted his head inquisitively, despite his expressionless face, perhaps because I had accepted it so easily.

It was hard to explain, but since I knew the truth from the game, I had no choice but to say it.

I opened my mouth to add a reason that might make sense.

"In a space where you don't age, it's pointless to worry about small things. It's better to believe the words of the person you've finally met."

'Is that so, but are you also falsely accused?'

"Yes, I have no memory of selling information to another country."

'You seem quite calm despite being falsely accused and confined here.'

"Well, if you look around the room, you'll see that I have the power to gather things I like. Clearing my name seems complicated, and to be honest, I don't want to work anymore. I was tired of cleaning up my sister's messes and dealing with my father, who indulged her. I came here mostly by my own choice."

His emotionless eyes blinked repeatedly.

Come to think of it, his position in the story and my current position are similar.

His brother had taken credit for his achievements because of their mother's favoritism, and I was brought here because of my father's indulgence of my sister.

In the country's history books, it is said that his brother confined him here, and I was brought here by my sister.

"By the way, if you were confined here a hundred years ago, how did you get to this room? And most people are either mad or dead, but you seem to be fine."

He stiffened at my words and pursed his lips, looking down.

His eyes remained emotionless, but after a moment, he started writing.

'I came to this room by chance. After being confined here for a while, I couldn't stand being in the white room, so I started walking outside. The other rooms I found were either empty, filled with mad people, or dead bodies, so I just peeked and kept walking.'

He looked around the room, and I waited for his words, thinking about how to explain the room.

'I was passing by this room when I heard a sound. I peeked in and, seeing that it wasn't white and was filled with things I had never seen before, I couldn't help but enter. I'm sorry.'

"No, it's fine. This room doesn't have a lock, after all."

Since it's impossible to leave this space, the rooms don't have locks.

Of course, it was never expected that anyone would enter from the outside.

"Still, it's impressive that you walked through that space. I find the space with the mixed, unpleasant colors more disturbing than the white rooms. Wandering in that space forever without being able to return to your room would drive anyone mad."

'The white room follows you while you walk through the space. So, whenever I couldn't stand one, I would return to the other.'

"Really? Still, it's impressive that you managed to stay sane for a hundred years."

'I am the maintainer of the barrier. Maintainers are protected both physically and mentally as a benefit of their role, making them stronger than ordinary humans.'

"I see."

I was surprised to learn something new, and he surprised me even more.

'You must be a barrier maintainer too, right? Didn't you know that much?'

"......Huh?"

It took me a moment to process his casual statement.

Eh, a barrier maintainer... eh?

He tilted his head, still expressionless, as he saw me freeze with wide eyes.

I couldn't come up with a response to this unexpected statement and just stared back at his emotionless eyes.