Chapter 39: It’s a pink loli!

Enter. Just wait…

Time ticked by second by second, the clock ticking away.

Soon, the familiar script played out once more.

The rapid knocking at the front door, and the occasional, spine-chilling footsteps in the living room.

Well, only scary if it’s before.

After two cycles of trial and error, Nuo Ai’er was now well-versed.

Hearing the footsteps, she quickly walked to the bedroom, pulled open the closet door, and crawled inside, then gently closed it.

Hearing the knock was even simpler—just stay silent, and he’d leave on his own.

‘Speaking of which, what does that guy even want? Can’t he pick the lock? Does a burglar care if someone’s home or not…’

Nuo Ai’er’s eyes darted around, then suddenly froze as a terrifying possibility struck her.

“Could he be a Lolicon Wizard?”

Knowing there was a little girl in the house, he’d pick the lock and come in…

‘If this body were caught by him…what would happen?’

Good thing that last cycle she chose to run out of the house and didn’t get caught.

‘…Ah, forget it. I won’t think about that stuff. The more I think, the more scared I get.

First, I need to figure out how to deal with that deadly combined rule skill that’s about to appear…’

Right, the situation where two sounds occur simultaneously.

“THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!”

Soon, both sounds appeared at the same time.

Just then, the long-awaited option appeared…

[Choice Moment!]

[A. Hide in the closet]

[B. Go out and open the fridge, go all out against them]

She’d already tried B—the fridge opened, and all three would be wiped out.

As for A……that takeout guy could open the closet.

But that would be a dead save: if she didn’t hide, the footsteps would catch her; if she hid, the man would catch her.

A normal dungeon shouldn’t have such an unsolvable situation.

…Though it’s not that normal either.

Still, Nuo Ai’er had no other choice.

She quickly ran into the closet.

Sure enough, after hearing the footsteps, not long after, the sound of lockpicking came from outside the door. The takeout guy with a face full of mosaic pushed the door open.

“Mm……” Nuo Ai’er closed her eyes, hoping he wouldn’t come over.

But the moment the takeout guy stepped into the living room, something changed!

The dawdling footsteps that had been pacing in the living room suddenly stopped.

Then, at an extremely violent speed, they charged straight at the takeout guy who had just entered!

“BANG BANG—CRASH CRASH—!”

A fierce scuffle erupted outside the bedroom, along with the sound of heavy objects hitting the floor.

“OWW! ROOOAR—!”

The formerly eerie takeout guy let out a strange scream.

Then he scrambled and fled the house.

Immediately after, with a dull “thud,” the front door slammed shut.

It was the mysterious footsteps that had closed the door.

Then they gradually faded away, finally vanishing completely.

“Heh…”

Nuo Ai’er breathed a sigh of relief from inside the closet.

She’d gained another crucial clue.

The footsteps inside the house had higher priority than the man knocking outside.

They actively attacked intruders.

***

Meanwhile, the man only entered to open the closet and catch Nuo Ai’er when the knocking rule was triggered alone and she revealed someone was home.

But with the footsteps inside, it didn’t matter if he came in or not—the footsteps would drive him away.

She’d pretty much figured out the pattern…

After confirming that the outside was completely quiet, Nuo Ai’er pushed open the closet door and stepped out.

“First……let’s scavenge the items.”

Nuo Ai’er walked straight to the bed, skillfully lifted the bed board, and retrieved that brass key from underneath.

Having obtained the [Key to the Second Floor], she continued searching the room.

Soon, deep in a drawer of the dresser, she found another cool object.

“What is this…?”

Nuo Ai’er picked up a green jade bracelet.

[Acquired item: Grandma’s Jade Bracelet]

[Durability: 5]

[Description: An heirloom left by Grandma. Wearing it provides a certain warding effect against evil.]

[Note: It will shatter and disappear when durability reaches zero.]

“There’s a warding item?” Nuo Ai’er stroked the bracelet. The smooth warmth on it settled her tense nerves a little.

But what did this “evil” refer to?

Could it be the black mist in the fridge?

It wasn’t impossible, since there was a safe in the fridge, and she’d need to deal with the black mist to open it.

But she didn’t know the password for now, so she’d put it aside.

“Mm…okay…” Nuo Ai’er stretched.

Alright, she’d found all the items she needed, and she’d tested all the rules she could.

Nuo Ai’er sat on the chair in front of the dresser, waiting quietly.

Now she just had to wait for that “Meimei” to come back.

***

Time crept closer.

The clock read 19:59.

Only one minute left until 8 PM.

But just then…

Without warning, the sluggish footsteps started up again in the living room!

Nuo Ai’er: Ah.

Nuo Ai’er’s mouth twitched.

Talk about timing…

Though she complained in her mind, her white-haired loli body was very obedient.

She immediately turned, dashed into the closet, and skillfully closed the door, hiding.

However, no sooner had she hidden than the sound of a lock came from the front door.

“Click.”

But this time it wasn’t violent lockpicking—it was the normal sound of a key unlocking.

As the sound of the key unlocking rang out, the sluggish footsteps in the living room vanished instantly.

Nuo Ai’er: ?

Before she could react, the front door opened, and light footsteps entered, heading straight for the bedroom.

Was it……Meimei?

Nuo Ai’er held her breath, hiding in the dark closet, peering carefully through the gap in the door.

The newcomer stopped in front of the closet.

Nuo Ai’er quietly pushed the closet door open a tiny crack, trying to see the person’s face.

But the moment she opened the gap, a pale red eye was quietly pressed against the gap on the other side, also looking in.

“Eek!”

Nuo Ai’er was startled so badly she jumped.

Before she could react, the other person yanked the closet door open.

Standing outside now was a little girl about the same age as Nuo Ai’er.

She had soft pink hair, clear pale red eyes, and wore a cute JK skirt.

A pink-haired loli.

“I’m home~ Hehe, my goodness, big sister, why are you hiding in the closet?” The pink-haired loli tilted her head, looking at Nuo Ai’er inside, her face breaking into a sweet, innocent smile.

“Uh……I”

Nuo Ai’er was frozen in place, her brain momentarily not catching up.

“Huh?”

Before Nuo Ai’er could figure out what to say, the pink-haired loli reached out and grabbed Nuo Ai’er’s small hand.

Then she pulled hard, showing far greater strength than Nuo Ai’er!

Nuo Ai’er: ?! What strength is that?!

That strength wasn’t like a loli at all!

Nuo Ai’er was dragged out by Meimei (tragedy).