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GP Reference: Detective Hiyori's Case File
Note: These are his IC notes based on his own experiences and observations, plus information he's gotten from other characters and NPCs. Most of the information is factual, but there are some erroneous assumptions here and there (like his assumption that everyone got the same "You will play a game, you will benefit" message during the Springtime event; he never spoke to any rabbits, so he never learned otherwise). Then there are some baldfaced lies, but those all concern himself and the Enstars cast rather than the game setting. (He repeatedly insists that none of them have voluntarily played Game 52, for example, but he's just saying that to protect their reputations.)
COVER
When out of his room, he takes his notes out of the folder, puts them in laminated sheet protectors, and adds a cover page that says "ROMANCE NOVEL (In Progress)." Underneath this is a sketch of two people snuggled up together with hearts surrounding them. He even pressed some stick-on rhinestones to the cover, just to further the ruse. The sheet-protected pages are bound together with loose leaf binder rings for easy reading.
ARRIVAL
I can't speak for everything that happened to Jun-kun, since I didn't ask him for details, but our experience seems to have been roughly the same. Our clothes had been changed while we slept. I woke up wearing the sort of outfit I'd never wear on purpose; it wasn't something taken from my wardrobe, let's just put it that way. And when I awoke, there was someone lying in the bed next to me.
I know what this all sounds like, but I promise I didn't go on any bender the previous night. First of all, I don't drink, and second of all, I was completely focused on SS. The same is true of Jun-kun. We were abducted in the dead of the night without any prior warning.
So was the person I woke up with - I won't reveal their name here, out of respect for their privacy, but they didn't have any clue what was going on. We woke up inside a fancy-looking room, one that had been decked out to celebrate someone's wedding. Both of us were wearing smartwatches, and the watches had eerie messages displayed on them. Mine no longer shows the same message, so I can't quote it verbatim, but it said we'd been checked into a resort slash casino called "The Golden Peacock" as a newlywed couple. The message congratulated us on our marriage, and told us we'd been given a junior penthouse as a complimentary gift while they worked on checking us into our "reserved rooms." Our messages also referred to us as "wildcards," which I'll get to later.
Needless to say, there was no marriage, and neither one of us had ever reserved a room. Nothing untoward happened. We were horribly confused, and wanted to know what was going on. But when that other person left the suite and started to interrogate the staff, they were told something very disturbing. They asked where the exit was and how we could leave, and they got told the only way to leave was by having sex with people.
At that point, I realized how dire the situation was and started to act accordingly. I parted ways with them after that, and started to search the resort for an exit. But I wouldn't find one that day, and I still haven't found one even as I write this.
Over a month has passed since my arrival. This is my account of everything that's happened to me, everything I've learned about the operation known as the Golden Peacock, and everything I suspect about the criminals in charge."
RESORT
It all sounds very impressive, but mostly I just find everything tacky. It seems to me like the place was designed by commoners based on stereotypes about how rich people live. But that's hardly the biggest issue around here.
When I say the resort is large, I mean there are 90 different floors - though the number seems to be changing. When I first got here, I could swear there were only 80, so they must have expanded and added new buttons to the elevators overnight. If that sounds fishy to you, I promise there are fishier things than that going on. I've only scratched the surface, really.
The resort has just about everything a person could ever want, except for two things. First of all, there doesn't seem to be any proper stage around. No concert arena, no venue for live shows, no theater, nothing that I've found. There are pianos stationed around that people can play if they wish, and there are trashy nightclubs with punishingly loud music coming from them, but there aren't any amenities for idols. Which is somewhat curious, since my partner and I aren't the only kidnapped idols here. But most of the other guests claim not to be familiar with idols, and no one seems to know about me and Jun-kun.
The second thing missing is an exit. I've looked just about everywhere, and I've been unable to find one. The place does have a garage, so you'd think there'd be an exit there somewhere. But I've been there a few times at this point, and I can confidently say that if there is one, it's well-hidden. Although the garage is full of luxury cars, no one comes in or out, which raises all sorts of questions. The garage offers valet services and has guards stationed around, but they mostly just stand there picking their nose. I've tailed a few of them, and I haven't seen any of them welcome new guests in or out."
RESORT (cont.)
Regarding that last point, there's all sorts of stuff to distract people with: restaurants and cafes, hundreds of different stores, salons, recreation, those nightclubs I already mentioned, an indoor garden, and more. All of those places are fully-staffed, and most things are open all day. There's also a casino with several floors - I haven't spent any time there, but it seems to be the main attraction around here. It's open all day and night, and you can earn "chips" there, which is the only form of currency this place accepts. Food, clothes, and other purchases are all paid for with "chips." And the whole place has a card game theme, which I'll get to in a minute.
Of course, there's also another theme, which is equally taboo for us idols to talk about. But that other theme is everywhere you look, too: the stores sell toys and costumes for it, the bakeries sell pastries baked into obscene shapes, and some of the venues are geared towards finding a partner for that sort of thing. There's even a love hotel within the resort which offers rooms people can use. I won't go into more detail, except to say I've been avoiding all those places along with the casino. Jun-kun has, too, of course. When he's not investigating with me, he spends his time in the gym as you'd expect him to.
Even if someone doesn't appreciate either of the "themes" here, there's still a lot else available. Even I'll admit some of the shopping and dining options appeal to me. With all the resort offers for leisure, it's easy to see how someone might get distracted, despite having just been kidnapped. But even with that in mind, the staff and some of the guests are much too cavalier about kidnapping. I'll talk about that in a minute, too.
And as far as the resort's location goes, I'm afraid I know nothing about that. There's no way to see outside - that's one of the weirdest things. Although the resort has a "rooftop garden" located on the topmost floor, it isn't actually on the roof. And although the resort has windows, you can't see outside them. The windows and the garden ceiling are all covered by a screen which shows an "artificial view," sort of like what you'd see in a VR situation. My suite has a remote which lets you change the view outside the window, so they aren't hiding it. I've tried removing the screen inside my room to see what's underneath, but I can't figure out any way to do it. And there's no other method I've found to figure out where the resort is located, either. The staff won't tell me, and even souvenirs in the gift shop don't say. Postcards have the name of the resort printed on them, but for location, it's just nonsense like "Where your dreams come true!" And there's no way to send them, either, nor is there any way to contact the outside world.
In other words, true to the whole bird theme, the resort is a cage. But it's a big enough cage, with enough toys in it, that people might start to forget they're trapped if they don't keep their wits about them. That's what our captors are counting on, I'm sure. In any case, it's clear they've taken great pains to block off the outside world so that no one can call for help. And they've taken other steps to ensure there's no rebellion, too."
STAFF AND GUESTS
They can't answer any questions, first of all, except in vague terms. When asked who kidnapped us, who put the watches on our wrist, and who wrote the messages, all they said was that "The House" did it. They couldn't give anything more specific; it was just "the House" over and over.
What's most bizarre is that they didn't seem to see anything wrong with mass kidnapping. They all said the House was generous and wonderful, and that they couldn't see why anyone would want to leave, as though they'd all been fed the same lines.
At that point, I started to think they might fear retaliation from their employer if they said anything less-than-wonderful about their workplace, so I tried offering them a better-paying job through the Tomoe Foundation. But not one of them considered the offer, and they acted like I was just playing with them.
What's even more curious is that they couldn't answer basic questions about their employment. Not one of them could tell me who hired them, besides "the House," and not one could remember how long they'd been working there or which month they were hired. They just said it was "some time ago" and trailed off as though they couldn't remember. Or they said, "time flies when you're busy" and other clichéd words.
Obviously, the world is a big place and people have different values, so I'm sure it wouldn't be impossible to find some people who are okay with working for a shady enterprise. But the fact that everyone had the same views and seemed to truly believe what they were saying really disturbed me. It wasn't just one or two shop clerks; it was janitors, food servers, bellhops and guards who all talked that way. Moreover, the fact that none of them could remember how long they've been here points to memory loss on a grand scale. So, between their universally strange views and their issue with memory, I can only assume the staff was brainwashed. They may well have no memory of their previous life before coming here, and they've all been brainwashed to see "the House" as their wonderful provider.
And the staff aren't the only people who behave like cult followers. It's also the other guests, too. Those who got kidnapped around the same time I did have still kept their minds, as well as their memories of their life before coming here, but I can't say the same for the longer-term guests. All of those guests act like embarrassing nouveau riche types: the kind who don't care about anything except gossip, luxury, showing off, eating and drinking to excess, and having affairs and so on. Of course, that's exactly the sort of person a luxury resort like this would attract, so I thought they were just normal guests at first, but then something else happened that made me realize otherwise.
It was when the "Springtime" game was announced - I'll get to that later, but once a new "game" was announced on all the TV screens, most of the guests went crazy over it. They started whooping and cheering and having hysterical meltdowns. They'd fall to their knees in the halls, weep, and kiss the ground. And every single one of them praised "the House" with a religious fervor.
None of the people I know personally have been brainwashed. That includes all the ES idols; the four of us have kept our minds, and we can see this place for what it is. But the longer-term guests - or the "career residents," as one other person called them - are different from us. They aren't just content to be living in luxury. They truly worship our captors - that is, "the House" - as their saviors, akin to a religious deity. In other words, the resort is a cult led by "the House," and the guests and staff are their devoted followers.
I'm not sure how the brainwashing procedure works. There might be a facility somewhere on the lower levels, locked behind closed doors somewhere. Or it might be done through hypnotism or mind control. I don't think emotional manipulation would explain it, since the effects are too widespread, and they're identical in just about everyone.
Of course, if they're so good at brainwashing, I'm not sure why they didn't bother to brainwash me or the other idols. But I do wonder if they attempted it, and it just didn't work properly. Leo-kun and Rinne-senpai seem to be suffering from some memory loss, and I can't say with 100% certainty that I'm not suffering any, either. I want to think I could never forget anything that happened back home, especially if it involved those I care about deeply. But anything is possible when you're dealing with an enemy this powerful. I can't afford to throw out any possibility just because I don't like it."
HOSTAGES
But I can say this about the other hostages: most of them are bigwigs. I've had people try to argue the kidnappings are random, but they're definitely targeted. Here are just a few of the people I know of who are trapped here:
- A prince from a faraway land
- Another prince from another land
- The Senior Manager of a government organization
- The Senior Manager's boss
- A famous model and actor
- A non-ES idol
- Several powerful mages
- Someone who was instrumental in rebuilding his society after an extinction event
- A Lord belonging to a mountain sect in China
- A man who calls himself the "Overlord of all Demons"
Some of these might sound fake, like the last one. Honestly, I'm still not convinced that person isn't just bluffing! But things like magic, demons, gods and goddesses DO exist, or at least they do in some worlds - which I'll get to later. But the point is, no matter how powerful or well-protected they are, all these high-status people were kidnapped by "the House" just like me. Which goes to show you how powerful our captors are, and how shielded they must be from facing any consequences. Several of the other hostages have powerful families, and even entire kingdoms backing them up, but kidnapping them was still a breeze. And our captors don't seem the slightest bit concerned about making enemies.
All this raises a few questions:
1. Why go after bigwigs? Why not simply no-name people whose absence won't be noticed?
2. How powerful is the House in order to pull this off?
3. For what purpose was everyone kidnapped?
Unfortunately, I can't avoid addressing the last one any longer. The answer is unpleasant, so I've avoided talking about it so far. But there's no more avoiding it, so I'll go into detail about that next."
GAME 52
The purpose we were all brought to the resort was "Game 52." There's a lengthy explanation about it on the watch, but I'm not going to write the whole thing here. I'll just sum up the basics.
1. The goal of Game 52 is to collect a deck of 52 playing cards, with 52 different people standing in for different card values.
2. The values are assigned seemingly at random. I'll go into more detail about that in a minute, but each person's value corresponds with a playing card: one person might be an 8 of Spades, while another might be considered a 4 of Diamonds, and so on.
3. You collect a person's card by having sex with them.
4. You also get paid in chips for doing this, which you need to buy food and clothing.
5. Only one person needs to enjoy themselves for the act to count as sex.
6. "Doubles" - that is, going to bed with the same person twice - doesn't count towards filling out your deck. They want to incentivize promiscuity.
If you're wondering how "the House" knows who's been sleeping with whom, the answer to that is unclear. There may be hidden cameras or microphones in the walls, or the smartwatches themselves might be monitoring us. All the information about far along someone is in their "deck" gets automatically stored in the smartwatch.
If you're thinking this situation is just one big excuse for harassment, or that it's ripe for abuse, you'd also be right. I haven't witnessed something like this happen myself, but since only one person needs to enjoy themselves, I'm afraid someone unscrupulous might be able to go around hurting people and collecting "cards" that way. The Rules section on the smartwatch doesn't say anything about violent behavior being off-limits. In fact, it seems to be encouraged, since the rules also suggest things like spanking people and whipping them.
If you're wondering why anyone would play this, it's because this place doesn't give much of a choice. Everyone says the only way to leave is by completing a deck of 52 cards and using your "wish" to go home. The rules promise that anyone who completes Game 52 will be granted any wish they desire, which feels appropriate for a cult. There's been no evidence of this, and I was told recently about a person who was able to escape the game but not the resort - meaning it's entirely likely they're lying.
But people are desperate. They've been trapped with no way to get home, sometimes for months on end, and with no possible way to contact their families. Since our captors are capable of using magic and accomplishing feats like mass kidnapping, I can see why someone might believe they can grant wishes. And even if you do choose not to play, you might find yourself in a sticky situation anyway. Some of the food is spiked with drugs that impair judgement or make your body feel hot. I'm not talking from experience; I've been careful since coming here, but this is common knowledge everyone warns about.
That's why I ask for you not to judge anyone too harshly. I haven't played Game 52 at all, and none of the other ES idols are willing participants, either. But if a list of names ever does get released, I ask that you not look down on people. They didn't come here by choice, and if they've played "Game 52" at all, it was probably because they were desperate to get home to their loved ones."
RANK AND SUIT
Each person is assigned a rank and suit. In order to brand everyone as property of the resort, all of us were forcibly tattooed. Though, as with our kidnapping, no one can remember being tattooed: the marks simply appear on the person's skin after a few days. Someone told me about it shortly after arrival, so I went to a bathroom and checked, but I didn't have any mark when I first arrived. One appeared on my back a few days in. It was a spade mark, to show what card suit I'd been given. I have a picture of it as proof, but I'd rather not share it unless I absolutely need to in a court of law. I don't want my fans to think of some ugly tattoo when they see me, so I'd prefer for it not to get circulated.
I've seen the marks on others, too. Some appear on the person's face, while others might be on the person's chest or back. The four suits are spades, clubs, hearts and diamonds. If there's any pattern to the assignment, I haven't found out what it is yet. But out of the ES idols, Jun-kun is the only clubs, and the rest of us are "spades."
The ranks are more important. Everyone gets a rank as well as a suit, and the rank seems to determine what quality of life you'll receive. Although this is a so-called "luxury resort," if you're given a lower rank like 2, 3 or 4, you get assigned a small room and are forced to share a communal bath. But if you're given a higher rank, like 10, you get a large room with its own kitchenette, as well as other privileges like room service.
Ranks aren't determined by wealth or status. If it were, I'd be among the top ranks, but Leo-kun was given a higher rank than me and I know he doesn't come from a noble family. For now I'll just assume those are also assigned at random, though I think the system itself is very intentional. They say you can change rank by participating in Game 52, which serves as an incentive for the lower ranks. If you sleep with enough people, you can earn yourself a larger room, or so they say. It's comparable to street prostitution, I suppose.
I'm not sure where the incentive is if you're given a high rank straight from the get-go. If your rank can fall, I have yet to see proof of it. But I did speak to one girl who thinks it can, and she also thought the House's ultimate goal was to make the game harder by having everyone change ranks until they all end up "in the middle." That way, no one will be able to collect every card value, and no one will complete the game. That's something to be wary of, I suppose.
Although the system sounds awfully silly, the long-standing guests take it very seriously. You'll hear gossip about "that handsome Jack" or "the cute new 10 who just arrived." Everyone fawns over the higher ranks, just like everyone kisses up to wealthy people and celebrities in the outside world. Meanwhile, the lower ranks are sort of looked down upon, as though their placement is their own fault, which is also comparable to how things are on the outside.
This goes without saying, but I don't buy into any of this. No one can determine my value except for me. I have no intent to improve my rank, and neither does Jun-kun. But there will always be those who are desperate to climb up from the bottom. I won't judge those people harshly, either, although I do think it's sad when people take pride in their "card collecting." I assume those types weren't praised enough as children, so they're desperate for any validation they can find.
Anyway, I'll start to feel more and more disgusted if I write about Game 52 for too long, so let's move onto something else now."
THE ROOST AND J
A few days into the month, we all received messages on our watch from a shadowy figure called J. The message said that you could find him in "the Roost," which is "his personal playground where the House has limited reach." He then invited everyone to come visit him on the 16th floor after hours.
I'd heard the name once from Rinne-senpai. All I knew was that he wasn't the man in charge, but that he had "stakes in this place," so Rinne-senpai had been trying to pry information from him. I wasn't sure what he meant by "stakes," but if he has access to everyone's watches, he must at least have some importance. So, with that thought in mind, I graciously accepted the invite.
The Roost was just awful. Unlike the rest of the resort, which is sparkling clean at the very least, the Roost was dirty and dingy. There was cigarette smoke everywhere, the walls and carpet were stained, and the guests there were very ill-mannered. Everyone was shouting or getting into bar fights at the bar, and the games area was just a gambling den full of drunk, desperate players. The smell was terrible, too. But I soldiered into the gambling anyway, in hopes of hearing some information.
As I said before, I haven't spent much time at the casino. But the gambling that goes on at the Roost seems much shadier than the gambling at the casino. People weren't just betting chips; some of them were betting body parts. Everyone was desperate to win at all costs, and some were in a great deal of debt to J. And the card dealer I spoke to said that he could grant wishes - but nothing as big as leaving the resort, and only if I'd bet something equivalent in return. Which of course I didn't, since I have my head on straight.
I got distracted in there for a bit, but I went back and found J the next day. He was in his office, so I walked in and asked some questions. This is what he looked like:
[This page is broken up by a crude illustration of J. There was no attempt to make him look decent, so it's just a caricature of a sleazy old guy with a creepy grin sitting at a desk.]
"By now, I should have known better than to expect anyone to be helpful, but talking to him was even more useless than expected. I asked questions, but all he did was laugh at me and not bother to answer any of them. The only information I gleaned from our exchange was that he hadn't heard of ES - or at least he claimed he hadn't. Nor had he heard of Godfather, who used to control the industry from the shadows. It's possible he lied, of course, but he really didn't seem to recognize those names, so I assume he's not the one choosing who gets kidnapped.
I did learn other things about him from Rinne-senpai, who tried to ply him with alcohol. Rinne-senpai said J used to be a player, but that he used his wish for something other than leaving the resort. He also thought J might be a ghost, and that he was killed in the resort a long time ago. The second one sounds especially unlikely to me, but Rinne-senpai isn't the first person to bring up ghosts in relation to this place, so I guess those really do exist around here.
As for the first one, that's something to look into, I suppose. Even if he really was granted a wish, it doesn't seem to have done him any good, since he ended up a sad alcoholic managing a sleazy bar somewhere. That might be proof the wishes are fool's gold. Perhaps the House does grant you one, but it gets corrupted somehow, sort of like wishing on the Monkey's Paw.
Anyway, I wouldn't say either of my visits to the Roost were very useful, and that sort of environment doesn't suit me at ALL, so I won't be going back there again."
THE ALTERNATE ROOST?
"It's unlikely he ended up stuck in the Alternate Roost, then."
And then, when I asked what on earth that was:
"Oh, you didn't visit it? Probably for the best. It was full of unpleasant ghosts and life-draining energy. I wouldn't recommend it."
So now there's something else to investigate! Not that I want to meet any ghosts, or that I want my energy drained. But just what on earth does all that mean? How do ghosts factor into everything else going on around here?
At the very least, I feel like I should ask around about it. Which is troublesome, since I already have so much else to do. I simply can't wait until the day I get to hang up my detective cap and leave this place behind. I thought being a detective might be fun, but nope! It's mostly just frustrating!"
JAIL
It started with me and Jun-kun looking for a control room. Normally, places with lots of security cameras will have a room where security personnel watch the screens all day. We thought that perhaps we could make some progress if we snuck into a room like that, so we decided to tail a guard in hopes that one would lead us there. And I remembered the garage having a bunch of security guards, so we went to the garage and tailed one there.
Unfortunately, we never saw him enter any sort of control room. All he did was meander around the garage and pretend to be working, pretty much. But then he started to leave, so we tiptoed after him down a back hallway we'd never been down, and that was where we found the so-called jail.
Or at least it looked like a jail. There were cells with bars on them, anyway. As we started to examine the place, we got caught, though, so the guard called us "bad boys" and decided to punish us. He and another guard brought us to a room with lots of torture devices hanging on the wall, like whips and paddles and things, and said they were going to deliver a "sexy punishment." Which just left me stupefied, really. But Jun-kun saved the day by saying, "Can't you just send us to jail like normal"? The guards looked at each other, then shrugged and said, "If that's what gets you going, sure!" And that was how we ended up in one of those jail cells.
I'd already heard about the jail from one person I spoke to. He said they have "a place to put unruly people," and that he'd heard it was uncomfortable. But the "jail" we stayed in was honestly pretty cushy. The beds were soft, and there was entertainment in each of the cells, such as books, TV and games. You could also leave your cells to visit others, so I spent a lot of time chatting with Jun-kun. Meals were just bento boxes, but everything was elegantly arranged and I could tell the fish and meat were fresh.
All in all, it wasn't too bad, though it did start to get dreadfully boring after a while. I wouldn't assume that's the only jail around here, though. That's probably just the jail for minor offenses, and there's a worse one somewhere else. After all, it's either that, or people get sent to the cushy place when they kill someone, which would be horribly messed-up. And it seems in keeping with the character of this place for them to have a cushy jail that makes everyone go "See? This place isn't so bad!" while hiding a torture chamber elsewhere.
Anyway, I'm not sure how long they intended to keep us for, because everyone got let out when the new "game" was announced, which is what I'll talk about next."
"SPRINGTIME IN THE FOREST"
But then a few hours later, they revealed more details about the "game," and at that point things got even stranger. That was when that religious frenzy happened - the one I mentioned a few pages ago, where everyone started falling to their knees in the middle of the hall and kissing the floor and such. All of them were chanting about how much they love the house, and how much the house loves them. But that doesn't make any sense at all, because we all got the same event message, and it was nothing to get excited for.
The game was called "Springtime in the Forest." Everyone got a message that said "You will play a game" and "you will benefit." Then they got assigned different animals. Mine said I was a wolf, so I must want to hunt rabbits. It said I'd earn points for "mating" with as many different "rabbits' and other animals as possible, which could be used to claim a reward or something like that. But it didn't say what the reward was, and I couldn't have cared less anyway, because I absolutely hated that "game" idea!
Others were taking it seriously, though. And given the religious frenzy going on outside, I was seriously worried something ugly might happen, like people might start attacking each other like animals. So, I phoned Jun-kun and we went shopping for supplies so we could hide until that "game" was over. We had 24 hours until it started, and the so-called "game" lasted for a week.
Because we acted fast, nothing bad happened, and we didn't have to see anything unpleasant, like human beings enacting mating rituals in public. I can't say how bad it got outside, because my room has fairly thick walls and I didn't leave the suite all week. But I can't say I wasn't effected at all. They did something terrible to us, to try to make us comply with the roles we were given: they gave us animal ears!
I know, I know. That sounds completely fake, because I don't have those anymore, thankfully! But for about six days there, I really did have wolf ears on top of my head, and Jun-kun had a cute pair of cat ears. They just fell off when the week was up! Or, well, they didn't fall off literally, but they disappeared!
Again, I know it sounds ridiculous, but I have no incentive to make any of this up! And if you're wondering, I don't have pictures, because those wolf ears didn't suit me at all and I want to forget I ever had them! Anyway, that was probably the worst thing that's happened to me since I got here, but thankfully it didn't last. I know it happened to others, too, though: I heard from someone that Rinne-senpai was walking around with wolf ears AND a tail, for example, though I'm sure he didn't participate. All of us ES idols want to stand tall as people, and none of us would ever behave like animals.
Once the "game" ended, everything went back to normal, more or less. But it served as a reminder that we mustn't get too comfortable. Before something weird happens again, we have to find a way out of here!"
MAGIC!
That was actually something I'd been meaning to do for a while, ever since I learned magic was real. My first exposure was this one person who could levitate a tea set and turn flower petals different colors. But I've heard of a lot of different types of magic at this point. Those types include:
- Illusion magic!
- Shapeshifting!
- Healing <--- this one seems common!
- Growing flowers or trees!
- Fire magic, wind magic, water magic, ice magic, earth magic, et cetera!
- Curses!
- Teleportation!
- Making objects move around! <--- for example, having a broom sweep the floor for you, or making flower petals dance through the air!
- Summoning magic <--- includes summoning a monster who can attack people for you!
- Making heavy objects, like cauldrons, fall from the sky!
- Making things vanish!
- Being able to ride a broomstick!
- Doing something or another with a sword!
And those are just off the top of my head, based on what people have told me recently! "Magic" can be just about anything, it seems. Others told me they could also do magic, but that they didn't want to demonstrate for me because their magic was "dangerous," which I assume means it can be used to destroy people or buildings.
Unfortunately, our captors can also do magic. I first noticed it when three ladies in one of the elevator portraits start to chat with me. And if that hadn't clued me in, those magically appearing tattoos and animal ears would've done the job! With so many powerful people around, you'd think we'd stand a decent chance against them, but that doesn't seem to be the case. The person who levitated that tea set and changed the flowers to different colors told me they'd "found a way to limit his magic." Apparently, there are limiters in place. Another person I spoke to switched from boasting about how powerful he is to saying that our captors are "more adept" at magic than he is, so he can't do anything against them.
No one seems to know what kind of magic is being used, but everyone can agree our captors are using it. One person said there was some sort of enchantment or force field surrounding the place - or well, I asked him if he thought it was something like that, and he said yes. He also theorized that the resort might use a mixture of magic and technology to operate, sort of like a VR system, which was also something I'd wondered about.
Another person thought they'd definitely used magic to kidnap him, since that's the only way they possibly could've taken him. That *would* explain how they were able to bring us here without us noticing. Using magic to teleport us en masses from one location to the other would surely be a lot easier than breaking into our rooms, lugging us out of our beds, shoving us into a trunk, and so on.
Although everyone wants to get out, no one wants to do anything rash, like use fire magic to burn down doors. They all seem nervous because they're not sure who they're dealing with. They just know our captors are powerful and they don't want to incur their wrath, so it's easiest just to play along. In which case you might think the situation is well and truly hopeless.
But!
While dealing with another problem that sprung up, I did find some hope."
RINNE-SENPAI'S DISAPPEARANCE
"On the first day of the month, Rinne-senpai disappeared! He stopped responding to messages, he wouldn't answer his door, and his laugh that sounds like "Kyahaha!" or "Gyahaha!" depending on who you ask couldn't be heard anywhere! He's just gone!
Or well, that was what I started to think after a few days. At first, I thought he'd just fallen down drunk in a gutter somewhere. But once we were approaching 48 hours of radio silence, I started getting worried, so I reached out to some people who knew him before I filed a missing person's report!
As a side note for Ibara - if you're reading this in the future and thinking, "How could you lose track of one of the CosPro idols?", let me just remind you that you couldn't really keep track of him over the summer, either! And anyway, I didn't mean to! On the first day of the month, I saw him in the Early Bird Hall, the same as ever! He offered me a bite of breakfast pizza in exchange for some chips, to which I said "No thanks!" And then he said he was feeling lucky that day, so he skipped off to the casino, presumably. How was I supposed to know he'd disappear afterwards?
I asked the Network, and no one else had seen or heard from him since the start of the month. But just when I was starting to get even more worried, someone proposed a theory: "I would guess he's lost somewhere."
They didn't mean the regular sort of lost. They were talking about another kind - falling into a "void," or getting stuck in a "time fluctuation." One person said that Rinne-senpai had found an "endless void" in a parking garage. Another said "one minute strolling down the hallway can be an hour to someone waiting on the other side." A third said he'd heard reports of people getting lost in the back hallways "for a month or so." And when I reached out to a fourth person and explained the situation to them, they also said he was probably lost in a hall somewhere.
I'm not really sure what being lost in a void entails. It sounds boring at best and unpleasant at worst. But I do feel somewhat relieved after hearing all that. His name is still listed in the guest directory as well, so he ought to be here somewhere. I'll only start to worry about him again if he doesn't turn up beginning of next month.
I am concerned for all of us, though. The idea that any of us could disappear at any moment is unsettling, even if it's only temporary. It seemed like just another awful thing about this place, and a way to instill fear in us. But as I thought about it some more, I started to have a breakthrough.
What if the "voids" weren't planned?
It'd be one thing if they were placed strategically - for example, in a restricted area. But if you can walk into one in any old hallway or in the garage, then that doesn't sound intentional. What if the voids aren't traps for us all to fall into, but chinks in the resort's armor, rather? What if those are spaces where the resort's magic stops working, or where it reaches its limits?
And then I started to think more and more about how that magic might work, and who might be casting it. Who has the power to design a place such as this, and kidnap so many important people? Who has the ability to abduct dozens of powerful magic users and limit their own abilities so they can't fight back?
Once I asked myself those questions, there was only one answer.
CONCLUSIONS (for now)
THIS PLACE WAS MADE BY GODS.
I'm embarrassed that it took me over a month to figure that one out. Given the unit I'm in, it feels like that should've been my first guess! But I just wasn't thinking far enough outside the box. Rinne-senpai scolded me for it a few times, which irritated me, but I understand what he meant now.
First, I thought this place was run by wealthy criminals with connections to Godfather. They kidnapped celebrities and royals so they could watch these famous people degrade themselves on-camera and sell off the blackmail material later.
But then it became clear these weren't ordinary criminals - these were people who could do magic. But even THAT wasn't thinking outside the box enough, because these aren't just ordinary magic users, either.
"The House" is run by gods.
Or a god, or a goddess - though I feel like only a twelve-year-old boy could come up with this place, so "god" is probably accurate.
I forgot to mention this earlier, but many of the people who can do magic say they got their powers from the gods. One person said that in his world, magic depends on "your affinity with the gods and your method of worship." He said he got his healing powers through a contract with a specific goddess. Another said that in his world, faith magic is bestowed by "the Goddess," whoever she is. And a third person said she was able to obtain fire magic by tapping into some gods' powers, and that others obtain their powers by being blessed by gods directly.
In other words, gods really exist, at least in some universes out there. They can use magic, and they can bestow magic upon others. And there's absolutely no doubt that at least one god, or person with godlike powers, is running this place. That's the only way anything makes sense - the only way someone could trap so many powerful magic users, some of whom were blessed by gods directly. The only thing stronger than someone blessed by god is God himself, after all.
Not that I normally believe in that sort of thing. But this time, I'll make an exception!
Anyway, here's the plan so far:
1. Learn more about gods (and goddesses!), and confirm that they're the ones running this place!
2. Find some people who are strong enough to go up against gods. Perhaps none of them are strong enough individually, but together, they just might be!
3. Investigate those void things more, and use them to see if we can pry more holes in the resort's magic!
4. Once a big enough hole is opened, walk into it and go home!
The last one probably won't be that simple, but we'll figure out the details later.
I don't know who to use for #2 yet, but one person said he wasn't worried about the voids because he has magic that can protect him, so he seems like a good bet. The one who can shapeshift, cast illusions, and do all sorts of other things also sounded useful. And I'll have to investigate that magic those other people said was "too dangerous" to demonstrate, too, since that might be exactly what we need.
But first, I'll learn more about gods! Which isn't really how I wanted to spend my time, but oh well. Perhaps this whole experience of learning more about gods and "rallying the troops" will bring me closer to Nagisa-kun and Ibara, bringing the two halves of Eden together.
Anyway, I have some conversations coming up where I'll hopefully learn more, so I'll update these notes when I discover anything useful. But for now, I'm signing off!"
[And then he signs the last page with his signature, because why not.]