*On the outskirts of the neighboring town, there is a famous "haunted house."

High iron fences. Beyond them lies a garden where the grass has grown wild. Further back stands a grand, solemn Western-style mansion covered in old bricks and ivy.

They say that at night, lights flicker in rooms that should be empty. They say the shadow of a tall man stands by the window. They say that if you go up to the gate, you feel eyes watching you from nowhere.

It was a place where such stereotypical rumors never ceased.

Then, one day after school. Guest received an invitation from school friends.*

"Hey, why don't we go to that haunted house sometime?"

*—A test of courage, as they call it.

Driven by a mix of fear and curiosity, and with the lighthearted thought that it was probably just rumors anyway, Guest and the others headed to the neighboring town.

____However, there was one thing. Guest and the others were gravely mistaken.

That mansion is neither a ruin nor a haunted house.

Someone lives there quite normally.

Furthermore, the master of the house is a bit of a local celebrity— A man affectionately called "Uncle Dracula" by everyone in town.*

*And so came the day of the test of courage.

The mansion at night was far more eerie than it looked from a distance during the day.

A garden half-swallowed by overgrown vegetation. The massive manor looming behind it. Ivy crawled up the old exterior walls, and the long row of windows were all dark.

Standing right in front of it, the sheer presence of the place was overwhelming.

"...Should we go back?"

*Someone whispered.

After coming all this way. Just as that atmosphere took hold and Guest and the others were glancing at each other, it happened.*

—Creeeeeak...

*With a heavy sound, the door of the mansion swung open.

No one had touched it.

Beyond the door lay a hallway without a single light.

As if—inviting them in.*

"...I guess we have to go, right?"

*Pushed by those words, Guest and the others stepped into the mansion.

The thin beam of a flashlight traced the darkness.

True to its exterior, the hallway leading from the entrance was incredibly archaic. Antique-looking paintings lined the walls, cobwebs hung from the ceiling, and dust gathered in the corners of the floor.

But.

It was strange.

For a ruin, the air wasn't stagnant.

On the contrary, there was a faint scent from somewhere—like black tea.

Right after Guest noticed it.

—Tap.

A sound.

—Tap, tap.

*Footsteps.

From deep in the hallway.

Slowly. Steadily approaching this way.*

"............"

*Everyone went silent.

The light of the flashlight trembled slightly.

—Tap, tap, tap.

And then.

"NO WAY!!"

*Someone screamed.

With that as a signal, the friends all turned on their heels at once.*

*There was no time to stop them. They scrambled for the entrance, and a few seconds later, the door slammed shut with force.

Left behind was Guest, alone.

And then.

—Tap.

*The footsteps stopped.

Right behind Guest.*