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I heard the sound of something running through my half-asleep head.

A round light fixture, currently unlit, was stuck to the white ceiling. What I felt under my body was springy and soft—when I glanced around, I seemed to be lying on the living room sofa.

Through the half-open curtains, I could see a starless night sky and rows of illuminated buildings beyond the balcony. In the silence and stillness, the faint sound of passing cars echoed in the distance.

“…?”

Still groggy from sleep, my head was a mess. If I remember right… yeah, that’s it. After hastily building a door to use “Apartment 404,” I pointed to the place it connected to, and then passed out.

The dark room was a little stuffy.

“Noche, wait for me.”
“Hurry up and get back, nya.”

Turning my head toward the voices, I saw Noche and Filia entering through the living room door. They looked the same as before—Filia, still frightened, was holding Noche’s hand.

“…Nya? You’re awake, nya!?”
“Ah, Alice!”

As soon as our eyes met, Noche’s eyes widened in surprise.
Right after Filia’s cry, there was a thud nearby.

“Arihyu!?”

A messy-haired Sufi’s head popped up right in front of me. Apparently, she’d been sleeping right below the sofa. When she saw me, her eyes welled up with tears.

“Thank goodness! You’re awake? Does your body feel okay?”
“…how…long?”
“Five—five days! Five whole days! We were so worried!”

…Looks like I’d been asleep for five days straight. No wonder they were worried. Honestly, it’s a miracle I’m still alive.

Once Sufi calmed down a little—still teary-eyed—she explained what had happened. Right after the door opened and seemed to connect somewhere strange, I completely collapsed.

After discussing it, the three decided they couldn’t just leave me there burning up with fever. Sufi went in first to check for safety, confirmed there were no people or traps, then entered the living room through the open door.

They laid me down on a weirdly fluffy, comfortable sofa, and Sufi stayed behind to take care of me while the others took turns watching the entrance.

Everything in the place was unfamiliar, and outside the window was an eerie world where strange noises could sometimes be heard. Spooked, Noche and Filia refused to go inside, so they stuck to the living room and hallway only.

…Given how bizarre this place was to them, being cautious was the only sensible choice.

Basically, they set up camp around the doorway, fetching water from a nearby source while taking care of me.

“Sorry… for… trouble.”
“Ah, it’s fine, nya. Don’t worry about it, nya.”

Sitting cross-legged, Noche gave a small, exasperated smile—more like she was amazed than annoyed.

I’d been nothing but a burden, but thanks to them, I felt much better. Sleeping away from the open air, on something soft, had helped a lot.

Of course, I still couldn’t move much, but at least I didn’t feel in danger anymore.

Still… what caught my attention was the sound outside. I could hear cars passing now and then.

If my memory was right, this place was connected to a fairly nice apartment somewhere in Tokyo.

From the front entrance, a hallway ran straight ahead. On the right was an eight-tatami Western-style room; on the left, the bath connected to the laundry area. Straight ahead was a twelve-tatami living-dining room with a counter kitchen.

The living room led to the balcony at the front, and on the right side were two doors—one to a Western-style room, the other to a Japanese-style one, both around seven tatami in size.

Though it was hard to see in the dark, the walls and furniture showed no signs of decay. The visible shelves were empty of dishes.

The only open door was the one connected to the entryway, and if they said they hadn’t checked the rest, that was probably true.

“S… Sufi…”
“Alice? What’s up?”
“Just… a bit.”

…Now that I thought about it, what about pathogens? Then again, I’d been down for five days and survived, we hadn’t met any locals, and the others seemed fine—so it was probably okay.

Even so, the thought of how recklessly I’d acted made me shiver a little.

“What is it?”
“Help… me.”

With Sufi’s help, I had her carry me over to the kitchen.

“That’s the kitchen… right?”
“There’s just weird stuff in there, nya.”

I could hear Noche and Filia following behind. Inside the counter, there should’ve been a built-in kitchen system.

With Sufi’s assistance, I had her move a small step stool aside and look into the sink where the faucet was.

“L-like this?”
“Yeah.”

With trembling hands, I lifted the faucet lever—and after a short pause, water flowed out.

“Water came out!?”
“Nya!?”
“W-wow, it really did.”

…I knew it, the water still worked.

I let it run for a while, scooped some with my hand, examined it, then brought it close to my face and sniffed—before licking a bit.

It smelled of chlorine, but there was nothing off about it. Just normal tap water, like in any city.

“W-wait, Alice!?”
“It’s… fine. It’s drinkable. That lever—pull it up, water comes out… push it down, it stops.”

I demonstrated by lowering and raising the lever again, showing them how the water started and stopped. As the three of them gawked, I leaned back into Sufi.

“I… remember… from dream… how to use… this room. Got to… rest a bit.”
“O-okay…”
“The pursuers haven’t shown up yet, so that’s good, nya. So this is one of those water magic tools, huh?”
“Something… like that.”

At least for now, nothing had happened even after staying here this long. The room felt completely emptied out, as if everything inside had been purged.