LIGHTNOVELONLINE After unceremoniously dropping an unknown person in the middle of the playroom, I returned inside and casually closed the door I had just passed through.
‘…Is he gonna be okay?’
I glanced back at the door. A hint of worry crept in about the person I had just dropped off. With so many people around, someone was sure to report it, but still…
The fact that I couldn’t take the unconscious person to the hospital was nagging at me a bit.
‘Eh, whatever. I mean, he can’t be dead or anything.’
But I quickly shook off that uneasy feeling and decided to focus on what I was doing. After all, when I first saw that guy, I checked, and his heart was still beating; he was breathing fine too. There didn’t seem to be any visible injuries, so I figured he probably just fainted from exhaustion or mental stress.
But seriously, how could a grown man faint in the middle of a playroom?
Well, I think it’s entirely possible. He might have over-exerted himself while playing with the kids, or maybe he just collapsed from sheer fatigue. Considering the size of this ‘playroom’ I walked through, it wouldn’t be all that strange for anyone—whether a full-grown adult or a national athlete—to suddenly drop from exhaustion while playing.
Honestly, as I thought about how ridiculously huge this playroom was…
Despite the sturdy doors blocking access to the facility inside, I couldn’t help but wonder why there were so many connections leading outside.
If I think about it, it’s hard to believe that this endlessly vast area is “just a playroom.”
I knew nothing about modern architectural standards, so my musings on door installation standards might not be the smartest thing to do.
If I denied this fact, I’d just be proving that I’m nothing but an old man who can’t keep up with the times.
Here I was, having returned to a hometown where technology had advanced so much, and I definitely didn’t want to become some grumpy old man stuck in the past.
‘So, where am I now?’
Shoving those random thoughts aside, I looked back at the playroom, the place I was previously wandering around.
I know I’m saying this now, but when Sophia mentioned the word “playroom” earlier, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about coming here.
Let’s be real; I’ve aged enough.
It’s pointless—and all I see is an old man who has aged without wisdom—but hey, even so, there are levels to how much I’m willing to tolerate.
A playroom is a place primarily for very young children to play, right?
One filled with squishy rubber balls scattered everywhere and colorful toddler playground equipment.
No matter how open-minded I might be, I couldn’t suddenly summon the confidence to play like a kid again, so I thought I’d just sit around and kill time until Sophia returned—
…Well, I have to admit something.
Just a little while ago, I was so embarrassed about entering this place, but contrary to my meager imagination, this modern playroom was utterly different from what I knew.
The moment I stepped in, it was a place filled with so much joy that it even made me forget my embarrassment…!
From the moment I entered, I should have expected something unusual to unfold.
A space filled with geometric shapes, platforms floating in mid-air, and gigantic swimming pools—not to mention an enormous sky garden towering above that made the ground seem to disappear.
Every time I opened a door to a different area, it was filled with completely different and wondrous sights.
This place was, quite literally, a futuristic theme park!
‘Especially when the entire area that looked like a giant city suddenly folded in half and started twisting like a roller coaster—woah…’
And it wasn’t just stunning scenery; there were clearly fun activities as well.
With the ground flipping upside down or the space distorting in impossible directions, those phenomena provided the perfect stretch and movement options for someone like me who had lingered in one place for a while.
Of course, I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that this definitely wasn’t something that ordinary people could endure…
Well, they must have safety measures in place, right?
I mean, it’s not like everyone who comes here is some thrill-seeker, so why would there be such things in a playroom?
After all, this was the same playroom Sophia had brought me to directly.
I just needed to enjoy myself without worrying about strange doubts!
‘Though, one downside is that there aren’t many people around.’
And while I was lost in joy here, I started finding myself wandering around, half-hoping I might run into someone.
Bored already? Not quite!
I still hadn’t explored the entirety of this space, and I couldn’t even begin to guess what the other rooms might hold.
This playroom was brimming with fascinating and surprising things!
However, I was still new to being back in my hometown, and having gone a while without feeling any human presence set off some gloomy thoughts that maybe I had left my hometown again, creeping into my mind.
So, just like the name suggests, I started roaming around this vast space looking for the typical joyful sight of children running around.
Yet, given the immense space of this playroom, it was incredibly hard to bump into anyone besides that one guy I dropped off earlier.
Still, I couldn’t find any room packed with people.
‘Well, first thing’s first, let’s check out this mall-like place.’
I began meandering around the newly moved room, slowly walking toward the gaping hole in the center.
Honestly, I’d seen that guy I carried outside just now.
Playing alone felt a bit lonely, but on second thought, showing off my position to others would probably be a bit embarrassing.
For now, it seemed wise to enjoy this space while I could!
‘The shops are all empty, and a few stairways are blocked with debris.’
As I explored the mall-like area, I was figuring out its characteristics.
Initially, I thought it was something like a food court found in amusement parks… but since all the shops were completely empty and tidy, it seemed like this was also a space within the playroom.
Who turns a playroom into an empty shopping mall?
Well, I’d have to ask the person who’d made a playroom out of a damp yellow carpeted room.
Honestly, that area was so bland and uneventful that it felt like a design flaw, considering how quickly I found a door leading to another space.
It was just spacious and dull enough that I thought I might’ve misjudged its design.
Or maybe it was just a standard hallway, and I was expecting something else for no good reason.
If that’s true, it’s really surprising that even the hallways of this playroom are so generously sized.
By the way, what’s the real state of modern real estate prices?
Since this playroom had so much space, it seemed like I wouldn’t have to worry about land and housing prices like I did in the past.
When I finally leave this facility and start settling back into my hometown,
—blink
While I was briefly lost in thoughts about the future, suddenly the lights in the room started flickering.
—blink, blink, blink, blink
‘…What the heck, is there a blackout?’
The lights were flickering madly on and off.
I suspected it was a blackout, but I quickly dismissed that thought.
If it were a blackout, all the lights would just go out at once; it didn’t make sense for them to keep flickering like this.
Plus, if it was just the lights burning out, all of them wouldn’t start flashing at the same time.
So then, what could it mean that all the lights in this room were flashing as if someone was playing a prank?
It didn’t take long for me to find the answer to that question.
Right,
Anyone who had spent even a little time in this playroom would figure it out:
It was a precursor to something happening!
As I mentioned before, spaces distorting, ground flipping, or gravity reversing—strange phenomena unique to every room!
And if I guessed correctly, the flickering lights likely signaled that something was about to happen in this room, which looked like a shopping mall.
Something fun and unusual was coming my way!
‘Ah, here it comes.’
After the lights had flickered for about ten seconds, finally, as if nothing had happened, everything started to light up properly again.
Yep, I thought this would happen.
Lights mysteriously malfunctioning? That’s nonsense!
Now we’re getting to the good part.
I was curious to see what might happen in this room—
“…?”
At that moment, a figure began to materialize from afar.
“―――――――――――”
It looked somewhat human, yet entirely like some other being.
There’s no way there hadn’t been anything there just a moment ago.
This figure felt as though it suddenly appeared, having existed there seamlessly from some point.
And just as silently, it looked at me for several seconds.
“Ah.”
Then, letting out a sound I certainly wouldn’t associate with a human, it swiftly began rushing towards me!