Episode 116
Translator: RaidenTL
Episode 116
“So damn annoying…”
Siene smirked, then walked toward the door without a second glance, as if her mission was complete.
“Some people are coming in to do your hair and makeup. Just wait.”
“You’re not doing it for me?”
“Do I have to do that, too? I’m going with Lucian.”
Elysia’s eyes widened at the unexpected name.
“Why are you going with that bastard?”
“Then why are you going with that senior? Who ditched me first?”
“…”
“See you at the banquet hall later.”
Always so prickly. Hearing the door slam shut, Elysia slowly walked over to the table where she’d left her things.
Leaning over with both hands on the table, she pulled a badly crumpled letter from her bag, her expression cold.
She’d almost ripped the letter to shreds, but the detective in her had held back, reasoning that it was still evidence.
「In three days, at midnight. I'll be waiting in the library basement.」
Elysia glanced at the clock on Siene’s bedside table. It was 4 PM. In eight hours, she would meet him.
She had already arranged her weapons at the top of her inventory last night for quick access. She probably wouldn’t need them, but…
This wasn’t carelessness, but the result of analysis. The person had killed her assailant, moved her while she was unconscious, and even nursed her back to health with the utmost care. Considering all that, it was highly likely they were on her side.
But still, why?
That was what Elysia couldn’t understand. Why wasn’t he bothered by someone who had attacked him, vowing to interfere with his plans?
At that moment, she frowned, recalling the persistent gaze she had felt at Zenia’s house.
She couldn't fathom the motive for his obsession.
*
The two maids from the Reve Viscounty were initially flustered by Elysia, who was so different from the young lady they served, but they soon seemed to find it rather amusing.
The two launched into a heated debate about what style of makeup would best suit Elysia’s eyes, hair, and skin tone, giggling as they fussed over her. The miracle they worked was truly astonishing.
Apparently, their aesthetic sense had naturally improved thanks to serving such a particular young lady.
While the household had become financially stable since Elysia began her patronage, Siene had a habit of accepting only what was necessary and returning the rest. As a result, the mansion had few live-in staff, and their wages were modest. But they said they were more than satisfied.
“There’s no other place where we can experiment like this,” they said with a laugh. There was still some time before Evan was due to arrive. That was when she first heard “the story.”
“Ah, speaking of which, isn’t the world so grim these days? There was another murder yesterday. I wonder when that heretical religion will finally disappear…”
“A murder?”
“Ah, ah… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up in front of you, Miss.”
It was a remark one could only make if they didn’t know how many corpses she’d handled. Elysia raised an eyebrow and habitually pulled out her notebook.
“Why not? Tell me. What murder?”
“A shop owner killed a customer. Apparently, the customer had been using his position to harass the owner, and since the shop was a butcher’s, he used one of his knives and just…! Ugh, it’s horrifying.”
“But what’s this about a heretical religion?”
“Ah, you didn’t know, Miss? Well, it’s such a strange story that everyone keeps it quiet.”
At the maid’s next words, Elysia’s hand, which had been scribbling in her notebook, came to a dead stop.
“There are people running around claiming this world is a fabrication, a fake, and that we don’t need to be bound by laws or morals. They call themselves pioneers of the truth, and more and more of them are committing terrible acts… Ugh, it’s terrifying. They’re insane, aren’t they?”
“…”
“Miss? Ah, Miss?”
Her mind went numb, as if she’d been struck from behind. What the hell is this now?
*
Evan gazed down at Elysia standing beside him. He had no idea what had happened at the Reve estate, but she’d been completely out of it.
She stared blankly at the tips of her shoes, not saying a word, not even responding to his questions. What in the world is wrong?
It wasn’t just one or two things that were bothering him. For example, the dress she was wearing.
He took a step back and stood behind her. With a deep sigh, he rubbed his face, then leaned down and murmured in her ear.
“El?”
“…”
“Sorry to interrupt your thoughts, but you really need to snap out of it now.”
His firm tone finally brought her back. A light flickered in her gray eyes, which had been lost in thought. She whipped her head around, her face close to his, and asked abruptly.
“Senior, that thing you witnessed on the battlefield three years ago—you haven’t told anyone, right?”
Evan answered, his green eyes filled with confusion at the out-of-the-blue question.
“You were the first person I told.”
“This is driving me crazy.”
With a deep sigh, Elysia finally realized she was practically being held by him and blinked. She could feel the curious gazes of other students turning away in embarrassment.
Elysia gently tapped Evan’s arm, which was wrapped around her from behind, and lowered her voice.
“Why are you being like this? It’s embarrassing.”
“Because you weren’t snapping out of it.”
“I’ve snapped out of it now.”
“And now I’m the one who can’t keep it together.”
Elysia blinked at his half-joking, half-serious tone. Evan said nothing, simply gesturing with his eyes toward her back. Her face flushed, and she bit her lip.
“Well, I was a little hesitant about… that part, too, but it looked pretty when I tried it on.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty. That’s why I’m going crazy over here, while my girlfriend is lost in her own world.”
“Ah.”
Seeing Elysia’s uncharacteristically troubled expression, as if she genuinely felt sorry, he felt something hot surge within him. He almost kissed her on impulse.
He clutched his head. What’s wrong with me today? He was the one who needed to get a grip, not Elysia.
In the distance, he could see Adrian, draped in a black cape like a vampire, laughing and chatting with a group of people. Looks like he’s having fun…
Elysia gave a casual wave in Adrian’s direction and then gestured to Evan with her head. He naturally bent down, and her whispered breath tickled his ear.
“It seems the news hasn’t reached Minerva yet… but apparently, people who claim this world is fabricated are causing chaos.”
“What?”
“And guess what I thought of when I heard that.”
Her tone was light, but her expression was deadpan. If you’re going to be cold, just be cold. If you’re going to be lovely, just be lovely. This is just unfair.
He snapped out of it, realizing he was getting lost in thoughts that had nothing to do with the topic at hand. Seeing his girlfriend looking so different than usual must have scrambled his brain.
Elysia seemed to mistake his dazed expression for one of concentration. Well, he was concentrating on Elysia, so maybe she was half-right. He shook off his stray thoughts and listened intently.
“‘The real world is here. I was promised. I am the one who will open a new world, and I am the first to know the truth of this world.’”
“…”
“Do you remember those words?”
“Caden Hertz’s letter.”
“That’s right.”
Elysia recalled the black reaction of the drug detection fluid, something she had never seen before. That reaction had appeared when she tested the bloodstain left by Caden Hertz.
If that drug was newly developed in this world, to the point that even she didn’t know its identity, it would make sense.
“When I met with Alma Heron, I told you I took a strange drug, right? At that time, the system struggled desperately to get me out of this world.”
“…”
“And the name of that drug, of all things, was ‘Verum’.”
“Truth?”
When she was forced to take the drug, the system windows of both games, <Panic in the City> and <You'll Fall in Love>, had simultaneously attempted to log her out.
It couldn’t force her out, as she had long been bound as data within the game… but it meant that it had tried to send her back to ‘reality’ anyway.
In that case, what would happen if people who originally belonged to this world were exposed to that drug? It didn’t take long for Evan, who was by no means slow, to notice the strange connection.
“Let’s sort this out.”
“Okay.”
Evan took a deep breath and began to lay out the events in chronological order.
“The last time we saw her, Alma Heron was trying to distribute a drug called ‘Verum,’ meaning truth…”
“And Caden Hertz participated as a test subject in that drug’s development.”
“In his letter to Blair, Hertz mentioned the authenticity of the world and expressed pride in being a sort of pioneer.”
“And recently, some people have also been causing all sorts of chaos, citing the world’s authenticity and their pride as pioneers… Senior, are you getting a feeling about this?”
Elysia ran a hand through her hair in frustration. She was about to let a curse slip but, conscious of her surroundings, quickly corrected herself.
“If we don’t stop this in time, we’re royally scr… we’re ruined.”