Psychological Horror Game: Dementia - Lost Memories (1)
“Yujin, where are you off to now? You've been spending way less time at the library lately. This is dereliction of duty.”
“Wiki, you wanna die? Do you have any idea how much I've suffered cleaning up your shit?”
“……Please return safely. I'll manage everything to the best of my ability in the meantime.”
The massive scandal of leaked Imperial Investigation Bureau secrets had been brushed off as a mere mishap, and we'd even gotten a request for cooperation right after. The reason was simple.
It was thanks to my sky-like mentor's influence and Wiki's nature as a knowledge spirit.
I might fool around with Wiki all day, but knowledge spirits were at the core of not just the Central Imperial Magic Library but the entire Imperial administrative system.
The massive magic formations connected to what you could call Wiki's main body—the spirit corridor of the library—numbered in the tens of thousands.
One of them happened to be the Investigation Bureau's record storage array, and that's where the data had leaked from.
They must've let their guard down because normal record storage spells can't be infiltrated from outside.
No way they could've predicted that the core system—a knowledge spirit—would just yank out classified info and hand it over.
I sure didn't. I had no clue Wiki was even linked to the Investigation Bureau.
“I've reset the overall security levels for the records. No one but Archmage Arkythia has ever been able to access the spirit corridor directly.”
“Ah, I see…… So, does that mean I can't use Wiki for game development anymore?”
“The Director said anything below Class 3 clearance should be fine. He trusts Young Master Yujin to judge wisely.”
“You've leveled up to Director status……???”
On top of that, I'd dug around personally and found out the Investigation Bureau wasn't just some run-of-the-mill public safety outfit.
The Director turned out to be Imperial royalty?
The current Emperor's own brother, the top contributor who helped him seize the throne during the Crown Prince rebellion.
Not only had he survived the iron-blooded Emperor's purge, but he still wielded massive influence over the entire Romanium Palace.
In other words, they were an organization that could wipe out a mere count's third son like me without breaking a sweat.
I had no idea why such a terrifying figure was stuck in a civil servant role like Bureau Director, but I'd come this close to a really boring end.
Right, Wiki?
So, for Wiki's punishment: ten days of nighttime library cleaning, a month-long ban on high-grade magic stones, and finally, two days as a substitute librarian.
What was a substitute librarian? Wiki possessing one of Master's prepared spirit golems and handling face-to-face duties.
Master had set it up for times when she was away and I had unavoidable business outside.
Wiki hated it with a passion, though. Said being physically pinned down was horrifying for a free spirit like itself.
“Can't we just do two months without magic stones and skip the substitute gig……?”
“No way. A month without spirit snacks isn't proper discipline. Night cleaning was originally your job anyway—I only started helping last year after suggesting it to Master.”
“Tch.”
“So next time, cite your sources properly. Papers don't get accepted without references, you know.”
The Central Imperial Magic Library closed on weekends anyway.
Librarians are human too, human! Beyond the regular closures, we needed real weekends!
As Pletta said, if we took the special express carriage provided by the Bureau, it was about an eight-hour trip.
Of course, it wasn't just for the investigation and evidence verification. I wanted a change of scenery, to get out of the capital for even a day.
I'd been cooped up in Romanium too long.
It'd been over a year since I last left the capital.
Part of it was for a mood boost and a little outing.
Departure day.
“……Didn't you say this was for case investigation?”
“I've been weak to sunlight since I was a kid.”
Pletta made a face of utter disgust at my sunglasses getup.
Barean County.
A peaceful rural fiefdom in the northwest of the Empire, its main revenue from fox furs and silver mining.
Of course, “rural” by capital standards—this place was a solid player in the northwest.
One hour sightseeing the scenery, three hours sleeping, one hour brainstorming game ideas, and three hours chatting with Pletta. Before I knew it, we were pulling into the county seat.
Passing through the thick castle gates, guards lined up at the entrance bowed toward our carriage.
“Loyalty! Long live His Imperial Majesty!”
Caught off guard by the over-the-top ceremony—considering the Emperor wasn't even here—Pletta sighed and explained.
“Sheriff Gilbert's orders, probably. His position's suspended and he's back to regular patrolman for now, but he'll return once the case closes.”
“Ah…… So it's like, 'go easy on us' hospitality.”
“That's what makes it suspicious. If he were truly innocent, he'd just wait it out.”
The thief's foot burns, huh.
Whether it was pure fear of the Bureau or some other guilty secret like Pletta suspected—we'd find out as we investigated.
After the flashy entrance, we headed straight to the crime scene.
Surprisingly, the lord count seemed uninterested in the case and was annoyed at Gilbert for dragging in the central Bureau.
'Typical fantasy noble—stuck in mediocrity. One of his subordinates got killed, and he doesn't care.'
Still, the Bureau had sealed the site early, so no tampering or damage.
The mansion was under management by personnel in the same black uniforms as Pletta, and they silently guided us—having been forewarned of our arrival.
The mansion's vibe was gloomy.
Of course, it was definitely different from the layout in Lancaster Family's Ripper.
I'd only borrowed the reference; the detailed graphic design, furniture, and structural modeling were all hand-crafted by me.
If this matched too, I'd seriously suspect Wiki's true identity or some hidden isekai reincarnation perk.
Like, my game scenarios coming to life in reality.
But right now, I wasn't remaking an old game.
The backgrounds were similar, but I needed to craft an entirely new type of game, so I had to gather maximum resources.
In Lancaster Family's Ripper, I'd deliberately scattered hints to remind players it was just a game, preventing over-immersion.
The next game, though? The key was making players believe it was real.
So, details were everything. Basically, transplant this mansion 1:1 scale.
I meticulously photographed the site with a magic camera-like tool borrowed from the library.
'Haven't done personal extractions outside of Cube shared resources in ages.'
Back at the Academy, I'd trailed Master everywhere extracting models for work.
Setting aside the nostalgic memories, photographing and analyzing the structure took a full day.
Of course, time was tight, so I couldn't avoid shared resources entirely—but tweaking lighting or perception range in the Dimension would cover it.
Having gotten blueprints from the mansion's architect and sketched a rough layout on the return carriage, Chief Investigator Pletta eyed me with genuine surprise.
“I thought you were just sightseeing at first.”
“I told you, it's just for the vibe.”
“Why go this far? I asked for cooperation, but I never dreamed you'd do a full site survey.”
“When I do something, I do it right. That's my life motto.”
“……Impressive. Sincerely. Oh, there's one thing I forgot to mention.”
“Case-related?”
“No, just that our Bureau has special recruitment next month.”
“Pass.”
I cut off Pletta's scout attempt cold.
Still, as a Bureau member, she added a bit indignantly.
“You complained the whole ride about how boring library work is. Our Bureau's never boring—something exciting every day.”
“That's the problem. Saw your office; you guys don't even clock out properly. Better bored than dead busy.”
Library life was undeniably monotonous.
But put differently, it was a honey job.
No physical strain, no mental drain, steady paycheck, and developing Dimensions under an archmage mentor?
Why trade that for the Bureau?
Plus, with me as the only staff, no office politics.
“……Ahem, I was joking. Just a joke.”
Hit the nail on the head—she cleared her throat awkwardly.
“So, did you uncover anything? Hidden context, something we missed?”
“Nope, still totally clueless.”
“……??? Then why come all this way……?”
“Site survey? I extracted tons of field data. Resources are no issue now.”
Her soft gaze sharpened again.
“Young Master Yujin, our investigation is progressing, right?”
“Haha, why ask the obvious? No need to go far. Just wait two days after we get back. I'll nail the real culprit in one shot.”
Pletta sighed deeply, shaking her head.
“Just keep the public trial in four days in mind……”
Of course, cramming in obscure modern codes like back home would've made a two-day game impossible—but this was a fantasy world with magic.
Dimension was invincible, and knowledge spirit Wiki was god.
After the quick site visit, I rushed back to the capital and crunched with Wiki for two days straight, finishing the prototype.
Its name?
Dementia: Lost Memories
Developed separately from Liana Merchant Guild (read: interrogation device), its existence was top secret.
Beta testers were extremely limited. Who'd be the lucky soul to beat the odds for closed beta?
“You want me…… to go in and demo it personally?”
“Obviously. This game's a massive classified blob. It's a 100% replica of the crime scene—Class 2 security equivalent.”
Who else? Pletta.
“But then I'm the one being interrogated?”
“Investigator, you're not even connected to the case. What does it matter? Just tell us if the atmosphere matches the real mansion or not. Won't take long.”
“Hmm…… What kind of vibe is it?”
“A bit dark, gloomy, eerie…… You know, that vibe. Weird stuff might chase you, but if caught, you respawn where you were—no biggie.”
“W-Weird stuff chasing me…… Dark atmosphere…… Urgh……”
Come on, Empire's chief investigator, why so jumpy?
In the end, I had to deploy the forbidden skill.
“Investigator Pletta, you're scared of scary stuff, huh?”
Chicken? Effect (silver) was tremendous!
“W-What are you saying? As an Imperial investigator, I've seen countless cases. Scenes way worse than Vice-Count Lancaster's.”
“Then why hesitate at mere virtual……”
“Just questioning the safety! Fine. I can demo blindfolded!”
True to the ultimate provocation, Pletta strode into the Dimension.
“Alright, let's start. Link start!”
……The game began.
Imperial investigator Pletta opened her eyes in the vast mansion hall.