Psychological Horror Game: <em>Dementia: Lost Memories</em> (3)

“Ugh……”

“Are you coming to?”

“Gasp!”

Pletta bolted upright in a spasm.

Her face was frozen in utter terror as she patted herself down, then sighed in relief.

“Where… am I…?”

“The infirmary. You collapsed out of nowhere—scared the hell out of me.”

“……So it came to that after all.”

She muttered despondently for a moment, then suddenly whipped her head toward me as realization dawned.

“Wait, Young Master Yujin Feltro. Did you… see everything I did in there?”

“……Yeah? That's why I rushed you here the second you went down.”

“Even right up until I blacked out……”

“What, you think I'd miss that?”

I shrugged it off casually, and her pale cheeks flushed deeper and deeper, turning beet red.

I was monitoring the whole time, obviously.

I even jumped when she tumbled down the stairs.

But this bad? Really?

Sure, it was a horror game, so I added the basic scares. But at most, it was just the shadow hallway level?

The pursuer model was even recycled from the Ripper in the Lancaster Family's Ripper Mafia game—just slapped on some special shadow VFX and sound effects.

No grotesque design, no scary face.

I even tuned the chase speed so you could shake it off easily from the study.

No matter how jumpy she was, I figured the chief investigator could clear it no problem……

“Didn't expect you'd actually faint.”

That nailed the coffin shut—her face was practically exploding.

Like a ripe strawberry in season.

And then she blew up.

“Yujin Feltro!! You!!! I told you to just check the crime scene!!!”

She'd even dropped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the “Young Master” honorific in her embarrassment.

“But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠why was the door locked?! I found one that opened, and then this monster comes chasing after me! This isn't a test!!”

“W-Well, to see the crime scene, you farm the key from the study, then use it to open the ingredient pantry in the first-floor kitchen……”

“So I had to go to the first floor too, not just the study……?”

“Expected playtime is 1 hour 30 minutes in Dimension time. Investigator Pletta lasted exactly 16 minutes 15 seconds before passing out. The test points I mentioned take about 30 minutes on average.”

“Doesn't that already go way beyond a simple test?”

But…… game testing is all about checking if triggers fire right, if pursuer speed is balanced, if there's any immersion breakers, no game-breaking bugs—meticulously.

Even if Wiki and I run infinite loops, we hit limits ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as creators.

“Was it that scary?”

“You call that scary? An investigator fainting? I wonder if it'll even work for interrogations.”

Pletta shuddered, probably picturing the mansion again.

“Your faint wasn't a game flaw—it was just Investigator Pletta's weak heart……”

“Young Master, sounds like you want a search and seizure plus extra questioning on that intelligence leak. I'll suggest it to my superiors.”

“I'm sorry!!!”

I immediately bowed my head, offering my crown in full submission.

Still, it was good news.

Just like she said, completion was solid enough to deploy in hours.

“So, how about the mansion's atmosphere and realism? You were immersed enough to faint, but I'd like a more detailed, objective review.”

Pletta closed her eyes, thought for a bit, then sighed deeply.

“The atmosphere…… no need to ask. If you hadn't told me ahead, I wouldn't have known if it was real or a dream. The mansion was exactly as I saw it a few days ago.”

Okay, graphics pass.

“Sounds and smells felt real too. Oh, and what the hell was that rotting corpse smell a few days old? If my stomach wasn't ironclad, I'd have puked.”

“Pickled herring. Left it out an extra day.”

“Damn……”

She recoiled in genuine disgust.

“Ditch the smells. Unless you want the whole Dimension painted in vomit.”

“Eek……”

VR's core is replicating all five senses.

Telling me to cut the one I slaved over most, the olfactory sensor……!

But yeah, a Dimension full of puke? Hard pass.

Tone down the smells a bit, then.

Anyway, sound and other sensory effects: pass.

“How about the pursuer? Balancing it so it's not too easy to evade was tricky.”

“That thing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠alone means I'm never going back in. But looking back, in the study and even at the entrance hall, escaping didn't seem too hard.”

Pletta rubbed her arms—goosebumps from the mere memory—as she explained.

“But seriously, what's with the glass bottles?”

“Oh, the pursuer reacts to sound. Throw and shatter one to lure it away.”

“……Why didn't you tell me sooner?”

“Want to test it again?”

“No! I refuse!”

Even the biggest worry, the pursuer: okay.

And with that, the closed beta for Dementia: Lost Memories was complete.

Approved! I slammed the stamp down.

Time to deploy for real.

The Dimension's mechanics are simple.

Just get the person inside.

Conscious or not, once they're in, I—as admin—can activate it with my auth key.

No hacking risk, since the core is Master's Cube.

Only a total lunatic could reverse-engineer an archmage's spell array to crack the auth.

So, the interrogation method I'd prepped with Pletta was:

1. Put the suspect in.

2. Analyze their log.

All Dimension games are basically spatial magic that directly interferes with the target's consciousness.

More precisely, shoving their mind into a space perfectly controlled by an archmage's formula.

Mental manipulation or illusion subcategories, but those get black magic vibes easy, so call it spatial magic.

Anyway, for maintenance, the Cube records and controls every thought and action inside.

I call it the ‘log.’

Just like game logs, right?

Deep info: what they think, do, even infer their intent.

That's why even Master won't let anyone but me and Wiki access logs.

Not even her head disciple on tour with her.

‘It's not the Cube—it's my modded device logs, so it'll be fine.’

With that, Pletta used her chief investigator authority to bring in prime suspect ‘Claude Penwick.’

Top secret, so late night with the library closed.

“If I go in there, it’ll really…… prove my innocence?”

“Of course.”

Claude was an elderly gentleman, clearly seasoned.

The past months' scandals had worn him down, but his innate dignity and refinement shone through.

Why's a guy like this managing a vice-count's estate?

I'd had butlers back in my noble days.

To my eye, he could've headed a duke's staff, not some vice-count's caretaker.

He took a deep breath.

“Very well. A life dew on the executioner's block anyway—might as well stake it all.”

He stepped slowly into the Dimension.

Watching his back silently, for some reason, I was suddenly dead certain.

This old gent's no killer.

“……”

Midnight, 12 AM.

Me, Pletta, and Wiki pored over the log in the private room, cool night air drifting in.

Pletta couldn't see Wiki, so it was just us two, really.

The interrogation of the Lancaster vice-count murder prime suspect—butler Claude—ended in under 30 minutes.

He hit the Dementia ending in just 48 minutes game time.

No hesitation in his steps.

Startled when the vice-count lunged, but calmly escaped the study, explored the mansion, and finally.

Gathered the vice-count's remains scattered throughout to reach the ending.

If guilty about the death, he'd have shown agitation—but no.

The log was spotless, proving his innocence instead.

Pletta, who'd been quietly scanning the log, finally spoke.

“Looks like we need to call in the young lady.”

“Agreed.”