Only I Am Human (5)
The interior had a strangely oppressive darkness to it. Probably some kind of ploy.
In the real world, cops pulled aggressive interrogations all the time, after all.
Thud, thud. My footsteps echoed through the building, and the knight captain looked up from his papers to stare at me.
"Sit."
At the curt command, I carefully took a seat in the chair.
The knight captain steepled his fingers and fixed me with a piercing gaze.
"Name."
"...Ailin."
"Age."
"I... don't really know."
"You don't know?"
"Yeah..."
He gave a glance to the knight beside him, who quickly jotted something down. The questions kept coming.
"I heard you lost your memory. Ethan said it was an accident."
"Yes. Just recently... I woke up and couldn't remember a thing."
"What kind of accident?"
"That too... I don't really know. My head hurts too much..."
I pressed my temples, making a pained expression.
The knight captain fell silent for a moment. His eyes stayed on my face, but the tension seemed to ease a little.
"That night. The night of the first murder. Where were you?"
"At home. Sleeping."
"Witnesses?"
"...None. I live alone."
Questions I'd expected.
No alibi. But then, most NPCs living alone in this village were the same.
"And after that, you were always home alone?"
"Yes. At night... it's too scary to go out."
"Does this Ethan visit often?"
"Yes. He's my childhood friend. He looks after me a lot."
"I see."
The questions were ordinary. No sign he particularly suspected me.
I let out a quiet breath of relief, thinking it might end there. But when he looked up again, instinct told me the air had turned icy.
"...Those eyes."
"Pardon?"
His voice dropped lower.
He leaned forward, coming closer.
"Your pupils are incredibly clear. Transparent, even."
"...Thank you."
"Not a compliment. Three people dead. The village is gripped by terror. But your eyes show no fear. No anxiety, no worry."
"..."
"As if this has nothing to do with you at all."
"I have no memories."
"What?"
"I don't even know who I am—how could strangers dying feel real to me? It's not scary... not sad. Is that wrong?"
His face twisted oddly at my response. He looked at a loss for words.
After tapping his fingers on the desk for a while, he spoke, a bit begrudgingly.
"...You're free to go."
"Goodbye."
The moment the dismissal came, I bowed my head.
As I hurried toward the door, I felt his gaze clinging to me. Just before I opened it, his faint mutter reached my ears.
"...Feels like I've seen her somewhere before."
I didn't pause, just stepped outside.
Knight Captain Kasyas paused as he flipped through the interview records.
The papers listed various names and alibis, but the only thing circling in his mind was one girl's face.
Ailin, the girl who'd lost her memory. A pitiful child under her childhood friend's protection. On the surface, nothing seemed amiss.
Aside from her unclear alibi, she had zero reason to be on any suspect list—just an ordinary villager.
But Kasyas's long years of experience, honed across countless battlefields, sent a fierce warning screaming through him.
It's the eyes. Those eyes are the problem.
Her eyes were too calm. Nothing like the terrified villagers.
Not the bloodlust or madness you'd expect from a killer, either.
Kasyas had seen eyes like that before.
Maybe the eyes of a mercenary he'd faced long ago on the northern front? Or an assassin's, who killed for a living?
No, it's not that. It's eyes that don't see people... as people.
Kasyas had occasionally encountered people with such eyes. And the results were always horrific.
They felt no guilt killing their fellow man. Hell, if they stopped there, you'd almost owe them thanks.
Just like... a church inquisitor.
Amnesia—such a convenient excuse. The perfect shield against suspicion.
Kasyas picked up his pen and drew a bold red circle around Ailin's name.
No evidence. Just a hunch. But these murders weren't ordinary.
A throat slit clean in one stroke. No traces left behind, meticulously clean.
What were the odds of a pro like that hiding in this backwater village?
No outsiders. Which meant someone in the village was concealing their true nature.
"...Ailin."
Kasyas rolled the name around in his mouth.
"Put surveillance on that girl."
"Yes, Captain."
He wasn't certain she was the killer. But he was dead sure she was dangerous.
Kasyas rose and approached the window. Outside, he spotted Ailin's retreating figure walking with Ethan.
All the way back home, the protagonist kept checking my mood.
"How'd it go? The knight captain didn't say anything scary, right?"
"Asked a bunch of questions."
"Good thing. I told you it'd be nothing."
"...Yeah."
He looked relieved at my answer.
Of course it had been a bit risky. He might not be fully convinced, but he'd probably put me on the suspect list.
Feels like I've seen her somewhere before—that last line lingered in my mind. Had he crossed paths with the original Ailin in the past? No way to know.
Would it kill the game to give me some memories from the start?
The moment I got home, the girls in the shattered mirror stared back at me.
Red pupils—the eyes the knight captain had pointed out.
"What's wrong with these?"
I'm human. Only I am human. Isn't it natural not to feel emotions for dolls among dolls?
No one holds a funeral for a broken toy. At best, they feel a pang of regret.
"Fakes."
I gazed out the window. The sun had set, darkness swallowing the village. Tonight—tonight was my chance.
The knight captain always patrolled the village outskirts alone when the two moons hung central in the sky.
Whether to set an example for his men or just to think in solitude, who knew.
I twisted my lips into a smirk and pulled on the black cloak I'd stashed in the corner.
I opened the drawer and stared at the dagger Ethan had given me for a long moment, then shook my head. Too good to waste here.
Cold night wind tickled my face as I opened the window.
Shadows stretched long from my feet, wrapping around me.
Mana began circulating through my body. Energy surged in an instant, lifting my spirits.
At the same time, I sensed a presence nearby. They'd even assigned surveillance already.
Kill them?
I shook my head right away. Stirring the hornet's nest for no reason would be stupid.
As long as I wasn't caught, leaving them be worked in my favor.
I slipped silently over the sill. Even landing on the roof made no sound.
The village was dead quiet.
The patrol squads had gone out, so I bolted straight for the outskirts.
No sensation of feet hitting ground. Leaping on shadows felt exhilarating.
Didn't take long to spot my target. The knight captain, patrolling alone. What was he pondering?
Speculating on the killer?
Missing his family back home?
Whatever it was, it didn't matter to me. He'd die unknown.
I held my breath and tailed him. Distance: about 20 meters.
Closing in, bit by bit. Very slowly.
Cut his throat before he even noticed.
Fair fights? Fuck that.
Distance: about 10 meters.
His footsteps seemed to slow oddly.
Imagination. He was still facing forward. Distance: about 5 meters.
Now in range. I gripped the shadow manifesting in midair.
Circulated mana, finalizing the plan in my head. One approach, decapitate the knight captain.
I kicked off the ground and shot forward.