09
* * *
‘But can we even call him human?’
Luda stared intently at Esteban’s face. He might be a character in a game for capture, but right now, he was alive and moving normally. He seemed so human, so it felt strange.
‘Why did he immediately conclude that I was a sacrifice when he saw my face?’
That had been the most curious thing from the beginning. Had he guessed randomly or did all the ‘spirits’ know?
“Why did you call me a sacrifice?”
Luda decided to ask directly because thinking about it on his own wouldn’t lead to any answers. Now was probably the only chance she’d get to ask him face-to-face.
Esteban leaned against the wall, looking nonchalant.
“Don’t you know?”
“I don’t. I’m not a sacrifice.”
Luda responded confidently, but he gave a short, scornful laugh. It seemed like he was quite sure of himself.
Luda recalled the second rulebook she received for spirits. Although it was a fake with nothing written inside, if the rule of not revealing the contents applied to spirits too, maybe just showing it would be okay. The important thing was whether this method would work on Esteban or not.
He didn’t want to provoke any unnecessary suspicion.
‘How much time is left until the hour is up?’
Luda checked the hourglass. It seemed like more time had passed than she thought. It was probably more than ten minutes. What should she say now?
‘But what’s the purpose of this hourglass? Does it represent the time limit or the time spent together?’
Just as she wondered, Esteban, who had been standing by the restaurant door, changed his posture. Without saying anything, he started walking away.
If Esteban left like this, the situation would be worse than if Luda hadn’t accepted the quest in the first place.
Luda followed Esteban for now.
“What are you doing?”
As soon as they entered the central hall, Esteban stopped in his tracks. When he turned around, his face was as stiff and expressionless as a finely crafted statue.
‘What am I doing? Nothing Just completing the quest?’
Of course, Luda couldn’t say that.
“Are you going to your room?”
“Right.”
“Then Go first.”
Esteban, his lips slightly curved upward, stepped aside, making way for Luda. Under normal circumstances, she would have passed by without a second thought. But now, the fact that she couldn’t do that weighed heavily on Luda’s mind.
With nothing to say, Luda glanced at Esteban while clutching a loaf of bread. Then, her gaze suddenly landed on the sword at his waist.
‘Right, that sword…’
Upon reflection, Esteban’s sword was the only item capable of cutting Theo’s shackles. Back then in game, she had been caught by Esteban who had suddenly appeared, and as a result, they had to go down the underground passage together.
‘Should I ask him to lend it to me? Will he even show me his sword?’
Well, it would be more appropriate to threaten to cut him down with that sword.
But if she couldn’t get Theo out by tomorrow, there was no hope. From then on, the risk of being killed by Esteban was too great.
Two options came to mind. One was simply sharing the location of the underground passage. The other was deliberately getting caught in the underground passage and leading Esteban there.
“Why’d you suddenly close your mouth? You said you were going to your room.”
Esteban looked down at her with a suspicious gaze. Honestly, it was a suspicious situation. Given that she had been intentionally following him and wandering around, it was obvious that she was the one tailing him.
In the meantime, time continued to pass.
Now, the hourglass had only about half the sand remaining, and given the decreasing rate, the time she spent with Esteban seemed more reliable. An hour couldn’t possibly pass this quickly.
“Do you have any allies?”
“I was wondering what the fuss was about, and it turns out it’s because of that.”
Esteban smirked knowingly. She hated that smug look, but now she thought it might be better to reveal the existence of the underground passage. She couldn’t guarantee that these conditions would still be met tomorrow.
“I found a strange wall, and I’ll let you know about it.”
“I decline. I only go after sacrifices.”
“Anyone would find it suspicious, right? Aren’t you curious too?”
“Not really.”
Esteban arrogantly turned his gaze away.
With no other option, she had to take the risk.
Luda continued to walk past Esteban.
For some reason, the sand that had been falling ceased as she moved a certain distance away. Indeed, the hourglass was a tool for measuring the time Esteban spent with her.
In a way, it was fortunate. There was still enough time.
* * *
Luda stood in front of the dead-end wall, waiting for Esteban. She had expected him to arrive immediately, but it took longer than she thought.
“Did he take a different route?”
Luda pulled out her pocket watch and checked the time. If he didn’t show up in another ten minutes, she planned to go ahead without him.
Exactly five minutes later, Esteban appeared in the corridor. Luda opened the wall just as he arrived at the door and took out the key.
“I’ve gone this far; if he doesn’t see it, there’s nothing I can do.”
That was her feeling, but if he really didn’t show up, she considered going to the room to find him.
“But can I go down with this bread?”
Luda hesitated as she looked down the steep staircase, glancing at the bread in her hand.
It seemed safer to leave the bread in the room rather than risk dropping it on the way down.
As she turned to go to her room to leave the bread behind, she found Esteban standing behind her. She hadn’t felt him approaching, which was strange.
“How did you know about this space?”
“I figured it out on my own.”
Esteban’s eyebrow twitched slightly. The sand in the hourglass, which she had checked briefly, began moving again.
“I’ll put the bread down for now.”
Since she had locked the cell, there was no way he could harm Theo by going downstairs first.
Luda opened the door and placed the bread on the table.
During that time, Esteban had been examining the open wall, trying to figure out how it had opened.
It was a curious exploration with his hands, as if trying to discover how it worked.
As soon as she stood next to him, Esteban raised his chin.
“You go first.”
“Go when?”
“Right now.”
“I only said I’d let you know; I never said I’d go down with you.”
She pretended to be indifferent and didn’t move to go downstairs. The more she resisted, the more curious Esteban would become about what was down there. What exactly was hidden?
To express her unwillingness to go down, Luda stepped aside. If he wanted to go down, he could do it himself.
At that moment, a system window suddenly appeared.
[Auto-Save Function Activated.]
[Saving Current Progress…]
[Save Complete.]
‘Why again…’
Luda felt a sense of foreboding.
Being saved in such an uncertain moment meant that something unpleasant was about to happen. And her premonition proved correct.
As soon as she saw the system window reappear, she knew.
[Special Quest Triggered! (Importance: ★★★★)]
[Descend to the Underground with Esteban]
[Rewards: Slight Increase in Esteban’s Affection, Increase in Theo Danger level, Increase in Yulian Danger level]
[Warning! If you decline or fail, it will result in a game over.]
[Accept?]
[Yes / No]
‘This is so forced…’
If she declined, it would be game over. Moreover, the quest to spend more than 30 minutes with Esteban hadn’t even ended yet.
‘Could it be that the system gave me this quest on purpose because I didn’t go down with him on my own?’
It seemed the system was determined to involve her with a walkthrough character no matter what. She wasn’t interested in their affection points or anything like that; she just wanted to escape safely.
But if she chose “No,” she would die. And if she started again, thanks to the recent auto-save, this quest would appear again.
Luda chose “Yes.” She had intended to go down with him anyway, but being threatened like this was unexpected.
“Wait a moment.”
Esteban, who seemed ready to descend even on his own, turned his head.
“What is it?”
“If you’re that scared, I’ll go down with you.”
Esteban’s eyes narrowed slightly, assessing the situation. Luda began to speak.
“You’ve been too scared to go down until now. You shouted for me to lead the way, and you were trembling at the entrance.”
“Are you in your right mind?”
“Yes, I’m in my right mind and perfectly fine. So, I’ll go down with you.”
“…Impressive.”
Esteban snorted in response.
[Esteban’s Affection has increased.]
[Esteban (Capturable)]
[Affection: -19.8 (0.1▲)]
‘Look at this. The point is rising again at a strange point.’
While looking at the affection increase notification, Luda raised her head. In any case, she decided it would be better not to waste time and go down together.
Luda grabbed Esteban’s arm and gently pulled him forward, meeting his eyes.
His gaze shifted from her hand to her face, and his furrowed brow seemed to question her actions.
Luda immediately let go of his clothes, as if indicating she had been waiting.
“You told me to lead. You’re blocking the way now?”
***
