I'm a Supporting Role in a Horror Game, Don't Kill Me

CHAPTER 014

Posted by RJR, Released on August 23, 2023

Lambiel met my gaze with a smile and turned to Luke.

“Luke, why, did you have someone who is so interested in you that you want to hide from me?”

“Nonsense.”

“Come to think of it, did something interesting happen at the tea party last time?”

‘What are you talking about? Was it because Luke and I look close?’

At first glance, Luke didn’t seem to like Lambiel all that much. Did it feel like Lambiel was unilaterally interested in Luke? I didn’t know why the favor rate went up, but there’s nothing to lose by keeping it high. I nodded my head happily, but Luke looked at me and said something in trouble.

“If you don’t mind, I think you’d better go upstairs.”

“Yes?”

“Ah, yes. If you don’t mind, could you take this to my room on the way up?”

He held out the book he was holding in his hand to me as if he remembered it belatedly.
It was just a bland encyclopedic book, and it didn’t matter what he had in the room, it looked like it wanted to kick me out. I stumbled upon the book. As I looked back at the silver-haired, blond handsome men in the room, I suddenly had such a question.

‘Is it good for me to step aside when the future victim and the murderer are in one place?’

But I couldn’t stay away here. Until I left, Luke didn’t even seem to want to sit down. I took the encyclopedia on top of the children’s books in my hand and left the room. The moment I entered Luke’s room, the smell of old books wafted in the air. The bookshelves that lined the two walls of Luke’s room were huge, taller than I was. Overwhelmed by the scenery, I swung around and slowly entered his neatly designed room in beige tones and closed the door.

‘I’m in the murderer’s room now.’

My heart was racing.

I have never entered this room as a player. This was the first time I came into this space.

‘If he really is a murderer, there must be evidence somewhere in this room. No, or maybe nothing. A very clever killer.’

Two thoughts rushed through my heart at the same time.

‘If I get the evidence and bring it to the Inspector… Wouldn’t it be possible to see the true ending right away? But if I make a hasty move, I will have to run away. I only have two hearts now.’

I broke out in a cold sweat from the constant sound of footsteps passing by people outside. I took a small deep breath while just looking around the old-fashioned and spacious room.

‘There’s no need to stay too long and get suspicious.’

It was a hopeful observation that we will be able to find plausible evidence right away.

‘Let’s just leave the book quietly.’

I had to admit that time was too short to get my hands on a plausible income. Looking for a suitable space for an encyclopedia, I approached the huge bookshelf that filled the two walls.
Books with exposed spines woven with thread, books with thick bindings, books with beautiful gold leaf, books with pictures on the spines, and so on. Even to me, who was not very knowledgeable about books, the bookshelf filled with historic books looked beautiful. I was in a state of feeling like I was going to be overwhelmed, and suddenly I saw books with red bindings like the one I had been placed side by side at eye level. And there was also a place where only one book was empty.

‘Here.’

I put the book in there.

Took.

The book no longer went inside as if it was caught on something.

‘What?’

The weight of the books was considerable, so I struggled to open a gap, and there was a book lying horizontally between them.

‘What if I leave it plugged in like this?’

I pulled it out to put it back in properly, but the weight and feel of the book were strange. Feeling like something inside the book is moving and rattling? I put the book I brought in and opened it, and there was a silver pistol in it.

‘Hick.’

Unknowingly, I covered my mouth. It’s not at all strange to have it in the Duke’s room, so I didn’t know why it gave me goosebumps.

[Item: 6-shot pistol. 6 exclusive bullets. You can look up how to use it.]

A notification window popped up in one corner of my field of vision.

‘Wow, farming in a murderer’s room.’

That would be insufficient to serve as evidence. It was an era where fingerprints couldn’t be properly checked yet. It would be more difficult to find bullet marks. Could this be evidence?
But it could be an item, not evidence. What came to mind for a moment was Catherine Hunt’s face. In a situation where there was no place to lean on, it was really nice to have even one item like this. I didn’t know if I would be questioned later for taking this, but I picked up the gun and stuffed it into my pocket as a gamer’s instinct.

‘As expected, not picking up an item that is meant to be farmed is honestly sabotage.’

The book was laid horizontally and out of sight as it was originally. Suppressing my heart beating a little faster than before, I hurriedly retreated from the room. Returning to my room, I first read how to use the handgun I brought with me.

[Difficulty to use: Low
Please pull the trigger while looking at the aiming point.
It can mortally wound opponents. Please use with caution.]

It was easy to learn how to use it after reading the short description and doing it yourself. As I lifted the pistol and unlocked the safety, I saw a small square aiming point in the middle of my field of vision. It was an interface that I have encountered many times in games. After unlocking and locking the safety device a few times, I was convinced that I could use it even when I was in a hurry. I was about to hide my revolver in a drawer, but I stared at it for a while. The silver revolver, which had been warmed up by his body temperature before he knew it, felt somehow heavy.

‘It’s scary that I might die in the game… This is scary too.’

Being able to harm someone in a space that feels so realistic was another fear. But that’s a matter for later consideration.

‘What if I can’t even take care of myself?’

I shook my head dizzy and quickly put the pistol in the drawer. The fact that the gun fell out of my hand brought relief to my heart somewhere. As I left my room and crossed the hallway to read a bedtime story to the children, the feeling of relief made me feel uncomfortable the whole time. Because I was more and more immersed in living in the world of this game, I was anxious. Part of my heart believed that one day this long dream would end and I would wake up in a familiar bed… As I got used to the space and time in the game every day, that trust seemed to disappear.

‘It’s a problem that can’t be solved by worrying, and if I started worrying in earnest, I thought I’d get a mental illness, so I was ignoring it as much as possible… Really, how did I end up in a place like this?’

Thoughts gnawed at me, and at last I remembered Catherine Hunt’s face again. It was also because of her that I stole the revolver. I somehow forgot that I was in a horror game for a week, but I wouldn’t be able to do that tonight.

‘Today is the night that Catherine Hunt’s death was predicted.’

Even though I had only met her once, seeing her live and move right in front of her was the part that bothered me the most.

‘It’s not just data, it’s not an element of the game… It really looked like it was alive.’

Because I’m not just an NPC called Arbice Green.

‘…What do I do? In this situation where her death is predestined, what can I do? What can I do with just such a small revolver?’

Until I arrived at the children’s door, those complicated thoughts were messed up without finding a way out. Suddenly, as I was about to climb the stairs, I saw Shine and Luna holding hands and waiting for me at the short landing in front of the door. The two looked at me and raised their hands.

“Oh, why are you in your room?”

“Sir, come! Luna is sleepy!”

“Teacher! I finished my homework today!”

I hugged the two little kids who were each whispering their own words. I didn’t know why Luna and Shine, with their curly hair neatly tied up, were so cute sitting like dolls with braided hair. It was insanely cute, adding to the slow blinking of their eyes as if they were already sleepy before I read the storybook. I felt the high body temperature unique to children in my arms. It was not that the children were comforted, but I felt that I was comforted by them. The beings that make you forget the space of this horror game. I stroked their hair once and hugged them tightly.

“It’s starting again! My hair is messed up!”

Shine grumbled, but I calmly embraced him.

[Shine’s affinity has increased.
Lv.1(89/99)]

Shine touched his hair as his cheeks turned red. Maybe their parents died early and he didn’t get the love he deserved at his age. There were times when I just felt good when I saw children who were moved by each and every little expression of affection like this, but sometimes I shed tears because it was salty.

“Come on, I’ll read you a fairy tale so go to sleep.”

“Teacher, let’s sleep together.”

“No.”

Shine puffed out his plump cheeks.

“These days, we are always told to play inside the house, and only the teacher wants to go to a fun place, right? I know everything.”

I laughed bitterly.

‘There’s only horror in horror games… What a fun place to be.’

“Did that little mouth say that?”

I stretched Shine’s cheek, and Shine forced a mumble through his stretched mouth.

‘Oh, how small!’

“Don’t be upset because the Duke told you not to go far for the sake of Luna and Shine. It’s because there are so many dangerous cases these days. So, listen to the fairy tales the teacher reads and go to bed early. huh?”

No matter how Luna understood my words, she suddenly jumped up and purred her pink lips.

“Teacher, Luna will protect you!”