Latte followed my gaze and looked at the entrance.
“It looks like the person you’ve been waiting for has arrived.”
“Ah yes. See you next time then.”
“Of course! I will send a letter to Rearmond Manor.”
While I was excitedly waving to the three who were walking away, Alay came and stood in front of me.
“How did you know that? Even me… No, no one in the temple would have known. A troublemaker like me holds such an important position…”
He trailed off and glanced at me, as if it was burdensome to even say the word “high priest” in his mouth. I pointed to the chair as if I was about to lose my breath.
“Please sit down first. Let’s sit down and talk.”
“…yes.”
Alay, who was barely able to sit down while wiping the sweat from her hands on her priest’s uniform, seemed to remember the moment when I was summoned to the high priest this morning. His eyes were unfocused as he took a shallow, trembling breath.
“… They say that choosing a candidate for the next high priest is not a human task… They said I was called.”
‘I can’t believe you start from the main point like this. I guess you were really in a hurry.’
Alay stayed silent for a moment as the clerk approached him, filled his teacup, and left. He spoke again only after confirming that no one was listening to our conversation.
“I asked them how I could get a position like that as someone who is so lacking, and they just said that God’s arrangements are unknown at the moment… so… But how could I handle such a position?”
“Alay.”
“I declined several times, but the high priest said that this was not something that could be avoided and that it would be better to prepare my mind quickly.”
“You can do it. Therefore…”
“The High Priest corrected it that way… Where does it hurt… I don’t know what a poor person like me can do…”
My heart ached as I looked at his eyes that were constantly shaking, as if he was going to cry at any moment. In the game, he was a person who resolutely listens to the pain and prayers of all kinds of people while wearing a pure white monastic robe. I wondered how much pain this delicate person must have gone through until that happened. I patted poor Alay on the shoulder as she let out all her worries like a baby bird.
“It’s fine. You’ll do well. I’m one hundred percent sure. There is no need to worry so much.”
The strong certainty in my words seemed to confuse him even more. Alay raised his long white eyelashes and looked at me intently. If Luke’s gaze was like a fascination that drew a person in and made them want to die in his arms, Alay’s eyes were like a completely clean sheet of paper without any stains, so even making eye contact with him made me feel cautious. He asked me with that white snowflake-like gaze.
“…How did you know? What you said to me yesterday, and what you said now… It wasn’t just cheering, right? I can’t shake the feeling that you’re saying that because you already know. I have a good feeling about this.”
‘I didn’t say anything that great… Isn’t it not just a matter of good sense, but also judgment based on divine power?’
I had no intention of hiding anything from Aly anyway. He was literally the character I could rely on the most in this game. Of course, the other victims were trustworthy, but Aly was the one who tried to hide me, the player, and was attacked by the killer right in front of me. It was right before the final chapter. He suffered from fatal injuries and was left bedridden with almost no bones left. Meanwhile, the killer’s serial killings did not stop. I was going to make sure that didn’t happen this time. If he collapsed, I too would have no one to lean on. Without even organizing my thoughts, I just silently said the things I had thought about hundreds of times in my head.
“Listen carefully. Actually, I don’t belong to this place.”
“Miss Green… Are you saying you are from the province?”
“No, that’s not it. I’m not from this world at all. This body is not mine either. I don’t know how to say it… I was living in a completely different world than here.”
Aly seemed to have sensed the truth of what I was saying with his unique sense of good sense. Even though he looked surprised, he didn’t deny what I said. However, as if he was trying to somehow understand my story, his white eyelashes blinked several times a second. Instead of waiting for him to understand, I spoke very slowly.
“To me, this world, this park, was a world in a game. What is a game…? It’s like a children’s book or a novel, but you can change the content by becoming a part of it.”
Once I started to open it up, I felt like I couldn’t stop. At first, I only confessed to attract him, but somehow, without realizing it, I gradually began to reveal my true feelings. The words that had been stuck inside came pouring out all at once, as if a dam had collapsed.
“That’s why I know. What will happen to Alay in the future, and what will happen to this place… And what to do.”
Then I took out the case notebook and showed it to him, explaining in as much detail as I knew about the killer operating in the park. Also about the victims who will come forward. Alay listened intently to the story. He may have already heard the general story about serial murders while living in that place, but he seemed quite surprised that he could find out about future victims in advance. After I finished speaking, there was a short silence between us. As I waited anxiously for his next words, listening to the sound of a string instrument echoing softly in the salon, Alay let out a very slow and long breath and opened his tightly closed eyes.
“…You can become the main character and change the content. It seems like Arvice’s current situation.”
‘…You understood right away!’
At his small murmur, a calm joy spread in my heart.
“Really? Do you really believe this absurd story of mine? It took even me a very long time to accept it?”
Alay nodded his head.
“I can tell that what you say is true. Unless you’re mentally ill, what you’re saying is probably true. And you already believed things I couldn’t accept.”
The story about the High Priest seemed to have been such a big shock to Alai. Even though I told him such a ridiculous story, Alay’s eyes were still full of trust.
He spoke calmly.
“I don’t know exactly what Miss Arviche experienced and what she is experiencing now, but… Our temple says that the world is connected by countless connections.”
“If it’s a connection…”
“Novel books and children’s books may be a link that projects the original world. That game you mentioned… That too.”
He seemed to understand my situation much better than I did. But the more he understood, the more frustrated I became with my unreasonable situation.
“Does that make sense? Why was I called here?”
“If that’s the case… I don’t know what kind of power you have. Maybe he wants you to solve something, that he wants you to finish the book and close it.”
Who chooses me? It was true that I worked hard day and night on <Night of the Murderers>, but… Why should I take on such a task? However, the moment I was about to say something rebuttal, my eyes met the calm gaze of Alay, who had recently taken on a huge task on my shoulders that I had never even envisaged. Without having to say it, we fully understood each other’s burden in the brief moment we looked into each other’s eyes.
‘I never thought the day would come when the high priest and I would feel the same way… It’s something to see if you live for a really long time.’
I looked into his eyes and forced myself to complain.
“…I still don’t know why I was chosen, but I think I understand the situation better than before. It may be a ridiculous story, but thank you for listening.”
Alay gently pulled his lips and smiled. He was still pale due to tension and anxiety, but he seemed much more comfortable as he smiled awkwardly. He played with the tablecloth in his hands for a while, then raised his pale white face, which still looked young, and spoke.
“I came to respect you.”
“Yes?”
“At first it was just… I thought that there were people among ordinary people who heard God’s voice, but now I know that’s not the case.”
“But why…”
“Still, I entered the temple from the beginning with the will to serve and become a servant of God. No matter how unusual what happened to me was, to some extent, this is what I had hoped for.”
His eyes stared at me. Alay’s transparent sky blue irises looked as refreshing as ice on a snowy field. With those clear eyes, he looked at me as if I were a very great person and continued talking.
“But that doesn’t mean it’s your case, Miss Arvice.”
“That’s it… Yes?”
“Against your will, you ended up in this dark place, taking on the life of someone you had never lived before.”
“Yes.”
“But you silently accepted reality without running away or avoiding it. Not only that, but you are trying to find the end of this story and close the page properly. To save everyone who becomes a victim without knowing anything.”
“…It’s not something to think about so grandiosely.”
I quickly threw up my hand.
‘I just want to live. Since I experienced <Night of the Murderers> as a game, I can only assume that in order to properly survive, I need to solve everything and see the true ending.’
But no matter what I thought, it seemed like Alay had already reached a conclusion within me. White eyelids covered his rabbit-like eyes and rolled up.
“I will accept it too. It is a very minor decision compared to the one Miss Arvice made.”
Alay seemed to be mulling over something by himself. While he was talking, a notification about his favorability level appeared.
[Alay Kus’ favorability has increased.
Lv.3(210/297)
Favorability Quest: Additional increase in Favorability +50 as a reward for completing the salon
Lv.3(260/297)]
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on December, 21.
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