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

The boutique owner was about to say something more, but shook the ledger in his hand as if he had come to his senses.

“Oh my, it’s the main policy. No. I’m so happy that Arviche is back, but there’s no need to talk about it. Instead, let’s try the dress on.”

“Ah… yes.”

“It has been adjusted to size, but if you try it on, I will see if there are any adjustments that need to be made.”

“Why again?”

“This is important work. Small sizing adjustments determine how well a dress fits.”

I was more interested in the story about the boutique owner’s wife than the dress, but the owner didn’t talk about my wife again after that. While I was lost in my thoughts, putting on and taking off the dress, the owner faithfully did his job of adjusting the size of the dress and quickly disappeared. Even if you just stand still and put on what others tell you to wear and take it off as they tell you, it was still hard work.

After I got away from the boutique people, I didn’t have the energy to go up to my room, so I sat in the living room on the first floor for a while.

‘I don’t know why I’m so tired even though I definitely took a nap. Is it because I suffered from nightmares all night?’

When Luke said it was okay to take a break, it might have been better to just take a quick break. But I couldn’t ignore Luna and Shine waiting for me so cutely.

‘In case someone says I’m not Korean, I think I’m secretly a workaholic too.’

As I sighed softly and wiped my face, I heard familiar footsteps. It was a snapping sound, not a dragging sound.

‘Luke…?’

It was clearly him, but despite the sound of footsteps stopping right behind me, he didn’t say anything. After hesitating for a moment, I raised my head and looked back, and my eyes met directly with Luke. He had quite faint eyes for a person in front of him.

‘…Why do you look at people like that?’

“Do you have something to say to me?”

He smiled slightly and shook his head.

“I don’t have anything to do.”

“Sure?”

“I just thought it was so different whether there was a sheep in this mansion or not.”

Suddenly I don’t know what that means.

“Even if it’s not me, you often host tea parties, and you have a great time noisily and happily, right? That… You often have private drinking parties.”

When I said this while pointing my finger in the direction where the rooftop was, Luke burst out laughing, wondering what was so funny.

While Luke looked at me in bewilderment at the sight of him smiling while bending down to my waist, Luke finally calmed down.

“Tomorrow, after breakfast, could you please come to my room?”

“Tomorrow… Is this because you have some business to do?”

“I plan to prepare for the royal palace banquet.”

Luke responded somewhat solemnly.

‘For someone who tells me not to come to his room, he invites me often.’

I nodded without hesitation. Because I didn’t know what Luke was like. I wanted to be by his side and take a closer look at him. If he is a murderer, how did he become that way? If he was going to kill me, why on earth would he do that? If he was not a serial killer, how should I explain him and the events around him? Why was he protecting me?

Because I wanted to find answers to the questions that were just spinning around inside me.

I woke up early the next morning and started my day by writing letters to the people I was grateful to have come to visit me. I wrote down what I wanted to say to Latte, Lemuet, and Milorad in one letter. At the end of a thank you for coming and a greeting to meet at the palace banquet, I also wrote a message asking Shine and Luna to set up a day to visit me because they miss me. I wrote a thank you to Lambiel and told him to greet me again at the royal banquet, and I also wrote a message to Officer Amanta not to feel too guilty. Lastly, I also wrote a thank you note to Allai Kus and congratulations on being officially installed as a candidate for High Priest. It was said that the investiture ceremony of Alay Kus was held the day before the royal banquet.

‘…I want to go to Alay Kus’ event in person, but are you saying Luke is coming along again?’

After hesitating for a moment, I ended the letter by saying that I would go as much as possible if I could. After leaving the letters with Mr. Blier, I headed to the dining hall to have breakfast. Shine and Luna, who fell asleep without solving all of the math problems they had solved yesterday, were sitting at breakfast with sullen faces without any fuss.

“Do you want to play hide and seek like that?”

“Yes.”

“…why do you ask? Are you going to do it today?”

I smiled bitterly as I saw Luna and Shine’s eyes sparkling like puppies hearing the word ‘walk’. Even so, I thought I should try to collect information about Luke more actively. It might be a good idea to pretend to play hide and seek and search a little more. I nodded, glancing at Luke who was just reading the newspaper and not paying any attention to us.

The food hadn’t even been served yet, but Shine and Luna jumped up from their seats with excited faces.

“Later. After lunch.”

“…Ah, that’s true too.”

“Huh! Luna can wait!”

Perhaps thanks to the constant teaching they had to wait, the two of them calmly sat back down on their chairs at the table without any further pestering. While biscuits, butter, apple pie, milk, boiled eggs, cabbage salad, steamed white fish, and onion soup were served one after another, I stared at Luke’s hand holding the newspaper, lost in thought.

‘What on earth is he thinking?’

He was strangely good to me, and he allowed and encouraged people in the park to mistake us for being lovers. He even tried to stop me from going to the royal banquet, and when other people asked me to go with them, I offered to be their partner… 

Suddenly a thought occurred to me.

‘Am I good at my job?’

Was that possible? It’s not easy for one person to work for another person, and it’s difficult to find a like-minded employee. I was his favorite tutor. Even if I caught it while spying on the duke’s basement in the middle of the night, I didn’t want to cut it, I liked it so much that I didn’t want to miss it.

‘…Shine and Luna like me.’

However, there was something wrong with this assumption. No matter how you look at it, Luke’ favorability rose too quickly and was the highest compared to Shine and Luna’s favorability.

‘…He’s something… What does he feel for me… Does it feel like welcome?’

I nodded to myself, feeling that the word I came up with was absolutely appropriate.

‘Yes, he is glad to meet me. He’s something… He’s happy to see me.’

I didn’t know the reason yet, but I had a vague guess that it had something to do with the words ‘I don’t forget’ and ‘I remember’ that he sometimes said whenever I was alone with him.

“In this morning’s article, there was an interview with Inspector Triver.”

When I heard Luke talking to me, I belatedly realized that he was looking at me and quickly looked towards where my dishes were placed.

“Oh that… is it so?”

“Yes. It’s an article about eradicating crime in the park, but there’s something interesting about it.”

“What is it?”

“They say they have identified a suspect and are pursuing him.”

“…what?”

I was shocked and reached out to Luke. Shine and Luna were sitting in a row between me and Luke, so the twice-folded brown newspaper was handed to me by the two children. I quickly opened the newspaper and saw Inspector Triver’s face on the front page. Even though it’s a black and white photo, I don’t know how he looks like Santa Claus with a beard all over his face.

[Will the crime surrounding the park finally end…?

Inspector Triver of the Central Police Agency revealed that he is tracking the suspect.]

When I saw the plausible title, I had some uneasy thoughts.

‘Inspector Santa Claus, why did you come out before winter and make such a fuss?’

I’ve said this time and time again, but the police officers in the game are basically incompetent. Of course, we would have collected more evidence than the original story… If the case was resolved neatly just because they worked hard, no one would suffer.

I read the article below the title.

[…Inspector Triver says the case has progressed with the safe return of Arbice Green (27). The huge evidence left on the wall where she was kidnapped is identical to the evidence found at Cather Hunt’s house.]

‘…Pentagram!’

I nodded.

I also thought about that part. The fact that traces left by the serial killer remain in the kidnapper’s hideout means that he is either a copycat criminal or that the pentagram magic circle is all the rage among criminals… Either that house was shared with a serial killer…

Or, that he was a serial killer.

‘Then what is Luke? Are there two serial killers? Or are they each different criminals?’

I really didn’t know anything.

‘…What on earth is going on? But Inspector Triver has already figured it out?’

I sighed and quickly read the next sentence in the newspaper.

[Inspector Triver decided to publicly search for Morrison Alter (49), a prime suspect who had been seen simultaneously at several serial murder locations, and is tracking the whereabouts of the missing Morrison Alter…]

The moment I read the name Morrison Alter, my stomach exploded and I closed the newspaper.

‘…Ah, this guy. I knew there would be an accident. The route that pointed out Morrison Alter as the culprit ended with a bad ending a long time ago.’

If Inspector Triver captures Morrison Alter, who is really just a good newsboy, and interrogates him, we may have to look at developments that have nothing to do with the true ending.

‘Ah, I’m tired of bad endings.’

A deep sigh came from within.

 

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