Trapped in a Cursed Game, But Now with NPCs

 

 

  “…Why?”

 

  As I descended the tower, I walked toward the manor with a restless heart.

 

  Raising Cassel’s intimacy level seemed impossible, especially in the evening…

 

  However, when I saw the system message indicating that he had developed affection, I was more puzzled and uneasy than happy or proud.

 

  ‘You’re telling me he developed a liking for me just because he received a potion?’

 

  That was absurd. I immediately shook my head.

 

  From what I’ve heard and experienced, the protagonist was not the sentimental type. 

 

  If that were the case, he would have developed affection not from the moment I willingly handed him the potion but when I forcibly poured it down his throat.

 

    “…You run away quite skillfully, like a little rat.”

 

  It would be more reasonable to interpret that as him mocking me as I ran away, afraid that he might strangle me, rather than believing that he genuinely developed affection.

 

  The affection mentioned in the system message was probably a sadistic amusement from the murderer who deliberately set his prey free and nothing more.

 

  ‘Is this a collaboration between the psycho protagonist and the crazy game developers who adore him?!’

 

  As I thought about it, a title for some crazy novel popped into my head.

 

  Before I knew it, I had reached the door of the room Adam had assigned to me. 

 

  He had given me quite a nice room, considering that I was just an apothecary.

 

  Unfortunately, I had been too busy to use it properly.

 

  I opened the door with the intention of taking a leisurely bath.

 

  ‘Oh, right. What was I thinking?’

 

  I suddenly remembered something I had forgotten. 

 

  I hadn’t even asked the developers where I could find the materials I needed all because of that damned protagonist.

 

  They were probably impatiently waiting for me to turn on the chat window and reply by now.

 

  I needed to break Jinu’s subtle hope that I would be killed by Cassel, and I also needed to inquire about the whereabouts of the materials.

 

  As soon as I opened the door with the intention of turning on the chat window…

 

  The scene before me made it unnecessary.

 

  Two servants with dilated pupils were rummaging through the room, making a mess as they diligently searched for something.

 

  “…What are you doing?”

 

  I asked, leaning against the door frame.

 

  The two men who had been frantically searching the room without realizing the door had opened jumped when they saw me.

 

  “You, you…!”

 

  It was an obvious crime scene.

 

  “We, we were just cleaning the room.”

 
They stuttered as if they had no other excuse.

 
I couldn’t believe my ears, so I replied sarcastically.

 

  “Is it called cleaning when you’re turning the room upside down like thieves?”

 

  “Thieves? We were in the middle of cleaning, and that’s it! You talk a lot when you’re just a lowly apothecary!”

 

  “The Count himself ordered it, so stop complaining!”

 

  “Adam?”

 

  Listening with one ear, I suddenly became more perplexed by their words. 

 

  I couldn’t figure out why the innocent Count kept getting involved with monsters so much lately.

 

  As I was trying to determine whether it was Adam’s order or the monster’s tricks…

 

  “Get out of the way, we have to go.”

 

  They scrambled to get out of the room.

 

  “Where are you going?”  

 

  I quickly blocked their path. They hesitated for a moment, not expecting me to stop them, then shouted again.

 

  “Move aside! We’re done cleaning!”

 

  “You’re not done yet.”

 

  “W-What…”

 

  It didn’t matter if they ransacked the room or broke things. 

 

  I hadn’t stayed in the room for more than an hour, and even if they searched, they wouldn’t find what they were looking for.

 

  However…

 

  “Put everything back the way it was.”

 

  I needed to take a bath.

 

  This unexpected event, which happened while I was trying to relieve the stress I had accumulated overnight from the few moments of healing therapy this game offered, made my annoyance rise subtly.

 

  “What are you doing? Move aside!”

 

  “How dare you, you lowly apothecary!”

 

  “The Count told us to come back as soon as we’re done, so get out of the way if you don’t want to get hit!”

 

  Thump!

 

  One of them shoved me roughly in the shoulder as I stayed still.

 

  “Ah.”

 

  I almost stumbled for a moment but managed to regain my balance just in time.

 

  They thought I would collapse, but the sight of me standing firm seemed unexpected to them, and they exchanged glances.

 

  Brushing aside the hood that obscured my view when I was shoved, I muttered bitterly.

 

  “Sigh… These guys, I was willing to let it slide if you cleaned up.”

 

  “What, what?!”

 

  My temper flared for the first time since I became trapped in the game.

 

  After confirming that there was no one else in the corridor, I took off my hood completely.

 

  My pink hair, which had felt stifled under my clothes, flowed down my shoulders like a waterfall.

 

  “W-What…”

 

  “Uh…”

 

  The servants who had threatened me a moment ago suddenly opened their mouths and let out a stupid sound.

 

  Even in a state where they were being controlled by monsters, it seemed that their instincts couldn’t be suppressed. Their dazed eyes and flushed cheeks were disgusting.

 

  Of course, I didn’t take off my hood to show off my beauty. 

 

  It was simply because it would be uncomfortable to move vigorously with the hood on.

 

  “Annihilation.”

 

  I called out the skill mercilessly to the guys who were still spellbound by me.

 

  「 The [Lv.999 Annihilation] skill has been activated. 」

 

  And I immediately threw a punch.

 

  Bam―!

 

  “Ugh!”

 

  One of the guys who had let their guard down took a punch to the nose and fell back, his blood splattering as he lost consciousness.

 

  Annihilation was a skill that temporarily increased the attack power and agility of the weapon. 

 

  But I’m not carrying any weapons right now, so what else can I do?

 

  “P-Please spare me!”

 

  “Ugh!”

 

  “The way you treat a lady is so impure, so I’ll specially discipline you with my fists.”

 

  Thud, thud, thud―!

 

  Eerie sounds of blows echoed through the empty corridor for a while.

 

  Unfortunately, the sandbags’ lifespan was shorter than the duration of the skill activation.

 

  “So, next time, clean up while I’m still being nice.”

 

  I put my hood back on with a final kick to the two stunned men, who had been beaten to a pulp.

 

  Normally, I wouldn’t have inflicted this much pain and would have just thrown a potion to make them faint immediately, but these guys had really bad luck.

 

  They caught me at the worst possible time.

 

  I couldn’t take a bath now, but seeing those guys lying there made me feel strangely satisfied.

 

  Perhaps it was because my stress had eased a bit.

 

  ‘Could this be a hidden healing therapy?’

 

  I made a mental note to use this from time to time whenever I got frustrated in the future and took out a sunlight potion, tossing it to the guys.

 

  Thunk. Crash!

 

  “Ugh…”

 

  “Ugh…”

 

  “Kieeeek!”

 

  「 You have defeated two [Lv.2 Dark Eater Centipede] using the [Potion with Sunlight]. 」 

 

  ‘Yes! Four of them!’

 

  I hummed a tune while picking up the [Essence of Darkness] from the defeated monsters.

 

  It was then.

 

  “Apothecary! Wh-What are you doing right now?!”

 

  Someone screamed loudly at the end of the corridor.

 

  Turning away from the fallen men, a middle-aged woman and a young maid quickly approached.

 

  [Head Maid Lena]

 

  She was a familiar figure.

 

  “W-What on earth is happening? Why are these men in such a state?”

 

  (Head Maid) Madam Lena alternately looked at the fallen servants and me.

 

  I casually replied, “I caught them while they were trying to steal my things.”

 

  “You mean, you?”

 

  “Yes. They were searching my room… and falsely claimed that they were ordered by the Count, so I just knocked them out.”

 

  “Knocked them out…? Th-They’re not dead, are they?”

 

  “Kill them? That would be a crime, Madam. I just did it to prevent any possible escape.”

 

  “H-How could a lady incapacitate two robust male servants with her own hands…?”

 

  “I’ve learned some self-defense techniques.”

 

  Madam Lena continued to stare in disbelief at the servants with trembling eyes before turning to the maid behind her.

 

  “Go quickly to the butler and report the situation. Summon the knights.”

 

  “Yes, Madam Lena!”

 

  “And you…”

 

  Madam Lena looked back at me with a troubled expression.

 

  “For now, have a meal. Since your room is in this state, let’s go to the adjacent room.”

 

  “Oh.”

 

  I hadn’t noticed the tray behind them.

 

  It seemed like they were about to deliver my breakfast.

 

  “It’s okay. I don’t normally eat breakfast.”

 

  I had more pressing matters right now, so I politely declined.

 

  Without insisting further, she turned and spoke. 

 

  “Follow me. The Count asked me to bring you after you’ve eaten.”

 

  Seeing that Madam Lena came in person, it seemed that Adam had given her specific instructions.

 

  I nodded and followed her.

 

  “…What’s your name?”

 

  Madam Lena suddenly spoke as we were heading towards the Count’s office.

 

  “I’m Shari Azrael.”

 

  “I have something to ask you…”

 

  Madam Lena hesitated with a complicated expression, then sighed before asking.

 

  “Did I really come to you yesterday to purchase a sleeping potion? The Count told me so, but when I woke up, I couldn’t remember it at all…”

 

  It had come.

 

  I found myself facing the situation sooner than I had expected.

 

  Suddenly, Jinu’s words flashed through my mind.

 

    ⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋

    ― [GM Jinu]: What are you going to do
  if you get caught lying?

    ⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋

 

  What else could I do? 

 

  Just as I had answered at the time, I stared at her without batting an eye and firmly replied. 

 

  “There can be side effects if you’ve never taken it before, including memory loss.”

 

  “…Is that so?”

 

  “Yes.”

 

  “I could have been in big trouble.”

 

  “Big trouble…? It was just out of concern for the safety of your employees.”

 

  She still had an uncertain expression, but she seemed to accept my lifeless reassurance with a nod.

 

  “…Actually, the employees have been acting strangely lately, and I’ve been worried about them.”

 

  Madam Lena, with her cold and stern demeanor, made a complaint that she wouldn’t normally make.

 

  It seemed like people trusted apothecaries in the same way they trusted medical professionals, and she was pouring out her concerns to me as if I were one.

 

  Well, I could gain information, so it was a good thing.

 

  “In what way were they acting strange?”

 

  “They argue with each other, create false accusations, and… they even dared to commit theft within Count’s residence! They were doing things I couldn’t have imagined in the past.”

 

  It was all due to the influence of the parasites, but I asked politely. 

 

  “Were there no such incidents before?”

 

  “That’s right. I’ve been managing the employees here for over 20 years, and there has never been a single incident.”

 

  “You must have had a tough time, Madam Lena.”

 

  After sympathizing with her troubles, I discreetly changed the topic.

 

  “Does the Count know about this as well?”

 

  “What do you mean?”

 

  “The strange behavior of the employees.”

 

  “Of course. He was the one who first noticed it and personally handled some of the servants who were causing discord.”

 

  “I see.”

 

  “The person who used to do that suddenly…”

 

  Madam Lena’s face, which had become noticeably clearer since the parasite monster disappeared, was momentarily clouded with a hint of sadness.

 

  ‘What’s bothering her?’

 

  She mumbled, her words trailing off. However, she suddenly snapped out of it as we reached the Count’s office.

 

  “I shouldn’t speak about such things in front of guests. It’s just nonsense; don’t worry about it.”

 

  Maybe she was embarrassed about confiding in a stranger as she flushed red and immediately knocked on the office door.

 

  Knock, knock.

 

  “Come in.”

 

  I entered the Count’s office at the touch of Madam Lena’s hand on my back.

 

  Adam was impeccably dressed in front of his desk, sitting in a perfect posture even though it was early in the morning.

 

  ‘Honestly, shouldn’t he be the standard of NPCs?’

 

  Suppressing a wry smile at his appearance which was no different to the first time I saw him, I greeted him.

 

  “Good morning, Count.”

 

  “You weren’t in your room all night. Where were you?”

 

  「 [Adam Hailey] shows a certain level of hostility towards you. 」

 

  Sigh. This is off to a rocky start.

 

  

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