Even after barely making it back to the tower, Presepe could not rest in peace.
The first thing Presepe did after returning to a relatively safe place was to look up information related to Attar Hanan again.
I mean, the act of rummaging through case logs filled with question marks or albums with faces painted pitch black.
"Looking back at Attar Hanan's case log and past memories. Show me everything."
But...
[Notice: The character Attar Hanan does not exist.]
"..."
[Note: Shall we look back at other characters' case logs and past memories?]
No matter how many times she tried again, the result was the same.
Even in full shots—that is, illustrations drawn with all the other characters—Attar could not be found. He had literally vanished. Just Attar, as if he had been carved out.
Attar Hanan has completely disappeared from the game.
It was as if he had never existed from the very beginning.
...It was absurd.
Like a madman, Presepe reviewed every detail of the game's settings he knew over and over again. However, nothing had changed except for the disappearance of Attar.
"Show me the information about Grand Duke Fenrir..."
The next person to come to mind was Fenrir. His words, which seemed to harbor a hidden thorn somewhere, bothered her and weighed on her mind. And those red eyes that had been staring intently at her, too.
However.
[Note: The character Grand Duke Fenrir does not exist.]
...What?
Could it be because he is an NPC with no presence? Presepe hurriedly looked up the data on the maid Ella.
[Notice: Ella, a lady-in-waiting belonging to the Imperial Palace...]
Ella was no different—nothing more than an NPC. But why does Fenrir not even exist, while Ella can be looked up?
This was the first time something like this had happened.
'Ho, perhaps...'
Could there be something in the Book of Memories? Maybe there really was. After all, it was one of the new features granted after Secret Mode was unlocked.
"Show me the Book of Memories."
[Calling the Book of Memories.]
However...
[Notice: You have viewed the Book of Memories.]
It was exactly the same as last time. The system did nothing but spout nonsense about the viewing of the Book of Memories, which it hadn't even shown.
She really has no idea what's going on...
"I don't understand a single thing..."
In the end, Presepe slumped down, completely drenched in despair.
"I really... want to stop now..."
How on earth am I supposed to play a game riddled with bugs like this in the first place? To be honest, it’s practically a miracle that she's lasted this long.
Her ambition to find the real male protagonist, win him over, reach the ending, and escape the game was long gone. Everything was simply terrifying and frightening. She felt as if she had been cast ashore into the vast ocean. And all with nothing but her bare body.
"What did I do so wrong..."
Presepe hung her head low and sobbed softly.
"Why me of all people...?"
I can't be the only one who installed this game. So why is this happening only to me?
Presepe sobbed to herself, endlessly listing questions with no answers. Then, exhausted from crying, she dozed off as if losing consciousness.
***
As soon as she opened her eyes, what greeted her was something she hadn't seen in a very long time.
So, the ceiling of the room.
"Uh...?"
...Am I seeing things?
Or maybe I didn't get enough sleep?
She blinked her eyes several times in a daze, then turned her head toward the blank day.
Then she saw a desk with unsightly corners, and laptops and trash scattered haphazardly on it.
Half-eaten cup noodles, red-stained wooden chopsticks, carelessly torn medicine packets. Things like that.
A world within a single, cramped room.
She realized that she had returned to her original world.
"...Was it a dream?"
Something like a terrible and even long nightmare.
"Yeah, stop it. There's no way it could actually happen...."
That's right. That's only possible in novels.
She muttered to herself, as if brainwashing herself.
Even as she spoke, the things she had experienced in the game came vividly to mind, but she struggled with all her might to ignore them.
Yes, you've done it now.
That's it.
It’ll all be forgotten soon anyway!
"..."
As she muttered to herself, her gaze suddenly fell upon the laptop on the desk.
The laptop was still turned on.
She hurriedly got out of bed. Then she sat in a chair and looked at her laptop.
<Presepe in the Cage>
She saw the title of that damn game and the opening screen...
Presepe, wearing a sad expression while trapped in a cage, just like the title suggests.
[Notice: The game is not ready to run.]
And the familiar notification window as well.
"..."
She glared at Presepe in the corner of the opening screen without saying a word, then...
She pressed the power button haphazardly. With all jer might.
With a pop, the screen turned black, and the laptop turned off easily without any resistance.
"Ha..."
Only then did she let out a sigh of relief and slumped into the chair.
I'm never playing that kind of game again. I'm going to throw the whole laptop away.
I mean, why did you even bother trying to play such a crappy game in the first place...
Really, why did you do that?
Why....
And in an instant, her own voice, muttering to herself, brushed past her ears.
[I have to check... I have to check... ]
"Right... check..."
... What?
She made a stupid face.
However, fleeting thoughts did not last long.
She, who had been muttering to herself while wiping her face, froze stiff as if she had seen something she shouldn't have.
The place where her gaze was directed was behind the laptop. It was the mirror hanging on the wall.
A very familiar woman was sitting in the mirror.
Lustrous silver hair reaching down to the waist, excessively white skin, and purple eyes that closely resembled violets.
Even just moments ago, a woman was looking at her on the laptop screen.
The main character of the game.
It was Presepe.
“Oh... no...”
Presepe fumbled with her cheek and muttered like a madman.
"I am... not Presepe....."
I am...
My name is...
...What was my name?
[Presepe]
Suddenly, a familiar voice was heard. It was not just one voice. Dietrich, Ivan, Siegfried, Noah, Attar—they were all calling out Presepe's name aloud, as if it were her real name.
[You can't go anywhere.]
And a very strange voice, one she had absolutely no memory of, was heard.
[I'm never going to let you go.]
Along with a very spine-chilling laugh.
"No...!"
Presepe, having fallen off the chair, hunched her back in pain. She then covered her ears with both hands, but their voices did not stop. They merely rang out louder, digging deep into Presepe's ears.
***
"Pe..."
"..."
"Presepe!"
Along with someone's shout that bordered on a scream, her tightly closed eyes snapped open.
The first thing she saw was Dietrich's face, looking down at her while gripping her lying shoulders tightly.
It didn't take long for Presepe to grasp the situation.
...It was a dream.
Not this way, but that way.
She felt like screaming.
"You..."
Dietrich was about to say something, but closed his mouth for a moment.
It was because of the tears streaming down silently, soaking Presepe's pale face.
Presepe showed no reaction whatsoever. She didn't look surprised, nor did she flinch or hesitate. She simply looked up at him with eyes like dead fish.
It was a face Dietrich had never seen before.
"..."
Dietrich slowly let go of Presepe's shoulder. Then, with a distorted face, he spoke as if tossing it out.
"Wipe away your tears, for I have something to ask you."
There was a reason why Dietrich came to see Presepe as soon as dawn broke.
It was because there was something that absolutely had to be heard.
Dietrich waited for Presepe to wipe away her tears. But it was only for a brief moment. Her expression hardened instantly, and looking at Presepe with an unbearably cold face, he asked.
"What were you doing with Attar Hanan in the flower garden yesterday?"
"..."
"If you value your life, you'd better not even think about lying. I heard the story directly from Noah DeVern."
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