"There is no way you would have business at a place like a church, and a church in the Imperial Palace at that."
Fenrir's eyes gleamed as he stared at Vidar.
"What is your ulterior motive?"
"..."
"Why did you make the stone statue look like that?"
Neither Vidar visiting the church and encountering Presepe, nor the sacred statue being completely shattered, were things Fenrir had anticipated at all. Consequently, Fenrir was also somewhat taken aback.
Even without this, they had to meticulously plan and act cautiously to get Presepe out of the Imperial Palace. But to think such an unexpected situation... it was absurd.
However, Vidar's thoughts seemed completely different from Fenrir's.
“But the results were good.”
"...What?"
"In the end, thanks to that, we gained another justification to take Presepe out of the imperial palace."
"..."
"Dietrich could have insisted to the very end that the deaths of Attar Hanan and Noah DeVern had nothing to do with Presepe. But hearing that Presepe even encountered a suspicious person, he must have wondered if the situation was truly dangerous."
In a way, it wasn't entirely wrong. It's just that seeing strange things happen around you and actually encountering a suspicious person were two different stories.
"No matter the process, I am ultimately continuing to help you."
"..."
"There is nothing good to be gained from doubting me. You know that, don't you?"
"That said, there is nothing good to be gained from naively believing everything at face value."
Vidar laughed.
"Don't be so on edge, Fenrir."
"..."
"Everything is going according to your plan, isn't it? Attar and Noah are dead, and now you've even brought Presepe out of the palace."
Of course, it’s still far from enough for you, though.
Henrik did not answer Vidar's words.
"But you'll have to be more careful from now on."
Vidar, who had gotten up from the sofa, looked at Fenrir and spoke as if giving advice.
"Dietrich, Ivan, and Siegfried, the other three aren't easy opponents. Ivan, in particular, is even more of a joke."
"I don't care."
"..."
"I don't intend to drag this out anyway."
"Well, yeah, fine. Good luck."
Vidar shrugged slightly and chuckled once again.
And without looking back, he left the drawing room as if he had no lingering regrets.
"..."
Left alone in the quiet, empty drawing room, Fenrir glared silently at the door Vidar had closed and left through.
Anyway, it was impossible to guess what he was thinking. Of course, Vidar had never once caused a setback in Fenrir's plans so far, but that kind of cooperation was bound to lead to great trouble someday.
"...Ha."
Fenrir let out a short sigh. Then, he slowly turned his head and looked up at the round full moon that ominously filled the pitch-black night sky.
In Ateloia, the full moon was an ominous presence.
It was said that unlike the sun, which warmly colors, illuminates, and protects all things in the world, the moon beguiles and shakes the human heart, causing wicked things that are not human to pour out into the world in droves. That is why it is so ominous.
Therefore, no one in Ateloia liked the night of the full moon.
But it wasn't Fenrir.
It was all full moon.
His days associated with Presepe.
[If you kill them all.]
And the day he resolved to carry out all these things was also a full moon.
[So if I am the only one left among her options...]
...Then it works, right?
Fenrir had never forgotten for a single moment the resolve he had made while biting his lip until blood seeped out and clenching his fists so tightly that his blunt fingernails dug into his tender flesh.
It was still the same now.
"..."
Fenrir, who had been quietly gazing at the ominously shining round moon, rested his chin on one hand.
Then, he started thinking about how to get rid of the remaining three pieces of trash as quickly as possible.
***
Although it had lost its owner, Noah DeVern's townhouse remained the same.
The drawing room with an interior that reveals a luxurious disposition at a glance, and the room at the very end of the hallway filled with masterpieces, jewelry, and stuffed animals.
That was the case, except for just one thing.
One wall of that very secret room.
To be precise, everything remained the same except for the wall on the side where the window was located, collapsing.
"..."
The taxidermied specimens were densely packed and reflected in the man's pitch-black eyes, which were as dark as the night.
"He was a total lunatic."
It might have been understandable if it were just one or two pieces, but a person who collected this many taxidermied specimens like a madman couldn't possibly be in their right mind.
To be honest, he didn't seem like a particularly decent person, so he was annoyed that he died in such a way, causing him so much trouble.
"The condition of the corpse was absolutely gruesome."
"I know that too. I didn't see it myself because it was disgusting, though."
"It was truly terrible... It was much worse than I had heard."
The boy in the robe let out a sigh and continued speaking.
"He had my neck bitten off by something like a beast. If he had been lucky, he would have died instantly, but I'm not sure if Noah DeVern is that kind of lucky person..."
"At worst, it would have been excessive bleeding."
The man muttered indifferently.
"Or, well, since he was bitten all over his body, not just his neck, he might have died of shock."
"That's exactly what I meant by it being horrible..."
The man didn't reply. Instead, he bent one leg and ran his hand over the blood-stained floor.
"But isn't it really strange? A beast in the middle of the capital? Even if we concede that a thief brought a beast in, the servants say nothing was stolen..."
"I guess he got revenge, by the stuffed animals."
"Yes?"
The boy wore a foolish expression, but the man chuckled.
"Anyway, it's not like I sense any suspicious energy. Honestly, I wonder what's going on..."
The boy was right.
If magic or a curse had been used, there would surely have been traces left behind, yet nothing particularly special was visible or felt.
...Until the man discovered the pitch-black, caked-on mark hidden by the bloodstain. That was the case.
Soon, the man's long fingers traced the pitch-black mark. Very secretly and carefully.
It was the trace left by that incredibly fragrant candle that Noah liked very much.
"Archmage?"
"..."
“Why are you doing this?”
"Who..."
"Yes?"
"Who is doing something really interesting...?"
The boy frowned slightly at the words that were difficult to understand, but Archmage Ivan didn't really mind.
Instead, he just smiled, twisting the corners of his mouth.
Literally, as if finding it very amusing.
***
It was truly a deep sleep for the first time in a very long time.
"..."
Waking from her sleep, Presepe blinked her eyes blankly. Then, she quietly felt the warmth filling the spacious room, the soft bedding, and the bright sunlight streaming down.
"I knew it wasn't a dream. It was real."
She dozed off from exhaustion, but she thought she was a little scared.
She had really gone completely insane now, so she was wondering if she was having a strange dream.
But it wasn't a dream.
If things had gone as originally planned, if I were at the Imperial Palace, I would probably be trapped in an ice prison, suffering by now, wouldn't I?
The thought that she would never again have to feel the terrible cold and hazy breath that came vividly to mind just by closing her eyes, and the excruciating pain of frostbite, made her feel like she was going to cry.
However, it was also time to pull herselves together and reorganize.
"..."
Presepe slowly rose from her seat. Then, leaning her back against the headboard, she took a few deep breaths.
"Show me the case log."
Unlike usual, she tried to murmur in a slightly trembling voice, but she could see nothing.
"...Looking back on past memories"
It was the same. Exactly the same. Even when she asked to see the case log, look back on past memories, or the map, the familiar information window did not appear.
'I did think it might be like this, but...'
The main setting of the game is the Imperial Palace of Ateloia. No matter what happened, Presepe always ended the day in the Tower until the ending was reached.
Excluding the fixed options that appeared, system-related tasks could only be performed in the Tower.
'The Book of Memories, if only I could have utilized that function...'
If that had been the case, it wouldn't have been a problem at all to have slipped out of the meal like this. Presepe had that thought, then shook her head as if to comfort herself.
"...Fine. Even if I stayed in that tower, there was nothing to gain anyway. I don't know if it was because of a bug, but the Book of Memories wouldn't even be accessible."
They said that if the system revealed the real male protagonist, it might be a different story, but since it wasn't information they found out themselves, they couldn't even look it up.
There will be no more new information to discover in the Imperial Palace. After all, she had regressed hundreds of times already.
In that case, it was much better to be able to move freely now. At least here, she wouldn't be restricted in jer movement as much as she is in the Imperial Palace.
Moreover, no matter how much one looked back at past records, it was meaningless.
Considering the statue incident and Noah's death, the way things are going, it looks like bugs are just going to keep popping up. If she looked it up, she'd probably just see a bunch of annoying question marks.
...But why did Noah die?
To be completely honest, Presepe didn't feel any sympathy.
Of course, when Attar Hanan died, she was so flustered that she lost her mind since it was the first time she had experienced something like that, but this time, the story was a little different.
[It is presumed that he died on the spot after his neck was bitten off by a beast-like creature, but it is said that the only things found at the scene were the collectibles and the body of Noah DeVern.]
"I’m sorry.”
Presepe still remembered. That damn room filled with stuffed animals of poor souls.
Also, the sight of herself dying exactly like those stuffed animals, and the pain she felt at that time.
"Things are going strangely, but... anyway, the basic framework of the game won't change."
The hope that finding the real male protagonist would likewise allow her to see the real ending has not yet vanished.
So, you can do it well.
"..."
Presepe, who had been lost in thought, suddenly turned her head to look at the vase. Fenrir had run over to her.
Bathed in sunlight, the flower was still emitting its fragrance.
A memory of crying alone while gazing at a flower someone had left behind long ago flashed through her mind.
At the very least, things were much better now than they were then.
Presepe lowered her head and carefully inhaled the scent of the flower. Then she gazed down at the flower for a long time.
"...Uh?"
Then, she paused briefly.
For some reason, it felt familiar.
"Yes, that flower..."
Wasn't this the flower that someone left in a vase back then?
Presepe wore a slightly dazed expression and carefully stroked the thin petal.
“I guess that’s right.”
Pale purple petals, an uncommon color exactly like her eye color. Thin as a butterfly's wing. A delicate texture, as if it would crumble if squeezed hard. A distinctively sweet scent wafting intensely.
It might just be a coincidence, but for some reason, it felt like it was making her feel good.
It feels like the flower she met again is cheering jer on, telling her that she's right and that she can really do it well this time...
"Right. I'll do my best. Thanks to you, we're off to a good start."
Presepe smiled brightly.
It was around the time she was steeling her resolve with a pounding heart like that.
Suddenly, a knock was heard.
'Is it Grand Duke Fenrir?'
Since Fenrir was the only person she knew in this house, she couldn't help but think of him. However, the voice coming from outside the door was unfamiliar.
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