Presepe's expression was blank as she stared at the man in front of her.
It was not because she was flustered, nor because she was surprised.
It was purely because the man was excessively handsome.
'There was another person who looked like this in this game?'
Since it is a walkthrough game, all the male characters appearing in it had incredibly flashy and handsome faces. They were all tall, too. Dietrich, Siegfried, Ivan, Noah DeVern, and even Attar Hanan, who is already dead—they are all like that. It’s just that the contents inside those shells are all unrecyclable trash.
Anyway. They were all people with faces they wouldn't be ashamed of anywhere.
However, not long ago, on the day she first met Fenrir, Presepe thought...
She couldn't believe a character could be this handsome even though they aren't a playable character.
...I thought that kind of character ended with Grand Duke Fenrir?
However, the moment she faced the man, Presepe realized that she had been very short-sighted.
The man was incredibly handsome. To an excessive degree, in fact.
Of course, Grand Duke Fenrir was the same, but she said he was a bit different in nature.
Unlike Fenrir, who exuded a somewhat dangerous and gloomy atmosphere, the man looked very gentle and warm.
Fenrir and this man seemed like people standing at opposite ends of the spectrum.
Bright blonde hair shining brilliantly as if melted gold, eyes as deep and blue as the sea and sparkling like sunlight, skin that seemed much finer and whiter than her, and a delicate yet glamorous appearance.
Also, his features were so beautiful that she was speechless. Even though he just stared at her expressionlessly, all sorts of stories automatically played out in her mind.
Do the angels in the Bible really look like this?
Of course, it doesn't look like it has wings.
His face was so beautiful, but his body was a completely different story. Of course, the other male characters were in good shape as well, but this guy... how should I put it... he felt different from birth.
The man had a bigger body than even Siegfried, who was the tallest of the characters, and his shoulders were massively broad.
Moreover, he was solidly muscular.
'By any chance, the real male lead...?"
Presepe's gaze reflexively landed on the man's head.
But as expected, nothing was visible.
'...Isn't he?'
Besides, with such a nice face, did he sell his character to a junk dealer for dirt cheap?
They say good-looking people act their best, and that's exactly the case here. You're the one who pushed me, so why aren't you even apologizing? I even fell over because of you!
"..."
Presepe’s expression contorted slightly as she looked up at the man. Meanwhile, the man’s face, looking down at her, remained completely expressionless, leaving Presepe bewildered.
It was completely different from the very gentle first impression.
However, wondering if he had sold his character for a pittance, the man slowly reached out his hand to Presepe.
Presepe gazed for a moment at the man's hand held out right in front of her. Perhaps because his face was handsome, the man's hands were also elegantly handsome. She thought she remembered hearing that hands like this were called 'delicate jade hands.'
"...thank you."
Even though he was the one who pushed her, shd have a conscience, so she should at least offer this much of a greeting.
Presepe let out a brief greeting and grabbed the man's hand.
Soon, the man holding Presepe tightened his grip. Without much difficulty, he easily lifted Presepe, who had fallen to the floor, up.
...And as soon as Presepe stood up, he abruptly pulled his hand away.
He looked as if he had touched something very dirty. I mean, like bugs or trash.
What the heck? Isn't this guy crazy?
Presepe's face filled with disbelief.
“No, what, what..."
"Excuse me."
That was the end of it. The man spat out words that were far too ambiguous to be called a sincere apology, then fled the church without a second thought. Not looking back, of course.
"What a rude jerk..."
Even so, shouldn't you usually apologize first in a situation like this? And what, am I dirty or something?
...Presepe, her face flushed red, fumed to herself, then glanced down slightly at her long, flowing sleeves. She buried her nose in them and sniffed.
Well. Just in case.
"Damn, it doesn't smell at all.'
Presepe muttered to herself.
"...Then is that person an NPC related to Siegfried?"
Just as Fenrir is an NPC related to Dietrich, he might be an NPC related to the church. In this world, the only male character connected to the church was the Knight Commander, Siegfried.
Moreover, his attire was completely different from that of the church—in other words, for someone affiliated with the church, like a priest. To be precise, it looked closer to ordinary clothes.
...But if that is the case, didn't the game's artist make a huge and grave mistake? That thought suddenly crossed her mind.
Grand Duke Fenrir is like that, and that guy too... You should have believed people who look like this were male characters, not perverts like Noah or Attar.
Presepe walked away while muttering such useless monologues.
However, that pointless monologue could not last long.
Instead, she opened her mouth wide with a hollow look on her face.
"What's this...?"
In the middle of the church hall...
The stone statues, literally 'shattered', were rolling around haphazardly on the floor.
[Notice: This is your first visit to the church.]
And then a sickening notification popped up, one that shd wanted to 'destroy' just as badly.
With unexpected words inside.
[Note: There is a very special stone statue in the church of the Imperial Palace of Ateloia.]
"..."
[Note: Shall we take a look at the stone statue?]
"Looking into what are you looking into?"
Presepe rubbed her dry lips in a daze.
Everything got completely destroyed.
Presepe withdrew her feet with weak steps and stood close to look down at the statue fragment rolling on the floor like trash.
It must have been quite large before it broke, as the amount of fragments alone was enormous.
Still, isn't there anything we can salvage? Since it was such a huge stone statue, you'd think there would be at least some remnants of its shape left.
Presepe hurriedly began examining the large fragments.
However, it was destroyed so thoroughly that it was impossible to tell what it originally looked like.
Is this a bug? Or is this how the story is supposed to be in Secret Mode? Did that guy who just ran out break this? But how could he do it alone? Besides, causing an accident like this inside a church and just casually running away—does that even make sense? Am I going to end up getting caught up in something weird again for no reason?
"Damn it..."
Presepe cursed and kicked the debris at her feet with all his might.
Then, she paused deeply.
"Uh?"
Presepe, with her eyes wide open, hurriedly bent over.
What she eventually picked up was a small fragment that had been lying beneath another large wave.
It was probably not a part of the statue, but writing related to the statue that had likely been placed in front of it. However, even that was broken into tiny pieces, so Presepe could read exactly one word.
"...Adversary"
Adversary?
At that random word that suddenly popped out, Presepe's brow furrowed...
[Note: Stone statue in the church inside the Imperial Palace of Ateloia]
The notification window popped up again.
[Notice: ??? ????? ?????? added to Case Log and Encyclopedia ???]
It was a bug.
Ah.
So this stone statue wasn't supposed to be broken originally.
Presepe wore a blank expression.
And it was that moment.
Inside the church.
So, another door opened, located on the opposite side of the entrance where Presepe had entered, a door accessible only to church members.
The people who burst in were none other than the archbishop and the priests.
They looked as if they had gone out and returned without knowing anything. Their faces showed they could not easily comprehend what was happening right before their eyes.
He just wore a blank expression, just as Presepe had done earlier, then mumbled incomprehensible words like "Uh, uh," then immediately wore an expression of disbelief...
He screamed in a very angry voice.
"A. How dare anyone do such a thing...!"
"Archbishop! What on earth is going on!"
"The guard, the guard, 'Where is he!'"
As she listened to all sorts of words, Presepe had an intuition.
She guessed she really was just getting involved in something unnecessary.
"..."
And as if to prove that her intuition was not wrong, an archbishop with a very stiff face began to stride toward Presepe.
Tensed with anxiety, Presepe clutched her left chest out of habit, panting briefly.
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