[◆ Kill Siegfried.]
The option, even featuring a pattern wrapped in gold leaf, shimmered with an eerie light.
"..."
Presepe's expression as she looked at the options was nothing short of piercing.
'What is this... what is this...'
If only there were other options like I'm done so far, I would at least choose the better one, but of all things, there was only one noodle dish. And to think they told me to kill it... what the...
Of course, she really hated Siegfried a lot—no, she hated him enough to want to kill him.
It is even more so when she recalls how much trouble she went through at the end because of that person.
Even now, when she thinks back to the ending with Siegfried, she can still recall the pain she felt from the poison he forced her to drink.
But even so, this wasn't right.
It would be one thing if they died on their own, but you're telling me to kill them myself?
[Notice: Set? Time??? Options???????? Penalty imposed???]
However, as if unconcerned with Presepe's bewilderment, a notification window filled with question marks popped up.
It was exactly the same as what she saw on the day of the founding ceremony. They must be acting like that because the game system is collapsing due to a hidden bug.
Then, wouldn't a collapse have occurred even in a system that was completely reset to the beginning because it couldn't reach an answer?
Even if I don't necessarily choose this—I mean... even if I don't kill Siegfried with my own hands—isn't there another way?
'No matter what, I don't want to commit murder with my own hands...'
She felt like crying, but her body still wouldn't listen to Presepe.
"Lady Presepe...."
[Notice: If you cannot answer within 3 seconds, the game will reset.]
Beyond the information window filled with question marks, she saw Siegfried's face staring at her with a subtle expression.
'No. It can't be helped...'
Right. The collapse could have started even in a system that is being reset.
However, that was merely speculation. Moreover, even if, by some slim chance, a collapse did occur, there was no way to even guess what the consequences would be.
Presepe stood slowly, approaching him, sobbing to herself, yet appearing expressionless to Siegfried's eyes.
Then, she chose the bug option that was flashing golden.
Then, without any hesitation, Presepe's foot trampled on Siegfried's hand that was holding onto the cliff.
“Ahh..."
With a short groan, Siegfried looked up at Presepe with a face filled with countless emotions that were difficult to describe.
And it was that moment.
“Knight Commander!”
It was because a few knights, looking truly horrified as if they had been attacked here and there the entire time they were fleeing, rushed in.
"Gasp..."
Only then, freed from the restrictions on her movement, Presepe let out a rough breath and slumped down onto the ground. Meanwhile, some of the knights dealt with the monsters, while others began to struggle to lift Siegfried, who was on the verge of falling.
"I, I'm sorry. Commander."
Presepe, clenching her fists tightly with trembling hands, muttered in a cracking voice.
"I tried to help, but I was so flustered and scared that I think my body froze."
It’s a hastily made-up excuse, but will you believe it?
Even as she thought that, she felt a strange sense of shame. What Siegfried had done to jer was clearly something that deserved death, but...
'That was because of Siegfried's settings, wasn't it...'
Those he had thought were merely beings within a game, and therefore not human, no longer appeared that way. They seemed like humans just like herself.
So, what she just did felt like attempted murder.
Well, anyway, since she did choose the bug option, it seems she can now converse with Siegfried of jer own accord, but...
"Lady Presepe, what are you doing here!"
It was Fenrir who appeared next. Fenrir, appearing extremely flustered that Presepe was in the Forbidden Forest, ran breathlessly and tightly embraced her.
"Are you alright? Where are you hurt?"
Had I ever seen that person so surprised and flustered before? I doubted.
He was a person who was unwittingly arrogant and overflowing with confidence, and who even manipulated Emperor Dietrich like a snake.
But ironically, the moment she was held tightly in Fenrir's arms, her body began to tremble. As if it were a lie, as if she had realized the fact that she could now be safe.
"Kevin, defeat the monsters with the Knights! You don't have to wipe them all out. Just enough to break through!"
Fenrir, realizing that the situation was not favorable for achieving his original goal, shouted at Kevin.
As expected, those knights seemed to be those who had fled from the northeast. Their numbers were awkwardly too large to wipe them all out.
Furthermore, although he didn't know how it happened, Presepe was now accompanying him, so he had to return to the village safely by any means necessary.
"Yes. Grand Duke, please stay out of the way with Lady Presepe."
Kevin nodded briefly and joined forces with a few other knights to start making a path.
"..."
And Siegfried, who had barely managed to climb up the cliff and was catching his breath while being supported by the knights, was quietly gazing at Presepe.
With eyes full of suspicion.
***
Presepe, Fenrir, Siegfried, Kevin, and the Knights barely managed to escape the Forbidden Forest.
Just as Siegfried had, Fenrir also realized one fact he had not anticipated throughout his escape from the Forbidden Forest.
It was that the monsters did not attack Presepe alone.
Of course, he protected her with all his might, but even while he dealt with countless monsters blocking his path, they did not attack Presepe in the slightest. All they did was glance at Presepe briefly with their cold, shining eyes.
Siegfried must have noticed this, too. Moreover, Fenrir heard it clearly. The two knights, who had escaped the Forbidden Forest together, supporting each other in their wretched, tattered bodies, exchanged words in hushed voices.
"That woman tried to kill Lord Siegfried. Far from pulling him up, she trampled on his hand."
"She says her body froze up out of panic and fear, but that's nonsense."
He could not guess what kind of repercussions today’s events would cause. After all, since Siegfried was Dietrich’s man, it was almost certain that this news would reach his ears.
When they barely managed to escape the forbidden forest filled with anxiety, the news that greeted them at the entrance was very bad.
It was said that Fenrir and his party were not the only ones attacked by monsters, and that more than half of the troops had died.
Everyone spoke in unison. They said that the frequency of monster appearances had decreased drastically recently, and they had no idea what on earth had happened.
It went without saying that the investigation into the Forbidden Forest had been halted. The severely wounded Siegfried headed to his tent with the surviving knights, while Fenrir returned to the village with Presepe.
***
"..."
Presepe's face was dry and brittle as she sat huddled alone on the bed in the dark night with the lights off.
'I shouldn't have listened to that bastard.'
She really should have just returned to the village. In any case, she didn't find any information from going to that place called the monster's umbilical cord or whatever, nor could she find even a clue about the Demon King's whereabouts.
As if that weren't enough, she ran into Siegfried, aroused suspicion, and even put Fenrir in danger.
Moreover, Siegfried actually almost died because of her. She didn't mind much about Attar Hanan and Noah DeVern since they died at the hands of others, but it was a different story when she was the one responsible.
Even though it's just a game and he is someone who has killed me several times...
'And if they hadn't struggled so hard to protect me, they could have come out looking a little more decent. Grand Duke Fenrir, too.'
According to her companions, the monsters had appeared and started attacking some time ago, but that did not lighten jer heart at all. Only a vivid sense of shame continued to surge in like a tidal wave.
'And the Grand Duke must have noticed, too. That the monsters weren't attacking only me.'
Of course, he did ask kindly if she hadn't wanted to find her father. But perhaps because of the village blood flowing in her veins, she wondered what Fenrir was thinking as he watched her, the only one not being attacked by the monsters.
Didn't he look at me with a strange gaze, just as Siegfried did when he looked at me?
Besides, what kind of expression was he wearing when he first saw me standing there so nonchalantly in the deepest part of the Forbidden Forest?
...What if even Grand Duke Fenrir looks at me with the same eyes as them?
Presepe squeezed her eyes shut.
And not long after, the sound of a door opening was heard.
Presepe, who had been covering her face with her hands, finally slowly raised her head. Then she met the gaze of Fenrir, who had been quietly watching her.
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