Chapter 24
I generously offered comfort to Alhulf, who was pouting and on the verge of crying in a most unpleasant way.
“It might just be hard to tell because your face is covered in blood.”
Of course, I didn’t say that to boost his confidence.
I threw out the consolation, not wanting to see him cry, but Alhulf took it as a sign of hope and began scrubbing the blood off his face.
Even if I did fit that bastard’s aesthetic sense, I’d probably have all my fingernails and toenails ripped out.
Alhulf, who had no way of knowing this, looked at Suriel with a slightly expectant face.
Suriel asked, looking utterly astonished.
“What exactly is supposed to be different?”
“…….”
This time, I was the one who averted my eyes from Alhulf, who was looking at me tearfully.
What could I do? Suriel didn’t seem to like it.
But Alhulf, who had received quite a few compliments on his looks until now and was confident, looked utterly devastated by the repeated rejection.
Then, pointing at me who was just standing there quietly, he cried out indignantly.
“Th-then, what about Lady Evelyn?!”
“Why are you dragging me into this? Don’t tell me you think I’m on the same level as you, Alhulf?”
Preposterous!
When I looked at him with a shocked expression, he hesitated and muttered softly.
“O-of course, you’re more beautiful than me… But… everyone has different tastes, you know?”
“No. The eye for recognizing beauty is the same for everyone.”
“Why are you so confident?”
“Because, because…!”
I proudly placed a hand on my chest and declared.
“Because I… I am… pretty!”
Extremely so!
Everyone was overwhelmed by my intense self-confidence, left speechless as they stared at me blankly.
Alhulf, who had been mesmerized by my dazzling beauty, shook his head, came to his senses, and asked me seriously.
“Really? Do you really think so?”
“Do you know what my best trait is? It’s my honesty.”
As I hummed a song by a certain idol group, they looked up at me with admiration.
Of course, that was just from my perspective; in reality, I couldn’t care less.
Whether they fell silent or not, I brushed the dust off Cynthia’s dress and fixed her hair.
Even until then, Cynthia remained still, sobbing while tightly clutching my sleeve.
“Noona.”
“Yeah, just a moment.”
After giving Cynthia’s face a final check and confirming there were no major wounds, I looked down at Holloway.
“What?”
“Noona, you’re really…”
Why does he look at me as if I’m pathetic?
“Really what?”
“Nothing. It’s just nice to see you taking such good care of people.”
It was clearly a sarcastic remark.
There was no way I wouldn’t understand the implied meaning, blatantly stating that while I can barely manage to save my own skin, I won’t live long because I’m busy looking after others.
Just as I was about to retort, a sudden question crossed my mind.
‘Suriel is being too quiet.’
This silence isn’t good. As I cautiously glanced at Suriel out of the corner of my eye, our eyes met.
Ah, damn.
Suriel smiled meaningfully, then shook his head as if he had decided something.
Then, he extended a hand as fair and delicate as an orchid.
His neatly manicured nails were extremely pointed. They were so sharp it seemed they would draw blood from the slightest scratch.
Suriel’s lips curved into a bizarre smile. At the same time, the faint candlelight illuminating the hallway snuffed out with a whoosh.
“Kyaaak!”
Cynthia screamed in surprise, followed by Suriel’s delighted voice.
“Instead of Cynthia, I’ll take your hair. It passed my aesthetic sense. Be happy.”
In the eerie atmosphere, Suriel’s face was flushed with thrill, and his voice was downright creepy.
While everyone else was frozen stiff with tension, I rejoiced heartily just as he commanded.
“Wahahahaha!”
As I threw my head back and laughed boisterously, Suriel flinched at my insane laughter.
Perhaps because his attempt to scare me had failed, the extinguished candles relit, brightening the hallway again.
Why doesn’t he realize that’s even scarier?
Suriel, perhaps unwilling to admit his plan had fallen a little flat, got unnecessarily irritated.
“What are you doing? Are you making fun of me?”
“You told me to be happy, so I was happy. Why are you upset?”
“…….”
[Everyone present recognizes you as a ‘crazy person’.]
Is laughing once such a big sin? Enough to brand me as crazy?
“I think I’m starting to understand a little of what Dilaf said…”
Suriel muttered quietly, then strode right up to me.
He was smaller than Dilaf, but Suriel was still quite tall.
No wonder the kid was terrified, being chased around by that oaf.
Ah, I mean oaf. Big guy.
“You don’t scare easily, do you? I want it even more now, that hair.”
As Suriel reached for my hair, which I had barely managed to tame, Holloway suddenly stepped in front of him.
“Don’t touch my noona!”
“……Holloway.”
What’s gotten into that damn brat?
Just as I was about to be deeply moved, a window popped up.
[Holloway says that if your hair is cut, you’ll be in big trouble.]
Damn, should I hit this kid?
Holloway and Suriel were just having a boring stare-down.
Are they going to have a death match?
I considered leaving them to it, but I didn’t like the look in Suriel’s sly eyes, so I quietly covered Holloway’s eyes.
He might be the final boss, but I keep treating him like a child without realizing it.
The visual effect is more powerful than one might think.
“You shouldn’t look at that kind of thing.”
“That kind of thing?”
[Suriel’s current threat level is ‘Pretty, but I’ll kill you anytime’.]
[Suriel is offended by your words.]
[He wants to cut your hair right now, but he hesitates because Holloway is blocking him.]
Haha! This is what I call a final boss shield, you bastard!
Using the final boss as a shield, I pressed on even harder.
“Yeah, that kind of thing! How dare you reduce Lady Cynthia to this state…!”
“Evelyn…!”
Cynthia looked at me with tear-filled eyes, her face full of emotion.
Suriel and I both took a sharp breath at the same time, covered our mouths, and spoke in unison.
“Yes, pretty.”
“Pretty.”
As the words left our mouths simultaneously, Suriel’s and my gazes met in mid-air.
[Suriel thinks of you, ‘We might be on the same wavelength?’]
I really hate that.
But that wasn’t the problem. Cynthia threw a fit upon hearing the word ‘pretty’.
“I hate that word so much now! Evelyn, even if it’s you, I won’t forgive you if you spout that nonsense again.”
I pushed away Cynthia’s face, her eyes rolled back ferociously and her teeth grinding.
Scary.
Surprised by my action, Cynthia looked at me as if wondering when she got angry, then stubbornly clung to me.
“Why are you doing this?”
Please don’t do this.
Cynthia buried her face in my chest and just sobbed. No, she muttered.
“Kill that bastard for me.”
Damn.
Don’t say that to me. I can’t do it.
It was then.
[Initiating the 9th story: ‘Set Me Free’.]
[Objective: Liberate the human body parts collected by the ‘Seductive Demon’ Suriel.
Shatter all the jars containing the body parts to clear the mission!
※But above all, do not get killed by the demon Suriel before that.]
……What?
Ah, no, wait.
The sudden situation wasn’t the problem right now. The story that popped up wasn’t the issue.
They want me to destroy Suriel’s collection with my own hands, right now?
The moment I do that, I’m dead. Did this quest come out knowing that?
Who’s going to guarantee my life after I break everything?
[Clear Reward: Flamethrower
Failure: Death.]
I desperately looked for a reject button, just in case, but this system window didn’t have ‘Accept/Reject’ buttons from the start.
It meant that when a quest appears, you are forced to perform it.
“Ah, this is driving me crazy!”
Without realizing it, I grabbed my hair and screamed.
“Noona, what’s wrong?”
Instead of answering Holloway’s question, I licked my dry lips and glared at the system window as if I wanted to kill it.
I had to perform the quest, but the aftermath was the problem.
If Suriel found out I destroyed his collection, I’d face his full wrath and could die.
So, this means…
My eyes landed on ‘Clear Reward: Flamethrower’.
As soon as I get it, I have no choice but to use it on Suriel and run away from him.
Otherwise, I have to diligently raise my stats until then and use Holloway as a shield to survive.
These were the only two ways to survive this quest.
I held back tears.
Because, unaware of my inner turmoil, the story had helplessly begun.
[The souls trapped in the glass jars begin to cry out, begging to be saved.]
[Their bodies are on the 5th floor. You naturally head to the 5th floor, deciding to save them.]
I’m not saintly enough to save anyone.
And there are too many stairs to get to the 5th floor. I’m tired.
I complained pointlessly, but no window responded. Instead, Holloway shook my arm.
“Noona!”
“Huh?”
“If you keep not answering, I’ll hate you.”
“Ah, really?”
“…….”
[Holloway clicks his tongue, thinking, ‘Has she finally lost her mind?’]
No.
It’s just that I don’t have the luxury to pay attention to Holloway right now.
Whether I like it or not, I have to go to the 5th floor… How do I get there?
If the body parts are on the 5th floor, Suriel might block my way.
There’s no way he’d be pleased about me invading his territory.
Grrrumble.
While thinking of all possible scenarios, I heard a cheerful sound and clicked my tongue at Suriel.
“If you go around with your stomach exposed like that, no wonder it makes twice the noise of others.”
“That’s a misunderstanding. It wasn’t me.”
Instead of Suriel, who looked wronged by my disbelief, Holloway voiced his grievance.
“The sound came from the person holding noona.”
“I’ve put on a little weight, so it just happened without me realizing.”
Cynthia was shameless. She probably thought embarrassment was the least of her worries in this situation.
As I looked at Cynthia, who had equipped a massive stomach-growling alarm on her belly, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
What if I pretended to head towards where Cynthia was and ‘accidentally’ took a wrong turn to the 5th floor…?
“Lady Cynthia, where were you staying, by any chance?”
“The 5th floor. I went to the 5th floor to avoid the monster, and then I met that son of a bitch! The worst!”
Suriel seemed to like being called a monster; his face relaxed like a drunkard’s, and he twisted his body in a creepy way.
Ugh. I’ve seen something disgusting.
“Is the 5th floor also guest rooms?”
“No. The 5th floor has more of a playground vibe.”
“Playground?”
“Casino or swimming pool…”
Oho, so there’s a swimming pool, you say.
I’m not going.
Wherever you go, water ghosts are the most dangerous.
[If you do not go within the 2-hour time limit, you will be forcibly moved to the 5th floor.]
Damn it! They’ve really blocked all escape routes! Thank you so much, you bastard!
“But it’s amazing you managed to get up to the 5th floor.”
And your stamina is impressive too.
Rather than making excuses and going up to the 5th floor, it might be a better idea to stay put for 2 hours and get moved there alone.
I can use the gap when Suriel isn’t there to find and break all the jars containing body parts, then pretend it wasn’t me.
My eyes sparkled at this brilliant idea.
This is it! I’ll do this!
Just then, Cynthia screamed with a terrified face.
“There’s an elevator here that works!”
Since this is a world from a horror game mixed with various genres, it wasn’t strange for an elevator to exist.
“An elevator? But this place is abandoned…”
“That’s what I mean!”
……An elevator.
I pondered the game carefully. One thing came to mind.
This hotel was surrounded by demonic energy. It made sense, being a demon’s territory.
Because of that, the elevators had been altered to operate not on magic but on demonic energy. So, naturally, the elevator working here, surrounded by demonic energy, wasn’t surprising.
But since we were supposed to know nothing, we naturally had to be scared.
“Is it still working now?”
“I should have gone with you when you ran away then!”
That’s not what I asked, but I gave a perfunctory reply to Cynthia, who still hadn’t regained her composure.
“Then you would have been caught by that damn Viscount Werner and Cleta.”
Just like me now.
Alhulf, finally sensing something odd about my speech, cautiously asked.
“Why do you speak so… dismissively?”
“Because it’s annoying.”
“Do you dislike me?”
“Oho!”
When I clapped as if he was right, Alhulf’s eyes welled up.
I feel like I’ve become the bully.
But he’s right.
It’s better to curse at him thoroughly so he doesn’t get attached, rather than getting betrayed later. That way, even if he abandons me later, he won’t be disappointed.
Fortunately, thanks to Holloway blocking him, Suriel hadn’t made any move.
It seemed that if I stayed with Suriel for the full 2 hours, I could buy a little time when I got moved alone.
I was so engrossed in meticulously planning that I didn’t move an inch from my spot when…
“……Evelyn?”
A familiar voice came from behind.
The moment I turned my head to identify the owner of the voice, my vision shook violently.
It was because the owner of the voice, Cleta, had run over and hugged me tightly.
“Cleta?”
“Evelyn, you’re alive!”
His arms wrapped around my body even tighter. I felt Cleta’s warm, relieved breath on my neck.
“Can you let me go a little?”
“I was worried about you. Isn’t this much allowed?”
“Yeah, it’s not allowed.”
But Cleta just laughed softly and showed no sign of loosening his grip.
As I sank deeper into Cleta’s embrace, a window popped up.
[Holloway’s mood has soured.]
[Hidden function ‘Jealousy’ has been activated!]
Wh-what function?
A hidden function?!
Without realizing it, I reflexively looked at Holloway.
He was staring coldly at Cleta, then felt my gaze and met my eyes. And then, he narrowed his eyes beautifully.
Simultaneously, a window appeared.
[Current Jealousy Level: 16%.]
[Caution: When Holloway’s jealousy approaches 70%, someone might die!
As Holloway’s jealousy rises, the probability of someone around you becoming unhappy increases by up to 10% every 20 minutes!]
What terrifying jealousy.
And it’s not me, but the people around me who become unhappy. Are you trying to drown me in guilt?
As if to say this wasn’t the end, another window popped up, seemingly taunting me.
[Jealousy: It’s very easy to both raise and lower!]
Easy? Do you mean easy by my standards, or by yours?
[₍₍ ◝(・ω・)◟ ⁾⁾₍₍ ◝(・ω・)◟ ⁾⁾₍₍ ◝(・ω・)◟ ⁾⁾
[₍₍ ◝(・ω・)◟ ⁾⁾₍₍ ◝(・ω・)◟ ⁾⁾₍₍ ◝(・ω・)◟ ⁾⁾]
[₍₍ ◝(・ω・)◟ ⁾⁾₍₍ ◝(・ω・)◟ ⁾⁾₍₍ ◝(・ω・)◟ ⁾⁾]
[This is the ‘You’ll See’ dance.]
Okay, I’ve decided.
I’m going to kill you.
