Derrick, the gray-haired boy, tousled his hair as he shook his head, groaning like a whimpering puppy.
“Mordred, hmm... Wasn't that assigned to the second team lead...?”
Derrick looked awkward.
He was pretty sure he'd once boasted to his instructor that there was nothing in this world he didn't know.
‘Guess humility is a virtue for a reason.’
He had to admit, without hesitation, that there was far too much he didn’t know.
‘Making the worldbuilding this vast really is a problem...’
That was just how ga developnt worked.
Even in the sa project, different teams handled different parts, and even within the planning departnt, the work was divided so that each person had their own area of focus.
Especially in a large-scale AAA ga, the number of side stories branching off from the main setting had to be staggering.
Dozens—no, hundreds of developers were needed just to keep up with that workload.
So, considering he was rely one of the countless planners on the team, it was only natural that his knowledge had limits. Berating himself over it was aningless.
If anything, it was impressive that he knew as much as he did.
And yet...
‘It still feels pathetic not being able to help at all.’
He considered this person his benefactor, and yet he couldn't offer any aningful assistance.
There was no avoiding the self-loathing creeping in.
He wanted to get up and help directly, but—
‘I can't just leave right now...’
Derrick was in the middle of a quest—or rather, an incredibly important operation.
It was a once-in-a-lifeti opportunity.
‘There won’t be a second chance to obtain a Unique-grade item, the Grail Fragnt.’
The grand side story, mories of the Autumn Fairy.
To complete it, he had to entertain the fairy’s avatar to its satisfaction.
If successful, he would receive the Grail Fragnt, which the avatar carried like an ornantal hairpin.
However, fulfilling the item acquisition conditions required an absurd sacrifice—
For a total of 24 days, he had to ‘entertain’ the avatar without letting it grow bored.
As a result, Derrick had already spent the past 15 days getting only two or three hours of sleep per night, forced to play the role of a clown.
...It was an absolute nightmare, all because fairies—avatars or not—never slept.
A truly extre situation.
He had already invested so much effort into this quest that abandoning it now wasn’t an option.
So, the only thing he could do to help was—
‘Maybe I should send over what little info I do have?’
Specifically, information on the second team lead who had handled Mordred’s side story.
Derrick didn’t know the details of the story itself, but he did know how most of the team lead’s projects had ended.
And if Mordred’s storyline followed the sa pattern...
‘That guy was kind of twisted... No, actually—’
To put it bluntly, a pervert.
Not in a socially deviant way, but in ga developnt terms.
...Although, anyone who had played one of his gas would probably want to murder him.
‘He's undeniably skilled, and I do respect him as a senior, but that guy...’
The endings of the gas he worked on were always—
‘...Either a Massacre Ending or a Tragic Ruin Ending.’
Hmm, what was it he used to say?
Sothing like—
“Isn’t this the best?! The players expect so satisfying catharsis, but no matter what they do, everyone either dies or ends up utterly ruined! Seeing them groan and rage... Wow, just imagining it gives a dopamine rush! I can’t stop making gas because of this, hahaha!!”
“...Yeah, he’s just a pervert.”
Looking back on it now, Derrick realized that the second team lead wasn’t soone worthy of respect at all.
***
[Woo. Woooo, wooooo.]
“...?”
[Woooo. Wooooong, woo.]
“...What’s with these things?”
Ihan furrowed his brows, his expression sour.
It was like listening to a ghostly ASMR sleep recording up close.
The sound had a strange, glassy quality—like soone playing a wine glass with wet fingers. It wasn’t unpleasant in itself, but...
[Wooo, wooong.]
“...Don’t cling to .”
The presence of the creatures was unpleasant.
Wraiths.
The ones he had beaten, along with those that had been subdued elsewhere, were now lingering around him.
‘And what the hell happened to their appearance?’
One of the most irritating aspects was how they looked now.
During their first encounter, they had blood-red eyes, their entire bodies radiating ominous, thorn-like energy.
Now? Now, they seed infinitely docile—and strangely... cute.
It was like sothing straight out of a horror ga had suddenly been deford into a mascot from a cozy indie ga.
“...You guys didn’t use to look like this, did you?”
[Woorooo?]
“Even your voices used to sound like nails on a chalkboard...”
[Wooroo, woo.]
“...Why is this pissing off so much?”
These were monsters that had once tried to kill him—there was no way he could look at them favorably.
But now, their entire deanor had shifted 180 degrees, and they looked like sothing that could represent a local festival as a cute mascot.
Still, cute or not, Ihan had never once spared a monster that had threatened his life.
He had every reason to wipe them out imdiately—
“I-I like them because they’re c-cute!”
“...Excuse ?”
“Yeah! They’re cool and sleek, and touching them feels refreshing! They’re so nice....”
“...I see. I’m... glad you like them.”
“Uh-huh! I love them! Santa, thank you!”
“......”
—Ihan could only let out a sigh.
Because of her, he couldn’t bring himself to get rid of them.
‘She’s really taken a liking to them.’
They weren’t cats or dogs, so what part of these creatures was she finding so endearing?
“They’re adorable.”
“I kind of want one for myself.”
“Right? ...Yeah.”
...Wait.
‘Am I the only one who isn’t okay with this?’
Ihan heard the murmurs around him, and an involuntary laugh escaped.
It was just so absurd.
—And then.
[Woooooo....]
The wraiths suddenly surged toward Louise.
“Waaah!”
They sward around her as if blessing her, forming a circle.
At a glance, it almost looked like a grand performance.
A bizarre circus of ghostly figures singing and dancing—both eerie and majestic at the sa ti.
“...Incredible.”
“Whoa!”
The onlookers gasped in awe, and Louise’s eyes sparkled with wonder.
It should have been a heartwarming sight.
But to Ihan...
‘...Worship?’
The wraiths were treating the little girl like their king.
They bowed before her, as if she were a pharaoh—a divine ruler, the living representative of a god.
And Ihan didn’t like it. Not one bit.
“Why the hell are they acting like that toward her...?”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Expectation placed on a child, when unwanted, was not a responsibility—it was oppression.
That was Ihan’s belief.
And this felt like an on.
As if Louise’s fate would be anything but peaceful.
“...Am I overthinking this?”
“No, you’re not. You’re simply a decent adult.”
“...What?”
“Instead of marveling at the child’s abilities or thinking of how to use them, you recognize your duty as an adult. That is admirable.”
“...T-Thank you, uh, old man?”
“Hoho, just call an old man. That’s what all the high-ranking folks do.”
“...I can’t bring myself to do that. It feels wrong.”
“Oh ho, such a gentleman.”
“......”
—Ihan stiffened.
He had completely failed to notice the man’s presence.
His senses were sharp enough to detect a falling leaf within a hundred ters, his hearing rivaled a dog’s, and his sense of sll was even keener.
And yet, he hadn’t even realized soone was standing next to him.
His expression tensed as he turned to face the old man.
“Relax. Without this cane, I can’t even walk. I’m just a frail, powerless old man.”
“...Do you have telepathy or sothing? You keep reading my thoughts way too well.”
“No need for telepathy. Your expressions are very easy to read.”
“......”
“You’re thinking, ‘I’ve heard that before,’ aren’t you?”
“...Is my face really that simple to read?”
“Pfft!”
The old man suddenly burst into laughter, covering his mouth as he chuckled.
As if he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
***
The woman introduced herself as a “maid.”
“To be precise, I retired fifty years ago. Calling myself a maid feels a bit awkward now.”
“Uh, excuse , ma’am, but... if you don’t mind asking, how old are you?”
“I turned 103 this year. Quite a long life, isn’t it?”
“...I thought you were in your seventies, at most.”
“Why are you flattering an old lady? Not that I mind, of course.”
“I’m not, I an it...”
The elderly woman looked surprisingly healthy for soone over a hundred, and Ihan scratched his cheek.
Still, shock aside, he gestured for her to take a seat and served her tea.
“You’re quite hospitable, even to an uninvited guest.”
“If you were here with bad intentions, it’d be a different story. But you don’t seem like a bad person.”
“Oh? And what makes you say that?”
“You don’t have an unpleasant scent.”
“...?”
“Rather, you sll strongly of herbs. And I can faintly pick up traces of blood—but mixed with the scent of disinfectant. That ans any blood you’ve handled was for dical purposes, not violence. So I’d guess you’re either an herbalist, a healer... or maybe an alchemist.”
“......”
“Sothing wrong?”
“...I’m surprised, that’s all. At my age, I didn’t think I’d have many surprises left. That was arrogant of .”
She sighed, then chuckled to herself.
“Pendragon really does produce exceptional knights, ti and ti again.”
“You flatter —”
“It’s not flattery. Honestly, I suspected you were a criminal, since you’re clearly hiding your real appearance. But that doesn’t seem to be the case.”
“......”
“Your true face must be much more handso and striking. I wonder why you’re disguising yourself?”
“...More importantly, don’t you think it’s ti you told who you really are?”
Ihan felt a chill run down his spine.
As expected, she wasn’t ordinary.
She was the first person to ever see through his deception.
The tension inside him spiked again.
But the woman rely looked sheepish, as if realizing her mistake.
“Oh dear, how rude of ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) . I should’ve introduced myself first. Please, forgive an old woman’s enthusiasm—after all, when you’ve lived as long as I have, it’s rare to have a proper conversation with soone new.”
“......”
“Now, let’s see... I don’t want to waste more of your valuable ti, so where should I begin?”
“......”
“Ah, I know. This is the most important thing I can tell you.”
She exhaled slowly—then said, in an eerily calm voice:
“In four days, when the full moon rises—Wales will be destroyed.”
“...Excuse ?”
“Take the outsiders and flee imdiately. The locals have already made their ‘contract,’ so nothing can be done for them. But those who can be saved should be saved.”
“......”
“The sacrifices have no way of escaping their fate.”
“...Hold on.”
“Yes?”
“This is....”
Ihan swallowed.
“Teacher, you’re moving way too fast here.”
Reviews
All reviews (0)