The empty streets of Londan, filled with patients suffering from the Inquisitor’s power.
My hurried footsteps echoed loudly through the eerily quiet streets of Londan, where not a soul could be seen.
I felt a deep sense of urgency rising from within—sothing I wouldn’t normally notice.
The Saint had ntioned sothing.
That among all the Foreign Entities, the Record Keeper was the highest.
Maybe—just maybe—she could help . If she’s the one who watches over everything without reason, perhaps she’ll lend her aid.
「…Have we beco insignificant to you now?」
The Gardener’s irritable voice echoed in my mind, but I could tell it wasn’t ant as a reprimand.
I’m sorry.
「Sigh.」
A deep sigh followed, proving my understanding.
「No matter how urgent things are, you need to be careful around the Record Keeper. There aren’t many who know her well.」
「That’s true. She was kind enough to enjoy my cooking, but... you still need to be cautious.」
The Gardener and the Chef both warned .
It made sense.
Even regular Foreign Entities are hard to understand, and if the Record Keeper was the most elusive of them all, it ant she was even more unpredictable.
But it didn’t matter.
As long as I could communicate with her, that would be enough.
With that thought, I finally reached the entrance to Londan.
However, contrary to the inscription, there was no one there.
I checked the area outside Londan, wondering if I missed sothing, but there wasn’t a trace of the Record Keeper anywhere.
“Hey, you told to co here.”
I muttered into the empty space, feeling like I was being mocked.
“Why would you ss with soone who’s already at their wit’s end?”
But despite my outburst, the Record Keeper didn’t show up. Frustration boiled over.
Am I just another pawn in the ga of the Foreign Entities?
They find it amusing to toy with us. We’re powerless, moving only according to their whims.
It’s so unfair.
Tears began to well up.
Why did I rush here with so much hope?
A surge of unbearable emotions welled up inside .
Whenever I encountered sothing beyond my control, sothing that wasn’t my fault, and yet brought suffering to or those around —it always felt unjust.
If it were my fault, I could at least accept it and move on.
But now, even standing beca too much, and I collapsed, burying my face in my knees.
At that mont, I failed to notice sothing approaching from behind.
I only realized when I felt sothing lean on my shoulder.
“…Yoo-hoo.”
“Ahhh!”
I shot forward like a cannonball, tumbling to the ground. The pain in my knees was nothing compared to the shock that stressed out even more.
A soft, whispering voice echoed around .
The only person who acted like such a weirdo around was Agartha, but it didn’t make sense for her to show up in this situation.
After calming myself, I slowly turned around to see who was behind .
And then—
“Hmm?”
I saw a woman blinking her eyes, tilting her head like a curious kitten.
I scanned her from head to toe and imdiately realized she wasn’t an ordinary person.
Several black tentacles extended from the hem of her corset-like dress, covering her legs and writhing around.
If it had been just those eerie tentacles, I might not have reacted so dramatically.
But her outfit—it was too indecent!
She wore ivory boots with garter belts strapped above her knees, and between the garters and her corset—there was nothing there! It was completely exposed!
I’d rather deal with soone like Nutrice, whose revealing clothes didn’t bother at all.
But this—this was embarrassing!
On top of that, she was wearing a relatively normal short cape that barely covered her back and shoulders over a simple short-sleeved shirt.
“Raedan Tanten. You’ve co.”
Her gentle voice called out again, making cautiously turn my head.
“Record Keeper.”
“Why are you turning your head like that?”
I coughed and closed my eyes slightly.
“It’s just... a bit awkward to look at.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
The Record Keeper snapped her fingers.
But she must have misunderstood what I ant.
The tentacles, which at least covered her legs, suddenly disappeared entirely!
“Ahh! What are you doing?!”
“You said you didn’t like the tentacles, didn’t you?”
Whether she was doing this on purpose or not, I was furious.
Super Coward Mode always reflected the target’s personality in their appearance. So, was the fact that her boots seed a little too tight, pinching her thighs, also a reflection of the Record Keeper’s personality?
At this point, it seed like Mode was just indulging its own whims!
And now that the tentacles were gone, she was basically standing there in her underwear!
“Cover your legs!”
“Oh, that’s what you ant.”
Finally understanding, the Record Keeper snapped her fingers again, and the tentacles morphed into a short skirt, covering just above her boots.
“The Raedan Tanten I rember liked my original appearance.”
“I don’t know who the Raedan Tanten you rember is, but that’s not !”
That Raedan Tanten was a complete pervert!
Wait, does this an even the Record Keeper had been involved with him before?
What kind of person was he?
Despite her light-hearted deanor, her presence carried an undeniable weight.
The atmosphere around her was much heavier, and unlike the other Foreign Entities, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was entirely powerless against her.
Overwhelming intimidation.
That was the only way to describe it.
“Anyway, since you read my red inscription, I’ve co to you, Raedan Tanten.”
The Record Keeper had arrived before .
That ant she was willing to listen to what I had to say.
I had so many questions.
How did she know about my past?
Why had she been looking out for in such a subtle way?
But the most pressing question was—
“Record Keeper.”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll get straight to the point. How do I defeat the Inquisitor?”
The Record Keeper blinked her large eyes and silently stared at .
I thought for a mont she didn’t understand, but it seed she was simply lost in thought.
“How to defeat the Inquisitor?”
“Yeah.”
“As you are now, you can’t, Raedan Tanten.”
But the Record Keeper’s response was filled with despair.
She said that with my current abilities, there was no way to defeat the Inquisitor.
“You’re not yet strong enough to face her. The Inquisitor has absorbed pain from humans for decades, while you’ve only just begun to grow. The gap between you two is imnse.”
“Isn’t there any way you can help? Isn’t that why you’re here?”
I lowered my stance slightly, almost pleading, but the Record Keeper looked away, pressing her finger to her lower lip.
“There’s an unspoken rule among Foreign Entities not to interfere with each other.”
“Please!”
In the end, the one in need has to be the more persistent.
I grabbed her by the arms.
“Oh my.”
“If I don’t do sothing here, Londan will be destroyed. I don’t want that. I don’t want to lose what’s precious to .”
It was emotional, but if I didn’t receive her help, there was nothing else I could do.
It was humiliating, but I had no choice.
I’d do anything to protect Londan.
I looked at the Record Keeper’s face, but she turned her head, avoiding eye contact.
“Eh?”
“Even if you ask like that, it’s difficult. My role is to objectively record everything.”
…That sounded like the last excuse, especially from soone who leaves half-assed, blog-like clues all over the place.
But there was no point in arguing. If she refused to help, there was nothing I could do.
I let go of her hands, turned my back on her, and started walking away, dragging my feet as I headed back toward headquarters.
“But.”
Hearing sothing like an excuse, I turned back to see the Record Keeper mumbling, her hand covering her mouth.
“If it’s a typo, well, that would be considered an unavoidable mistake, wouldn’t it?”
A typo.
I thought about what she ant and quickly connected it to what she’d said earlier.
A typo refers to a mistake made while writing or copying sothing down.
And if that mistake were in the laws of the world, it couldn’t be corrected. That’s how she intended to help .
I felt a surge of gratitude—but only for a mont.
Though I was the one begging for help, I couldn’t help but wonder why.
Why was she willing to take such a great risk to help , a relatively unimportant person?
She didn’t have to do it.
She could have simply brushed off with an “ask sothing else,” and that would’ve been the end of it.
This wasn’t the first ti.
Her cryptic inscriptions, though lacking important details, always seed to be crafted with an effort to provide so kind of hint.
During the Dragon Slayer incident, she’d even inscribed the ssage right in front of .
I couldn’t hold back my question.
“Record Keeper.”
“…?”
“Why do you keep helping ? Am I supposed to be soone important in this world?”
I cautiously asked the Record Keeper.
She stared at blankly for a mont, and I wondered what she was thinking.
Then, suddenly, she walked over to , closing the distance until our faces were just inches apart, close enough that our noses almost touched.
“…?”
What was she planning?
And then—
Thud.
“…?!”
The Record Keeper’s action was enough to catch completely off guard.
She suddenly wrapped her arms around my waist.
“What are you doing?!”
“You asked for the reason, didn’t you?”
The Record Keeper looked up, locking eyes with , and I instinctively lowered my head to et her gaze. She blinked slowly, showing no expression as she spoke.
“I’m in love with you, Raedan Tanten.”
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