“Be back soon, Lily.”
Dania smiled as she ruffled Lily’s hair.
“Okay! Be careful, Unnie.”
Click.
“…..”
As the door closed, Lily’s smile disappeared in an instant.
The warmth that lingered just moments ago was gone, leaving only a chilling atmosphere.
.
.
.
‘Just now, I definitely used my ability…’
It was a very brief moment, but I activated my unique ability.
Charlie’s words made me lose my composure for a split second, and when I regained my senses, I saw a huge crack with my foot stuck in it.
‘I was angry, but I didn’t really want to kill him.’
Perhaps, even just harboring hostility is enough to use my ability.
“Uaaagh!”
I was so startled I forgot how to jump with both feet.
Charlie bolted away on all fours, distancing himself from me.
“W-what is this…”
Confusion colored Charlie’s face as he still couldn’t comprehend what was happening.
“Um…”
As I pondered how to explain, I locked eyes with Charlie.
“EEEK!! I’m sorry! It was actually a lie!!! It was just my selfish desire!! Please let me live just this once!”
Charlie exclaimed in desperation.
So it was a trick after all.
I found it annoying, yet I understood.
There probably hadn’t been a beauty like me in a place like this, so it was only natural he felt infatuated.
Still, I felt bad.
Thinking of a guy blushing and shyly confessing made my anger flare up again.
‘Big Brother is holding back…’
It’s ridiculous, but if I were to come across a beauty I hadn’t seen before with no memory, I might have unintentionally slipped out a selfish comment too.
I calmed my anger and tried to pull my foot free by gathering strength in my leg.
“…..”
Huh?
“Ugh!!”
It wouldn’t budge.
“Huhh…!”
No matter how hard I tried, my leg didn’t even flinch.
“Hera…?”
Charlie, who had been looking at me with a frightened expression, now wore a face that seemed to say ‘What are you doing right now?’
“…..Help me out here.”
“You don’t know either?”
Charlie seemed to have calmed down a bit, reverting to familiar speech.
“Yeah. I don’t know when this happens.”
“Hmm… Did you take some kind of drug?”
There was no benefit in explaining my unique ability to Charlie, so I decided to let it slide. It was bothersome too.
‘I really don’t need to explain it.’
“Could it be related to memory loss?”
“Oh.”
Indeed, memory loss is a universal cheat key.
There’s no need for an excuse; he managed to guess my situation on his own, so I only had to go along with him.
Charlie continued to think and speculate, but in the end, he couldn’t figure anything out.
After a moment of deep thought, he sighed heavily as if ready to give up.
“So what are you going to do now?”
“Huh?”
“You said you can’t remember. Didn’t you say you’d find your memories back?”
“Um…”
What am I going to do now? Time to deal with Bram.
That was the plan, but in reality, Bram was the one at the top of this area. It wouldn’t be easy to meet him.
Though if I ambush his underlings one by one, I might just encounter him.
“For now, I want to learn to use this power properly.”
Charlie nodded in agreement with my thoughts.
“Well, with that kind of power, you won’t starve to death…”
He seemed to recall something from earlier, shaking slightly as he added.
“But be careful. The atmosphere outside isn’t great.”
“Something happen?”
His tone suggested it was something important.
Speaking in a lowered voice, Charlie continued.
“Recently, there’s been an increase in bodies found stabbed on the streets. People think it’s just ordinary knife crimes, but I think otherwise. It’s a deliberate act.”
“Someone’s intentionally committing murder?”
“Yeah. The bodies are all mutilated, making it hard to notice, but each recently found corpse has the same stab wound location: right at the back of the head.”
“Were they taken by surprise?”
“That seems likely. I believe the culprit took the victim’s life with the initial surprise attack, then tried to disguise it as an ordinary murder by mutilating the body.”
Hmm. That’s scary.
“But how do you know all this?”
Charlie, responding to my question, put on a smug smile, puffing out his chest.
“Even though I may look like this, I’m quite capable, you know? I can figure out things like this easily. How about it? With a guy like me—cough cough… my bad.”
He hurriedly corrected himself, seemingly reading my expression.
He’s still rambling. It’s irritating.
Charlie hesitated for a moment, then continued.
“Oh, and one more thing. Just nearby, a headless corpse was found.”
Huh?
“I heard the owner of the corpse was one of Bram’s men. He seems pretty close since he sent his henchmen out on the streets to search for the murderer.”
“That sounds like me…”
“Really? So the current situation is… huh?.. What did you just say?”
Charlie blinked at me in confusion.
“I think the headless corpse was done by me.”
*
“What were you thinking?!”
When I said I killed it, Charlie had a fit and backed away, looking at me like a madwoman.
It seemed he acted like this before.
Charlie is such a jumpy guy. With a personality like that, how can he attract beautiful women?
“No, they tried to attack me, so I defended myself. Should I have just stood there and let them eat me instead?”
“E-eat…?”
Turns out he’s unexpectedly principled. Charlie squeezed his eyes shut at my blunt statement.
“It actually worked out. I was planning to meet Bram anyway.”
“Bram?! Are you crazy? Do you even know what kind of person he is?”
“Any kind I can kill, I think?”
As I clenched my fist tightly, Charlie flinched, but quickly got hold of himself and looked at me again.
“Hera, Bram is not like the usual criminals lying around here. He’s a man who can take down a beast with bare hands. No matter how powerful you are, it’ll be tough against Bram.”
To Charlie, Bram must seem like a monster, but as someone who has read a lot of novels, he doesn’t feel threatening at all.
Compared to the protagonist who takes down countless monsters with a casually swung sword or the heroine who captures demons with bizarre magic, Bram feels like nothing more than an extra.
I don’t even think I’ll lose against him.
“I’ll handle it myself. You don’t need to worry.”
Did I come off too cold? Charlie looked at me with hurt in his eyes, then sighed.
“Fine… it’s not my problem, anyway. Whether you die or not has nothing to do with me.”
Ah, he seems to have taken offense. It’s silly for a guy to sulk over something like this. I hurriedly changed the subject.
“Let’s drop this. Can you tell me what year it is?”
“…It’s the Year 497 of the Empire.”
He grumbled while answering. If it were a girl saying that, I might get it, but a guy saying that makes me want to hit him…
By the way, Year 497 of the Empire… The main story of the novel begins with the protagonist entering the academy in Year 500.
‘I thought it was well underway, but it hasn’t even started yet.’
This means I might have to spend a few more years in Drax than I anticipated. There are plenty of buildings around, so I won’t have trouble living, but spending several years here seems dull.
But what can I do? To avoid interfering with the protagonist, I need to live quietly.
‘I want to see the faces of the heroines at least once…’
I’m not averse to seeing the characters from the novel. It’s purely for smooth story progression; however, if the protagonist completes his journey and peace returns, I’d be willing to visit the heroines directly. If I could actually meet the Saintess, elves, beastfolk, and other beautiful girls I’ve only read about, would that not be the reward for being possessed in this world?
I would want to be friends… or perhaps lovers? Ah, I turned into a woman. Damn that author.
And anyway, it’s all going to be a harem revolving around Robin, so there wouldn’t even be a place for me next to the heroines. Damn that protagonist.
Anyway.
Nothing changes.
I will defeat Bram and live lavishly in the West.
While mulling over my goals, I jumped up.
“Alright! Shall we begin?”
“Huh? Begin what?”
Charlie tilted his head, looking at me.
“What do you mean? I said I’d learn to use my power properly.”
“…But?”
Charlie’s gaze began to cloud with unease. Oh, he’s perceptive!
“Then we should experiment.”
“…No way.”
I grabbed Charlie’s shoulder to prevent him from escaping and smiled at him.
“You’re going to help me, right Charlie?”
You like me, don’t you? Can’t you help me out with this?
Just try it like last time. I think I can get the hang of it.
.
.
.
“The Boss ordered nothing today.”
That was the command given to Dania—to stay quiet and not cause any disturbances.
“What about the Boss?”
“He went out to the streets.”
Was he going to catch that girl? Bram didn’t seem to be in the building.
A mysterious girl with incredible powers appeared suddenly. Dania couldn’t help but have her mind on that girl.
‘Is it because of Lily?’
Hoping the girl was safe, Dania headed back home after unexpectedly being given what felt like a vacation.
‘It’s been a while since I got home early… Lily will be happy.’
As she thought about whether to buy something, Dania stopped by the bakery she frequented to grab Lily’s favorite treat.
She imagined Lily’s happy smile at the sight of the snacks.
In this hellish place, her only sanctuary and happiness—Lily.
Dania could do anything for her little sister.
‘Admittance to the academy is possible from age 17… so if I can just hold out for 3 more years…’
Three years. It felt like an eternity, but for Lily’s sake, it was a time she could endure without issue.
Before long, she arrived in front of her house.
Today, with a smiling face, Dania approached Lily to greet her.
“Lily~ I’m home!”
As she opened the door, the one there to welcome her was…
“….Lily?”
Only the cold air without warmth greeted her.
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