Chapter 41

“The demonic energy has thinned out considerably. It seems our subjugation of the magic beasts wasn’t in vain.”

“It means we’ve cleared out quite a few of them.”

“At this level, even if someone is exposed, it wouldn’t be enough to kill them instantly. Though staying out for too long is still a bad idea.”

On the way back to the mansion, we shared small talk, observing the relatively improved air quality. Unlike yesterday, when it was hard to see even an inch in front of us, the visibility had recovered enough to make out the faint outlines of objects.

“Uh…”

Kalat, who was walking beside me, suddenly faltered. Following his gaze, I saw a human silhouette standing in front of the mansion. Wait, a person?

“It’s the Countess,” Ilian said, his voice laced with tension.

“Ah, perhaps she came out because she was curious if our rescue mission went well!” Kalat offered hopefully.

If that were the case, it would be a relief, but something felt off. The three knights, who were maintaining a formation around me as if to shield me, seemed to share the same impression; their brows furrowed in unison. After all, we had plenty to be guilty about.

“Do you think she noticed the demonic energy has been purified?”

“It would be hard to tell the difference from inside because of the barrier.”

“Then, did she see the basement after all?”

Arianne spoke as she moved Kalat and me behind her.

“Gasp! No way!”

The Countess had looked as though she’d neglected that basement for a very long time. The dust on the floor was so thick there weren’t even common scuff marks, suggesting no one had set foot there in ages. However, it wouldn’t be strange if our arrival had made her anxious enough to check on it. Even though we’d meticulously erased any traces of our intrusion, once she saw the purified pond and the dead Mother beast, she couldn’t possibly miss the fact that someone had been there.

“Sigh, I didn’t expect to be found out in just one day.”

Ilian clutched his head. I felt like doing the same.

“Could it be that she’s simply out here to greet us…?”

-Arianne, isn’t that a bit too optimistic?

-She definitely found out lol.

I shared the chat’s opinion, but Ilian seemed to think there was some merit to the idea, as his expression softened slightly.

“True, what are the odds of being caught already? We haven’t exactly been acting suspicious.”

“Just in case, let’s keep as much distance from the mansion as possible while we confront her. Even if the mansion blows up, we three can shield the Saintess and Priest Kalat with our bodies. Of course, it would be best if such a worst-case scenario didn’t happen.”

“The problem is the people inside the mansion. We won’t be able to save them too.”

“Sir Hereis. Do we really have to worry about that right now? Arresting the Countess is the priority.”

“Commander. Sir Ilian is right. Besides, even if we don’t go into the mansion now, it’s a problem. The Countess will likely try to destroy the evidence. We can’t just stand by and watch that happen.”

“Ah…”

The protagonist’s eyes darted around as he agonized over the situation, eventually raising both hands to his shoulders.

“Sorry. I was thinking about it wrong. Casualties might occur even while she’s destroying evidence.”

“Then the consensus is that the three of us will go—”

“Wait, wait! We don’t know how much explosive power this self-destruct device has or where it’s installed! It’s far too dangerous!”

Arianne, who had been cut off, glared silently at Kalat for a moment, and Ilian, who was resting his chin in thought, answered instead.

“Hmm, that is indeed a mystery. We didn’t smell gunpowder anywhere in the mansion.”

Arianne added that she had roamed every corner of the mansion yesterday specifically to sniff for it.

“Th-that’s…”

“Well. The final decision lies with the Saintess anyway, so let’s go with her choice. Priest Kalat, you have no objections, right?”

“O-of course! Now, Saintess, what do you think?”

I looked at Kalat, who was shooting me a desperate ‘save me’ look, and considered my options. I couldn’t say there was zero risk for us… but for the sake of my own goals, I had to resolve this situation somehow. Moreover, the protagonist’s mind was already made up about going. If I objected and things went south, there was a risk of his affection level dropping significantly.

‘Rather than avoiding it, it’s better to break through, come what may.’

“If it were a life-threateningly dangerous situation, I believe it would have appeared in my dreams. Since it didn’t, I think we can give it a try.”

For a moment, a look of despair clouded Kalat’s eyes. Nevertheless, he replied with a forced, energetic voice.

“Ah, well, if the Saintess says so, then it must be right! I b-believe in the Saintess implicitly!”

He talked a big game for someone whose hands and feet were trembling. I swallowed a sigh and declared.

“Then, shall we go?”

The tension that had slackened slightly after subjugating the Mother beast tightened once more. Preparing for any eventuality, we followed the protagonist, cautiously narrowing the distance to the mansion in hushed silence.

-It really is the Countess.

-What is she doing there all alone?

-This feels chilly.

-She must have seen the basement.

-I have a bad feeling about this.

The Countess was standing there, blocking the door. Her head was bowed low. The atmosphere warned us not to touch her, but the protagonist didn’t falter, attempting to initiate a conversation with his usual amiable smile.

“Countess. What brings you out here—”

“Stop right there!”

-??

At the sudden shriek, all of us, who had already been wary of the Countess, froze instinctively. I scanned the Countess’s movements with only my eyes. Before I knew it, she had raised her head; her eyes were flashing with a manic light, making her look like someone who had half-lost her mind. I couldn’t help but gulp.

“Saintess. Is that… could that thing in her hand be the device?”

Arianne whispered, her lips barely moving. Wondering what she meant, I looked at the Countess’s hand and saw her holding something mysterious.

“It seems you know about this? I suppose Jamie must have spilled everything. This is why they say you shouldn’t take in a black-haired beast.“¹

Oops. Was it too suspicious that she’d listened so readily? The Countess sneered with a voice full of certainty. Then, she opened her hand to show us the object. A square mechanical device with a red button. That was…

-It’s a remote control that looks like it’ll blow something up if you press it.

“We, the Garain County, have no need for the Imperial Investigation Team’s help. Leave at once. If you don’t…”

The Countess placed her thumb on the button, applying slight pressure as if she were about to press it.

“I will press this.”

In the end, the worst of our projected scenarios had occurred. The protagonist glared fiercely at the Countess with clenched fists, and Ilian turned slightly to cast a glance at me.

“There are many people in this mansion who have nothing to do with me. If you don’t back down now, I will take it as you being fine with all those innocent people dying.”

“Are you insane?”

-She’s taking her own employees hostage.

-Boo, that’s cowardly.

-What do we do?

• Is she really going to press it? ㄷㄷ

“If you don’t want that, then leave. Now, this instant!”

The Countess’s voice was reaching a boiling point. She was breathing heavily as if agitated; it felt like if we didn’t make a decision right now, she really would press that detonation button. What should we do?

Ding!

It was then that a familiar notification sounded. It wasn’t mine; it was Mo Je-won’s. The content was…

“Sigh…”

Mo Je-won let out a heavy sigh.

-lolololol

-This isn’t easy.

-Why not just Save/Load?

“In my life, there’s only ‘Continue.’ Load? Save? I don’t do petty stuff like that.”

Even in the face of these desperate options, Mo Je-won spoke with stubborn conviction. From my perspective, it was a magnificent belief. I truly hoped he wouldn’t change his mind, as I couldn’t handle any more variables. To be honest, I couldn’t even imagine what would happen to me if Mo Je-won decided to reload.

‘Would I be regressed along with him? Or would I be split off into a different worldline…?’

I didn’t even know if that would affect the quest completion.

“Even if the path we’re taking leads to a Bad Ending, I can accept it humbly. Because I’ve done my best.”

-Oh, sure.

-lolololol

-You do plan on reaching the Happy Ending, right?

-He’ll probably drop the game before then lol.

Drop the game? If Mo Je-won stopped playing, what would happen then?

‘There are so many things I don’t know.’

Would the world Mo Je-won abandoned continue to exist? Or would it freeze forever at the point where he stopped?

‘Just thinking about it is horrifying.’

Since I didn’t know the mechanism that summoned me into this game, I couldn’t say for sure, but I had a feeling nothing good would happen if Mo Je-won abandoned the game. So, I had no choice but to pray that he wouldn’t quit.

‘I’m completely powerless.’

At least the hopeful part was that this game was making him quite a bit of money. He wouldn’t easily give up on a game where donations were popping off like this.

“Anyway! What do we do about this?”

-Hmm… I don’t think complying with her is the answer.

-Isn’t snatching the device the best bet?

-Just kill her?

-I don’t think persuasion will work.

-What even is the “Just let her” option lol.

“Ah? Is that so? Could it fail?”

-Who knows?

-This game has so many trap choices, it’s possible.

“Hereis is a Grade 8 knight, right? He must be incredibly agile. Couldn’t he steal it before the Countess even has time to react?”

-But she’s holding it in her hand.

-And her thumb is already on it.

“Ha… Then killing her won’t work either. Not if the Countess’s thumb is faster than the protagonist.”

-lol

-The Great Thumb.

-Is persuasion the only answer now?

“I’m not exactly fond of the persuasion route either. Look at her eyes right now. Does she look like someone you can talk to?”

-No…

-She has those total ‘Clear-Eyed Madman’ eyes ㄷㄷ.

“Then the only options left are to comply with her or just let her do it? Ah, I don’t think that’s it either.”

-Um…

-I don’t know.

-None of them seem right.

Mo Je-won and the viewers were completely lost. And in truth, so was I. The only one with a glimmer of possibility was persuasion? The others carried too much risk. For all we knew, the Countess could turn out to be a Grade 8 knight on par with the protagonist. If it failed, nothing but an explosion would remain. We had to be cautious. If the mansion really blew up and everyone inside died, the expected scenario would be…

Along with a notification like that, the Bad Ending credits would roll in the blink of an eye.

‘This isn’t some ‘Keep the Fragile Protagonist Alive’ simulator.’

Regardless, I thought we should head toward persuasion first.

“Ah~ you’re right. It’s ‘Go’ even if we can’t make the set. I’ll try to persuade her.”

I wondered what on earth the protagonist was going to say. As I swallowed hard, time returned to its normal flow, and the protagonist immediately opened his mouth.

“Countess. Are you acting this extremely just to destroy the evidence?”

“…”

Then, the protagonist’s monologue began.

-I guess she has some kind of immunity.

-If he’s a national hero, that’s possible.

-Listing it out like that, she’s actually a legendary piece of trash.

-Why on earth is she going this far?

-We still don’t even know her motive ㄷㄷ.

“Countess. I won’t ask why you committed these acts. But looking at the situation, there’s a high possibility the Emperor will reconsider. If only for the sake of your late husband, Count Garain. So, please put that device down and…”

“Your eyes are truly… upright.”

The Countess of Garain stared piercingly into the protagonist’s eyes as she spoke. The protagonist flinched at the transparent, incomprehensible gaze that felt uncomfortably intense.

“I know that look. As I thought… I see… You resemble him.”

“What are you talking about?”

Following a sentence whispered so softly it couldn’t be understood, the Countess pressed down hard on the center of the device.