Episode 142 – Mutually Contractual Relationship (2)

Mutually Contractual Relationship (2)

Thud─ Thud─ The rain clings to the window. It’s toxic rain, falling from smog-filled clouds of Shadowring. If exposed to bare skin, it became a dot that inflicts three points of damage per second.

“Not bad. We could stay here for a few days.”

An abandoned building in Harlem, and within it, a hidden attic above the ceiling. The team members seem satisfied with this hideout. After all, it’s inconspicuous and safe enough to log out.

“Let’s prepare some food. I’m starving.”

While the party members noisily prepare pots and provisions, Soliette remains lost in thought.

Today, what Shion said to her.

His sharp tone, telling her not to pretend to be close, kept echoing in her mind. It feels like a needle, pricking at her heart.

It’s a pain she can’t understand.

“……Why does the redhead look so heartbroken?”

[Karl] interrupts her dark contemplation.

“She was the most passionate about Knightmare. Now that she’s been dumped because of some talk about contracts?”

Soliette doesn’t respond. [Karl] chuckles and mutters.

“I knew it. She’s overprotective.”

Soliette’s forehead twitches slightly.

“Overprotective?”

She glares at him, catching his words. [Karl] smirks mischievously.

“Yeah. When you treat someone like a child, it’s a bit… Especially men. They start thinking, ‘Does this woman not even consider me a man?'”

“…”

Soliette falls back into her emotionless state, but soon quietly reflects on the day.

She glanced at Shion, who was sleeping behind her, as if he was just cute, prevented [Karl] from even holding his hand because he was a newbie, and ignored his words that he could solve it alone because it was dangerous…

“In my opinion, Shion, was it? He seems to have a lot of feelings for you, Solize. I could tell even though we’ve only been together for half a day.”

“….. Stop talking nonsense.”

Soliette’s face hardens.

“Look at this. You dismiss it as nonsense, Solize. After giving you so many hints.”

“What hints…”

“Yeah, yeah~”

[Karl] chuckles and stirs the soup. Soliette glares at him for a moment before bowing her head again.

…Suddenly.

A woman silently sits next to her.

[Jenny], who had been pretending not to notice Soliette’s gloominess, finally speaks.

“Solize, can we talk a bit?”

“Yes, what…”

She takes off her robe. She looks at Soliette with a faint smile.

“You’re scared, aren’t you? That you might lose another comrade.”

“…”

At that moment, it felt like her temples were being scratched. Soliette unconsciously clenches her fist, but she endures it because it’s [Jenny] speaking.

“I know it’s presumptuous. But, it’s like I’m looking at my past self.”

[Jenny] shifts her gaze into the void and whispers.

“When I look at you, Solize, you’re filled with someone else. Because you can’t forget. Because he can’t be forgotten.”

──Drip, drip.

The desolate rain mixes with her words.

“I was like that too.”

“…[Jenny].”

[Jenny] has already lost her party.

In her friend window, four comrades are offline. All of them were killed by Knightmare.

These were wounds she learned of during the two weeks she spent with them through the game.

“I’ve only been with you for two weeks, but don’t you think Mr. Shion, who was closer to you, would know?”

[Jenny] murmured softly.

“He probably knows better than I do. He probably knows too well.”

“……”

As she said, Shion knew Jared and Felix.

How good they were, how important they were to him.

“So, it seems like Mr. Shion was considerate of Ms. Solize today.”

“Considerate… you say.”

[Jenny] smiled faintly.

“Yes. He’s trying to step aside a bit so that Ms. Solize doesn’t feel burdened.”

Suddenly, a small tremor in Soliette’s heart.

“While maintaining a reasonable distance, he wants Ms. Solize to heal herself slowly. He doesn’t want to hurt Ms. Solize.”

“But, Shion is not a wound to me.”

Soliette simply replied. [Jenny] smiled mischievously as if she had been waiting.

“What if. What if Mr. Shion likes Ms. Solize? What if that feeling is close to love?”

“That is……”

“No one helps someone without any reason. Ms. Solize, haven’t you ever felt that?”

Of course, there is a reason why he is with her.

The salary she pays Shion, money.

But… there are too many parts that cannot be explained by that alone.

It’s not that she doesn’t notice. She has sensed it.

Rather, she is a genius whose ‘intuition’, a superior version of perception, has developed into the realm of a Spectrum.

That intuition has rarely betrayed her.

Therefore, when Shion deals with her, when he glances at her, those ‘unfathomable emotions’ that flow momentarily but are quickly swallowed back.

They come to Soliette very naturally and intuitively.

Like soft milk powder mixed in the wind sticking to the skin.

She can’t explain it clearly, but that’s how it is.

“Mr. Shion probably knows too. That him liking Ms. Solize itself could be a wound to Ms. Solize.”

“How can that… be a wound.”

Soliette asked inadvertently, but the answer was already in her head.

Jenny repeated the same answer.

“Because the current Ms. Solize cannot love someone else.”

“……”

Now, there is no room in this heart to hold someone.

She doesn’t even have the confidence to do so.

Because it’s already filled with the past, there’s no place for anyone else. There’s only a big ‘hole’ there.

“Love… probably not. Shion has a purpose like me. Maybe…”

Maybe.

As she trailed off, she realized something. That she doesn’t know much about Shion. About the life he’s led, what he’s pursuing, why he wants to be with her, she is completely ignorant.

She didn’t even try to know.

On the other hand, Shion knows her.

“Why do you feel sad, why do you suffer, and what do you want?

You never express it, but always ‘come to find’ at the moment of need…

“Then check it out. You got something last time, didn’t you?”

“… 「Empathy Eye Drops」. Is that what you’re talking about?”

“Yes.”

An item that allows Soliette to maximize her intuition, allowing her to see others’ emotions and sincerity directly with her own eyes.

When she uses it—

“Stop playing house.”

—Bang!

Unable to bear it any longer, [Hans] banged on the pot. The two women turned to look at him.

“Dinner’s ready. Mages and rogues always slack off when they get a chance.”

“Here. Take it. It’s Karl’s special dish.”

Karl handed over the soup. Soliette held the bowl with both hands. There were many chunks of meat floating in it.

Tap tap-

Suddenly, a sound came from beneath the hideout, knocking on the floor above.

The party quickly assumed a battle stance, but—

—it’s me.

It was Shion’s voice. [Jenny] moved aside with a grimace, and Soliette opened the floor door of the attic.

Shion was below. He shrugged his shoulders with his arms spread out.

“See. I’m alive, right? Or do I look dead?”

“No, you don’t. Come up, Sipchoin.” (Saying Shion, essentially)

Soliette cut her words awkwardly.

“Sipchoin? Are you cursing me?”

Shion was the same as always.

We just had a big fight three hours ago. Is this the real distinction between public and private?

“What, what curse. Just come up.”

“You have to lower the ladder for me to come up.”

“…Oh.”

She lowered the ladder. Shion quickly climbed up.

“Oh~ Little bird gentleman. You made it back alive as expected?”

“You, I acknowledge. Come and eat.”

[Karl] and [Hans] said. The archer [Chris] was muttering something while staring at the city map of ‘Shadowring’.

“Oh yes. It looks delicious. I was hungry.”

Shion quickly started eating the soup. Soliette watched him with a somewhat complicated expression.

-Stop pretending to be close. Did you forget our contract?

That cold voice replayed in her mind, overlaid with Karl’s hopeful tone.

“Oh right. You know the Eclipse cycle is coming up soon, right? Red Moon. When that happens, no one can log out or log in. But in return, the gates of the Count’s castle will open then. Let’s level up by secretly completing quests in this city until then.”

[Red Moon] is one of the special events in the world of Bethune. You can’t log out for a while, but if you wait, there’s a proper reward.

“Ah… I’m full.”

Shion, who had eaten all the soup, meat, and rice, looked at her calmly.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

“I will eat.”

“Really? Then eat and log out? You need to prepare for the semester.”

Soliette shook her head.

“…I will stay here longer. Knightmare is in sight, I have no time to waste.”

Moreover, she still needed a little more time to sort out her feelings.

“Suit yourself.”

Shion got up. He dusted himself off and did a short stretch.

As he prepared to log out, Soliette said in a trembling voice,

“Shion. I was worried.”

“Hmm?”

Then Shion stared at Soliette. He scrutinized her so closely that she involuntarily drew back, then he let out a small chuckle.

“No.”

He shook his head vehemently.

“You’re pretending to worry about me, but you’re really worried about yourself.”

“That’s not true. What are you…”

Her words trailed off.

She had been about to vehemently deny it, but suddenly, thoughts began to spread in her mind.

If something were to happen to Shion, would the trauma of that day return?

If someone by her side were to die, would those two people from the past resurface?

“….”

Did he already know about this side of her?

She looked at Shion with somewhat sad eyes.

“Let’s not have another day like today.”

Shion said, getting up.

“I’ll protect myself. It’s not like you can protect me, and even if I die, it’s absolutely not your fault. You seem to not understand this obvious fact.”

“…According to the contract. Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes. Our invincible contract.”

Shion smiled. Then he let out a sigh of relief.

“I’m going. You should also do what you need to do and come.”

“Ah… Yes.”

Pop-!

He logged out. Soliette stared at the spot where he had been standing.

“How about it? It seems like I was right, doesn’t it?”

“!”

[Jenny], who had suddenly approached, chuckled. Soliette pursed her lips at her.

“You surprised me.”

“It happens sometimes.”

“…What does?”

“The feeling that ‘someone else’ knows you better than you know yourself.”

“….”

Someone else who knows you better than you know yourself.

Repeating Jenny’s words quietly to herself, Soliette felt a pain as if her heart was being pierced with a needle.

Poke- Poke-

This inexplicable pain, becoming sharper little by little, was unbearable.

* * *

At the same time.

In the beginner’s village of Bethune, [Ralphrin], it was a lively and peaceful afternoon.

“How much is this?”

Elise was wandering around the market of the village. It was a place that suited her taste, filled with countless people of all ages buying and selling goods.

“Three copper coins!”

“How can this pottery cup be three copper coins? I’ll take it for one copper coin.”

She haggled with her hands on her hips. At first, she didn’t know what to do, but after studying for a few hours, she quickly got the hang of it.

“Alright. Here.”

“Yes.”

Bethune. An augmented reality game developed by Trick City.

However, it wasn’t an open-world game with this kind of immersive style from the beginning. Originally, it was just a 2D game, but it became what it is now through updates and development.

By the way, no one has cleared the game yet.

Therefore, there’s a strange rumor that the first person to clear the game will have their ‘wish’ granted.

“But miss, what’s your name?”

“Oh, I’m Elise.”

“Elise?”

“Yes.”

In fact, her ID was not actually Elise.

[It’s Elise]

│Advanced Human │ Lv. 2 High Priestess │

The “-it’s” at the beginning was quite annoying. She had misunderstood the prompt for self-introduction and ended up with this.

Why wouldn’t they give her a chance to correct it?

Anyway, she was currently touring around. She was also looking for Shion.

“Excuse me. Are there camels here by any chance?”

She asked without much expectation.

“Camels? Yes, we have them.”

“Really?”

Elise’s eyes widened.

“Where are they?”

“If you go to the right from here, there’s a camel farm.”

Elise hurriedly ran in the direction the old lady pointed.

After about 10 minutes.

“…It’s a camel.”

She mumbled absentmindedly. Indeed, there was a real camel inside the fence.

In a place that wasn’t even a desert.

Among them, there was one particularly cute and adorable camel boasting black fur… Wow.

“That, that camel is interesting. Its fur is so black, isn’t it?”

Elise, trying hard to keep her composure, tugged at the owner’s arm.

“That’s right.”

“How much is that camel?”

Although it was just a game, it was an opportunity to own a pet camel. Her father in the family hated pets terribly.

“Five gold coins.”

Five gold coins?!

“That’s ridiculous. Isn’t that too expensive?”

“You chose a very good camel. That guy is a noble breed if you compare it to humans. It’s a camel brought from the desert called Bial. If you tame it, it’s even faster than a horse.”

A camel faster than a horse. A battle camel.

Even in the actual continent, black camels are absolutely rare.

Elise’s heart suddenly fluttered, but she had no money. Her entire fortune was only three silver coins.

“…You said it was five gold coins.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

However, her CD was a special edition. The ‘High’ Priestess class itself was a bonus.

She mumbled with a firm face.

“I need to earn money.”

The unique skill of a priestess, ‘Healing’.

With that, if she sets up a Senator here, she should be able to earn about five gold coins.

“I’ll come back later.”

As she turned around and walked, Elise paused for a moment, staring back at the black camel and clenching her fists.

“I’ll come and get you.”

Definitely.