Who is crying?
Irel suddenly felt curious. After all, she had voluntarily entered the enemy's heart, so she had to search for anything that could become Varkan's weakness here.
To do that, she needed to check out everything suspicious herself. So, without hesitation, she walked in the direction of the crying sound.
From the magnificent garden in front of the main building of the mansion, turn into a small alley and there will be several outhouses. Sobbing sounds carried by the wind came from the nearest house among them. But to get there, she encountered a small problem.
Rub.
The two-headed dog towered over the exit from the garden. Irel sighed and greeted the dog guarding the gates of hell that she was now quite familiar with.
“Hello, Choco.”
“Woof! Woof!”
"Okay, okay. Nice to meet you too."
Choco stood on all fours and wagged his tail at her. Not only that, it also jumped up, eager to get close to her. Although it could only spin in place because it was chained with three layers of chains.
The reason Choco, the dog that originally guarded the mansion's exit, was here was obvious. It was impossible to block all the gates, so Varkan placed guard dogs on routes where Irel could escape.
What an elegant method.
Except the guard dog likes her.
“Be good, our beloved Choco.”
Thanks to the Druid ring on his hand, Irel could calmly walk next to Choco. As she exited the garden and turned the corner of the alley, the small sobbing from before became louder.
“Huff, huff…”
She looked around and saw a small head snuggled into the pillow next to the bright flower bed. A person with a small body was burying his face in his knees and crying bitterly.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Irel asked in the gentlest tone possible. The crying person suddenly raised his head.
“You, who are you?”
The moment those teary eyes faced her, the system window rang
ting
.
[Lane Springwood: Current favorability score 0]
Lane has an appearance reminiscent of violets. The eyes are a mixture of light purple and dark purple as well, and the overall image is weak and rustic, giving off the feeling of a wildflower.
“Um… how should I introduce myself? I'm Irel Elorance.”
Feeling that she shouldn't scare this person, Irel smiled gently. Lane quickly used his sleeve to dry his face.
The eyes looking at her were full of fear, like a small deer just waiting for a chance to run away. However, faced with Irel's fragile appearance and somewhat similar physique, she gradually lowered her guard. Quickly realizing this, Irel quietly started a conversation.
“What is your name?”
Name calling is necessary to establish a ‘relationship’ with a stranger. The relationship from a completely unknown person will become an 'acquaintance' as soon as names are exchanged.
“…Lane. Lane Springwood.”
Lane's response is a positive sign. The fact that the girl hesitated but still revealed her name showed that he at least intended to talk.
“Nice to meet you, Lane.”
Irel smiled and held out her handkerchief. Lane pursed her lips, looking confused, then slowly extended her hand.
Just as she was about to hand over the handkerchief. Lane's and her hands accidentally touched each other, just a thin layer of fabric apart.
"EH?"
What feeling is this? Irel opened her eyes wide and looked down at her fingertips. When touching Lane, a feeling of numbness passed through, and at the same time the temperature there seemed to skyrocket.
Perhaps she had mistaken it for a brief burst of static electricity. Just as Irel thought so and raised her head. Before her eyes was Lane, with an expression ten times more surprised than hers.
“You, could it be… you are the same?!”
"Yes?"
"It's the Receiver, right? Right?!"
Lane asked urgently, almost choking. She couldn't wait even for a moment when Irel was hesitant, hastily holding her hand tightly.
“Ah!”
That stinging feeling came again. Irel frowned, and at that moment, tears welled up in Lane's eyes again.
"As expected! You are also a Receiver...!!"
Lane muttered with emotion and began to sob uncontrollably. Irel was no fool, so she could have guessed.
“Could it be that Lane, you are also a Receiver?”
At that question, Lane nodded, tears falling. The movement was so violent that she feared the girl's slender neck might break.
Not only that. One hour
ting
sounds, accompanied by a system notification.
[Ting! Lane's favorability score has increased by 50.]
Irel couldn't believe his eyes. Lane, who was wary of her, immediately increased his sympathy points when he learned that she was also a Receiver. Of course, Receivers are rare, so it's not unusual for her to be happy to meet a fellow human being.
Anyway, this reaction is too dramatic.
However, the sympathy score doesn't lie. So Irel waited silently until Lane stopped crying.
"Were you dragged here too? Were you forced?"
That was the first question that Lane uttered after squeezing out the last of her tears.
“Yes… no.”
And Irel's answer was like this.
I almost agreed.
She can't do that. You must be the woman who loves Varkan and came here willingly. Luckily, Lane was a bit naive so he didn't notice the strangeness in Irel's answer.
"As for me, I was dragged here. I really didn't want to come, but the headmaster handed me over to that man..."
“Headmaster?”
“Yes. I am an orphan.”
Lane snorted as he told his story.
Irel didn't know, but Lane's surname, 'Springwood', was often given to orphans without parents. Children born in summer have the surname 'Summer Rain', in autumn they have 'Autumn Leaf', and in winter they have 'Winterfall'.
From that, it can be deduced that Lane was abandoned in front of the orphanage one spring day. Luckily, thanks to her adorable appearance, she was adopted twice, something that is difficult for others to do.
But the result was that both times he was returned. The first time, the adoptive parents thought they were infertile but gave birth to a 'real' child, so they returned the girl, and the second time...
"Kitan appeared. In less than three days, it ate everyone in the village. Including my foster parents."
Having finished speaking, Lane looked into space. Her eyes looked empty from the light, making Irel feel creepy for no reason.
Sometimes, people see the world through the perspective of others. Just like a girl you don't find beautiful becomes like a beauty with a unique temperament when you hear that she is someone who is deeply loved unrequitedly by someone. Or it's like a normal restaurant suddenly being appreciated when it's known that it's someone's favorite place to eat.
This is just such a moment. To Lee Raeyeon, Kitan is nothing more than a hideous and grotesque monster designed by the game developer.
What she once saw as a pile of data while playing games safely through the screen in her room, was now in this world an overwhelming disaster that wiped out everything. She felt her vision also darken along with the victim's terrified and desperate eyes.
Kitan.
If the God Hashva is the god loved by everyone, then the Evil God Abihshyan is the opposite extreme. He was originally a god of the same level as Hashva, but because of jealousy and plotting to harm Hashva, his tongue was cut out and banished to the bottomless abyss.
However, Abihshyan did not repent even in the depths of darkness. On the contrary, to take revenge on Hashva, who imprisoned him, he created the monster 'Kitan' to destroy the people Hashva loved.
And the existences born to deal with Kitan are Masaka and Receiver. Irel, who was rearranging the worldview of the game 'Salvation' she once knew, suddenly thought.
Like chess pieces. Placed on the giant chess board of the gods.
Where is she placed on that cold and giant chessboard? Irel shook his head incredulously. Then she carefully patted Lane's small shoulder.
“It must have been very difficult for you, Lane.”
“Miss Irel… You are truly a good person.”
Lane clasped his hands and looked at her with sparkling eyes.
[Ting! Lane's favorability score has increased by 10.]
Lane seemed to feel intense sympathy for her. Since knowing that she was a Receiver, her sympathy points kept skyrocketing as long as she treated her a little more gently.
“…It's not over yet.”
Lane rubbed the bridge of his red nose and continued the story.
"Fortunately, I hid in the cellar and avoided Kitan's eyes. But it was useless. As you know, Kitan really likes Receivers like us."
That's right. Kitan loves to eat people, but is especially crazy about Receiver. Irel frowned, remembering the Kitan that had left Beatrice at the hat shop to rush at her first.
"Finally, on the third day, Kitan smelled me and started breaking the cellar door. I could only tremble and hold on to the door handle. It was the most terrifying moment."
"I understand. But it's lucky you survived, Lane."
Words of comfort increase your sympathy by 10 points. Lane rubbed her red eyes and finally said the important thing.
“At that time… that man appeared and killed Kitan.”
“What man?”
Lane bit her lip at the counter question. The girl's pale face clearly did not want to mention that name.
Probably one of the Masakas.
Irel can roughly guess. Definitely a Masaka because only Masaka can kill Kitan. And with Lane, a Receiver, being here at the Baslow Moore mansion, he must be one of Varkan's subordinates.
She guessed that Masaka immediately recognized Lane as a rare Receiver after killing Kitan.
And perhaps he gave money to the director of the orphanage, or used the power of General Ha Mash to easily rob Lane. Like most Masaka usually do with Receiver.
“Miss Irel.”
Right at that moment. For the first time, Lane didn't cry or use a nasal voice.
"So, you should run away. Here... there are only monsters."
With a face without any blood left.