Chapter 22

"Ughhhh! This is the worst! I was supposed to spend more time with Cecilia!!"

The next morning, it was the now energetic Leen who shouted this in Cecilia's room. She had already finished getting ready, and her packed belongings were placed at her feet.

"Seriously. That Killer is unforgivable! The sin of ruining my fun is heavy indeed!"

"You should resent being attacked."

"I do resent that! But the worst part is that they took away my fun!"

She stomped her feet, showing her anger. Despite her energetic appearance, Cecilia let out a sigh of relief with a wry smile.

When Leen woke up, as expected, she didn't remember the attacker's face. In fact, her memory of the events before and after being kidnapped was hazy. According to Mordred, it was unclear whether the memory loss was due to the shock of the attack or the effects of a drug.

"By the way, what happened to the event?"

"Event?"

"You know, the anime recap!"

Hearing Leen's words, Cecilia tilted her head. She seemed to recall that Leen had mentioned something similar a while ago.

"What? You still haven't remembered? You know, in the recap, Oscar and the protagonist were on the cottage balcony..."

"Aaah!!"

Cecilia couldn't help but point at Leen.

That was the final scene of the recap, the B-part of the anime. The gathered members reflected on the past, and that night, the protagonist was alone with Oscar on the balcony.

(And just when the mood was getting good, Gilbert called...)

The protagonist stumbled while running to Gilbert, and Oscar caught her.

"Be careful. If you get hurt, everyone will be sad."

The voice of Oscar in reality and the voice of Oscar in the anime overlapped perfectly.

In other words, the interaction with Oscar last night was the event itself.

Cecilia held her aching head.

(Why am I the one playing the heroine instead of Leen?!)

"What? Did something happen?"

Leen leaned in, her interest piqued. Cecilia glared at her, who was clearly enjoying the situation.

As she did, Huwai's voice called from downstairs, "Leen! Let's go!"

He must be worried about Leen and is going to escort her to the mansion.

"Okay!"

Leen responded with a cute voice. Then, as if it were the final word, she turned to Cecilia.

"Got it? I'll be careful, but you should be extra careful too. The Killer is probably targeting you too!"

"Ah, yeah! ...But I don't think I'll be targeted."

"Why do you think that?"

"Well, I don't think the 'Miko candidate' thing has been exposed yet..."

The Killer always targets Miko candidates. As long as they don't get in the way, knights aren't targeted, and ordinary people aren't attacked indiscriminately. Unnecessary killings are strictly avoided. In that sense, the Killer is a reliable character.

"You can't know that! This is the Killer we're talking about! Who knows what information they have! If you let your guard down, you'll be gone in a flash! Poof!"

"Hey, don't scare me like that."

Seeing her thumb make a slicing motion across her neck, Cecilia let out a frightened voice.

"I'm not trying to scare you. I'm just stating the facts! In the game, you are far more likely to be targeted than I am, so really be careful!"

"O-Okay."

"Be careful with the locks. Have plenty of guards too?"

"Sure. You too?"

"Of course. I have no intention of dying here!"

Leen puffed out her chest. While there shouldn't be any issues with the Killer at her family's place, she was a bit worried after yesterday's events.

"Also, Huwai will be with me for a while."

"Huh?"

"I'm not sure if he can stay at our mansion, but even if not, he'll get a room nearby and visit every day!"

Her cheeks flushed as she spoke, and she looked incredibly happy.

"You're... really loved, huh?"

"Right? Mutual love! We love and are loved by each other!"

Leen smiled bashfully and wriggled her body.

Huwai was originally an assassin from Hyamart. Compared to Dante, he was more of an apprentice, but his skills were well-regarded. He would more than adequately serve as Leen's bodyguard.

Feeling a bit more at ease, Cecilia accompanied her to the entrance hall. There, Jade and the others were already ready. At one end, Gilbert and Oscar were having a serious conversation.

(I wonder what they're talking about...)

They were speaking in low voices that couldn't be heard from where she was. As Cecilia observed them, Oscar suddenly looked in her direction. After a moment of shock, he averted his gaze unnaturally.

(Huh?)

Confused by the sudden turn of events, Cecilia blinked.

Oscar joined the group without meeting Cecilia's eyes. It seemed their conversation had ended.

"Well, thank you for your hospitality!"

"See you later."

"...Goodbye."

They said their goodbyes and turned to leave. Oscar also said, "Thank you for your hospitality," and turned to go with them.

(Did I do something...?)

Cecilia tilted her head in confusion, wondering why he wouldn't meet her eyes.