Chapter 43

(Well, where should I look...?)

That afternoon after school, Cecilia was wandering around the school grounds.

The Vruhel Academy’s campus was vast. It served a role similar to a university in modern times, and there were separate buildings for the research institute and the research program students within the same grounds. Additionally, since it was a school for nobles, and because they conducted research on medicines and such, it also had various medical facilities. Cecilia had never even walked from one end of the campus to the other.

(At least it’s only this big because the elementary and middle schools are separate, but even so, it’s too large...)

The facilities for the elementary and middle schools were located separately. However, since they also accepted commoners alongside the children of nobles, it was generally the case that most nobles would have their children educated by private tutors up to the middle school level and only send them to Vruhel Academy from the high school level onwards.

Vruhel Academy was a five-year program, with the first three years being the general education course and the last two years being the research course. Most students graduated after the general education course, but those who wanted to pursue specialized research could advance to the research course. Furthermore, if they wished, they could choose to become researchers. There were even rumors that some teachers and students continued their research while attending the academy.

(Come to think of it, Mr. Mordred’s route was about that kind of story...)

Mordred, the school doctor, was actually a researcher studying "hindrances." The heroine, who was a candidate for the divine maiden, would end up helping with his research at Mordred’s request...

(I wonder how Mordred’s route ended...)

In fact, Hiyono, Cecilia’s past life, had not completed Mordred’s route. To be precise, she had died in the middle of it. She had managed to enter the romance route, but was then caught in that fire.

(What a regret. I wonder what kind of story it was...)

Mordred’s route was well-received on the internet as being quite interesting.

Additionally, for reasons unrelated to Mordred, Cecilia had not completed the routes for the twins, Ein and Zwei. The main reason was that she found their characters physically repulsive. In short, they made her feel a bit uncomfortable.

(Thinking about it, there’s a lot I don’t know...)

Up to a certain point, the common route was the same, so she had a good grasp of each character’s personality and profile. However, she had not completed the romance events for the characters she hadn’t cleared, nor did she know the content of the true route that was supposed to appear after that.

(I even blocked the reviews on social media. If I had known this would happen, I should have looked at the spoilers and everything...)

It seemed that Rin was in the same boat. She had only completed the routes for the main characters, Oscar and Dante. It was typical of her to have completed Dante’s route over a hundred times just for the sake of Huey. So, when she first saw Cecil, she had casually thought, "I don’t see him on the character list, but maybe he appears in another character’s route..."

(Well, even if I haven’t played it, I know that Cecilia dies in every route...)

After all, Cecilia was a character who was officially described as "dying in every route." Even the strategy site she frequently used had the same statement in red. It was official.

"What are you doing here?"

A voice suddenly called out, and she looked up to see Mordred.

"Ah, Mr. Mordred."

"This is the research building’s grounds. Is there something you need?"

"Ah, no. I’m just looking for something..."

"Looking for something?"

Mordred looked puzzled. He must have found it suspicious that a student with no apparent business was wandering around here after school. The research building handled important national research.

"What are you doing, Mr. Mordred?"

Cecilia asked with a smile to change the subject.

"Me? I’m just about to visit someone..."

"Visit someone?"

"Yes. Actually, my sister is hospitalized there."

He pointed to the hospital on the campus, one of the largest in the country that could accept critically ill patients.

(Mr. Mordred has a sister...)

This was new information. The game had not mentioned that he had a sister, or that she was hospitalized. At least, not in the parts Hiyono had played.

"Is your sister sick?"

"She hit her head a bit."

"Hit her head?"

Mordred’s expression remained gentle, but he lowered his gaze slightly.

"Actually, it seems she was attacked by someone."

"Really!?"

"The culprit hasn’t been caught yet, but someone who helped my sister said they saw the person run away, so it’s probably the culprit..."

"That’s—!"

It sounded familiar. Cecilia opened her mouth to confirm the possibility that came to mind.

"By any chance, is your sister a student at this academy?"

"Yes, that’s right. My sister and I have a significant age gap, so she’s in the year below you."

"How long has she been hospitalized?"

"Since March, so it’s been about three or four months now."

"March!?"

"Is there something wrong with that?"

Cecilia’s eyes widened.

(The same month the Azalea divine maiden died in the game!? It must be—)

Why was there no information about the divine maiden candidate with the Azalea mark dying? If she hadn’t died, why didn’t she come forward during the selection ceremony? If Mordred’s sister was that candidate, the reason would be simple.

(She was attacked by the killer but only got injured!?)

Cecilia stepped closer to Mordred.

"Hey! Does your sister have a—"

She froze. She was a boy now. If she asked, "Does your sister have a mark?" in her male form, it would be suspicious and could be considered harassment.

"Mark?"

"Mark, mark, otter! Yes! Does she like otters?"

"Hmm. Otters, you say?"

Mordred’s expression clearly showed his confusion. It was understandable, as Cecilia herself didn’t know what she was saying.

"I don’t know. I’d have to ask her. ...Why do you ask?"

"No! I just really like otters, so I thought maybe your sister shares the same interest..."

It was a terrible cover. Of course, she wasn’t particularly fond of or against otters.

Mordred, who had been looking a bit puzzled, seemed to remember his visit when the bell rang, signaling the time. He looked up at the sky, which was turning red, and resumed his walk.

"Well, I should be going. You should head back to the dormitory soon too."

"Ah, yes..."

Cecilia watched Mordred leave with a wry smile.