113 – Episode 113. Tae Soo (1)
I’m not particularly knowledgeable in psychology, but…
Throughout twelve years of constantly meeting and loving the same person, one would come to know almost everything about that person.
In the case of Yullia, however, her long years of living made it difficult to fully grasp her psyche.
But if it’s about sensitivity or sharpness, I can boast of understanding their inner thoughts better than they do.
Yullia’s greatest strength and weakness.
That is none other than Yullia’s innate talent, her eccentricity.
Eccentricity amplifies Yullia’s senses to the extreme, piercing through the flow of magic.
For Yullia, time seems to move slowly, and people must seem ridiculous to her.
But this is just a basic passive ability.
There’s a separate active skill.
That’s the Beast Mode.
The heightened senses that were already at the extreme, now surpass the limits of a human being.
Veins swell as if about to burst, and magic prevents the rupture of the veins.
In this state, Yullia loses her rationality.
She leaps relying solely on the suppressed instinct.
Of course, it’s not easy to control the instinct that has been suppressed thousands of times more than that of an ordinary person.
“I’ve experienced it a few times too.”
Sometimes. Very rarely.
When Yullia becomes engulfed in anger and loses control, she would reveal the Beast Mode in front of me.
That appearance, literally an uncontrollable beast.
Unrefined power and magic scatter in all directions, and there have been more than a few occasions where I was almost frozen to death in the midst of it.
Of course, it seems that at least a minimal rationality remains, as Yullia did her best not to kill me.
Anyway.
From Noble mtl dot com
Due to this peculiar trait called the Beast Mode, this talent is referred to as eccentricity.
Strictly speaking, it is somewhat different from being crazed, but at least outwardly, it appears so.
However, the term ‘eccentricity’ is fitting in another sense.
The curse that extreme heightened senses bestow upon humans.
Hypervigilance.
Fundamentally, Yullia is a superhuman living in a different world from ordinary people.
Every little twitch of the eyeballs and the fine vibrations of the facial muscles would be clearly visible, so any lies would be quite apparent.
And above all, Yullia trusts her heightened senses and intuition the most.
No matter how many pieces of evidence there may be, I won’t believe it’s a lie as long as it looks that way to me.
That’s why, for 12 times, I couldn’t completely conquer Yerina even once.
No matter how perfect the false testimony is, Yerina would always have been suspicious.
She considers everything in this world as her enemy.
She cannot accept any kindness straightforwardly.
Appearing bright and smiling, yet nurturing hatred and suspicion inside is her everyday life.
That is the curse bestowed upon Yerina.
The worst curse that makes it impossible to form normal human relationships.
In simple terms, it’s a paranoia.
That’s why.
Yerina must have always been lonely.
The only person who could truly be called a friend, Alicia.
Now, even Alicia must think she has betrayed her, so the shock wouldn’t just end here.
Even the person Yerina sought affection and relied on solely.
Since I’ve regressed, she’s been avoiding me too.
She has lost all the trust and love she believed in.
At this rate, whatever Yerina obtains, she will face the same fate.
Unable to build relationships as a human being.
Unless it’s made solely her possession, Yerina won’t be satisfied with any relationship.
No. Even from such a relationship, Yerina would feel emptiness.
“I must neutralize the madness.”
There’s only one way to break this curse.
Yerina’s madness must be eradicated.
Only then can she interact with people.
Only then can she experience pure love.
She can shake off the paranoia that has gnawed at herself and those around her for a long time.
And she’ll be able to let go of her attachment to me.
I’ve reached that conclusion.
And now, I’m finally putting it into action.
A little late, no, very late, but…
I’ll do it right now.
“I’ll be back.”
[Safe travels, master.]
With Linda bowing and greeting us, we set off for the mansion.
***
The pleasure city in the north, Cheongnan.
The bustling casino, Baekhwayoran.
In the staff area behind, the sound of impatient footsteps echoed.
“Sigh. I can’t take it. These days, they really have no perseverance, no perseverance…”
The middle-aged woman, dressed in a flashy manner, ruffled her hair in frustration.
An emergency had erupted during the busy hours of the casino.
Several part-time workers had been driven to tears by difficult customers and had quit.
Although they urgently recruited new part-timers,
they doubted whether any decent candidates would show up.
This was the room where the applicants had gathered.
She rudely pushed the door open.
“Are you all here for the part-time job recruitment for the night shift?”
“Yes, yes!”
Twelve women stood in a row.
At their tense and stiff responses, a sigh escaped involuntarily.
There seemed to be no talent among them.
How could she train these people to deal with high-stakes gamblers in just one hour?
As she shook her head, feeling hopeless and scrutinizing each pitiful face one by one,
her eyes widened.
“Evgeneia…?”
“Oh, no, it’s not me.”
Shimmering silver hair.
Large rabbit ears.
It was rare to see a rabbit-person in Cheongnan.
“Okay, I get it. Evgenia must be a discharged child from the Evgenia family. But still, a rabbit beastman! The perfect talent has come in!”
As she saw the woman’s eyes sparkling with anticipation,
The head of the rabbit beastman, Alicia, tilted in confusion.
Although she had responded to the recruitment contest according to Eugene’s instructions, she still didn’t know exactly what kind of work it was.
“I was looking for a bunny girl, and here comes a rabbit itself! Hey, how about working not just for today but for a long time?”
“Yes, yes?! A bunny girl?”
“What? Didn’t you know?”
“······!”
She just realized.
The fact that she had applied for the position of a bunny girl in a gambling den.
.
.
.
Pleasure City, Cheongnan.
This place, one of the largest cities in the northern region, is densely packed with all kinds of entertainment facilities.
It’s a city solely dedicated to pleasure, with hotels, casinos, and red-light districts abound.
Even within the game, Cheongnan was planned to be a leisure world.
In other words, it meant that there were no important episodes or storylines in Cheongnan.
There were quests, but all of them were just sub-quests.
Except for a small amount of luck stats and some achievements, there was nothing to gain from Cheongnan.
That’s in terms of general gameplay.
But as a story writer, I know.
I know the hidden settings of Cheongnan’s casino, Baekhwayoran.
I plan to meet an opponent today that cannot be approached in the usual way.
To do that, I have to wait for Alicia’s preparations to infiltrate Baekhwayoran to be completed.
It’s annoying to just sit still.
So, I exchanged a bunch of casino chips and am now having a blast.
“Check.”
“······Raise.”
“Call.”
“Call.”
“This is ridiculous. I’m going to die.”
Of course, I kept losing.
I exchanged a small amount of chips, only to lose them all, exchange again, lose them all again, and repeat this process about three times.
I got so tired of going to the exchange counter that I ended up writing a bunch of Cornelia’s checks and exchanging them all at once.
“What the hell is this luck…”
But even then, I couldn’t win a single game and kept on losing.
I kept getting terrible hands and when I finally got a good one and went all in, I lost with an unbelievable probability.
I guess I’ve been disrespecting my luck stat too much.
“Check.”
“…All in.”
“Hey! Why are you going all in over there! Stop team-killing!”
“…I, can’t help it.”
“Winning with pure luck. I’m done for.”
“…It’s luck, not skill.”
I guess I should consider myself lucky.
My money is currently being sucked up by Mijeong at an alarming rate.
Mijeong’s chips are piling up like a mountain, to the point where an employee needs to be assigned to manage them separately.
That guy has already made twice the amount of money he exchanged on his own.
Is he just lucky?
Or is he just good at gambling?
Maybe both…
“Y-your, cocktail order. It’s, ready…”
A hesitant voice comes from beside me.
When I turn around, a familiar face comes into view.
But the outfit is not what I expected…
“Wow. This is a real bunny girl.”
“…”
A bunny girl uniform consisting of a blue leotard and black stockings.
It looks quite stunning on Alicia, who is a rabbit person.
The alpha and omega of Bunny Girl, the ears and tail, are not just decorations, but real, making it all the more realistic.
Perhaps it’s because of the eyes of the people watching.
Even when I openly tease her, Alicia can’t say a word and just glares at me with hateful eyes.
“It looks like you didn’t receive proper education.”
“······.”
Alicia seems to lack confidence, but walks confidently.
She elegantly turns around, placing a cocktail glass on the table.
It seems she has successfully completed her Bunny Girl training.
So now she can freely roam the establishment.
It seems like it’s okay to start working.
“Mijeong, I’ll leave it to you here.”
“······Leave it, go.”
Mijeong casually raises her thumb.
I hand over all my chips to Mijeong and stand up from the table.
Mijeong has been collecting all the chips since earlier.
With her, every time a new person comes in, she’s causing a stir, so she can’t help but attract attention.
Thanks to her, the table is crowded with onlookers and staff who have gathered to control the crowd.
This should be enough to attract attention.
Even if one Bunny Girl takes a break, no one will notice.
“Waitress, where is the restroom? Please show me.”
“Th-the restroom, right? Please follow me.”
“You just flinched and your body reacted. Did you get turned on by the word restroom?”
“Eek! I-I’m not! What does it matter if I get turned on by a word!”
As we move away from the crowd, Alicia stops pretending to be a Bunny Girl and gets mad at me.
But whether she actually got turned on by the word restroom, she can’t refute it and just glares at me as if she wants to kill me.
These girls really get turned on for no reason······.
“It’s good that you stopped using the libido suppressor, but aren’t you getting turned on too often······? Among rabbit people, you seem to be particularly severe.”
“Oh, n-no, that’s not it! I usually control it well! Who do you think I am, someone who goes crazy over libido!”
“Then why now?”
“I-It’s just······. B-because I’m with someone like you, a pervert······.”
Alicia, bowing her head while rubbing her thighs, seems to be in heat again. It must be a cruel order to not be in heat when she’s dressed in such embarrassing clothes by that lascivious guy, Hagi-sa. She eventually gave up. Now she can be in heat as much as she wants without worrying about others’ judgment. I understand. “But since you’re dressed as a bunny girl, can’t you do that for me? Bunny hop.” “Bunny hop? What is that?” “Make bunny ears with your hands and act cute.” “Excuse me?! I don’t want to do that!” Alicia blushes instantly, her cheeks turning red with disgust. But right at that moment, a dangerous energy surges, and Alicia grabs her head in pain. “aaah!” The penalty of the blood contract has been activated. The terms of the contract state that Alicia must obey me absolutely. As long as that spell remains, she cannot resist me. “Y-You jerk! You evil brat!” “Oh well. This house service is quite good. I should give a tip.” “No need! If I accept it, I’ll truly become miserable!” With tears in her eyes, she spits out the words of a martyr. She makes bunny ears with her hands, sticking them to her head, and then arches her back. It’s quite a rare sight to see real bunny ears twitching every time she folds her palm. It would be a shame to just remember it in my mind. I took some pictures with the camera I brought from the Leaf City. “Ah, I captured precious photos. I should keep these as memories.” “Geez… But why are you looking for a restroom? Do you need to go urgently?” “Do you think I pee all the time like you? I’m planning to have a rendezvous with bugs there.” “But, wait, is it true that Taesu is in this gambling den?” She asks, as if she can’t believe it. Alicia continues to walk, step by step, while questioning.
The Governor.
It’s a story about the ruler of the northern continent.
If there are gods in the south, there are governors in the north.
Of course, the governor is not treated as a dignified god here, but rather as a sacred being, so the status is quite different from the gods, but the fact that the governor is an immense presence remains unchanged.
Originally, in the game, the governor appears only in the later part.
As a story writer, I know the background story.
The setting is that the governor was confined in the chaos before making an appearance.
“Sure. He’s in here.”
A restroom that I arrived at without realizing it.
After confirming that no one is inside,
I open the sewer lid and clap twice to send a signal.
Then, a huge genie appears from inside.
The genie opens its mouth and spits out a rolled-up paper from inside.
“I’ve completed the map!”
“Good job.”
“Can I come out of here now?”
“Now go back in and wait.”
“Yes…”
After patting the genie’s head a few times, I close the sewer lid again.
Unfolding the paper handed by the genie, I see a floor plan of the chaos drawn by the genie as a spell, with each floor depicted.
At first glance, it looks like an ordinary floor plan.
But looking closely, strange parts catch my eye.
“Oh, here. And here too!”
Alicia points to certain areas.
Although there should be rooms in those places according to the floor plan,
When you actually walk around the chaos, you can see that those areas are completely blocked and there are no passages.
“This must be it.”
From Noble mtl dot com
A secret room arranged by modifying the building.
For over a year, the place where Taesoo, a giant, could hide without being caught is perfect.
As Alicia and I lock eyes, we both nod simultaneously.
The next step is to find the door leading to the secret room.
Taking advantage of being a daily employee, Alicia freely roams the employee area.
She touches the wall, sensing the subtle flow of magic.
And if any abnormalities are found in the magic flow?
That’s the place leading to the secret room.
It’s a trace of concealing the door.
“Here! The magic flow stopped here and is faintly observed to continue in a strange place!”
We rush to where Alicia called.
The wall is smooth and nothing can be touched.
It’s a sophisticated concealment that can barely be found even with Alicia’s precise detection.
It must be perfectly blocking the five senses.
But if you know it’s here, it doesn’t matter.
“Fifth-rank magic. Yeomdong.”
Reaching out her hand.
She activates Yeomdong and turns the doorknob here.
And then click.
The sound of the doorknob turning is heard, and the concealment collapses.
A door appears on the wall and opens.
Inside, there is an endless staircase leading downward.
“It was clearly a three-story space. Why does it look so big?”
“If it’s a being like Taesoo, it could distort space. I’ll be back.”
“I-I hope you come back safely…”
Leaving behind the worried look of Alicia.
I close the door and descend the stairs.
It looked like an endless staircase when viewed from above.
After about 10 minutes of continuous descent.
A worn wooden door is visible below.
It seems that entry has finally been granted.
The door creaked open.
A vast space appeared, even more expansive than the extravagant building.
In the center, a massive, white furball took its place.
“Who dares to disturb my slumber…”
The furball’s fur bristled.
Nine tails unfurled in a flutter.
Then, a long-faced, fur-covered visage emerged and met my gaze.
“Who are you? What exactly are you? Why is the inner world of humans so twisted in such a peculiar way! Even after experiencing life countless times, it remains an unattainable inner world!”
The towering fox glared at me, furrowing its brow.
It was the master of the northern continent.
My first encounter with the nine-tailed demon, Gwiho.