Chapter 15
<Mirabilis> NPC (1)
My mind turned completely blank.
My vision distorted, as if everything had been smeared out of focus, and a distant, unreal sensation washed over me.
I couldn’t understand the situation.
What was it? What had just happened? Why had it turned out like this?
Why.
Countless questions rose and scattered inside my head. A cold sensation touched the hand I had unconsciously pressed down. My legs had apparently given out.
But I couldn’t stand.
A primal, overwhelming pressure was crushing my shoulders. When I finally regained my senses after a while—
“Wanderer, wanderer! What’s wrong, what’s wrong… hey! Hey, you!”
Tap!
Tak-tak… chap!
The furious Professor Pe was tap-dancing on my head.
He twisted his tiny body in irritation, then grabbed my hair.
“What’s wrong with you!”
“Ah… ah… no… no. Hey… did you… remember what happened just now…?”
“…Huh? You asked me to find medicine?”
“T-the cross… no. The hand… your hand?”
“…Woon…?”
He tilted his head, and a chilling sensation tightened around my neck. Goosebumps rose from my feet all the way up, and my shoulders trembled.
This is… like regression in novels.
That thought crossed my mind.
When I read about it in fiction, it felt like a “new opportunity.”
But now…
My hands and feet trembled violently. It felt like I had been dragged out of a nightmare.
The time I experienced, the fear within it, even the consequences of my actions—all of it felt as if it had been denied.
Strangely enough, it was more terrifying than dying when I first entered this place. I felt like I had become someone suffering mental breakdown.
I covered my mouth as something rose inside me. Fortunately, nothing came out.
I blinked, steadying my vision.
Then I looked at the being in front of me.
Those purple eyes filled with faint curiosity made my skin crawl.
He might not answer questions even if I asked… probably.
I forced myself to calm down and tried to reconstruct my memory.
Honestly, I wanted to escape this situation immediately, but there was no choice.
If I wanted to survive.
I formed several key questions.
Who grabbed me?
Three possibilities.
- The Spider’s legs.
Maybe I was grabbed by spider-like limbs and fed to its head. I couldn’t fully rule it out.
It felt more like a human grip than something like that, but I had been too disoriented to be sure.
- Another monster outside.
Also possible. Even Deus leading me earlier was not in the original game. Variables existed.
I recalled the veil-covered being in the prayer room.
…Let’s keep that for now.
- Deus did it.
If this was true, then there were many questions left: how I escaped, why he did it, and so on.
But inside that space, Deus was the only being that could be considered human.
Still…
I couldn’t confirm it.
Time had already reversed.
I didn’t have permission to open the file of a failed run.
I looked at him again.
He was still tilting his head, watching me. His face, backlit, looked unnaturally dark.
It might not have been Deus.
But…
I didn’t want to gamble on danger.
Not when my life was at stake.
I hated uncertainty even in trivial bets among friends. Why take such risks?
PvP games were fine though.
So…
How do I bypass this guy?
I recalled Deus’s role in the story.
Was there any event I still needed him for? Any item? Any information?
If I left him behind, what would I lose?
After thinking, I found one unavoidable point.
There was one thing I still needed from Deus.
Even if I didn’t need it immediately, it was better to obtain it.
I spoke.
“Hey… brother. You’ve got something for me, right?”
“Hm?”
“The medicine.”
At that, Deus’s empty gaze locked onto me.
Could it be possible?
I didn’t know how much deviation the script allowed.
I licked my dry lips and waited.
Click.
A small sound.
Deus’s neck straightened back into position like a mechanical model.
The sight made my shoulders tremble, but I held it in.
After a moment, he spoke.
“It’s a dangerous item.”
“…Just give it to me. You were going to give it to me anyway.”
Then—
Grab.
His hand seized my shoulder.
A thin, bone-like grip dug into my arm. His face drew closer.
“…Wanderer…”
“Shh.”
Tension filled the air.
“…My younger brother, David.”
How does he know that…?
His voice carried a metallic rasp. Even at this distance, I couldn’t hear his breathing.
I almost wished to be home, but I held it in.
A thought arose.
Is this an error caused by forcing non-script behavior?
Or… something else entirely?
Deus suddenly smiled.
A soft, beautiful smile.
It made him even more terrifying.
He handed me a bottle filled with green liquid.
<Very Dangerous Bottle>
Description: A gift from a high-ranking priest of the cathedral. Drinking it feels like time might rewind without pain.
Trace of a previous user: (blood stains make it unreadable)
Return to save point.
In other words.
A reset button.
So this was the item Deus originally gives before a semi-boss fight.
I nodded and took it.
“Be careful using it… I hope you won’t need it.”
That was the original script.
I confirmed the flow wasn’t too far off.
After that, I decided to move alone.
But first—
Thud.
I sat down and grabbed my bag.
“Wait, I’m eating first.”
“….”
Life recovery was necessary.
Crunch crunch.
Chomp… chomp!
The source of the noise was a tiny ferret devouring a grotesque salad.
At first, it had been horrified by Professor Poko’s special salad, but after tasting it, it immediately changed its mind.
“Is it good?”
“I’ve… never eaten somethin’ this tasty in my life…”
“Yeah…”
“I wasted my life… wasted it…”
Its oddly mature speech was amusing.
Normally I would’ve laughed, but I couldn’t.
The shock of death lingered too strongly.
I bit into a charred fish skewer.
It tasted like salt-seasoned charcoal soaked in seawater, but it was edible.
Maybe I was only good at cooking because I’d eat anything.
I glanced at my left arm.
A cross-shaped mark slowly began to reappear.
After finishing the meal, I pressed my forehead against the statue to save again.
Ding!
▷ [Pin point-1]
David-with, Desiderius/Day
▷ [Pin point-2]
Empty
Two save slots only. Pathetic.
I selected slot 2.
Save complete.
I stood up.
Deus turned toward me.
I looked at him, then slowly picked up a torn piece of cloth from the corner.
He tilted his head.
I didn’t explain.
I walked toward him.
Step. Step.
Then—
Whoosh.
Clang!
I grabbed him and slammed him against a pillar.
He didn’t resist.
I tied him tightly with cloth.
“Ferret! Tie this on the other side!”
“I can do it!”
The ferret rushed over and tied the knot.
After reinforcing it several times, I still wasn’t satisfied and added more bindings.
If he truly escaped earlier, this might mean nothing—but it was better than nothing.
He watched me silently.
I entered another room, then went straight to the window.
Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock.
A sound like chalk hitting a blackboard echoed.
Drreeeek…
A section of the window opened.
A wrinkled hand grabbed the frame from outside.
And then—
A human head slowly appeared…
