Chapter 51

I stared blankly at the saucer.

It slowly rotated, as if to make it easy for me to look it over front and back.

While gazing at the pattern engraved on the back of the saucer, I opened my status window.

I checked the topmost entry.

The number of hearts hadn’t changed.

I had clearly been declared dead.

Yet I hadn’t revived at the hotel, and no life had been deducted.

“Dominic-ssi….”

I opened my mouth to confirm the true shape of the fear I was feeling.

“Did you… by any chance bring me back to life?”

“Yes. I revived you, Roasted Chestnut.”

The blood staining Dominic’s hands slowly faded away.

He put his gloves back on over his now-clean hands.

Then he asked, politely,

“Was that rude of me?”

“…….”

“I’ll be more careful going forward. Ah, I already knew you’d come back to life again, Roasted Chestnut. But I found something good and, wanting to show you as soon as possible, I got a little carried away. It would take quite some time for you to make your way all the way back here from the hotel, wouldn’t it?”

His pleasant, low voice drifted past my ear.

While he strung together those gentle words, I couldn’t manage any reply.

The being in front of me had stepped outside the laws of the Trial.

Then how was I supposed to define what he was?

A being that defied even the System itself.

I felt as though I were tumbling into a bottomless abyss.

I moved my parched lips.

“No…. Thank you.”

Any guess I made now was meaningless. Whatever I speculated, it would fall outside my predictions anyway.

Because this was a being unlike anything I’d ever dealt with before.

So I needed to focus only on what was certain.

‘Dominic’ had goodwill toward me, and I would use that goodwill to the fullest to clear the CallOVo quickly.

Leave ‘Dominic’ here, and get myself out.

That was the best I could do right now.

Of course, Dominic might cause some kind of anomaly after the clear.

‘But that’s a problem for later.’

This wasn’t something the current me could handle.

And if I got distracted worrying about something else, failed to clear, and ended up trapped inside the CallOVo….

That would be the most terrible ending of all.

‘Clearing is the only way out.’

I tried to think positively.

As a result, I found one enormous upside.

“Dominic-ssi.”

“Yes, Roasted Chestnut.”

“If I die again, can you bring me back? If possible, about how many times?”

“As many times as you’d like, Roasted Chestnut.”

He’d revive me every single time I died? And not at some designated respawn point, but right on the spot where I died?

‘This is basically infinite hearts.’

It meant it would be fine even if I died from reckless play.

Having realized this tremendous upside, coexisting with Dominic didn’t feel quite so bad anymore.

“I look forward to working with you from now on. If I die, please bring me back right away, every time.”

After making that polite request, I didn’t forget to throw in some praise to keep Dominic’s morale up.

“I’m so glad to have you as my companion, Dominic-ssi. It would have been far too frightening and difficult on my own.”

Dominic’s the best. Dominic’s amazing.

I diligently rattled off lines to roughly that effect.

At that, Dominic let out a low chuckle.

Having flattered him diligently into a good mood, I grabbed the saucer, which was still spinning lazily in midair.

On the back of the saucer was a pattern resembling the Eye of Horus.

“It’s the symbol the Void Apostles use in their rituals. Thanks to you, Dominic-ssi, this is going to make things much easier.”

In truth, while the pattern on this saucer did symbolize the Void Apostles, it was the kind of thing that turned up all over the place once you started digging for evidence.

It didn’t play any major role within the CallOVo — it just added to the eerie atmosphere.

Still, I kept lavishing Dominic with praise to keep his spirits sky-high.

Then I set my expression to serious.

“It seems the cult tried to poison me…. I don’t know why. My feeling is that this is only the beginning.”

In the CallOVo, defending against one assassination attempt wasn’t the end of it.

Until the hostile relationship was resolved, various assassination attempts — poisoning included — would keep coming.

‘It’s probably Edel….’

I didn’t know why she’d suddenly tried to poison me, but reasoning it out from every angle, she was the only one it could be.

Right on cue, a set of choices appeared.

Since I hadn’t met many NPCs yet, the choices were rather sparse.

I picked the second one.

“It’s most likely High Priestess Edel who poisoned me.”

‘That damn Apostles choice never seems to go away.’

Still, after dying once, the wording had toned down and the content had shifted slightly, but it was just as tiresome as ever.

I thought it over for a moment.

Up until now, every time I entered a Trial, I’d built good relationships with the key NPCs.

This time, since it happened to be the reporter route, it seemed I had no choice but to end up at odds with Edel.

That was a shame, since I rather liked Edel.

In any case, she held considerable influence within Morneveil.

If I just left it alone, she’d make my life miserable in all kinds of ways.

It seemed I had no choice but to seize the initiative.

I chose the second option.

“I intend to confront Edel head-on.”

Then, the moment the fixed choice-line finished, I added my own thoughts.

“If I just sit still, I feel like I’ll end up completely at her mercy, so I think I’ll try something more proactive.”

Dominic asked, sounding intrigued,

“What method did you have in mind?”

I held up the teacup, still half full, for him to see.

Edel hummed to herself as she walked with light, dainty steps.

She stopped in front of the parlor and cleared her throat.

Knock, knock — she rapped lightly on the door.

“I’m coming in.”

There was no answer, but Edel opened the door anyway, uninvited.

It wasn’t as though the situation would call for permission to be granted anyway.

She looked forward to the scene that would greet her.

Pressing down her pleasantly racing heart, she stepped into the parlor —but it was a little different from what she’d expected.

“Doctor…?”

Doctor Dominic stood there holding a corpse.

His beautiful blue eyes gazed at Edel.

In that moment, Edel thought,

That can’t be right.

It looked like the doctor was smiling.

Edel, frozen stiff, hurried over to Doctor Dominic.

Then, as if she knew nothing at all, she cried out loudly,

“Oh no, this can’t be, Little Lamb has…!”

Pretending to check on their condition, she grabbed the limp arm and felt for a pulse at the wrist.

It was unmistakably dead.

She had disposed of a troublesome nuisance.

She pressed her lips tightly shut, so as not to let joy show on her face.

Right on cue, as if they’d been waiting for it, the cult members came pouring in.

They screamed at the sight of the limp corpse in Doctor Dominic’s arms.

“A murder, right here in the cult!”

“You might be a target too, Doctor. You should take shelter somewhere safe, right away.”

“We will protect you.”

Edel stood in front of the cult members and pleaded earnestly with Dominic.

“Doctor Dominic. Please, allow us to attend to you. We need to first determine what poison Little Lamb was struck with, so if you would hand the body over to us….”

A polite refusal came down.

“I don’t believe that will be necessary, Miss Edel.”

Doctor Dominic’s gaze, tinged with some kind of anticipation, turned downward.

Anticipation…?

Edel blinked rapidly without meaning to.

Could she have misread it?

Doubting herself, she followed the doctor’s gaze.

The fine-featured face lay dead as if merely asleep.

Those tightly shut eyes should never open again.

And yet.

At the moment that unfolded before her eyes, Edel held her breath.

Color returned to the bloodless face.

The chest rose with breath, and the parted lips drew air in and let it out.

Then, slowly, the eyes came into view.

As though waking from a sweet nap, a languid gaze turned toward Edel.

Edel stared at him, utterly dazed.

They were innocent, clear eyes.

The Little Lamb said nothing for a long while, simply gazing back, before offering a gentle smile.

At last, the Little Lamb spoke.

“It’s alright, Priestess Edel.”

As though forgiving everything.

The moment she heard that tender whisper, a shiver of realization surged up from somewhere deep within her.

He had already known everything.

That she had tried to poison him….

That he himself would come back to life….

This truly was a miracle of the divine.

Trembling all over, Edel opened her mouth.

“Resurrection….”

She cried out as though struck by lightning.

“Little Lamb has received a miracle and risen again!”

Dying and reviving right before someone’s eyes was a trick I’d used to great effect back on the High Priestess route.

A single resurrection was enough to wash away conflicts within the cult entirely and build endless support for me.

The catch was that it had to happen in front of watching cult members, so it wasn’t a method I could use until I was able to set my respawn point to an altar.

But now I had Dominic, and he moved exactly as I wanted, flawlessly.

I drank the rest of the black tea and died.

Since I was dying anyway, this time I made sure to watch closely how the system window would display it.

Unlike the first time I died, the system window didn’t make a fuss.

But the fact that it came up so neatly — as if this were simply the natural, expected way to be revived — was unsettling in its own way.

I slowly opened my eyes.

The parlor was packed with cult members, gathered like a cloud.

Edel stood at the very front, eyes wide, trembling with shock.

It was an extremely satisfying reaction.

I drove the point home for her.

“It’s alright, Priestess Edel.”

I know everything, but I’ll let it go. So behave yourself from now on.

When I delivered the line with roughly that nuance, Edel’s reaction grew even more satisfying.

She declared my resurrection before all the assembled cult members.

“Little Lamb has received a miracle and risen again!”

Thank you, High Priestess.

Now that my resurrection had been officially sanctioned by the High Priestess, I gave silent thanks in my heart.

It was my first time using the resurrection trick on the reporter route, and it worked far better than I’d expected.

I instantly became a VVIP of the Void Apostles, and was treated with the utmost hospitality.

Alongside a feast lavish enough to break the legs off the table, Edel clung to my side, waiting on me hand and foot.

Even as I insisted I was fine and tried to wave her off, she refused to budge an inch.

Her outfit made me plenty uncomfortable, but afraid that refusing might flag another hostile relationship, I went along with it for the time being.

“To think we failed to recognize someone so precious and put you through such terrible suffering. Please forgive us, Little Lamb.”

She even let tears well up as she said it.

I hurried to soothe her before she could start crying in earnest.

“No, no, it’s fine. Anyone can make a mistake.”

“Ah, how merciful you are!”

Edel, tears wiped away completely, looked at me with even more fervent eyes.

Which made me just that much more uncomfortable….

“Oh, how wonderful it would be if you joined the cult. There’s so much knowledge of the stars I’d love to share with you. But I suppose it’s too soon to be saying such things — it might feel like a burden. Why don’t you take a look around the cult’s grounds today instead? Please, ask me anything you’re curious about.”

Chattering away in a voice like a skylark, she was lovely.

But knowing exactly what those hands feeding me delicious food were capable of made the dread that much sharper.

Awkwardly accepting food from a professional at human sacrifice, I glanced over at Dominic.

While I was being served the feast, Dominic was off talking with the cult members.

They were desperate to feed me anything and everything, yet with Dominic, once he’d declined a single time, they never offered again.

Everyone seemed to find Dominic intimidating.

As if he were a sanctuary not to be casually touched.

With Dominic off at a distance, now seemed like a good moment.

I swallowed the food Edel had given me and asked in a lowered voice,

“By the way, Priestess Edel. How did you come to be treated by Dominic-ssi?”

At that, Edel smiled sweetly.

“It’s actually a secret from outsiders…. But since you’re special, Little Lamb, I’ll tell you.”

She pressed her lips close to my ear. The touch of her breath sent a chill down my spine.

“Everyone in Morneveil has been treated by Doctor Dominic. Every single one, without exception.”

“…What?”

I pulled back and looked at her. Edel’s eyes were hazy, unfocused.

“Because the doctor called for them. To his clinic.”

She looked up at me and whispered,

“We are all his patients, Little Lamb.”