Chapter 53

Ever since I entered Morneveil and met Dominic, the choices had been strange.

But I had been too busy worrying about Dominic to properly think about it.

In truth, the choice errors were something I couldn’t solve myself, so I had simply ignored them.

However, one thing was clear.

The choices being repeatedly pushed in front of me were guiding me in a specific direction.

The choices wanted me to proceed with the cult leader route.

Because they kept presenting options to join the cult and wanted me to become interested in the cult’s god.

And now, they had finally gone so far as to present me with the choice to use the cult’s sacred relic to summon a god.

I knew the God of the Void.

It was the god whose summoning had failed due to a game error in the cult leader route of CallOVo.

I was convinced that the God of the Void was the true ending of CallOVo.

The game’s title itself was The Call of the Void, wasn’t it?

Besides, the descriptions used to refer to him had been extraordinary.

I recalled the most extravagant title given to the God of the Void.

‘The Lord of All Things… that was it.’

It was a title that clearly belonged to a final ending.

But now I was being told to attempt the summoning that had failed back then.

In the reporter route.

And in front of Dominic, of all people.

As I stared at the system window in front of me, I moved my gaze.

The person I expected to be looking at the Shining Scalene Polyhedron was looking at me instead.

As if he was waiting to see what choice I would make.

My heart began beating faster from the tension.

I absolutely must not perform the summoning ritual in front of Dominic.

A primal instinct screamed a warning throughout my entire body.

But the only choice available to me was the summoning.

Like someone standing before a time bomb moments away from exploding, cold sweat formed on my skin.

I checked the choices again.

‘As expected, this is the only one.’

I selected the final option.

“Dominic-ssi. Let us summon the God of the Void together.”

My body moved against my will and spoke the predetermined line.

Holding the metal box containing the Shining Scalene Polyhedron carefully with both hands, I shouted with a face filled with ecstasy.

“If it is Dominic-ssi and me, we can surely summon the god. The Lord of All Things shall descend upon this land!”

It was a perfectly cult-like line.

I tried to say something else afterward, but just as expected, actions and dialogue that completely contradicted the previous statement were impossible.

That was only natural.

This was a trial based on a choice-selection game.

I had no choice but to stand stiffly and wait for Dominic’s reaction.

Unlike the outer shell of myself, which looked like a fanatic ready to begin the summoning ritual at any moment, my true thoughts were being crushed by anxiety.

Before I realized it, Dominic’s eyes had become calm.

He slowly opened his lips.

“Roasted Chestnut.”

Please.

Please…

“Weren’t you trying to expose the cult’s crimes as a reporter?”

Yes!

I resisted the urge to hug Dominic and celebrate.

Dominic reacted exactly as I wanted him to.

Honestly, it had been a gamble.

While the only available choice was one that demanded summoning the god, the final option was the only one that mentioned Dominic.

The text was larger and looked the most suspicious, but I had bet everything on the phrase ‘together with Dominic.’

I judged that Dominic would notice the inconsistency between my previous behavior and the actions forced by the choice system.

Because he was an existence outside the system.

And there was one more reason.

“Besides, ‘the Lord of All Things’? What a ridiculous expression. I have never placed anyone above myself.”

Dominic’s true nature was not that of a doctor.

It was that of a ‘master.’

Therefore, I assumed he would find the very concept of summoning an existence far above himself unpleasant.

The ‘master’ of the mansion must possess an overwhelmingly high status.

So even if he had lost his memories, I predicted that he would not appreciate me saying there was someone above him.

Fortunately, Dominic acted exactly as I expected.

With tears of emotion in my eyes, I showered Dominic with praise.

“I’m sorry. I think I momentarily had a misguided thought. I’m truly fortunate that someone like you, Dominic-ssi, who always guides me down the right path, is my companion.”

I continued praising him so that if something similar happened again, Dominic would once again rescue me from the hell of forced choices.

I quickly blamed my sudden behavior on the insane item.

“Actually, Dominic-ssi. About what I just said and did… I know it may be hard to believe, but it was not my own will. I think it was because of the power of this object.”

I hurriedly placed the metal box on the floor and quickly took out my camera to take pictures.

The photo came out blurry, so I took another one before closing the box.

I wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.

However, unlike me, who stood up, Dominic remained sitting with his knees bent.

“Roasted Chestnut.”

Our eyes were at nearly the same height.

Only slightly lower than mine.

I answered nervously.

“Yes…?”

“May I examine this object a little longer?”

I couldn’t say no.

So I answered timidly.

“It seems like a dangerous object.”

“But when I look at it, I feel as though something is about to come back to me.”

The inside of the secret room was dark.

And yet Dominic’s blue eyes shone brightly, like stars emitting their own light.

I looked into his eyes while being careful not to be swallowed by the abyss pretending to be starlight.

“Dominic-ssi.”

“Yes, Roasted Chestnut?”

“I would prefer if you did not.”

I placed a hand over my chest, and gently—very gently—placed my other hand on Dominic’s shoulder as I pleaded.

“I’m afraid something might happen to you, Dominic-ssi.”

There wasn’t a single lie in those words.

Because if something truly happened to Dominic, my life would simply become dust scattered across the universe.

Whether he summoned the God of the Void or recovered his memories, either way, I was dead.

“You don’t need to push yourself like this. I’m sure you will recover your memories eventually.”

I absolutely did not say that I would help him recover his memories.

I was already atoning in real time after receiving a harsh lesson from the butlers.

At my sincere words, Dominic stared at me silently for a moment.

Then he repeated one part of what I had said.

“Eventually…”

I had no idea why that was the only part that left an impression on him.

Fortunately, Dominic gave up on the box and stood.

“Let us leave this place.”

Having successfully convinced him, I quickly left with the hunched-over Dominic.

Just before leaving, I glanced back.

The metal box containing the Shining Scalene Polyhedron emitted a faint glow even in the darkness.

“Something I have seen before in the past.”

If I had my way, I would have interrogated him thoroughly.

When?

Where?

How had he seen it?

But doing so might have triggered him to remember his past.

I was doing my best to avoid anything related to his past.

From now on, I had no intention of saying a single word about anything connected to his memories.

What kind of existence was Dominic?

Carrying an unanswered question that I would never be able to solve, I tore my gaze away from the metal box.

With eight pieces of evidence collected and two companions recruited, I greeted the morning with a satisfied feeling.

Yesterday, after finishing my evidence collection inside the cult, I barely managed to shake off Edel, who kept trying to stop me, and found the train station.

I sent the Breath of Mist item to London to request an analysis of its ingredients, and afterward, I wandered around Morneveil, expanding the available movement options.

I traveled together with Dominic, and there was not a single person in Morneveil who didn’t know him.

It had reached the point where I wondered whether Edel’s statement that Dominic had treated every person in Morneveil was not an exaggeration, but the truth.

Before meeting Dominic, who would be in the living room, I took a moment alone in the bedroom to calm myself by taking deep breaths.

Then, I bravely opened the bedroom door.

“Dominic-ssi, good morning—what is this?”

I had been about to greet him energetically, but I froze in shock.

The enormous living room was filled with flowers.

In a place covered with all kinds of flowers, Dominic, who had been sitting there pretending to read the newspaper and pretending to drink tea, greeted me.

“Good morning, Roasted Chestnut.”

Ridiculously enough, Dominic sitting among the flowers actually looked quite fitting.

I muttered in confusion.

“No… Why are there flowers…”

Then, before finishing my sentence, something suddenly came to mind.

“Could it be Lady Edel?”

Dominic gave a faint smile and answered.

“How did you know? Miss Edel sent these flowers to Roasted Chestnut.”

“……”

There was a reason I immediately guessed Edel.

It was because something similar had happened when I recruited Edel as a companion while playing the cult leader route in the game.

At that time, since we were staying together inside the cult, Edel would come looking for me whenever she felt like it.

Giving me mountains of flowers and gifts was the mildest thing she did.

I would wake up in the morning only to find her singing and dancing in my bedroom.

Or she would create a performance praising me and show it to me together with the apostles.

Or she would suddenly burst into tears and say how fortunate she was to be able to serve Roasted Chestnut-nim.

She did everything a devoted cult follower could possibly do.

In the game, from the moment she gave me her heart, she passionately followed me and expressed her affection.

Naturally, I couldn’t help but grow attached to Edel as well.

Though I never expected things would turn out like this while playing the reporter route.

‘When I was the cult leader, it was nice being able to change the apostles’ clothes.’

Remembering how I had changed everyone into more modest outfits, I checked the card that had arrived along with the flower explosion.

We’ve only known each other for two days. Isn’t it a little early to be talking about love already…?

Her aggressive letter left me flustered.

“Are you going?”

Dominic asked with amusement.

I quietly shook my head.

“I won’t be able to.”

Seeing the curiosity in his expression, I explained the reason.

“Because today’s ritual will not happen.”

“Are we the ones making that happen?”

“That’s right.”

The third day in Morneveil.

Today, I had to rescue the people being held as sacrifices for the cult’s human sacrifice ritual.

It was an important event in the reporter route, where I could stop the human sacrifice while also obtaining evidence by eliminating the sacrifices themselves.

After explaining this plan to Dominic, I told him the first thing we needed to do.

“First, we need to visit City Hall and persuade the mayor of Morneveil.”

He was someone who had become accustomed to the benefits provided by the Apostles of the Void.

Since he was in league with the cult, persuading him would not be easy, so I needed to prepare thoroughly beforehand.

After listening to my plan, Dominic asked:

“What comes next?”

“We’ll go to where the sacrifices are being held and rescue them.”

The plan was to receive official support from the mayor so that the rescued people could be safely protected.

It was just as I was about to explain the operation to Dominic.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Someone knocked on the door.

It was far too rough to be a housekeeper.

I opened the door with a puzzled expression.

Police officers were standing in the hallway.

A man holding a baton looked at me with a suspicious, guarded expression.

“Morneveil Police Department. Are you Little Lamb?”

“Yes, that’s me…?”

Click.

Cold metal handcuffs were locked around my wrists.

A shout so loud it made my ears ring rang out.

“Little Lamb! You are under arrest for the murder of the mayor of Morneveil!”