In the Land of Leadale - Volume 6 - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - A Journey, the Beginning, Craftsmanship, and the Situation at Hand

“Nnghhh.”

Cayna blissfully stretched from head to toe, then nodded with a vivacious smile.

“All right, I’m back in business!”

“You did this to yourself, you know.”

“Geh?!”

Cayna’s announcement of her full recovery was like a sunbeam bursting through the clouds, only for a certain demon’s biting quip to hit her like a bucket of cold water. Cayna turned her head with the audible creeeak of a broken door and found Opus sitting in a plain chair and scrutinizing her with his arms crossed. Siren expertly tended to the frozen Cayna without offering the slightest indication she knew the girl was as stiff as a board. Kuu, dozing on Cayna’s left shoulder, gave a big yawn.

“So you were finally able to test out those Demerit Skills. Good for you.”

“Heh! Sorry to disappoint, but I already tested ’em out a long time ago!”

“Is that right? You’re a wreck but still have confidence in spades. How about some compensation for almost killing me?”

“You’re the one who pissed me off in the first place!”

Cayna had actually used several Demerit Skills back when she stayed in Felskeilo. However, those effects only lasted between one to three hours and didn’t even come close to Mega Stat Boost’s potency.

Although Cayna had used the spell in the previous battle, she didn’t once expect to deal with flu-like symptoms, muscle aches, and lethargy. Just talking wore her out, and she had difficulty moving around. She couldn’t do much more than sleep, and that frustrated her. It was like she was stuck in a hospital bed again, which felt worse than anything else.

Even after Cayna stopped yelling at him, Opus still stared at her in confusion. She clenched her fists and began plotting her revenge.

“…You should accept the blame here, Master.”

“Huh?”

Siren helped Cayna get dressed, then turned her heartbroken gaze to Opus. This was all his fault—at least, that’s what anyone would assume based on her and Cayna’s expressions. Cayna’s glare was rightfully furious, while the maid’s eyes swam with sorrow.

Once the somewhat clueless Kuu joined in with her sleepy yet piercing stare, Opus was forced to reluctantly concede.

“Okay, okay. I was wrong for messing with you when you first showed up. I’m sorry,” he obliged. “Satisfied?”

“Goodness, Master. You remembered to apologize. How splendid.”

It was hard to tell whether Opus’s long-awaited apology was a result of Siren’s pleas or mere obligation, so the point was a bit moot. His distant gaze left even Cayna dumbfounded.

They all sat in hellish silence for a while, but things at last picked up again when Siren had Opus get to his feet and prepare for the day ahead.

“Come, Lady Cayna. Let’s leave this nasty establishment behind. I seem to recall you mentioned that you are in possession of a wagon.”

“Huh? Yeah, I have one. Wait… Did I tell you about that, Siren?”

In her muddled consciousness, Cayna had evidently forgotten their conversation, so Siren pleasantly recounted the previous day.

“That’s right. You said you had a wagon, so there’s no need to travel by foot.”

“Oh, right. Did we really talk about that…?”

Cayna looked dubious, then stared at Siren when she saw her grinning.

“You’re enjoying yourself, aren’t you, Siren?”

“Oh yes! I possess the Driver skill but have never used it before. Master Opus can travel to and fro with ease, so I’ve been positively itching to give this a try!”

The maid’s sincere answer put a smile on Cayna’s face but made her twitch at the same time. After all, her wagon required no driver. It seemed that Siren’s elation would be short-lived, and Cayna wasn’t sure how to reply.

“Fine by me, but we can’t use a wagon in this area either way. We’ll need to reach a trade route first,” Opus replied.

“Indeed. The sun is setting as we dally here. Let us be off while it is still daylight.”

The dungeon village was a considerable distance from the outer trade routes. Unlike merchant roads, the paths were narrow and made wagons a nuisance for other travelers. The group would therefore have to walk about an hour outside of town before they could reach an outer route and use the wagon. And though she did have a wagon, Cayna felt guilty that she was about to rain on Siren’s parade.

There was a minor incident by the village gate as they went to leave since the guard didn’t recognize Opus and had to verify his identity. Nevertheless, the four were soon on their way. None of the locals would ever believe the master of the nearby dungeon was among their ranks.

“How the heck do you usually get in and out?”

“Hrm. I usually teleport under the cover of darkness.”

“Don’t ‘hrm’ me. At least get to know the gatekeepers. It’s no wonder they think you’re shady,” said Cayna.

“Babble all you want, but wouldn’t it be even more suspect if I wandered around town without ever using the dungeon entrance?”

“Your very existence is suspect, Master.”

Siren was facing forward, but her blunt quip struck Opus like an arrow to the chest. It was no Oscar—Roses Scatter with Beauty, but the shock was enough to sway his footsteps.

“………Hey, Opus. What did you do to Siren?” Cayna asked quietly.

“……Hell if I know! She’s been like that since I came to this world,” Opus replied, bewildered.

Something felt off to Cayna, but unfortunately, Opus didn’t seem to know any more than she did. Back in the Game Era, Siren had been a meek woman who revered her master and always followed a half step behind him, so seeing her pelt Opus with a barrage of insults came as a huge shock to Cayna. She trembled in fear of a potential Roxine 2.0.

“Goodness, what do we have here?”

Once they reached the main road, Cayna took out the covered wagon from her Item Box. Siren’s eyes opened wide in shock.

The horse head jutting out from the middle of the driver’s seat gave it an eccentric flair. Kuu, meanwhile, was thrilled. She beamed as she situated herself on the horse’s neck. No one else had been able to see her the last time she rode in the wagon.

But unlike the previous trip, the conversations would be a bit more involved.

“Haaaaaaaaah.”

With the biggest sigh yet, Opus abruptly took out a paper fan and struck Cayna over the head.

“Owwww?!”

A smack! echoed in the blue sky, and Cayna held her head as she angrily whipped around to face her attacker.

“What was that for?!”

“I’m simply blown away by your idiocy. You still haven’t figured out the problem even after that stupid noble finally gave up.”

“Huuuh? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just wanted to make our trip comfier…”

“Which is precisely why you were singled out! I thought you’d be smart enough to know what’s dangerous to use in this world once you saw it with your own eyes. Was I too optimistic?”

Not quite sure what Opus was so upset about, Cayna looked back at the horse-head wagon. Turning the wagon into a golem appeared to be the least of his concerns.

“Well, I’ll at least still be able to sit up front.”

Obsessed with her Driver skill, Siren looked to the right and left of the horse’s head. It was set in the very center, and there was enough space for one person to sit on either side.

“I suppose you leave me no choice.”

Opus raised his hand and cast Create Rock Golem. The ground in front of the wagon undulated as two horses came flying out. These were, of course, horse-shaped golems. Both came fully harnessed with a yoke that could attach to the wagon. Once the wagon and yoke fused, the structure would look entirely average. If they put a cloth over the horse head sticking out from the driver’s seat, no one would suspect a thing.

“Nobles target you because you don’t even bother adding a horse. Deviating from the norm makes you stand out and invites unnecessary problems. Remember that.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it. ‘Use your head,’ right? Forgive me for being such a dunce.”

Clearly missing the point, Cayna started sulking and fuming.

It wasn’t the first time Opus had criticized her over something like this. For Cayna, it was the same old story. She argued with him every time, but the idea that someone with so little life experience could ever win over Opus with a sound argument was laughable. Well aware she didn’t stand a chance in a debate, Cayna retaliated by pouting and giving him the silent treatment.

It usually didn’t take long for her to reflect on her actions and feel a wave of regret. Opus would anticipate as much and say Well? You should have listened to me, right? the following day. This would send Cayna into another sulking fit—and thus their little dance would continue.

“Well, then. I shall take care of the wagon, so please chat to your hearts’ content.”

The golem wagon and golem horses were pretty much autonomous, but Siren seemed plenty content to hop in the driver’s seat. Since her maid outfit was extremely conspicuous, she switched to a full-length brown robe that Opus gave her—a strictly defensive measure since female drivers were often the targets of unsavory types.

Incidentally, Cayna did offer other outfits but threw in the towel when a very serious-looking Siren replied, “Why would a maid wear anything besides her uniform?”

“Fancy.”

“I left the interior design up to Cie. Those are probably Lu’s practice cushions.”

The inside of the wagon had been updated since Cayna’s trip with Luka and the others. The cushions and plush toys Lytt made during sewing practice were strewn all over the place, and a pastel cloth over the table disguised its crude build. The floor was accented with a checkered white and pale blue carpet, and several bins fitted with drawers were placed along the wall.

Roxine had obviously redecorated while Cayna was out running errands for her once they got back from Felskeilo. Everything was a shade of blue—Luka’s favorite color.

Opus casually plopped down on a large cushion and sat cross-legged. Cayna gathered several more cushions and made herself comfortable.

“Well, then. Ready to get started?” Opus asked.

“Right.”

Even though he was the one to broach the subject, Opus crossed his arms pensively as if he wasn’t sure where to start.

“I suppose I’ll start by answering any questions you have. Fire away.”

“Questions…”

Cayna had assumed he would do all the talking, so she wasn’t sure how to react to Opus’s receptiveness. She didn’t even know where to start.

“Um… Ermm.”

“…Go on, ask me anything.”

“So I was thinking, Opus—condescending much??”

“What’re you talking about? I’m no different than usual. It’s only bothering you now?”

“It’s been ages since we last saw each other. Anyone would feel the same.”

“Really?”

“For me at least, yeah.”

“I wouldn’t expect to hear that from someone who tried to kill me out of nowhere. Your body language suggested otherwise.”

“H-hey! Th-that was your fault! Y-your attitude sucks! You have no idea how to treat a guest!”

“I don’t understand why you’re so upset. Ebelope was far worse.”

“Tr-true, but…these are two completely separate issues!”

“…Hmph.” Failing to see her point, Opus frowned.

Ebelope, aka Sin City, had been a member of the Cream Cheese guild. Something of a big-sister figure to Cayna, she taught the naive girl various facts about health and biology, although at times, her vivid tales of her real-world exploits were more than Cayna could handle.

Cayna bristled angrily for a moment but took a deep breath before asking her first question.

“Hey, listen. I remember logging out in the remote village, but the next thing I knew, I woke up at the inn. So why don’t I remember spending the night there?”

“The answer is simple,” Opus replied. His answer came faster than she expected. “I transformed into you, booked a room, and left you there while you were unconscious.”

“Huh? …Whaaaat?!”

This swift reveal caused Cayna’s brain to short-circuit.

If Opus’s claim was true, then she had a lot more questions—ones that involved Kee’s urgent items on day one and what her body was doing in this world before she even woke up.

Speaking of which, Kee hadn’t uttered a word since her battle with Drekdovai. Cayna’s mind felt so quiet that she couldn’t help but wonder if Opus had been the one behind Kee’s existence. Now that they had reunited, she called out to Kee in a panic, fearing he was gone forever.

A feeble voice echoed in her mind.

“Forgive me, Cayna.”

“…Oh, Kee. Thank goodness!”

In a typical situation, the two would embrace and rejoice over his return. Unfortunately, one side of the equation was a disembodied being incapable of hugs, so Cayna had to settle for greeting empty space with a cry of relief.

“I reported false information…”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just happy you’re still here, Kee.”

“I do not deserve such compassion.”

“Look, Opus was the one who tricked you. I bet his silver tongue forced you to comply.”

“Hey, you’re making me sound like some kind of master con artist. Don’t drag my name through the mud.”

“That is correct. As you have surmised, Cayna, he kidnapped you. Sob, sob.”

“Oh, now you’re acting like the victim here?! You consented to it! It’s too late to backtrack!”

“I do not have the slightest clue what you mean.”

“How dare you play dumb with me!”

Kee and Opus entered a war of words, and Cayna finally noticed something odd.

How could Opus hear Kee when Cayna was usually the only one? Furthermore, they spoke to each other like old friends. It was like listening to a conversation between a faithful old butler and his capricious, free-spirited master. In her mind, this mental picture fit them to a T.

“Do you guys know each other?”

“……”

“……”

As soon as the words left Cayna’s mouth, the duo’s boisterous blame game ceased.

Kee lacked any facial expressions to read, but he seemed equally as uncomfortable as Opus. Cayna sensed she just witnessed something she really wasn’t supposed to.

“Ah, well, you know. The two of us had a lot of disagreements while I took care of you…”

“Indeed. I sternly advised him to be more gentle with you…”

Even their methods of deflection felt similar. However, something even more unsettling in their conversation made Cayna tilt her head dubiously.

“Opus took care of me…?”

“Pretty much. Your body first came to this world two hundred years ago, so I watched over you. Remember that bed you split clean in half? That’s where you slept.”

“Huh? WHAAAAAT?!”

Cayna had no success mentally reconstructing the dungeon rubble she’d created. She could only remember where Opus had been lazily munching snacks; nothing about that qualified as a “bed” in her eyes. More shocking was the revelation that, instead of waking up two hundred years in the future, she’d spent two hundred years sleeping in this world.

“I don’t remember a thing… Wait. You didn’t seal my memories away, did you?”

“Relax. You were just passed out for two centuries, like Rip Van Winkle. No one remembers anything that happens while they’re asleep; that would be terrifying.”

Cayna didn’t feel like much time had passed between dozing off midgame session in her hospital room and waking up in the inn.

“Why is this happening?!”

Meanwhile, Siren hummed at the reins and looked at the cloudless sky.

“Ahhh, what a peaceful day,” she murmured to herself.

There was a wham! inside the wagon behind her. However, this, too, was “peace.” Siren feigned ignorance as if it were nothing more than a gentle breeze across the meadow. Her master had made his bed and now had to lie in it, thus Siren had no intention of lifting a single finger to help. One might ask what kind of maid would do that, but this was precisely the amount of emotional distance Opus requested from Siren.

Cayna whipped out a wooden hammer marked FOR DISCIPLINARY USE and swung it at Opus. Fortunately, he dodged quickly enough to avoid becoming part of the wallpaper.

“Sheesh, have you no restraint? I’ve told you to quit wielding dangerous objects as a retort!”

A high elf didn’t stand a chance against a demon physically. Opus snatched away the giant mallet and put it in his own Item Box.

“Ah, Bam-Bam…!”

“How many times have I told you not to run your mouth and your weapons at the same time? Are you setting poor examples like this in front of your kids?”

“You mean Lu? I doubt it… Besides, you’re the only one I treat this way, Opus.”

Cayna grinned from ear to ear; Opus could only swallow his words in exasperation. She was going to save all her complaints for a rainy day.

“Great. Glad to know it’s more distinction than discrimination.”

Considering Cayna’s powers of retention, she’d likely forget what she’d been grumbling about in the first place.

“I don’t even know how you wound up watching over me. Why’d you do that?”

“You want to know, huh? We may be here a while…”

“Shouldn’t you have mentioned that in the first place?”

“He gets easily sidetracked.”

“And whose fault was that, exactly?”

Opus almost started things up again with Kee, but the words died in his throat when he remembered Cayna was there. He steadied himself with a deep sigh, then spoke slowly.

“Incidentally, Cayna—say you wanted something so badly but had no hope of acquiring it in your present situation. Who would you turn to?”

“Now you’re the one asking questions? I was waiting for an answer.”

“Please, don’t rush me. There are a few things you should know first.”

“Hmm, turn to… Turn to… Who would I turn to…?”

Cayna placed a hand to her mouth. Then, after a moment of thought…

“God?” she replied hesitantly.

“You don’t sound very confident.”

“Yeah, I guess. Are you surprised, though?”

She would either wish for her body or her parents. After all, Cayna had endlessly pleaded for both right after the accident:

“Please give my father back.”

“Please give my mother back.”

In the end, she had concluded there was no God. Of course those wishes would never come true; she had no choice but to live on in despair.

“Well, unlike you, a certain someone tried to sell his soul to a demon.”

“…Who?”

Cayna appeared puzzled as Opus alluded to this person in a profoundly familiar manner.

“He seemed very worried about you. If I’d been a second too late, your fine uncle would have been corrupted by the likes of some shady, vengeful spirit.”

“My uncle?!”

“I managed to step in and stop him from getting too involved in uncanny affairs.”

“Glad to hear it! But wait—you’re saying demons exist back in our old world, too?!”

“Not many people can see them, but yes, they do exist. But no established summoning method was ever passed down, so any demons you attempt to summon will be a sham.”

“…Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

This overwhelming revelation left Cayna at a loss for words. Yes, the existence of demons was partly to blame, but if anything, she was shocked her uncle would resort to such methods. Cayna remembered how he’d always say “You need anything? I’ll make your dad proud and spoil you rotten,” like it was some kind of personal motto. Cayna’s other visitor, her cousin Ako, would then sarcastically reply, “You never spoiled me like that, Dad.”

“Ah, well, your mother and I have different ideas of child-rearing. Know what I mean?”

“In other words, you caved.”

“No, no, no! That’s probably not true! I’m sure I bought you stuffed animals.”

“You mean, like, before I was five?”

“Um, uh… Yeah, I guess so. Ha-ha-ha…”

He was a pretty cool guy when allowed to make decisions, but unfortunately for her uncle, the women ran the roost. Watching him capitulate to his daughter was a little sad.

Regardless, Keina knew Ako treasured the plush mascot she got at a certain amusement park as a child and remembered how incredibly embarrassed her cousin got when Keina tried to tell her uncle about it.

“Um, Uncle Keisuke. Actually, Ako…”

“Wh-wh-wh-wh-whoa?! H-h-hold on, Keina! That’s a secret! Don’t say another word! Got it?”

“Huh? …O-okay.”

At the time, Ako was terrified of looking like a child. The conversation felt like only yesterday, and Cayna felt a wave of nostalgia. She wished she’d known how concerned her uncle was, but Cayna was like a ghost or empty husk before the game came along. She’d given up on everything as Keina, and her mind was a constant swirl of hopelessness as she wondered what good she was if she couldn’t even move. She’d been in no state to hear anything to the contrary.

“That was when I proposed a VRMMORPG that could save the heart even if the body was immobile.”

“……What?”

“I didn’t plan to profit off it initially. It was just a personal venture. I was told to save enough money to cover development costs if I wanted financial support, so I ended up starting a video game company…”

“Huh? …Come again?”

“After that, I needed employees, and the servers had to be built from scratch. As soon as I outlined my specific goals, our team fell straight into pandemonium. It was a rough time. Some fools even wondered who ought to be running the show.”

“Wha—? Wait, hold up…”

“Granted, I was only involved in the early stages. I left the development process to my staff later, but it’s still a mystery to me how they came up with such an outlandish aesthetic.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, just wait a second!”

“What?”

“I thought the whole thing about you being an Admin was just a joke, but you’re serious?!”

“Haven’t I been saying that for a while?”

It was a startling confession. There had always been rumors during the Game Era that Opus was an Admin, but Cayna figured it was all talk and never paid much attention. No one would have ever guessed that Opus himself would confirm such rumors.

“By ‘save the heart,’ you mean…”

“Precisely. The VRMMO Leadale was originally created to save Keina Kagami. Launching it nationwide was just a consequence of that.”

“Whaaaaat?!”

The series of bombshells was too much; Cayna’s shoulders sank with exhaustion.

Her shock snowballed with each passing moment, and she had a feeling the pace wouldn’t let up anytime soon.

In any case, there was no going back after everything she’d already heard.

“You had a great time, right? You used to blubber about how happy being able to move around made you.”

“…Oh yeah, I was really fixated on that…”

Cayna was actually a little embarrassed by the memory. She’d completely forgotten up until that point.

When she first joined the game, Cayna had been eager to share her excitement with whoever would listen. This, of course, was rooted in her freedom of movement and ability to go wherever her legs would carry her. That was why Cayna couldn’t help but pour her heart out to Opus the moment they met.

Smiling brightly, she would immediately share her story with random players whether they asked or not. The first two ran off, but the third, Opus, was the only one who calmly and quietly listened to the very end. In fact, when she was finally finished, he gave her a compassionate pat on the shoulder and said, “That’s great.”

It was fair to say everything thus far was rooted in that very moment. But what if their first meeting had been no coincidence?

“Did you run into me on purpose back then?”

“Well, I can understand why you’d be suspicious after everything I’ve told you. However, I don’t recall planning our first encounter—is what I’d like to say, but I take it that would be too far-fetched for you to believe,” he replied loftily. Opus didn’t try to explain himself or even admit it. That unapologetic, confident bravado made Cayna laugh.

“Heh-heh-heh.”

Regardless of how they’d met, she couldn’t end their friendship now and had no intentions to do so.

“Something amusing?”

“Oh, nothing. Don’t worry about it. You just look funny when you’re all serious.”

“Hmph. Nonsense,” Opus muttered.

His satisfied nod was evidence he was patting himself on the back. It was one of his few behavioral tics Cayna noticed.

“Okay, so you made Leadale specifically for me. That aside, why did you leave me in the inn?”

“Because you lacked self-awareness.”

“I lacked what?”

“Since the very beginning, whether it be with me or anyone else, you would simply say ‘Yeah, sure!’ and go along with everything.”

“…R-right, point taken. So…?”

Cayna wasn’t quite sure what he was getting at but agreed anyway. Opus saw right through this and crossed his arms with a furrowed brow.

“That’s why I wanted to let you stumble around unfamiliar situations on your own for a while. It was invaluable experience, correct?”

“Yeah. It was…,” Cayna mumbled to herself as she recalled how lonely she felt upon waking up, how she befriended the villagers with the help of Marelle and Lytt and made her own decision to head to the royal capital.

She’d even had a series of fortuitous encounters with her kids and grandkids. The next thing she knew, Cayna was so busy making friends with former players and raising her adopted daughter that her loneliness had long since faded away.

“Thank you, Opus.”

“What are you thanking me for all of a sudden? It’s creepy.”

“I’m being sincere here. Don’t be so harsh!”

“I see no meaning in senseless acknowledgment.”

“I’m saying I’m grateful. I never knew being left on my own to observe and explore would be this much fun. So thanks.”

Then, for the first time, Opus appeared flustered. He placed a hand on Cayna’s forehead and murmured, “No fever.”

Bewildered, Cayna’s face flushed crimson almost instantly.

A resounding thwack! followed by a subsequent rumble echoed behind Siren, who sighed as she kept her eyes on the road. Opus had undoubtedly said something insensitive again.

“Honestly, he is so utterly twisted, that master of mine.”

Twisted like barbed wire, to be more accurate. The image of Opus mercilessly sending all who approached him straight to hell with his artless, biting words fit him to a T. Siren giggled at her own colorful description.

Inside the respite of the wagon was Opus lying flat on his back, a thorny mace sticking out of the lump on top of his head.

This was an excellent example of just how much damage a demon Limit Breaker could take. Kuu smiled and twirled around his head like a halo of birds while the culprit Cayna sipped her tea with quiet poise. The prickly aura around her indicated how enraged she actually was.

Opus recovered within a few seconds and calmly sat up as if nothing had happened. It was like watching a zombie in an FPS game. Even as a blood effect spurted from his head, Opus yanked out the thorny mace and tossed it back to Cayna. He was, of course, completely unharmed.

Cayna put the weapon back in her Item Box with a single motion and passively set a cup of tea in front of him. For a short while, the two drank in silence.

“…So why did I stay with you for so long?”

She wanted to know why it took her two hundred years to wake up. After all, two centuries was a bit extreme to be considered oversleeping. Cayna previously had several physical impediments caused by her accident but didn’t recall ever being this lazy. She was well aware, however, that gaming had consumed her waking hours.

“I’ll get straight to the point: It took a long time to get you synchronized.”

“…‘Synchronized’? Like the sport?”

“I’m not talking about swimming.”

“So you were making music…”

“No, that’s a synthesizer. I said ‘synchronize.’ It means to make two things into one.”

“Oh… So I’m a chimera now?”

“There were no monsters or animals involved. I just installed something.”

“Installed?! You mean like a program?! Why?! What did you do to me?!”

“Glad to see you’re quick on the uptake, but there’s no need to get upset,” Opus replied flatly as he sipped his tea with a thousand-yard stare.

“What did you install and where?! Humans don’t even have hard drives!”

“They do, actually. In the form of an organ that normally operates at only ten percent.”

“Ten percent… The brain?! You used my brain like a hard drive?!”

“Wait, just calm down! Don’t whip out your Ancient God’s Blade in here!! I only mentioned the brain. I never said I put anything in it!” Opus could feel Cayna’s magic levels rising as she soundlessly stared at him with a glazed look in her eyes. He hurriedly waved both arms.

He hoped to clear up any misunderstandings, but Kuu, who had been silent thus far, had a truly terrifying gleam in her eye. She was Team Cayna all the way.

Opus collapsed in exhausted shock when Cayna’s demeanor instantly shifted.

“Eh, I wasn’t gonna use that sword anyway,” she said, admitting to her bluff. “I never got the sense something was installed in me, though… What did you add and where?”

Cayna tilted her head and patted herself all over. On her shoulder, Kuu tilted hers as well.

“First, let me ask a question. What do you think happened to the game system when this world became reality?”

“The game system? Um, it broke free and started floating around somewhere, right?”

“It’s not a castle in the sky. No country would keep quiet if something like that was hovering in the air.”

Even if an airborne fortress did pass by periodically, the earthbound people were unlikely to appreciate it. The three nations would probably conspire to capture it. One of the Guardian Towers was a floating garden that belonged to Hidden Ogre, but it was so well camouflaged no one would know the tower was there even if they looked straight at it. In other words, a floating tower couldn’t be realistic without the proper cover-up.

“Okay, if the sky won’t work, what about underground?”

“That’s just a standard dungeon.”

“Huh? But isn’t it hidden?”

“What do you think would happen if the system was left where people could easily find it? Everything would be over if someone looted it.”

Opus looked more exasperated with each question.

This was one of those times. Cayna recalled how Opus taught her to find answers within a conversation; she felt a chill as his cold, silent eyes bored into her. As she replayed their discussion, his final question made her gasp.

“Are you saying you installed the game system…in me?”

“Correct.”

Opus applauded and grinned with satisfaction. Following his lead, Kuu cried “Wow!” and clapped excitedly as well. She clearly had no idea what was going on, but Cayna didn’t have the energy to complain.

“Aren’t there side effects when you install something like that? Um, am I going to turn into a machine if I leave it in? Will I only be able to talk in beeps and boops?”

“Relax! You sound like a retro sci-fi novel.”

“Ouch!”

Opus bonked Cayna on the head, forcibly snapping her out of her downward spiral of despair.

“Now that you’re an actual high elf, your soul has infinite space. That’s where I ported the game system.”

“How the heck could you install the game system in my soul?! It’s a soul! A soul! You can’t see it or touch it! There’s no outlet, either!”

Correction: She lost her cool after all.

“As a high elf, you’re functionally immortal. And high elves spend a lot of time alone. That’s why other races can’t endure long periods of solitude or replicate the strength of your soul. It’s a perfect match.”

“At least get my permission first!”

Cayna’s aggrieved protests were no match for Opus’s smugness. He was positively glowing with accomplishment. She reluctantly retracted her trembling fist and vowed to get her revenge one day.

The game system within Cayna’s soul seemed to govern this world dotted with other players. Cohral’s comment about how things improved right after Cayna appeared further supported this theory. The incessant bugs and delayed skill effects up until that point must have been a result of the system still synchronizing with Cayna’s soul.

But since Cohral was the only one who had mentioned anything odd, Cayna wouldn’t know if other players had similar issues unless she asked them. However, she had zero intentions of telling anyone she was synced up with the game system.

Yes, better to keep this a secret. Being glorified didn’t sound like much fun at all.

“Still, souls are pretty unstable. How did you install the system anyway?”

“Hmm? Oh, don’t worry about that. I’m a master of transference.”

“…Um, okay.”

Demonstrating utmost confidence, Opus said no more. Cayna found herself nodding along simply because she had no reason to believe he was lying.

“Oh, right. Also, Kuu runs the subsystem. The game system is more efficient when you’re together.”

“………(Rage)”

Why did this man keep adding fuel to the fire? She couldn’t decide whether to scream or cry. Cayna suppressed several emotions, including her urge to punch him right there.

At that moment, she finally understood why Opus forced her to name Kuu and ensured the pair stayed together. The subsystem fairy herself seemed to have no awareness she was the subsystem and darted around innocently. Cayna figured she wouldn’t be too worried either if she approached life with such a carefree attitude, but there were a number of reasons why she couldn’t throw in the towel yet.

“Anything else you’re dying to ask?”

“Ah… I flipped out for a second and forgot my question. Can I get back to you on that?”

“Hmph. Well, I’ll be around from now on, and you’re bound to have a few questions. If you wish to know something, ask me anytime.”

Opus grinned fiendishly and gave a thumbs-up. Cayna listlessly collapsed to the cushion-strewn floor, exasperated that he’d picked that exact moment to use that gesture.

“I’m wiiiiped.”

“Wiped!” Kuu mimicked energetically, pressing her cheek against Cayna’s. The fairy’s face was squishy; Cayna felt her mental fatigue slowly subside.

“I don’t even know what to tackle first,” she grumbled mindlessly.

“Wouldn’t be the first time you jumped right in without thinking,” Opus shot back.

Back in their gaming days, she often complained to him about quests and players whenever they worked together. Opus would dutifully respond to each one, and Cayna could now feel his presence fill the void in her heart.

I see. Is this what they mean by ‘You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone’?

“I doubt you will grow accustomed to his ego.”

Oh, hush. Still, maybe I finally feel like myself again?

“I suggest you do not let him get carried away.”

“Trust me, I won’t,” came a reply from overhead.

Cayna remembered Opus could hear Kee. Still lying on the floor, she stared up at him. He didn’t seem any less glum.

“What do you get out of this, Opus?” she asked with sudden curiosity.

In other words, was this really all just for her? She didn’t think Opus would have much to gain from helping an online acquaintance. Not to mention that she had no memory of meeting Opus in the real world before the game’s launch. She couldn’t begin to guess why he’d go this far for a total stranger.

“Look, don’t worry about it. I benefit as well.”

“…And may I ask how?”

“Oh, you know. A little of this, a little of that.”

He was being evasive.

“Didn’t you say I could ask anything?” Cayna fired back.

“Don’t assume I’ll spoon-feed you all the time. Try to work things out yourself,” he responded.

“…Yeah, but still…”

What could this man gain by working so hard to create a game for Keina, a girl who was alive in body but not spirit? He even did his best to give Cayna a new life in this world after the game’s service ended. His motives were cloaked in mystery. She was no mind reader, after all.

Nonetheless, Cayna racked her brain. In her opinion, what he did was unnecessary. Tagging along with someone who spent her life in a hospital room waiting for death was no reason for Opus to sacrifice his own body.

“By the way, Kee! You initially said I was disconnected from Leadale’s master system. If the game system has been inside me this whole time, isn’t that a huge contradiction?”

Once she started thinking about the system inside her soul, Cayna suddenly remembered Kee’s words after she woke.

“Even if I told you… I thought you would not believe me.”

“…Yeah, you’ve got a point. I definitely would’ve called you crazy if you said something like that!”

Cayna would’ve likely distrusted Kee afterward. She might have even freaked out and wondered if he came down with a case of chuunibyo.

“Kee doesn’t lie. Whenever you doubt your loyal retainer, all you can do is repent afterward.”

“I don’t need to hear that from you, thank you very much! Who do you think made things so complicated in the first place?! Do you even feel bad at all?! Have you reflected on anything?!”

Opus tried to come to Kee’s aid, but this only sent Cayna into another fit of rage. Her fist sent him flying out of the wagon.

“Hmph!”

“Ha-ha-ha…”

In truth, Cayna realized it was the best option at the time. If she’d been told she was synced with the game system, she would have grown dependent on it and never bothered to explore the village or interact with others.

Cayna fell asleep with these thoughts, and they were back in the remote village when she next woke. The time for questions was over.

Meanwhile, in Helshper…

Caerina and her convoy of knights came to a stop in front of the prison-labor mine. The backwoods of Helshper held quarries surrounded by an ore-rich mountain range, and several of these were excavated by criminals as a form of community service. The steep cliffs made escape nearly impossible while forced menial labor distracted the prisoners from any thoughts of freedom and encouraged self-reflection. If convicts spent too long here, some eventually became lunatics who could do nothing more than pick up stones and yell bizarrely.

The remote mine Caerina and her subordinates visited held the worst offenders. Before they even reached the entrance, iron bars surrounded the facility like an impenetrable cage and radiated a cold aura of rejection. The knights sent word of their visit beforehand, so one of the dwarven jailers who served as a gatekeeper, a miner, and handled an assortment of other odd jobs opened the gate and ushered the group in.

Caerina inspected the criminals’ sleeping quarters. Upon realizing the man she came to see was absent, she questioned the dwarven jailer standing at attention nearby. She was here to meet with an inmate.

“Shouldn’t you have informed him earlier?”

“…We did, but he’s still down in the mine.”

The dwarves shook their heads gravely.

After admitting to his crimes, the man apparently had begun obsessively swinging his pickax without end, which hadn’t changed at all since Caerina visited a while back. She saw him dig once and thought his heart seemed empty. Rather than trying to atone for his crimes, his sorrow felt more like a form of escapism.

Another jailer led them farther into the mine. As they passed through several branching tunnels and climbed down a ladder, she could hear a voice and various sounds farther down the tunnel the man had been mining before. A dwarf standing guard at the entrance was observing this with a frown but placed his hand on his chest and bowed the moment he saw Caerina. Deeper inside the mine, she heard the systematic clink, clink of a pickax against stone.

“The hell?! My level ain’t high enough for this skill anymore?!”

She also heard a stream of curses.

Clink, clink, clink!

“Hold on, how ’bout this spell?”

He seemed to be attempting something. An ear-grating screech rang out.

“Grah! Too slow!”

However, he didn’t seem satisfied with whatever spell he’d cast. The clink, clink, clink of the pickax resumed.

“Shit!! I can’t even cast wide-scale magic ’cause of this stupid collar!” he complained as the sound of a crumbling boulder followed.

Caerina looked over at the dwarven jailer, who merely shrugged. The inmate’s behavior was apparently nothing to get worked up over.

“Agh, it collapsed?! Just how weak is this freakin’ thing?!”

In fact, she got the sense that this happened regularly.

“C’mon, me! Just make another! Whose fault do you think this is?!”

The furious clanging continued with strange irregularity.

“I’m roastin’ myself now, ha-ha-ha…

“…Dammit, what am I even doin’…?

“U-U-U-U-U-UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!”

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!!

These wretched screams faded until only the violent, relentless echo of a pickax remained.

A dwarven jailer staring aimlessly into the darkness turned to Caerina with an indescribable expression.

“You’re coming along?”

“Yes…I am,” she murmured confidently, following the jailer as he stepped into the darkness and out of formation.

“This, too, is for Helshper.”

When Caerina arrived at the scene, she saw a man holding a pickax with one hand. He was staring at the wall with his back turned to her; the jailers released the thick shackles around his feet that were attached to the mine cart behind him.

“…You, eh?”

The inmate finally noticed Caerina and looked over his shoulder at her with a dull, unfocused gaze. He looked far worse than when the two first met. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his cheeks were sunken in. His emaciated body was caked in sweat and dust that dyed even his hair gray.

“The great and powerful knights must be pretty bored if they keep droppin’ by to visit a thug like me!”

He sluggishly struck the wall with his pickax. That slow motion alone was enough to make a corner of the wall slightly crumble.

“I sent word earlier. I’m taking you with me.”

It wasn’t clear whether he heard Caerina. The demon’s pickax never broke stride.

“Ha-ha, I’m a mass murderer… You really think it’s a good idea to let someone like me out into the world? What a bunch of idiots…”

The momentum of his swings picked up when he said mass murderer. His expression was rife with self-loathing.

“Relax. You’re already dead. Or rather, the bandits have all been publicly executed. There is no one to frighten the public anymore.”

This statement made the demon freeze. He himself had been subjected to the guillotine at one point but survived thanks to his special status as a player. He was then deemed deceased on paper and was soon whisked off to the mines.

“…I see… So…they’re gone. That makes sense… We were pretty wild…,” he murmured, possibly recalling fond memories of his former subordinates. He faced Caerina and tugged at the black collar around his neck.

“I’m a total weakling as long as I’m wearin’ this thing. You could kill me right now if you really wanted to, right?”

“I have no interest in killing you before I can make you my subordinate.”

“Ha-ha. So what I heard earlier was true… What do you want from me? I’m just a murderer…”

The pickax slipped from his hand and struck the tunnel floor, its echo as hollow as his heart.

“Right. You’ll start as a foot soldier. You can atone for your sins by defending others.”

“…Sure. If I have to serve anyone, you ain’t a bad option…”

His expression was resigned, but he balled his fists tightly enough to draw blood.

“Come to think of it, I never asked your name,” Caerina said as if this only just occurred to her.

For the very first time, the former bandit leader smiled.

“Took you long enough… My name is…”

Once he introduced himself, Caerina and the dwarves brought him out of the mine.