RFLAS 16

Chapter 16

At my words, the Shashamo group fell silent, as if cold water had been thrown over them.

Watching Sergei’s frozen expression and the faces of the other Shashamo members—which looked much the same—I sank into thought.

Am I being a bit too self-important?

Of course, Shashamo wouldn’t collapse just because I was gone.

But the time to worry about that had already passed, and there was no longer any reason for me to cling to being part of Shashamo.
After all, Charlotte had already said she would use me as her hands and feet at the banquet, so even if I wasn’t a Shashamo member, there would still be plenty of chances for our paths to cross.

Well… if I say I’m leaving Shashamo, Charlotte might start suspecting me again. But that’s something I can explain over time….

With that thought, I stared straight at the Shashamo president. Caught between me and Sergei, he hesitated before giving an ambiguous answer.

“Miss Sera, wouldn’t it be better to reconsider instead of making such an impulsive decision? Conflicts between colleagues should be resolved through dialogue. Acting this extremely isn’t exactly a desirable approach.”

“After Mr. Sergei freely spread my private matters around and I even had to hear insults directed at my parents, what more is there to think about? Should I contact my older brother and discuss this matter with him?”

Of course, I had no intention whatsoever of reporting this to Baron Arnshutadt.

If I did, he’d inevitably start suspecting his suddenly boy-crazy younger sister. I needed to handle this myself, if possible.

“Th-that’s not what I mean. Still, we sincerely hope that Miss Sera will continue to remain with Shashamo.”

Most likely, they wanted to keep me in Shashamo partly because, on the surface, my relationship with Charlotte looked good and they wanted to benefit from it, and partly because they didn’t want to go back to being an all-male group again. Either way, I didn’t like it.

Pointing at Sergei, who was hiding behind the president like a shield, I said,

“So you’re telling me to stay and keep associating with Mr. Sergei, is that it?”

“……”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t want to. It makes me uncomfortable.”

At the word uncomfortable, Sergei’s expression soured instantly.

Well, it made sense. In Shashamo, everyone might be the same kind of otaku, but in society he was still the young master of a respectable family. Of course he’d be offended.

So what? I’m more offended.

The president looked back and forth between Sergei and me as our silent standoff continued, then finally let out a sigh.

“Then… we will deliberate through an internal regulations meeting and decide on the appropriate measures.”

No, really—just kick me out already. What’s with this internal meeting?

“Do as you please.”

I could almost understand why Julian had looked at us like insects the day I first joined Shashamo.

This place desperately needs a purge.

If I were the heroine—not Charlotte, but the typical kind of protagonist—I’d probably wipe out such a hopeless organization and replace it with my own faction.

But I didn’t have that kind of leeway. Now that I knew I couldn’t make spare save files, even spending time on something like that felt like a waste.

Whatever happens, happens.

Having lost all interest in Shashamo, I gave a half-hearted bow and left.

I could feel the piercing gazes on my back, but I never once looked back. I just wanted to go home and rest as soon as possible.

But it was still too early to go home.

I’ll go to the Grand Temple instead.

I clicked on the quest window that I’d deliberately avoided since the tutorial.

This game was basically open-world, so after the tutorial there weren’t many quests, but there was something called weekly quests.

They were simple tasks like visiting the Grand Temple, letting you earn small rewards each week. I’d only just found out by opening the window.

[✦ Weekly Quest ① Visit the Grand Temple (0/1) ✦]
[✦ Weekly Quest ② Meet and talk with a key figure (1/1) ✦]
[✦ Weekly Quest ③ Spend Gold (0/20) ✦]

[Reward: 50 Gold, Reputation +5]

I’d already talked plenty with key figures at the banquet, so all that remained was visiting the temple and spending some gold.

To recover the reputation I’d just wasted—and to avoid any possible suspicion of being a transmigrator—I hurried to the Grand Temple.

But, as luck would have it, today there was a live broadcast of another transmigrator from a different world being purged.

—No! I don’t want to die! H-how did I even get here…!

—Wooooah! His head came off!

Through the screen displayed by the priest, a vividly graphic execution was transmitted.

The people gathered in the chapel cheered as if their own sworn enemy had just been killed.

“Nice!”

“Ah… thank you for granting us such joy today as well. Amen.”

It was a complete spectacle.

“……”

With a bitter smile, I quietly clasped my hands and pretended to pray. I simply couldn’t bring myself to join in those cheers.

Fortunately, there were a few others who worshiped quietly like me, so I wasn’t suspected just for not cheering enthusiastically.

Oh God, what sin have I committed? Why must you cast me into this kind of hell…

As I opened my eyes after letting out a bit of resentment toward God, I nearly bit my tongue.

W-what? Why are they staring at me?

I didn’t know since when, but the priest conducting the service was staring straight at me.

That wasn’t all. Through the corridor window, I could see a couple of clerics looking at me, whispering to each other, and then quickly disappearing.

I tried to dismiss it as paranoia, but those gazes were clearly directed at me.

Thankfully, the other worshippers didn’t seem to notice the priest’s or clerics’ attention, but I still felt uneasy.

No, seriously—why? Did I do something wrong?

When I met the priest’s eyes, he soon looked away, but by then I was already consumed by anxiety and could hardly sit still.

Whether something about me had stood out, whether it was because I hadn’t cheered like the others, or whether the suspicion of me being a transmigrator by the male leads had somehow reached the temple—none of it was clear.

I wanted to jump up and escape immediately, but doing so might only draw even more suspicion, so I couldn’t.

All I could do was close my eyes and pretend to pray. My stomach began to ache, throbbing painfully. It felt like the sandwich I’d overeaten that morning was finally catching up with me.

This damn indigestion…

After what felt like a long time, the service finally ended.

I stared blankly as people poured out of the chapel. I planned to wait a bit and leave last.

Dim sunset light filtered through the stained glass, illuminating the silent space. At last, I was alone in the chapel.

Only when the priest had left and there wasn’t a single shadow of another person did I finally feel at ease.

I should get out of here quickly.

Just seeing white clerical hair now felt terrifying. After taking a slow, deep breath, I stood up. The corridor was quiet as a grave—if I left now, it seemed perfect.

But then—

“……”

At the tip of the foot I stepped forward with resolve, white clerical robes fluttered softly. Startled, I raised my head and saw pure white hair.

“…Huh?”

A handsome man with red eyes, whose gaze met mine, spoke.

“It’s you, Miss Sera.”

Julian Eredas… My body stiffened at the completely unexpected encounter. I had no idea why this man kept popping up within my range of activity.

And he was wearing clerical robes.

Well, he is a holy knight…

Seeing him dressed like that always made me flinch for no reason, and remembering the commotion at the last banquet made facing him uncomfortable.

Even if he doesn’t show it… he’s probably the one who suspects me the most right now.

I gave a rough nod in greeting and hurried past him to leave.

I feel nauseous.

If it were just nausea, that would’ve been fine.

But now my head was pounding too, to the point my vision started to blur.

I had no idea why this was happening all of a sudden.

Was it the stress from Shashamo? Seeing that horrific execution? Running into Julian? It was hard to say which was the real cause.

“…Miss Sera.”

Or maybe it was all three.

“Miss Sera!”

The voice calling me echoed around my ears before bouncing away.

My body felt as heavy as a sponge soaked in water, and I couldn’t take another step forward. The floor seemed closer than before.

Thud.

What… when did I collapse?

“Miss Sera, please come to your senses. This is troubling…”

Through the haze of my fading consciousness, I felt a firm arm supporting my body. It was obviously Julian—there was no one else here.

Holding me in his arms, he hurried somewhere.

With the thought that his grip felt more stable than I’d expected, drowsiness washed over me.

It’ll be fine… he’s a holy knight, so he won’t do anything strange, right…
More than anything, I had no strength left in my body. I had no choice but to entrust myself to him.

“Is your stomach bothering you?”

“…Mm.”

Julian spoke to me several times as we moved, but I couldn’t answer. If I opened my mouth, I felt like I’d end up vomiting on the spot.

So I just weakly nodded. Realizing I was having trouble speaking, Julian didn’t force me to respond.

“Sometimes believers faint after pushing themselves too hard with fasting prayers.”

Instead, he spoke gently the entire way. Hearing his low, calm voice made me feel a little more at ease.

“It may not be much consolation, but we have an infirmary prepared. I’ll take you there.”

With those words, my consciousness faded to black.

My utterly exhausted body had finally declared a need for rest.