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Chapter 4
“Haah….”
I took off my mask, tossed it into the system wardrobe, and collapsed onto the ground.
After climbing over the wall, I’d followed the unanimous decision of my subconscious and the mascot and headed into the forest where I’d hidden before infiltrating the mansion.
Although I didn’t sense anyone chasing me, I couldn’t shake off my anxiety, so I sprinted at full speed for over five minutes.
I think I’ve almost reached the opposite end of the forest.
—Now we’re definitely safe! We’re alive!
“Yeah.”
I tried to raise my hand for a high-five with the mascot, but failed.
My heart felt like it was about to burst, and I couldn’t even move a single finger.
Had I ever run this fast in my life?
I didn’t mean I’d been in a hurry. I meant my actual speed.
I closed my eyes, stinging from sweat, then forced them open again as I thought about what had happened.
I’d been too flustered to realize it earlier, but I’d definitely cleared that enormous wall in a single leap.
Well, I hadn’t exactly sailed over it like an athlete clearing an obstacle. I had landed on top of the wall once before jumping down.
And I’d even managed to land safely using a makeshift breakfall.
Apparently, this body had some extraordinary physical abilities.
What good is that? I haven’t learned how to use them properly, so I probably won’t be able to make the most of them anyway.
It was a shame, but there was nothing I could do about it now. My mouth had gone dry, so I forced myself to swallow and pushed those regrets aside.
Ugh. I’m thirsty.
—Thirsty?
[Limited-Time Event Shop Open!]
[A Glass of Refreshing Ice Water — 1 Coin]
“……Hey. At least give me water for free. I’m not buying it!”
—N-No, but one coin is pretty cheap…!
I waved my hand and dismissed the pop-up window.
Then I grabbed the hovering mascot and brought it up to my face.
“Hey. If there was a shop, you should’ve told me earlier. I thought the coins could only be exchanged for in-game currency.”
—I never said they could only be exchanged, though…
“You never said they couldn’t, either.”
—You didn’t have any money to begin with!
“Right. Because you people made all the coins and diamonds in my account disappear.”
—Ahem…
The mascot looked embarrassed, apparently unable to deny it.
—I-I’ll give you water for free…
I sat up, brushed the leaves and dirt off myself, and leaned my head against a tree.
Then I gulped down the water the mascot gave me—though, at a time like this, it had given me lukewarm water instead of ice water.
“Phew… I feel a little more alive now.”
I closed my eyes, exhausted.
The scene from earlier came back to me in the darkness.
The man who had held a sword to my neck was indeed the owner of the mansion.
Anyone could have deduced that from his behavior, but I had another reason to be sure.
I hadn’t properly played the game, so I’d never seen his official illustration—and even if I had, I probably wouldn’t have remembered it—but I had seen fan art of him.
I wasn’t particularly interested in anything other than the styling competition, so I didn’t know much. Still, I seemed to remember that roughly sixty percent of the entries in the fan-art contest had been drawings of that guy.
He really is handsome in person.
—Huh?! He looks scary!
“He only looks scary because you were frightened.”
I’d been so startled by his face that even in that life-or-death situation, I’d been momentarily distracted by how handsome he was. What more was there to say?
A handsome man with thick black hair, grayish-blue eyes, and an arrogant, aristocratic air.
His sharp eyes, high nose, and neat eyebrows, each hair seemingly planted with meticulous care, were certainly attractive. But those weren’t the most important features.
A truly handsome man was built differently from the very bones up. The line running from his cheekbones to his jaw, for example, or the angle of his jaw where it turned beneath his ear.
On top of that, he had one particular feature that made him perfect for fan creations.
A scar running from his jaw down to his collarbone, cutting across his pale skin.
The structure of his face and the scar gave him an alluring, mature air. And because his clothes were so modest and buttoned up, concealing everything up to his neck, his sex appeal somehow stood out even more.
…Up to this point, every single word had been someone else’s opinion, not mine.
I vaguely remembered it because the person who had given me the limited-edition eyes I was currently wearing had gone on and on about him.
Didn’t that person end up taking third place in the fan-art contest?
Anyway, if I were to give my own opinion, I’d say he was handsome, but he definitely wasn’t someone I’d want to meet as a commoner facing an aristocrat.
And I certainly wouldn’t want to meet him as a homeowner facing a trespasser.
—I don’t want to meet him either! That sword was terrifying!
“You ran away, though.”
—I almost got slashed!
“You said you could only affect me. Doesn’t that mean, conversely, that other people can’t affect you?”
—Ahem~ What a pretty flower~
Judging by the way it changed the subject, I was probably right.
Meanwhile, since I was the one who had actually come close to getting cut, I ran my fingers over my neck.
There was no wound, but there was a hole in my clothing.
He must have controlled the distance so precisely that he’d pierced only my clothes.
Judging by that level of control, he definitely wasn’t the type to give someone a second chance.
Since I failed, I can just hope the game moves me on to the next chapter—
[Quest: Chapter 1 — Ainsworth Mansion]
…Right. I’d thought it was unlikely that would happen.
[Death in 23 hours, 40 minutes, and 21 seconds if the quest is not completed.]
“Good grief… All right, let’s get up.”
“Ugh, what a mess.”
I’d been wearing my jumpsuit since going out last night, so I had no other clothes to change into. Fortunately, the mascot tossed me an item.
[Automatic Outfit Change Trial Ticket (Not for Sale)]
[Allows you to change into the possessed body’s casual clothes.]
I gratefully accepted it because the system wardrobe contained nothing but flashy outfits—and, on top of that, it was free!
However…
“Pigtails are awful. If this is an outfit-change ticket, it should change my clothes. Why is it messing with someone else’s hair?”
—What’s wrong with pigtails?!
“Do you honestly think this innocent country-girl hairstyle suits this face?”
Apparently, the mascot liked the style, because it had even transformed its own mask into a braided pair of pigtails.
—Hehe!
“It’s hideous. Stop it.”
—If you keep saying things like that, I’ll add another one right on top of your head and turn them into three pigtails!
“……”
Unable to argue against the mascot’s threat, I couldn’t even undo my hair. I simply trudged home.
Home, huh?
It was strange to think that a game character who broke into other people’s houses had a home of her own.
Well, I supposed that was part of the worldbuilding outside the game’s main story.
She must have been fed baby food by a caregiver when she was little, too.
By the time I’d finished entertaining these pointless thoughts, I’d arrived in the neighborhood.
As soon as I entered the shops near the residential area, the people who had been busy with their own errands greeted me with bright smiles.
“Bluebell! You’re back!”
“You’re finally back? You must’ve had a tough time.”
“Have you eaten? Aren’t you hungry?”
Hmm? Why is everyone being so welcoming?
While listening to them, I organized the game character’s—my—personal information in my head.
The name of the body I’d possessed was Bluebell.
It took me two whole days to find that out because neither the system nor the mascot bothered to tell me.
—You never asked!
—Since we’re on the subject, want to know my name, too~? My name is—
No, thanks.
—You little…!
As expected, it was different from my in-game nickname. I’d used a randomly generated name, so I hadn’t expected it to be the same.
Continuing my mental inventory, I learned that Bluebell made a living by gathering medicinal herbs in the forest and mountains.
On days when she couldn’t work, she helped her neighbors or taught the local children. Fortunately, it seemed she only taught them basic literacy and arithmetic.
She was an orphan with no parents, relatives, or even siblings. Naturally, she had no inheritance, either.
Because of all this, the villagers felt sorry for her and cared for her deeply.
“Bluebell, isn’t it about time you bought some soap? Want me to give you some?”
“Here, I just bought these at the bakery. Take a few!”
Oh! That saves me some money.
What a useful setting. I responded with as much warmth and gratitude as I could muster before heading home.
When I climbed to the second floor of a building that resembled one of those apartment buildings in a university neighborhood, I spotted a man standing outside my door.
—Ooh~ He’s handsome!
You said the mansion owner was scary, but now you’re calling this guy handsome? You have terrible taste…
Then again, judging by the mascot’s own appearance, I shouldn’t have expected it to have a good eye for aesthetics.
Ignoring its incessant chatter, I waited for the young man, who looked about my age, to speak first.
I had no idea what kind of relationship he had with Bluebell, given the character’s backstory, so I couldn’t casually strike up a conversation with him.
“Oh, Bluebell.”
The man approached me with an innocent smile as I was already heading toward him.
“Um, I ended up with a lot of fruit at home, so I thought you could have some… Ah.”
He stopped mid-sentence and hesitated. My hands were already full of the things other people had given me.
Does this place even have a refrigerator? Mine certainly doesn’t. How am I supposed to store all this food when everyone keeps giving me things? Are they just dumping their leftovers on me?
But when I looked at the man, whose gentle appearance reminded me of a freshly dug potato, all those cynical thoughts disappeared on their own.
“Thanks. I’ll enjoy it.”
I needed to get inside before a longer conversation made him suspicious.
However, the man spoke to me so hesitantly that I couldn’t bring myself to leave.
“Um, Bluebell. You were supposed to pay last month’s rent this week, right? If you need more time, just tell me. I’ll talk to my mom for you.”
Rent…?
Faced with an unexpected financial crisis, I felt like my mind was about to go blank all over again.
