chapter 26

I asked around and found my way to the top floor of the mansion's annex.

Perhaps it was because the lord had left the reception room with such a happy expression on his face, but the servants and maids showed the exact opposite attitude from when they first arrived.

Not only was there not a hint of ignoring me, but every word he spoke was polite and he even brought me refreshments and placed them on the table without me even asking.

'Well, you have to be quick-witted to work under a guy like that. Anyone who isn't would have died.'

The lord of this city was one of the few evil NPCs in Blizzard 4 from birth.

That's why I didn't feel any guilt at all, even though I was planning to lure him with all kinds of lies and eventually kill him by framing him for making a pact with the devil.

That kid's going to stab me in the back of the head anyway.

Now that the goal has changed by obtaining the book that contains the demon, the original plan has been put on hold, and in the game, the moment the player faithfully follows the lord's words and sells out the Knights of the Silver Dawn, the player is betrayed.

Now that the player has become useless, he is kicked out of the city and even goes so far as to frame him for conspiring with the Knights of the Silver Dawn to murder the Emperor's relatives.

In that case, it was a bonus that the ending of that episode was fixed as a bad ending.

Not only are the event branches that users have categorized as happy endings completely blocked off, but even the event branches that have been categorized as normal endings can only be chosen from the two most dismal ones.

The rest all lead straight to the bad ending.

In addition, since all of the subquests on the human side evaporated, in order to enjoy the game normally, you had to either quickly see the bad ending and move on to the next round, or just start the game over.

'That guy is an NPC that would be more helpful to just kill early.'

It's true.

If you kill that guy, Aurora will take over as both the head of the household and the lord, but if you establish friendly relations with her early on, you can get a lot of help.

No wonder, when Blizzard 4 released all sorts of statistics to commemorate its 10th anniversary, it overwhelmingly crushed the second place and proudly took the first place in the 'NPC most killed by players' category.

'More than that, why isn't Aurora coming? Surely she didn't really run away?'

As the snacks on the table began to cool and the sun, which had been hanging precariously on the horizon, began to disappear, a feeling of anxiety began to rise.

If Aurora really ran away or committed suicide, it would be incredibly difficult to deal with the aftermath even if the lord was killed. If our luck was even worse, the Knights of the Silver Dawn would fall apart.

Even more anxious because this was my first time in this situation, it meant that I couldn't prepare for it with my knowledge of the game.

As I sat alone in bed doing nothing, ominous thoughts began to come to my mind one after another. No matter how hard I tried to change my mind, it was no use.

-Smart.

Just as I was about to go outside to look for Aurora, thinking that I couldn't take it anymore, there was a knock on the door and a polite woman's voice was heard from outside.

"Excuse me. Are you inside?"

It was Aurora's voice.

'Thank goodness he didn't run away.'

I let out a sigh of relief, and since I happened to be holding the doorknob, I turned it and opened the door. Just as I had heard the voice, Aurora was standing outside.

'What the fuck.'

And I was astonished at the sight of the clothes on her body. What Aurora was wearing was something with an incredibly small area of fabric.

A design that barely covers the pink tip of the chest and the scrotum. The area of fabric that is overwhelmingly larger than the area that is covered. A string that wraps the body only minimally.

It was a type of clothing called a micro bikini.

I wondered if all the sheets covering my body could even cover one of my fingers. Did she walk from her room to mine wearing that?

'What the heck? Is this also the effect of the mod?'

As I looked down at her with a dumbfounded expression, thinking that, Aurora flinched, blushed, and turned her arms behind her back as if to ask me to look at her more, sticking out her chest.

I turned my head in surprise and gestured for them to come inside.

Unlike the knight commanders who wore tight-fitting white sleeveless tops and dolphin pants without any shame, Aurora was definitely aware that she was wearing something embarrassing.

The micro bikini itself may have been influenced by the mod, but it didn't seem to change common sense.

The original would probably be a negligee with a moderate amount of exposure, not a micro bikini with such an outrageous area.

Click, as I closed the door, Aurora flinched at the sound of the door closing, but ran over and locked the door. Then she went to the window, drew the curtains, and lit the candles placed here and there.

It was a room that was originally intended for that purpose, and when the candles were lit, an extremely obscene and dreamy atmosphere unfolded.

Aurora, who had created such an atmosphere in the room, pulled me by the hand and sat me down on the bed. Then, she shuddered and stepped back slightly. It was a distance where I could see her entire body.

"I, I am so lowly… … Thank you, for taking care of me like this… … ."

With her face bright red as if it were going to burst, she slowly began to kneel on the floor.

"My body is now, all, yours… … Please, use it however you want… … ."

As Aurora said this, she knelt on the floor, put her hands together in front of her head, and bowed her upper body as much as possible. It was a gesture known as dogeza.

I was staring blankly at the sight, then suddenly came to my senses when I saw black hair flowing down like a waterfall on both sides. Come to think of it, I shouldn't be here like this.

Because of the appearance change mode, she has an appearance that will never be defeated no matter where you show her, but her actions are so lewd that I lost my mind for a moment. I forced myself to suppress my boiling lust.

If I showed my sexual desires here, it would be the end.

"Aurora."

"Yes, yes! … … Huh?"

When I called her name, Aurora instinctively raised her head and answered, but then noticed that I was using a respectful title for her and her expression became filled with doubt.

"The reason I came here is not to hug Aurora."

"...?"

A deeper question appeared on his face. I looked straight into his eyes and said.

"Are you interested in the head of the household?"

"… … So, to summarize what you said."

Hoo, pure white smoke rose from Aurora's mouth.

The bashful expression on his face, which had just been there, offering himself up as a dogeza, had disappeared without a trace. Instead, a sharp and hard expression took its place.

He was looking very seductive, holding a pipe in his left hand, resting his right elbow on the arm of the chair, leaning slightly to the right, supporting his face with his palm, and crossing his legs.

Even so, the outfit was a micro bikini.

"You want to kill that pig and put me in the lord's seat, right? And while you're at it, you'll also make me the lord of this city."

"Yes, that's right."

"How are you going to kill him? That bastard may be fat, but his brain is bigger than anyone else's. He didn't survive while the emperor was cutting off his relatives' balls to prevent rebellion."

"Isn't that why you came here?"

"Ha, you're so confident?"

Aurora chuckled and placed the unlit pipe down on the desk. A thin wisp of smoke rose from the end.

"Let me ask you one thing. Why are you so indifferent when you see me now? You're not surprised, you're not awkward. It's like it was supposed to be that way."

Aurora asked that question as if she was curious. Well, compared to just now, her personality had changed to the level of a different person, but she was accepting it as a given, so it was understandable that she would be curious.

'Well, that's because the current appearance is the personality I originally knew.'

The lord's daughter was an NPC who had an incredible desire for the position of head of the household, and was fully capable of doing so.

If a player you are on friendly terms with informs you of your plan to assassinate the lord in advance, giving you time to prepare for it, you can literally take over the position of lord in the blink of an eye and bring order to the city.

Even if you don't tell him in advance, he'll handle the aftermath by himself. However, after that, his relationship with the player will be a bit strained.

That's why I was much more familiar with this confident Aurora.

"Well, why is that?"

Of course, being familiar with something and being told about it are two different things. I was joking.

"If you don't want to tell me, just say it out loud. Don't beat around the bush. I hate that kind of thing."

Aurora clicked her tongue at my sly answer.

"Yes, you are right. I wish that pig would die, I wish that pig would be killed and I would take the place of the lord, and I would rule this city instead of that pig."

At first, he spoke calmly, but as he got closer to the end, he became increasingly angry. Anger slowly appeared on his face. His eyebrows trembled and the corners of his mouth twisted.

"First of all, he's my father. Don't you think it's pitiful to kill him? Not at all. Not even a little. Absolutely not. Do you know how much I've wanted to kill that pig all this time? Every chance you get, you look at my body with those fucking eyes, you think about making money with my body, you think about using my body as a bargaining chip! And then you sold me out? Do I call that bastard my father?"

Boom! Unable to contain her anger, Aurora slammed the table. The pipe fell over, scattering gray ash on the table. Her clenched fists were shaking.

"To that kid, I wasn't a daughter, I was a tool. Then, I shouldn't be treated like a father, but like a cripple. No, even that kind of treatment is a waste."

As if his heated emotions had calmed down a little, he bent his neck, looked up at the ceiling, and let out a long sigh. A deep, whoosh-whoosh, could be heard.

When the face turned to me again, the golden eyes had a very tired look.

"… … If I hadn't noticed it in advance and acted accordingly, I would have been panting under that pig by now, or sold to some old man as a concubine and flirting between his legs, or rolling around in a brothel until my back broke. That's why I've been pretending to be weak and feeble. Because I had to act like a good daughter who would listen to what I was told without getting into any dirty trouble."

Aurora shuddered as she spoke. By fake personality, she probably meant the weak and fragile appearance she had shown me just a moment ago.

Ironically, it may be because she played the role of a fragile daughter who can be manipulated at will at any time that she has been able to survive without suffering any bad things.

If I showed my true personality, I didn't know what he would do to break my spirit.

"But you know."

The golden eyes turned to me again. The tired look had disappeared without a trace, and a burning emotion appeared.

"How can I trust you?"