PMEVBO 80

My brother was like an all-powerful problem solver to me. He was that kind of perfect person who seemed like he’d be able to solve anything, no matter how difficult or hard things got in my life.

But he was human, so it’s not like there was nothing he couldn’t do.

I lay in bed with the flu exactly once when I was young. He put a pot of water on the stove and said he’d make porridge for me. That day, he almost burned the whole kitchen down. The result he completed at the risk of his life was equally disastrous, and my condition got worse after I tasted it.

I made the kitchen my main base after that incident and issued an order that banned him from entering the kitchen.

He was even catastrophically bad at brewing tea. He liked drinking tea despite that, so I always had to brew it for him…

…It’s annoying. Why does he even resemble him in that way?

That wasn’t the only similarity between the Pope and my brother.

‘Well, you used to fall asleep in strange places if I let my guard down even a little bit when you were a kid.’

I liked narrow and dark places when I was young. It was my daily routine to crawl into places like under the table or inside the wardrobe and fall asleep. A child who starts hide-and-seek without any agreement… I was a real handful when I think about it now. However, my brother, who had to take the role of the seeker every time, didn’t get angry even once.

He actually enjoyed it more himself, so…

Half of my album was filled with photos taken around that time, so that says it all.

Come to think of it, the Pope isn’t the only one who resembles my brother. The original Lucariel and I…

I felt a cold sensation on my hand.

“Ah…”

I realized only then that I tried to bite my finger again. Iser’s hand was wrapped around mine, which I’d brought up to my mouth. His long index finger gently pressed against my lips.

“You should’ve told me if you felt like biting something.”

I chuckled and shook my head.

“I won’t bite.”

His finger felt ticklish every time I moved my lips. I grabbed his hand and pulled it down. However, that sensation remained on my lips until I returned to the cell.

Iser reattached the talicord to the wall as soon as we returned to Cell 1004. I sat down next to him with my back against the wall. I hesitated for a long time in that state, then I clenched both hands and opened my mouth.

“…I’m sorry.”

Iser’s hand, which was tidying the talicord while he stood next to me, paused. He looked down at me and reached for the restraint around my neck. He bent down and tidied the talicord’s connection point as he asked.

“What are you sorry for?”

There were too many things to be sorry for.

My head was lifted along the talicord, which was pulled taut in a straight line. It was hard to say while looking at him in the eyes, so I swallowed dryly with my eyes cast down.

“Six years ago, I bothered you by constantly asking how the taste was. Just now, I also made things uncomfortable by making a fuss about how the tea tasted…”

Chu.

Iser gave me a short kiss while he was in a crouching position in front of me. I lifted my gaze in surprise, and his face was close before I knew it. He smiled gently right in front of my nose and spoke in an amused voice while he leaned his forehead against my shoulder.

“I’m the one who should apologize for that instead. It’s something that happened because I didn’t tell the truth in the first place.”

The inside of the cell became quiet enough that we could hear each other’s breathing. Iser pulled my hand and placed it on the back of his head.

What is it? …Does he want me to stroke it?

I started to stroke his lovely hair carefully. Iser laughed softly then.

“You know, Lucariel.”

“Yes?”

I replied while I stroked his hair. I felt good because of the soft texture between my fingers.

“You apologized to me in the reception room a little while ago too. …Why did you do that?”

“Ah… Just because you looked uncomfortable being in that spot.”

Iser was having tea time with the Pope when I woke up. It was obvious who made that arrangement, and as far as I knew, Iser wasn’t the type to enjoy tea time with a stranger.

…Or did I think wrong?

Maybe Iser wanted to continue the tea time with the Pope…

Iser hugged me then.

“Thank you for being thoughtful, Lucariel.”

He patted my back for a long time without saying anything. I felt like I was being comforted for some reason.

The third day after I quit smoking wasn’t as agonizing as the second day. The hand tremors stopped, and the anxiety and restless had calmed down to some extent. I knew I was getting better since the number of times I took cold showers decreased.

However, my physical condition wasn’t normal yet. Maybe that’s why I was on edge.

I put a piece of bread that was as small as birdseed into my mouth and chewed. The bread served for breakfast was already swimming in my stomach, which made the last three years of not eating breakfast feel meaningless. It’s funny to say this after I ate it all, but I didn’t eat it because I was particularly hungry. My mouth just felt bored since a while ago.

I started a staring contest with the status window with my chin in my hand now that the meal was over.

Level: 2

It’s good that I leveled up, but…

What kind of game rule knocks out a player just because they leveled up?

…It really pisses me off.

The thought of the Skill Draw Ticket occurred to me suddenly then.

I leveled up from Level 0 to Level 1 and checked the Status Window for the first time in six years. One Skill Draw Ticket had vanished, and a skill I hadn’t seen before took its place instead.

Don’t tell me it used a Skill Draw Ticket on its own this time too…

I opened the Inventory window immediately.

Skill Draw Tickets: 1

“…It’s here.”

Fortunately, the number of Skill Draw Tickets was correct this time. There wasn’t any skill that appeared on its own either.

Come to think of it, the inventory must’ve expanded since I leveled up.

I have one Skill Draw Ticket right now, so should I just draw one while I’m at it…?

No. Based on experience, it’s right to save this.

Even if the “crap” the system gave me was big, I never lost out by drawing a skill until now. The drawn skill was like that, but the auto-cast that came as a set with the skill draw was an especially big merit.

Whether it’s the Discernment skill, the Guidance skill, or the Wisdom skill…

Ah, that’s right. The Wisdom skill isn’t [stolen content]one I drew. Maybe that’s why it was never auto-casted.

Anyway, this was what I wanted to say. Since Skill Draw Tickets have the auto-cast merit, it’s right to keep them as insurance to prepare for a possible emergency.

It was then.

Ding!

────【 Main Quest 】────

Hunt the monsters!

(0/3)

D-?

Preparing location information…

Reward: Level Up

────────────────

…Why did the main quest appear first?

Until now, it was always a pattern where I cleared sub-quests first and then cleared a main suest. It’s the first time a main quest dropped first…

There was something else that bothered me.

…What’s with “Preparing location information” too?

Is it trying to tell me the monster’s appearance location? A message I saw as soon as I woke up in the drawing room came to mind then.

────【 System Notification 】────

System update complete.

(※ New features included.)

Progress: 100% (100/100)

Elapsed Time: 3h 32m 39s

───────────────────────

..It said there are new features, so it’s probably related to that.

I had a bad feeling.

I couldn’t think about it last time because the monster appeared right [visit our site]in the bathroom. However, when I think about it, there was no guarantee the monster would only appear inside the cell. It was a miracle with the probability of an elephant entering the eye of a needle that I hunted the monster in this cramped space.

Preparing location information…

Location information ready!

“Ah, please…”

Please be inside the prison. I have to break out of prison if it’s outside.

──【 Location Information 】──

Chepony Castle

───────────────────────

“Chepony Castle…?”

…Where is that?

I don’t know anything else, but I know this one thing. It’s at least not a place located inside the prison.

D-9

D-9 (216h)

D-9 (215h 59m 59s)

“Ah, I’m screwed…”

…Should I have just asked the Pope to let me out when he said he would?