Judging by his behavior, Holloway seemed to know perfectly well that I had seen his past.
Since it was his past I’d watched, maybe the information had somehow been shared with him automatically.
Once my brain began functioning normally again—
anxiety rushed in.
As I’d said before, in the game the demons were extremely wary of anyone learning their identities or the truth of the hotel.
Yet I had discovered the final boss’s past.
He was still gentle and kind right now.
But he could turn around and kill me at any moment.
……That should have been true.
Yet Holloway didn’t seem particularly concerned.
I knew he was a demon.
I knew he had lived here for a thousand years.
And Holloway didn’t say anything about it.
He didn’t even ask how I had seen his past……
What?
Why?
Why are you making me nervous by acting like this?
“Why are you glaring at me like that?”
“I’m terribly sorry. Imagine me daring to glare at you.”
“…….”
Bowing my head immediately was obviously the smartest choice.
Holloway had revealed his true form.
I couldn’t exactly treat him the same as before.
First of all, I should probably change the way I address him.
Holloway is a thousand-year-old demon.
Would ‘Almighty Lord Holloway’ be acceptable?
“Big sis.”
“Should I call you Grandpa?”
“Want to try?”
At that dangerous response, I answered seriously.
“No. I don’t.”
Grandpa was too much.
If it were a difference of only a few decades, maybe.
But the age gap was so huge it almost stopped feeling real.
Especially when he had that face.
“Big sis.”
I flinched at the title.
“But considering your age……”
Is it really right for you to keep calling me big sis……?
When I looked uncomfortable, Holloway slowly nodded.
“That’s true. Then……”
Then?
“Evelyn.”
“…….”
“Evelyn.”
He rolled my name around in his mouth.
Then furrowed his smooth brows and seemed to think.
Looking strangely conflicted, he placed a hand near his chest for no apparent reason.
A moment later, he lowered it.
“Big sis is better. Do you dislike it?”
What exactly would happen if I said yes?
“Being called big sis by a thousand-year-old demon feels strange, but when I look at the face of Almighty Lord Holloway, I start thinking none of that matters and am reminded once again that being handsome really is the best. Please make me realize that.”
“Please?”
My words got tangled.
“You do make me realize it.”
“Right? Then why are you still speaking formally?”
Why do you think?
When I was pretending ignorance and now that I knew everything—
those were completely different situations.
The shameless iron mask I had been wearing had been torn off.
“Act normally. You can keep protecting me the way you always did.”
He spoke while politely kissing the back of my hand.
Every time his lips moved, they tickled my skin.
Seeing his eyes curve while he looked at me, I hurriedly looked away before I became bewitched.
You seductive bastard……
I pulled my hand from his and began cautiously.
“So……”
Apparently knowing what I was about to ask, Holloway stroked my head and answered calmly.
“It’s fine. You saw everything. I used to be human, but I really am a demon now.”
“Ah……”
When I only hesitated without responding, Holloway gave a quiet laugh.
Then he suddenly lifted me.
“W-What are you doing?!”
“Are you worried I’ll kill you?”
I lowered my eyes and avoided his gaze.
That was exactly what worried me.
His past was heartbreaking enough that I wanted to comfort him.
But my life mattered too.
Watching his expression nervously, I cautiously asked,
“Are you upset?”
“Not at all. I actually intended to kill you.”
Look at the manners on this bastard.
He lowered me again.
Then placed his hand heavily on my head.
“Don’t worry. I won’t kill you for now.”
“‘For now’?”
“Demons are fickle. If you annoy me, I might kill you.”
My expression immediately hardened.
The words I’d been suppressing burst out.
“Holloway, what kind of shitty way of talking is that? Your dentures are confiscated for a hundred years.”
“Dentures?”
Ah.
They don’t have dentures here.
“Then your hair is confiscated for fifty years.”
“Why did it decrease to fifty?”
“Being bald for a hundred years would be too despairing.”
Holloway observed me like an interesting laboratory mouse.
Then commented,
“You really get aggressive whenever I mention killing you.”
“You underestimate how powerful the human desire to live is.”
“I suppose so. I’ve tried dying several times myself, yet I’m still alive.”
Kid.
Don’t suddenly make me sad.
“I didn’t say that to make you cry.”
He wiped away the tears gathering around my eyes.
“I’m not normally someone who cries this easily.”
Holloway clearly didn’t believe me.
***
First, we decided to leave the basement.
Holloway held out his hand.
I pretended not to see.
He stopped.
Then grabbed my pinky.
“Why won’t you hold my hand?”
“You’re not a child.”
“Hold it.”
All right.
Let me grab that huge hand.
Why does a simple request sound like a threat……?
I lightly touched Holloway’s fingertips.
As though he had been waiting, he immediately threaded his fingers through mine and gripped tightly.
Making sure I couldn’t pull away even for a moment.
Unlike when he was a child, my hand practically disappeared inside his.
“Speak casually.”
I readily agreed.
Then, looking at him still in his adult form, I asked,
“Why aren’t you changing back?”
“I’ll change when the humans appear.”
“Why?”
“Is there any reason I need to show them my true form?”
Who taught you to answer questions with questions?
Still gripping his slightly cold hand, I walked through the corridor while terribly tense.
Damn.
My palm is already getting sweaty.
Drip.
Drip……
Whenever I heard small noises or the sounds of vengeful spirits, I stopped breathing and hunched my shoulders.
Holloway watched my survival behavior with great amusement.
How fascinating my struggle for life must be.
“I know it’s late to ask, but you knew everything, didn’t you?”
“What?”
“That I was suspicious. And beyond that—that I was a demon.”
“What are you talking about?”
Don’t say terrifying things like that.
“There’s no way you didn’t know. I made it incredibly obvious.”
“You did that on purpose?!”
“Got you.”
I told you not to do things like that.
“Don’t use leading questions. You’ll get in trouble.”
“With whom?”
“With you, probably.”
Holloway’s shoulders shook with quiet laughter.
“Why did you do that? Why did you make it so obvious? I was gritting my teeth and pretending not to notice because I was afraid you’d realize I knew……”
Big sis nearly had a heart attack!
[Be careful not to reveal anything related to ‘the game’ to Holloway.]
[You must continue pretending you know nothing.]
[Ignoring this warning will bring you significantly closer to a Bad Ending.]
Even this much isn’t allowed……?
We aren’t even talking about the game.
We’re talking about Holloway’s identity.
At this point, he already knows I knew!
Petty bastard.
I glared at the system window.
Holloway said,
“You worked hard.”
“Don’t say it in such an irritating way.”
Even while I glared viciously, Holloway didn’t erase the smile spreading over his lips.
Instead, he continued calmly.
“It was funny watching you struggle to pretend ignorance……”
This is all the first Emperor’s fault.
Look what you turned one child into!
“I was also curious how long you could keep pretending.”
“Are you testing my patience?”
“What if I am?”
“Hah.”
I stared at him and answered seriously,
“Then I’ll endure even more.”
What choice do I have?
I’m a cowardly little civilian.
He burst into laughter.
He could simply laugh openly from the beginning, yet maybe because he wasn’t used to it, he always tried suppressing it first.
Anyway, Holloway laughed at nearly everything I said.
It annoyed me enough that I struggled fiercely to pull my hand free.
He didn’t budge.
“That was you using strength?”
What else did you think it was?
“There’s something I desperately want to ask you.”
“What?”
“Let me hit you once. Trust me.”
“No.”
Then I give up.
Creeeak.
Creeeak……
To distract myself from the unsettling sounds, I began asking Holloway questions.
He’d said he wouldn’t kill me for now.
I should gather information while I could.
“You tried killing Lady Cynthia because she’s part of the imperial family, right?”
Cynthia’s ancestor—
Holloway.
“That’s right.”
He answered easily.
Apparently, from the moment we entered the island, the demons had known we came from the Balone Empire.
They learned through our conversations while we wandered around after getting lost.
I did remember us discussing how far this place was from the Balone Empire.
And when Holloway asked about our families, it had been because he wanted to know our exact surnames.
‘If they were families that participated a thousand years ago…… there’s a good chance they were founding-contributor families.’
But when the hotel was built, the Empire already seemed relatively stable.
Then perhaps they didn’t necessarily have to be founding families.
Plenty of newer noble houses would’ve existed too.
“The surname of the man who used you and me as bait when we first arrived was ‘Acrotic,’ remember?”
The Acrotic family, for example, wasn’t a founding house.
“……Ah. Then.”
“Yes. They were one of the noble families that participated.”
Holloway smiled when he said it.
Those people helped do that to you.
How can you smile?
“There’s no reason to hesitate, is there?”
Their descendants didn’t do anything wrong……
The words didn’t leave my mouth.
‘Can I be certain of that?’
If those descendants knew everything about what happened on the island and still turned away while enjoying wealth and power—
weren’t they also complicit?
There was such a thing as collective responsibility.
But the difference between those who reflected and those who refused to do so was enormous.
And if we were judging wrongdoing like that—
Holloway hadn’t done anything wrong either.
Holloway poked my cheek.
“You look like you want to say the descendants are innocent.”
“Not exactly. It depends on the circumstances. I can’t say anything carelessly without knowing.”
Whether they genuinely knew nothing.
Or whether they knew and chose to live while pretending otherwise.
Holloway spoke quietly.
“I wonder if they’re really innocent.”
“……What do you mean?”
I’m curious.
Explain quickly.
Holloway tightened the hand intertwined with mine.
“I couldn’t find it. But I think you might. Figure out what I mean and what I’m referring to on your own.”
“Why do you keep making me curious?”
“I don’t want to let you leave this place. If I tell you, it feels like you’ll leave.”
[Holloway wants to keep you here.]
Did he read my mind?
If there were a way to take them out—
I didn’t particularly want to leave the demons trapped here either.
But releasing them gave me pause.
They had killed quite a lot of people.
I was afraid they might continue killing after escaping.
Afraid innocent people might die because I released Holloway out of pity.
“If you escaped this hotel, would you kill people?”
It could have been a sensitive question.
Unexpectedly, Holloway didn’t seem offended.
“Neither I nor my friends have ever—”
He looked down at me.
“—killed anyone innocent.”
“What do you……”
“Ah. Maybe not. It’s been too long.”
Are you teasing me?
“Whatever the truth is, Evelyn can discover that too.”
Holloway refused to say anything else.
Did he want me to find out myself?
No.
It also felt as though he wanted me to judge things after learning the truth myself rather than hearing it from him.
More importantly—
he said they had never killed innocent people……
Then what were all those corpses?
And what sins had the game’s heroine and her companions committed that deserved death?
We hadn’t known anyone’s family names in the game either.
I needed to separate the game from reality.
Yet I kept unconsciously connecting them and looking for similarities.
“The people who colluded with the black mage were nobles, right? You asked our family names because you wanted to know if we were descendants of those nobles?”
“Why? Going to tell me?”
“No.”
When I answered with a completely straight face, Holloway gave a quiet laugh.
“Fine. Keep it secret.”
He didn’t say the rest.
Still, a chill passed through me and I rubbed my arms.
It almost sounded like he was hoping that once he learned my family—
he wouldn’t discover a reason to want me dead.
Unable to meet the brief cold look that entered his eyes, I turned my head aside.
His true form makes him even scarier.
How am I supposed to get rid of this bastard?
Breaking the seal and dragging him around with me are two different things.
Then I remembered the intruders.
The intruders turned out to be criminals……
Even if the Empress had been regularly sending criminals here, at most it could’ve been happening for ten or twenty years.
There seemed to be far too many corpses for only that amount of time.
“Do you know anything about the intruders?”
Ah.
He said he wasn’t going to answer questions anymore……
I started to give up and change the subject.
Unexpectedly, Holloway answered lightly.
“The Empress sent them.”
“You said you weren’t telling me anything.”
“Should I stop?”
“Keep going.”
“You say that now.”
Holloway stroked my head and kindly explained.
“They seemed to be searching for something.”
“A beautiful woman in her twenties named Evelyn?”
“…….”
Fine.
I’ll shut up.
[Holloway seriously wonders, ‘What am I supposed to do with this adorable thing?’]
What do you mean what?
Keep adoring me.
[He is considering opening an extravagant room.]
Try adoring me too much and you’re dead.
Comments (0)