Chapter 603: Contract Renewal [2]

Horror Game Developer: My Games Aren't That Scary!

News of my renewal with the Guild was explosive. Headlines cropped up everywhere, and I was forced to mute my phone to drown out the flood of messages from all the other guilds that had tried to scout me.

"Honestly, it never seems to stop. Let me be in peace."

I even went so far as to change my number. Since I didn’t know many people anyway, it wasn’t really a loss for me.

’I guess being an introvert has its perks.’

Sifting through the pile of documents before me, I eventually paused to look around the office. My attention eventually landed on the mirror that now sat in the corner of the room.

Staring at the reflection, I mused for a moment before saying, "Change."

In that moment, my entire body began to shift before my eyes; my hair lengthened rapidly, and other parts of my physique followed suit. Before I even realized what was happening, I had turned into a girl.

"Wow."

Even the voice was like that of a girl.

Moving my hands, the reflection followed suit. When I looked down, I realized it wasn’t just the image in the glass that had changed. My reality had shifted, too.

It wasn’t a biological change, but rather a total transformation in how people would now perceive me.

"Yeah, turn me back. This is pretty creepy."

I felt shivers while thinking about my current appearance.

The transformation back was just as quick, and soon, I was back to my normal self.

"Much better."

I felt that this appearance was much better. Nevertheless, there was no denying the mirror’s ability. With it, I felt that there’d be endless possibilities.

’It’ll also help me in situations where I might become the butcher again. Help me hide my traces.’

But that wasn’t important right now.

Reaching for my laptop, I began to search through the browser, the keyboard clicking away. However, the more I searched, the more serious my expression became.

"There’s nothing. How is this possible?"

Ever since discovering that faded, worn-out Bible, I had searched for any other copy. I thought that by looking through the bible, I’d get a better understanding of what was happening. However, it was as if the book had been completely erased from the world; I couldn’t find a single mention of it anywhere.

What was even stranger was the way people replied to me when I asked them about the bible.

’Bible? What’s that...?’

’Hmm? I’ve never heard of such a thing. Is it something from a distant island?’

Not even the people appeared to know anything about the bible. It was as if it had never existed. Even in the past.

And the fact that I was aware of what the bible was likely had to do with the fact that I wasn’t from this world.

"Strange. This is extremely strange."

I knew that I was moving closer and closer to the truth. The issue was that the more I unveiled, the creepier the situation felt to me.

’I guess there might be angels and god?’

If demons existed, surely...

To Tok—

All of a sudden, I heard a knock on the door as I raised my head.

Who could it be?

"Yes?"

Clank—

The door swung open a moment later, and I caught a glimpse of a stray lock of blonde hair as a pair of sharp green eyes locked onto mine. The suddenness of the encounter sent a jolt through me, her gaze momentarily making my mind go blank.

What was she doing here?

"Ah, Zoey."

I offered a brief greeting, noticing she looked a bit haggard. It was a sharp contrast to her usual self. The polished, well-maintained appearance she normally carried was nowhere to be found.

There were even traces of dark circles beneath her eyes.

"Didn’t get much sleep?"

"...Not really."

Zoey replied while massaging the dark circles. After which, she looked around the room before sitting down.

"....."

She just...

Ah, whatever.

"That’s new. When did you get that? Oh, wait..."

As if realizing something was off, her expression shifted, turning slightly strange as she took me in.

I smiled.

So she noticed.

"That’s a souvenir. The one that I got from the Congress."

Actually, it was more than just that. Thinking about it, I felt like chuckling. No, maybe a little chuckle did leave my lips.

Couldn’t help it.

"Right. That makes sense."

Zoey’s tone remained calm as she finally pulled her gaze away from the mirror. Instead, I felt her attention fixate entirely on me. The way she was looking at me felt strange. It carried an unsettling intensity.

"Are you..." she paused, her lips pressing together before asking, "Are you okay?"

Hm?

What’s up with her?

"I am...? But why are you ask—"

"I mean about Kyle."

"What about Kyle? He—oh."

Ah.

I froze for a split second as everything suddenly clicked into place. The pieces fell together, especially the reasoning behind her unexpected appearance at my door.

’Right, she’s checking up on me to see how I’m doing. At the same time... since Kyle is with me, I don’t feel much sadness. I know that he’s fine, unlike her. It’s natural for her to think that I’m not faring well.’

Perhaps it was due to everything I’d recently discovered, or maybe there was some other reason entirely, but I had truly forgotten about this matter.

’Is my already low EQ dropping?’

"Ehm."

I coughed, trying to force out a strained smile.

"...Honestly, the best that I can handle it. I... just don’t really think about it. I try not to think about it. I don’t know where he is, but... I think he’s fine. Kyle is very talented. I’m sure he’s alive somewhere."

"Yeah."

Zoey nodded slowly, her voice coming out somewhat soft.

I blinked a couple of times, opening my mouth to say a few more words, but Zoey spoke before I had the chance to.

"You know... I used to hate you."

"...Oh."

Right, she did.

But that was kind of my fault.

"I used to think that you were a self-centered prick that only cared about himself."

That hurt.

But... I kind of was, yeah.

"My opinion of you changed after I observed you for a while," she began, her voice rather steady. "I realized that maybe what happened between us was just a misunderstanding. I know I can be prickly, and I probably jumped the gun. I wanted to apologize. I think I’ve tried before, but honestly, it’s been eating at me for some time now, and I just needed to get it off my chest."

"I see."

This cleared up a lot of things for me. In all honesty, I had noticed the weird looks that she had been giving me lately. It was as if she wanted to say something, but always felt hesitant to say it.

I now realize what it was.

’She just always wanted to apologize.’

Now, I felt a little bad.

Especially since all of it was my fault.

I answered her right away.

"Actually, it’s my fault. You don’t have to—"

"Turns out, I was right."

My words came to an abrupt halt as I raised my head to look in Zoey’s direction. The moment I looked at her, I noticed a difference in her eyes. They felt cold. Really cold.

"I thought you were different. I thought that I was wrong."

"....."

"But I was never wrong."

Suddenly, she chuckled, bringing her hand to her mouth as she mumbled, ’I was stupid. I was really stupid.’

What the hell was she on about?

Taking a deep breath, I looked at her.

"I think you’re tired. Maybe you should have some rest. We can talk about this when you’re more clear-headed."

"No, there won’t be a need for that."

Zoey shook her head while staring at me. Her eyes remained cold.

"I don’t think I’m interested in having a conversation with someone like you."

I frowned.

I was starting to get annoyed now.

"You’re tired. Go back."

"It’s crazy that you don’t even notice it."

Zoey covered her mouth, staring at me as though I were a total stranger. Someone she didn’t recognize at all. The look rubbed me the wrong way.

"What are you talking about?"

My voice came out louder than I expected.

Zoey just shook her head, her expression still incredulous.

In the end, she just pursed her lips and shook her head in disappointment.

"You don’t care at all, do you?"

"What? What are you—"

"About Kyle. You don’t care at all."

Whatever word I was about to say stopped.

"Not once did I notice a trace of sadness from you," she said. "In fact, you even forgot about Kyle. You actually looked quite happy for some reason. I tried to tell myself it was some sort of coping mechanism, but it’s not. You just don’t care. It’s clear to me."

She laughed, covering her mouth.

"It’s... baffling, especially when Kyle cared so much about you. So much that he’d get panic attacks whenever something happened to you. Panic attacks..." Zoey repeated, her head shaking. "But you? You’re just so indifferent to it. I thought I had gotten to know you better, but the more I look at you, the stranger you seem. Then again, I didn’t know you well enough to say I could have determined your personality. But really..."

Zoey’s voice lowered as she whispered, "I really thought..."

Her words ended there.

In the end, she just shook her head and proceeded out of the room.

I didn’t say anything. I just watched her leave.

As the room turned silent, I leaned back against the chair and closed my eyes.

"...Disappointing."

Cra Crack!