Trapped in a Game That Flopped

Chapter 114



Chapter 114

Episode 114

I stared at the door in surprise at the unexpected visit.

When we met this morning, I hadn't thought the Saintess would seek me out again.

She had, after all, glared at me with eyes full of hatred for exposing her hidden shame.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Please, open the door, Shari."

While I hesitated, she knocked again, urging me.

I hurriedly closed the chat window and approached the door.

Beolkeok, I opened the door to see the Saintess's deathly pale face.

"What is it?"

"Please help me. Nise, oppa was dragged away!"

The moment I opened my mouth, she suddenly grabbed my hand.

And spat out the words like a rapid-fire.

"The Pope put a barrier on the Old Temple, and even I can't get in. He must have done it on purpose. To keep us from meeting."

"Saintess."

"But oppa, when I went to give him a potion during the day, he said something strange..."

"First, calm down and come inside."

I just stared at Liv in surprise, then stepped aside from the door.

Because it looked like she would collapse if I left her there.

After letting Liv into the room, I scanned the hallway just in case.

Thankfully, the hallway was silent, without even the sound of an ant crawling by.

Kassel, in the room right next door, must have already left the Temple, and Adam, true to his diligent and rigid nature, seemed to have gone to bed early.

Kkiiieek, Tak!

I watched Adam's quiet door intently for a moment before closing my door and turning around.

And I spoke to the woman standing there anxiously.

"Sit."

Liv looked at me with trembling eyes, then silently sat on the sofa.

I don't know what measures she'd taken in the meantime, but the piercing rotting smell no longer came from her.

Thinking that was a relief, I sat down across from her and spoke immediately.

"So, Nise was dragged away by the Pope?"

"...Yes."

Liv nodded, her face etched with anxiety.

"But there's no reason for him to be dragged away. He said he'd release the monster, and that I just had to stab that monster with a knife..."

"The monster, you mean that eyeball in the Old Temple?"

"You saw it too?"

"Yes. By chance, when I went looking for Nise."

Liv's eyes widened in surprise at my answer.

What she was saying matched the scenario where the Saintess defeats the Temple Main Quest's final boss, so it was nothing to be surprised about.

The one who ordered her to release the eyeball monster trapped in the Old Temple and stab it was, without a doubt, the Pope.

"You... you really must be oppa's friend."

"..."

"My oppa... never had a friend in his whole life..."

Liv muttered blankly at my words about looking for Nise, then her face suddenly distorted.

Staring at me with an expression that was hard to tell if she was crying or laughing, she finally spoke as if she'd made a decision.

"Before oppa was dragged away, he said something strange."

"What was it?"

"He said if I just wait, the monster will die on its own, so I must never be near it while it's alive."

That was completely different from the quest scenario.

Originally, Nise only goes as far as releasing the eyeball monster under the Pope's orders, but he has no idea his sister will be used in a performance to kill it.

As proof of that, right after the Saintess sacrifices her life to defeat the monster, Nise, having lost his sister, suffers a great shock and becomes bedridden.

'What is it? Did Nise catch on to the Pope's plan?'

Just as I was lost in thought, wondering why he would tell Liv not to go near the eyeball monster.

Liv added something even more incomprehensible.

"And... after it dies, he told me to swallow that monster's essence."

"That eyeball monster's... essence?"

"Yes. He said then I could become a truly perfect Saintess."

After finishing her words, she bit her lip hard, then painfully confessed.

"I think... the Pope is trying to do something to oppa."

And along with that, she took something from her clothes and placed it on the table.

[S-Grade Healing Potion]

[Lv.120 Dagger Imbued with Holy Power]

The healing potion was clearly the one I had given Liv this morning.

But the luxurious-looking dagger was something I'd never seen before.

"This is..."

"It's a holy relic the Pope gave me to use when I stab the monster."

Liv replied when I pointed at the dagger and asked in confusion.

Then, she made an expression like she was about to burst into tears at any moment.

"Oppa returned the potion."

"Nise did?"

"I gave it to him to heal his wounds... but he said he was fine, and told me to keep it for emergencies."

I, who was taking this situation very seriously, felt a bit puzzled looking at her.

"...I never asked to be saved."

"The one who saved me without asking, brought me to the Temple without asking, and made me live as the Saintess without asking was Nise."

Therefore, Nise had to take responsibility for everything.

Of course, there was a childish side to it, but the fear and resentment in her bloodshot eyes were genuine.

That's why I'd thought that if her soul still remained, just telling me where Nise was would be her fulfilling a minimal duty, and I felt relieved.

But her contradictory behavior, so different from before, I tilted my head.

"But why does that matter?"

"What..."

"Isn't that what you wanted, Saintess?"

I was just asking because I was curious, but Liv flinched as if stabbed, her shoulders trembling as she sucked in a breath.

Staring into her eyes, which were frozen in shock, I silently repeated.

"Becoming the perfect Saintess. Whatever it takes, isn't Nise just saying he'll take responsibility for everything, just as you wanted?"

I thought Liv would get angry like before or burst into tears if I said this.

Because she seemed to be trapped in self-pity, without knowing exactly what she herself wanted.

"...You know."

But she replied to my provocation-like words in a surprisingly calm tone.

"I thought that if I became the perfect Saintess, we wouldn't have to live by begging anymore."

"..."

"I thought oppa... wouldn't be beaten by our drunk father or the neighborhood kids anymore..."

"..."

"I thought we could live happily in the warm Temple, eating lots of delicious food. If only I gave a little blood."

One-dimensional thoughts that a naive child would have.

As she laid them out, she looked down as if embarrassed and continued.

"So I thought it was okay for oppa to be beaten by the Pope whenever I did something wrong."

"..."

"It wasn't like he was beaten every day. And I figured he'd heal quickly if I gave him my blood or a potion."

"..."

"But. This is the first time oppa has refused, saying he doesn't need to heal his wounds. He always said thank you, willingly accepted the treatment, and got better right away..."

Liv seemed to be struggling to hold back her tears, then buried her face in her hands.

"I... I just wanted us to live happily. But how in the world did it end up like this..."

Murmuring as if whispering, she finally took her hands away from her face, her voice thick with tears.

"I hated oppa for reviving me without my permission, but I never wished for him to die in my place."

"..."

"What do I do now, Shari? Please, help me."

I couldn't say anything.

Because my own mind was in complete chaos, and I couldn't judge what to do.

'Damn it. Why is the situation turning out like this? Didn't I just have to rescue Nise and everything would be solved?'

"For now, please go back before anyone notices. I'll grasp the situation and come find you again."

"B-but..."

Liv, her face full of anxiety, was reluctant to leave.

But I also needed to understand this suddenly changing situation and prepare for it.

"You said you can't enter the Old Temple, Saintess. They won't do anything to Nise right away, at least not before the tournament opening ceremony."

"..."

"And if he finds out you keep seeking me, an apothecary, he'll find fault again and try to intimidate you."

After I said that, Liv, perhaps judging she couldn't resist any longer, reluctantly got up from her seat.

"Saintess, this."

She seemed to be forgetting the dagger, so I quickly picked it up and handed it to her.

She stared at the dagger I offered with trembling eyes for a while, then finally raised her head and spoke in a pleading tone.

"That... could you just keep it until the opening ceremony, Shari?"

"Me?"

"I feel like if I have it, things will go just as the Pope wants."

It was a surprisingly firm attitude, unlike her usual obedient self toward the Pope.

I looked at her with new eyes, then asked cautiously.

"...Saintess, are you thinking of not doing as the Pope and the Temple command?"

"If that were my intention, I wouldn't have come looking for you, Shari."

She added with a bitter smile.

"I thought about what you said, Shari. About whether Nise and I would be safe if I keep doing as the Pope commands."

"..."

"But no matter how much I think about it, I can't picture that future. Rather, thinking back on everything up to now, he'll probably use this as an excuse to tighten his leash on me even more."

I thought she was just stuck as a 12-year-old, only knowing how to throw tantrums.

But now, she was acting resolutely, like an adult who had suddenly grown up.

'Come to think of it...'

Even in the past the eyeball monster showed me, she had matured early and acted as Nise's protector.

That's why I'd easily assumed her soul had vanished in the process of reviving her, or that it had been corrupted by mixing with monster souls.

When she, too, was just a child, afraid of the reality of her own revival from death, and vaguely swayed by the Pope's tyranny.

I felt heavy-hearted, thinking I'd just recklessly hounded and pressured Liv, only focused on finishing the quest quickly.

"Even though he refused the healing potion, oppa fed me his blood again."

"Ah."

'No wonder. That's why Liv didn't smell.'

I learned the reason the rotting smell was gone, but my heart sank even further.

Nise, so devoted to his sister even in that situation.

And Liv, begging a mere commoner apothecary to save her oppa. They were both just so pitiful.

'Hah... I should be the most pitiful one here.'

It's just a game. But the number of people I have to worry about keeps increasing, and I felt extremely conflicted.

"His own back was all torn up from being beaten... He should worry about himself, stupid."

Before I knew it, Liv was muttering, staring blankly into the air with silver eyes welling up with tears.

"You were right, Shari."

"..."

"Oppa is the one who should live according to the natural order. Not me, who is already dead."

"...Saintess."

"I realized that too late... I'm so scared... so scared oppa will die in my place."

Finally letting silent tears fall, Liv stared at me with her deathly pale face.

Silver eyes, identical to Nise's, swirling with desperation and a single sliver of hope.

Even though I had no solution at all.

"I understand."

I had no choice but to murmur quietly.

"I'll try to take care of it."


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