Chapter 10
Many people, including her, sitting on wine-colored velvet seats. A slightly cool but not dry space. A large yellow light with a long range illuminates here and there in the space, and a gentle waltz flows out. Carolyn had her two hands clasped together. Unlike the somewhat relaxed tempo of the music, her heart was fluctuating wildly.
‘How is it, Regina. Isn’t it enjoyable?’
The light purple dress drew a circle like a newly blooming daisy. The large golden light was illuminating the lovers, but Carolyn could only see one person. Even the fingertips wrapped around the woman’s waist seemed to be covered in the soul of the role. A brilliant face. Immersion. Fascination.
‘No, beyond that…’
It is love. Carolyn could tell. The man loved what he did more than anyone else. As an actor on stage, he shone so brightly. It wasn’t just because of the lighting. Just, just…
‘Like a jewel.’
And Carolyn August had no choice but to love that man who loved his own work.
‘…I suppose that wasn’t love, but rather him being faithful to the character’s settings, though.’
It was bitter.
‘Let’s concede a point and say that I don’t love the human named Aiden.’
He actually performed the play in front of Carolyn. This wasn’t some setting of something that never happened. Aiden put on costumes, spat out lines, and showcased his acting amidst splendid backgrounds and props, and Carolyn saw it right before her eyes. It was something that actually happened. And Carolyn loved the stage he stood on and the characters he expressed. And if Aiden Darebell continued to show his appearance as an actor, there was no reason not to love him.
“My feelings remain unchanged. Because I love his acting.”
Carolyn had to admit it. Upon learning of Aiden Darebell’s role and the fact that he was a chess piece on this board, her heart felt empty. Even more so than when she learned about the significance of Carolyn’s own existence. But she didn’t want to lose. No matter how much she existed as a tool and was under the control of the system, she wanted to protect the world she had lived in and loved. Because she had already given meaning to them. Deletion had to be stopped without fail.
[I have been waiting for those words.]
It was an unexpected reaction. Carolyn took a step back at the sensation of the back of her neck turning cold.
[Miss Carolyn, you seem to be saying that even if Aiden Darebell is merely a role with set values, if he shows excellent acting, you will continue to love him. Is that correct?]
Carolyn read it again several times, in case there was a trap inside that question. Then, with her lips tightly shut, she nodded.
“Yes.”
[In that case, will you help him so that he does not give up on himself and can continue his acting?]
“If I… must.”
[Then, Miss Carolyn, please become a player of this episode and game and fill the empty seat. And please prevent Aiden Darebell’s death.]
‘Death?’
Carolyn’s eyes widened perfectly round.
“What does that mean?”
[After the 30 days written in the mansion’s pledge pass, Aiden Darebell will fail to solve his own problems and reach his death. The player must gather information, act, and liberate him from the problems he faces.]
“A-Aiden is…”
Going to die?
“P-please explain in a bit more detail.”
[There is no time, Miss Carolyn. I can inform you of more details once you become a player. Will you become a player?]
A new window popped up swiftly.
[The system is attempting to grant player privileges to ‘Carolyn August’. Do you accept? (Yes/No)]
“Wait a moment…”
Carolyn tried to converse more, but the window remained unchanged.
‘From the very beginning, you intended to make me jump into the game as a player.’
Calling itself a programmed AI without a personality, did it have all this in mind? However, Carolyn didn’t have any other particular method.
‘If so, I have no choice but to play along.’
Carolyn raised her hand and touched the place where the word ‘Yes’ was written. As she did, light spread around the letters and the pre-existing window disappeared.
[Miss Carolyn is a player from now on. You will see things you have not seen before, and you will come to know things you did not know.]
“If I liberate Aiden, what happens to this world?”
[The episode will be deleted.]
“This is different from what you said!”
[Please calm down, Miss Carolyn. The qualification as an episode that was the capture target of the game will merely disappear, but Aiden Darebell, yourself, and all the plays and this world will be maintained. It means I will liberate you from the system called the game, that is, from under my control.] [I believe I told you, I do not tell lies.]
Carolyn calmed her heaving chest while huffing. The very first feeling that came was relief.
‘If I succeed in the game as a player, the beings in this episode will become free.’
Not simply her and Aiden, but countless people will escape from deletion.
“But, System.”
[You may call me that.]
“Why are you offering such a reward? I still haven’t understood it well, but you said you were thinking of deleting the episode due to the inefficiency of the game operation. Compared to that, what you are proposing comes with too much trouble.”
[That is a good question, Miss Carolyn. However… I do not have much time right now.]
The speed at which the system floated the letters became faster.
‘It seems like it’s going to disappear soon.’
Carolyn’s heart grew impatient.
“Wait a moment!”
[If I delay any further, they might find out that I am carrying out independent actions. I have been granted much authority as an AI, but they probably wouldn’t have expected something like this.]
The system worried that if this fact were caught by the developers, it could be replaced with another model. Carolyn placed both hands on the window with the feeling of grasping at straws.
“Wait, just tell me this. What should I do from now on?”
[Unknown events are occurring inside this mansion. They are very strange events, so Miss Carolyn should be able to notice them too.]
What Carolyn had to do was find out what kind of events were occurring in this mansion, and why.
“And I also have to find out how those events are related to Aiden’s death, right.”
The system’s explanation was vague due to the pressing time, but Carolyn was able to set a direction. The pledge that received the players’ signatures. And the players who broke it. What she had to do was no different. Break the rules and dive in. Follow the course of action the players showed. The strange questions asked during tea time, and the woman who was caught in Friedman’s hands today. She caught the gist of it a little.
‘I have no choice but to work hard to find out.’
[If you happen to meet someone unexpected, please play along with them diligently, Carolyn. That will be enough.]
Handing over a bland piece of advice, the system left just like that.
