episode_0056

▶️ You have entered a restricted area! ◀️

[ Time limit: 30 minutes ]

The timer suddenly activated.

I had a feeling that the time had come as I looked at it.

“I may have been a bit ahead of schedule… but honestly, it wasn’t strange to take off at any time.”

In the training grounds, Karceine naturally received unfavorable looks. It was the basic base. Because of what the guy in the past had done.

So, considering their emotions, one could mistakenly think that the system message appearing was a very natural flow.

However, upon closer inspection, one could immediately raise questions.

Why didn’t this message appear from the beginning?

If you disliked Karceine, this message should have appeared when entering the training grounds.

Even then, when Mark’s intimacy was ashen, showing -25%, it was when other knights were even harsher, if not worse.

I chuckled as I recalled this fact that I first noticed while playing the game.

“Whenever you face that guy, a dead flag pops up. That was the message.”

You could say it’s meaningless since everyone dislikes him, but isn’t it intriguing?

It was also strange that a danger zone that had been deactivated reappeared.

Reality wasn’t much different.

It’s not entirely the same as in the game, but things like this are still the same.

Yeah. These are all hints.

Hints pointing to the ‘real threat’ within the episodes that have not yet come.

By carefully considering what actions I took today while playing the game, I could find the answer.

“If someone harbored ill intentions, it would definitely be that Bruce guy. And the boss above him must have been pissed off as well, so he must be on edge.”

I initiated a spell to lift the curse while grabbing the towel I received from Arina to confront the guy trying to steal it from her belongings and brought up his past.

As a result, I received a cold reception for touching Arina’s belongings, and due to my testimony, the guy’s image was tarnished among the other trainee knights.

Need more explanation?

By now, he’s probably full of thoughts of revenge against me.

If you miss something like this, it’s a direct path to a bad ending.

I counted the precautions to take when someone is angry with me, folding my fingers one by one.

“I should finish the laundry here. Avoid the evening hours from 5:30 to 6:30. And avoid being alone with him at other times…”

The plan was carefully laid out.

Because he already sees through it, he will most likely act in a way that avoids trouble as much as possible.

But there was one problem: the timing came a bit earlier than expected.

Originally, the window that appears from the 5th night was now open, so there was one thing I had to do.

“…Then I should meet Radiel now.”

I was supposed to visit her on the 5th night, but if the warning message appeared this quickly, there was a possibility that the news had reached Radiel’s ears.

▶️ Sub Episode: Mark and Radiel in Progress! ◀️

This sub-episode must be cleared now.

***

Even a small action can greatly change the events, background, environment, etc., of the main episode.

In the process, the significance of the sub-episode’s existence can be seen as a collection of information or a breakthrough for clearing the main episode.

However, one must not forget.

Even the sub-episodes in this game cannot be performed without meeting specific conditions, and if lacking, they can become a hindrance.

They provide hints about the correct choices or give warnings about impending dangers, so if the specific conditions are not met, penalties can be imposed without hesitation, or consequences similar to the main episodes can occur.

The current Mark and Radiel episode I received was like that.

It could only be carried out after raising Mark’s intimacy from negative, and from the moment I proceeded, Mark’s intimacy froze.

Although it said there would be no penalty for failure…

In reality, the dead trigger was activated. Because of Radiel, who was left alone.

“It’s funny. It’s not even a main episode, but by not performing the sub-episode, the content of the main episode changes, and it returns as a choice with a dead flag.”

Well, what can you do. The creator made it that way.

I had no choice but to move to perform that episode somehow.

“Uh, I’m full. I need to go to that place for a moment.”

“Kid. Why don’t you just say you have someone to date?”

“W-What are you talking about?”

“Stop playing dumb. I know you’ve been meeting with one of the noble’s maids.”

“Huh?!”

The knight who was playing dumb dropped the toothpick stuck between his teeth.

Watching that scene, the colleague next to him chuckled.

And then.

I approached them and casually threw a word.

“If it’s that maid, it’s better to visit her a little later.”

“What? Who… huh?”

“Milord?”

“Yeah.”

As I called him Milord, the knight’s side was poked by his colleague’s elbow.

“Hey, isn’t it okay now that the training is over?”

“But still, kid. Even if he’s a trainee, it seems a bit rude to ignore him.”

“…Yeah, I think so too.”

The knight, who was giggling at the thought of meeting the maid, expressed his gratitude.

Seeing them both using honorifics with me, it seemed that their guard against me had slightly lowered, so now was the time to gather information.

“Who’s at the restaurant right now? I want to eat too.”

“Right now? There are only a few people.”

Their names, which were unfamiliar to me but probably familiar to them, began to be heard.

But one thing I did learn was that Bruce was not among them.

Suddenly, the two of them looked at me as if they had a plan.

“Milord. When I was a trainee, I was always eating alone except for this guy. Stay strong.”

“…What?”

“The second menu is delicious today, you know? Even if you don’t have a companion, it’s nice to eat something tasty.”

What nonsense did he just say?

These guys thought I was a poor twisted knight without a companion.

-Tsk.

“Good luck!”

No.

That’s not what I meant, you guys.

The restaurant was a place that could reveal Radiel’s whereabouts, which suddenly disappeared when performing the sub-episode.

[ Order List ]

The names of the knights were written on a paper the size of a bulletin board.

One person’s name was left blank.

[Radiel Grupain] [ ]

‘She hasn’t come to the restaurant yet.’

No matter how noble she was, she was still a knight.

What does it mean that she, who trains every day, hasn’t taken care of her meal until now?

So I can roughly guess what’s going on.

I immediately turned around and went to find Radiel.

***

– Clang! Thud!

The wooden sword collided with the dummy, and the empty hall echoed with a dull sound.

“Ugh…!”

The woman wielding the sword clenched her lips.

The sound produced by the sword was not a clean hit, but rather a dull thud.

Her arm didn’t respond, causing her to lose strength.

Due to the imbalance, she couldn’t execute the proper sword technique.

Her body remembered.

This was wrong.

Radiel dropped the sword she was holding, resenting her arm that no longer listened to her.

Her arm, which had not listened to her since that day.

“If it continues like this… if it continues like this, Karsein Doyeon-nim…!”

The falsely accused nobleman had resigned himself.

Since that day, he had not returned to the training grounds, nor had he come to see her.

He had not sent a single word.

After the communication was cut off, all she heard were rumors of him being locked up in a room.

Becoming a troublemaker of the nobility.

Becoming the shame and disgrace of the aristocrat.

Inverting all the blame, becoming the enemy of the knights in the training grounds.

But somehow, the ban had been lifted, and he had not returned.

Despite the training grounds being engraved as the worst place for him, he had not returned here.

It was his last chance.

He couldn’t prove his innocence, but he had to bring the real sinners and pass judgment.

But…

It was impossible with this arm.

With this broken body, she couldn’t even pass judgment on the real sinners.

“Why won’t you listen! It’s just a scratch. It’s not even a cut!”

Radiel sat down, tapping her arm with her other hand, resenting and resenting. Why couldn’t she even seek revenge for Doyeon-nim?

And then.

A shadow fell over her sitting body.

Radiel quickly wiped away her tears.

“What. Mark. Coming back late.”

Trying to erase any traces of crying.

She naturally thought it was Mark. Even if she said there was no guilt to Doyeon-nim, he wouldn’t understand, the resentful Mark.

He would surely nag.

He would scold her for not eating and starving herself, swinging the sword with a body that didn’t listen properly.

Now he should stop. Admit that you were wrong and let go of your stubbornness.

But sadly, the person in front of her was not Mark.

“I’m sorry if you were waiting for Mark.”

“…!”

For a moment, she doubted her ears.

Whose voice was she hearing now?

‘This voice… could it be.’

She didn’t think so.

She had heard that he had come to the First Knights’ training grounds after that day, but he had not come to see her.

Of course, because he had suffered a greater accusation because of her.

But when she raised her head.

Even though the bright light was dazzling, when she noticed that the face peeking through the shadow overlapped with the boy from the past.

Radiel finally realized.

“Doyeon… nim…?”

The fact that the person in front of her resented her so much, the fact that he was Karsein.