This House Has A Delicious Restaurant - Chapter 10 - Operation To Recapture Diswen (1) - Part 4

“What’s making you so happy?”

A familiar voice startled me. I turned to see Zerdan sitting on the rooftop ledge, smiling at me.

“You seem to have gotten quite close to Bella. I’m feeling a bit jealous.”

“Zerdan…?”

Zerdan changed his position from the ledge to stand next to me. He glanced around the rooftop and then kicked the corpse of someone who had died because of Obella’s actions. Anise trembled and moved closer to Mummy Man, who, startled by Zerdan’s sudden appearance, swung the egg in his hand with force.

Although everyone here could be injured, Mummy Man’s decision to act likely stemmed from the perceived threat Zerdan posed.

However, the egg he threw exploded in mid-air next to the rooftop. Anise, frightened and not using her abilities, caused a weaker explosion than before. I staggered back, unable to believe the situation.

“Aaah!”

Mummy Man’s scream echoed on the rooftop. It wasn’t just the egg that was thrown out of the rooftop; his entire arm holding the egg was also thrown out and exploded.

The sudden loss of his arm caused him to collapse, clutching his shoulder in agony.

Despite Mummy Man’s severe pain, Zerdan seemed indifferent, casually twirling his knife. The blade, extremely sharp, was stained with blood.

Though I knew Zerdan could turn corpses into puppets, his physical combat prowess was unexpectedly formidable.

By Mummy Man’s side, Anise’s face was pale with fear. She seemed paralyzed with worry for Mummy Man, unable to speak a word.

“The Opera Queen, right? It’s nice to see you here. I was quite disappointed to miss you last time.”

Zerdan’s handsome exterior belied the menace he carried with him. His white suit was stained with blood, and the knife he wielded was no less tainted.

He approached Anise slowly, the sounds of battle below were drowned out by the ominous click of his footsteps. Overwhelmed by fear, Anise crumpled to the ground, unable to stand. Zerdan raised his knife, his cold gaze fixed on Anise with a chilling intent. In a desperate move, I embraced Zerdan from behind.

“If you’re looking for expressions of affection, the bed might be a more suitable place, my dear.”

“Aren’t you planning to take Anise with you? You were interested in her abilities, weren’t you?”

“Her amplification ability is rare and useful, true. But I doubt she would cooperate willingly, and controlling someone with such abilities is challenging for me.”

Zerdan’s eyes conveyed a silent threat—if he couldn’t use her, he’d have no qualms about killing her.

I hadn’t expected him to act this way…

I glanced at Anise, relieved that I had prepared for this scenario.

“Lazis.”

As I called out Lazis’s name, the space around Anise and Mummy Man began to distort. Anise, startled, looked at her body in disbelief.

The knife Zerdan had thrown, aimed at Anise’s neck, was deflected by the distorted space, falling harmlessly at Zerdan’s feet.

“I didn’t expect you’d use Lazis’s power. How did you manage that? He’s the kind of person who dislikes unnecessary interference, even from Bella and me.”

“I’m good at negotiations.”

“Impressive.”

Zerdan lowered his head, meeting my gaze. For a moment, his kiss frightened me, but soon, I felt a sharp pain in my chest and realized that the situation was far from ordinary.

“I warned you, Moa Ablon. It’s unfortunate to lose you this way after crossing the line.”

Anise’s face, filled with horror, faded into the distorted space.

What’s happening right now?

I couldn’t understand the horror on Anise’s face or Zerdan’s sympathetic tone. All I knew was the pain in my chest and the realization that Zerdan had betrayed me.

“Do you want to live?”

Suddenly, Anise was gone, and the rooftop was left with just Zerdan and me. Kneeling, I silently watched the blood flowing from my chest.

Zerdan, aligning himself with my gaze, asked his question. Without answering, I stared at him, and he reached out, gently stroking my cheek.

His touch was warm, though I couldn’t tell if it was because of his high body temperature or my own body growing cold. In the end, it didn’t matter.

“If you want to live, I might spare you. If you beg me.”

Begging…

It’s him who made me like this… Should I rather say it’s more like something Zerdan would do?

“I told you before, right? I’m not afraid of death.”

Am I making a pained expression reflected on Zerdan’s face, or am I smiling thanks to my efforts?

Zerdan’s face becomes ambiguous.

“If it’s not on the bed, I don’t beg.”

“Isn’t it a bit too late to be stubborn now?”

Anyway, it would be enough to end the game. Although it might need to be restarted from the beginning.

‘Even if dying would automatically end the game, there’s no need to wait for that.’

It feels like I haven’t mentally shouted ‘settings’ in a long time.

When progressing through a game, if you internally acknowledge and shout ‘settings,’ the virtual reality, which felt like reality, would become blurry, and a large window would appear in front of you.

That window has basic settings buttons like ‘Return,’ ‘Save,’ and ‘End Game.’

I was going to end the game since pressing ‘Save’ in this scene seemed unlikely to change anything, but there was no response even when I mentally shouted ‘settings.’

Usually, Zerdan in front of me would become blurry first, and then the window would appear, but he still appeared clearly with an interesting expression on his face.

“If you’re lucky, you might see me again alive next time. Though I don’t know if such a situation will come.”

Zerdan lifted his upper body. Only his legs and black shoes are visible. A shadow forms beneath his feet, and soon Zerdan disappears.

Before I knew it, I was alone on the rooftop.

“…Why isn’t the game ending?”

Muttering in frustration, I kept mentally shouting ‘settings,’ ‘end game,’ but there was no response.

Is there a problem with the game system? Or is this entire situation a dream?

I stared blankly at the sky. The intense pain finally surged from the wound I hadn’t properly felt before.

The floor I sat on was covered in flowing blood.

If this continues, I’ll die from excessive bleeding. If I die, wouldn’t the game system forcibly end even if it has errors?

But what if, even if I were to die, it doesn’t end?

A chill runs down my spine.

Come to think of it, I clearly remember lying on the bed after dying and ending the game with Zerdan.

I started the game again in my sleep, thinking lightly, but if it wasn’t for somnambulism, I wouldn’t be able to forget such a thing.

Seeing the pain means it’s not a dream. Besides, if it were a dream, I would have woken up after such a shock. It shouldn’t last for days.

I touched the floor and saw blood on my hand. When I brought my hand to my nose, the smell of blood was overwhelmingly strong.

The developers had judged that users would avoid the realistic smell of blood and cruel scenes, so they ensured other aspects of the game were executed realistically but excluded the smell of blood and direct murder scenes.

Yet, the smell of blood is so realistically sensed in this game.

I tightly closed my eyes.

I don’t want to believe it, but it seems I’ve truly become the real Moa Ablon in this game.

So now that I am Moa Ablon, this place is a reality. If I die from this wound, it is the end. Whether or not I can return to reality is unknown.

The careless actions of my past days flash through my mind like a parade of memories. How I acted recklessly towards Zerdan, thinking of it as just a game, and how I took others’ lives lightly.

I’ve done something terribly mad.

To survive, I need to stop the bleeding, but it’s too late. If I had known this would happen, I should have either begged Zerdan to save me or done something to provoke him a bit.

My eyelids are closing. As I lose consciousness, I vaguely see long silver hair, but I’m not sure if it’s mine.