Chapter 24 – Another Player

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Translated by Seoulbound

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Though I thought Daphne was just an NPC, she was not.

[Name: Meursault’s Wife

Target Route: Merry Bad Ending (Hayden)

Affiliated Zone: Cola

Equipped Item: Violet Eye of Fascination

*A player using a different version of the system; friend requests are not possible.]

Leaving aside the absurd nickname ‘Meursault’s Wife.’

A target route of Merry Bad Ending ‘Hayden’?

It was a route that even I, who cleared all zones, had never heard of in my life.

‘What does it mean that the version is different?’

At least, it was certain that my system version was a higher version than Daphne’s.

Because while I was looking into her character profile, she did not seem to be able to open mine.

‘Wait a minute…’

Daphne of this world was a player with a different version from mine.

Luna Moon was presumed to be a player.

Daphne and Luna Moon knew each other.

In other words.

‘It is highly likely that Luna Moon was also a player with a different version from mine!’

Just like me, Tae-jeong, CornerHoney, and T-Bastard.

Daphne and Luna Moon might be player peers who were possessed into this game at the same time.

Although the term ‘fellow possessed peers’ was a bit funny.

‘If they were possessed ahead of us, many things are explained.’

Luna Moon’s information that I didn’t know, and Daphne’s actions that were different from what I knew.

Since it was only natural that it differed from what I remembered if I thought of them all as players instead of NPCs.

However, the problem was why they, who were players, appeared as NPCs of ‘Apocalypse: Safe Zone’…

“Heydam?”

When I just stared blankly up at her, Daphne asked with a slightly suspicious tone.

“Why are you staring at me so intently? As if there is something floating above my head?”

‘Would someone normally say that just because they were stared at intently? Is she testing me to see if I can see the system? Or is it just empty words?’

Once I learned that Daphne was a player, everything became suspicious.

I contemplated for a moment.

‘Should I reveal that I am also a player?’

However, there was no benefit in revealing that I was a player to Daphne right now.

Since I didn’t even know exactly what a player with a different version was, why would I show my cards to a veteran(?) player who possessed this world before me and practically occupied the position of the zone’s mistress?

And it would also be a problem if the fact that I was a player, not Luna Moon’s son, was conveyed to the commander through Daphne.

‘The way to extract only Daphne’s player information without revealing that I am a player is…’

Naturally, it was to exploit Luna Moon’s name.

Once I broke free from the effect of the item called Violet Eye of Fascination or whatever, the emotion clearly visible in Daphne’s eyes.

No matter how I looked at it, it was ‘goodwill.’

If she were someone who held no favorability toward Luna Moon, she would have shown hostility to me too.

However, if she was a player looking at me with eyes full of goodwill.

Unlike in the game, she was highly likely to have no rejection toward Luna Moon’s child.

I bowed my head slightly to apologize.

“I’m sorry if it was unpleasant. Looking above people’s heads is a habit I inherited from my mother.”

“A habit you inherited from Luna Moon?”

“Because Mother sometimes used to stare blankly above mine or other people’s heads.”

“……”

Hearing my words, Daphne’s expression became subtle, as if she was thinking about something.

Not missing the timing, I continued.

“Also, the reason I sought you out in such a rude manner is to deliver my mother’s last words.”

“Luna Moon’s… last words?”

At the words that Luna Moon had left her last words for her, Daphne’s eyes shook violently.

It was not a tremor of fear or displeasure.

I felt a considerable amount of expectation from her gaze.

‘Then…’

“Could you dismiss the people around you? She said it was a message to be delivered only to Daphne-nim.”

When I said that, Daphne ordered the servants without hesitation.

“Everyone, please wait outside the mansion.”

“Daphne-nim!”

The servants, who had been watching our confrontation in bewilderment, were shocked by Daphne’s low word.

“To show such convenience to a child who scaled the wall as he pleased!”

“No matter how much of a child he is, we cannot leave the two of you alone!”

“It is fine, so please leave.”

When it seemed like Daphne wouldn’t listen at all, the servants shifted their target and began to criticize me fiercely.

“Heydam-nim! If you didn’t come to insult Daphne-nim, please go back now.”

“We mean you should request a formal meeting and have a talk!”

I requested a formal meeting long ago, so what are they talking about?

Daphne looked back and forth between me and the servants, then let out a small sigh.

“Seeing that even you all do not listen to my words now… I can understand why this child scaled the wall. He probably thought that since I am a pathetic person who cannot even manage the servants properly, I wouldn’t be able to say anything even if he scaled the wall and entered.”

“A-Ah, no, Daphne-nim…!”

“We did not have such intentions…!”

The servants exchanged glances and looked confused, then, judging that it was a good time to retreat for now, they bowed deeply to Daphne and left the mansion in an orderly fashion.

As the last servant left and closed the lobby door, silence began to flow through the mansion.

‘…It is a reaction that doesn’t make me think she was in a hostile relationship with Luna Moon.’

If she were wary of me, she wouldn’t have made the choice to send everyone out and remain alone.

Even if I was just a ten-year-old kid.

I didn’t know what relationship Luna Moon and Daphne had, but if both were players, it seemed highly probable that they were players in a cooperative relationship.

Yet Daphne chose to hide herself instead of seeking me out first, even though I was known as Luna Moon’s son.

‘The reason she didn’t seek me out first, despite still holding favor for Luna Moon and waiting for her to come.’

I read something like a faint guilt in the way she looked at me.

‘She did something wrong to Luna Moon.’

Thinking up to that point and looking back.

It was only natural for Daphne to feel guilty toward me.

The one who was originally in a relationship with Hayden was Luna Moon.

However, she probably knew that by Hayden marrying Daphne, I, Luna Moon’s son, had been wandering the slums all this time.

Was it a story like pushing out Luna Moon, a fellow player, and marrying Hayden herself to clear the zone?

If so, the words Daphne wanted to hear right now were obvious.

“Mother…”

I continued speaking without taking my eyes off those violet eyes to gauge Daphne’s reaction.

“Said she forgives you… and knows it wasn’t your fault.”

At those words, Daphne was greatly shaken and took a step back.

“…That’s a lie.”

It seemed correct that she had expected this word.

But she doesn’t believe it right away?

“You made up that story to gain my favor, didn’t you?”

Daphne asked in a trembling voice, and I replied, shamelessly even in my own opinion.

“No way. Why do you think so?”

“Because there is no way she would have forgiven me so easily.”

Daphne frowned and bit her lip as she spoke.

“Even when I said it couldn’t be helped for the target, and that it wasn’t something I did because I wanted to, she never believed me. She was also the one who coldly walked away when I asked for help!”

“Of course, Mother also said that you wouldn’t believe it easily. She told me to say this to you when that happens.”

It was a funny word to utter in this situation, but judging that there would be no word more effective than this to convince Daphne, I spat it out.

“Meursault’s Wife.”

“T-That is!”

Daphne’s face flushed bright red.

Just like a person whose embarrassing past was caught.

If I were to return to reality, I thought I should not choose nicknames lightly in the future.

“H-How much did you hear from Luna Moon…? By any chance, do you even know what kind of existences we are…?”

Indeed, it seemed Luna Moon was a player of the same version as Daphne.

I politely replied while trying not to laugh.

“Actually… Mother passed away while telling me, so I couldn’t hear it properly. So please, as my mother’s friend… could you tell me?”

Daphne did not take her eyes off my lips, as if she knew the word that would flow from my mouth.

I slowly spat out the remaining words.

“About ‘players.’”

* * *

“First, before we talk…”

Because all the servants had been sent outside the mansion, Daphne prepared and brought out refreshments herself.

Perhaps because the years she spent in this game as a possessed player were not few, all her movements of putting on tea water and brewing tea looked familiar.

Daphne, who poured tea into my cup, said with a small sigh.

“I hope you won’t be too shocked even if you hear the whole story. Your mother truly loved Hayden, and you were born as a result. You are the fruit of a love that transcended dimensions.”

Well… I was just a con artist pretending to be the fruit of love, not the actual fruit of love.

At any rate, I had no choice but to nod quietly to hear more of the story.

‘Hmm?’

…For some reason, Luna Moon’s ring felt a bit hot since a while ago.

The feeling was slightly different from when it grew warm upon facing Commander Hayden.

If it felt like welcoming the meeting and regretting the parting when I was with the commander.

Now it was… a feeling like being a bit excited and nervous.

“Where should I start…”

Daphne murmured softly, leaning her back against a classic gold-leafed floral sofa.

“First, a player refers to… a possessed person.”

“A possessed person?”

“Luna Moon and I are not people of this world. We… suddenly possessed a certain ‘game’ one day.”

“……”

Possession inside a game.

So these people also possessed it while playing a game.

Daphne stopped speaking and was reading my countenance.

“…It must be hard to believe, right? That your world is inside a game.”

She probably thought I went silent out of shock from hearing that this world was inside a game.

I was just curious.

What the game was that Luna Moon and Daphne possessed.

‘Daphne also possessed a game. Yet the version is different from ours… did she possess one of the Safe Zone series?’

Safe Zone was a game with quite a history, having started as a dot game about ten years ago, and now series exist on both console and online.

Among them, I played the online ‘Apocalypse: Safe Zone’ released as the newest version.

“What kind of game was it?”

“Pardon?”

“If the world I live in is inside a game, I’m curious what kind of game it was.”

“……”

For a long time, no answer came from Daphne.

Although she seemed reluctant to tell me what kind of game it was for some reason.

What game they possessed was an important issue.

Because if the game they possessed was not the Safe Zone series, it would mean there could be more other players who entered through different games other than ‘Safe Zone.’

“Is it a game so terrible that it’s hard to speak of?”

“A-Ah… no. It’s just… a bit… of an embarrassing game to talk about…”

An embarrassing game to talk about?

Surely she wasn’t embarrassed because the Safe Zone series was a f**king otaku game.

“So… Mi…”

“Mi?”

“……”

Daphne hesitated to speak until the very end, then closed her eyes tight and confessed as if she had no choice.

“…A Handsome Middle-aged Men Dating Simulation game…”

“…Pardon?”

Handsome Middle-aged Men Dating… what?