HTPTMOTMM Chapter 37

I also remembered the content I had overheard from the maids' conversation.

"But why do so many maids want to go to Room 1 when they know Marianne is strict? Young Master Lusca... isn't in good health either. That's quite a handicap."

"I'm not sure either, but physical health isn't the biggest factor in evaluation... It's also true that Room 1 consistently maintains high scores during rankings."

"Right, the criteria for becoming an excellent holy person aren't limited to just one thing."

Finally, what Dian had said in front of me before...

"As fellow regent candidates, I don't want to think badly of him, but I really can't understand Minuel's personality."

I slightly furrowed my brow.

'Did the game company really go all out this time? They've added incredibly detailed new settings.'

Based on the information I had seen and heard so far, this was indeed the universe worldview.

No wonder I was suspicious when Raphael kept babbling about the 18th World this and the 44th World that—it really was the era of world unification.

This content was also in the front part of the manual book I had skimmed through and read thoroughly all night.

'Until now, I only checked the caregiver explanation part, so I missed this discovery. Ugh, but what player would carefully examine the front part they've memorized to death for the 44th time?'

Anyway, the worldview of this playthrough that I figured out during the night was like this:

A total of 44 worlds have been discovered so far.

Each world is connected by something called "gates," and if certain conditions are met, it's possible to freely travel between different worlds.

So this Redford mansion is located in the 18th World, and Raphael came from the 44th World. In this playthrough, I was also set as being from the 44th World.

As I saw this morning when I went outside, the 18th World consisted entirely of the grounds where this Redford mansion stood, and beyond the wall was completely empty space. I tried throwing a stone outside the wall as a test, and just like it was being sucked into fog, no sound came even after a long time. So if you fell down there, you probably wouldn't even be able to collect the bones.

Usually, with this scale, you'd expect some kind of cosmic war to have broken out, but the people here lived peacefully in balance, not coveting each other's worlds.

However, problems arose when gates leading to completely empty worlds—places people named "voids"—began appearing.

Since they were empty worlds with nothing in them, no one paid much attention to these places at first.

But these void worlds strangely kept growing larger and began encroaching on other worlds.

Moreover, people who were swept into these voids never returned and remained missing.

Then one day, monsters in human form suddenly began appearing in various worlds.

'These are the Morose.'

Even more surprisingly, experiments by a world particularly advanced in soul research proved that these monsters' souls were identical to those of people who had disappeared beyond the gates.

Meanwhile, the voids kept expanding, and the number of new gates leading to voids increased during this time.

Naturally, the number of people swept into them and sucked in also increased. At this rate, humanity was facing extinction.

Feeling the threat to their survival, people around the world conducted countless studies and finally found a way to close the void gates.

A person whom the empty world rarely allows inside could enter and close the gate of their own will.

Though extremely few in number, over the long years, people discovered that there were special individuals who wouldn't die even if they entered the void.

So people decided to call these individuals "regents," elevate them as kings, and send them to the empty worlds.

And the place that raises these regents was set to be this Redford mansion.

I looked back at the mansion I had just left.

Under the cloudy sky, the magnificent Redford mansion standing tall like a mountain range was spreading its ominous aura in all directions today as well.

"Regent. What a nice word."

I muttered quietly while keeping that scenery I had seen countless times before in my view.

The manual book didn't mention what happens to the child who goes to the empty world.

Everyone talked as if it was like "Congratulations on becoming the king of a new world!" but wasn't it said from the beginning that only extremely few humans could go to that void place?

'So they're telling that child to live alone as regent in that completely empty place?'

Though not certain yet, that Pandora Project or whatever that Stella was proceeding with as a control tower probably referred to this.

I recalled the desolate scenery outside the Redford mansion I saw this morning.

Suddenly feeling dejected, my cute baby kitten's bright face floated before my eyes.

I thought of our lovely little one, who had clenched his small fist this morning at breakfast, determined to work hard for people with that weak body of his.

Thinking that Dian had spent lonely time in this mansion every day with such thoughts made me feel like tears would pour out like a broken faucet.

I suddenly began to have doubts about this playthrough's gaming approach.

Was it really right to raise Dian to fit the mansion's purpose and make him regent of that void world?

Then our baby would go, "Farewell, everyone. I'm casting off all the bonds and shackles of this world and departing for another world! Poof!" and disappear forever from my sight?

'No way...!'

I had been chanting like a mantra that I wanted to see Dian's ending, but I didn't want to see this kind of world-transcending ending!

The phrase "sacrifice of the few for the many" only works when the one being sacrificed isn't our baby!

'But did Marianne from Room 1 also agree to this system while caring so much for Lusca?'

I recalled Marianne's face I had seen in the dark corridor yesterday.

For now, I had only seen what was written in the manual book... There might be something more I didn't know, so I should try to find out as much information as possible first.

"Ahahaha!"

Then I heard clear laughter that made my hair stand on end.

I turned my head and spotted a pink-haired boy running somewhere with a ball, laughing brightly.

'Ah, that brat!'

He was a child I had thought was simply cute before, but after the recent incident, I found myself glaring at him whenever I saw him.

I checked the character information before the pink-haired boy completely disappeared from sight.

Vivi (12)

• Belongs to Room 3 of Redford mansion
• Personality: Fearful, introverted, timid, low self-esteem
• Current state: Fear
• Attribute: Evil
• Favorability: ?/? (Inactive) (Available for viewing from 70% system loading)

"Huh?"

Another unexpectedly surprising status window appeared.

The little demon rabbit turned out to be a scaredy-cat rabbit.

Moreover, introverted and timid? The kid who was giggling while watching from behind when we were attacked by those strange seeds in the demon's garden?

Even now he's laughing so brightly, but his current state is listed as fear?

While I was slightly confused, Vivi disappeared into the garden with his ball.

I headed toward the garden following him.

"Where are you going, Room 7?"

"Ah, you scared me."

Then Raven from Room 4 suddenly popped out.

"What are you so surprised about? I've been calling you for a while, but you seemed not to hear me."

He approached me and spoke first, then strangely watched my reaction.

I thought he was speaking casually and then watching my response. Though it was a short period, he had been using honorifics awkwardly since mistaking me for an agent on a secret mission, but now he seemed to want to speak casually again?

Then I paused.

'Ah, come to think of it, back then I thought this guy was just imaginative and barking up the wrong tree, but it was all true?'

It was all true that I had received a secret mission from Stella and entered this Redford mansion, and that I needed to investigate something at the mansion.

'Is he unexpectedly perceptive?'

But in any case, he was just annoying me right now.

"Are you free, sir?"

"Why do you ask?"

But Raven made a strangely interested face at my question. Considering his hostile appearance when I first saw him, it was actually surprising that Raven approached me first and spoke to me like this.

"I'm busy right now, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk to me and went away."

"What...! I-I'm only hanging out with you because you're from Stella like me! You don't think I'm even slightly interested in you or spoke to you for that reason, do you?"

Raven shouted as if his pride was hurt by my words.

"I'm not curious about what you're thinking so deeply while standing still, or where you're suddenly going now, and I didn't speak to you because I was interested!"

But listening to it, the content was a bit strange.

What was he suddenly talking about? Our first meeting at the welcome party wasn't great, when I saw him at the annex, and even when we met in the corridor afterward—there was absolutely nothing that would improve our relationship, so who would have such a misunderstanding?

But when I turned my head to glare at Raven who was talking nonsense while following me, I suddenly felt something strange.

'Wait, this guy's atmosphere is a bit weird?'

Raven was pretending not to look at me while stealing glances. But those eyes were clearly different from when I saw him at the annex before.

It really wasn't just me being narcissistic—this looked like someone who was slightly interested in me.

I quickly checked Raven's information.

Current state: Excitement, elation

Huh, isn't this undeniable evidence?

Come to think of it, when I saw his face in the dining room yesterday, Raven's status window also showed "excitement." At the time, I simply thought this guy was also looking forward to seeing the priest like everyone else... but maybe that wasn't it?

'What, so is this guy also an *attackable character?'

Translator Note:

*
In Korean/Japanese gaming terminology, particularly in romance simulation games (otome), "attackable character" (공략캐) refers to a romance option or love interest that the player can pursue ("attack/capture a route").