Chapter 30 : Plain

Carne touched the numbers engraved on her neck with her hand.

“…You saw it, Saya.”

Our eyes met, but I couldn’t think of anything appropriate to say.

I was overwhelmed by her sad gaze, so different from her usual demeanor.

I calmed my racing heart and faced Carne again.

She pulled up her turtleneck and asked,

“How about a short date outside?”

“…”

I nodded silently and followed her.

We walked quietly through the academy grounds, and I was the one to break the silence.

“…Since when?”

“That’s a sensitive topic… Well, since it’s already been revealed, there’s nothing more to hide.”

With a resigned expression, she continued.

“Around the age of five, my biological parents sold me. I guess they didn’t want to starve me.”

She spoke calmly, but it was a horrifying story.

“After being sold, I was beaten and forced to serve customers. Well, I did a lot of things.”

Suddenly, I remembered my seven-year-old self.

If I hadn’t escaped back then, Gillian and I would have lived the same life.

“Then, I met a wonderful person, gained noble status, and now I’m attending the academy like this… It’s not a big deal. Right?”

“A wonderful person…?”

“Yes. A very wonderful person.”

She didn’t seem willing to elaborate on who that person was.

I could only guess it was someone with the power to adopt a s*ave, elevate their status, and send them to the academy.

“How was it, this story?”

The impression I got after hearing Carne’s background was this:

Is the girl in front of me really just a simple psychopath?

Or is what I know about her wrong?

“Hey, Saya. Let’s go to the center of Semal for the first time in a while. I’m getting hungry.”

Carne spoke with an innocent expression.

“Isn’t there enough to eat at the academy?”

“It’s too boring. They always serve greasy meat and sweet pudding.”

At first, I enjoyed the buffet-style meals, but honestly, I was starting to tire of eating the same thing every day.

“…Fair point. I could use something plain too.”

“Saya, you’re also a comm… I mean, you’re a commoner, so you understand. I’m glad.”

“…Did you just try to say ‘commoner’?”

“Just hurry up. I’m hungry.”

She ignored my question, grabbed my wrist, and dragged me toward the center of Semal.

“Whenever I come here, I feel at ease.”

Where had her dignified academy demeanor gone? She skipped along like a child, pulling me with her.

She balanced precariously on the edge of the fountain and did things I’d never imagine her doing.

Her venomous gaze and subtle, suppressed breathing were gone, replaced by a completely different person.

She laughed at street performances and waved at every child we passed.

“We’re here. This is the place.”

The place Carne led me to was a shabby restaurant tucked away in a back alley of Semal.

The signboard was so worn it looked like it belonged in my hometown of Luden.

“…We’re eating here? Seriously?”

“Yes. It has to be this place.”

With no other choice, I opened the door and stepped inside.

‘Wow…’

The interior was unusual, as if a rural stable had been converted into a dining area.

The musty smell of wood and dust filled the air, and flies and cockroaches scurried about.

Carne sat down in a corner as if she were used to it.

“You don’t look like it, but are you being picky?”

“…No, it’s just surprising.”

It was surprising that a place like this existed in Semal, and Carne’s casual attitude was equally shocking.

“It’s a store I’ve been coming to since I was a kid.”

I sat across from her and tried to order.

“Ah, there’s no ordering here.”

“Huh?”

“You just eat what they give you.”

It felt more like a small inn’s dining area than a proper restaurant.

After a short wait, an elderly man in an apron approached with our food.

He seemed to be the owner.

“Excuse me…”

He ignored me, casually set down the food, and walked away.

“He’s always like that. I’ve never even exchanged words with him.”

The more I learned, the more fascinating this place became.

The food in front of me was an unidentifiable soup.

I could see chunks of potatoes, but the thick, murky substance was a mystery.

I hesitated, but Carne dug in without a second thought.

“…”

Seeing her, I cautiously took a spoonful.

Despite its unappetizing appearance, it tasted like ordinary potato soup.

“…It’s actually decent?”

“It’s a taste you can’t get at the academy. Sometimes I crave this garbage, honestly.”

Even as she called it garbage, she ate it with relish.

“It’s a store I came to many times with my parents when I was a child.”

“Here…?”

“Yes. And one day, they told me to wait here, and they never came back.”

“…”

Instead of her parents, it was likely the s*ave traders who greeted her that day.

The image of her being dragged away by her hair was vivid in my mind.

“…Aren’t you resentful?”

“I am. If I ever see them again, I’ll kill them both.”

“That’s terrifying.”

“Come to think of it, selling them to s*ave traders might be better than killing them.”

At least I didn’t have many memories of my parents in this world, so I didn’t feel much emotion.

But being sold by your own parents—what kind of feeling was that?

I didn’t want to imagine it.

Carne, who had quickly emptied her bowl, looked at me.

Her expression now seemed relieved of something.

“Saya, you’re strange.”

“How so?”

“You know I’m dangerous. You know I’ll kill Yuri if you leave me alone.”

Carne laughed softly.

Her smile seemed relieved, but there was a bitterness to it.

She asked me, full of questions,

“Why are you just letting me be?”

“…”

The reason I had kept watching Carne…

I thought it was simply because I didn’t want to disrupt the plot.

But now?

Certainly, when I first met her, I thought I should eliminate her.

I could have told Yuri about her plan, or taken the opportunity to kill her like today.

But I didn’t.

The Carne I’d come to know had put a brake on my actions.

The quest window flickered in front of my eyes, as if urging me.

Time was running out.

Even the quest seemed to be telling me to kill her.

Carefully, I asked her,

“Carne. Do you want to kill Yuri because you want to?”

No answer.

“Did someone else order you to do it for a purpose…?”

“It’s obviously my will, isn’t it?”

Carne’s response came out reflexively.

“I’m just enjoying it. I want Yuri to be completely isolated from everyone else, focused only on me. Then, when she finally looks only at me, I want her to die by my hand.”

It was strange to say she wanted to kill Yuri for such pleasure.

What did she gain from that?

I couldn’t understand why she, who had overcome years of slavery and gained noble status, was so obsessed with Yuri’s death.

“…For someone who wants such an ending, you don’t look very happy, Carne.”

“…”

This time, she stayed silent.

For some reason, Carne didn’t refute my words anymore.

We sat in silence for a long time before she finally spoke.

“…In the end, we’ve come this far.”

Since the day we met, we’d avoided directly addressing the Yuri issue, and the problem had only grown.

Neither of us could yield at this point.

Carne pulled a small purple flask from her pocket and placed it on the table.

The purple liquid inside was so dark it seemed to absorb all light.

The flask rolled toward me and stopped.

“What do you think this is?”

I opened the flask and sniffed it.

A faint smell of alcohol and soda lingered.

“…”

“Eclixy. It’s a chemical detonator for killing people.”

She explained calmly.

“If I mix this with Yuri’s potions, I can easily end it, right?”

“…Is that your plan?”

“Yes. If I mix it with a healing potion, it won’t explode immediately, even if it touches her mucous membranes. Slowly, it’ll mix with her digestive fluids and explode.”

It was a more elaborate and convenient plan than what was written in the novel.

If this was her backup plan, why was she telling me?

“…I’m curious why you’re telling me this.”

“I’m giving you a heads-up.”

“What do you…?”

“When the time comes, I’ll kill her anyway.”

She smiled brightly and asked in a soft voice,

“Saya, you’ll save Yuri no matter what, right?”

“…That’s a given.”

“You know, I…”

She suddenly trembled strangely.

“…?”

“Before… receiving…”

Carne’s words cut off like a broken tape.

“…Carne?”

“…have… no choice.”

As if certain words were censored, she mouthed some parts without sound.

“..of… purpose…”

I knew she was trying to say something, but it wasn’t coming through.

She had never stuttered before, but now she was acting strangely.

“…It won’t work, I guess.”

Finally, she gave up and said in a low, trembling voice,

“…Kill me, Saya.”

Her red eyes, filled with tears, shimmered quietly.

I asked again, wondering if I’d heard wrong.

“…Kill you?”

“If you want to save Yuri, that’s the only way.”

“…I see.”

With her words, I was now convinced.

Carne didn’t want to kill Yuri. She had to kill her.

‘…Honestly, it’s not common sense.’

The reason she couldn’t change her mind, even to the point of asking me to kill her…

It probably wouldn’t be easy to uncover the truth behind this.

However, since this was a world I created, there had to be hints.

I looked at her, now silent and doll-like, and said,

“I’m sorry, but no one will die.”