On the third-floor balcony connected to my room, I was sitting on a chair I had taken out from my inventory. Eliza was sitting on the other one beside me.
After she told me that she wanted to have a little talk, I chose this place as a venue. The blue crescent moon was hanging in the sky, illuminating the world with its gentle light. It gave the night a serene atmosphere.
Astro's excited bark from the garden was the only noise I could hear. Everyone else understood that today's star was Eliza, so they didn't bother us.
In this peaceful atmosphere, I broke it with a question.
"What do you want to ask about?"
I looked at Eliza, who looked at the sky. When she heard my voice, she turned to me slowly, and her face revealed a soft smile.
"W-Well, first, I want to thank you. I didn't know that you returned first to prepare this for me." She said sheepishly with a mix of embarrassment, "A-Actually, I pouted on the awarding stage because I couldn't see you earlier."
Somehow, I could imagine that. Knowing how easy she was to get sad and pout, I could see her cheek bloated when she received words of encouragement and only answered some questions shortly. That was why she returned faster than I initially thought.
"Also, I am really happy with the surprise party. I got to know the people in your knight squad. Is that red-haired knight the one who went to hunt Black Tiger with us in the past?"
"Yes." I nodded. Then I explained it to her, "Her name is Sophia, the former knight Captain of the church knight. Now she's under me, and there is a new knight Captain leading the female church knights."
"I see…" Eliza nodded in understanding, "And the one who looks similar to Milea is Tristan? I-Is she the one? Your first love…" She asked nervously.
"She is," I replied with a nostalgic smile.
Where I belonged was here, but that memory was still precious to me. So it was not wrong if I said Tristan was my first love.
However, the girl I liked first in this world was undoubtedly Eliza. While at first she just reminded me of Tristan, I noticed she was really different and was lovely and supportive in her own way. That was when I began to think that this was the real world and not just my 'extra stage,' although I still wanted to have control.
"Hmm…" My childhood friend hummed. For some reason, her expression was so serious.
Then she looked at me with narrowed eyes.
"Arthur… Are you hiding something from me?"
And here came the question I had been waiting for from her since the first day.
It was bound to happen someday, especially with Eliza's intimacy with me. Telling her honestly would be good and would make me sincere. However…
'I still don't know much about the person behind the system and what his plan is. The Goddess and the Pope also know that I am a 'person from another world,' and they didn't call me a 'body snatcher.' That made me rethink what I should tell Eliza.'
They sounded the same but different. The first one indicated that the body I was in currently was mine and mine alone. The second one would mean there was a previous Arthur.
Because I was called the former, that meant this world 'started' when I got woken up by Eliza in the classroom.
And because of that, I became unsure how to answer. At least before I visited all the borders.
"I did hide something from you, Eliza. No, I hide something from everyone." I replied honestly with a serious expression. "But I can't tell you now. I don't know if I said it would bring everyone into danger. So can you please wait for me?"
Our gazes met with each other. Her blue eyes quivered slightly, reflecting the crescent moon behind me in her pupil.
"Will you be okay?" She asked worriedly.
Even when I kept a secret from her, she still cared about me. Among the others, Eliza was the most sensitive and smart one, probably because she stayed with me, Arthur, the longest that she could see the smallest change in me.
"I will be okay," I said, reaching my hand to her head and patting her softly.
She closed one of her eyes, a bit surprised, but she didn't sweep my hand away. Instead, she seemed to enjoy it.
"Just so you know, Tristan shares the same secret as me. The Goddess and the Pope also know about it. Only us four know about it, and I am currently investigating it myself. If I am sure it's safe and the Goddess allows me to tell you, then I will tell you about it."
"The Goddess?!" Eliza raised her voice in surprise, "Y-You talked to her directly?"
"Of course, I am a Paladin." I grinned. "I had also met the Pope before the tournament started. Ah, right. I forgot to give you this."
Saying so, I took out the wrapped gift I bought earlier. The size was just a little bit bigger than my palm.
I thought this was the perfect time to pull this out because I wanted to change the topic. I was a bit afraid that 'creature' would suddenly show up in front of Eliza if I continued the topic. I couldn't be more careful.
The topic change was successful. Eliza took the wrapped gift and opened it. When she saw the necklace, her face beamed brightly, and she lunged at me, kissing me.
I knew that she wasn't satisfied with my explanation, but that was all I could tell her right now. After that, she made me promise to tell her and not forget it and return to her room, wearing the necklace I had given her earlier.
The night passed slowly. I couldn't sleep that night and decided to go to the Border City early after I contacted Lucy.
Using the [Teleportation Gem] that was set to teleport in front of Lucy's tower, the scenery changed, and I saw the Vampire girl with twin-tailed white hair in front of me.
"You're here," Lucy said, nodding slightly. "She's inside. We just finished the last preparation. Do you want to see her?"
"Take me there." I nodded.
Lucy guided me inside the tower and went to the highest floor, to that bloody room. There was now a small hole in the door, which was closed tightly, allowing no one to go in or out.
"Don't enter. She's starving." Lucy warned, standing in front of the door. "Her intelligence is still there, but she has turned more violent. If she sees humans right now, she will definitely attack them. However, you can still communicate with them without any problem through the hole."
"Alright," I said, approaching the door.
I used the hole to peek inside at first. In the middle of the room, a girl was held by a chain. Her arms were pulled from both sides, and her naked body was covered in bloodstains. It wasn't clear whether it was her own blood or anyone else, but her white hair looked rough.
Her head was hung down low. And then…
"Hello, how are you?"
Once she heard my greeting, her head jerked up, and her mouth was opened wide, revealing her fanged teeth as she shouted.
"I will kill you! Release me right now so I can rip your neck with my fangs!"
"Kukuku, it seems like you're still spirited. That's good. Mia didn't break you yet." I chuckled evilly as my lips curled up into a grin. "Don't worry. I will release you soon. Your punishment is over."
After saying that, I turned around and ignored the shout behind me.
Looking at Lucy, I gave instructions.
"Give her a little bit of blood tomorrow. I will need her in the award ceremony that will be held in 2 days. Can you order her to teleport there with a [Teleportation Gem]?"
"I can," Lucy affirmed with a nod.
"Great." I was satisfied with her answer, "Also, prepare some bad Vampires you hate. I will need them to go with Princess as bait."
"I will prepare them. There are troublemakers inside the jails that I don't mind dying."
Everything was ready. This Vampire girl was truly efficient. No, people in Border City were efficient in doing something like this.
'Survival to the fittest. If one can't think fast, they won't be able to survive in this city.'
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