I was being monitored.
This much had become clear to me from the moment I had been subjected to the Gate back in the hospital. Although much of the information about the one responsible could be pieced together by connecting several dots, I was painfully aware there was a good chance I was being monitored in some way.
Thinking about the note in my pocket, I knew that Zoey probably thought the same.
...At least, this was how it seemed to me.
Why else would she do all of that in order to give me a note?
My fingers were itching. I really wanted to read the note, but I couldn’t be too obvious about it.
"Really. What an annoying situation."
I sat back down on my chair while pretending to be frustrated.
No, I really was frustrated.
I knew that there wasn’t any sort of technology that was being used to monitor me since I had Mr. Jingles check around the place, but that wasn’t my worry. What if I were being monitored using some sort of item or anomaly? Things would truly be troublesome if that were the case.
’Let’s also not think about how I wasn’t even able to meet the children from the orphanage due to the sudden situation.’
Mr. Jingles wasn’t quite happy with me.
The only thing I could do was promise that I would go back to visit again.
There was also the situation with Rowan’s sister.
"Haa."
I sighed.
Things really weren’t easy for me.
’Thankfully, it’s not like I can’t deal with the current situation.’
Standing up, I mumbled, "Let’s just start working on a new game. Get my mind off the situation."
There was one place where I wasn’t afraid of being monitored.
That was probably the only place where it would be impossible for it to happen, as I shifted my attention toward the door on the right and walked to it, opening it and entering my game development room.
"It’s been a while since I’ve been here. This emptiness... It’s rather strange to see."
I looked around, noting the absence of everyone before closing the door behind me and making my way toward my area. Taking a seat, I leaned back against the chair and finally reached for my pocket, pulling out the note I had been quite curious about.
"Let’s see."
Unfurling the piece of paper, I gave the first few sentences a quick skim before suddenly pausing, after which I burst out laughing.
"What’s so funny?"
A certain presence appeared before me, looking at the piece of paper in my hand with evident confusion. I didn’t answer and instead just handed him the letter.
"Have a read of it yourself."
Without saying anything else, Kyle reached for the letter and gave it a quick skim, after which his expression changed as he turned his attention toward me. I laughed once again, leaning back in the chair.
"It seems like she was aware of the situation from the start. She also seems to be aware of the fact that I’m being monitored, hence why she’s acting the way that she is. But you know what’s funnier?"
I pointed at the letter.
"...She seems to think this is a good opportunity. In a way, she wants to use the ’conflict’ between the two of us to catch the one responsible for what happened to Rowan’s sister and figure out what happened to her."
I had always known that Zoey was clever. I mean, a lot of people in this line of work were clever. They had no choice but to be clever in order to survive.
While I still wasn’t sure how Zoey managed to figure it out, this was a rather unexpected piece of news.
A very good one at that.
But...
"You know, I don’t really like it."
I stopped laughing.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
As my finger drummed against the table, I propped my elbow on it and leaned my cheek into my hand, my finger continuing to tap.
"I don’t really like how this entire situation turned out. From the start to the end, I still don’t know anything about the one who initiated all of this. How big a player is he on this ’game’ that we’re playing? Is he a big shot, or is he just some cheap user that wants to show off after figuring out my identity?"
Tap. Tap.
But that wasn’t the thing that annoyed me the most.
The thing that annoyed me was my lack of control over the situation.
From start to end, it felt as if I was being moved exactly how he wanted. The worst part was that I was fully aware of it, and yet still moved the way he desired. This didn’t sit well with me.
"Looks like you’ve finally realized your answer."
Suddenly, the Conductor’s figure appeared.
Its soft chuckle echoed across the surroundings as it moved closer to me.
"...The fact that it took you this long to realize, despite the face you were making, is quite an amusing sight to see."
Face that I was making?
I turned to look at Kyle, only for him to give me a strange look as he looked elsewhere.
Ah, I see.
’So it seems like I had already made up my mind, with me only realizing it now.’
I covered my mouth, finding the whole situation amusing as I stifled a laugh. Right, right... I was now quite different compared to how I was in the past. Usually, I’d let something like this go and wait for the perpetrator to attack me again so that I could learn more about them and tackle the situation from there.
But things were different now.
I didn’t want to wait.
I wanted to get rid of them now. More than that, I wanted to send a message.
A message to everyone else who was likely ’aware’ of me.
"Yeah, it’s just like the last time. In the Limbo."
I stared at my hand.
It was trembling.
"...I wanted to step on them."
Lifting my head, my eyes locked with the Conductor.
All of a sudden, I smiled.
"Wait, wait."
But strangely, the Conductor didn’t smile back. Instead, it seemed to lose a bit of its usual composure as it looked at me.
"That’s overkill. You’ll be wasting an opportunity if you do that."
"I know."
"In that case⎯"
"But I’m not right in the head."
I tilted my head while staring at the Conductor, my head subconsciously tilting as the trembling of my hand subsided.
"Right now, at this very moment, I am not thinking rationally. I can’t think rationally. My mind is consumed by one thought, and one thought alone..." I paused, my thoughts lingering on what had happened in the hospital. "I want to make them suffer. I want them to experience the very same thing I experienced, but far worse."
And to achieve that, I planned on doing anything and everything within my power. Even if it was overkill or a massive waste of an opportunity.
This was just who I was.
Standing up, I turned my attention toward the distance while rubbing the ring on my finger. The moment I did, the space around me began to fluctuate as the surroundings trembled faintly and a wave of cool air filtered into the room.
My entire body chilled under the cool air, but I paid it no mind as I calmly stared at the space before me, as something began to form, something akin to a door, its faint outline appearing before me.
Staring at it, my lips curved into a smile as I reached toward it.
’I didn’t expect to see you so soon, but circumstances have made it so that I have no choice but to visit you again. I’m rather excited about what you’ll tell me.’
Dreak King Paimon~