Chapter 10

The Culprit Behind the Mass Possession

Meursault Pendleton was an orphan, just like most children in the zone.

The military had originally begun accepting child soldiers in an attempt to save as many children as possible.

But at some point, children simply began to be abandoned as soon as they were born, raised by children who had been abandoned before them, and then enlisted in the military once they came of age, only to raise the children abandoned after them.

That was the cycle of life here.

Because of that, being an orphan was not considered a major flaw in this zone.

Nor were there any children who resented the fact that they were orphans.

Meursault, however, had one wish that the others did not.

All orphans lacked surnames, yet Meursault alone had created the surname “Pendleton” for himself.

And that wish was the reason why.

There was only one reason he had given himself a surname.

He wanted a family to whom he could pass that name down.

Of course, orphans sometimes formed families with one another, but the family Meursault desired was something slightly different.

A spouse who was not an orphan.

Someone who had been raised with the love of grandparents, a father, and a mother.

He would give the child born between them grandparents of their own.

Then, when his grandchild was born, he would show them an old photograph and say, This is your great-grandmother.

That was Meursault’s vision of an ideal family.

And in his mind, only one woman in the entire zone could make that dream come true.

Daphne Goodman.

The commander’s daughter.

Her surname, Goodman, had been passed down through her family for generations.

That alone made her an ideal spouse in Meursault’s eyes.

He devoted his entire life to the military, working himself to the bone so that he could marry her.

But by the time he finally came to his senses, the man standing beside her was a complete stranger he had never seen before.

Hayden? I’ve never heard that name among any of the orphans I know. Is he even from our zone?

When the commander married his daughter to Hayden, Meursault fell into despair.

He no longer wished to take another woman as his spouse.

He wanted to retire from the military and rest, but even that was impossible.

Although he had failed to marry Daphne, Meursault was widely regarded as the most capable officer in the current military.

The one fortunate thing was that Hayden was a man worthy of his loyalty.

The matter of Daphne aside.

And so, after becoming Hayden’s adjutant, Meursault was forced to observe Hayden and Daphne’s married life from closer than anyone else.

At first, he thought it was a punishment.

But before long, he realized he still had a chance.

Commander Hayden and Daphne Goodman did not love each other.

They had married purely out of necessity.

Upon learning that, Meursault was so overjoyed that he committed the most insane act of his entire life.

He confessed his feelings in front of Commander Hayden.

“If Lady Daphne had been happy, I would never have interfered. But Your Excellency does not love her. And Lady Daphne does not love Your Excellency! This marriage is invalid!”

Despite his adjutant barging into his office and committing such an outrageous act of insubordination, Hayden did not even look up from his documents.

“I’d heard rumors, but you really are insane. You’re competent at your job, though.”

“Do not change the subject, Your Excellency. I have devoted myself to the military for far longer, all so that I could marry Lady Daphne. Now that her father has passed away, you must recognize my achievements.”

“Meursault.”

Only then did Commander Hayden lift his gaze from the paperwork and look at him.

“Daphne doesn’t love you either.”

Then, in the same casual tone one might use to point out that someone’s clothing was disheveled, he added,

“And you don’t love Daphne either.”

The words struck Meursault like a bolt of lightning.

He had always dreamed of marrying Daphne, so he had simply assumed that meant he loved her.

Yet for some reason, he could not refute Hayden’s observation.

Had the conversation ended there, Meursault would have abandoned his feelings and withdrawn.

But Commander Hayden was not finished.

“Still, you’re right about one thing. This marriage is invalid.”

“You’re saying I’m right?”

“Meursault, just as you said, Daphne is not my woman.”

“Pardon?”

What followed was the most deranged thing Meursault had ever heard in his life.

“One day, my woman and her child will come looking for me. Daphne knows that too.”

“Lady Daphne knows? What in the world are you talking about…?”

“You should pray that the child grows up safely and becomes capable of inheriting my position, Meursault. Only then will Daphne be free.”

Hayden had married the noblest woman in the zone and even risen to the position of commander, yet he claimed that he had another woman and child elsewhere.

It sounded absurd.

But Meursault knew that Hayden was not the kind of man to speak carelessly, so he believed him and waited obediently.

For two or three years, at least.

But when ten years passed and neither the woman nor the child ever appeared, Meursault gave up waiting.

He had just begun to consider becoming commander himself and marrying Daphne when, yesterday morning, he heard the unbelievable news that a child claiming to be Hayden’s son had arrived.

The boy had been exceedingly polite, composed, and mature.

Meursault’s heart had swelled with hope.

This child will inherit the commander’s position. Then Daphne will finally be free, and I’ll be able to marry her.

But before even a full day had passed, he learned that the child was an impostor and that another supposed son had appeared.

At that moment, Meursault instinctively realized that things would not be resolved so easily.

Once one impostor had appeared, there was no guarantee that the newly arrived son was genuine either.

But… what is this?

When Meursault first saw him, the boy had seemed like an ordinary child.

But at some point, his entire presence abruptly changed.

And the words that came out of his mouth surpassed anything Meursault had anticipated.

“Do you still intend to marry Daphne Goodman?”

“……!”

It was as though the boy were merely pointing out that Meursault’s clothes were out of place.

The intonation was painfully familiar.

Then, in Hayden’s distinctively indifferent manner of speaking, the child added,

“But it seems you’re still not certain whether you actually love Daphne.”

Meursault stared at the boy as though he had discovered some grotesque creature.

It should have seemed absurd that the commander had revealed such a shameful secret to a child he had known for only one night.

And yet, Meursault did not feel as though he were speaking to a child he had only just met.

It felt as though he were speaking to Commander Hayden Goodman himself.

“Your… Excellency?”

The words slipped out before Meursault realized it, and he hurriedly clamped his mouth shut.

He had just addressed someone other than the commander as Your Excellency.

Despite hearing such an irreverent slip of the tongue, the child merely smiled for reasons Meursault could not understand.

“That’s right. His Excellency told me about it.”

“Ah…”

Had the boy failed to notice his mistake?

For some reason, Meursault got the impression that the little brat was smoothly pretending not to have heard it.

But the child was not finished.

“But I… understand.”

“You understand?”

A child this young claimed to understand the immoral and improper desire to covet the wife of one’s superior?

Even Meursault knew that his feelings were nothing to be proud of.

The only reason Commander Hayden had not condemned him was because Meursault’s feelings toward Daphne were utterly insignificant to him—not because he understood them.

And yet, the child before him had used the word understand.

Just as Meursault was about to dismiss the boy as presumptuous, the child continued.

“You just want to have a family, don’t you?”

The words that followed were more than enough to shake Meursault to his core.

“Not just any family. A spouse who has a grandfather and grandmother, a father and mother, and who grew up loved by all of them. You want your child to have grandparents too. Then, when your grandchild is born, you want to show them an old photograph and say, ‘This is your great-grandmother.’ That’s the kind of family you want.”

Meursault’s eyes widened.

“H-How do you know that…?”

When he stammered out the question, the child gave him a bitter smile.

“Because I was an orphan too.”

The realization struck Meursault like lightning.

Only now had he finally met someone who truly understood him.

***

Did I overdo the whole understanding act?

Meursault’s attitude changed so abruptly that he begged me to forgive his rudeness, then told me to come to him whenever I experienced any discomfort while staying at the residence.

That much would have been just right.

Unfortunately, Meursault then declared that he would compile a list of potential spouses so that I could one day establish an ideal family, and promptly disappeared.

I’m only ten. Why is he already going on about spouses?

Even when I played the game, I had wondered what kind of ridiculous NPC he was and ended up poisoning him.

His mental state was strange, but he was the most capable person in the zone after Commander Hayden, so I had no choice but to keep him around.

Daphne Goodman’s life is pretty miserable too.

She had been forced into marriage by her father.

The man she married had another woman and child.

And now some lunatic who did not even love her kept pestering her because he wanted to marry her.

I almost began to feel guilty for poisoning her so many times during my previous playthroughs.

This time, rather than poisoning her, I would keep her alive and allow her to make full use of her abilities.

It was definitely not because I lacked enough NPCs to work to the bone.

Just then, a system message appeared before my eyes.

[User ‘God’ has entered the public chat room.]

Oh.

It appeared that a player in another zone had obtained a meteorite item and unlocked the system.

I had already expected that other players would gradually begin entering the chat room.

It was nearly the third day. It would have been a problem if no one had unlocked the system even in low-level zones like the Candy Zone or Beer Zone.

But the messages did not stop with just one.

They continued appearing one after another.

[User ‘Dentist’ has entered the public chat room.]
[User ‘TotallyPossible’ has entered the public chat room.]
[User ‘I’mNotCryingThatCountsAsCardio’ has entered the public chat room.]
[User ‘DrugDealer’ has entered the public chat room.]

What? All at once?

Apparently, more than one or two people had obtained meteorite items last night.

Then again, failing to acquire the meteorite item by the second day was practically the same as failing the route altogether.

Even so, they could not all have unlocked the system at exactly the same time.

Had the system waited until morning before allowing them into the chat room?

But then…

Among the final entry notifications, I spotted a username that was far too familiar.

[User ‘Home Protector’ has entered the public chat room.]

You bastard!

The culprit behind the mass possession.

Home Protector had entered the chat.