Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary!

Chapter 780: Being flirted on [1]

“Haa…”

I sucked in a deep breath, keeping my hand where it was for several seconds before finally pulling it away. My first node still ached, and when I tried moving my fingers, the pain in my wrist made me stop.

“…That took quite a bit out of me.”

The Mimic remained pressed against the wall. Its eyes followed my hand as I lowered it, its shoulders drawing closer together when I moved.

I looked at it for a moment before scratching the back of my head.

I almost felt a little sorry for it.

Almost.

‘Isn’t this great? Why are all the anomalies that I contain somehow weird…?’

The Voidwalker always wanted to fight me. Mirelle was in a state of constant depression. Mr. Jingles was also in a state of depression ever since Mirelle turned into an adult, and the Conductor was… well, the Conductor.

‘I guess the mirror anomaly is the only normal one.’

That being said, I was a little bummed out about how things turned out.

‘Really wanted to test my new node.’

I had been preparing to use it when the Mimic just gave up.

“Pathetic.”

Flinch!

The anomaly flinched, hugging its shoulders together as it looked away from me.

“Alright, I’m not going to…”

Flinch! Flinch!

“…..”

Whatever.

I looked down at my wrist again, and sighed.

It would’ve been nice if things had turned out this way a little earlier.

“…It hurts.”

“So do I.”

I turned towards Mirelle.

She was sitting on the floor with her head lowered, her hair spilling over her knees. One of her fingers moved against the floor as she slowly drew a circle.

“You did well.”

“Did I?”

“Yes. You helped quite a bit.”

She stopped drawing.

For a moment, I thought she was pleased. Then she slowly lifted her head.

“So I was useful.”

“Very.”

“…That’s all I am.”

“…..”

I opened my mouth before closing it again. My head was already hurting, and it was starting to hurt more.

“You can go rest now.”

“…Because you’re done with me.”

“Because you’re tired.”

“Tired of being used.”

I rubbed the side of my face.

She seemed to have enough energy to keep doing this, at least.

“Would you rather stay?”

“And watch you play with your new friend?”

I looked towards the Mimic, which immediately tried pressing itself further against the wall.

Friend was a rather generous word.

“…You can rest here.”

Mirelle lowered her head again. A quiet sigh escaped her mouth before she slowly disappeared, leaving me staring at the spot where she had been sitting.

I still wasn’t sure which part of the conversation had upset her the most.

Probably all of it.

When I turned towards the Voidwalker, it was already fading. I raised my hand slightly, but the last of the darkness disappeared before I could say anything.

“Right. Thank you too.”

Of the others, only the Conductor remained.

It stood a short distance away, its attention fixed on the Mimic. The thin smile on its face hadn’t changed, which bothered me a little considering what had just happened.

“You look rather pleased.”

“It was an interesting performance.”

“I wasn’t performing.”

Its eyes shifted towards me.

“…I suggest you be more careful in the future. Things are starting to proceed in a way that even I can’t predict. But I’m especially curious about the things that were said by that guy from before. If we are nothing but the result of this big game that is being played, who created me?”

My hand stopped against my wrist.

For a moment, neither of us spoke. I looked at the Conductor, waiting for it to say something else, but it only continued smiling.

“…Do you want to find out?”

“No.”

A soft chuckle followed.

“Just food for thought. I don’t really care. I feel more alive the way that I am.”

“Ah?”

“It’s fun.”

Oh, alright…

Weirdo.

All of a sudden, the Conductor gestured towards the Mimic.

“This guy you just got… can make a good pianist for my concert.”

“…..”

I slowly turned to look at Mimic.

A certain image appeared in my mind. The Mimic sitting in front of a piano, looking exactly like me, while the Conductor stood behind it.

A shiver ran down my back.

‘It would do that, wouldn’t it?’

The Conductor chuckled again, and by the time I looked back, it was already disappearing.

I remained where I was for a while before returning my attention to the Mimic.

It was still watching me.

“…My condolences.”

Flinch!

I felt a little more sorry for it now.

Not enough to take its place, but still.

***

By the time Zoey returned to the Guild, her shoulders were starting to ache.

The raid had gone well. They had finished without any serious injuries, and the team had followed her instructions without making any major mistakes.

Looking at them now, it was rather hard to tell.

One of the members lowered himself onto a bench near the entrance and remained there, his bag still hanging from his shoulder. Another stopped beside him, seemingly considering whether to do the same.

“Go rest.”

Neither needed to be told twice.

Zoey watched them leave before looking at the schedule on her phone. Her lips pressed together as she checked the next assignment.

It hadn’t changed.

‘This is getting ridiculous.’

Her schedule was packed from top to bottom. There was not one single day or moment where they were free besides when they needed to sleep.

And even that was cut shorter than usual.

Furthermore, finishing a raid without anyone getting seriously injured didn’t mean they could immediately start preparing for another. They were managing for now, but she could already see how tired everyone was becoming.

She wasn’t doing much better herself.

Zoey put the phone away and continued down the corridor. She needed to speak to the Section Chief about the situation. At this rate, she wasn’t certain she could keep members from dying or leaving.

“Yeah, this is stupid.”

Zoey continued ahead, moving past the lobby before suddenly pausing at the sight of a familiar office space.

“…..”

For a moment, she simply looked at the name beside it.

Then her lips pursed.

She hadn’t been thinking about the school when she entered the building. Yet, standing in front of his office, she found herself recalling the moment the Gate had appeared.

The school disappearing.

The road and the buildings around it following.

She still remembered looking towards Kyle, waiting for him to explain what was happening.

And before that…

The money.

‘…One million.’

Zoey’s fingers tightened slightly around the strap of her bag.

She had tried not to think too deeply about it. There had been too much happening at the time, and after Seth returned, making sure he was all right had seemed considerably more important.

But the order of events still bothered her.

Right after sending her money to Kyle, the Gate had appeared, and Seth had eventually come out of it.

That…

“…..”

Her eyes returned to the door.

It couldn’t have been him.

Could it?

‘No, that’s absurd.’

She immediately shook her head. Sending someone money didn’t explain how a Gate could suddenly appear around an entire district.

There were too many things she didn’t understand to decide that the two were connected.

Still…

What if?

Zoey stood there for several more seconds before raising both hands and slapping her cheeks.

Slap!

The sound was louder than she had intended.

She glanced down the corridor. Thankfully, nobody seemed to have noticed.

“…Right. I said I wouldn’t do this again.”

She lowered her hands.

Seth had secrets. That much was obvious, and she doubted he would suddenly explain all of them just because she asked.

But that didn’t mean she had to stand outside his office and make up the answers herself.

She had already caused enough trouble by doing that.

If something bothered her, she could speak to him. Whether he answered was another matter, but at least she wouldn’t leave with a conclusion he hadn’t even had the chance to respond to.

Zoey adjusted the bag on her shoulder and approached the door.

She wasn’t going to demand that he explain everything about the school.

She could start by asking how he was doing.

That was a normal thing to ask.

Taking a small breath, she raised her hand and knocked.

To Tok⎯