[First Person POV: Eden ]
"Sigh..."
"What are you doing?"
Letting out a sigh, I opened my eyes and looked at Grace.
Her extended hand, which was gently poking my face, was suddenly stopped in mid-air as she gave me a dumbfounded look.
"You think I will fall asleep and leave you unprotected?" I asked, gently patting her head with a small smile.
"Ahh..."
"Stay still," I told her sternly, applying pressure to her head as she tried to get up.
Gently patting her head, I closed my eyes I thought about last night.
The first thing I came to realize was that she wasn't a real entity.
The thing I saw wasn't a real boy but an illusion or a spirit body, something like that.
And second That damn snake was applying pressure on both Aeloria and Grace, ensuring that neither of them woke up while she was talking with me.
'Was she trying to use them as hostages?'
I wasn't sure why she did that, but it wasn't pleasant to know that she attempted to use them as bait if I tried to run away.
And that nonsense she told me, about the loop, the curse, and eternity.
And that damn Human God... She said that he sealed her here in this place. Was there any reason for that?
I mean, if he did, did he do this for his own amusement, or because he wanted to keep something safe in this place while using something akin to a god in strength as its guardian?
'I am thinking too much.'
What was she trying to convey to me?
Or was it just another ploy to manipulate me?
'Not to forget, she had a look of greed when she talked about star energy.'
Why was that?
Did she have any use for star energy, or did she know what it was for?
So many questions and zero answers.
'Fucking frustrating life.'
"What are you thinking?" Grace's voice, smoothing half of my worries, interrupted my thoughts.
"Nothing... Just thinking about how to get out of here."
"Eden..."
"Yes?"
"Is something bothering you?"
I stopped patting her head as I looked down.
Her blood-red eyes met mine, and her messy blonde hair spread around the place because of sleep.
She looked... beautiful.
"Yeah, you are bothering me," I replied, smiling as I looked at her.
"What? How?" She asked, clearly confused by my random words.
"Well, it's kinda hard to keep my composure when you're resting on my lap," I replied, and from the way she glared at me, she understood my meaning.
"What kind of beast are you?" She rebuked as she tried to get up again.
"What kind of beast is as handsome as me?" I let her stand up as I leaned on the tree a little more.
"When did you become a narcissist?" She asked, looking at me with contempt.
"You're the one who told me I'm handsome," I replied, looking at her as she tried to avoid eye contact with me.
"I never said that!" She rebuked as she moved towards the tent.
"Yeah, sure you didn't. Must be sleep talking then," I replied as I watched her run away.
"Hah... At least she isn't stunning me like in the game," I mumbled as I sighed.
I didn't want her to end up the way she did in the game.
Even though she had done a great job in hiding her hostility towards the royal family, she will still be ready to attack them at the first chance she got.
And that wouldn't end well for her.
Well, I still had half a year or so until she seriously tried to kill a member of the royal family.
'Still, killing the crown prince with all those heavy security and powerful guards... Her bloodline is sure something.'
She would become powerful, even if she succumbed to madness.
She would still become powerful enough to kill most of the named characters.
"Are you going to keep hiding, or will you show yourself?" I said out loud as I looked in a certain direction.
_Rush..Rush.._
After the rushing sound of the leaves, a person soon came into view.
"You like listening to others talk, don't you?" I asked as Aeloria arrived in front of me.
"I was scouting the area. I couldn't help but listen to what you were saying not my fault," she replied as she gracefully sat in front of me.
Ignoring her thick thighs peeking through her skirt, I asked, "And how did your scouting go?"
"I found a translucent barrier that divided the forest into two parts, and on the other side, there are plant-based monsters."
"So, this place is like a safe zone, huh?" I mumbled, looking at the boulder that was acting as the sun.
The light it emitted was increasing little by little, indicating that the day had arrived.
'What time is it, Edda?'
[One hour past sunrise.]
'Second day has arrived.'
Things above should also have calmed down by now, and I'm sure a rescue team will arrive in this place in a day or two.
"You know, Eden, you're a weird guy," Aeloria said, interrupting my thoughts.
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean the way you carry yourself and the way you have full confidence... It feels odd sometimes," she explained, looking at me with interest.
"It's because I'm smart. You know what I'm pointing at?"
"Hmm, no, sometimes it feels like you know what's going to happen in the future."
I momentarily stopped moving, deeply examining her.
Long brown hair, brown eyes that held sharpness instead of innocence,unlike in the game.
'So is she going to open up now?'
"And?" I asked, waiting for her to reveal her identity first.
"And nothing else, just sharing my observation," she said, standing up and moving away.
"Hmm, is she hinting that I should open up first?" I mumbled as I thought about her words.
"And nothing else, just sharing my observation," she said, standing up and moving away.
"Hmm, is she hinting that I should open up first?" I mumbled as I thought about her
"Not gonna happen."
For now let's move. We are going deeper inside the labyrinth.
I made my decision as I stood up.
I needed to meet that damn snake.
.....
.....
.....
"So, are you guys ready?" I asked as I looked at both Grace and Aeloria.
After taking their time, both of them were now ready to move forward.
"Seriously, why are we even going inside this place?" Aeloria grumbled as she stood close to the translucent barrier.
"Because we don't have any other choice," I replied as I poked her side ribs.
"Anhh~"
"....."
She let out a sinful moan and I quickly pushed her before she could question me, making her first to move.
"What was that for, jerk!"
Ignoring her, I looked at the surroundings.
The place was filled with trees and plants, but unlike the place we were before, here the trees had a different structure, and most importantly, they were alive.
_Srecch._
With a defiant cry, one of the plants quickly spread its tendrils like veins as it tried to bind me.
I lightly sidestepped as the veins passed by me.
Changing its target, it tried to bind Grace, but just as it was about to reach her, she quickly grabbed the veins with her hand.
_Srchhh_
The monster cried in pain as the veins started to burn when Grace coated her hand with black fire, burning them.
"Aeloria," I called out as a monster stood beside her, ready to swallow her whole.
"Ahh, shit..." she mumbled, but she quickly took her battle stance, covering her hands with spirit energy to strengthen her body.
Without any delay, she threw a punch that got stuck inside the monster's body.
Then, as if her switch had been flipped, she actively started killing more monsters.
"First, it was light, but she quickly moved deeper inside the labyrinth, killing more monsters and making way for us to move."
"Is she some kind of battle maniac or what?" Grace asked as she moved beside me.
"Don't ask me," I shrugged my shoulder as I slowly walked along the path that Aeloria had created.
"Eden..."
"Yeah?"
"When you weren't present, Aeloria was the most active in the social circle at that time," Grace said, observing Aeloria's solitude as she moved further into the labyrinth.
"Hmm? Was she trying to form some kind of relation with the higher-ups?" I asked curiously.
"Yes, she did, for alliances and also for money."
"Money?"
"Yes, money that she used for the orphanage and healthcare," Grace explained, hesitating as if unsure whether to continue.
"You can tell me, you know," I assured her, waiting for her reply.
"But there are rumors about her, unpleasant rumors."
"And what are those?" I asked curiously, and after taking a deep breath, Grace replied.
"That she is involved in human trafficking, and so is her family."