NOVPUBAfter we finished eating, Ha-rim briefly discussed something with the others before announcing—
"We’re going to play a game!"
...Another game.
Last time, it had been so ridiculous that I couldn’t help but laugh.
But I wasn’t particularly interested in childish pastimes.
This was merely something to pass the time while pretending to help their Mystery Exploration Club.
It was better than doing nothing.
Still, it was somewhat interesting to observe how children played these days.
I had never experienced such things at their age.
I only made my first real friend when I entered high school.
("Wait, aren’t you that guy who got struck by lightning and had to take time off school?")
My elementary and middle school nickname had unfortunately followed me into high school.
I had already assumed that making friends was out of the question.
So I had simply sat quietly, reading a book.
Until a senior approached me.
("What do you want?")
("Why so stiff? You seem interesting. Wanna be friends?")
I wouldn’t exactly call him normal.
He looked like some delinquent thug.
Big guy.
Honestly, I was a little scared.
("...Excuse me?")
("You can talk casually, y'know.")
("It’d be rude to speak informally to someone older.")
...Thinking back, he really was just a pushy guy.
"Ella! We’re ready!"
Ha-rim’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
This time, the game was a quiz contest.
Finally, something normal.
That pretend tea party had been too much.
Kyung-min, acting as the host, explained the rules.
We each sat on chairs brought from the clubroom.
For me, that meant being placed on a chair as a mirror.
Then, Kyung-min would read a question aloud.
Whoever raised their recorder first would get a chance to answer.
Whoever answered the most correctly would win.
Simple.
"The person with the most correct answers will get this!"
He held up a massive, limited-edition lollipop.
One of those promotional candies from a well-known company.
Rare.
Popular.
Sold only one per convenience store.
Not only was it delicious, but it came with a sticker—if lucky, the winner could receive a free gaming console.
It was nearly impossible for someone like me to get my hands on one. n𝚘vp𝚞𝚋.com
It was the kind of thing even I would have bought if I’d seen it.
And if I didn’t win it now, I might never get the chance to taste it in my entire life.
...Not that I particularly wanted it.
I wasn’t about to seriously compete with kids over something so trivial.
I was an adult.
There was no way I’d get invested in a silly quiz game.
"Question 1! What’s the term for proper etiquette on the internet?"
Eun-jung quickly raised her recorder.
"Answer! Netiquette!"
Kim Eun-jung, you little—!
Sensing my silent fury, Eun-jung shivered and looked away.
Should I grab my knife?
No, calm down, inner Ella.
I tore my gaze away from her and focused on the next question.
I could hear a quiet sigh of relief from her direction.
"Question 2! Which of the following is not an appropriate action toward a friend?
Soo-ho raised his recorder.
"Answer! Number one!"
"Wrong!"
"Tsk, tsk. Unfortunately, incorrect."
The difficulty of this question seemed suspicious.
Was this a bonus round?
I raised my recorder from inside the mirror.
"...Number three."
"Correct!"
Yes!
Hurry up and give me the next one!
"Question 3! What’s the theory that states the planets revolve around the Sun as the center of the solar system?"
...Ah, crap. What was it again?
My memory was fuzzy.
At that moment, Ha-rim raised her recorder.
"Answer! Heliocentrism!"
Ah!
I knew that one!
The betrayal!
Even Ha-rim was after my candy?!
"Question 4! Which of the following does not count as a game?
3.—"
And so the quiz continued.
For elementary-level kids, they sure knew a lot.
I lost several rounds.
But I swept through the easier questions, so my overall score still put me in the lead.
And in the end—
Victory.
I claimed my prize.
Ah!
This adorable candy!
We will live together forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever—
And with that, the game ended.
Satisfied, I was about to return to the classroom—
When Ha-rim hesitantly asked me to spare some time.
I gave her a disinterested nod and told her to meet me in the girls’ restroom mirror.
A Private Conversation
Waiting inside the restroom mirror, I watched as Ha-rim cautiously approached.
She hesitated before speaking.
"Um... Ella, I have a few questions.
Can I ask?"
"...I’m in a good mood right now.
So I’ll answer—just this once."
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
As soon as I gave her permission, Ha-rim relaxed slightly and asked—
"Ella... what do you think of us?"
A strangely difficult question.
How do I see them?
As kids burdened with a tragic fate?
Given that she was asking this now, it meant the atmosphere during dinner and the game had worked in my favor.
She was beginning to trust me.
She no longer thought I would suddenly turn on them out of nowhere.
I needed to answer in a way that felt like Ella—while still bringing us a little closer.
"Hmm... playmates?"
Was that too indifferent?
But I couldn’t think of anything better.
I was a loner my entire life.
I only had one friend, and even he hadn’t lived long enough to see adulthood.
By the time I had grown into a full-fledged adult, I had exactly zero friends.
Social skills? What were those?
"But Ella, you bet your legs for us...
You gave us charms...
You’ve helped us so much!"
Ha-rim fumbled over her words.
"Ah, not that I think you’re lying! I just mean...
Aren’t we closer than that?"
So she wanted confirmation.
She wanted to hear it from my mouth that we were truly allies.
Back in the mansion, I had lied to them.
But now, after everything I’d done, I had apparently redeemed myself enough that she wanted to trust me.
Still, trust was a tricky thing.
If I told them now that I wasn’t actually playing along because I needed companionship but simply because I was helping them out of convenience, would they believe me?
No.
She wanted a certain answer.
I smirked in my usual Ella-like way and asked—
"What do you want to hear, Ha-rim~?"
She hesitated.
"Well... you did say we were friends before.
Do you really think of us that way?"
...Strictly speaking, no.
I was an adult.
Friendships didn’t form easily between people with a significant age gap.
The difference in experiences made it hard to relate.
But when I made that promise with her, I had said we were friends.
And I needed to get closer to them.
There was no reason to deny it.
"Sure.
Playmates—and friends."
Her face lit up slightly.
"Then... since we’re friends...
You won’t hurt us, right?"
Ah.
So this was her real question.
I smirked.
"As long as you listen to me, I won’t kill you on a whim.
Even if the game gets a little boring, I’ll let it slide. So don’t worry."
Relief washed over her face.
Now, she could stop worrying about dying every time she was around me.
Honestly, in a world like this, the last thing she needed was a ticking time bomb in her party.
I wanted them to trust that I wasn’t a threat.
If I wanted to blend in and truly become part of their group, this ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) was a necessary step.
"But Ella... is that all you need?"
Just when I thought the conversation was over, she threw another question at me.
What was she trying to say?
"Hm?"
"You put yourself at risk for us back in the tunnel.
Are you really fine with just playing around as thanks?"
...Too pure.
She was too pure.
How was I even supposed to respond to that?
Receiving greater rewards for less effort was always the best outcome.
Why was she acting like I was being shortchanged?
She wasn’t suspicious of me.
She wasn’t questioning if I had ulterior motives.
She simply felt guilty that she hadn’t done enough for me in return.
She was actually worried about repaying a ghost.
I wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her.
She should be focusing on using every last resource to survive.
Not thinking about giving me anything.
Because—
[If you reach the ending, you will lose too much.]
This game wasn’t just about surviving the road to the ending.
It was a horror game.
And while happy endings did exist in horror games...
Unless the writing was absolute garbage, the true ending would always be something horrifying.
This game wasn’t about defeating the supernatural.
It was about surviving it.
No matter how much you struggled, at most, you could barely hold your ground against an overwhelming force.
And the moment they reached the ending—
Something vast and monstrous, born from this tiny world, would awaken.
And it would destroy everything beyond it.
I couldn’t just tell them this.
Not when they were still fighting to survive.
...The whole thing was just depressing.
I didn’t want to talk about it anymore.
"That all you wanted to ask?"
"Huh?"
"If you feel guilty about it, just get me a present or something.
It doesn’t have to be anything special.
Now I’m leaving, so don’t try to stop me."
I said the first thing that came to mind and vanished back into the classroom mirror.
For a moment, I had enjoyed the game.
Now, I just wanted to rest and figure out tomorrow’s plan.
After Ella disappeared, Ha-rim stood in place for a long time.
It wasn’t that Ella had gotten angry.
But the moment before she left—
For just a second—
Her expression was filled with sadness.
That was new.
The first time Ella had ever shown a real, human emotion.
Why?
What was she mourning?
Was it something from her past?
How could she help?
...These thoughts swirled in Ha-rim’s mind as she turned to return to her friends.
