Chapter 55
Elodie.
The main playable character of the life simulation game [Lady Maker].
A girl from a small town on the empire's frontier, whose village is visited by a professor dispatched from the academy.
Elodie catches that professor's eye and is admitted to the academy for her exceptional magical talent.
Depending on the user's choices, she can become a great mage, a villainess, or even the empress of the empire.
Leon had seen every one of Elodie's endings. Maybe not hundreds of times, but at least a hundred.
If asked who his favorite character in the game was, he'd choose Elodie without hesitation.
Even after realizing this world was inside a game, he vowed that he had to see her face at least once.
"Elodie."
And there, the long-awaited figure was standing in front of him in the flesh.
Even Leon couldn't help blurting out her name without thinking.
As Elodie was looking around the academy, she felt the gaze and turned her head.
She looked around, wondering if someone was staring at her.
Before long, the girl realized there was no one else in the square besides herself and carefully approached with hesitant steps.
"Um... hello? Is there something you need from me?"
Renoa looked down at Elodie with her chin slightly raised.
Her deerlike gentleness was one thing, but what especially drew the eye were those opal-colored eyes sparkling in many different colors.
A thought flashed through Renoa's mind unbidden: she had a face that people of any age or gender would surely love.
"It's not even the start of term yet, and you were dressed in the academy uniform, so I thought you might already be a student."
"Ahem! Th-that was why?"
Elodie awkwardly scratched her cheek.
"I'm not a student yet, I'm an incoming student! I came from the countryside, so this is my first time seeing such a huge building. Wearing the uniform... well, I wanted to look like a student, and my other clothes are a bit shabby, heehee."
Looking at Elodie smiling bashfully, Renoa shot Bibi a look that said, "See? I told you."
"Ah, are you perhaps a noble?"
"Why? Don't I look like a noble to you too?"
"Th-there's no way! I was just surprised because you're so beautiful. You have so much grace that I can't even compare to you."
"Hmph."
Renoa made a small hum through her nose.
It wasn't perfect, but it was a fairly satisfying answer.
Just knowing her place as a commoner was enough to earn extra points.
"I'm Renoa of House Edelheid."
"E-Edelheid? The ducal house with those incredible mages?"
Renoa didn't bother with any long-winded explanation.
Just maintaining her silence was enough for Elodie to bow on her own.
"To think I failed to recognize such an important person...! I'm sorry!"
Watching the girl panic and even trip over her words, Renoa analyzed her with narrowed eyes.
Was it a genuine mistake, or a carefully calculated attempt at looking cute?
Her face didn't seem the least bit fake, but if it was the latter, she would be terrifying.
"You don't need to be so formal. There's an imperial decree that says not to distinguish between high and low ranks at the academy."
"That may be so..."
"Well, it was a good call. Lucky for you I'm generous, because if it had been another noble, they would have lectured you on etiquette and maybe even accused you of disrespect."
"Eek."
"I'm just saying that kind of thing can happen. I'm not such a rigid person. I already live with two people who have no sense of propriety."
As she said that, Renoa glanced left and right in turn.
The slave trying to act as her master's equal, and the maid.
"Haa..."
"Why are you sighing while looking at us?"
"Just because. Looking at your faces makes me sigh."
It was enough to make her lament why her surroundings were always full of people like this.
In that sense, the girl in front of her was quite to her liking.
She had a good impression, was quick on the uptake, and knew how to show respect. If possible, Renoa would even like to keep her as a maid.
"You. What's your name?"
"I'm Elodie! I'm a commoner, so I don't have a surname."
"...Elodie?"
The moment she heard that name, Renoa's head snapped toward Leon.
Though the sound had been too soft to hear clearly, Leon had just uttered that name a moment earlier.
'How?'
Since Renoa didn't know her, she wasn't famous. Aside from her striking looks, she was truly just an ordinary commoner you could find anywhere.
There was no way Leon, who had been a slave from birth, would know the name of a frontier commoner.
"What are you two to each other?"
"Huh? Are you talking to me?"
Elodie was flustered, not understanding what was going on.
Then that meant Leon knew her, but not the other way around.
Renoa narrowed her eyes. A wary gaze shot at Leon.
"Speak. How do you know her name?"
Leon was flustered.
He hadn't expected her name to come out of his mouth. It had happened without his even realizing it because he had been too happy to see her.
"How could I possibly know her? This is the first time we've met."
"Don't lie. You clearly said Elodie."
"I said melody, not Elodie. I was thinking that since the weather and scenery are so nice, it would be lovely to have some refreshing music too."
It was a slick bit of improvisation.
Along with the plausible excuse, he desperately suppressed his emotions.
Because of that, Renoa didn't notice anything unusual even in the sensations coming through the bond.
Leon then went one step further and asked Elodie a question.
"Miss Elodie, have you ever seen me before?"
"No, this is my first time seeing you. You're a knight, right? You have a nice-looking necklace."
"Haha, thank you."
Leon grinned at Renoa pointedly.
"See? She doesn't know me, so how could I possibly know her? Me, who has lived as a slave all my life."
"……."
"Even if we did know each other to begin with, would that be a problem?"
He had a point.
Whatever past connection Leon and Elodie might have had, it had nothing to do with Renoa.
Even if they had been friends.
Even if they had been lovers.
It should have had absolutely nothing to do with her, just as Leon said, and yet for some reason it twisted her insides and bothered her.
"I... if it's not too much trouble, may I go? The innkeeper said she'd be making dinner."
Elodie spoke carefully, watching Renoa's expression.
The young lady of a lofty ducal house, a mysterious knight, and even a maid, all of them watching the spectacle while eating snacks.
For a girl who had only recently been living in a tiny village, it was far too bizarre to handle.
Renoa was still glaring at Leon with eyes full of suspicion.
For a fleeting instant, she had clearly felt the emotion leaking from Leon. That was definitely not something she had just imagined.
"……Go ahead."
But questioning a slave about the truth in this very place would be beneath a noble's dignity.
Renoa granted permission with a curt, tossed-off remark.
"Thank you! If I get the chance, let's meet again, Young Lady!"
Elodie bowed with a bright smile.
She ran toward the far side of the plaza with light steps, as if she'd thrown off a heavy burden.
Leon stared fixedly at her receding back. It was the sight of his protagonist, alive and moving, the one he'd seen through countless endings.
Renoa didn't miss how deeply Leon's gaze was fixed on that back.
"For someone you don't know, that gaze is awfully tender."
"Of course not. I'm just looking because it's strange to see a person running. That person runs on two legs."
Now he was just shrugging and throwing out whatever came to mind.
Bibi, who had been watching the whole exchange from a step away, came up beside Renoa.
"My lady, by now the manor cleanup should be in its final stage. Let's head back soon."
"……All right."
Renoa answered briefly and turned around.
All the way back to the manor, she couldn't get the meeting with Elodie out of her head.
She wore the mask of a simple country girl, but there was something about her that was hard to describe plainly.
She had a feeling she'd be crossing paths with her often.
***
Ever since leaving Olderin's villa and coming to the duchy, Renoa had been plagued by nightmares.
They were always the same nightmare.
A mirror would appear in a space of nothing but darkness, and it would reflect a woman with a face exactly like hers.
The hands reaching out from that woman would wrap around Renoa without leaving a gap, and then swallow her whole.
And then the original Renoa would disappear without a trace, leaving only the Renoa in the mirror behind.
She knew it was a dream, but no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't wake up.
Since she had nightmares every day, she couldn't get proper sleep, and with no sleep, Renoa's mind and body grew more and more worn down.
"Hngh...!"
Today was no different.
Renoa was tormented by the nightmare.
Cold sweat poured over her like a waterfall, soaking her entire body. She clutched the blanket and thrashed, trying to break free.
But nothing changed. She couldn't wake up, and she couldn't escape.
She would keep having nightmares forever.
Forever.
"What on earth are you doing?"
Her thrashing even spilled over to Leon, who had formed a familiar contract with her.
Unable to sleep at all because of the torrent of hostile feelings, Leon eventually sneaked into Renoa's bedroom.
He had met Elodie today.
He had thought he might curse her, but instead he was the one suffering as if he'd been cursed.
"My lady. My lady?"
Leon shook Renoa's shoulder and called to her, but there was no response at all. She was still in pain.
'She must be having one hell of a nightmare.'
If he left her like this, Leon would only suffer along with her.
He had to do something somehow.
"For some reason, she takes an awful lot of looking after."
Given her usual razor-sharp personality, you'd think she'd be able to make it to space all by herself even if she were dropped into the Stone Age.
And yet my lady can't even sleep on her own.
"Sigh."
Leon crouched beside the bed and took Renoa's hand.
Then Renoa, unconscious, clamped down hard on Leon's hand with the same strength she had used to grip the blanket.
Just like back when the thunderbolt struck, he sent mana through to loosen Renoa's tightly tensed body—
"……What is this?"
Another foreign mana, not Renoa's own, was rampaging inside her body.