A vacant lot located 1km away from the hotel where we were staying.


    In this ce, there was a well with its bottom exposed and rendered unusable.


    To prevent curious children from getting hurt, the entrance to the well was blocked with iron bars.


    I took out Mant’s knife from my back.


    With a strong swing, the flimsy iron bars were easily cut through.


    I ced the knife against the wall, using Mant’s leg as support as I descended into the well.


    On one side of the well’s bottom, there was a passage leading to an underground waterway.


    I inserted the knife and, in an awkward position, crawled through the tunnel into the underground waterway.


    Luz was a nned city built near a canal.


    So, the sewage and water systems were well-engineered with thetest technology.


    The underground waterway was wide enough to float a small boat, and the water flowed smoothly without any obstructions.


    I walked along the edge of the waterway, heading towards the ghost’s hideout.


    I had no worries about getting lost; I had been here in the game before.


    Squeak, squeak.


    Chick, who was sitting next to my neck, tickled my neck with her tail.


    She was writing something with her tail.


    E was giving her instructions through a "spirit link."


    Long messages couldn’t be sent because they had to be read through touch.


    "Arrived."


    Already arrived, huh?


    In the game, there were monsters living in the waterways, and you had to navigate through copsed areas, but there was none of that here.


    "Where?"


    "We’ll arrive shortly."


    I gently stroked Chick’s head with my finger and continued walking.


    *Sub-Quest: The Ghost of the Cabaret


    Objective: Defeat the Ghost Derek.


    Sess Reward: [Phantom’s Mask]


    Failure Penalty: None.


    ***


    The boat that was crossing the dark underground waterway came to a stop.


    The ghost lowered the oars and ced them on the edge of the boat.


    "We’ve arrived, miss. Were you scared? You kept your eyes closed tightly."


    "Oh, um, just a bit."


    The masked man extended his hand. E took his hand and carefully stepped off the boat.


    A ghost that suddenly appeared in her bedroom in the middle of the night.


    He introduced himself as the "Guardian Angel" living in this extreme ce.


    He said he wanted to catch the "monster" responsible for this incident, protect the circus, and free E, who was enved by the monster.


    E, despite being a frightened girl, yed her part perfectly.


    And she pretended to believe his lies as she followed him.


    In the middle of the underground waterway, there was an ind carved out of stone.


    A few dim lights illuminated the ce, but it was still dark.


    E held the ghost’s hand and carefully climbed onto the ind.


    The space on the ind resembled an attic.


    In the centre, an oiled torch was burning, and there were beds, bookshelves, musical instruments, and more ced in the corners.


    "Is it really safe here?"


    "Yes, of course. Even the monster you’re afraid of won’t be able to enter here without hesitation. I’ve set traps in various ces along the passage."


    Kind and considerate actions.


    A voice that resonated like a song.


    Although his face was covered by a mask, his words and actions were full of goodwill.


    If E were an ordinary girl, she might have been charmed by his mysterious aura.


    But E was now too mature to be captivated by such simple things.


    A year ago, she might not have been as cautious, but now, she had developed a sense of wariness towards anyone who smiled without reason.


    Thanks to, Wonderstein.


    E felt a simr sense of disgust towards the man in front of her as she did towards Wonderstein.


    Brazen and insincere evil.


    If what Wonderstein had told her was true, this man was even more despicable.


    A few hours ago.


    When the y was interrupted, and the theatre staff gathered in the dressing room, E was lost in thought.


    Was it really Wonderstein who dropped that light bulb?


    Why on earth did it happen?


    Was what she saw urate?


    Such doubts deepened when Maroine brought up the ’ghost’ story after returning from the hospital.


    The ghost had started its activities a week ago.


    It had been since the day they arrived in Luz.


    So she decided to question him.


    Did hemit this incident?


    But he spewed outpletely unrted nonsense.


    "E, you signed a contract. To be my ’ve’ for life."


    Those words triggered something in her mind.


    Code word.


    Once you stepped onto the stage, even fellow acrobats couldn’t tell if your actions were real or act. Especially since spontaneous dialogue or acting based on the mood of the moment wasmon, such confusion was even more pronounced.


    The problem arose when there was an ident.


    It was difficult to tell whether the person was really injured, identally caught fire, or was actually being dragged away by a lion, and even colleagues had trouble distinguishing.


    So, the code word was essential.


    The code word had to be agreed upon among the members for it to work.


    What had Wonderstein and E promised?


    He had promised to set them free if they cooperated for the next two and a half years.


    But he suddenly said that she had signed a contract to be a ’ve for life.’


    She had thought about that too.


    All of this could be a devil’s trick.


    Maybe the other party wouldn’t remember about it two and a half years from now? That could be an argument.


    But just one week after making this promise, he brought up such a thing at an irrelevant time, which was strange.


    His subsequent remarks were even more baffling.


    "After all, E, you don’t really have any ’work’ in the circus."


    She doesn’t have any work?


    Just an hour or two ago, both she and he had acknowledged that she had too much work?


    So E was convinced.


    This was some kind of signal.


    A signal only understood by those who knew the circumstances.


    But why did he suddenly use thismunication method?


    E pondered for a moment, then remembered the words he had just uttered.


    "The culprit seems to be someone originally from the troupe."


    That’s right.


    Even now, the chief technician was examining fingerprints and searching for someone simr.


    The culprit was someone inside the troupe.


    Though the fingerprint seemed to be left by Wonderstein, it could be a deception...


    Regardless, it was clear that he was using this secretive form ofmunication because the culprit was nearby.


    After some small talk, he got to the point.


    "I will take one of the animals E is raising."


    E understood his intentions immediately.


    Her Inspira.


    Spirit Link.


    She could share the vision and hearing of the animal she raised.


    His implication was that they would talk about the details through that ability.


    Wonderstein epted the pet E had brought and left the theatre.


    E told the troupe members that she would go to her room to rest for a while.


    Since they had just witnessed someone dying in front of their eyes, they all agreed.


    Anyway, the night-time stage rehearsal wasing up, and she didn’t need to stay there.


    When she activated the Spirit Link, Wonderstein had already prepared an inkwell in front of him.


    E ordered the pet to dip the finger in ink and write on the palm.


    It was much more skillful than before, as she had done it once.


    Wonderstein exined the existence of the ’ghost’ whomitted the crime in detail.


    Since they didn’t know where he might be hiding on the floor or wall, he had no choice but to use the code word.


    But there was one thing E didn’t understand.


    Why did he unnecessarily provoke hostility along the way?


    Especially when he said he would take her pet and transform her into a monster, it made her genuinely tearful.


    Wonderstein answered with a smile.


    "I thought E might be in danger."


    "What?"


    "He uses a power of material permeation. It’s not easy to catch him. I wouldn’t be able to do it without thorough preparation. If he were to take abat approach against someone nearby, I wouldn’t be able to stop him either. So, I had to show it to the people there. That E and I have the worst rtionship."


    "Ah."


    "That way, he wouldn’t darey a hand on E, right?"


    "So, you did it for my sake?"


    "For my sake. Without E, who will handle the circus work?"


    "Well, then, I could have left with you."


    "Then he would have chased us to the hotel. He’s the kind of person who won’t be at ease unless he observes people closely. So, there had to be someone there."


    "Poor Sha..."


    "I have a way to catch that guy."


    Wonderstein described the ghost’s personality, appearance, and his actions in detail.


    Even listening to it gave her chills.


    "He approaches a vulnerable girl and constantly bestows ’favour’ to create ’psychological debt,’ andter demands ’love’ in return."


    "A ’psychological debt,’ huh? You shamelessly say that."


    "Oh, did I? I misspoke."


    "No, it’s not that. But I have one advantage over Sha.’"


    "What’s that?"


    "In two and a half years, I will leave on my own."


    "...That’s right."


    "Then, if anything happens, I’ll contact you. Oh, and the sunflower seeds for Chick are on my desk in my room. Don’t give too many at once! Give them one by one."


    "All right."


    The Ghost offered to help E with the rehearsal for the y that would take ce tomorrow.


    Wonderstein had not arrived yet.


    E epted his offer without hesitation.


    E didn’t have high expectations for Ghost’s acting abilities.


    But as she watched him perform, she couldn’t help but be amazed.


    Even though his face was concealed by a mask, his movements, his vocalization, everything was on par with the professionals.


    Today, the Ghost’s skill surpassed even the deceased actor in the eyes of E.


    She finally understood why that child Sha had fallen for this man.


    With such talent, it must have been hard to resist doing anything for him.


    But E knew better.


    Skill didn’t guarantee character, as Wonderstein was a prime example.


    No matter what talents he possessed, he was a madman who would manipte and demand love from a child and wouldn’t hesitate to resort to kidnapping and murder if crossed.


    The y had now reached the middle of Act II.


    Ghost, looking at E, shouted the part that had been interrupted twice today.


    "Can you prove it? Can you prove your love?"


    Ghost approached her.


    Confidence in his eyes and unwavering steps.


    A perfect nobleman.


    But it didn’t matter.


    E was not the maid who loved the nobleman.


    As he came closer and grabbed her wrist, a dagger pierced Ghost’s wrist.


    "Ahh!"


    Ghost screamed and hastily retreated.


    It was an attack.


    ’Someone is attacking me.


    I needs to escape.’


    He tried to transform into his intangible state quickly.


    But his power didn’t work.


    His arm felt heavy.


    Blood stained the floor.


    The dagger was deeply embedded in his forearm.


    ’Why?


    I’m supposed to be invincible.


    Nothing should be able to...’


    "You cannot transform into the intangible state while in contact with other living beings," E said, taking out another dagger from her robe and pointing it at him. "And if a certain amount of mass is embedded in your body, you cannot transform either."


    Everything she was saying had been taught to her by Wonderstein.


    "It’s best not to do anything unnecessary. If I decide to throw this dagger, I can easily pierce through your body like a piece of wood."


    Ghost looked at her in betrayal.


    ’Damned woman.’


    He was deceived again.


    Just like that woman who promised love and then ran away.


    Just like that woman who embraced another man while promising to live only for him.


    "Why, why! Weren’t you trying to escape from that monster too?"


    "Yeah, that’s right," E said, raising the dagger and ring at him. "But no matter how hard I try, I can’t hold hands with you. The devil didn’t seem interested in the likes of you from the beginning. Oh, and there’s one thing that man is better at than you."


    "W-What...?"


    "He talks," E said. "He helped me find my precious belongings and even made a deal. He saved my life and put a contract on it. And he did something simr today too. Because he needed to. That’s something I truly appreciate."


    Doubt filled Ghost’s eyes.


    Why would she appreciate that?


    It would be better if he whispered more affectionately, more lovingly...


    "Thanks to that, I can hate that man as much as I want."


    "W-Why...?"


    "Derek. How have you treated the ’girls’ who have passed through your hands?"


    At the mention of ’girls,’ Ghost shuddered.


    How does she know...?


    "When the teacher acts for the sake of the student’s favour, problems arise."


    E quoted something she had said to Wonderstein yesterday.


    It had two meanings.


    First, strict discipline was necessary for teaching.


    Second...


    "Affection generated in rtionships with clear hierarchies can be oppressive."


    E recited each word to Derek.


    Yes, Wonderstein never demanded respect or love from them.


    Even if they scolded him or cursed at him, he remained impassive.


    If he felt he was needed, he stepped in to help.


    That was it.


    E was grateful to him for giving her the freedom to hate him.


    ’But when is this personing?’


    The person who said he would arrive soon still hadn’t shown up.


    And to make matters worse, Derek was acting strangely.


    He was looking at her and chuckling.


    "What’s wrong?"


    "Hehe, it’s me. I have the magic noose, you see."


    "What? Uh, uhuh!"


    With a swift sound, something caught E’s throat.


    It was a rope.


    A rope had flown through the air and wrapped around her neck.


    "Uh, ugh!"


    E desperately struggled to grab and loosen the rope, but it wouldn’t budge.


    It seemed like some kind of magical force was at y.


    While it wasn’t about to strangle her or anything, her breathing was gradually being restricted.


    Derek stood up from his seat and approached her, suspended in the air.


    Without being pierced by a dagger, he swung his intact arm toward E’s abdomen.


    Thwack.


    "Ugh!"


    "Have you finished talking, you wretch? So, what is it that you want to say, Giggity!"


    Thwack.


    "Ugh!"


    "After epting all my help, are you rejecting me like those harlots for that monster? Huh?"


    Thwack.


    "Ugh!"


    "Haha, die! Die! I will throw your corpse in front of that monster...."


    Then, a silver streak shed.


    The rope was abruptly cut.


    Derek gasped and recoiled in fear.


    A de attached to the end of a long spider leg.


    It was the one she had seen during the day.


    It had cut the rope.


    The other leg of the monster gently embraced E as she fell from the sky.


    She gasped for breath, her life nearly extinguished.


    "How...how did..from that ce...my trap..?"


    A dark-haired man appeared in the darkness.


    He had clearly emerged from the "impassable path."


    He approached step by step.


    His bright smile gleamed in the torchlight.


    "Oh, the traps were easily dismantled. Four pressure traps, two wire traps, three spike traps, and... a sewer ratman nest."


    Wonderstein extended the two des protruding from his back.


    They were covered in thick, clotted blood.


    "The sewer ratmen didn’t know any better. There were none of these when I camest time."


    He stared directly at the ghost.


    His mouth was smiling, but Derek could see it.


    The spark in his eyes.


    "I’vee to reim my assistant."


    And then, he continued, not by emotion, but withposed words.


    "You, you piece of garbage."