I Think I’m a Horror Game Villain - Chapter 86

Schedule: Monday and Friday

Chapter 86

Zion chuckled playfully.

Even though I knew it was a harmless joke, it somehow annoyed me.

‘Were we ever close enough to joke around like this?’

“Thank you for helping me.”

I tried to hide my displeasure as I expressed my gratitude.

“Were you looking for that too, Heyna?”

Zion’s fingertips pointed to the bookshelf. It seemed he had also come here to search for information about the Clarence family.

Of course. Zion’s intelligence stat is pretty high.

“Yes. I thought I might find a way out of here if I could figure out what happened in the Clarence family’s past.”

As soon as I said it, I realized my mistake.

‘Right. Zion’s affection level decreased whenever I took the initiative.’

I didn’t mean to, but I was about to ruin all the progress I had made in raising his affection level.

However, contrary to my expectations, Zion’s affection level remained unchanged.

“I knew you would think that way.”

“Huh?”

That statement, which seemed to be praising me…

“Then, shall we look for the information we need together here?”

Those eyes, which clearly screamed, ‘I like you,’ were oddly unsettling.

‘Why is he suddenly acting like this?’

“You’re too short to reach those books, so I’ll get them for you. Go sit over there.”

He said things he didn’t need to, which was annoying. It was definitely the Zion I knew.

“Let’s start with the records, shall we?”

“Oh, yeah? That sounds good.”

“The records are just from a third-party perspective, so it’s best to also look through the head of the family’s diary, right?”

“I guess so…?”

“It’s nice to be able to talk so well with you.”

Zion acted as if we were the closest of friends.

‘Since when could we talk so well?’

I couldn’t adjust to Zion’s sudden change in attitude. I was even more suspicious, wondering if he had some ulterior motive.

No. Let me rephrase that.

If I could raise Zion’s affection level, which was usually filled with suspicion, wouldn’t that be a good thing?

I didn’t know why Zion was suddenly being nice to me, but it wouldn’t hurt to use this opportunity to work on his affection level a little.

“Me too. Zion, I’m so glad you’re here.”

I gave Zion a sales-pitch smile.

‘Dating sim are my specialty. Raising the affection level of someone whose personality I know like the back of my hand is easy.’

***

“Zion, I don’t know what this word means.”

“Ah, this is a dialect used only in the northern region.”

“I see! Can you translate it?”

“Leonhard Clarence has buck teeth… It seems like the staff just wrote down gossip about the head of the family.”

“What, really?”

I covered my mouth and giggled.

Goodness, I never thought I would make such a sound. I could debut as an actress right now.

“Thank you. If it weren’t for you, Zion, I would’ve struggled trying to figure out this word. You’re amazing, as always.”

[‘Zion’s favorability towards ‘Heyna’ has increased by 1.]

His favorability went up again.

‘Easy, too easy.’
With just a bit of flattery and some playful teasing, his favorability shot up to 3 in no time. It’s so easy; why didn’t I raise Zion’s favorability earlier?
“It’s almost 6 o’clock. Let’s summarize the information we’ve gathered so far.”

Zion wrote down the clues he had found in his elegant handwriting.

1. Unfortunate incidents began to occur in the Clarence family after the 38th head of the family, Curious Clarence, obtained the ‘Soul-Trapping Bell’.

2. Rumors circulated discreetly within the mansion that Curious Clarence had made a pact with a devil to obtain the ‘Soul-Trapping Bell’.

3. The ‘Soul-Trapping Bell’ is hidden in the secret room on the top floor of the Clarence mansion.

“That’s all the useful information we have.”

Unfortunately, this information was completely useless to me.

I already knew that the ‘Soul-Trapping Bell’ was hidden within the mansion and that I had to destroy it to achieve the true ending.

It was a shame that I hadn’t found any other clues, but at least I had managed to raise Zion’s favorability a lot.

‘With this, I shouldn’t have any trouble being suspected by Zion for a while.’

“It’s a shame, but let’s stop here for today and come back tomorrow to look around the library. We might find clues in unexpected places.”

I deliberately spoke brightly and cheerfully. If Zion’s ideal type is someone who ‘needs to be protected’―

‘This kind of bright character would work well. If someone who is always bright and positive shows a vulnerable side, it makes people want to protect them.’

“Yes, that’s good.”

Zion smiled softly and reached out, naturally stroking my head.

‘…Ugh. I hate it.’

How could this guy, who is supposedly a royalty, not know how disrespectful it is to touch someone’s head without permission?

Unless it’s someone he likes. I absolutely despise it when a man I don’t like touches my head without permission.

I wanted to slap his hand away, but I didn’t want to lose the favorability I had just gained, so I forced myself to smile.

‘This is strange.’

I had a strange sense of déjà vu.

‘I don’t know when it was, but I feel like I’ve been in a similar situation before.’

Back then, I didn’t dislike it.

I just loved the gentle touch of his hand stroking my hair and his kind eyes that seemed to cherish me so much.

Is this déjà vu, this unbearable longing, my memory? Or is it ‘Heyna’s’ memory?