003 – …I went and did it.

—

[…What’s this. My daughter…?]

(Photo)

What is this?

Why is my Miyeon like this?

I logged in, and the maid told me our daughter was showering, so I started peeking through the hole I secretly drilled in the bathroom…

Why is she just standing there quietly with the shower running?…

(Photo)

Look at this.

She’s been just wasting water for minutes.

(Photo)

She just wasted water for 30 minutes and left?

…Is this a damn bug?

When I watched her bathe before, she scrubbed every nook and cranny with soap, cleaning herself so well…

Why did she suddenly disappear?…

[Comments]

– ?

– ?

– ?

– (OP): Straighten up your hooks and give us proper information.

ㄴ !

ㄴ (OP): You little witch.

– LOLOLOL. She realized her dad drilled a peephole, LOL.

ㄴ (OP): Really??? No way, I’ve only peeked twice…

ㄴ It’s not that, you moron. Accept that you got replaced by a doppelganger as fate’s cruel joke.

ㄴ (OP): A doppelganger??

– The way he realized his kid was replaced by a doppelganger is shocking. Usually, players notice the strangeness in their conversations and confirm if they’re a doppelganger. This guy checks by watching her bathe, LOLOL.

ㄴ (OP): My daughter is a doppelganger??

ㄴ Yep, that’s a doppelganger. They pretend to shower since they don’t really need to.

ㄴ (Writer): What happened to Miyon?

– Father… Fa…ther… Help me… Here… He…re…

ㄴ (Writer): …Miyon?

ㄴ Incorrect, Alchemist. I am a Doppelganger.

ㄴ (Writer): You fucking son of a b*tch!

—

“Where is Ella now?”

“She went to her room, and has not allowed anyone inside…”

“I see. I will go to her myself.”

Listening to the servants, I learned Ella had returned home and refused to see anyone.

I should have been guarding the border.

But the moment I heard of my daughter’s accident, I returned to the mansion where Ella was…

‘She hasn’t told anyone what happened…’

The first thing the servant told me upon entering the mansion,

Was that Ella had forbidden anyone from entering her room.

Knock knock knock.

Anxious that something might have happened to Ella, I rapped on the door.

“Who is it?”

“It’s your father, Ella.”

Thankfully, Ella’s voice didn’t seem to hold too much trouble.

“Father?”

Relief washed over me.

As I reached to open the door and enter,

“Just a moment before you come in.”

“Huh?”

“You must answer my question correctly before I open the door.”

“I don’t know what you’re up to, but alright.”

I had no clue what she wanted, but my daughter was asking for an accurate answer.

So, I had no choice but to wait for the question.

“Father.”

“Yes, Ella.”

“Do you remember the secrets you asked me to keep from Mother?”

“..There are quite a few..”

“Just tell me one of them.”

At least half a dozen things came to mind.

But I began to recount the least embarrassing memory.

“Ahem… Your mother strictly forbade me from buying a 7-year-old vintage wine… and I got caught by you, didn’t I?”

“And?”

“In exchange for keeping the wine purchase a secret… I bought you that chick you desperately wanted at the time. Come to think of it, Ella, wasn’t your mother against the chick as well?”

“Phew… You really are my father.”

With the pronouncement that it was indeed the real one, the stubbornly closed door swung open.

“…To dredge up such old memories, what on earth has happened?”

Just so.

I was able to hear Ella’s story, one that not a single servant had managed to overhear.

“Father.”

“What is it, Ella?”

“We need to examine all the servants within the manor. I’m unsure how many have been replaced by doppelgangers, so I was waiting for you to arrive, Father.”

*

“Did you hear the story?”

“What story?”

“About the Marchioness’s estate, the one she resides in. There.”

“Huh? What about it?”

“Apparently, a purge of blood occurred.”

“..Suddenly? What happened?”

Diligently serving the food emerging from the kitchen, I unobtrusively eavesdropped on the chatter of the inebriated patrons.

Information was power, even if I possessed a certain degree of knowledge regarding the Arcane Magocracy.

By listening to the tidbits of others, the information I needed occasionally surfaced.

“I wish I could go back to being a student…”

“Out of the blue?”

“Three square meals a day… They even provide lodging if you’re in the dorms…”

“And the Goddess pays your tuition?”

“Just get in on a scholarship!”

“Sigh… Forty years old and talking nonsense, seriously.”

“Hic… I don’t want to work…”

‘A scholarship, huh…’

The thought of becoming a scholarship student, no matter the cost, filled me.

If that were to happen… then I wouldn’t have to worry about food, clothing, or shelter.

‘Can I even become a student at 22?’

A moment’s contemplation revealed the existence of an educational institution within the Arcane Magocracy similar to a university.

The most prestigious educational institution within the Magocracy, and the place every Arcane Campus player aimed to send their children.

Arcane Academy.

‘Sigh…’

The Academy, too, offered scholarships.

‘This is possible…’

Moreover, having already conquered the Arcane Campus once.

The Academy’s entrance exam was a walk in the park.

‘I’ll give it a shot.’

I resolved to aim for a scholarship with a perfect score on the written exam.

…

“Hooray! Good work, Mihyeon.”

“Thank you!”

“Of all days for the guy who was supposed to work to not show up… I was really in a bind with no staff, but you made things easier, thanks to you.”

“Ahaha!”

“Here, your pay for the day.”

“Thank you, boss.”

With a bow, I carefully folded the envelope I received from the boss and tucked it into my pocket.

*Yes!*

I could only describe it as pure luck.

I’d been agonizing over how to earn some money when I spotted a man outside a store, looking like he was in a fluster – seemed like the owner.

Approaching him, I asked if something was the matter, and he explained that the server hadn’t arrived yet.

So I offered to work in their place for the day, covering for the absent employee.

“Hmm hmm~.”

I couldn’t help humming a tune, offering a silent thank you once more to the boss who’d even provided a meal for my hard work.

First, it was late into the night, so I figured I’d head home and get some sleep, when…

“Huh, what’s this?”

I noticed a square box I’d never seen before lying on the ground.

“Uhm?”

Curious, I picked up the box. It was small, about the size of my palm, but surprisingly heavy.

“Pin?”

Furthermore, there was a metal pin stuck into the rather weighty box.

“…Like a safety pin?”

It looked exactly like a safety pin.

*Ah… I definitely shouldn’t touch this.* The thought occurred to me. I tried to carefully place the box back on the ground when…

*Thwack-*

“?..”

Just ahead, down that dark alleyway…

I saw a woman… her abdomen being stabbed by something sharp in a man’s hand.

“Uh…”

It was the first time I’d ever witnessed a murder, and a fear I’d never experienced before began to creep, to conquer my entire body.

“U-uh…!”

My immediate instinct was to flee this place.

But my feet were rooted to the spot, my mind blank, burning white as I couldn’t figure out what to do.

—

Lumia (20)

[Kidnap] – Activated

—

As if urging me to use ‘Kidnap’.

A status window appeared before my eyes, revealing the woman’s name.

“…Kidnap.”

After a deliberation that felt like three minutes compressed into three seconds, I spoke the word ‘Kidnap’ slowly.

The moment I spat out the word “kidnap,” a woman lay before me, bleeding from her abdomen and writhing in pain.

‘…I’ve done it.’

Ah…

This is bad.

I blurted it out without thinking…

Now that guy is surely going to see the woman here and try to hurt me too.

‘I shouldn’t have said it.’

It was far too late for regrets.

Before the opponent could grasp the anomaly, I should quickly use Kidnap on that man too, and smash him in the head with the heavy box I was holding…

…Where did the box go?

‘…Huh?’

The box I was holding vanished.

Only the safety pin that had been stuck in the box remained, nestled neatly in my right hand.

‘That’s not important…!’

Such trivial things weren’t important right now –

‘…Why is that there?’

Concentrating my gaze to see the man’s status window, I could see the square box where the woman, Lumia, had been standing.

And at that very moment…

*BANG!!*

Whether it was just misfortune, or if the safety pin really belonged to the box.

In front of the unidentified man, the box detonated in a small explosion.

‘Ah, so… the location of what’s in your hand switches places with the target of the Kidnap.’

Luckily, or maybe unluckily.

Thanks to the blasted man, I managed to glean the valuable information that the “Kidnap” magic swaps the position of the object in your hand with the target of the kidnap.

Okay, now that I’ve gleaned the valuable information, what about now?

‘Shall I try to run?’

The sound of the explosion wasn’t exactly quiet.

People would be swarming this place soon.

I was about to leave quickly to avoid any unnecessary problems, but…

‘Ah.’

Suddenly, one of my mother’s sayings flashed through my mind.

‘…What to do.’

I didn’t have many memories left since she had passed away when I was young.

But when she was alive, my mother often told me things like this.

‘Don’t pass by someone who needs help, dear.’

“Don’t pass by someone who needs help…”

When you find yourself in a situation where you can help someone, you have to help them.

Because one day, when you’re in a moment where you need help, you’ll be able to receive help too.

‘…I really don’t know.’

Seeing my mother’s words pop into my head at a time like this…

This strange world… it seems it truly found me wanting.