“Amelia, I’m here.”

Siwoo called out to Amelia when he heard a voice looking for him.

Hurried footsteps followed, and a familiar person popped out of the alley.

“Where the hell did you go, leaving me behind?!”

“So-Sorry. I felt uneasy about something…”

“…Ah. No, that’s understandable.”

Amelia, who had been blushing with anger, softened when she saw him.

For a moment, he wondered why she was acting like that, but he could quickly find the reason.

It was because Arte, who was in his arms, started squirming to break free.

“Mo-Move… Please move…! I’m fine…”

“Ah. Sorry.”

There was only one reason why Amelia suddenly became benevolent towards him.

Because he was hugging Arte, it was clear that she saw that and let her imagination run wild.

That was something that always happened, but Arte’s reaction was a bit awkward.

Normally, she would have smiled lightly and asked me to move as if it were nothing.

“Haa, haa… You saw something unsightly.”

“Ye-Yeah…”

“I-I’ll be going first then!”

In Arte’s hurried escape from the scene, there was no trace of her usual confident demeanor.

There was only a cute girl, blushing and utterly flustered.

It was as if the mask she wore had been torn off.

“Look at you~. You’re quite something, aren’t you?”

“It’s not like that.”

“Oh, come on. You were embracing her so intensely as if whispering sweet nothings.”

“It’s not that.”

“…Did something happen?”

He had expected this kind of conversation based on Amelia’s usual behavior but wasn’t in the mood to respond.

So he answered curtly, and Amelia also asked me with a serious expression.

She must have realized that there was something important. As expected, she’s quick-witted.

“I told her.”

“…Huh? Told her what?”

“I told her that I know she’s Arachne.”

“What?! A-Are you crazy?!”

Amelia’s voice, almost screaming, made his ears hurt.

Well, it’s understandable for her to react like that.

He spoke impulsively too.

He did it unintentionally because he was angry at Arte’s self-deprecating attitude.

“Listen, Amelia. I’ll explain everything later, so just answer my questions. I need your opinion on whether my guesses are correct.”

“… You’ll have to explain everything from the beginning when you’re done.”

“Yeah. So just wait a bit. I want to organize my thoughts too.”

Amelia sighed but kept quiet otherwise.

She may usually seem out of her mind, but she’s reliable at times like this.

“…Listen, Amelia. Do you remember the ‘Author?'”

“Of course I remember. We speculated that she might be an informant. Why?”

“When I revealed to Arte that I know her true identity, she suddenly cried and trembled.”

“What?”

“And she said, ‘”Author-nim. I’m sorry. I’ll do better. I’ve been doing well so far, haven’t I?'”

“That’s… could it be…?”

Amelia also seemed to have reached the same conclusion as him, and her face became serious.

Yes. Their speculations were off from the beginning.

They had speculated that Arte and that ‘Author’ had a horizontal relationship.

But they were wrong. It was only a superficial relationship.

Those two had the most vertical relationship of anyone.

“My guess is this… It was all ordered by that ‘Author.'”

“…”

“Arte killing people, releasing monsters into the academy, infiltrating it… All of it.”

Before he knew it, he had become convinced of his thoughts, even though he had said it was a guess.

It fits together too well to be just a theory.

Otherwise, there’s no way to explain Arte’s actions.

“Arte had been rationalizing killing people. She said they were ‘just puppets.'”

“Wha-What? When did she say…?”

“No matter how much I think about it, it’s strange. It’s been over half a year since we got to know Arte, but we don’t even know about that ‘Author.’ How do they even communicate in the first place?”

He’s ashamed to think about it again, but he had once hidden in Arte’s locker.

At that time, no mechanical devices were found anywhere in it.

“We speculated that they communicate through some kind of ability like telepathy… But if you think about it, isn’t it strange?”

Telepathy is the ability to communicate without speaking.

But it’s strange.

Why didn’t they realize this?

They could have realized it was strange if they had thought a little more.

Because they didn’t think that ‘Author’ was a very important person.

That’s why we missed an important fact.

“Let’s say she can convey her own voice. Then how does she convey Arte’s voice?”

“…Huh?”

“One ability per person. This is common sense that everyone knows. And Arte can control threads.”
Right.

The only thing that can be conveyed through telepathy is one’s voice.

There was no way to hear Arte’s voice.

“Communication with Arte is impossible. But she kept muttering. She was communicating with that Author in real-time.”

If she’s conveying her voice through telepathy,

Then how does she hear Arte’s words?

It’s not something mechanical.

He verified that.

It wasn’t Arte’s ability either.

But Arte and the Author kept conversing through some means.

“Th-Then how on earth…?”

“I don’t know either. But it’s definitely not something like telepathy.”
Siwoo started moving in the direction Arte had fled.

He’s not sure where she went. But he was certain.

‘If we go this way, we’ll be able to meet her.’

There was no basis for it. But he knew.

“Somewhere, they can hear Arte’s voice, constantly watch over her, and hold the power of life and death over her.”

“… You’re saying that guy ordered Arte to kill people?”

“That’s what I think.”

They should have realized from the beginning that something was strange.

Why did she, whose mind was unstable enough to rationalize people as puppets, start killing people?

He judged that the reason lies with the one called the ‘Author.’

“…Finally.”

A way to help Arte started to appear.

‘Yet, it’s only an outline for now.’

But he was convinced that even that was a big step. Until now, even that wasn’t visible.

“Wait for me, Arte. I’ll help you.”

Finding out that Arte’s actions were done under someone’s orders was a huge achievement.

Because he could be certain that everything she did was not of her own will.

He moved towards the place where he thought Arte would be.

***

“Hmm, what should I do about this…?”

The pure girl muttered while watching the Reader hastily trying to escape the alley.

She could just use threads like she was going to earlier and move to the rooftop of a tall building.

Perhaps due to panic, she couldn’t even think of that and was running around here and there.

“When did he notice? To think he knew about the monster incident…”

It didn’t seem like he was suspicious of her.

The girl was greatly discouraged.

She shouldn’t have given him the ability of intuition, making him notice unnecessary things.

She should have just given him a status window.

Before she knew it, even her ability didn’t work on him, and she couldn’t even guess what the protagonist’s ability would be.

‘Because of that, the other guys are mocking me too.’

(I knew you’d do this, you stupid bastard. You did all sorts of things, and now a big incident has erupted.)

“Aargh, shut up! People can make mistakes too!”

(…More than that, there’s something I’m curious about. What are you going to do?)

“Huh? About what?”

(Your toy is half out of her mind, and that protagonist is showing hostility towards the non-existent Author in that world.)

“…Ah, that? It’s easy.”

(Easy, you say?)

These guys’ weakness is that they lack imagination.

‘You only enjoy stories about the end of the world and such, so I guess that’s why you’re a bit lacking?’

You should know how to enjoy romantic stories occasionally.

“We just need to change the route a bit. It’s been a while since I changed it anyway.”

(…Did it change? When?)

“Quite a while ago? When was it? I don’t know. I don’t care.”

No, she didn’t care about when it changed.

Right now, she’s just happily watching the story created by chance.

The Reader seems to think she would abandon her because the protagonist discovered that she created the incidents.

Siwoo managed to calm her down somehow, but given time, she’d probably start thinking that way again.

‘Even though I have no intention of doing that.’

“Hey, hey. Isn’t the Reader cute? She’s begging even though I have no intention of killing her.”

(…You have twisted tastes…)

(I agree. I can never understand your preferences.)

“Look who’s talking.”

‘These guys who get excited about the end of the world, saying it’s like fireworks.’

Anyway, they don’t know art.

She’s so cute, you know?

“How did I bring such a soul? Am I a genius or what?!”

She had only brought a soul that seemed suitable for the role of an observer.

But she turned out to be much more to her liking than expected.

She could have predicted the story development by abandoning the Reader and rearranging the surrounding settings except for Siwoo, but…

‘I don’t want that. I can’t lose the Reader!’

“The final boss candidate was Arachne, but… Hmm, that might be too cliché!”

‘Once in a while, a shocking final boss might be nice, don’t you think?’

The girl smiled brightly.

“It seems fun to participate directly!”

Of course, if she fought seriously, the world would be destroyed, so she wouldn’t be able to give it my all.

Well, it’ll be a good setup if the protagonist wins appropriately!

For the sake of love, shouldn’t he overcome a hurdle?

‘…Come to think of it, I created the Reader’s body.’

Doesn’t that make her the parent?

‘Hehe, for the sake of love, he’ll have to convince me! An incredibly strong parent. It’ll be fun!’

The girl smiled brightly.

(Aren’t you being too arrogant? You don’t even know what the protagonist’s ability is.)

(That’s right. Seeing that even your ability doesn’t work on him, it might be an ability to be wary of. You should be careful…)

“Nah, it’s fine! You think I’d lose?”

There was no case where she’d lose to the protagonist if she fought seriously.

Even if she can’t descend into the world, her overwhelming mass could crush the protagonist.

‘Moreover, unlike the other guys, I can easily descend.’

The one who can change the settings.

The girl smiled as if telling them not to worry.