1.
A dark and dim space.
“My name is Luna! And……”
In that endless darkness stretching in all directions, where reality itself seemed to fade, a young girl beamed brightly at Nahan and added—
“I’m not dead yet!”
Well, I might die soon, though!
The cheerful voice clashed starkly with the grim words, making Nahan furrow his brows.
“Die?”
“Huh? You don’t know about dying?”
“No, I do. But…”
…Is that really something a child who isn’t even ten years old should be saying?
“Aha! You’re scared, aren’t you?”
“What?”
“It’s okay! I was really scared at first too, but thanks to Mom, I got better!”
“Mom?”
“Yeah! People call her ‘Mother’, but I secretly call her Mom…!”
A bright smile and a lively voice.
Shiver.
At that moment, as Nahan sensed an odd distortion in the girl’s smile—
Ding.
A system window appeared before his eyes.
【Main Scenario – <The Unredeemed> begins.】
【Basic information about <Black Wolf> No.4 – Luna is provided.】
It was only then that he realized.
Nahan had accepted the main episode.
This unreal space, made entirely of darkness.
And the young Luna who had appeared there.
The <Basic Information> specified in the system window—
It was Luna’s past memories.
‘Why now, of all times?’
The answer followed immediately after the question.
‘It must be because Luna’s encroachment by <Mother> is connected to her past.’
Having grasped the situation, Nahan summoned the sub-quest window and reviewed it again.
──『Subquest!』──
◆ The Face Beneath the Mask.
: You have saved the members of <Black Wolf>, but it was not a complete salvation. Save <Luna> from her nightmare.
◆ Completion Conditions.
- Escape from <Gardner Territory>. (Completed!)
- Fully understand <Luna>. (…In progress.)
- Grant <Mother> its rest.
◆ Reward.
: Past memories of all <Black Wolf> members.
◆ Failure & Rejection.
: <Luna>’s rampage.
Condition 1 was already completed.
Seeing that condition 2 was now marked in progress, it seemed he had no choice but to follow her and see the story through to the end…
“…Do you want to come see her too? Mother.”
There was something unsettlingly dull in her gaze, making him feel like trouble was inevitable if he followed.
But if he didn’t follow, the sub-quest would fail.
‘Quest failure = Luna’s rampage = High chance of death = Then I die too.’
His survival instincts pushed him forward.
“How far is it?”
“Not far! It’s right in front! Whoa, wait—are you really coming with me?!”
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
“Wow!! Whoa!!”
Luna’s emerald-green eyes sparkled with excitement, as if she hadn’t expected him to follow.
“Stop jumping around and just walk quickly.”
As he lightly patted her head, Luna gently grasped his hand.
“T-Then… u-um.”
“What now?”
“C-Can we… hold hands while we walk…?”
The eerie dullness in her eyes had vanished, replaced by shimmering emerald-green pupils looking up at him.
Without answering, he held her hand.
“…It’s warm.”
“That’s good.”
The moment he answered vaguely.
Grip.
He lowered his head as he felt a soft yet faint pressure from the little hand holding his.
Like a child who had fulfilled her final wish right before dying, the girl shed tears while smiling.
“…Thank you. For holding my hand.”
A tear trickled down her cheek, gathered at her chin, and finally fell with a plop the moment it reached its limit.
Waaaaaaaaa!!!
With a roar that filled the giant tent, the space changed.
“…All of a sudden?”
Nahan quickly assessed his suddenly altered surroundings, barely having a moment to be startled.
Inside a circus tent, a multitude of seats were filled.
Everyone seated, as well as those on stage, wore masks.
Mother!!
Mother!!
Mother!!
Amidst the screams tinged with madness, a woman walked onto the stage.
Though she also wore a mask, it was obvious at a glance that she was powerful.
Nahan sensed the same murky, sharp aura he felt from Luna whenever she was being overtaken.
‘That must be Mother.’
At the same time Nahan recognized her, Mother looked around at the audience and spoke.
“Commence the auction.”
Right then, the stage mechanism whirred to life.
Clank!
Rrrrrrrrr!
The wooden floorboards opened, revealing chained-up goods.
Strange beasts, various artifacts, expensive spices, and so forth.
They were all difficult items to acquire, yet the crowd’s reactions were lukewarm.
Even so, each item was sold at a high price.
“1 kg of firewood.”
“1,000 gold.”
“Lot number 18, sold.”
Prices absurdly high for such items.
“One lowest-grade potion.”
“1,000 gold.”
“Lot number 23, sold.”
The auction proceeded in that calm, listless manner for quite some time, in stark contrast to its beginning.
“End. Closed.”
At Mother’s mechanical announcement, the audience rose and streamed out.
As if they had rehearsed in advance, they aligned themselves in neat rows and moved out swiftly, in perfect order.
‘What the…?’
Nahan was left momentarily at a loss in this strange shift in the atmosphere.
Just then, someone dressed similarly to Mother approached him and whispered quietly,
“Please get up.”
“…All right.”
Nahan nodded and was about to stand, when someone shouted in his direction,
“Damn it!! Last time, I paid money and couldn’t buy a damn thing, so this time I’m staying for free!!”
“Please get up.”
“Screw you, bastard! Why should I?!”
“This is your final warning. Please get up.”
These two acted as though Nahan wasn’t even there.
He rose carefully, waved a hand in front of each of them, and became certain.
‘I’m invisible to them.’
Well, this place was just a separate space to peek into Luna’s memories, not reality.
Nahan took a few steps away from the quarrel and mumbled.
“I’m part of the audience, I see.”
If that was the case, he had no reason not to watch quietly.
Feeling more at ease, he even stopped acting like the <Black Wolf> Captain for a moment. Just as he leaned back—
The auction attendee shoved the attendant and shouted.
“Screw off, you bastard—!!”
Thud.
Simultaneously, his head dropped to the ground.
Unfazed, the attendant picked up the severed head, walked over, and presented it to Mother. Taking it, Mother spoke,
“Disposal fee. 100 gold each.”
Lot 18, lot 23, lot 86…
“Tsk, that idiot.”
“What a pointless expense.”
“Well, at least it’s only one person today. Paying in the hundreds is still doable.”
As the remaining participants raised their paddles to show they’d pay, Mother casually tossed aside the severed head and turned around.
“Commence the auction.”
Her voice was just as cold as before.
Once again, the previously quiet seats began to fill with madness.
“Wonder what we’ll see this time?”
“Hope there’s something good.”
“What’s it matter? Number 1 will cry and take it all anyway.”
“Ugh. My stomach’s starting to churn, so don’t bring up No.1, okay?”
As countless eyes gleamed with desire, the mechanism activated once again.
Clank!
Rrrrrrrrr!!
The floor opened, and the items were dragged up.
‘Another auction? When is Luna going to show up?’
His patience was starting to wear thin, and he was wondering whether he should just get up and look for her himself—
“Kehk, ke-eek!!”
“Guhup!”
“Grrr…!!”
Terrible sounds came from somewhere.
Nahan turned toward the source of the noise and immediately saw it.
“…Oh, good. Im…proved. Won’t…die…”
Luna dangled in midair, a chain around her neck. Even as she kicked her feet in a desperate attempt to breathe, she was smiling.
She wasn’t the only one.
All the other “goods” were also hauled up, flailing as though they were nothing more than objects, yet somehow forcing themselves to smile.
“You bastards…”
Nahan instantly flew into a rage and attempted to use Solar Annihilation without a second thought—
【You cannot intervene.】
He couldn’t activate it.
【Detected ‘hostility’ exceeding the threshold. Taking protective measures.】
【Sealing <your> movements.】
Even that wasn’t enough, so the system pinned his limbs to a seat in the audience. Only then did the window vanish.
Clank!
He tried to struggle, just in case, but some form of coercive power held him firmly in place.
‘…First, stay calm.’
This is a reenactment of something that already “happened,” not something “happening right now.”
Every scene here is an illusion.
Even if he tried to intervene, any change would only affect this space, not reality.
‘So let’s watch closely and gather information.’
He needed to fully understand Luna’s past, then leave here and deal with <Mother> in reality.
The moment Nahan steadied himself through sheer patience—
“Orlan. Starting at 10,000 gold.”
The auction began.
2.
Crunch.
She couldn’t breathe.
In a moment, she’d be lowered back onto the floor, but the dizziness was overwhelming.
Yet no one cried.
They all smiled.
—Smile brightly, that way you’ll survive.
“B-Bright. Everyone… smile.”
—That’s right, smile a little more.
“…Y-Yeah. That’s… right. A bit more.”
—Brighter, as if your mouth might tear apart.
“Wider… kuh, bigger…!!”
—That way, you’ll survive.
“That’s how… we… t-today, can… li…ve…!!”
This was what Luna, the most long-standing merchandise of <Wandering Troupe – Loss>, had taught them.
Through her fading consciousness, she heard Luna’s murmurs echo over and over.
—Don’t tremble, that way you’ll survive.
“D-Don’t… tremble…!! Th-that’s… how. You survive.”
—When it gets too hard, cry behind a mask.
“D-don’t cry… not here. N-never… not allowed…!!”
—Keep trying, and trying again.
“O-Orlan…!! Please, be good…?”
—Someday, you’ll be able to smile even with the mask on.
“Huh? Please, please, n-not now…!!”
“Huaa, kuh-uk, huaaang!!”
“Ah….”
Despite Luna’s efforts, Orlan—who was the first “item”—shed tears, and No.1, who nobody had noticed until then, raised a hand and smiled.
“1,000,000 gold.”
“No.1 wins. Purpose?”
“A sacrifice. Right now, as always.”
The short Q&A ended abruptly, and a “shadow” that had been hiding behind Mother reached out toward the hanging Orlan.
Crunch.
A gruesome sound. As No.1 extended a hand, Orlan’s corpse began to rapidly decay.
It turned into a sticky liquid that streamed down into No.1’s mouth.
Gulp.
Then, licking its lips greedily, No.1 nodded in satisfaction.
“Next.”
“Mina. Starting at 10,000 gold.”
The auction resumed.
We all laughed.
Faces turning red, mouths almost splitting.
Luna wished—
That everyone in the world would just keep smiling.
…Isn’t that right, Mom?
.
.
.
【Erosion Progress: …85%.】
【The awakened <Mother(S-)> is beginning to take over <Luna>’s body.】
.
.
.
“【Yes, that’s right. Good girl, Luna.】”
