Chapter 40: Only one standing.

( ko-fi.com/parmesansnovels GIVE THE CHEESUS YOUR MILK MONEY!)

Where am I?

This place...I certainly am not inside Han's gigantic mansion anymore. I remember I felt heavy and sleepy all of a sudden. And now, somehow, I arrive at this place.

All-day long, weird things happened to the rest of the cast. It should be my turn this time.

This is the school, is it not? Wait! Not just the school, it is right at the gate. Although at this point in time, it is relatively empty compared to the usual morning.

Then where are all the people?

I look around for a little while and see no one until Han's childhood friend walks out next to someone.

Quite unexpected!

Why is it just Rachel here? Who is she talking to? Should she not be with Han?

Maybe, just maybe, I am in my own dream. I know it is a dumb conclusion, but it is the only one I have.

I understand there should be a weird occurrence within a dream, yet this makes no sense. Absolutely none. This thing should be made from memories, right? It is a mechanism of the brain to make us remember. What do the scientists say? To make a short-term memory a long-term memory?

Whatever. More importantly, I do not remember this scene where Han's childhood friend is having a private conversation with someone other than the main cast like this, especially at this location. It should not exist.

Because of that, it has piqued my curiosity.

Observing the two, I can see that she looks angry and annoyed. You know, the usual.

Good grief. At least Rachel is her usual self in my dream.

Even though I try making my way closer, there is still nothing that I can hear. As if my ears were blocked, the only sound I could make out from the conversation was the sound of a murmur.

To be fair, I can not even see my own body, so this kind of weirdness does not make it too over the top. I am getting used to it already.

Shortly after the first few exchanges, the discussion turns violent between the two. Well, not between them, per se. Rachel is simply beating that figure and banging that person's head onto the school gate. One point worth taking notes on. That is not even once that person resists.

They take it like a champ.

Or a punching bag, depending on your definition of a champion. Remember, I do not judge unless you are a furry.

Jokes aside, I do not clearly see who that person is since they are covered in a veil of shadow, but I admire them. A lot, actually.

From now on, I will call them shadow people. A fitting name for someone, well, wrapped in shadow like that.

No matter who you are, shadow person, even when you are only in my dream, you still deserve my respect for making Rachel furious like that.

I do not recall the last time I had the guts to do so. Maybe never. Phew!

Even under the heavy attacks of Rachel, Shadow person still says something to make Han's childhood friend even madder. Hearing his words, Rachel screams at him one more time. In addition to her yelling, she slams their head so hard that it bends the metal bars behind them.

All of that beating has made his head a total mess. Yet despite the bleeding of his scalp, the shadow person tries their best to convey something.

*Murmur*

The more he talks, the more Rachel is confused. I lean in even closer, curious about what the person is saying.

"...companion..."

Companion?

What is up with that?

After his final words, the person limps down, completely motionless.

Seeing the state of the shadow person, Rachel runs back inside, not saying a word. She has ignored him completely.

I guess they either die or pass out. I do not know for sure since I am no doctor.

Eh?

Rachel? Why are you still there?

But that is impossible! I just saw her running back?!

For some reason, she also has a bitter look on her face. It is hard to explain or put it into words, but she seems like a different person to me. Her eyes do not have the former craziness like when she hit that Shadow person. On the contrary, I am looking at something I never thought I would see in her.

Guilt.

She stands there and looks at the limped body of that shadow person silently, not saying a word.

I am not going to lie. This is very weird. If I did not know better, I would have thought Rachel had a twin sister who was interested in this person or they were in a relationship. The bigger sister went and killed the person because of something they said. On the other hand, the younger sister was grieving for something her sister did after arriving at the scene.

Unless she has bipolar disorder, which I doubt she does, Rachel is making me feel like there are two of her. The older "twin" Rachel is her old self, and the younger "twin" Rachel is the one I have been interacting with this whole day.

Then why the heck is Rachel looking like that?

She used to be a ruthless killer. A menace to Han's harem. She killed and murdered others without remorse. In her eyes, there should be no regret or guilt.

Yet there we are, looking at a completely different Rachel. Even her clothes are also not similar. They are clean with no blood stains on them.

Wait a second.

Clean?

How on earth is she untouched?! I literally saw the blood splashed onto her outfit. Now that I am looking at her closely, Rachel is giving me no sign of the fight which just happened. Her hair is well kept, her make-up is still nicely done, and her shirt does not have many wrinkles.

In short, this Rachel seems like she just arrived here.

Are they really the same person?

Who am I kidding? Why do I even need to use logic!? This is a mere dream. Of course, there can be two Rachels. There can be a gazillion Rachels. Who knows?

I like this Rachel more. Not because she is not as ruthless as the other one, or not because she feels pain, not any of that.

She feels...humane.

I would like to get to know this Rachel more, honestly. She may become a good...companion.

What now? Rachel is disappearing into thin air! Shadow person, too!

Oh, I get it. The dream is probably coming to an end.

Everything within my visual field slowly fades and gives way to the darkness. However, I did not have to stay inside the dark for too long, as I was finally brought back to reality.

Instead of seeing the table I fell asleep on, the first person I see after the darkness has faded is, you guess it right, Han.

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Han.

The MALE protagonist...

What the fuck? At least give me one of the girls to look at first!! Why him!?

Did I sleepwalk?!! From the kitchen to his room?

I do not think I have that ability...

Why am I looking at his sleeping face?

This is so awkward...

*Step*

Suddenly, I hear someone coming in.

A familiar face. It is Rachel.

No, not quite Rachel. She looks more like the one I saw in my dream now. This is not Rachel, the murderer. No. This is the one who had guilt inside of her eyes. When the first one left.

Even in the dimly lit room, I could still see the humane expressions on her face.

There is no yandere-Rachel. There is only Rachel.

In her eyes, sadness, grief, and despair keep flowing out. Those feelings create pearl-like tears with the help of the lighting. The front of her uniform has been drenched by the water coming from above.

*Hic* *hic* *hic*

How long has she been crying? And why?

Rachel is not feeling happy. No. I have seen enough of this scene to know her real emotions.

Han never noticed this, but whenever Rachel was happy, the corner of her lips would twitch. That habit formed since she forced herself to be calm when she, in reality, wanted to smile when she received something precious from him. All of that because he said her big smile was creepy.

Right now, Rachel is not doing any of that.

Her tears are certainly not tears of joy. Those crystal clear droplets are made from grief and sorrow.

...

Was I wrong?

...

Throughout this whole day, she has been staying away from Han. I did not know what was going on. She only wanted to show she did not want to be by his side.

At first, I did not believe that one bit.

However, is this not the best proof?

Is this not the same person I felt she could be a great companion when the first Rachel left?

My brain is telling me something.

Rachel has feelings. She wants to be with whoever she wants to be. What I was doing was just interfering with her life without her consent. Han's childhood friend never needed me to do it.

It is wrong for me to treat them as characters...

They are not.

Even if they were, inside this wretched world where the girls will fight, they are no less than me. With or without sentience, I should not treat them like objects.

Rachel is a person of her own. Nay. Everyone is a person of their own.

Now, looking at this scene, I know one thing for sure.

She does not want to do this. She just does not!

For the sake of the plot, am I really driving people to do things they hate?

Then again, if she hates it, why does it at all? Is something forcing her to do this? Maybe the game is fixing everything back on track?

"K-*hic* Kill. Me! Don't *hic* make me do this!!" Rachel opens her mouth for the first time after a while.

Kill? Is she talking to me? She is technically begging.

"Okay."

I hear the voice of the class rep from behind her.

"Th-Thank *hic* you."

"I'm sorry for this. I hope you understand and forgive my selfishness."

A cold, steely knife appears from behind Rachel. It is Rachel's favorite weapon. The hand holding that knife has many cuts and wounds, signaling a gruesome battle that has just finished.

What...are you...doing...Laura...? No. What have you done...?

"Take care of C. *hic* For me. He is a g-good guy...*hic*."

The class rep embraces Rachel from behind.

"I will. Rest easy."

What are you doing? STOP!! RACHEL!!! LAURA!!!!

*Chik*

*Splash*

With a swift yet clumsy motion, Laura slices Rachel's throat off.

"Guh! Gwah! Ack! Tasnk...kyoou!"

In a shower of blood, only one was left standing still.

 

(I see that many of you like to think. Try to figure this one out, then?)

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