Chapter 92

Say, Harold, arent they...

Their traits correspond to the people that you two have been looking for.

Well, that was easy...

......

Harold was still silent. What kind of timing was that? He wanted to curse his fate.

Making an appearance here in front of Liner and the others was the worst development he could think of. Was there any way for him to disappear immediately?

Although Harold unintentionally thought of such things, if he did have the time to do that, then perhaps he should have directly escaped without caring about appearances. However, the other party had noticed Harolds presence before he could do anything.

Ah, elder brother. Great timing, I need your...

Right after Erica started speaking, she stopped her words as she saw Harold. Apparently, she was the one that Liner and the others were interacting with in front of the residences gate. Harold was under the delusion that god or some other supernatural being was out to kill him. However, when he thought about it, this was nothing new considering he had possessed the body of Harold Stokes, who was loved by death flags.

Lured by Ericas words, Liner and the others turned their heads and looked behind them. After a brief moment of silence, a voice filled with joy spoke up Harolds name.

Harold!

The owner of that voice, Liner, ran up to Harold.

Seeing that with a sidelong glance, Harold gave out instructions that only Lifa could hear.

Lifa.

What?

Dont tell them anything regarding how much time I have left to live.

...Okay.

Though she appeared to be dissatisfied by the request, Lifa still accepted it, and getting her to do so was probably enough to prevent her from leaking too much information.

Now, the only problems left for Harold to deal with were Erica and Colette, and then all the pieces would fall into place. He had better move with the assumption that Liner had been told about his connection to Colette. It would be very bad if those two were to tell Erica about Harolds rescue of the Ameller mother and daughter. He had forbidden Colette to speak of that story, but that was eight years prior, and even if not for that, there was a danger that Liner would just spill the beans out of nowhere.

Besides, Hugo had not seen Harolds face, but he had heard his voice. Above all, Harolds poisonous mouth, which excelled at provoking people, could not easily be forgotten. So there was a risk that Hugo would see through the fact that Harold and the robed man he had met within the Haibar ruins were in fact the same person. Not to mention that, if he were to tell Liner that Harold was impersonating a thief while dressed in a robe, then things would get complicated once again.

It would be fine if Liner misunderstood things in a good way, however, on the contrary, there was a possibility that he would get a bad intuition, like the ones that would come up in some cheap plays. In which case, Harolds relationship with Liner would become completely hostile.

In a flash, the Sumeragi residence had turned into Harolds hell, as if it had been meticulously designed for his own personal suffering.

What the hell are you doing here?

I was still tracking those guys from last time, but I couldnt cross over the mountain because its a restricted area. So I directly came here to get the permission to go through there...

While keeping his dismay hidden, Harold first confirmed the actions Liner and the others had taken so far. Their movements were pretty much the same as they were in the original story, except for the fact that, in the game, while they pursued the three robed people, the teams advance had not come to a standstill due to the restriction on the area where the miasma outbreak had occurred.

But even so, since their advance was not controlled by the games system here, it was perfectly possible for them to take a detour around the mountain, however, considering that the detour would take a whole month, Harold could understand why Liner wanted to go through that path somehow or another.

That doesnt sound too good. May I listen in as well?

Hmm, and you are...

My name is Itsuki. Im the older brother of Erica over there. Also, just saying, but, Im the second most important person in this household.

Then, does that mean you let us go through the mountain?

Lets talk first and well decide after. Now then, come with me.

As Itsuki prompted them to follow him, Liner and the others were invited to the Sumeragi residence. A total of eight people were present, and including Harold, seven of them were characters of the original story; for a fan of the game, this experience was hard to bear with. But even though Harold felt that way, he had no complaints, both because some of the attention had now strayed from himself, and above all because there was a conversation that he needed to have for the sake of the coming future.

Although Harold was being pierced through by a wistful Gaze that seemed to be coming from Erica, he disregarded that for the time being.

The group was received within a spacious, thirty square meters (322 square feet) Japanese-style room where Harold had first met Erica eight years prior.

Within the room, Itsuki sat down on the seat of honor which was positioned behind a wooden desk. On his right were Erica, Harold, Lifa and Francis, and as for Liner, Colette and Hugo, they were sitting on the opposite side. Each of them were given some of the tea that Juno had made, and after gulping down a sip of that to moisten his throat, Itsuki started talking.

Well, first of all, lets start by introducing ourselves. I am Ituski Sumeragi. I am the next head of the Sumeragi household and Ive been friends with Harold for ten years.

Liner and Colette were in admiration. Moreover, from the right, Lifa muttered in shock This has got to be a lie.... That was her reaction to the claim that Itsuki was Harolds friend.

How is that shocking? What the hell do you take me for? is what Harold wanted to say as a complaint, but when he thought about it objectively, he realized that her reaction was perfectly natural.

... I am Erica, Itsukis younger siste