"Just leave me alone, dammit! Leave me alone!"

"Working hard there?"

"W-What are you--"

"How lucky I am."

"There's always someone who is willing to love you."

"You're on my side..."

"This place can be a paradise if you make it one."

 

***

"Mari?"

"Huh?" I said, my eyes focusing on Haunting again.

"Are you okay? You looked like you were in pain."

I faced forward. Ryza was looking at me with concern in her eye, and beside her was the one that caused my discomfort in the first place. The one so covered in Vengeance that I wasn't able to see her.

"Sorry..." I said, looking down. "It's a headache I got."

That wasn't too much of a lie. There was too much Vengeance on this "Beverly" such that I couldn't look at her carelessly lest I suffer from information overload. If I wanted to see the record of her activities, I'd have to focus... Still, this kind of person shouldn't be here. If I snapped her neck right now...

"Mari, do you need to lie down?" Haunting asked.

"No, no, I'm fine... My head feels better when I keep my eyes closed."

"Ouch, sounds like a migraine," Ryza said.

"I have some tea at home," this Beverly person followed. "I could brew some."

"No, no," I said, waving my hand. "It'll pass... So, Beverly, right? Nice to meet you."

It took everything I had to not gag.

"Oh, yes, hi. My name is Beverly. I'm one of the old girls around here."

"Old? You look younger than me, Bev," Ryza said, laughing.

"What do you think, Haunting," I asked. "Does she look younger than she says?"

"Hmm... I'd say you're our age, Beverly."

"Oh, wow," she said, sounding flustered. Please, she must have been acting it up. "I've never been complimented so much. I certainly didn't come here thinking you would all be so nice."

Hmm, maybe she did enjoy it. She could be a narcissist. Then again, she led with a comment about her age. What did she think was going to happen when she said such an obvious lie? Just out here fishing for compliments.

I heard her giggle. "Maybe it's my skincare routine. I know there's no one to impress around, but I still find myself putting a disproportionate amount of effort into it."

I bet. Skincare routine? Is that code for bathing in the blood of your victims? Oh, just you wait, Beverly. I was one good sit-down away from laying you bare... I quickly peeked at the Vengeance covering her feet and saw many images, many featuring bloody hands.

Oh, just you wait, Beverly. You're going to fuel the butterflies so well.

"I'd say it's good that you have something to occupy yourself with," Ryza said.

"Yeah... I agree."

Wow, she just agreed really quickly. Had she been subdued by Ryza's presence, or was she trying to butter Ryza up by seeming agreeable? Keep digging your hole, Beverly. I would be there to bury you.

"A lot of people do that here. You find things to make you feel normal. And to this place's credit. Most days are normal." She giggled again. How nauseating. "That's what makes days like today so special."

Because you got new victims?

"I'm very happy I've gotten to meet so many of the newcomers today. And to think there were so many able-bodied women in one place. I do hope you'll consider doing any of the Challenges with us. We always need more fresh perspectives."

"Anything that helps us get out of here is alright with us. Ain't that right, Mari and Haunting."

"Oh? You think I can help?" Haunting asked.

"With your insights? Definitely. I'm more certain of that now."

"Hmm," Haunting said, sounding smug.

I raised a question. "May I ask what you were doing that had you so busy? It sounds like it could be interesting."

"Sure," she said with no hint of annoyance in her voice. "We heard about strange behavior in the forest last night, what with the crow attack. I and some of the other regulars were checking out some of the Challenge Sites around the village. Lorio was worried that we had somehow missed a Challenge Goal being posted."

"So, it sounds like none were posted. What would have happened if there had been?"

"Well, we would just be more aware of what was going on around the village. But, thankfully, we found nothing. That means we'll keep having peaceful days for the foreseeable future. On the flip side, it makes the crow attack more strange. We are now assuming that someone failed a Personal Goal and isn't speaking up out of shame potentially. Hmm? Haunting, what do you have there?"

Haunting jumped. Beverly must have noticed her Personal Goal card. I had hidden mine well enough that they shouldn't have seen me peeking at it. Now, as for Haunting...

"Ahh, yeah, this is my Goal card. I'm pretty sure, anyway."

Ryza whistled. "For real? So that's what it looks like."

"Yeah... Mari and I aren't opening them yet, though. We're not ready for the trouble just yet."

"You found one too?" Ryza asked.

"I did... I might be getting a headache from the sheer stress of it."

"Totally understandable," Beverly said. "But don't fret too much. As long as you don't open them, you'll be fine. The Goals only start after they've been read."

"Very creepy if you ask me," Ryza said. "But I'll get over it."

The light conversation went on for a little longer, with Beverly asking a few probing questions, mostly about our backgrounds. Haunting was a godsend at this moment. The girl was so excitable that both Ryza and I were able to slip by without giving any significant answers. Beverly sounded tired by the end of Haunting explaining her "profession." That was either a great thing that indicated that Haunting wasn't a target, or it was a terrible thing because Haunting had just annoyed this psycho far too much.

"Well, girls, I should be going. There are still a few people I want to meet and a few people I need to speak to. Thank you for your time. I mentioned this to Ryza, but would you all like to stop by my home tomorrow? I have tea and some treats I saved. We could have a small tea party and maybe engage in some 'girl talk.'" She giggled again. "I would love to feel young again."

"I'm okay with it," Ryza said. "What about you girls?"

"I'll go wherever Mari goes."

"I'm fine with it," I said, giving thought to how I could extract some Vengeance to get the ball rolling.

"Great. We'll see you tomorrow, Bev."

"Excellent," she said, sounding pleased. "I'll be ready for 10 30 AM."

The plan was set, and we started bidding farewell to each other.

"I'll see you, ladies, tomorrow then. Mari, I do hope that headache subsides."

"Thanks."

"Okay, goodbye again... Goodbye to you too, Miss Hari."

"Yes. Thank you for visit," Hari said, giving Beverly a cordial head bow.

I, of course, looked at that interaction with a skeptical eye.

"Well, if you'll pardon me, I'm going to my room," I said as soon as Beverly was out of eye shot.

"Yeah, feel better, Mari. I'm gonna go chat with Bessie," Ryza said.

"I'll come with you, Ryza," Hari followed.

"Mari, can I come to your room too?" Haunting asked.

"Sure."

The group split up once more, and I shut my door and locked it after Haunting came in. Then, I went to the window in time to watch that giant mass of Vengeance walk away.

"Mari, are you really okay?" Haunting asked, her cat ears drooping. "Is it really just a headache?"

There was a bit of a crossroads here... Did I want Haunting to know about the Vengeance? 

...

In the end... I didn't want a good person to know how ugly I was. And I didn't want my "ugliness" to infect her.

"I think my body is just getting accustomed to all the new stimuli. I'll be fine..."

"Oh...okay," she said, standing beside me and humming.

Her hum was pleasant. It soothed my irritation as I thought on the situation. 

I had encountered the biggest mass of Vengeance so far. I also had this stupid Personal Goal. Knowing now how the other villagers spoke about this place, it was confirmed beyond a doubt that some higher intelligence had seen me in action. Given that it was recommending I not let nonhumans kill people, it had seen what I did to Kaz.

I had questions now, though. It knows what I did. Was it going to out me? A person with all that Vengeance must have killed ten people at least... And yet she was still here. 

Next, did it know why I let Kaz die? If I assume it knows everything that I did in the physical realm, then it should know I used fire magic against the deer... but had it seen the butterflies? Did it see me take the bullet? There wasn't a monster around. How all-knowing is it? The ghosts that followed us didn't seem to notice the butterflies well enough. The less precise its awareness, the better it is for me. 

Can it read my mind? If it could read my mind, then it would know why I do everything that I do... I want to believe that my mental defenses are high enough to shield me but... it was also able to force me to sleep.

It's also possible that it believes in fairness. It might know everything but is not interested in forcing someone's hand or outting them outright. Lorio seems to believe that there's always an opportunity to win. In other words, it never forces one to lose.

What should I do, really? If it knows what I can do to the monsters, is it worth hiding further? No, it might be better to just hit it hard and directly. It's possible this place isn't actually equipped to deal with people with high power levels. If I hit it hard enough, I might be able to daze it long enough to find a way out, so to speak...

Yes, not knowing its limits is concerning... but for now... if it can see my every move, then there's no point in trying to be overly sneaky against it. My power rewards aggression. If I can gather my Vengeance quickly enough, and maybe find another fuel for the butterflies, I'll be able to put up a fight. 

Yeah, that's it. I need to get set up before it realizes how dangerous I might be. Then there's the necklace too... It has an awareness of me, but it still gave us the reward... Oh, dammit, I hope the item wasn't cursed. No, the paranoia will be my undoing. I need to focus on what I know now.

I can't kill anyone. I probably can't get anyone killed, either. It said nonhuman, so I can't set someone up to die through tools or boobytraps. I'll err on the side of caution. I'll also keep collecting information until I can discern the enemy's true nature.

"Haunting..."

"Yes, Mari?"

"What did you think of that woman, Haunting?"

"I don't know. I felt queasy the whole time, so I wasn't really paying attention to a lot of what she was saying."

I titled my head. "You felt queasy?"

"Yeah... I think I got too freaked out about the goals or something. Maybe it's just my nerves. Kind of like you, actually."

"Yeah, maybe..." I said, while internally disagreeing. It was uncanny. Every time I thought Haunting was done, she just kept doubling her worth. I was sure her queasiness wasn't from nerves. She was picking up on that woman being a bastard.

"You know your goal, right, Mari?"

"I do... but it's personal. Really personal."

"Oh..."

"Haunting... I think they are watching us, even when we're in the bathroom," I said, feeling a little playful. I mean, at this point, I wouldn't be surprised to find ghosts in the bathroom.

I thought Haunting would be creeped out, but instead, she said--

"Well, yeah, obviously. That's why you ask the ghosts to turn away or shut their eyes."

"Pardon me," I said to the unamused girl.

"Mari, they're dead, not smart. You can't assume they're not creeps."

My stare--it must have been either perplexed or blank. "So... you ask the ghosts to not peek at you?"

"You don't?"

I stared out the window. "It never crossed my mind."

"Well, sorry to tell you, Mari, but they're going to look at you for sure if you don't tell them not to."

"Yeah," I said. "I guess so."

Haunting smugly nodded while I just made peace with the fact that she was acquainted with a whole other dimension of logic.