CHAPTER 4     Time to Romance Dr. Mordred!

After two short weeks, summer vacation drew to a close, and Cecilia and the other students returned to Vleugel Academy.

“So anyway, I think that in order to wake Emily up, you do have to go after Dr. Mordred!”

“Who does?” Gilbert asked.

“M-me?” Cecilia asked meekly.

“Absolutely not,” he insisted flatly.

Cecilia and Gilbert were having their usual strategy meeting in the greenhouse during lunch. Her brother shutting down the plan she’d worked hard to come up with had left her flustered. “Why not?!”

“Why not? Is it even an option at all? You said you would go after him, which means trying to date him, right? Do you even realize who you are right now?”

He pointed at her, and she looked down at her outfit—a boy’s school uniform.

“The person romancing Dr. Mordred should be a girl, right? Because he’s interested in them. Wasn’t everyone losing their minds a while back when they found out he had an ex-girlfriend?”

“Well, I know that! But Lean wouldn’t go for it when I asked…”

When Cecilia had concocted her brilliant plan, she brought it up with Lean first. But her friend said only one thing in response: “Nope. No way.” She’d rejected it out of hand and completely tuned out Cecilia’s pleas.

“And so that means you need to do it? Isn’t avoiding situations like these the whole reason you’re cross-dressing?”

“Urgh…”

He’d hit the nail on the head. But Cecilia wasn’t giving up. She believed Mordred’s route held the key to rousing Emily.

Emily—Mordred’s younger sister and the third candidate for Holy Maiden. Why she was still alive when the Killer should have assassinated her by now was anyone’s guess, but Cecilia needed to get to the bottom of it.

After all, her whole goal here was to foist everything off onto this third candidate so she could live a quiet, comfortable life free from worldly cares.

She scooted up next to Gilbert. “But if I don’t get close to him, I don’t think he’ll tell me about his sister! I’m pretty sure I just need to become friendly with him and that’ll work! Even if I’m Cecil! Even if our relationship isn’t romantic! I’m certain of it! Probably! Maybe!”

She gazed at him earnestly and imploringly, and he sighed in exasperation. “I guess if you’re that insistent on it, I’ll go along with it… But does that mean you’re no longer worried about the Killer?”

“Of course it doesn’t!”

For whatever reason, Cecilia puffed out her chest proudly. “But it’s pointless to keep thinking about the Killer! I don’t know who they are or what their goal is! And I don’t even know if they’re targeting me, either!”

“Says the girl who got so scared, she crawled into my bed to sleep.”

“W-well, that was—that was because Lean scared me!”

She looked away guiltily. The morning after she’d crept into his bed, Gilbert had scolded her while looking angrier than he ever had before. She was slightly traumatized by it.

“But I just think I shouldn’t fret over it when fretting won’t solve anything. I mean, there’s nothing I can do for Lean, either!” she rationalized.

Ever since Lean was attacked, Huey had been glued to her every moment of every day, which would make it almost impossible for the Killer to get to her.

Cecilia pressed a clenched fist to her heart. “That’s why I’m going to get close to Dr. Mordred and wake Emily up! Then I’ll leave everything to her! I declare that my goal! We’ll deal with the Killer once they appear!”

“I see… All right then,” Gilbert conceded with an idle nod. He didn’t really agree, but he would accept it.

“So where do you think I should start?” she asked eagerly.

He frowned. “Wouldn’t you know best? What does ‘going after’ or whatever consist of in the game?”

“Ummm, let me see. It’s essentially just spending as much time as possible together to raise his affection. Plus, going to his usual haunts and hanging around waiting for him to show up…”

“In that case, should we stop by the hospital after school today?”

“What? You mean to go and see Emily?” Cecilia blinked.

“Mm-hmm. Dr. Mordred told us to come by anytime we wanted, after all.”

“You’re right! And I’ve been curious about how she’s doing anyway!” Cecilia cried, clapping her hands together. It sounded like she was more interested in checking in on Mordred’s sister than pursuing the man himself.

At that, Gilbert relaxed. “After school, then.”

“Yup! Promise!” Cecilia nodded just as the bell for the end of lunch rang.

“But I said it was a promise…,” muttered Cecilia, a bouquet of flowers in hand as she stood in front of the hospital after school…alone.

The teachers had called on Gilbert again because of his brother Ticky. Evidently, he hadn’t given up on Gilbert yet, and this time, he’d gone so far as to phone the school.

Telephones in this world were regarded more as public property than utilities for private consumers. Although they were installed in public buildings and high-ranking noble houses, they had not yet permeated the majority of households. Most long-distance communication was still done via letter.

Up until that point, Ticky had sent letters, but now, in order to get his brother moving, he’d resorted to a phone call.

“Which means it’s probably gonna take a while.” Cecilia sighed.

Gilbert had told her: “I’ll head over once I’m done, so go on ahead.”

But there was no way he was going to be done anytime soon, considering how stubborn Ticky was. He firmly believed his estranged sibling had life-ruining dirt on Nichol.

“Gil’s got it rough, too,” she mused, tightening her hold on the flowers and entering the hospital alone. “Er, where was Emily’s room again?”

She looked toward the reception desk, but no one was there. It seemed like the receptionists were all away on other business.

“And Dr. Mordred said he’d go on ahead to her room and wait for me there, so I’m not sure what to do.”

Cecilia recalled that the private rooms were on the second floor, but she couldn’t picture Emily’s exact room number. She racked her brain while climbing the stairs. If she couldn’t remember the number, she would have to take the slightly impolite route of going door-to-door.

Just as she emerged onto the landing, someone popped out from the edge of the hallway. It was all so sudden that she couldn’t dodge in time, so she ended up running straight into them.

“Eek!”

“Whoa!”

Both were carrying bouquets, which collided in midair—and then both fell back onto the ground.

“Owww…”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” apologized Cecilia, jumping right to her feet and running to the person she’d bumped into. “Are you hurt? Do you feel okay?”

“Um, I’m fine,” answered a girl wearing thick, round glasses and a floor-length white lab coat. She was short, had curly hair, and looked younger than Cecilia.

For her part, Cecilia stared saucer-eyed as recognition dawned on her. “Oh! You’re the one from—”

“Hmm? Have we met before?” asked the girl, baffled. It was little wonder she wouldn’t remember—Cecilia had crossed paths with her only once, on the day she’d first gone to visit Emily. When they passed by each other, Cecilia had felt the strangest sense of déjà vu. That was the extent of their connection.

“Uh…,” she hedged, fumbling for what to say as she picked up the girl’s bouquet from the floor. A card reading EMILY was attached to it.

“Wait, are you also here to see Emily—?”

“What are you doing out there?” came a voice. Cecilia turned and saw Mordred poking his head out of a hospital room, which must have been his sister’s. When his gaze landed on the girl next to Cecilia, he broke into a smile. “I see you’re here, too, Grace. Thank you.”

“It’s no problem,” Grace responded, smiling softly in return.

Once they were all inside Emily’s room, the introductions began.

“This is Grace Martinez. She’s researching audiology at a lab here on campus.”

“Hello, I’m Grace. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Oh, nice to meet you!” said Cecilia, shaking Grace’s proffered hand.

Next, Mordred gestured toward Cecilia. “And this is a student at the academy, Cecil Admina. He’s a year older than you.”

“I see. My upperclassman, then. Once again, it’s very nice to meet you,” said Grace politely.

“I’m your upperclassman? But aren’t you a research student?” Cecilia asked with a frown, a bit confused.

“Grace isn’t a research student. She goes to the academy as well, but she’s very gifted, so they granted her special acceptance into the research program.”

“I’m mainly in the lab during the day,” Grace explained.

“Oh, wow,” Cecilia gasped. She must have been one of those prodigies. In addition to getting admitted to the labs, people like Grace were said to also be exempted from taking classes at the academy.

“Several years ago, phone calls in this country had poor sound quality. Grace here worked to improve that and is responsible for raising the caliber to our present standards. You’re currently researching the…phonograph, is that right?”

“Yes. We already have large ones, so now I’m creating versions that are as compact as possible.”

“Ooh, Grace, you’re really amazing! But why does someone researching Obstructions know someone researching audiology?” Cecilia asked artlessly.

Mordred frowned. “Hmm? Did I tell you I’m researching Obstructions?”

“Oh! No, you didn’t! I heard it from Gil! Gil told me! He said you visited a cottage the Sylvies own! I wish I could’ve gone, too!” she cried. Half of that was a wooden performance, but the other half was to get her out of danger. It wasn’t Cecil who’d spoken to Mordred about his research into Obstructions—it was Cecilia.

“Ah, I see. The two of you are very close, then.”

“Ah-ha-ha, thank you…”

Cold sweat trickled down her cheek. That was a close call.

“Anyway, how do you two know each other?” she asked, brightening her voice to gloss over her slip of the tongue.

Mordred’s gaze dropped to his sister, asleep in the bed next to him. “Well, Grace actually saved Emily.”

“Saved her?”

“Yes. She was the first person to arrive at the scene after Emily was attacked.”

Emily had been attacked in the wee hours of the morning, while it was still dark outside. When she stepped from her house to grab the newspaper, a rock struck her, and she passed out. Just before the culprit could hurl another stone, Grace dashed over, and the perpetrator fled the scene. Emily escaped death thanks to how quickly she’d been able to receive treatment.

“My sister owes her life to her.”

“I see,” acknowledged Cecilia.

That’s why Dr. Mordred trusts her so much…

Nodding, Cecilia recalled Mordred’s smile upon seeing Grace. Then she realized something and whipped her head around to the girl.

So does that mean Grace saw the Killer?

She gasped a little as she realized she might get some information from an unexpected place. Choosing her words carefully, she asked, “But it’s so frightening how whoever did it is still at large, isn’t it? Did…you happen to see what they looked like?”

“Unfortunately…I didn’t,” admitted Grace with a shake of her head. Then she bit down lightly on her lower lip.

Mordred placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s all right. Even if we’d caught them, they wouldn’t remember anything anyway.”

“Huh? What does that mean?”

“Emily’s attacker was possessed by an Obstruction. There were, in fact, other witnesses who testified that a black mist was emanating from the person’s body.”

What?! So that means it wasn’t the Killer who did it?

There shouldn’t be anything about an Obstruction possessing them. At the very least, this was the first time Cecilia was hearing about it.

“So maybe that Obstruction is the reason Emily’s not waking up…,” postulated Mordred, gently stroking his sister’s forehead.

By the time Gilbert showed up, the visit was long over, and Mordred and Grace had left. Gilbert and Cecilia walked side by side from the hospital back to the dorms, discussing—obviously—Emily.

“So it’s possible that the Killer didn’t attack her?”

“Yeah, although we can’t be sure just yet. I didn’t play the game all the way to the end, so there’s a lot of stuff I just can’t verify…”

Gilbert stroked his chin. It looked like something had occurred to him.

After quite some hesitation, he spoke. “Hey, can I ask you something? How come Grace was able to save Emily?”

“Hmm?”

“Isn’t it weird? It happened so early in the morning that it was still dark outside. It doesn’t sound like they were neighbors, so why was she walking around Dr. Mordred’s house then?”

“True…”

He had a point. While it hadn’t come up, Cecilia did get the feeling based on their exchange that the two researchers hadn’t met prior to the assault. It was hard to believe that she would have just happened to need to drop by Mordred’s house.

“That Grace might be hiding something,” mused Gilbert. Cecilia’s stomach lurched.

Cecilia was acting strange.

Oscar came to this conclusion about one week into the new school term.

It was already plenty weird that she dressed up in a boy’s uniform, styled herself as a prince, and went around charming the girls of the academy. But even if he wrote all that off as her normal behavior, she was still acting oddly.

“Dr. Mordred!” she cried brightly, racing across the courtyard and up to the doctor.

Oscar observed her from a window on the second floor. “What’s she up to?”

Her cheeks were flushed; she looked happy and excited. A vague sense of irritation welled up within him, seeing how close to Mordred she was standing.

Now he could wonder how in the world he’d ever thought she was a boy. No matter how you sliced it, her behavior was pretty girlie. Realizing you’d been misled to believe something false was frightening indeed.

I can’t ask her why she’s cross-dressing, but…

“Can’t I at least ask what she thinks she’s doing?” he muttered.

Cecilia was dressing as a boy because she was convinced that she needed to. That much was clear based on what Gilbert had told him. Maybe that also tied in to why she’d suddenly started buddying up with Mordred.

Could it be that she’s getting close to him because she needs his help?

In that light, her actions were understandable. Oscar watched them go, then turned away from the window. “If she needs help, I want to be the one to give it to her somehow…”

He felt that both as Cecil’s friend and as Cecilia’s fiancé. And also—just a teeny, tiny bit—as Gilbert’s rival. He just plain didn’t like how Cecilia relied on him for everything.

He would get his opportunity sooner than he thought.

“Oscar! Have you seen Dr. Mordred?” Cecilia asked, coming up behind him in the hall the next morning. He turned around, and she trotted up to him. Maybe she’d run part of the way to school; her cheeks were a little flushed. It was adorable.

She’s like a puppy.

Oscar cleared his throat and managed to school his features before he broke into a dopey grin. Though he didn’t agree with what she was doing, he’d decided to play along with her lie. If he didn’t keep himself firmly reined in, he’d start smiling at her affectionately. Plus, he wasn’t a very good liar to begin with.

“What do you need him for?” he asked in exactly the same tone as the one he’d used with Cecil before finding out the truth. Going off her expression, she didn’t suspect a thing.

“Nothing, really. I’m just trying to talk to him once a day, so I’m looking for him!”

“Once a day?”

“Mm-hmm, once a day.”

Why is it like she’s filling a daily quota?

Now he was even more perplexed by what she was doing.

Cecilia crossed her arms and frowned, apparently taking no notice of Oscar’s look of suspicion. “He doesn’t teach any classes, so it’s hard to find him if he’s not in the nurse’s office. And I’m not planning to go to the hospital for a visit today…”

“You’ve gotten pretty close to him lately… Any particular reason?”

“Huh?” Cecilia gasped, her large eyes growing even wider as she stared up at Oscar. When she cocked her head to the side, she looked just like a little woodland creature…adorable.

He coughed again and forced his lips back down into a normal expression. “If you need help with anything, I’d be happy to—”

“What? You’ll help me?”

“Uh, sure…”

“Yay!” she cried, so exuberant that it was a little bit off-putting. Then she grabbed hold of Oscar’s arm. “Come with me, then!”

She looped both her arms around his, which caused his elbow to bump into something soft.

“Ngh!”

Based on the location, there was no mistaking it, even though she’d bound herself to dress as a boy.

Realizing what he’d just touched, Oscar stiffened instinctively. He couldn’t prevent himself from heating up.

“Come on!” she urged, dragging him to the landing of a deserted floor of the school building. Just that was enough to bring on a headache.

Seriously, what does this loon think she’s doing?!

With tremendous effort, he restrained himself from shouting that out.

Cecilia let Oscar’s arm go and pressed her palms together hesitantly, a blush on her cheeks. “Ummm, so actually…”

The sensation of her soft curves against his elbow kept running through his mind, so he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to take in everything she was about to tell him. Nevertheless, he diligently kept his expression under control.

I’ve decided to go along with this ridiculous girl’s lie!

It was a vow that was already on the verge of collapse.

Cecilia looked up at him through her lashes. Though he desperately wanted to cover his face, he managed to restrain himself. A struggle was waging inside him.

“Ummm, so actually, I’m trying to get closer to Dr. Mordred…”

“And why are you doing that, exactly? If it’s something I can do, why don’t you have me handle it instead?”

“Do what?”

“You know! Whatever it is you’re trying to ask him to do for you!”

“Ask him…?” she repeated, puzzled. She paused for a bit before shaking her head. “No, I just want to get close to him.”

“Get close to him?”

“Yup! Just that! I want to be as dear to him as someone he’s dating would be!”

A beat. “Excuse me?”

Oscar couldn’t comprehend what she was saying. It made no sense.

Did she just say “someone he’s dating”?

His headache reached a critical point and crossed over into dizziness.

His adorable fiancée, who was dressing as a boy for no explicable reason, was telling her future husband to his face that she wanted to be as close as lovers to some other man.

To say he was in hell would be putting it lightly.

“Yeah! I want to get so comfortable with him that he’ll talk to me about whatever’s on his mind!” she chirped.

This was a woman who could tear people’s hearts out without a single thought.

Oscar reached over to place a steadying hand on the wall. Failing that, he would fall over.

I-is Cecilia this unfaithful?!

Once, he had suspected her of being the type of person to date other people despite being engaged to someone, but now he knew very well that she wasn’t that type of person.

But it’s not like we’re in love and dating or anything. Maybe she really does have feelings for—

But the instant that thought ran through his mind, he forcibly suppressed it. Right now, he didn’t want to think about that possibility.

Looking pleased, Cecilia took Oscar’s hand. “You’ll help me, right?”

The girl he liked was beaming at him. He almost nodded out of sheer reflex.

But he managed to shake his head. He could be strong.

Why should he have to help the girl he liked get together with another guy? But he lacked the courage to say that to her when her eyes were so full of hope. Averting his gaze from her, he rubbed at his forehead.

“S-sorry, give me some time to think about it…”

“Whaaat?” She heaved in disappointment, pouting at him adorably.

Two weeks after Mordred introduced Grace to Cecilia in Emily’s hospital room, Cecilia had established a daily routine.

“Oh! Dr. Mordred!” she cried, running over to him after school in whatever corner of the campus she found him in while beaming. “Hello!”

“Yes, hello,” he replied with a confused wince. Everything on his face said, Again? He looked like he was at his limit.

And no wonder. Over the past two weeks, Cecilia had bothered him to death. Each time she caught sight of him, she’d bound over to him even if she had no reason to, nothing to say to him, and no time to be getting distracted. She would lay in wait for him around all his usual haunts, and she always made sure to drop by the nurse’s office in the morning.

In her mind, this was all part of going after Mordred, but judging by his face, his affection points weren’t going up in the slightest.

With a smile, Cecilia asked, “Would you like to chat if you’re free?”

“This again?” He sighed, shaking his head. Even she could tell by his body language that he wasn’t interested. But since she didn’t know where the romantic part of his route branched off, all she could do was keep pestering him regularly.

I’m actually more interested in looking into Grace or the Killer, though…

Gilbert’s theory replayed in a corner of her mind. Still, she couldn’t help but focus all her attention on this. After all, she had no other leads to go on at the moment.

Reeling her thoughts back in, Cecilia plastered another grin on her face. Right now, she needed to focus on what was right in front of her. “Oh, don’t say that!”

“What’s going on with you lately? You’re being very clingy.”

“That’s just how much I want to talk with you!”

“I have nothing to say.”

“I do!”

“Are you dense or just hardheaded…?” he muttered, in spite of the fact that he was still stopping to speak with her. No matter what he said, he was a good person. Cecilia sat down on a bench.

Resigned, he plopped down next to her as well, but he still looked suspicious. “Why are you sticking to me so much?”

“Um, am I not allowed to?”

“It’s not about whether you’re allowed to. I just don’t think hanging around me will be all that interesting for you.”

“That’s not true!” she cried, shaking her head. She brought a resolutely clenched fist up over her heart. “Lately, I’ve really enjoyed the way you degrade me!”

A pause. “I’m not into that kind of thing at all.” He sighed, looking distinctly annoyed and put off.

While she might have failed in gaining affection points, she was succeeding in getting him to show her more sides of himself, so that counted as progress.

“Oh yeah, I actually have something to ask of you today!” she cried, opening up her bag and pulling out two novels. “My parents sent me these. Which one of them do you think Emily would like?”

She handed him the books. One was a rags-to-riches fairy tale that any girl would love, while the other was a classic adventure story. Both were famous stories that everyone in the country was well acquainted with.

“These are for Emily?”

“Yeah! I’ve actually run out of things to say to her lately, so I thought I’d read her some stories! Oh, but maybe I should have gone with books that a girl her age would like? These might be a bit too childish…”

The kinds of stories Lean wrote might actually have been more to Emily’s tastes, but that was out of the question. There was no way Cecilia could read those out loud.

She went on, “Even though she’s asleep, there’s still a chance she could be listening. That’s why I was thinking about spinning her a really good yarn…”

“Have you been visiting her room even when I’m not there?”

“Um, yeah! Not every day, though!” she answered blithely.

Mordred’s eyes grew wide, and she backpedaled. “Oh, but I bring Lean with me most of the time! And when she doesn’t come, I make sure to leave the door open! It’s not like we’re all alone in there together!”

“I wasn’t worried about that. I trust you on that count at the very least.”

“Um, good,” she said, sighing in relief. Lean had told her that Mordred doted on his sister. If he ever suspected “Cecil” of doing untoward things with Emily, his affection would drop to unrecoverable levels.

“Ah, but that explains why the flowers get changed out regularly,” Mordred mused.

“Sometimes Grace shows up before me, so not all of the new ones are mine.”

“I see,” he acknowledged, an inscrutable look on his face. After a brief silence, he asked, “But why are you coming to visit Emily? Is that how badly you want to get close to me?”

He scrutinized her doubtfully. Clearly, he hadn’t the foggiest idea of what was motivating her behavior.

“Ummm, you’re right in that was the way it started, but… But now I just hope she recovers quickly!”

“…”

“She’s the same age as I am, but all she can do is sleep. It makes me want to do something for her!” Cecilia announced with a carefree grin, which seemed to surprise Mordred a little.

She was projecting the life of her past self onto Emily a little. Hiyono had been forced to leave the world at the most exciting part of her life, and Mordred’s sister was in a coma. Hiyono could no longer go back, but Emily still had a chance. Cecilia wanted her to live out her days to the very fullest.

“Gil also told me that some people wake up from a coma after receiving extra stimulation from lots of people talking to them! So I was hoping it would help a little!”

“Hence, the books…?”

She laughed sheepishly. “Yeah, although I should have brought more of a variety.” She scratched her head bashfully.

Mordred hung his head. Then he exhaled all the breath in his lungs in a single, lengthy sigh.

“Hmm? Did I say something offensive? I’m sorry!”

“No, you didn’t. Now I understand how you butter people up.”

“How I…what?”

“I think she’d like this one,” Mordred suggested, pointing to the adventure story. Compared to earlier, his expression had become much gentler. “Emily preferred to read the books I liked when I was a child over the novels our family bought for her. She likes adventure stories and heroic epics.”

“Got it! Thank you!” Cecilia said.

He gave her a smile and got to his feet. “All right, I’m off. Are you…coming to the hospital today?”

“I’m planning to!”

“I’ll see you there, then,” he said, walking off.

As Cecilia watched him go, she cocked her head in thought.

That actually went pretty well, didn’t it?

She didn’t know what had softened him up, but she felt as though she’d made some progress.

I guess I chose the right title. He likes adventure stories?

As she was musing on that, she sensed eyes on her from behind. She turned around and noticed that the low hedge behind her was rustling.

Lean?

Cecilia sighed. Maybe this time she wanted to pair off Cecil and Mordred. It was indeed amazing that she had expanded her hobby into a business, but Cecilia still didn’t like the idea of getting used as material for it.

“Lean,” she said, and the hedge shook. Cecilia narrowed her eyes. “I’m not mad, so will you just come out?”

“…”

But Lean showed no signs of emerging. Instead, she seemed to grow quieter and quieter. Was she going to try and escape?

“Come on! I said I’m not mad!” Cecilia cried, jumping up and peering into the hedge. Then she froze. “Huh? Grace?”

It wasn’t her friend in the hedge—it was Grace. Their eyes met, and the researcher leaped up like a startled cat. Then she turned tail and fled.

“Hey, stop—”

“Eeeek!”

But she tripped on something and went flying. So did the thing she was carrying—a small wooden cube. A click came from the jewel embedded on the side of the box, as if a switch had gotten pressed.

What Mordred had just said to her floated through the air.

“No, you didn’t. Now I understand how you butter people up.”

“How I…what?”

“I think she’d like this one.”

It had just replayed their conversation. This box seemed to be the compact phonograph device Grace was researching.

But why did she record our conversation?

Grace dove for the device. “M-my Kakeru Sudou collection!”

The instant Cecilia heard that, she knew that the girl had also transmigrated into this world.

Kakeru Sudou was the name of the voice actor who had played Mordred in the dating sim.