I Became A Ghost In A Horror Game

"Red Riding Hood and Maria have returned, Mephisto."

At Carol's words, a man slowly appeared from the shadows.

He was a man with a fierce appearance like a thug.

He greeted Carol with a smirk.

"...Hey Carol, how have you been?"

"..."

Despite the friendly greeting, Carol remained silent.

Judging from the coldness in her eyes, it was obvious what kind of feelings she had for him.

"Hey, are you angry?"

Yes, Carol was angry.

The way Mephisto Pheles treated Alice must have hurt her.

"Just a little. Why did you say such harsh things to Alice?"

"Look at you, Carol, You've grown. Now you're even questioning me."

Instead of answering, Carol snapped back at Mephisto Pheles, who was being sarcastic.

"And if you're going to help, you should have helped properly. Saving her from danger isn't enough. You just left her after that. What if Alice hadn't recovered her strength..."

"Enough."

Mephisto cut Carol off.

He shook his head, muttering sexist remarks about how Carol was more squeamish than before because she had become a woman.

Mephisto Pheles wasn't a devil with enough patience to listen to complaints.

"First of all, harsh words... What's wrong with telling the truth? Alice is worthless if she can't defeat even one Ruler."

Carol retorted with a frown.

"For someone without value, didn't you still use the power of Oz? That means Alice is important to you too, right?"

The Machine God was one of the Rulers, a powerful entity capable of destroying the world.

It's hard to imagine the price of turning him into a gear.

Pinocchio's scale is just a tool; without proper payment, its activation is nullified.

Alice was designated as the price for that, but if Alice paid the full price, at the very least, she would be unable to recover.

In the worst case, her very existence might have been wiped out.

But the fact that Alice was able to survive without even a single hair disappearing was because Mephisto Pheles used the vast power of Oz, which he had carefully preserved.

The power of Oz, if used properly, could grant almost any wish imaginable.

It was a great loss for Mephisto to have consumed most of that near-omnipotent power.

And summoning Oz again would be extremely difficult.

'There is a workaround using Dorothy, but if Mephisto try to summon her that way, the world will be destroyed.'

"Of course she's important. That's why I gave her a chance by using Oz's power. But if Alice can't fulfill her role, I'll discard her without hesitation. Does that answer your question, Carol?"

"..."

"That expression is so arrogant."

"Ugh?!"

Mephisto snaps his fingers and Carol clutches her heart.

Carol wondered if all devils really needed to establish a clear hierarchy to have a conversation.

Mephisto says to Carol, who is making a pained expression.

"Alice could have lost her powers and even died. But it's your job to prevent this from happening in the first place. I thought you could handle Alice better than anyone else, so I foolishly took your soul that was wandering the world. The way you speak makes it sound like I'm the only one responsible."

"..."

"It seems like you've become quite attached, but you should stop while I'm still tolerating it. There are already many things that bother me. For example, having those brats and Alice constantly together wasn't part of the plan."

With those words, Mephisto withdrew the force that was pressing on Carol's heart. She barely managed to steady herself before speaking.

"Thanks to that... Alice was able to regain her strength. She might even be stronger now."

"Wonderful! That is, if you ignore the fact that Alice lost her strength because of those brats."

"..."

"Alice is just a passing stage. Keep that in mind. Don't you want to see the real Alice Riddles, not this fake Alice?"

Carol reluctantly answered.

"I understand..."

"Good! Keep up the hard work! If those stupid human higher-ups try to punish you, I'll try to deal with it."

"Yes."

When Carol responded, Mephisto Pheles walked confidently out the door.

As he disappeared, agents from the higher-ups arrived.

The price for summoning Peter Pan at her own discretion.

Carol had been warned several times before, and this time, it seemed she couldn't escape punishment.

Even as the agents took her away, her eyes were filled more with resolve than fear.

'Mephisto Pheles. Not everything will go as you expected. That was the case in the past and it is the same now. You, who have lost the power of Oz, cannot control all the variables. You think you know me well? You may have tempted me into following your words against my will, but you don't know my love, and you don't understand that people's thoughts can change. That ignorance will be the critical variable in the ending of this imperfect world you've designed.'

...

POV Switch - Alice

On the day I decided to grant Eun-jeong's request.

Eun-jeong told me what she wanted.

What she wanted was a free one-day pass to Alice.

I swallowed hard.

Eun-jeong is the most merciless of the children in many ways.

She was definitely going to make me do something weird.

"..."

In front of Eun-jeong's house.

I stood in front of the door and hesitated for a moment.

I thought about all the strange things Eun-jeong had made me do so far.

Back when I was Ella, she was a cute kid who was scared of me but still followed me. But little by little, she showed her true colors and started rubbing her face against my chest and tickling me.

...Also, sniffing me, calling me Mom, being clingy, treating me like a doll, making me eat spicy food...

"Haa..."

I sighed and knocked on the door.

Knock, knock, knock...

I heard the sound of someone running from inside the door, and the door opened wide.

It was Eun-jeong.

Her eyes sparkled as she quickly grabbed my hand and pulled me inside.

I followed Eun-jeong into the house without much resistance.

She looked at me with a face full of excitement.

I averted my eyes because it was burdensome.

What kind of scary request was she trying to make?

"Welcome, Alice! Today, my parents aren't home! It'll just be the two of us all day!"

To me, it sounded like a death sentence.

I tried to act indifferent.

"I-I see. Why are you happy about that?"

"Usually it's boring when my mom and dad are busy, but since I'll be with you, it's fun!"

So her parents are both working.

Eun-jeong, an only child, couldn't help but be bored.

I wonder if the reason Eun-jeong made friends outside of her club is because she wanted to relieve her loneliness in a different way than Ha-rim.

"So, what should we do first?"

"First is!"

...

A little later.

I was cooking with an apron on.

I was making a variety of simple home-style dishes.

Since I'm not a skilled cook, I couldn't make anything fancy.

"..."

She asked me to cook... Eun-jeong, this girl...

Well, at least it's a normal request, so I felt relieved.

"Give me food~ I'm hungry."

"I get it..."

I set the food in front of her as she urged me.

Judging from the bills on the corner of the table, it seems like if I hadn't come, she would have had to order delivery.

A dual-income household and delivery food are a relationship that can't be broken.

But Eun-jeong doesn't pick up the spoon in front of her.

I was worried that she might not like the food, but Eun-jeong just opened her mouth wide.

"Feed me."

"Okay..."

"Ah~am."

Eun-jeong opened her mouth to receive the food.

I knew she liked being pampered, but I didn't expect this.

I'm scared of this child's potential.

Still, seeing her happy face made me feel good too.

"With all this pampering, your real mother might get jealous."

"But sometimes I want to be pampered by my pretty mom too."

I feel like her real mother would be sad to hear that.

"Besides, my mom is so busy that even when she wants to pamper me, she can't."

"I see."

"That's why I like Alice, who pampers me! It's fun! And even though you don't use that third-person way of speaking anymore, I still like it."

Third-person speech? That's black history..!

I didn't do it because I liked it.

I also thought it was a bit much, but once I started, I couldn't stop.

I couldn't find any words to respond except to laugh while sweating profusely.

"Hehehe..."

After finishing her meal, Eun-jeong said she would wash the dishes herself and washed them.

But since it was faster and more fun to do it together, I helped.

There's something calming about doing dishes side by side.

I've rarely had such experiences, but I remember that even when I was working part-time, washing dishes with someone who didn't like me always felt more peaceful.

Whatever we said, it always seemed to pass by smoothly.

I asked Eun-jeong carefully.

"Aren't you curious about how I ended up like this?"

"Mm~hmm."

Eun-jeong thought for a moment.

Her answer was quite unexpected.

"I didn't want to ask."

"Why? Are you being considerate?"

"Yeah. I kind of understand how Alice feels. Alice is confused right now."

Does Eun-jeong read emotions well?

Or maybe I just subconsciously revealed it.

"You're not wrong. I've gotten used to this body quite a bit, but I still feel unsettled at times. How did you know?"

Eun-jeong stopped washing the dishes at my question and looked at me.

My blue eyes met her brown ones.

I sensed a strange insight in her gaze.

I felt oddly uneasy and couldn't say anything.

"Whether it's yourself or someone else, when things change, it's confusing for both. I can't say I know exactly how Alice feels, but I know it's natural to be confused. So, I understand."

You know because it's natural.

That's interesting.

Eun-jeong can be surprisingly insightful sometimes.

It's such a simple yet profound thought.

I was curious how this young girl came to such a conclusion.

With a mix of admiration and curiosity, I asked her.

Eun-jeong slowly started to explain.

"Well... You see, Alice. I'm very needy. I was even more so when I was younger. Of course, when I was a baby, my mom would always pamper me, but then she started working and got busy. So, I used to demand attention without thinking, and my mom would unintentionally show her annoyance."

"...That must have been confusing."

It may have been a small but painful wound to her young heart.

It's the fate of children to overcome these small wounds and become adults.

However, when I listen to them one by one, my heart feels heavy.

Maybe I shouldn't have asked.

"Yeah, I was confused by my mom's changed attitude. After that, I stopped asking my parents for attention. But then my mom got confused by my sudden change in behavior. I was just trying to be considerate because she was busy."

"..."

Eun-jeong continued looking at me.

Although Eun-jeong's confusing experience was over.

It seems that Eun-jeong hadn't said that just to express sadness.

She could have brushed it off easily.

There was another message in her story.

But I couldn't quite grasp it.

"Alice, do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

"Well..."

When I couldn't answer properly, Eun-jeong smiled faintly and said.

"Even though it may have been a little sad, I still love my mom. I don't bother her because I love her. And my mom works because she loves me and wants to raise me well. She needs money for that to happen. That's what change is like. It's confusing. But Alice, there's only one way to avoid hurting each other in the confusion. Love and trust each other. I trusted, so I didn't get hurt."

"...Oh."

I was impressed.

The conclusion she reached in order not to get hurt by her mother's changed attitude was trust and love for her.

I continued to listen to Eun-jeong's words blankly.

"And Alice, I believe you changed for our sake too. You erased our memories because you love us. That's why I won't ask."

"...!"

Happiness welled up in my heart.

This was why she'd been talking all this time.

Come to think of it, it was Eun-jeong who first suggested an idea to ease my guilt.

For a moment, I felt as if Eun-jeong was truly my own child, whom I had given birth to and raised with love.

I even imagined for a second that she was glowing with a radiant light.

I smiled the warmest smile I could and reassured her.

"Yes. I love you all."

After finishing the dishes, Eun-jeong took my hand and led me to her room.

She started rummaging through her toy box.

"It's time to play!"

Watching her excitedly dig through the box with such urgency made me smile again.

"So what should we play with now? I'll do anything you want."

"...Then let's play with this! I like playing house."

However, my face hardened when I saw the item Eun-jeong took out.

The item Eun-jeong had was too old for someone of her age.

"E-Eun-jeong. Why do you still have that at your age?"

"Alice always pampers me, so today, I'll pamper Alice."

Eun-jeong wasn't listening to me.

I felt a terrifying sense of dread.

Eun-jeong slowly approached me, holding baby items she called toys.

"I'm playing mom today!"

"Don't come. Please put down that bottle and the pacifier! And aren't diapers too much?!"

"This is love, Alice. I'll wash away all your sins. Alice won't feel guilty anymore! Come on! Alice, come to Mommy~"

"Kyaaaa!"

Sin is something that should never be accumulated.

At this point, I'd rather be crucified.

I never... Ever want to go through something like this again.