...What is this situation?
Annan was suddenly startled.
He immediately stopped his action, and his slender and agile right hand fluttered up and down like a magician’s. A silver coin silently flipped out from his sleeve, nestled between Annan’s fingers, ready to be unleashed—
Seeing Annan attempt to attack, the "Evelyn" in the lake showed no reaction whatsoever.
She just chuckled lightly, as if she was intently listening to something.
It should have been a very gentle smile.
But when it appeared on her face marred with terrifying scars, it seemed somewhat frightening.
...What on earth is this situation?
Just as Annan was feeling puzzled, he saw the reflection of "Evelyn" in the lake slightly tilt her head, as if she was speaking to someone.
Even though Annan couldn’t hear what she was saying... the sight made things clear to him—
Annan, with an experimental attitude, bent down and touched the surface of the lake with his unharmed right hand.
To the eye, the lake was scarcely as deep as half an elbow, yet Annan’s hand simply could not reach the bottom. He even plunged his whole arm in, but still couldn’t feel the bottom far below.
Annan no longer hesitated, took a deep breath—and dived into the lake.
The intense and icy lake water pierced into Annan’s mind, and that increasingly clear chanting echoed in his brain. Growing louder and louder—
Suddenly, Annan lost consciousness in an instant.
But soon, he felt someone gently patting his shoulder.
It was a somewhat panicked voice of a young man.
The omnipresent chanting by his ears had by then completely vanished.
Annan opened his eyes, feeling a little dizzy in his head. He turned to the side, retched a few times into the lake, and coughed for quite a while before he slowly recovered.
Only then did he realize he was lying on the lakeside... completely drenched.
A distressed young man was anxiously pacing around him, like a little dog whose owner had suddenly fainted.
Not until he saw "Evelyn" awake did he let out a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness... What happened to you? You suddenly fell into the lake? You scared me."
Annan didn’t respond immediately.
Because he was worried that if he did, it might initiate a conversation...
Annan looked at the vulnerable-looking young man with familiar light brown hair beside him, feeling he should have seen him somewhere before.
His skin was somewhat pale, but his fingertips a bit rough. He was likely not of noble birth, at least not the firstborn, since it seemed like he had to do some heavier work, but his voice when he spoke was very standard, not with a trace of dialect like those of the militia from Frostwater Harbor... Rather, like Kafney, he spoke with a slight Royal Capital accent.
...It must be Benjamin Foster!
Is this near the Royal Capital?
Annan subconsciously opened the task panel.
Immediately, his pupils trembled for a moment—
His task had changed!
[Main Quest: Return to the Dream]
Soon after that line, a new set of sub-quests swiftly appeared:
[Earn Benjamin’s trust]
[Successfully complete the ritual of sacrifice]
He was even a bit at a loss... Annan had never seen such strange main tasks—completely contradictory sub-quests.
The previous self, could it be in another world?
The world in the dream?
Or perhaps... the world in the reflection?
Which side... is the true main task Annan should be undertaking?
After a moment of hesitation, Annan decided to take a chance.
Sitting on the ground, he tried to use a somewhat helpless tone, starting and stopping, and uttered a name, "Benjamin..."
The brown-haired boy—Benjamin Foster, to be precise—sat beside Annan, uninhibitedly gripping "Evelyn’s" left hand, and voiced his confusion, "What’s wrong, Evelyn?"
Annan shook his head.
There was no issue. There was no prompt indicating his mission had failed... nor had he been kicked out of the nightmare.
Moreover, Annan keenly noticed that, at least in this world, his left hand was uninjured. There were no traces of being cut by a blade.
...Could this be the real world?
But the plot introduction had indicated he’d believed he was kidnapped after waking up...
Annan paused for a moment.
He realized the crux of the problem.
The introductory mission hadn’t stated the other world was the real one—it merely said, "Upon waking, Evelyn realized she was in a dungeon."
Could there be another possibility... that after Evelyn had witnessed the moonlit dancer, she passed out and entered into another world?
With this thought, Annan couldn’t help but look back.
He wanted to see if it was possible to trace his way back to the church’s interior from where he had jumped...
But at that moment, his pupils contracted slightly.
This church behind him, where was the previous splendor and newness!
It was nothing more than a dilapidated ruin!
Let alone bustling with people... Annan could clearly see that webs lingered at the edges of the windows. It probably hadn’t even seen a dusting in ages.
"...What are you looking at, Evelyn?"
The youthful Benjamin looked at Annan with a hint of curiosity.
Annan subtly redirected his gaze, his expression pensive: "I’m thinking about... it."
--I don’t know what it is, but I’m thinking about it.
"... Are you still thinking about the Pale Princess?"
Benjamin’s expression was complicated: "Do you still want to find Her..."
Annan countered: "What do you... think?"
"My willingness to come with you shows my attitude."
Benjamin said firmly, "There must be clues inside the church of the Pale Princess... but it’s too dangerous for you to go alone.
"Look at me! I’ve brought a weapon!"
As he spoke, he proudly slapped his waist.
Annan noticed with some surprise—there actually hung a gun at his side.
...What should he say?
Should he tell Salvatore, "This thing is much more practical than a wand lol.jpg"?
Annan suddenly came to his senses.
At this time, Benjamin was about twelve or thirteen years old. He was still naïve, not like the cunning fox he’d become later... And at this point, he presumably hadn’t embarked on the Transcendent path yet.
Could Benjamin actually harbor a fondness for Evelyn, whose face had become unrecognizable?
Clearly, in the eyes of the young Benjamin, Annan perceived that familiar, unguarded look of innocent infatuation.
People of this age group tend to judge others based on appearance, a characteristic impulsiveness of youth. Liking someone whose face had been scarred by fire... was very uncommon.
"Let’s go, I’ll take you in to have a look..."
Clearly, Benjamin himself was somewhat fearful.
But after a pause, he firmly repeated, "I will take you in!
"Don’t worry, I have a gun!"