I rambled on incoherently about things others wouldn’t care about, but Belly listened attentively without interruption. He always listened obediently to my words with sparkling eyes. In both eyes sparkled affection that couldn’t be hidden, beautiful like the moon reflected on water. Before I knew it, I was captivated by those eyes as if enchanted.
“No, anyway, this isn’t it.”
When I came to my senses, Belly had burrowed into my body taking advantage of the gap when I was distracted by him, clinging to me without any space.
Belly’s low body temperature gave me a sense of relief while simultaneously stirring up strange emotions. Clearly his body temperature was chilly, yet it seemed heat was faintly rising from my toes.
Not knowing what might happen if we stayed like this, I abruptly stood up from my seat. As if he had never been clinging, Belly smoothly fell away. I stretched to prevent an awkward atmosphere. At the sound of bones going crack-crack-crack, Belly’s worried gaze turned toward me.
“Belly, let’s take a walk for a bit.”
“A walk… you mean?”
Belly’s thoughts clearly appeared on his face. ‘Master wants to take a walk?’ Others might not know, but having been together for a long time, I could immediately notice even with my eyes closed.
It was understandable. My hobby was lying down comfortably and reading novels. Exercise? It was one of the things most distant from me. Since I was a slowpoke among slowpokes in the first place, I hadn’t even attempted it except when I was young.
“Yeah. These days I’ve been trapped in this body every day just reading novels, so my body feels stiff.”
But even someone like me felt stifled being trapped only inside a body. It was fun, but sometimes I felt like I was imprisoned. I had no complaints since it was something I did, but now that I had regained control of my body, I wanted to taste fresh air.
“I’m good with it. Of course I am.”
Belly nodded several times. I could tell how delighted he was to hear me say I would exercise. At the sight of Belly’s cheeks flushing red with joy, I unknowingly smiled and touched his face. His curved mouth corners were lovely.
“You like it because it’s been a while since we took a walk? You go around with Jay every day though.”
Come to think of it, Belly would subtly show himself when going around with Jay. Is he also scheming something? Has the time finally come for him to act as a main character?
“He’s not my master.”
He rubbed his head against my hand and spoke languidly as if intoxicated. Belly’s eyes, resembling green shade, held only me uprightly. As if I was the only one in this world.
Through those eyes, I could realize his innermost thoughts once again. The gaze Belly had always shown toward Jay was directed at me inside. The anxiety that had been secretly accumulating inside melted away like snow. The sinister emotion in my heart wriggled with satisfaction.
This giant beastman, who was easily a head taller than me and gave off an intimidating feeling just by looking at him, was truly lovely. Was it because I raised him from such a young age? Or perhaps…
“Well then, let’s go quickly.”
“Yes, Master.”
I gathered my thoughts and headed outside with steps so light I could fly. Belly followed behind me.
Belly displayed his ability even though I hadn’t asked him to. We disappeared without a trace as if melting into the scenery. It was now a concealment technique close to miraculous.
Thanks to coordinating for a long time, Belly would use his ability at the timing I wanted. Sometimes I even thought we should have been born as one body. If that were the case, I could have existed proudly in this world as a protagonist character too…
We strolled through the dark campus. I didn’t know the detailed geography of the school except for what Jay knew. It was because I had read the novel rather carelessly in anticipation of coming directly. The desire to learn everything anew with Persona could suppress the curiosity of that time.
Even knowing the geography, I would have gotten lost, and without properly knowing anything, I got lost before I knew it.
“Huh? Where is this?”
“It’s Dormitory Building C of Lily Hall.”
But unlike me, Belly, who knew the geography of this place, answered obediently. He would absolutely never block my way unless there was danger to my life. Probably he knew Connubium in more detail than I did.
Anyway, it was a bit awkward that I had come to a place Jay hadn’t been to, but what could I do about what had already happened? I carefully examined the surroundings.
Since it was a time when everyone was asleep, the dormitory with no lights was gloomy. However, what created the eerie atmosphere wasn’t simply because it was dark.
“Isn’t this place really run-down?”
“It certainly is.”
Even at a glance, Building C was dilapidated. The building that would have originally been white had turned into dirty gray from not being cleaned, and the walls were full of cracks. The path that would have been neatly maintained with stone was also cracked here and there with weeds growing abundantly.
No matter how you looked at it, it didn’t look like a place where people of high status would live.
“In a place like this, there has to be something, that’s the cliché. It’s a good place to raise a death flag.”
Then, suddenly the contents of the contract flashed through my mind.
[If you divulge facts seen at Connubium, your tongue will immediately rot and decay.]
Jay wasn’t me, but the finger that made that contract was my finger. Since I contracted with my body, it meant it could have a bad influence on me.
Moreover, though it was my body, when Jay used it, it could also be called Jay’s body. In other words, what if me learning about the restricted area with Jay’s body violated the clause prohibiting disclosure?
Since it was a special situation called Persona, it was unknown what would happen.
My face turned blue as I quickly checked inside my mouth. My tongue was fine. Soon I touched various parts of my body, but fortunately there was nowhere hurt or strange. Belly embraced and lifted me up.
“It’s okay, Master. Jay and Master are ultimately no different from the same person, so it’ll be fine.”
Since Belly was more versed in magic than me, his words must be right. Relief surged deep in my heart. While body parts could be restored with magic, if there was a defect in the body from violating such a contract, it couldn’t be solved with magic.
“When we get out later, I’ll nullify Master’s contract for you.”
“What if it harms you? It’s fine.”
Contracts made with magic, if not terminated through proper procedures, come back as a great shock when broken. Even for Belly, it surely wouldn’t be a small shock.
But even at my answer mixed with concern, Belly spoke with a smile that even felt arrogant.
“Your Belly isn’t that weak.”
Hearing those words made all the worries deep in my heart disappear. Belly doesn’t tell me lies. Everything he tells me is the truth.
Certainly Belly seemed to have something to rely on. Then the story changes. Well, maybe if it were an extra like me. But Belly is a main character of this world. There’s no way someone like him would get hurt unable to terminate a contract of this level.
I, who had completely relaxed, hugged Belly tightly and said.
“Right, I feel at ease because I have our Belly.”
“Master…”
I was briefly engaged in an affectionate act that didn’t suit the gloomy atmosphere. From far away came a murmuring commotion. At the source of that sound were professors with severely wrinkled faces.
Out of curiosity, I patted Belly’s arm. Belly, who understood my intention, carefully put me down on the ground.
“Damn it. Rebellion again?”
“Did you bring the drugs?”
They rushed en masse to the basement of Building C. Seeing that appearance, irrepressible curiosity kept welling up.
Why are the professors going there? Drugs? Who are they going to use them on? What kind of foreshadowing is this? Are they doing human experiments in that basement?
If I had a tail on my butt, I would have been unable to stop wagging it like a dog before its prey. Knowing my state of being unable to contain my curiosity, Belly spoke gracefully.
“Master, shall we go down there?”
“…Should we? Is it okay though, it’s a spoiler…”
I didn’t want to see in advance what Jay hadn’t seen. I only wanted to enjoy this Connubium as Jay. But at the same time, I wanted to quickly read through all of this. Not knowing what to do with ambivalent feelings, Belly answered as if pushing my back.
“Of course, Master. Master is… not Jay but Master.”
Those words reminded me of a fact I knew but had forgotten. Right. I was Jack, not Jay Doe.
I’m an extra in this world, but at the same time I’m a reader of this world. An interesting novel isn’t read just once but should be read until it’s worn out. If I enjoy this novel as Jack and enjoy this novel again as Jay Doe, there would be no act more desirable than that.
“…That’s right. Right! I’m not Jay.”
Moreover, this novel, <The Crown of Lilies>, wasn’t a first-person protagonist point of view novel. Then it wouldn’t be strange for me as a reader to know information that Jay Doe doesn’t know. Having shaken off all worries, I grinned and grabbed Belly’s hand to lead him to the basement.
Going down to the basement, a place like a prison far removed from a dormitory appeared in poor condition. With moss growing in the humid air, I couldn’t believe it was a place at Connubium.
“Damn it. Stubborn bastard.”
“It’s annoying that the drugs don’t work well because his level of swordsmanship is high, really!”
“Will he really be reformed?”
Thud! Along with the sound of kicking something, the professors grumbled as they came out of the innermost iron bars.
Their faces were covered with irritation, and some wore distorted smiles from tormenting others and obtaining base pleasure. That appearance was like villain minions executed to show the protagonist’s abilities for the first time.
Thinking that and watching quietly, the professors giggled and passed by us to go up to the first floor.
Since we were using concealment technique, it was natural that they didn’t discover us. If they had known how to use even a little mana, they wouldn’t have been this defenseless. Since they were from Connubium, there was no way they had such abilities.
