NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 16 – The Bystander
"Now you owe me a favor."
Favor..?
But before that…
"Um...
Can I ask you a few questio-"
But he quickly interrupted me.
"No... I cannot.
The information will be filtered by the store."
The store?
The way you said it…
Is the convenience store some sort of supernatural entity that created the monster and trial?
"Pfftt... No, you're wayyyyy off!", the boy laughed.
...
The boy paused.
"What I can tell you though...
Is that eventually, you will reach the point where you understand the rules of the store..."
Rules..?
"When that happens...
Come find me again, when you discover and reach into Limbo."
Limbo?
Where is that?
“After completing a few more scenarios, you’ll find it.”
Then, once more…
The boy waved at me as his body gradually turned into dust and blew away,
“See you again soon… If you survive till the end!”
…
I reached out to him.
Ah…
I forgot to give you my thanks.
…
I turned back towards the emergency door.
Pushing on the crash bar, the door opened to reveal a gray room.
Seriously…
I thought I would finally be able to leave this place.
I guess it's not over yet.
Do I have to face another trial just like this one?
…
It didn’t matter.
Right here… Right now…
“I want to survive.”
…
I entered the empty gray room.
Step. Step. Step.
Looking around, there was nothing…
Until…
In the middle of the room.
Stood an extremely tall woman.
Woah…
She was about twice my height.
On her face was a black veil.
Covering her eyes was a black blindfold with white markings.
If I had to describe the markings…
It seemed like... Unintelligible strings of text, of a language that never existed.
Along with long white hair that flowed all the way to the floor…
She was wearing a black translucent attire that revealed parts of her shoulders and legs.
And on her arms were black opera gloves that spanned way past over her elbows.
Shing.
But… What caught my attention.
Was the glowing pearl necklace that laid softly in between her breasts.
…
Jesus, what hell-
She looks… Stunningly beautiful…
Just from a glance, I could imagine how silky smooth her skin was.
…
Then-
“Ah... You…
So it was you…”
She was pointing at me.
“Finally…
I’ve gained my first junior…”
During this moment, she was still far away from me.
I blinked once.
Blink.
…
Wha-?!
Now she was in front of me, looming over me with a smile on her face.
Despite wearing a blindfold, she looked into my eyes as if she could still see my face.
I took a step back.
Once again, she opened her mouth,
“Your name…
Is Yohlan Dainen..?”
…
What..?
I stared at her and asked,
“How… Do you know..?”
Suddenly, the woman lifted up her hand.
Her hand went towards me…
And caressed my cheek.
…
What the…
Holy…
Is this… What it feels like to be hit on by a tall handsome dude?
Seriously, I feel like I’m blushing right now…
Then, she brought her face closer to mine.
“I am… Your senior…”
Senior?
“You may refer to me as The Bystander.”
Bystander…
A title..?
Or is that your actual name?
“Ummm… Since we’re done with the introductions…
Do you know where I am..?
And how to leave this place?”
…
The woman paused for awhile and frowned,
“Yohlan…
All you need to know is that the store chose you.
You underwent my trial and successfully escaped…
Now, you are my Junior.”
Her trial?
So she's the one who set me up in that torture room?
...
And what’s with her calling me her junior?
What the hell… Is this some sort of job application?
“You are my junior…”
Her hand moved away from my cheek, and down onto my collarbone.
Wait… What are you doing!
...
I couldn't move.
...
But honestly.
...
If it’s with a beautiful lady like you…
“My first… And only junior…”
I wouldn’t mind…
“My junior…”
…
”My Yohlan.”
Then-
She grabbed onto my neck with her hand.
“What the-!”
And pushed me onto the gray floor.
“Mine… And only mine…”
She sat on top of me…
Eventually, both of her hands were on my neck.
She was choking me.
“F-Fuck!
Stop it!”
I struggled.
“Get the fuck off!!!”
She brought her face downwards onto my face.
Through the blindfolds, I could see her glowing dark blue eyes.
“My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan. My Yohlan.”
Shit!
She’s fucking crazy!
I gripped onto her hands.
“L-Let go!”
Can’t breathe.
“I said let go damn it!”
Eventually, my words struggled to come out.
“Let... Go...”
My consciousness… Fading..!
However, that didn’t last long.
“With this mark…
This is proof…
You now belong to me.”
The woman who called herself my Senior, slowly let go of my neck…
Then she stood up and started walking.
I rolled over on the floor.
Gasp, cough! cough..!
Pant... Pant...
I brought my hands towards my neck.
“What the fuck are you doi-?!”
…
What..?!
A cold metal sensation was on my neck…
...
...
Is this… A fucking collar?!