"Why are your eyes red?" Tyler asked, his brows furrowing as he looked at Mathilda.
"I’ll explain later. But first, I want you to et soone." Mathilda replied, her voice carrying a hint of urgency.
"If it’s that important, why not now?" Tyler questioned, sensing sothing off about her deanor.
"Because," Mathilda smirked, crossing her arms, "teasing Catherine before she regains her mories is far more important right now."
Tyler sighed but didn’t argue further. They now stood before Catherine’s house, the door just inches away. Tyler reached out to open it, but Mathilda, still dressed as a man, stopped him.
"Nuh-uh," she said, shaking her head. "I’ll do it alone."
Before Tyler could protest, she slipped inside and shut the door behind her. He let out a breath, deciding to wait. He had a feeling this was going to be entertaining.
Inside, Mathilda barely had ti to take in her surroundings before Catherine extended her hand, offering her a glass of juice.
Mathilda blinked, caught off guard.
"Huh?" she muttered.
Catherine tilted her head, confusion flashing across her face. "Leon? Why are you here?" she asked, eyes widening in panic.
Mathilda grinned, quickly slipping into her role. "Hehe... Were you expecting Tyler?" she teased, grabbing the juice and taking a slow sip.
Catherine pursed her lips, fidgeting slightly. Mathilda’s grin widened.
"Nice juice," she murmured, but her smirk froze when she saw Catherine suddenly smiling back at her.
"Even though you’re an alchemist, you forgot to check the juice," Catherine said calmly. "Mathilda."
Mathilda’s eyes widened in shock. "How do you know my—?" She barely managed to finish the sentence before dizziness overtook her. Her legs buckled, and she collapsed forward, only for Catherine to catch her effortlessly.
As her vision blurred, Mathilda managed to glance toward the corner of the room. Her gaze landed on several empty jars of honey stacked neatly to the side. Her thoughts swam sluggishly before realization dawned on her.
"Damn you, Tyler..." she groaned before everything went dark.
Catherine sighed, shifting Mathilda onto the bed.
"Huh... I was trying to knock out Tyler, though," she murmured to herself, brushing Mathilda’s hair out of her face.
Just then, the door creaked open. Tyler stepped inside, his gaze sweeping over the room before landing on Mathilda, now unconscious, and the pile of empty jars.
He exhaled through his nose, rubbing his temple.
"Oh... I forgot I hid those," he muttered. "But the house is too small, and you found them and ate them all, didn’t you?"
Catherine nodded but kept her gaze down, refusing to et his eyes. A faint blush dusted her cheeks.
Tyler crossed his arms, studying her for a mont before his lips curled into a smirk.
"So, you got your mories back, huh? Cathe—nope. Astrid."
She flinched at the ntion of her real na but nodded again. Silence stretched between them, thick with unspoken words.
Finally, Tyler sighed, his smirk fading. "Alright, then. Mind explaining why you tried to drug ?"
Astrid fidgeted slightly before mumbling, "I... I wasn’t ready to face you yet." Her voice was quiet, almost hesitant.
Tyler raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.
"And..." she sighed. "I was curious if you had already regained your mories and were just playing with ." Her eyes flickered toward Mathilda. "But it seems like she was the one who wanted to play."
Tyler chuckled, shaking his head. "Yeah, that sounds about right."
Astrid hesitated and asked with a blush. "So, you rember everything too, don’t you?"
Tyler t her gaze, his expression unreadable. Then, he simply nodded.
Astrid blushed furiously and said. "Then don’t talk about those things again, what’s our next move?"
Tyler glanced at Mathilda, still knocked out on the couch. "First, we wake her up. Then, we figure out how to get out of this damn place."
Astrid nodded, but she was little disappointed by his reaction. She knows Tyler is a little Playboy, but still she was expecting sothing without realizing.
After Mathilda woke up, they shared their stories, piecing together the strange circumstances they found themselves in.
"I was born in this village. My mother and father died when I was young," Astrid began, recounting the false mories implanted in her mind. "I was raised by the village elders, and I don’t rember ever leaving this place." She frowned, clearly unsettled by the realization that these mories weren’t real.
Mathilda sat cross-legged on the bed, stroking her bottom lip thoughtfully. "Hmm... I wonder why Tyler is the only one with an outsider’s story?" she mused.
"Aren’t there others who have supposedly fallen into this village? It’s in our fake mories," Astrid pointed out.
Tyler leaned back against the wooden wall of the small hut, his arms crossed. "So it’s random, then. So of us are assigned outsider identities, while others are given false lives within the village. I wonder if there are any other real people here, aside from us and the Grandmaster."
A familiar voice echoed in their minds. "Mana can sense souls. If Mana find another real person, Mana will inform you."
Mathilda turned to Tyler. "Oh... it’s Mana ... Mana escaped this whole farce because she was inside you when we arrived. That ans whatever is ssing with people’s minds only works on those who are fully here, physically and spiritually."
Tyler nodded. "That makes sense. But we still need a plan. If we don’t figure out a way to leave, we’ll be stuck here like everyone else."
Astrid sighed. "Even if we know these mories are fake, they still feel real. It’s terrifying how easily they take over."
"Which is why we have to move fast," Tyler said. "The longer we stay, the harder it might be to hold onto our real selves."
Mathilda suddenly snapped her fingers. "Wait! The compass to track Lily—it should still be sowhere in the village. If we can find it, we might have a way out."
Astrid raised an eyebrow. "You really think sothing that belonged to us before we arrived would still be here? Every item we had disappeared when we fell into this place."
Tyler rubbed his chin. "True, except for my copper pot and ladle. Everything else vanished. That ans certain items are exempt from whatever force stripped us of our belongings."
Mathilda suddenly looked sheepish. "Well... actually, I might know where our missing items are."
Tyler and Astrid both turned to her in surprise.
"You knew?" Tyler asked, raising an eyebrow.
Mathilda nodded and grew serious. "It’s about the person I told you about before. You have to et her."
Tyler sighed. "If this is so important, why are you dragging it out?"
Mathilda smirked. "Because teasing Catherine was important."
Astrid rolled her eyes. "You really have your priorities straight."
Mathilda laughed. "Fine, fine. No more distractions. Let take you to her."
The three of them left the hut and made their way through the village. The sun was setting, casting long shadows over the simple wooden houses and dirt paths. Villagers moved about in a dream-like state, their smiles too perfect, their actions too rehearsed. It was eerie knowing that none of them were truly real.
As they approached , Tyler noticed that they are moving towards Village Chief house. "She’s inside."
"You an... The person we should et is the village chief?" Tyler asked.
Mathilda nodded.
Tyler and Astrid exchanged wary glances before following Mathilda inside.
Tyler now realised he railed sothings that are supposed to look like woman. He wondered if he was just pounding at the air since all of them are just illusion.
Are they really illusion? Because Tyler definitely felt everyone’s Heat and Warmth.
As Tyler’s mind raced with countless thoughts, he found himself standing before a familiar bedroom. The dim candlelight flickered, casting long shadows across the room.
Lying gracefully on the bed, Misra awaited him, dressed in a sheer, seductive gown that accentuated every curve of her body. Her dark eyes shimred with an unreadable expression, a mix of longing and sothing deeper—perhaps sorrow.
"Huh...?" Tyler turned to Mathilda, seeking an explanation.
Mathilda leaned against the doorfra, arms crossed, an amused smirk playing on her lips. "She said she wanted to enjoy one last ti before we uncover the truth."
Tyler frowned. The truth—about this village, about Misra—was still uncertain, but he already suspected sothing was terribly wrong.
Misra t his gaze, her lips curling into a faint smile. "Just for tonight, forget everything else," she whispered.
Mathilda rolled her eyes and added with a teasing chuckle, "Well, it’s not like it’s your first ti..."
Tyler exhaled slowly.
Mathilda already removed her dress.
Misra placed her hands on Mathilda’s breast as she bit them.
"Aaann..." Mathilda moaned.
"Are you....? " Tyler wants to ask sothing. But Misra suddenly disappeared from the bed and appeared naked before Tyler.
"Shhh.. don’t talk... Especially before .. The village is listening everything." She whispered and removed his dress. She guided her hand to his private parts.
Astrid blushed, "Then I- I will wait outside."
"You too.. if you want the truth." Misra said while scanning her body.
Astrid gritted her teeth and removed her dress.
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