The Broken System Chose the Antagonist
Chapter 19: Reluctance

Chapter 19: Reluctance

[Quest: Compliment Nadia Crane]

[Importance: Low]

[Reward: 5 SC]

[Status: Completed]

’Honestly, System, you really do have some type of fixation on her.’ Hilda smiled precariously at the floating screen, ’These quests you’ve been getting me to do seems like some kind of set up to get me with that girl. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve believed it.’

[...]

Although it wasn’t like Hilda wasn’t having any fun completing these missions. She even found them to be quite accomplished, but maybe that was because there was a reward for completing one.

’On the topic of reward, why is the SC for this one so low compared to those before?’ Hilda scrutinised the screen with a look of displeasure. ’There was a similar quest before this that was worth 15! Why had the rewards been cut down by two-thirds?’

[For failing/rejecting an assigned Quest, the rewards for the next one will always be 1/3rd of what it would’ve been.]

Hilda quirked an eyebrow.

’Is this your way of saying not to fail another Quest?’ She then had another thought, ’Will it get to a point where I won’t even be rewarded System Currency for completing a Quest?’

[No.] The System responded flatly, almost like a human.

[The System will not force you to accept a quest, nor will it deny your request to reject one. There will never be an assigned Quest from the System that won’t have any rewards.]

[This punishment is only a way for the System to entice the Host into complying with the Quest at hand. The choice is still ultimately up to you.]

’I see...’ Hilda rubbed the back of her head. ’Honestly, I think your timing on assigning me these Quests could be a little better. If you had told me much sooner, I could have prevented that man from being hurt.’

[...]

Hilda sighed.

’No answer, huh?’

Deciding it wasn’t worth the effort to complain anymore, Hilda waved the screen away. She then looked around, finding everyone preparing to go to bed.

Across from her by a few metres, she found Seraphine and Callum putting together tables to use as beds.

They were preparing to go to sleep right next to each other, or decently close to one another from Hilda’s angle.

This was something she had suggested for them to do, despite them not being well acquainted yet. Because in her mind, she found that sleeping close to one another was far more effective than sleeping apart.

After all, if your companion was right beside you, wouldn’t it be easier to wake them up with something that occurred?

’That and the body heat.’

She suspected it might get cold in the night.

Hilda then turned to her right, looking across the room to find Nadia situated near the door to the room, prepared to sleep on the floor.

She then smiled wryly.

"It might get cold, you know. Meine Dame, why don’t you sleep near me? I can get rather hot in the night, und considering you don’t have your jacket anymore—"

"Absolutely not," Nadia replied adamantly before adding with sass, "I’ll be fine throughout the night, thank you very much."

"Haa... suit yourself." Hilda sighed at the blonde woman as she took off her black jacket to lie on.

After that, everyone decided to call it a night.

...

"Mmm..."

’It really is cold...’ Nadia thought in displeasure.

Although they did the best they could to board up the broken windows, it was still very much drafty...

’Maybe I should’ve taken her up on her offer...’ Nadia thought before catching herself, ’Absolutely not! What am I thinking!?’

After what just happened, there was definitely no way she was going to succumb to temptations!

Grumbling to herself, Nadia slowly opened a small slit between her eyelids.

Although her vision was somewhat blurry, she was able to make out the frame of the door, the grey tiles on the cold stone floor, and Hilda rummaging through her satchel—

’What!’

Nadia’s eyes immediately sprang awake, shock apparent in her eyes as she watched Hilda look through her bag. She had even noticed that the German had her own satchel wrapped over her shoulder.

’What the hell is she doing?!’ Nadia thought before paling, ’Is she planning to steal our bags and make a run for it...?’

Without much time to linger on that thought, she stiffened when she heard Hilda’s voice.

"Haa... seven pairs of eyes in this bag, plus the six I have in my own. Added together, that makes it thirteen Predicaments killed today. "

Nadia watched as Hilda took out an eye, which filled the space in her palm, as a baseball would.

"I can’t waste the rest of this day... I should go out and hunt some more."

Hilda picked up the satchel before glancing back at Nadia, who had already closed her eyes, afraid she would find out.

Although she didn’t know what Hilda would do if she found out that she was awake, she’d rather not let her; in case what she was doing was another secret thing only someone from the LRM should know.

The German narrowed her eyes as she neared the Heroine, close enough to where she could pick up on her breathing.

She then proceeded to focus on the rhythm of Nadia’s breathing, comparing it to what it was a few moments ago.

’It sounds a bit different...’ Hilda thought.

With a suspicious look in her eyes, she whispered:

"Are you... awake?"

Nadia felt herself begin to sweat and sensed a slight tingle in the back of her spine that immediately shocked through her entire body.

She shivered.

Hilda quirked an eyebrow as she noticed Nadia’s shiver. She then smirked smugly with a gloating look in her eyes.

"So, you are cold~ I told you so."

Taking off her coat, which she had only just put back on, she draped it over Nadia’s body before getting up, taking Nadia’s satchel along with her and leaving.

Door closes.

After being certain Hilda had walked far enough away from the room, Nadia immediately sprang up to a sitting position.

’What was that?!’ Nadia thought, still processing what just occurred, ’Did she just say she was going to go out to hunt more Predicaments? And during the night? Is she insane!?’

She then turned to look outside the poorly boarded-up windows.

Although there were some things the general public didn’t completely know about the Predicaments, there was one thing that they knew; something that they would be taught at an early age by their parents.

It was that Predicaments were a lot more frightening and active at night.

’Never stay out late at night, or else the big, bad, hungry Predicaments will come to eat you up...’ Nadia rhymed inside her head.

She then glanced down at the black coat in her lap, her hands tightly clutching the shoulders of it—a complicated expression spreading across her face.

Nadia then laid down and turned onto her side, using Hilda’s coat as a makeshift blanket.

"Hmph!"

’If she wants to get herself hurt, let her!’ She told herself as she closed her eyes, trying to get herself to sleep.

"..."

"Haa..."

Unfortunately...

No matter how many times she twisted and turned, she couldn’t put herself to sleep.

Sitting up, she glanced to her side, finding a spare satchel that laid beside her. It had a large blood stain on its side, which caused the eyelids to droop a little; this was Ben’s bag.

Because the blood stain was wet at the time, she had transferred the contents from it into her own, in fear it would stain the Talismans or the eyes, which could affect her score... maybe.

With a reluctant and complex expression on her face, she donned Hilda’s coat before getting up from the floor. She then wandered over to the blood satchel and picked it up.

She was going to go out, as well.

’I can’t let someone go out knowing they could get hurt.’

Even if that someone was Hilda...