Gloren.
One of the strongest beings among the creations Seren had made, and at the same time an enemy who appeared as a mid-boss character in the game.
She was just one of the ordinary bosses you passed on your way to take down the main boss, but beings like Gloren weren't ordinary mid-bosses.
They were the kind who didn't stay only in the dolls' paradise; sometimes they were dispatched elsewhere to hatch schemes and fight.
'Why is that one here?'
But unlike the others, Gloren was an enemy you met in the dolls' paradise.
Normally, she should have been lazing around in paradise taking naps.
[Gloren's Genocide Alloy Blade]
The alloy blade that was Gloren's main weapon.
As befitted a valued guest's belongings, it had been laid carefully on the table.
In the darkness, it was giving off an ominous aura thick with smoke the color of neon signs.
A bloodcurdling sight, so fierce I didn't even dare think about touching it.
'...Could I use it?'
The message had recognized that weapon, so there was no reason it had to be impossible for me to use it.
[This weapon already has an owner.]
[A weapon engraved with its owner's mark cannot be seized.]
Of course.
How could I use a weapon this incredible however I wanted?
[You can use this weapon if you defeat its owner.]
What, was it taunting me, "If you want it, go ahead and try"?
My stats averaged barely 5 right now, and it wanted me to take on a mid-game boss.
It wasn't even a Souls-like, for crying out loud.
Either way, that weapon was no different from a rice cake in a painting.
'Let's eavesdrop on the conversation some more first.'
I carefully put my ear back to the wall.
"I've heard the gist of the news. But could you tell me properly what brings you here?"
"Why are you curious, when you're just the factory's proxy? Your job is to treat me like a valued guest until I finish my business, and that's it."
Gloren's personality hadn't changed a bit, in the game or in reality.
Like her weapon, she was the type who always scorned and looked down on the weak.
Anyone at all she could cut down with that blade whenever she felt like it.
From beyond the wall came the sound of water being poured into a teacup.
"I may be a mere servant, but I handle the Iron Factory's affairs on my master's behalf. So I only wondered whether this humble self might be of some small help to you."
"Honestly, if you're that curious. You're not wrong, either, so I'll tell you, just this once."
I was curious too.
Because the reason she was here would clearly decide how this quest turned out.
"It's nothing special. I got orders to come catch a rat that left home without permission. It's pretty funny. To think the master would give an order over one measly doll."
"A doll, you say? Aren't the ones sent here all things thrown away after they've outlived their use?"
"There must be some reason, but it's none of my business. Whatever the reason, my mission is just to catch the rat and bring it home."
Clunk.
Just then, a sound broke the hush of the conversation.
It was a very faint sound, but to Gloren's sharp ears, it came through clearly.
"What was that?"
"Hmm... It seems to have come from the next room. I'll go check."
"The next room is where you said you put my stuff. Isn't something wrong with my stuff?"
Holy shit. They're coming here?
The culprit who'd made the sound was none other than me.
It was because I still hadn't gotten used to this body, which was bigger than I'd thought.
'I've got to hide, fast.'
But the room I was in was still pitch-dark.
I didn't even know how it was laid out, so there was no way I could find a place to hide.
As I fumbled around in a panic, my hand felt a curve that was somehow familiar.
I had no idea why, but I blindly hid myself beside that object.
Creak. Click.
The moment I stood at attention, the room's lights flicked on, and Victor and Gloren came in.
"You sure laid it out nicely."
"It's a valued guest's belongings, after all. I could hardly just leave it lying around carelessly."
In the middle of the room, Gloren's blade lay neatly on a red cloth.
And I stood bolt upright, watching the two of them talk.
'Did they not spot me?'
[You are currently mimicking the form of a 'Mechanical Soldier.']
As luck would have it, the thing my hand had touched was a mechanical soldier that looked just like me.
I didn't know whether it was a model or one that had stopped working, but thanks to it, I could disguise myself naturally.
"You've collected quite a lot of stuff. Is collecting your hobby?"
"Yes. Now and then I display things I like in here. As you can see, none of it is anything special, though."
"Yeah? Then what does it mean that you put my stuff in a place like this?"
In an instant, Gloren's mood changed completely.
Because of it, my body went even stiffer along with it.
"If I've offended you, I sincerely apologize. There was no suitable place to keep a valuable item separately—"
"Save it. I saw those things outside too, so why are you keeping them in here as well?"
Gloren's finger was pointing at me, of all things.
Then Victor slowly walked up in front of me.
It was a body that didn't need to breathe, but my breath stopped on its own.
[The Mana Core weakens the flow of mana.]
[The Form Mimicry state is weakening.]
[The mimicry state will be released on external contact.]
Wait, why all of a sudden?
But before I even had time to panic, Victor's hand reached toward me.
'Please.'
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Swipe.
"I kept it to compare with the mechanical soldiers' early design, but now that I think of it, it's been left here for quite a while. I'll have to have the soldiers clear it away later."
Victor checked the dust piled on the shoulder of the mechanical soldier next to me with his finger and brushed the dust off with a few pats.
Luckily, they found no further suspicious traces in the room, and the search ended there.
'I thought I was caught for sure.'
It was honestly a more heart-pounding moment than any horror game I'd ever played.
"Quit doing pointless things and let's finish what we were talking about. You said you could give me some useful information?"
"Yes. Judging by the circumstances, it's news about the same one you're looking for, Lady Gloren. Recently, a doll that had been put in isolation for poor work in the Iron Factory's lower section went missing."
As expected, it was about me.
"And I'm told that doll is still missing."
"Then isn't it still hiding inside the factory? If we threaten the dolls a little, we'll find out where it is in no time."
"However, there is also a record that on the same day, a leak in the sewer grate of the lower area was repaired."
"You're saying the doll escaped outside?"
"Yes. It seems it knew you were coming, Lady Gloren, and chose to flee in advance."
"It's a craftier bastard than I thought. How'd it know its body was free of the factory?"
"I suspect it simply got lucky while trying to escape blindly."
As expected, they knew how the factory worked too.
That was probably why the current situation was all the more unexpected.
"Hah, what a pain. So I have to turn this whole area upside down to catch the thing that ran outside?"
"You needn't do anything so bloody. As it happens, we have a collaborator outside the factory."
At Victor's last words, I smiled faintly.
A collaborator had to be the traitor I'd been trying to expose.
"That clever doll is surely hiding somewhere inside the city. After all, it's always darkest under the lamp. So I'll tell the collaborator to find the doll's whereabouts. Please rest comfortably here until we find it, Lady Gloren."
Gloren seemed to like him very much for that, because she wore a smile that looked extremely unsettling to me.
"Fine. Then I'll have some fun for a few days before I go, so get me some things to play with."
"Things to play with...."
"The machines you control. My body's itching, so I need to go around smashing something."
"As many as you wish. I hope you have a pleasant time."
With that, the two left the room.
And with that, I too could move the body that had been petrified with tension.
'They sent Gloren here to catch me.'
How on earth were they so sure I was here?
More importantly, I wondered whether this body had had a separate owner even before I woke up.
But right now, there were no memories of the past left in my head.
My head was filled with nothing but questions I couldn't answer.
But even amid those questions, what I had to do was set.
'If they drag me off like this, there's no telling what they'll do to me.'
Seren never left alone anyone who defied or rejected her will.
Above all, she was obsessive about her possessions.
What would she do to one that had flat-out run away from her?
A creation she had made with her own hands, no less.
I couldn't even begin to imagine it.
And I didn't want to face it either.
'Should I just run far away, even now?'
I seriously thought it over.
But I'd already made up my mind to save Adeban.
And if I ran away like this, Adeban would end up swallowed by the Iron Factory and meet a bad ending.
But if I didn't run, I was bound to face Gloren.
But there was a way.
Solving both problems.
Bringing down the Iron Factory, and taking down Gloren to get rid of my pursuer.
It was truly insane and seemed impossible, but short of that, there was no answer.
You'd think that if the protagonist were around, it might be doable somehow, but even the protagonist wasn't in Adeban.
'In the end, I have to do it all myself.'
It was a headache of a situation, but I steeled myself again.
First, I'd look around for anything worth taking here.
Since I'd come in here risking my life, I couldn't leave empty-handed.
***
"You're saying I really can see the traitor if we follow that man Victor?"
The next evening, Edith, hiding near the Iron Factory and waiting for Victor to come out, said it reluctantly.
"...And someone from outside has come looking for you."
"That's right. We'll find out who the traitor is soon."
I'd brought Edith along because the other Resistance comrades still weren't likely to believe me.
It'd be nice if I could take a photo or something to show them, but Edith, who at least trusted me, seeing it with her own eyes and telling them was better.
But now that the time had come to face the traitor, Edith kept opening and closing her hands anxiously.
"Are you hoping the traitor isn't one of your comrades, Miss Edith?"
"...Yes. Honestly, I hope no one shows up. I don't want to be disappointed or shocked."
"However hard it is, you can't avoid facing what has to be faced."
"I know. That's why I'm trying my best not to be shocked."
Beside the shaken Edith, I quietly waited for Victor to appear.
And how much time had passed? The Iron Factory's gate opened, and Victor appeared with his escort.
"Let's tail him carefully so we don't get caught."
I moved first, and Edith followed behind me.
[Attaching the Boots of Flexibility.]
[Currently switched to the 'Stealthy Steps' form.]
It was one of the parts I'd taken from Victor's collection room.
These boots could be used for multiple purposes, and my Part Enhancement skill made them even more versatile.
Thanks to that, I could follow Victor stealthily while tailing him.
Their meeting place was on the far outskirts of Adeban, in a very remote corner.
"This place... used to be the city's slum."
When Victor finally reached the spot, he stopped.
"Come out. I have something to tell you."
When Victor called toward where there was nothing but darkness, movement stirred in the dark.
Soon the one who emerged from the shadows had their face hidden, wearing a black robe.
"No way.... But why?"
Edith, who'd seen them countless times, had already recognized the traitor.
Soon, the traitor pushed back the hood that had covered their face.
"...Why Belle?"
The woman with a short orange bob had none of the gentle look I'd seen before; there was only a cold expression.