บท 14: LRGS.

'This form? What… Hold on, does she mean…'

Mark felt his throat dry up, causing him to swallow his own saliva. His body went cold, but at the same time he couldn't stop sweating, and his heart rate kept rising from the fear slowly enveloping him.

It was different from the fear he felt while being chased by a dragon. It was the fear of realization.

He hadn't given the maid much thought at first, believing she was a figment of his imagination. By the time he accepted that she was real, the world around him began falling into chaos and forcing him to act and leaving no time to think thing through.

"You… what do you mean?" His body trembled as he asked the question. "This form? Are you saying… this isn't what…"

Mark didn't think he would've figured it out even if he had the time, not right away, at the very least.

He had dismissed the notion that he was the one who brought her to life, but he didn't stop to think who or what had done so. He didn't even consider whether the maid really was his ally.

With the world becoming crazier by the second, the chances of something disguising itself in this form so it could get close to and harm him weren't low.

He could think of several monsters capable of taking the form of a human, some even manifesting men's deepest desires for a much stronger effect. He was being chased by a dragon until a few minutes ago so it wouldn't be strange if something else was after him.

"Are you… are you a Succubus?"

"... A Succubus?"

Light left Lara's eyes as she repeated Mark's words. Once again her reaction differed from what he had in mind.

She didn't lose her composure, nor did she take off the calm mask and reveal her true, sadistic personality. Instead, she looked down at him with utter disgust, as if he was the lowest piece of trash to ever have existed in this world.

"Master, I do not believe this is the time nor the place to jest."

Her words stabbed him in the guts. For some reason, he could tell she wasn't faking her disgust, nor was she telling lies of any kind.

As if to make things worse, her eyes widened a little and she backed away, looking even more disturbed than before.

"I-I see… So that is why…" She hugged herself and shivered. "To think you had such indecent thoughts all along. If I knew from the start, I would never have accepted the contract…"

The stabbing continued, but the last few words she said caught Mark's attention.

"Contract? What contract?"

The word brought with it some rather ominous connotations. She made it sound as if he was the one who offered it, but Mark had no recollection of making any deals that would lead to the current situation.

"Are you… are you a demon?"

The stories of people making deals with demons were endless. Someone offering something precious to them so they can obtain what they desire, then realizing they made a big mistake down the line.

Mark's wish was for the voices in his head to disappear so he could live a normal life.

'Since I got what I wanted -the first part, at least- does that mean I made a deal with the devil?'

The disgust in the maid's expression turned into anger and her chilling gaze lowered the temperature in the surroundings.

"To think you are that ignorant." She sighed in exasperation. "How were you able to perform the summon if you are unaware of my true nature?"

Still confused, Mark raised his right hand and sheepishly asked.

"And that is…"

Glaring at him some more, the silver-haired maid looked away then heaved a defeated sigh.

"I'm a ■■■■■■!!!"

Silence.

The two were stone still, neither making a move. The tense mood created by their conversation was gone, leaving nothing but confusion behind.

"I'm a ■■■■■■…"

Lara repeated herself before Mark could ask her to. Just like the first time, what came out of her mouth was nothing but incomprehensible sounds that didn't come close to being words. That wasn't the weirdest part, however.

Mark was watching her the whole time, and when she spoke, he saw a patch of mosaic appear around her mouth, hiding the movement of her lips from his sight.

"What the…"

As if to add to the weirdness, a small blue panel appeared in front of him. Mark was startled at first, but then his eyes went wide as he realized what he was looking at.

It was a floating panel. A System screen!

Mark's joy at seeing the notification overwhelmed his mind, causing him to momentarily forget about his current situation.

He was looking at the famous floating System screen that appears in quite a lot of comics and web novels. There was no better proof that he does indeed have a System, even if he has yet to figure out how to use it.

The desire to learn how to do it made him forget about the embarrassment he experienced earlier. Before he could make another attempt, Lara's voice dragged him back to the real world.

"Master, do you know what this is?"

She was pointing in front of her, but nothing was there. Mark was quick to understand what was happening and asked "Is it a blue rectangle?"

The maid nodded. Mark returned his sight to his own screen and quickly read the message.

[You do not meet the requirements to access this information.]

For a moment he didn't understand what it meant, but then he remembered.

"Lara, can you repeat what you said just now?"

The maid understood his intention and repeated herself.

"I'm a ■■■■■■…"

Same as before, her voice turned into incomprehensible noise mid-sentence, and moments after the System notification bounced as if to draw his attention to it.

Mark kept his silence for a while then shifted his gaze to the silver-haired maid.

"What does it say?"

Lara stared at the space in front of her for a couple of seconds.

"You are… unauthorized to reveal this information?"

Mark shared her confusion, but he had a different reason for it. The message was different for each of them.

Since what Lara said was the trigger that caused the notification to appear, Mark guessed that the information it mentioned was the word he couldn't hear.

For him, he apparently didn't meet some conditions to be allowed to learn that information. As for Lara, she was told she wasn't allowed to reveal the information, which would mean she already knew and was being forcefully restricted from divulging it.

'What… what is going on here?'

A violent quake halted his train of thought. Another one followed right after, and the small cracks in the ceiling began to show themselves. It was a reminder that they didn't have the leeway for a long discussion and that survival should be their top priority right now.

"Let's leave that aside for the time being." Though he said it himself, Mark couldn't help but throw in a last question. "The contract you mentioned, it doesn't harm me in any way, right?"

The maid opened her mouth to answer, but a new notification appeared in front of him.

[LRGS's purpose is to ensure the survival of Subject Mark White. Functions created through LRGS do not directly cause harm to the Subject.]

"Master, I fail to understand your question." Lara knit her brows in confusion. "The terms of the contract are decided by you alone. The only choice I have is whether I accept them or not."

Mark didn't register much of what he heard. He read through the new notification once, then he did so a second time. Even then, he still failed to understand what it was trying to say.

"LRGS?"

As if responding to his confused murmur, another window appeared. This one contained more information, but even though it explained what the acronym means, it left him with more questions than answers.

[Lower Realm Guidance System.]