𝐓𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐇

TWO

Y/n heaved a huge sigh of relief. Helen rattled his nerves. She was extremely unnerving—and was a disliked NPC precisely because it would be her reports that would make the in-game characters constantly having to respawn. She was described to be well-off and intensely loyal.

Now, the prayer room...

"Mister, do you want some bread?" A hand tugged on his sleeve. Y/n stared at a young boy, face aglow as his hand held a bread basket.

"W-Well, I..." Was it even safe to eat? The game described the bread as some staple—some sort of food to collect when the hunger bar was low. But it never really specified whether it was safe to eat. Sometimes, Y/n had picked up various food items during the game and had eaten them only to find his character respawn.

Maybe there was a drug inside.

"I'm not hungry." Y/n declined politely.

"Mister, do you want some bread?"

"Mister, do you want some bread?" Another hand tugged at him.

[ Accept the bread? N O / Y E S

Caution: you might lose favorability points ]

Seemed like they would keep repeating the sentence until he said yes. Then what was the point of the no option? This was hopeless.

"Fine." Y/n conceded, and a warm, fluffy bread was dropped into the palm of his hands. "Thank you," He added after a moment of hesitation.

"Father Anton says it's good to share!" The little boy chirped, before he scuttled away. Even children were so heavily involved in this messed up world. Were they indoctrinated? The game didn't really have children NPCs, but mentioned church schooling before. It was immensely popular with the commoners as no fees were required, but it also served as some sort of propaganda.

Y/n stared at the food in his hands. Food waste was probably considered a sin here.

It's good to share, huh...Y/n walked briskly to a elderly woman by the side, and smiled the best as he could.

"Are you hungry? Would you like some bread?"

"Oh, thank you, sweetie." She quivered under her shawl. Y/n gave a sigh of relief.

"But you know it's horrid to regift, right?"

In a flash, the elderly woman's sweet face had morphed into one of extreme anger. Her eyes seemed to narrow into slits, turning into a menacing expression.

Fuck. Oh fuck—

"Eat it, dearie." Her voice became soft and sweet once more, "you must be new to the church. We always welcome new believers." She cackled. "I joined too late. Was almost sacrificed, but at the stakes while burning, I finally saw God. Then they sent me here. Got a couple of scars, but it's just a testament to my faith, y'know."

Y/n's eyes landed on the twisted, broken skin. Shudders ran up his spine.

Almost saw God? He was nearly hysterical, but he kept his expression normal, pretty sure the pain just went to her and made her hallucinate!

"Yes. I'm new. I'm looking for the confession room, actually." Y/n admitted.

"Oh, yes. It's to the right."

"I'm sorry?"

"To the right," The elderly woman said impatiently, and she bit the bread. Okay, nothing was happening to her...

"But Sister Helen told me it was the left."

The elderly woman stared at him.

"I expect she's just tired. There's no way she'll ever tell a lie: that's a sin! But no, it's to the right...dearie me, I must fix her a pot of my medicine. Fix her memory a bit." The elderly woman rambled on and on.