As Gamer Privileges began to respond, Cedric prayed that it would be a yes. Fortunately, the notification popped up in the positive.

[Yes.]

Cedric exhaled in mild relief, though the answer didn’t exactly make him feel better. He crossed his arms and rested his chin on one hand, sinking deeper into thought.

’If someone can send a message to me, I should be able to send one back, right? Gamer Privileges, can I also send a message to this Anastasya?’

It took a few seconds, but his attribute finally replied:

[Yes.]

’I mean, when I think about the definition of non-diegetics, the obvious answer is yes. But now I’m starting to worry. This looks remarkably similar to multiplayer mechanics where players message each other in-game.

’There is still so much about Gamer Privileges that I just don’t know. From the start, the attribute itself has been weird; it treats everything as if I’m a player in some kind of game.’

He sighed.

’When I think about it, it shouldn’t be too strange because my class is Gamer. It probably has something to do with the fact that I was a gamer in my previous world. That much I know. But it’s still strange, and it bothers me to this day.’

He paused, and a new thought occurred to him, shifting his attention back to the subject at hand.

’By the way, does this Anastasya have some kind of Privileges too? I can see on my profile that both Gamer Privileges and Admin Privileges are exclusive, which means only I have them at the moment. Does this being have some other type of privilege besides those? How are they able to message me?’

Cedric sighed again.

The whole thing was becoming increasingly confusing, so he decided to set the deeper questions aside for a moment and focus on the immediate mystery: finding out exactly who this Anastasya was.

He thought about what he wanted to say, and Gamer Privileges wrote the words out as they formed in his mind. When he was finished, he gave the mental command to send.

[Sender: Cedric Martini]

[Message: Who are you? Just what in the world are you? And why are you here?!]

He had so many more questions, but he decided to start with these three.

After more than ten seconds had passed, he felt himself grow restless when he did not get a reply. For some reason, he was suddenly reminded of the times back on Earth when he would send a message to his gaming friends and they would take ages to respond.

Eventually, a notification popped up.

Without wasting time, he quickly read through it.

[Sender: Anastasya]

[Message: I will tell you everything after your friends leave and you are left here alone.]

Cedric frowned.

He read the message again, and on the third read, he began to panic.

’...left here alone? Why would I be left in here alone?’

Of course, even before now, he had a suspicion, but he had really hoped that it would not be the case. After a few seconds, he sent another message:

[Sender: Cedric Martini]

[Message: Why would I be left here alone?]

He waited impatiently, tapping his feet on the sand while biting the nail of his thumb.

After a few long seconds, the reply came:

[Sender: Anastasya]

[Message: You must know that the authority of the God of Unearned Misfortune binds you to this realm as its lord. You can no longer leave this realm with your friends using the blue bridge.]

Of course...

It felt like something inside Cedric suddenly cracked when he received the confirmation.

He took a step back in disbelief and ran his cold hand through his hair.

After all his efforts... after working so hard to survive and get home... now he was hearing that he was stuck here?

What sort of cruel fate was this?

So many emotions bubbled up inside Cedric, and for a moment, he couldn’t quite process the weight of it all.

Beside Cedric, Aika clenched her fists because she, too, couldn’t understand.

She suspected that this Anastasya was probably Seo-yeon.

Who else would it be? Who else would know Cedric as Kim Min-jun?

But what she couldn’t understand was why she would kill three less significant lords and let Cedric kill the leader if she knew that he would inherit the title afterward.

Why did she not kill the leader of the lords herself?

Also, Argentos had said that all the other Lords were dead. Is she no longer a Lord? Is that why Gamer Privileges does not recognize her on the map — because she is not one?

Aika turned to look at Cedric, who was staring blankly at the sand beneath his feet. The frown on her face deepened as she watched him, because to be honest, she did not like seeing him in such a worried state.

She had not told Cedric about Seo-yeon all this while because she felt that if she did, it would have been too distracting for him. He would not have been able to focus on the war like he had done, knowing that one of the lords he came to kill with the cadets was his fiancée.

He was the one who had made the plans; he was the one who had divided the cadets into units, with each unit assigned to take on a different lord. Finally, he was the one who chose to take on Lee Lim with his own unit.

He was able to do all this and see the war to the end because all he thought about was killing the lords and putting an end to everything.

Aika felt that if he had known Seo-yeon was one of them, who knows... he might not have stuck to the plan and would have wavered at the worst possible moment.

For some reason, she was grateful that Seo-yeon herself had decided not to show up until the end of the war. It seemed that she too had not wanted to distract Cedric, choosing instead to just let him focus on the fight.

But then, truth be told, it pained Aika to keep this fact a secret from him, because Cedric didn’t keep secrets from her.

He was open with her about everything, so this one lie of omission really hurt her heart to keep from him. So much so that it felt like she was slowly suffocating under the pressure of her own silence.

’I think I should tell him now.’

Aika exhaled as she made up her mind to come clean. She reached out and grabbed the sleeve of Cedric’s kimono. When Cedric turned to her with a hollow expression, she looked away from his eyes and said in a fragile voice, "I’m sorry. I have not been completely honest with you."

Cedric frowned. "What do you mean?"

Aika bit her lips.

It took a long moment to muster her courage, and then she whispered, "It’s Seo-yeon."

Cedric’s eyes slowly widened with each word as she completed the sentence.

"Seo-yeon was the tenth lord whom you couldn’t find on the map. And... and I think that she is this Anastasya."