Chapter 17

-In Chat-

Mallory: REMON

Mallory: REMON

Mallory: REMON

Mallory: PLEASE WHERE ARE YOU

Mallory: HELP

Mallory: I’m coming to your place

Mallory arrived at Remon’s place, frantically knocking on the door like her life depended on it.

Meanwhile, inside the house, a portal swirled open in the middle of the room. A pair of footsteps echoed—Remon stepped out, freshly returned from the Void World as a Void Traveler, landing back in her room after another long attempt to convince Rein. They had decided to continue tomorrow.

She looked exhausted, dragging herself toward the bed when her phone suddenly lit up with a flood of notifications, followed by aggressive knocking that echoed through the house.

Startled, Remon peeked out from behind the curtain. Her eyes widened when she saw Mallory outside, pale-faced and knocking even harder now, panic etched into her every move.

She quickly unlocked her phone and saw dozens of missed calls and messages—all from Mallory.

Without hesitation, she rushed downstairs and opened the door.

As soon as the door swung open, Mallory practically collapsed into the room without saying a word. Remon instinctively closed and locked the door behind her, now feeling the tension in the air.

“What happened?” she asked, her voice sharp.

Mallory’s breath caught in her throat. “Remon… I—I…”

She struggled to speak.

“I met Malvine.”

Remon’s eyes shot wide open. “What…?”

“That boy I met in the cafeteria… It was him. And today…” Mallory paused, trembling, “Today he asked me to take him to Rein’s house.”

Remon didn’t move. She just stood there, frozen, trying to process what she was hearing.

“He… said he was Rein’s class leader.”

Remon looked like the floor was collapsing beneath her. Her shocked gaze stayed locked on Mallory as the words slowly sank in.

Mallory continued, her voice quieter now as she recounted everything—what happened, what he said, the eerie smile, every detail she could remember.

Remon gripped her head, her fingers tangled in her hair as the stress surged.

“Oh no. Oh no. Oh no no no no no—” she muttered, pacing and pulling at her hair.

“Mallory.” Remon placed both hands gently on her shoulders. “There’s a big chance he already knows what we’re doing. So please, please, just act normal. Pretend like nothing happened… but stay cautious.”

Mallory gave a small nod, swallowing down the nerves.

“Now, I recommend you to stay—”

“Can I stay—” They both paused, blinking at each other.

“…Ah,” They both chuckled awkwardly. “Yeah.”

Turns out, they were about to say the same thing. So for now, they’d stay in that room together, just to keep each other company for safety, and maybe for comfort too.

A short silence.

“Oh yeah, why didn’t you come to class today?” Mallory finally asked, her voice softer now.

“I’m… not feeling well,” Remon answered, eyes flicking away. “I literally just woke up when you started knocking.”

A lie, of course. She actually just arrived from the Void World, she just realized she skipped a day of real world and is not attending today’s class.

“I see… Then what about now? How are you feeling?”

Remon gave a tired shrug, sitting down beside her. “Eh… it’s alright, I suppose.”

“So.. is there any update?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

“Aww.. “

A moment of silence strikes again.

“Um… Remon?” Mallory glanced over nervously. “Here’s the weird thing… why does Malvine seem… kind? I mean, wanting to go to Rein’s place feels kinda extreme if he is the culprit, you know?”

Remon turned to her, eyes sharp, her tone suddenly dead serious.

“Mallory. Did he say anything about… regretting not being there for Rein when he was feeling down?”

“Huh? I don’t think so… no?” Mallory thought for a moment.

“All he said was, ‘It’s unfortunate he’s no longer with us.’ And something about the whole class collecting condolence money for him. Why do you ask?”

Remon narrowed her eyes. “Hmm… not a single hint of guilt, huh.”

“Guilt?” Mallory repeated.

“Yeah. I mean, when someone feels really guilty, they usually crack under pressure a little. Even if they don’t say it outright, there’s this urge to let something slip. It’s like… the guilt eats them up inside and they try to hint at it—like a subconscious cry for someone to notice.”

Mallory leaned in, intrigued but still confused. “So what are you saying?”

“If he really had something to do with Rein’s death, and he felt bad about it, there would’ve been at least a sign. A slight tremble in his voice. A too-careful choice of words. Anything.” Remon’s gaze grew darker. “But from what you said… he sounded calm. Too calm. No panic. No stress.”

Mallory nodded slowly. “Now that you mention it… yeah. I wasn’t really paying attention—I was spacing out in Rein’s house, sorry… but yeah. I don’t remember seeing him any panic at all.”

She paused, frowning a little. “Honestly, he just felt… polite?”

“Mallory,” Remon asked, “do you believe Malvine might be the culprit?”

“Uhh… I don’t know…” Mallory hesitated. “What if there’s another Malvine? You know, like those weird posts, maybe it was published by a different person with the same name ‘Malvine’?”

Remon gave a small sigh. “Hmm, must be confusing for you, huh?”

“Well… yeah,” Mallory admitted. “What about you? Do you think he did it?”

“I’m not a hundred percent sure,” Remon said, her voice calm but focused. “But I’d say I’m about 70% sure. That’s above average, I guess.”

“Oh? Why so high?”

“Because even though he didn’t show any guilt, there’s still a chance he is the culprit. He might just be really good at hiding it.”

Mallory leaned closer. “But how can you be so sure?”

“I’m not. Actually, I lowered the possibility. I was 80% sure before. But after hearing how calm and polite he was, I figured… maybe he’s just bad at comforting people. Some people are good at keeping a cool image in public, but completely miss emotional cues.”

“So… you’re saying there’s a chance he’s not the culprit?”

“Exactly. Every possibility is worth considering.”

“I see, but what makes you feel so sure that he is the culprit?”

“Everything about him just doesn’t sit well with me. I guess you could say it as a gut feeling?”

“Hmm.. “

“Right, I haven’t told you, huh? I hacked his phone and his house CCTV. I found that on the other day, someone published Rein’s book online. Weird thing is that Malvine was asleep at that time. Remember that time when I told you he stopped writing?”

Mallory nods as the answer.

“He was uploading his book online too, but it’s just for a while before someone accuses him of copying. I’m suspecting the person who accuses him is Malvine. For someone who uploaded Rein’s book is.. still unknown..”

“I remember that. Okay, so first, you told me the driver who hit Rein was Malvine’s dad. Then you said someone accused Rein of plagiarism. Then you just pinned it on Malvine. And today, Malvine came to Rein’s house to show condolences... He looked innocent to me. Plus that account.. does it really belong to that ‘Malvine’? “

Remon stares at Mallory—caught off guard. Her mouth opens like she’s about to say something, but she shuts it again.

“Remon?”

“Sorry, you’re right, I just feel like he’s suspicious but I can’t prove how.”

Mallory’s eyes wandered around the room. Remon’s room was always dim and closed off—the curtains drawn, the air still. Shelves filled with books lined the walls. Despite visiting often, Mallory had never seen anyone else in the house.

“Remon?” Mallory asked gently, almost in a whisper. “Can I ask you something? You don’t have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable…”

“What is it?”

“Are you… living alone here?”

There was a pause. A long one.

“It’s okay,” Mallory said quickly. “You don’t have to answer, really—”

“No, it’s alright,” Remon interrupted quietly. “I guess I don’t need to hide it from you anymore.”

She stood up and walked into the kitchen. A moment later, she returned with a couple of snacks and a cold drink from the fridge. She settled into her favorite chair while Mallory sat cross-legged on the bed.

“Do you remember when you asked me if I just moved here?” Remon asked.

“Yeah…”

“Well… that’s why.”