"......"
I hugged the pillow on the bed tightly and pulled the blanket over me.
It’s warm. It would be a lie to say it wasn’t.
The cozy blanket, the high-quality pillow.
Even the soft, fluffy bed.
If there was one good thing about coming to this world, it was these small luxuries.
Things I never would have dared to dream of before.
And as expensive as they were, the premium bedding was undeniably warm and comfortable.
And yet... why?
"......It’s not enough."
It was warm, but it didn’t feel warm.
I knew better than anyone how contradictory that sounded.
Warm but not warm? That didn’t make sense.
But I could feel it clearly. It wasn’t warm.
Just yesterday, this same blanket had felt so cozy.
Suddenly, I pulled the blanket up to my ears, as if that might block out the Author’s voice if it came.
I knew it wouldn’t. Not really.
......But I couldn’t bear it otherwise.
Why wasn’t there any response?
Why? Just... why?
There was no way the Author hadn’t heard me. That was impossible.
I’d heard the Author’s flustered voice with my own ears.
I definitely heard it. I was sure.
So why was there nothing? Not a single word.
I squeezed the pillow in my arms even tighter.
It still wasn’t warm.
"......Author-nim. Are you asleep?"
No answer came.
Ever since that moment, the Author hadn’t given me a single response.
Why?
Was the Author embarrassed? Or... disappointed in me?
I had no idea.
And the fact that the Author had never done this before only made me more anxious.
"Please... just answer me......"
There had been times when I’d wished the Author wasn’t there.
If that had been true, I could have accepted this world as reality.
I could have enjoyed it, gone on adventures like the protagonists in the web novels I’d read before.
I wouldn’t have had to feel like a human who’d fallen into a puppet show.
But now that the Author was truly gone, I only felt unease.
Why no answer? Why no words? Had I been abandoned?
I was afraid.
The Author had been my only proof that I was human.
I’d watched people change, watched society shift, and told myself I was different from those puppets.
......But if the Author secretly changed my settings, I’d have no way of knowing.
I’d just accept it as reality.
The Author had been my compass. The one who told me who had changed, and how, and when.
Laila changing. Inspector Iha Yuol changing. Amelia’s past subtly rewriting itself.
The appearance of the secret room. The number of Webermenschen. Countless other details.
I’d learned all of it through the Author.
So if the Author was gone... what was I?
Was I really any different from the puppets I’d thought I was better than?
......Ha. I didn’t know.
I pulled the pillow in my arms tighter once more.
Still, I couldn’t feel any warmth.
I missed the warmth I’d felt that afternoon.
I shouldn’t have run away.
"This is strange......"
"What is?"
"No, it’s just... Arte didn’t show up at my place last night."
"......?"
"She comes over every day, but yesterday she didn’t. It’s a little worrying."
Amelia wasn’t sure where to even begin.
Was the problem Yu Siwoo saying he was worried because she *wasn’t* stalking him?
Or was it Arte’s fault for stalking him every single day without fail, to the point that skipping just one day made him anxious?
After agonizing over it for a while, Amelia reached a conclusion.
Neither of them were in their right minds.
"Are you sure you’re okay in the head?"
"…Huh? Yeah, of course. I’m not hurt or anything."
Okay, so he doesn’t get it.
Amelia decided to stop worrying about the stalking.
Talking to them about it clearly wouldn’t work.
If they were happy with it, then fine.
She regretted not scolding them harshly about it last time.
"Maybe I was too hasty when I told you about the Author."
"Well, yeah. If what you said is true, then they’re always watching."
"…"
What Yu Siwoo had told her yesterday was downright shocking.
Between the objective facts he knew and his own theories, she’d been left speechless.
The Author. Arte’s psychological issues.
Dolls. People. And everything Arte had shown so far.
If all of that was true, then yes, she *had* been hasty.
No—hasty didn’t even cover it. It had been reckless to the point of danger.
"You need to be more careful, Yu Siwoo. If you really want to help Arte."
"…I know."
"You don’t *seem* to know. Arte could’ve been eliminated last night."
"…"
No one except Arte knew the Author’s true identity.
And that Author was always watching her.
If Arte feared them *that* much, then they must have her life in their hands—or something even worse.
But no one knew *how* they were watching, or even *how* they communicated.
And yet, he’d gone and said something like that.
It was *dangerous*.
"…Well, it’s too late now. Is Arte still not here?"
"Yeah. Not yet."
"She should be here by now… Well, whatever. Let’s wait ten more minutes."
Thirty minutes later.
Arte still hadn’t arrived.
"…Hey, Yu Siwoo. Isn’t Arte way later than usual?"
She asked, but he didn’t answer.
Wondering what was so absorbing that he couldn’t even respond, she turned to look at him—only to find him gnawing on his nails with a troubled expression.
Was he still hung up on what I said earlier?
He looked *clearly* uneasy.
"Hey, Yu Siwoo!"
"Huh? …Oh, sorry. Just got lost in thought. What’s up?"
"Don’t worry. She’ll be fine."
"…"
"Arte’s not exactly *normal*, right? She’s probably just delayed for some reason."
"Y-Yeah… I guess so."
"Exactly. So stop worrying."
Honestly, both of them were a handful.
Arte *and* Yu Siwoo.
She forced herself to smile brightly, pushing down her own unease.
If she didn’t, this idiot wouldn’t calm down.
Fortunately, he seemed to snap out of it a little, giving her a small, relieved smile.
"Thanks, Amelia."
"Worry about yourself before you worry about others."
But seriously… why *was* she so late?
It wasn’t like… what I said was actually true, and that "Author" bastard really did something to her, right?
She’d told Yu Siwoo not to worry, but this *had* just happened yesterday.
I couldn’t help but worry when Arte arrived much later than her usual time.
Maybe I should call her.
Just as I was about to contact Arte, the classroom door suddenly creaked open.
"···Hello."
"Ah, Arte. What’s wrong with your face···?"
Her usual polite tone.
It was Arte’s voice.
For a moment, I was relieved—my worries had been for nothing.
But then I was struck with shock at the sight of her exhausted face.
She looked like she hadn’t slept properly in ten days.
Could someone really change this much in a single day?
"Y-You··· did you pull an all-nighter?"
"Hwaam···. Y-Yes···. Just for a bit···."
"What time did you go to bed?"
"Umm, around two in the morning···?"
"Two?!"
"No, three···. Four···. Maybe five? Or was it eight?"
I was horrified as the time kept stretching with every word.
She didn’t sleep at all.
She must have stayed up the entire night.
"D-Did you not sleep *at all*?!"
"I couldn’t fall asleep."
"···."
Had I been worried she might be in danger?
Then what in the world had Arte been thinking to stay up all night?
Amelia couldn’t begin to imagine.
"Hwaaam···."
A big yawn escaped Arte’s lips.
It might have seemed peaceful, like any other day, but it wasn’t.
Our relationship had changed completely.
Ever since I learned Arte’s secret.
"Oh. Hello."
"···Hi, Arte."
Was it guilt from the pointless conversation that had left Arte feeling uneasy?
Yu Siwoo couldn’t meet her eyes, but Arte stared at him intently.
What was this?
"···Ah. Right."
Before Yu Siwoo and I could voice our confusion, it turned into shock.
Because Arte did something unimaginable.
"Ah, Arte?!"
"Mmm···. So warm···."
"Oh···."
"Oh my god, help me!"
It happened so suddenly.
Arte lunged at Yu Siwoo.
He instinctively tried to dodge, but then seemed to realize that if he moved, Arte might get hurt—so in the end, he caught her in his arms.
"It’s so warm···."
"Arte? What the—? Arte? Arte?!"
"I’m sleeping."
Snaaak, snaaak.
With steady breaths, Arte fell into a deep sleep.
Yu Siwoo panicked, trying to pull away, but every time he moved, she frowned, so he eventually gave up and left her be.
"···Hey, what did you do to her?"
"I didn’t do anything!"
"This is suspicious···."
"I’m telling you, I’m innocent!"
This was my chance.
A chance to mess with Yu Siwoo.
I decided to tease him until Arte woke up.
"Hello. Wait, why are you asleep here···?"
"Oh, perfect timing. Dorothy, listen to this···"
"Oh my, oh my, oh my···."
Arte had said she stayed up all night.
She’d probably sleep for at least four hours.
So as payback for making me worry, I’d torment you as much as possible, Yu Siwoo.