My Evil System

Sheryl's POV

Right now, looking at Stan's dead body was like staring at my own future. Eyes were wide open, mouth foaming, hideous, and ugly with warts all over his face.

If I had to live looking like this in the future, then I'd rather die!

"Megu! Can you heal this?!" Emi shouted, but Megu didn't respond right away and only looked like she was about to cry.

"I . . . I tried. It doesn't work."

Oh, for heaven's sake! You're over forty years old! I was the one who was supposed to cry.

"How useless can you be?!" Emi shouted at her.

If this disease or whatever this was couldn't be healed, then it would be best for me to die instead. I refused to live, looking like hell was on my face.

When I was about to give in to my heart's desire and scratch this unbearable itch, the giant wooden gate opened, revealing a man's figure.

The glare from the other side made me reflexively squint, so I shaded my eyes with my hand.

I swallowed, and my heart thudded hard against my chest from the suspense.

What kind of creature would appear before us enough for it to be called a lord?

And when he stepped forward and showed himself, I didn't know whether I would be glad whether he was a human or not. It was an average-looking man with a silly smile on his face.

I was probably reading his expression wrong, but it seemed to me that he was eager to see us.

"Hello, players. Welcome to my home," he said.

I frowned. His home? How did that happen when this was clearly Euclid Village not long ago?

"Thank god, someone is inside." Brago exhaled. "Are you a player?"

"Yes, he is," Emi said. "In fact, he was brought here at the same time as us."

"Really?" Ford studied the man while Edgar growled.

"Are we going to chat here, or are we going to enter, or what?"

The man smiled sheepishly. "Oh, right. Sorry about that. Come in first."

We hurried inside, and the man introduced himself.

"My name is Cross, by the way. And I'm a player like you." Cross gave his umbrella to Megu, and the latter worded him thank you with a seductive smile on her face.

"But I couldn't possibly . . . the rain seemed to be affecting our skin. You'll get infected too," Megu protested, face worried like that of an MILF.

"It's fine. As long as we're not exposed too long under this rain, we're going to be alright," he said.

The witch was working her magic. I was sure of it since Cross looked away with a red face.

How easily can this guy be rattled? A little smile, and he would give in.

"My name's Brago, and this is Ford, Megu, her child, Angel, Emi, Sheryl, and Edgar. We have another one, but he died before he could enter here."

Cross stopped, and it seemed like he had just registered what we looked like. "How long have you been soaked in the rain again?" he asked.

"About an hour or so," Ford answered.

"Is that so? Then we must hurry inside and get you cleaned up, so we can apply medicines on you."

"Is there a restroom here, so we can clean ourselves?" I asked, rejuvenated. "And can this disease be healed?"

Ren nodded, and my face brightened.

"Sorry, but based on what you said, it looked like you knew about this rain?" Emi asked, and I wanted to behead her.

Could she not inquire about something like that? Cross was already kind enough to let us into his home, let us borrow his bath, and even heal us. What if he changed his mind because of her smarty-pants attitude?

At this moment, it was better to act like an idiot and follow the guy around until we got what we wanted.

"Ah, that . . ." there was uneasiness on Cross's face before he looked away. "I just heard rumors about it. If you're exposed to the Blood Rain for an hour, then you'll get skin diseases. If you're exposed longer, then it might cause death."

"D-death?" Edgar wavered.

"Blood Rain?" Brago asked.

"That's the name of the Apocalyptic Event, apparently."

When we finally went inside Cross's house, we were amazed at how . . . cozy it was. I hadn't got the chance to marvel at the exterior of the place because of the fog and blood colored rain. But the interior was one I saw in picture books were they showed a granny sitting on a rocking chair and her dog by the fire.

"Wow . . . it's . . . nice here," Ford muttered.

"Thank you for letting us in," Brago said to Cross with all sincerity.

A flash of happiness registered on Cross's face as he said in a more than hyper tone, "It's nothing. Players should help players."

I knew that his smile was genuine with his attitude towards us, and I felt relieved knowing that Cross was a simpleton and possibly a pushover.

He seemed to be the type of guy that would please anyone for recognition — the type who would follow an order with a little bit of praise or tears.

The type that was easy to use. I thought and licked my lips.

. . . Until she arrived.

"Oh . . . visitors?"

All eyes went to the girl that came out from an archway.

She had neon green hair that was raised in twin ponytails with streaks of highlight. Her face was sweet and friendly, but her smile was disturbing. There was something off about her as she looked at us without blinking with a knife in her hand.

"Florin," Cross immediately went to her side with a skewed smile as he introduced us one by one.

"Oh . . ." Florin only muttered before she beamed. "Then I guess I have to increase the portion of today's food."

"Sorry for the trouble," Brago said.

"And thank you for your hospitality," added Ford. His face said it all. He was clearly smitten for our young Florin here.

Who knew that teenagers were his type? He was probably already in his twenties. Wasn't that illegal?

Florin only turned and walked back to where she came, clearly unbothered by the unwanted attention. Rather, she seemed to smile more whenever her eyes went to Cross.

Were they in a relationship or something?

"Don't worry about her," Cross said. "She's also a player and was transported here months ago before us. She's a little off, but she's . . . okay."

I felt something weird from that slight pause, but I didn't bother to ask.

"So . . ." Emi crossed her hand and started acting like the boss again. "What happened here? And where's the Lord that creature outside spoke of?"

". . ."

Cross was silent, and he seemed uncomfortable on his feet. I wanted to pull all the hairs from Emi's scalp. Could she not ask those types of questions on their first day here?

( . . . continuation on NOTES)