“I really can’t relate to this. Say, isn’t it a bit unfair that these puzzles are based on understanding human behaviour, but we are pulled in as people with emotional deficiencies?” Aspen spoke at ease as if he wasn’t calling out himself.
River shrugged. “Not necessarily. I might not understand the motive very well, but I can still judge how she might behave in a certain situation. Since I’m not emotionally involved in any way and can see things from a neutral standpoint, I can judge logically instead of being affected by preconceived notions.”
“You talk randomly fancy at times.”
A bit offended, River closed his mouth.
Soon, River’s relaxed body tensed. Not too long before the woman would leave and the play would end, they found their evidence. She carried it with her, only revealing it closely to the end, giving them only a short timespan in which someone would have to find it.
River watched her pack her things. The small white package that fell out of her clothes was unnoticed by her and slipped below the bed. If this room wasn’t regularly used and the servants a bit lazier, it was possible for it to be left there for a very long time.
“How long do we have?” Aspen spoke in a lowered voice, his face wrinkled with a frown.
“Half an hour.”
“Not an easy puzzle, I see.”
River went back to the safe-room, entering it. He sat down on the ground, close to the wall, and crossed his legs. Leaning on his arms, he closed his eyes and began to think.
Rustling alerted him to Aspen sitting down next to him. It was a bit like having a guard dog at his side – he wasn’t sure what he thought of that.
He might get bitten by this rabid dog one day. He could almost see himself, his throat torn open and his lifeless body lying on the ground. On the other hand, as long as he did not offend this monster, it would likely stay at his side peacefully as it did now.
River imperceptibly shook his head and dragged his thoughts back to the play.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The ploy of staging a burglary to lead the father to the old man’s room and find the letters had worked well. This should be kept. Maybe they could use it to make him find the empty package as well.
Po atf wjc ralii atbeuta atf yeguijg kjr jgbecv, atfs mbeiv ufa tlw ab mfgajlc qijmfr, yea wjxlcu tlw olcv atf ktlaf qjmxjuf klatbea la jqqfjglcu kflgv kbeiv yf tjgv.
There was also a chance he wouldn’t recognize the white powder. What if they accidentally tore open one of the old man’s medicines? He might notice them during his cleanup and be reminded later.
Cii bo atlr kjr klatlc gfjrbc. Pa kjrc’a bnfgis mbwqilmjafv.
Ktflg ugfjafra lrref kjr atflg klacfrr. Ktf ilaaif ulgi kjr abb sbecu ab yf rajyif jcv mjimeijyif. Ktfgf kjr cb afiilcu tbk rtf wluta gfjma lc vloofgfca rlaejalbcr.
“What are you stuck on?”
River twitched in surprise when Aspen spoke at the perfect time. Looking up, he found the other staring at him with bright and clear eyes, leaning comfortably on his knees.
“I’m not sure how to make the daughter confess what she has seen to her father”, the easterner replied, having nothing to hide. “Anything we can do might cause her to speak or to become increasingly reticent.”
“We don’t know her well enough. It comes down to trying it out and seeing what happens, doesn’t it? Either it works or it doesn’t.”
River suddenly thought that Aspen was the type to brute-force puzzles as soon as things got too complicated.
“So you suggest trying one solution and seeing what happens?”
“Isn’t one of the fun points of this place exactly that?” Aspen snickered softly, his eyes turning to crescents with his wide smile. “You can freely play around and see how it affects the environment. As long as you don’t alert the shadows, you are perfectly safe to explore.”
“Fun…”
“You don’t think it is? I thought you looked like you were having fun, seeing what happens whenever you change the environment here.”
It was – admittedly – the best type of puzzle. There was nothing more fascinating than to figure out how a person would behave and what kind of effect it would have on other people.
Seeing and testing the infinity of the butterfly effect himself. Repeating the same situation over and over again, only to change a couple of things and find out how the outcome would differ thanks to it.
Aspen brushed a hand through his hair. “I think it’s interesting too, but I wouldn’t be able to progress through this on my own. I’ve never heard of anyone trying to solve these places before, or even realizing that this might be the point. You don’t mind me sticking to you to watch, right?”
Surprised, River looked down into the light gray eyes fixated on him. This was the first time Aspen had asked for permission for anything, rather than simply doing it, and it was about himself.
He didn’t mind. He was… fine with this.
It was hard to admit but even as a person constantly surrounded by others, he might not be alone but he was lonely. It hadn’t been noticeable before as the state was constant, but since the dull pain had vanished for a short time in the last game, he was all the more aware of it returning and it only tired him out worse.
He was not going to reject Aspen’s approach. They were both grateful for the rare company.
The young man mutely shook his head and lowered his eyes. He heard no response but Aspen didn’t leave or move away from him, so he must have gotten the message.
“What will you try first?”
“Scare her. Make the parents aware that she is scared of seeing that particular type of cup. I believe they will ask her what’s wrong if they realize.” River exhaled slowly and scrunched his forehead. Too many possible times to do this, too many ways. Which one was best? Which one would not alert the aunt of her weird behaviour but only her parents?
“There were several times when her parents used cups while she was nearby, but never that exact type. Could we swap them?”
“Might be possible. Let’s try it first.” River stood up and dusted off his clothes. His natural desire was to plan everything perfectly before trying it out but he knew that it was impossible given the situation and ticking time. He had to take some risks.
Since it was that way, it would be better to enjoy it.
Honey, Crisis and Rhythm saw them from afar as they followed the couple of parents around. It was an eerie scene, to have the shadows walk and the humans follow instead of the other way around.
“By the way, if I’m invisible to these guys, do things I hold hover from their point of view?” Aspen stared at the cup he was carrying and lifted it before his eyes.
“Lower your arm. They don’t notice unless you prominently wave it around, like a real person.”
“Yeah, okay. What?”
“Think of other, normal people. Would they explicitly notice if you carried a bottle in your hand? Most won’t. They might register it, but the majority won’t think, ah, this person is carrying a bottle. On the other hand, if you wave the bottle around or stick it into their faces, everyone will notice. This is the same concept.”
“Does that make sense?”
“Does this place make any sense?”
Aspen responded with a grunt. He lowered his arm and carried the cup with a relaxed posture until the right moment came.
The Actor of the father paused for a second when the cup he had placed on the tray had turned into a different one while he wasn’t looking. Then the routine kicked in and he ignored the difference, moving along as usual.
He poured himself some water and lifted it to his lips.
The little girl in the same room froze nervously the moment she had noticed the cup, but when her father lifted it up she freaked out. Running forward, she tackled his legs.
Author’s Note
Some educational content here. What River describes does indeed exist – there’s several words for similar phenomenon, including Inattentive Blindness for example. There are many experiments that prove people won’t notice certain changes or details even though they should be obvious, simply because their focus is elsewhere. Examples of this are people tasked to count something in a video while not noticing that there’s someone in a costume walking through the screen, or people exchanging whole items on a table while the other person looks away.
In this case, it works like this: The shadows perceive their visitors like a random crowd around them. They’re focused on their task, unless someone in the random crowd suddenly energetically waves at them or makes noise. You’re not gonna notice some random person’s shoes unless they stick it in your face (or you’re actively staring down at people’s shoes, of course…)
Thank you for the chapter!! ❤️❤️
Thanks for the chapter !