But the sharp, icy wind that cut across my eyelids forced me to close them again.
Whoosh-! My hair, caught in the wind, tangled wildly across my face.
"Ugh!"
For a moment, I huddled and fumbled.
Suddenly, a gust of wind swept in and just as quickly died down.
The surroundings became eerily calm, as if no wind had ever blown. I cautiously lifted my head.
"What the... is this?"
"Kyo?"
At that moment, a strange cry echoed. I blankly followed the sound with my gaze.
And there, sprawled over the hem of my dress, was a fluffy white ball...
"Kyo!"
No, there was a rabbit.
"What the...?"
I couldn't continue my sentence, stunned by this absurd turn of events. A sudden gust of wind had brought a rabbit into the room.
I rubbed my eyes, thinking I might still be half-asleep, but the creature in front of me was still a pure white baby rabbit.
"Kyo kyo!"
The rabbit, facing me with a blank stare, tilted its head.
Then, it hopped over to me.
In an instant, the fluffy white ball climbed onto my knee.
"Well. Where did you come from? This is the second floor..."
"Kyo?"
"Surely you didn't get blown in by the wind."
The rabbit, seemingly not understanding a word I said, just rolled its red eyes and tilted its head again.
"Well. If you understood me, that would be even more terrifying."
At that moment, the rabbit, which had been staring at me intently, suddenly opened its small mouth.
I saw its tiny front teeth. And then,
"I have completed the request."
A deep, adult male voice flowed from the cute rabbit's mouth.
"Aah!"
I froze for a second, then screamed and stumbled backward.
The rabbit, which had been on my knee, was almost thrown to the floor.
I felt a bit guilty, but fortunately, the rabbit landed softly on the plush carpet, showing no signs of harm.
It then looked up at me with an innocent face, as if nothing had happened.
"Kyo?"
"What, what was that? Just now..."
I was certain that the deep male voice had come from the rabbit. Despite its small size, I was thoroughly frightened and on guard.
For a long time, no more human words came from the rabbit.
I stared blankly, still in shock.
"What. Did I just hear things...?"
"I have completed the request. If you want a response, please come to the guild."
"Mommy!"
But before I could dismiss it as an auditory hallucination, the deep voice came from the rabbit's small mouth again.
I was startled again and took a few quick steps back.
In my desperate attempt to escape, I found myself backed against the bedpost.
The rabbit didn't seem to want to scare me further and didn't come any closer.
"It's the White Rabbit Guild. I'll be on my way."
The rabbit revealed its origin and then a strong gust of wind swept through the room again.
Whoosh-.
The wind died down. When I lifted my head to straighten my hair, the white rabbit, which had been exuding a strong presence, was nowhere to be found.
"What the...?"
I stared blankly at the carpet where the rabbit had been just moments ago.
Then, I suddenly remembered that this was how Bunter used to contact the female protagonist in Normal Mode.
He rarely moved himself, thoroughly hiding his identity.
He usually sent messages through small animals like birds, mice, or dogs, and I now recalled that he most often used a white rabbit to represent his guild.
I had found it quite romantic at the time.
But the reason I was so startled was because...
"He didn't tell me he would deliver messages by voice..."
In the actual game, there was no voice dubbing.
Bunter's messages appeared as text, which I read with my eyes. I never imagined he would deliver messages through animals with a voice.
"Ha."
The deep male voice coming from the small, cute rabbit.
Even now, thinking about the absurd situation, I couldn't help but laugh.
With a perfectly normal letter or messenger available, why would he contact the client in such a bizarre way?
'Could this guy be a bit crazy too...'
I immediately shook off the eerie thought.
I had already been blindsided by Eclis, whom I had believed would be the easiest to handle.
If I couldn't trust this route, which was supposed to be a backup in case of a drastic drop in affection, then...
"No. There's no way all five of them are crazy."
I firmly denied it, recalling Bunter from the Normal Mode story and the brief encounter at the palace.
He was a gentleman, willing to give his handkerchief to a villain.
Perhaps this would be easier to gain his affection.
"I should go meet him."
As my shock subsided, I slowly got up from the floor.
When I stood up, I realized I was much farther from where I had originally been dozing.
It was a bit embarrassing that I had run so far from a small animal.
'He couldn't have seen all of that, right?'
Still, it was good news that he had contacted me first. I wouldn't have to attend all sorts of banquets to meet him.
Just as I reached this conclusion, a white square window appeared before my eyes.
γSYSTEMγ The episode [The Suspicious Mage, Bunter Verdandi] is about to begin. Would you like to teleport directly to the guild?
[Yes. / No.]
"Wait a moment."
Even though the system window couldn't understand me, I gave a command and turned around.
I hurriedly prepared to leave. I needed to make some preparations to come and go without anyone noticing.
First, I found and put on the robe I had worn when I went to save Eclis.
I was glad I had secretly taken it from Emily's complaints and hidden it in the wardrobe.
Then, I took a sapphire necklace from the jewelry box. It was the payment for the request.
I also grabbed Bunter's white handkerchief and a gift for him, just in case.
"Do I really need to take this too?"
I held the white mask, which resembled a Korean mask, that Leonard had bought for me and hesitated for a moment.
Since the rabbit had been sent directly to my room, hiding my identity was probably pointless.
But I was supposed to be a high-ranking noble lady secretly seeking a man.
'I'll stick to the concept for now.'
I put on the mask, checked myself in the mirror, and then ran to the system window.
"I'm ready. Go!"
* * *
When I opened my eyes in a flash of white light, I found myself in a deserted alley.
"Is this it?"
In front of me was a dilapidated building. A faint rabbit drawing was etched on the old wooden door.
Of course, I already knew this building was Bunter's guild from the game.
Without hesitation, I climbed the stairs and reached for the door.
But as I raised my hand to knock, the door creaked open as if by magic.
"What...?"
The thought that someone might be watching me made the back of my neck tingle.
I stared at the dark crack in the door and then stepped inside.
The interior was exactly as I remembered from the game.
A desk, bookshelves, and a guest sofa. It looked like an ordinary office.
However, no one was in sight.
"Where is he...?"
I had come almost immediately after receiving the message from the white rabbit, yet the office was empty, leaving me feeling a bit deflated.
I debated whether to return to the mansion but decided to wait a bit since I had come this far.
Actually, I planned to take a carriage back from the guild, as carriages here were like taxis.
But even in this supposedly high-end information guild, there was no one doing menial tasks.
'What kind of guild doesn't even have employees?'
I muttered in frustration but then understood.
'Well, that explains why he sends a creepy rabbit that speaks with a deep male voice...'
I closed the entrance door and walked to the sofa, sitting down. Since I was a guest, I intended to wait comfortably.
As I looked around the room again, it happened.
Rumble-!
Suddenly, a loud noise echoed, and I felt a massive vibration through my seat.
"What, what is this!"
I jumped up in shock. The vibration, which seemed to shake the entire building, quickly subsided.
"Did I imagine it?"
I tilted my head, trying to figure it out, and was about to sit back down when,
Rumble-. Another strong vibration shook my body.
"Ah!"
I stumbled and barely managed to grab the sofa, letting out a short scream.
'I came here just to see Bunter's face, but what kind of trouble is this!'
The sofa shook violently, and the vibration stopped abruptly.
"Is it... an earthquake?"
I gripped the armrest tightly, bracing for the next shake.
After waiting for a while, fortunately, there were no more vibrations.
Taking the opportunity, I hurriedly got off the sofa and checked outside the window.
I didn't know about natural disasters in the game world, so I wanted to see how others were reacting.
"..."
But outside, everything was eerily peaceful.
Despite the two strong vibrations, there was no one running out of buildings or even pedestrians on the street.
"Even if this is a deserted alley, there are other buildings around..."
Moreover, if a natural disaster were to occur during the festival, it would cause chaos in the capital.
Frowning, I pressed my ear to the window.
I wondered if the noise was coming from outside, but then,
Rumble-! The noise came from inside the building, right behind me.