[207] Episode 5 · Paradox Spiral! (5)

Chapter 207: Episode 5 · Paradox Spiral! (5)

"Who exactly is this Enjou Tomoe? Did he kill his own parents?"

"But when the police arrived at his house, his father was still alive."

"In any case, there must be something wrong with his family."

"Yeah, but Enjou Tomoe himself seems like a perfectly ordinary person."

"Maybe all of this is just a facade?"

"..."

The audience murmured incessantly.

Whether it was the patrons at the Southern Television Tavern or the mages at the Imperial Mage Academy, everyone seemed puzzled, unable to grasp the foundation upon which this story was built.

However, there was no doubt that the moment Shiki Ryougi appeared, the audience stopped caring about such details. They just wanted to see the stunning heroine showcase her remarkable presence.

...

The scenes in the film suddenly began to shift, presenting flashbacks that roughly explained Enjou Tomoe's family background.

In high school, Enjou Tomoe was a renowned sprinter in the track and field world, undefeated throughout middle school and gifted with talent that everyone envied.

However, despite his promising abilities, he eventually gave up running.

His family was far from affluent—his father had been unemployed since Tomoe was in elementary school. Although his mother came from a prestigious background, she severed ties with her family to marry his father.

In this household, which seemed destined for destruction, Tomoe worked tirelessly from middle school onward. He lied about his age to find jobs and save money for his education.

Initially, he believed that if he persevered, things would eventually improve. But his hopes were shattered when his father, driving without a license, caused a fatal car accident.

Thus began a nightmare that spiraled out of control.

The collapse of his family, the disappearance of normalcy, relentless rumors, and an endless cycle of torment...

Waking from this daily nightmare, Enjou Tomoe once again found himself in Shiki Ryougi's room. Just as he sat there, the girl named Shiki entered from the hallway.

"...What's this? You came here again today. What are you doing, sitting in the dark without even turning on the lights?"

Shiki's complete indifference to whether or not he was a murderer made Tomoe blurt out:

"Hey, tell me, are you... a dangerous person?"

"Dangerous person? You said dangerous person! That's such an interesting phrase!"

"You..."

"Hahaha! Well, yes, there's probably no one around here more dangerous than me."

Shiki spoke nonchalantly, and the two had a conversation so disjointed that it barely made any sense.

And so, Enjou Tomoe ended up temporarily staying in Shiki's room as a kind of refuge.

What followed was a series of bizarrely edited scenes depicting their cohabitation.

Shiki's eccentric personality contrasted starkly with Tomoe's timid and cautious demeanor. It was easy to see how uncomfortable his daily life had become. Yet, as a "ghost" with nowhere else to go, this cramped room was the only place he could call home.

One night, as usual, Tomoe lay in the corner of Shiki's room.

Suddenly, the door opened. Just as he got up, ready to greet whoever was entering, a blindingly sharp sensation flashed across his neck, and blood splattered everywhere.

"Hah… hah…"

Snapping back to reality, Tomoe realized Shiki had already returned to the room. What he had just experienced seemed to be nothing more than an illusion caused by her overwhelming killing intent.

"Even you won't do."

Saying this, the girl leaned against the bed, her voice tinged with disappointment as she muttered to herself:

"I just went out to kill someone."

"..."

"But I failed. I couldn't find anyone worth killing today either. When I saw you in the hallway just now, I thought maybe you'd be enough, but it turns out you're not. Killing you would be meaningless."

"I really thought you were about to kill me just now."

"I want to feel what it means to be alive, but simply killing people has no meaning. Wandering aimlessly at night like this... it's no different from being a ghost. Someday, I'll probably start killing people without any reason at all."

Ryougi Shiki's voice sounded more fragile than ever. Even someone who appeared as strong as her harbored troubles that no ordinary person could fathom.

Hearing this, Enjou Tomoe felt a vague desire to help her. But after a brief exchange, he realized he neither had the ability nor the right to do so.

...

The film's pacing remained relatively slow, continuing to introduce the main characters of this episode—Ryougi Shiki and Enjou Tomoe—through various perspectives.

Viewers who had seen the previous episodes of The Garden of Sinners were already familiar with Ryougi Shiki's personality and weren't surprised by her behavior.

However, the aristocrats watching for the first time couldn't help but murmur their confusion.

"What's the deal with this girl Ryougi Shiki? Not only does she casually take in someone who might have killed people like Enjou Tomoe, but she keeps talking about killing others. Does she have some kind of mental illness?"

"What a bizarre character. I still don't understand what's going on with her."

"Hmph, lowbrow entertainment is just lowbrow entertainment. Always pulling incoherent stunts to create a false sense of mystery. I doubt the rest of the movie will be any better."

"Exactly. With a plot like this, any of our troupe's excellent playwrights could come up with something better. If we made films, we'd produce works a hundred—no, a thousand times better than this!"

"Indeed, for something so mediocre to attract such a large audience... it just shows how poor the commoners' tastes are. How pitiful..."

And so, various scornful remarks spilled from the mouths of the aristocrats.

As the plot of The Garden of Sinners entered a calmer phase, the aristocrats became increasingly brazen, seizing the opportunity to disparage the film as much as possible. Each tried to outdo the other in dragging it through the mud, all in an effort to flaunt their so-called refined tastes and elegance.

Durin, however, responded with a cold, indifferent smile.

After all, scenes like this were nothing new to him. In his past life, while browsing the internet, he'd encountered countless self-important critics who seemed to delight in tearing down any work they came across.

Unfortunately for them, critics were just that—critics. If these self-proclaimed connoisseurs were actually tasked with creating something themselves, the results would be laughable, and the outcome wasn't hard to imagine.

Of course, the online critics he'd encountered in his past life were usually well aware of their own limitations. They stuck to showcasing their "talent" in comment sections and never dared to create anything themselves.

But the aristocrats of this world seemed blissfully ignorant of their actual capabilities.

This thought amused Durin, and he couldn't help but look forward to the day when one of these self-important nobles actually attempted to produce a film and release it to the public. The resulting spectacle would surely be worth watching.

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