A Monodrama for Carolyn August - Chapter 70

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 70.
“What’s Aiden Tracking Permission?”
Caroline pressed the text with a puzzled expression, and a small speech bubble appeared beside the Setting Bar window that materialized.
[Aiden Tracking Permission]
[Allows the Character Persona’s Aiden to track the Player. When the Player is outside the room, they will follow the Player to their location. However, they will not be conscious of doing so.]
“Ah, so in other words…….”
Turning this setting on meant she’d have to be chased by the Character Persona every evening after dinner.
‘Is “chased” the right word for it?’
In any case, he would keep finding Caroline, and she would have to meet him.
‘Isn’t that a good thing?’
The three o’clock Aiden had said she needed to grow close to the Character Persona for a while and find out where their Key and diary were. Rather than wandering through the Mansion in circles searching for them and putting herself in danger, if she could make them come to her instead.
“It seems fine.”
Caroline pressed the activation button and changed the setting.
“And…….”
The remaining two settings were locked.
“Aiden’s Perspective?”
What even was this.
She pressed the text to see the description, and another speech bubble appeared, but it wasn’t particularly useful.
[The Player will see the world as Aiden Christian Darvel sees it during that time.]
“So what does that actually mean?”
In any case, it was locked, so she couldn’t turn it on or off. Behind the word “Locked” and the gray padlock attached to it, the word “Disabled” was faintly visible.
“And System AI Model Setting?”
Caroline pressed the text again, causing another speech bubble to appear.
[You can change the System AI model. However, conversation data outside of Play Settings will not be retained. Unlocking requires 20 Coins.]
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Model, data, Coins…….
It was completely incomprehensible. Still, it seemed like it wasn’t a setting she particularly needed.
‘But what are Coins? Where do I get them?’
Since no explanation came up, Caroline began pressing various places on the window in front of her.
After tapping several times, the padlock enlarged and a new window appeared.
[This setting is locked. 20 Coins are required to unlock.]
And when she pressed once more,
[Unlock this setting?]
[Insufficient Coins! Current Player Coins: 0 Coins. Would you like to purchase additional Coins?]
a window popped up.
‘So you can buy Coins?’
The moment Caroline pressed the window again, disappointment washed over her.
[Current Player access is not available.]
“Ugh.”
It seemed people outside this world could purchase with their own currency. For Caroline, it was impossible.
“So why even show it to me?”
Caroline grumbled and pressed the X button to close the window. She hadn’t known you could adjust settings in a Game like this, and it felt strange that there was a Setting Bar.
‘But is the Setting Bar only here?’
It seemed she couldn’t freely change settings whenever she wanted—she could only do so by touching the bar in a specific location.
“Oh?”
The moment she took a step back, a new window appeared.
[Setting Bar]
[View All Setting Bar Locations]
When Caroline pressed that window, a map unfolded before her eyes. And on the map, there existed a red marker button shaped like an inverted water droplet.
The Darvel Mansion appeared, three hours away from the Academy by carriage.
There was one red marker at the Academy. It seemed this angel statue was all there was.
“Three at the Mansion?”
What was somewhat surprising was that three Setting Bars existed at the Mansion. However, they were all clustered at the Mansion icon, so she couldn’t see their exact locations.
‘I’ll have to search for them once I’m at the Mansion.’
Though it didn’t seem like she’d need to change settings very often, Caroline returned to her room with this new information in hand.
Anna hadn’t been gone long before she returned. Unlike before, her face bloomed with smiles as she came back with a box containing a Necklace and a Pink Rose Bouquet.
Anna, who had been babbling away while lying on the bed about making up with her boyfriend and seeing him again, suddenly sat up.
“Caroline, why do you look like that?”
“……Me? Why would I?”
She’d still been listening fairly well.
Anna, catching the subtle stiffness in Caroline’s expression, asked with eerie precision.
“No, it’s just—you look frustrated. Like something’s weighing on you.”
“It’s nothing. I guess I’m just nervous about my parents arriving so suddenly.”
“That makes sense.”
Caroline brushed it off with a vague excuse, deliberately shifting her gaze away.
She wished she could explain her situation clearly to Anna—that she had thirty days to save Aiden Christian Darvel, and time was slipping away even now.
On top of that, there was all this business about becoming a Player in the Game and having to find things like the Setting Bar.
‘She’d never believe me. She’d think I’d lost my mind.’
A secret she couldn’t share, even with her closest friend.
The status of being a Player in the Game seemed to split her into two completely different people—one inside the Mansion, one outside.
Just then, Anna suddenly clapped her hands together.
“Right, Caroline. Your gift.”
“Huh?”
“Remember I said I’d give it to you when we met?”
‘I’ll give you your real birthday present once break is over and you’re back at the Academy. Let’s meet soon. I can’t stand writing through letters.’
The words from Anna’s letter flashed through Caroline’s mind.
“I’m giving it to you now.”
“But the cake is already more than enough. What else did you prepare?”
“It’s nothing special.”
Despite saying that, Anna wore an unmistakably proud expression as she rummaged through the cabinet.
After a dull thud, she emerged from behind the open door cradling an enormous box in both arms.
“?”
What on earth was that?
Caroline stared in astonishment, trying to imagine what could be inside something roughly three hand-spans wide.
“What is this?”
“Open it yourself.”
Though she couldn’t guess what it was, the fact that Anna took such pride in it meant it couldn’t be anything strange.
Caroline carefully sat down in front of the box and untied the ribbon.
The yellow paper box opened as if waiting to be discovered, and what emerged was…….
“Wow, what is this?”
“It’s all the rage these days. An imported treasure from overseas, they say.”
It was a Doll House containing rabbit figurines standing upright on their hind legs like people.
The rabbits were all dressed in colorful clothes, and the house itself was decorated charmingly in bright reds and yellows, so it was easy to see why it was fashionable.
“But it’s so large I didn’t dare send it by post. What if it got damaged?”
“That’s understandable. It’s really beautiful……. Thank you so much.”
“I’ve been getting a lot from you—like making up with my boyfriend today—so I thought I’d put in some effort too. But did you arrange for a carriage to take this? The sun’s setting soon, so I should let them know ahead of time.”
“Oh!”
Today she was planning to have dinner with her parents at a restaurant near the Academy, see them off, and then head straight back to the Mansion.
Which meant she’d be riding a carriage late into the evening. To do that, she’d need to arrange for the Academy’s transport service.
“Honestly, you’re hopeless. I’ll go tell them—you just keep looking at it.”
“Thanks, Anna!”
Anna’s blonde head bobbed with satisfaction as she strode purposefully out of the room.
Caroline decided to pull everything out of the box and examine it more closely.
The Doll House had four floors, with a small garden consisting of flower beds and vegetable patches in front.
“Wow, there are so many.”
And on the second floor of the house stood four rabbits still in their individual packaging—a brown rabbit and a white rabbit, one each, and two black rabbits.
Dressed so elegantly they might have been aristocrats themselves, the sight made Caroline break into a smile.
She unwrapped each rabbit’s packaging to examine it, then placed them back on the second floor.
“?”
Caroline noticed something stirring at the edge of her vision—her Bag.
‘Why is it doing that?’
Did her Player settings function even outside the Mansion?
The Setting Bar she’d seen earlier was certainly part of the Game, but she hadn’t expected the Bag to work the same way.
“Could it be……?”
The Bag seemed to be reacting to the gift Anna had given her.
‘But something this large—will it even fit inside the Bag……?’
The Bag looked smaller than the house.
Caroline, uncertain, carefully pushed the miniature house into her Bag…….
“Oh?”
Astonishingly, the house slid inside. As a bonus, the visible interior of the Bag appeared to have grown slightly larger than before.
“How is this even possible?”
What a marvel games are, Caroline marveled to herself.
‘But why does it fit in the bag?’
It wasn’t something she could use anytime like the lantern, nor did it seem to have a specific function the way the bell and spectacles did.
What purpose could a delicate little Doll House possibly serve?
Confused as she was, Caroline hurried to remove the house from her bag again at the sound of Anna approaching from down the corridor.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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