CHAPTER 34: WHO IS DOPPELGANGER? [3]

I felt like death was approaching. My cold body slowly hardened.

I, we, couldn’t catch the doppelganger in the end.

It was a complete defeat.

We were completely played as the doppelganger intended.

’Does the test end here...? It’s close, but this is probably a passing mark.’

It was a completely unexpected result, but what had already happened could not be undone.

Thinking like that, I was able to accept this shocking situation that had just happened to me a little more calmly.

At this point, I realized that it was a good thing that I had banned my sense of touch.

My stomach tingled as I imagined vividly feeling the pain of a dagger piercing the back of my neck.

’In the end, we can’t know who the real doppelganger is. I guess I’m not really going to die like this.’

Suddenly, this thought passed through my mind.

What if everything happening here right now is reality and not fantasy?

So, am I going to face death in such vain?

If you think about it, there were a lot of questionable parts.

A phantom species, Dullahan, classified as a top-class monster.

Even though this was an academy that nurtured the best talent in the empire, sending out new students who had just taken the entrance exam was a clear imbalance.

Also, since I am at the age where I have dealt with her in person, I felt a sense of discomfort.

It is currently unknown whether this is simply due to the characteristics of the phantom species or if there is truly another reason...

But why haven’t I lost consciousness yet? The test must have ended, and although my body could not move at all, my consciousness was becoming clearer.

Perhaps thanks to this, the voices of my companions, which had previously been faintly audible, could now be heard clearly.

"Eden, isn’t Zail a doppelganger? No matter how urgent the time is, what are you doing without consulting us?"

"Lord Frey, did you have another solution? You know that too. Of all the people present, the most suspicious one was the leader."

"That..."

"Of course, I understand. From your perspective, my actions must have been very suspicious. However, I did it because I had some confidence. Take a look over there."

Frey’s voice was trembling as if she had seen a ghost.

"Hey! What on earth is happening to Lord Zail’s body?"

"Lord Frey, I was right."

"Eden! Now is not the time to say such things! Lord Zail’s body is disappearing! We have to stop it somehow...!"

"Calm down, Frey. That commoner is right."

"...Yes?"

"Zail Sieghardt. That man was a doppelganger."

At that moment, a mechanical voice was heard—an ambiguous voice that was too thin to be said to belong to a man but too thick to be said to belong to a woman.

Therefore, it was even more unsettling.

[Congratulations. Candidates found the hidden ’doppelganger’ within the time limit.]

’...What? They said we found the doppelganger...?’

"The identity of the ’doppelganger’ is exam number 444, ’Zail Sieghardt.’"

’I... I’m the doppelganger...? No way... No way... that can’t be. I am...’

Fragments of sealed memories rose to the surface.

’I am...’

A being looking at a man outside the mirror.

’The doppelganger...’

That was me.

---

A space surrounded on all sides by endless darkness.

"Crazy. How dare you find that? What on earth is this guy doing?"

After looking in the mirror, I lost consciousness, and when I came back to my senses, I was here.

At first, I was at a loss at the thought of being left alone in the endless darkness, but I soon felt reassured when I saw a mirror the size of a small window in front of me.

"Do you have a good feeling? Charlotte, you bastard. Even so... no matter how I look at it, it seems like that guy was suspicious of me from the beginning."

This mirror is like a surveillance camera of sorts—the only object in this damn space that can see the outside situation. It seemed like the minimum consideration given to the person chosen as a doppelganger.

Thanks to this, I was able to see everything that had happened so far from the perspective of an observer.

Also, for some reason, in addition to the sound of the conversation outside, I could also hear the heartbeat of the ’doppelganger’ disguised as me.

Did they say that it perfectly replicates experiences and memories?

He really thought of himself as ’me’ and not a doppelganger.

To be honest, I predicted that it would be nearly impossible for the group to find the doppelganger because he was using the same way of thinking, acting, and talking as I would.

As if this situation had been intentionally created, the prohibition we had put in place took on the worst form in this test.

Because my sense of smell was blocked, I couldn’t smell my doppelganger, which was the most important hint, and although the sun was high in the sky, I couldn’t see the shadow due to the dense trees.

The rule of not being able to tell lies was also very ambiguous when applied to doppelgängers who possessed ’my’ memories and experiences.

To be honest, I could feel the ’malice’ of the test makers, as if they had deliberately designed this test to make me fail.

The information we had was too limited. How on earth could one make inferences with such little information?

"But you did it. Eden, those narrow eyes are prying."

Frey hesitated until the end, and Charlotte only drove me away with her ignorance.

Eden.

That guy was suspicious of me from beginning to end.

Additionally, he stabbed my neck without a single moment of hesitation.

Unwavering composure, insight into the situation, determination to put thoughts into action, and even hidden power.

He is a person who does not miss anything.

Perhaps, among us, he was the person most suited to the position of leader.