The middle-aged woman froze for a moment, then warily gripped a steak knife on the table. "Who are you? I’ve never seen you in this town. And... I’ve been here for so long, searching every corner of this place, and I’ve always been alone. Where did you come from?"
"Wait, wait!" Que Tang dropped her iron pipe and raised both hands to show she was harmless. "Althea’s mother, I’m here to save your daughter."
"Save... my daughter?" The woman’s eyes welled with tears as she looked away. "But my daughter... she’s been in that hospital, living a fate worse than death, for so long."
"Althea’s mother... do you know how deep the hatred in Althea’s heart truly is?" Que Tang asked with difficulty.
"You can call me Hilda." She finally chose to trust Que Tang. The two sat at the table to talk. "As you know, I am Althea’s mother." Hilda’s lips trembled slightly, her features stiff as if she were forcing back her emotions just to keep speaking. "After my husband and I divorced, I lived alone with Althea here in Silent Hill. Because I was so busy with work, I couldn't take proper care of her. But Althea was such a good child; she always helped with the housework, I never had to worry about her schoolwork, and she understood that our circumstances weren't the best."
"But perhaps she was too good, and it made me a lazy mother. Gradually, I neglected her, assuming she could look after herself. Because of that, I didn't notice her becoming more and more withdrawn. Until..." She stopped abruptly, biting her lip so hard it bled, her expression one of uncontrollable sorrow.
Que Tang spoke up quickly. "Hilda, may I see Althea’s room?"
Hilda raised a hand to wipe the tears from her eyes and nodded slowly.
Holding an oil lamp, she led Que Tang up the stairs to a small attic. Opening the wooden door at the end of the stairs, she hung the lamp on a hook dangling from the center of the ceiling. The dim room was instantly illuminated by the lamp's amber glow. "Althea loved this room. She always said it was her secret world. Everything here is exactly as it was when she was still... herself." Remembering her daughter’s sweet nature, Hilda managed a faint, motherly smile, but it quickly sank again as she recalled what had happened.
The room was furnished simply. There was a neatly made bed, a bookshelf filled with children's books and picture frames, and a child’s desk by the window.
"Althea seems to have been very tidy," Que Tang said with a smile, looking at a photo in a frame of a cheerful Althea standing with her mother.
"Yes, she was such a well-behaved child. And yet... yet because of me, she had to endure such immense suffering." Hilda buried her face in her hands, finally breaking down into uncontrollable sobs. "That day, I got a call from the school telling me to get there immediately. Something had happened to Althea. And as her mother, in my panic and helplessness, I was foolish enough to believe the words of the Church and hand my child over to them. The result is the living nightmare Althea is in now." She collapsed to the floor in agony.
Que Tang stood there, unsure of how to offer comfort. She could only wait in silence until the woman had cried her fill and regained some composure.
"I'm sorry... I haven't been able to talk to anyone for a very long time," Hilda said, her voice muffled as she remained crouched on the floor.
"It’s alright... Also, excuse me, but I wanted to ask if Althea had something like a treasure box?" Que Tang remembered the "Althea’s Treasure Box Key" in her quest items and thought there might be something useful inside.
Hilda remained silent for a while, seemingly stabilizing her emotions, before she stood up. Instead of answering directly, she asked, "By the way, I saw you were wearing a nurse's uniform earlier... Are you a nurse?"
Que Tang, who had already changed out of the nurse's outfit and back into her original clothes, felt a wave of awkwardness. She offered a half-truth: "Yes... I just moved here from out of town. I used to work at that hospital, looking after the patients in the children's ward. But when I woke up after a break during my shift, I suddenly found that everything had turned... strange."
"No wonder you know about Althea..." Hilda realized. "She did have a small locked box. She always said it held her most precious treasures." She walked to the bed and pulled a small black wooden box from underneath. "This is it."
Que Tang took out the key and inserted it into the lock. She gave it a turn and tried to lift the lid; the wooden box opened easily.
"I didn't expect Althea to give you the key," Hilda said in surprise. "I once jokingly asked her to let me keep the key for her, but she always said no, that important things had to be kept by oneself. She even said that if she ever found someone more important than the wooden box, she would give the key to them. I always thought... I thought I would see her hand this key to her future husband..." As she spoke, her suppressed emotions flared up again. Hilda covered her nose. "I'm sorry, please excuse me for a moment." Without even taking the oil lamp, she hurried out the door and vanished into the darkness.
Once Hilda was gone, Que Tang carefully sifted through the contents of the box.
"Marbles, a safety pin, effervescent tablets... a Totoro plush?" Que Tang pulled out the most peculiar item. The next moment, a notification sounded in her earpiece: *Player has obtained Althea’s Treasure.*
"Totoro is Althea’s treasure?" Her eyes widened. "But why would Totoro appear here? And what a coincidence—I had a doll exactly like this when I was little."
"Meow~ Totoro is an idol for children all over the world. Is there anything strange about that?" Little Mushroom, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke up to assert its presence.
"I just feel like the art style doesn't quite match. Shouldn't a girl from abroad like Barbie dolls or something...?" She silently tucked the plush into her quest items. Checking the time again, she saw that only a little over four hours remained. She jumped in surprise. "I've wasted an hour here!"
"Host, please be mindful of the time limit, meow~"
Que Tang confirmed the next map location and hooked the oil lamp to take downstairs. She intended to say goodbye to Hilda, but the woman was nowhere to be found.
She pursed her lips, took the rope and the oil lamp from the table, and finished the Red Bull that had been left out for her. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out toward the next map.
The sky outside had returned to its original grayish-white, and a thick fog had once again reclaimed Silent Hill. Following the navigation route in her mind, she walked straight from Althea’s house for two blocks, turned right, continued straight to the first intersection, turned left, and after another two hundred meters, reached her destination.
She looked solemnly at the sign above: Public Elementary School. Suddenly, a small figure carrying a schoolbag walked past her.
Que Tang recognized her as Althea and quickly followed her into the school. As soon as she stepped through the main gates, she saw the children passing by looking at Althea with eyes full of contempt, whispering things she couldn't quite hear. Althea remained silent throughout, her head bowed.
Though she could guess what the children were saying just by imagining it, Que Tang immediately took out her phone and turned up the volume.
"Look, it's that unwanted brat."
"Her mom is just a woman nobody wants, so of course the daughter she gave birth to is unwanted too."
"How does she still have the nerve to show up?"
"My mom told me only women from the lowest families have to go out and work."
It was hard to believe such poisonous words were coming from the mouths of children. Their volume wasn't even lowered; she didn't believe for a second that Althea hadn't heard them. Yet the girl simply walked into the classroom in silence, found her seat, and sat down. Then, with practiced familiarity, she took out a rag and wiped the graffiti off her desk.
Que Tang stood to the side, watching as all sorts of filthy language and insults vanished under Althea’s scrubbing.
But how could a wounded heart be erased so easily?
She watched Althea take out a textbook—a book covered in messy scribbles—and sit alone, copying notes with an expressionless face.
The air around her was filled with the playful noise of her classmates. Althea’s seat was like an island, completely isolated from the boisterous atmosphere.
Que Tang’s hands clenched and unclenched. She couldn't help but reach out, knowing she couldn't actually touch her, and mimed patting the top of Althea’s head.
Suddenly, Althea seemed to see something interesting and actually smiled. Her features softened.
Seeing a child who should have been cheerful but had become somber due to her environment show such a rare expression made Que Tang’s heart ache. She resolved that when she got back, she would force Little Mushroom to open an amusement park scenario and take Softie out to play.
Que Tang stayed by her side, accompanying her through classes. The scene before her seemed to fast-forward, and soon it was noon. Having no friends, Althea went to the restroom alone.
She followed slowly behind the girl. After Althea entered the restroom, a man dressed in a janitor's uniform followed her inside. Que Tang’s heart skipped a beat. She suddenly remembered the stories surrounding Silent Hill.
She rushed to follow. Sure enough, when she passed through the door, the hatted janitor took off his cap, revealing...
"...It’s the face of the Otherworld Boss from the hospital?" Que Tang was shocked.
"Meow~ Because he is the demon in Althea’s heart," Little Mushroom explained while munching on a dried-fish-flavored cracker.
"By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask, what exactly is a 'dried-fish-flavored cracker'?" Ever since she had asked Little Mushroom what it was eating last time and got that answer, Que Tang had been dying to know.
"It’s just dried-fish-flavored, meow~" Little Mushroom gave her a look of disdain. "That’s not important, Host. Please pay attention to the plot development, meow."
"..."
Que Tang focused her attention back on the man. She saw him lock the restroom door and wait outside. When the sound of a flush came from within, he immediately moved to the closed stall door. The moment it opened, he grabbed Althea, covered her mouth, and dragged her back into the stall.
Muffled cries for help and the sounds of a struggle echoed from inside.
"Am I supposed to just stand here and watch these things happen again?" Que Tang asked Little Mushroom, her voice thick with rage.
From the children's mockery to Althea’s silence, and now this unspeakable act—negative emotions flooded Que Tang’s heart. The iron pipe in her hand trembled violently. Even if Althea had truly signed a contract with a demon to destroy all of Silent Hill, the one being tortured day and night was Althea herself.
Que Tang’s emotions finally reached their breaking point.
Suddenly, a piercing noise erupted in her earpiece, accompanied by a splitting headache. She couldn't help but clutch her head with both hands, trying to dull the pain.
When the pain receded and she opened her eyes again, the restroom had transformed into the Otherworld, just like the hospital.
This time, the monster was right in front of her, staring at her.
Recalling what had just happened, Que Tang’s heart was so full of fury that there was no room for fear. She gripped the iron pipe and blocked the monster’s first strike.
"Are you done? Then it’s my turn." Compared to her hesitant first encounter with a boss, Que Tang was now like a goddess of war amidst ten thousand soldiers. She swung the iron pipe, attacking the boss relentlessly. The creature, which had intended to protect its core, was beaten so soundly it had no chance to retaliate. It was soon obliterated, leaving the entire space splattered with gore, some of which even landed on Que Tang.
She stood there, leaning on the pipe, breathing heavily.
The next moment, the scene returned to the original restroom. Althea lay disheveled in the stall. People outside finally broke down the door, but the janitor had already escaped through a window above the stalls that was just large enough for a person to squeeze through.
The principal calmly instructed a teacher to call Althea’s mother.
Then, a younger Hilda appeared, her face pale with panic.
"We hope you won't report this to the police," the principal said to Hilda.
"How... how can you say that? Althea was..." Hilda looked at him in disbelief.
"You understand that our school is currently undergoing a public school evaluation. For the sake of next year’s subsidies, we cannot afford any problems at this critical juncture. And you... you’re just a single mother. Life must be very difficult for you, isn't it?" the principal said coldly.
Hilda’s eyes went wide.
"We can provide a sum of money to you privately, provided you agree not to go to the police. But whether you agree or not, we will close the case as Althea being 'unwell.' You know you aren't exactly popular in this town. If word of what happened to Althea gets out... there probably won't be a place left for you here." After finishing his speech with total indifference, the principal led the teacher out, leaving the mother and daughter alone in the restroom.
Hilda stared blankly at his retreating back, then rushed to embrace the unconscious Althea on the floor, sobbing loudly until the medical staff arrived to take them away.
Que Tang stood there expressionless, her entire body shaking with rage.
"Final map unlocked. Mission time remaining: 02:10:26. Player, please proceed with the mission." The emotionless voice broadcasted through her earpiece.
She picked up her iron pipe and walked out of the restroom. Que Tang already knew exactly where the final mission was.
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Transmigrated as the Mary Sue: The Villainess's Revenge System | Chapter 52 | The Weight of Secrets | Novela.app | Novela.app
