[Author's Note: For bonus chapters, the goal is
25 Power Stones
50 Power Stones
Every Week]
Volume 1 Chapter 64: Carmilla's Unintentional Prank Due to a Misunderstanding
Unlike her initial experience of entering the opening where her vision was blocked by darkness, Pepper had expected to walk in the dark again. However, this time, the darkness didn't affect her vision. She considered this a fortunate turn of events and saw no reason to complain. It was at this point that Carmilla and Eve also entered the opening.
Carmilla exclaimed.
Carmilla: "Whoa! It's so dark here."
Upon entering and seeing nothing but darkness around her, unable to see Eve or Pepper, she started to shout.
Carmilla: "EVE, PEPPER ARE YOU THERE" shouted Carmilla"
Eve, who was just behind Carmilla, replied first.
Eve responded
Eve: "I am here, Master."
Pepper added.
Pepper: "I'm also here, Master. And there's no need to shout, we can hear just fine."
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After hearing what Pepper said, Carmilla apologized for shouting and then asked Pepper.
Carmilla: "Sorry for shouting. So, Pepper, what do we need to do here to leave the reach of the effects of the darkness?"
Pepper: "Nothing fancy, just walk straight forward."
Upon hearing a simple solution to leave where the darkness affects that they only needed to walk straight forward, Carmilla can't help but doubt on what Pepper said since she remember when she was monitoring Pepper's presence she notice that her presence start to circle for a few time.
Carmilla contemplated questioning the contradiction. Yet, remembering Pepper as her clone and trusting Eve and Pepper's unwavering commitment to her commands, despite their quirks, she decided to have faith in Pepper. Accepting the touch of illogicality, she started walking straight ahead without dwelling too much on it.
Upon hearing the footsteps and catching snippets of the conversation between Carmilla and Pepper, Eve too began to walk straight ahead.
Seeing that both Carmilla and Eve started walking, Pepper began following the two. It was then that she remembered the end of the passage.
Pepper added.
Pepper: "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you two, watch your step, okay?"
She concluded.
After hearing Pepper's words, Carmilla and Eve understood her warning about avoiding tripping. In response, both of them replied to Pepper.
Carmilla responded.
Carmilla: "Don't worry, I'll watch my steps even though I can't see, ahahaha."
She then chuckled at her own humor and pun.
After hearing Carmilla's wordplay, Pepper chuckled and then glanced at Eve. Although the darkness prevented Eve from seeing Pepper's expression, since Carmilla had already responded, Eve followed suit and replied as well.
Eve responded.
Eve: "Yes, I'll be careful too."
Acknowledging Eve's unresponsive behavior and her maintained composure in the face of Carmilla's humor, Pepper couldn't help but shake her head. However, due to the darkness obscuring Carmilla's and Eve's vision, neither of them noticed Pepper's gesture.
Since the two had already replied, Pepper simply continued following them as they walked through the darkness.
The footsteps echoed through the passage, giving rise to a beautiful misunderstanding.
Following the warning and the resulting misunderstanding, the trio proceeded with Carmilla and Eve leading the way through the darkness. Surprisingly, Pepper, who was intended to be their guide, found herself walking at the rear behind Carmilla and Eve.
Shortly after, the three of them reached the middle of the passage. At that point, Carmilla sensed Pepper's presence circling a few times before continuing to walk straight once more.
However, this time Pepper could see clearly. As a result, she stopped at the entrance and observed Carmilla and Eve walking slightly slanted along the wall, managing to avoid any collisions.
Observing their movements, Pepper now understood why she had walked a bit longer than expected when she had measured the passage's length and their walking speed.
Pepper mused.
Pepper: "No wonder my calculations were a bit off; this place is really weird."
She murmured to herself.
Carmilla asked.
Carmilla: "Did you say something, Pepper?"
Pepper, lost in thought and not anticipating that Carmilla or Eve would hear, observed that the two of them had nearly completed a full circle while she was lost in contemplation.
Pepper replied.
Pepper: "Nothing, master, I was just murmuring to myself."
However, after a brief pause, Pepper began to doubt.
Pepper: "But how did you know it was me talking and not Eve?"
She voiced her uncertainty.
Hearing Pepper's question, Carmilla responded in the manner Pepper typically did.
Carmilla grinned before replying.
Carmilla: "Easy, just intuition."
Hearing Carmilla's quick response, Pepper was slightly taken aback. She was usually the one who answered in such a way. However, considering that Carmilla's moods could shift suddenly, Pepper brushed it off as one of Carmilla's quirks. If it had been Eve, not only Pepper but Carmilla too would have been shocked.
Lost in thought, both Carmilla and Eve had already circled the passage three and a half times. Observing this, Pepper began walking toward the opposite side of the passage. Unlike Carmilla and Eve, Pepper walked in a straight line.
After walking for four and a quarter circles, Carmilla asked Pepper.
Carmilla asked.
Carmilla: "How much further do we have to walk, Pepper?"
Noticing Pepper's unusual silence, Carmilla realized she was deep in thought. Pepper's usual response didn't come. Pepper couldn't reveal that they had been walking in circles and she wasn't sure how many more were needed.
With the realization that she couldn't determine how many times they had circled the passage, Pepper could only provide a vague response to Carmilla's question.
Pepper answered.
Pepper: "Master, just a bit more. We're already close to the exit of the passage."
=
Pepper's response was accurate, as she could see the exit of the passage from her position. However, she was uncertain about how many more times Carmilla and Eve would circle around before reaching it.
Pepper continued to watch as Carmilla and Eve circled around a few more times. However, they eventually stopped circling and resumed walking straight ahead.
Observing this, Pepper began following the two. However, to her surprise, Carmilla and Eve continued walking even as they approached the exit, where there was no longer any ground to walk on.
Pepper was on the verge of reminding them, but her warning came too late. Carmilla and Eve had already taken the step, and they began to fall.
Carmilla and Eve exclaimed.
Carmilla/Eve: "WAAaaahhh!"