Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Hungry Hangman
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Suddenly, the bath salts made from squeezing 500ml of my blood were appraised by Brown.
'…Unique?'
That left me flustered.
'Almost made me hurl.'
I steadied my head and asked,
"What do you mean by 'unique'?"
Well,
that thing's a ghost story wild ginseng, and I'm human...
'Of course they'd be different?'
"…!"
Brown smacked his lips as if he'd just sampled a fine wine, then said,
Blended.
A direct translation would be mixed.
It usually refers to combining various ingredients in coffee or cocktails to create new flavors...
"……."
Is this referring to ghost story contamination?
I recalled the security captain.
The way a human form tore apart into something wolf-like and twisted.
Was that kind of contamination and erosion happening to me too?
Damn it.
I instinctively looked over my body. The most obvious sign of 'ghost phenomenon' influence would be...
"Do you think that 'influence' comes from the tattoo?"
"……."
Theoretically, that made sense.
'Living and working here, some level of ghost story contamination is inevitable.'
Making a fuss about it was pointless.
The stronger your supernatural abilities grew—and the more varieties you gained—the greater the erosive force became.
You had to strike a balance in between.
I didn't think I had enough power yet to worry about that balance.
'…Guess I'll have to manage this from now on too.'
One of the facilities unlocked upon becoming assistant manager included a place to handle exactly this.
I'd have to visit after safely clearing this ghost story.
Brown inhaled the scent, seemingly trying to appraise the bath salts further, then let out a long, satisfied sigh.
Good thing you enjoyed it, at least.
Inside the tub, neon lights flickered a few times like flipping TV channels.
Then, the shadow of the stuffed doll lounging comfortably against the tub wall crossed energetically.
I walked over and picked up Brown.
This time too, the stuffed doll looked subtly more luxurious, but the size hadn't changed.
Still, Brown's voice sounded somehow clearer and more intellectual.
I covered the doll with a towel to block it from view and asked,
"Feeling energized?"
It seemed there wasn't as dramatic a change as when using that contaminated wild ginseng, but it had undergone a 'rejuvenation' of sorts.
And the moment I pulled back the towel covering Brown, I noticed something I hadn't seen before.
'…A tag?'
There was a scrap of fabric on the stuffed doll's nape that looked like a cut-off tag.
'Was there a full tag here originally?'
It appeared some severed part from the rejuvenation process had been restored.
'Feels uncanny.'
I'll remember that.
"Glad to hear it."
I dried off the stuffed doll and placed it neatly on the towel atop my usual table.
Preparations complete.
"I have a favor to ask."
"Exactly."
The rejuvenated Brown should be able to wield even stronger powers.
"Two."
Two days later.
I headed to a location other than the office, as per the official notice I'd received.
It was an abandoned private kindergarten building, already occupied inside by company folks.
"You're here."
"Deer, you're early!"
As I stood near the kindergarten entrance, which hadn't been properly cleared out, my squadmates soon arrived.
"Please let it be those bastards who die, not us."
"Please... just..."
"……."
Thanks for whispering it.
Though honestly, even if they'd said it loud, it wouldn't matter—everyone wore the same expression.
"Deer, Deer! See that guy who brought the rabbit foot charm? Supposed to boost your luck."
"Does it really work?"
"Think so? The last exploration, some idiot wearing something similar got snagged and sent straight to the afterlife."
"……."
"Deputy Manager's right. Those items are all useless here... They say it's 'fairly' selected."
I turned to the assistant manager, who was smiling awkwardly.
His face was pale; he'd braced himself, but he was still pretty tense.
"Assistant Manager."
"Yeah?"
"If I tried something like that, would the company make an issue of it?"
"Ah, taking precautions so you don't get picked as the sacrifice?"
"Something like that."
The assistant manager laughed and patted my back.
"Aigoo, Deer, of course! Everyone's doing it!"
"Bet my paycheck everyone here spent the last three days pulling every trick to save their own skin."
Quite the gambler, Deputy Manager...
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je chuckled softly.
"How do you think we figured out it doesn't work? Even the guys who tried everything got picked as sacrifices."
"……."
"What? Planning to try something, Deer?"
"Yes."
I thought for a moment, then pulled Brown from my pocket.
"Ah, that keychain you carry around."
"He's my lucky friend. Mind if I lend his power to you two as well? Keep it secret."
Both gave slightly deflated smiles and nodded.
"Well... thanks."
"Hope it brings luck—for real!"
Okay.
'Preemptively handled any potential backtalk.'
"Hoo."
"Entry soon."
Like everyone else, I looked at the single dilapidated wall clock hanging in the entrance.
Tick-tock.
The hands passed 8:59:56 AM.
Tick-tock.
57 seconds.
Oddly, my mind felt serene.
A certainty about my identity.
Tick-tock.
58 seconds.
I lifted my head.
My antlers itched. They had a woody texture, but I alone knew they weren't actually wood but ■■...
Tick-tock.
59 seconds.
I turned my head to see Badger and Rosefinch. Both were observing the humans around them.
And...
I know.
I blinked. My thermal vision picked out the surrounding warm-blooded animals.
The elevated body temperatures of tense humans.
And...
Tick-tock.
9:00 AM.
The wall clock blared its alarm noisily.
Ding...!!
"…!"
I drew in a breath.
The lung-like kindergarten building had transformed into a clean space smelling of fresh construction, like it was just about to open.
And I was standing in a room with toys neatly organized, alongside Rosefinch... no, Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je.
...We'd entered the ghost story.
"……."
I slowly looked down at my neck.
Clean.
"Ha."
I relaxed my body.
'Dodged it.'
The bizarre thickness over my whole body, like wearing a costume, and the feel of the antlers gradually faded.
The strange certainty of identity too.
Thanks.
'So that's what the mask does.'
It was such a weird feeling that it was good we'd only used it briefly.
Having designated three and pushed it right to the limit with such precision must've drained it—Brown's voice even sounded weak.
Holding out for those few seconds was impressive.
'Good work.'
I reached to gently pat Brown in my pocket...
"…?"
Why was this guy panicking?
I immediately pulled Brown from my pocket.
There, on the stuffed doll's neck, was something new.
...A black rope hologram.
The mark of the victim.
"…?!"
Black Rope Hologram
Had Brown been selected as the victim?
'A ghost story resident?'
This defied all logic—was it something to worry about? Utterly confusing.
Brown started chattering.
Then he snapped his cotton-stuffed hand.
And astonishingly, the rope vanished from the stuffed doll's neck!
"…!!"
"……."
'Being judged non-human... it worked.'
Though in a slightly different way than expected.
Since Brown got tagged but the ghost story passed it on to another target because it rejected participation, that confirmed it.
"……."
Wait.
'Passed on?'
I hurriedly looked down at my own neck.
Still clean.
'Who'd it go to?'
Good that it wasn't me, but was it right for the ghost story to randomly kill someone else after rejecting a resident's turn?
"Deer."
Still flustered, I turned to Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je.
"Deputy Manager, just now I..."
"……."
"……."
Right before my eyes.
"Don't panic. Breathe deep, slowly."
The deputy manager grinned.
"Now, I need to ask you a favor... Say no if you can't."
"Deputy Manager."
"I want to do it myself, but no dice."
The deputy manager grinned and tapped it casually.
"It's confirmed."
Her own neck, bearing the black rope.
"Guess it's a blessing we get time for last words."
No.
"Wait, just wait a sec..."
"Forget it."
The deputy manager's smile turned bitter.
"Hey... I'm dead anyway."
"…!"
"You guys live or die, or we all die together—that's the difference."
...True.
Damn it all.
"So listen up. I've set it so if I die on the job as a work injury, stuff from the points mall auto-purchases."
"……."
"Just make sure Squad Leader checks it properly. That guy's sneakily unreliable."
That was the moment I realized.
She'd completely accepted the situation.
Crackle—
"…!"
"Snap out of it. It's starting."
In one corner of the playroom.
An old TV flickered to life with static.
The rope around the deputy manager's neck jerked violently.
"…!"
The rope took form, wrapping around her limbs one by one, lifting her into the air.
Then enormous blanks appeared on the TV.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
The hanging had begun.