Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Even If I Fall Into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work
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Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je's mind was incredibly complicated.
'If I'm going to die anyway, I wanted to go peacefully.'
It seemed that wasn't in the cards.
"Hey! Get back! You think I didn't notice you hit yours once already?"
"Agh! I said get back! I haven't hit mine even once!"
'Those troll bastards...'
It was pure pandemonium.
Just moments ago, they'd been scrambling for survival like spectators at a sporting event, which wasn't a great look, but now they were openly monitoring and checking each other while screaming their heads off. It was even worse.
Survival and points.
Two objectives meant twice the conflict.
It was like watching a wagon wheel that couldn't move due to friction, just heating up from all the strain...
'That Deer really isn't your average guy...'
It had been a while since she'd seen such masterful political maneuvering.
'Good thing he's a decent one.'
Watching them, she figured they could easily stall for over an hour if that was the goal.
'Has it been 20 minutes now?'
"Deputy Manager, who di—"
"Ugh, buzz off."
But what was the point of buying time like this?
'We're all getting doxxed and dying anyway, aren't we?'
There was no reputation left to salvage at this point... but the longer it dragged on, the more bitter and exhausting it got.
And every time she guessed what those two juniors were up to, it made her dizzy.
'They're about to do something insane.'
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je recalled the whisper Deer had given her earlier.
—When you're executed, remember this...
"......"
It was delivered like a notification, not even open to persuasion.
But.
If they were really set on it, shouldn't she at least try to keep herself alive as best she could?
...Of course, whether those juniors would stick to that resolve moments later was another question.
'Let's wait and see.'
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je crossed her arms in resignation.
And so 20 minutes passed,
30 minutes,
40 minutes...
"Yes! Got it! B from Believe!"
The word was taking shape.
And around this point, perceptive people started to catch on.
"Hold on."
"Huh?"
The identity of the word.
"This word..."
"Deer, over there."
I looked up.
One hour and eight minutes elapsed.
......The letters were complete.
Betrayer.
"......"
What?
"......"
Ha.
"I never realized how frustrating it is to not be able to curse sometimes."
"......"
"Deer."
The Foreman grabbed my shoulder.
"Hearing just this makes our deputy manager sound like a total weirdo, but..."
"You won't know the truth until you hear it from her yourself, right?"
"......!"
"That's the nature of this Darkness."
Inflicting psychological pain, isolating the victim.
And using penalties to intimidate the other explorers into compliance.
"We can all talk about it after we survive and get out."
The Foreman's face brightened.
"Right! As expected of you, Deer! That's why... ah."
Thud thud thud thud thud thud...
I turned my head.
"...They're coming."
From beyond the open playroom door, figures were shuffling in slowly, their steps perfectly synchronized, soft and gentle.
No melting black substances or screams.
Pastel-toned outfits, smiling faces. Aprons and name tags.
Branding irons on their foreheads.
"......Completely corrupted. The people trapped here—no, the monsters that used to be people....... Don't make eye contact."
"......"
"You might get affected if you're scared."
I averted my gaze from those figures as much as possible.
"Time's up."
"......"
I recalled the conversation we'd had while preparing just before.
—Foreman, if it's too much for you...
—You want me to dump it on you?
—Pardon?
—Nah, that feels wrong. It's my personal gear. You couldn't even use it anyway!
'I wasn't really offering, but... thanks...'
And now, the Foreman was holding his actual personal equipment.
A camouflage cloth.
'The Mimic Muffler, I think he called it.'
Either way, it looked no different from when it had helped me at the exhibition, but there was one key difference.
"It's super soggy."
It was soaked through.
He had dumped every last drop of the Drink Me from my remaining Alice Picnic Set into it.
The exact one I'd used in the Tuesday Quiz Show to double the effect of the Smile Sticker.
'Soaked it right into that muffler without mercy.'
Spilling it on the floor would count as littering and incur a penalty, so he'd laid my suit jacket down first—basically ruining it.
And if that Drink Me worked...
'This camouflage gear will unleash insane power, even if just once.'
Until the moisture dried, anyway.
And since we were on a time attack regardless, it was perfect.
"Alright, let's do this."
"Yes."
I nodded.
The Foreman glanced at the kindergarten teachers starting to climb the podium, then quietly pulled the muffler over his face.
And...
He became one of them perfectly.
"......!"
—Excellent. Great disguise. It won't last long, but...
'Just need it to hold for a moment.'
About three minutes.
Then I'd have to move too.
I waited just long enough for the Foreman to blend in with the teachers, then started moving with a time lag.
'Now.'
Brown needed to get as close to the podium as possible to use his ability.
And if I could draw a bit of attention to make it easier for Foreman Park Minseong to maneuver among those monsters, even better.
'Right away...'
And the moment I raised my head.
"......"
'Oh.'
I'd forgotten something crucial.
That I'm a coward.
Teacher Kim Soleum, listen to me.
I finished reading the handbook!
1- ■■ Kindergarten is eternal.
2- I follow the rules.
Everything is perfect. I am a perfect teacher.
Everyone is safe, happy, and there are no accidents, no one jumps. Our ■■ Kindergarten is a perfect and safe haven where everyone follows the rules and educates endlessly. Once you finish reading the handbook, Teacher Kim Soleum, you'll be like me. Now just read the handbook quickly.
On the platform.
Countless ■■ Kindergarten teachers stood, smiling. They were not human. They had never been human.
Just looking at them sent an instinctive warning down my spine, that I would X if I were to approach, that I would be grabbed by the back of my neck, that I'd be left with nothing else to do but scream I knew it already. The more I was afraid, the worse the mental contamination would get. I just had to endure.
And I knew I had to stand close to them, attracting their attention. Compared to Foreman Park Minseong, who had to fully blend into their midst, what I had to do wasn't even that difficult.
But...
Did I hold back a scream?
What... what on earth is this?
They said feeling fear leads to contamination, right?
Is my fear drawing the contamination toward me?
I'm supposed to draw their attention? I'm supposed to draw their atten—
"..."
Drip.
Cold sweat dripped from my chin.
I barely managed to move my left foot forward, taking a single step.
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Their gazes locked onto me.
NEWTEACHER!
'S-Sticker.'
The tattoo sticker! I need to use it. I need to use it now. There's no way I can endure— No, hold on. I can't use them now.
This is panic talking. What I need isn't courage. It's rationality... No, maybe I should—
– Mr. Roe Deer.
"...?"
– Mr. Roe Deer, I'm curious. What's your favorite fruit?
"..."
– Mr. Roe Deer, a humble admirer named Braun is eagerly awaiting your answer!
A question...?
– Your favorite fruit, please!
...
"Grapes."
– Ah! Excellent choice. A symbol of abundance and nourishment. In ancient Egypt, they were revered as sacred fruit, and in Greece, they were celebrated as a cultural beverage.
– Shall we delve deeper? Let's move forward...
I slowly took another step.
New Teacher Eun Ha-je will dangle by her neck and die!
That's what the Hangman game is about!
Staring at the ground, I moved forward.
– How about wine? It's a beverage that has evolved alongside human civilization, shaped by the grape variety, harvest timing, and aging methods. – Over millennia, it has been refined, driven by the desires and determination of producers and consumers to perfect its methods and results...
One step.
Another step...
"..."
Soon, the edge of the stage came into view.
I had reached just below the platform.
– Mr. Roe Deer, your steps are no different.
I lifted my head.
– In this show, boldness is essential. Without it, you vanish. – And Mr. Roe Deer, you've proven to be a participant who won't vanish. Ah, it's all coming back to me now. Yes... you were the MVP. – This time too, let's follow your desires and determination. Braun spoke cheerfully.
– Now, let's play our assigned roles brilliantly, shall we?
...
Right.
'Thank you.'
– Encouraging my crew is my specialty!
I was genuinely grateful.
I took a deep breath.
Though the smiling teachers' gazes landed on me again, it felt more bearable.
The whispers and phrases didn't burrow into my brain enough to overwhelm me with fear or contamination.
'Don't let fear consume me.'
I can do this.
I steadied myself and stood, looking up at the teachers crowded on the platform.
[New Teacher Eun Ha-je, please step onto the platform~] The execution had begun.
The kindergarten teachers stood in abundance atop the colorful, cheerful stage.
It looked as though an event was about to take place, but what they surrounded was an executioner's block.
A black execution scaffold.
At the scaffold, a black line extended straight ahead.
At the end of the line were assembled body parts.
Both legs, both arms, thighs, waist, chest, neck, and finally, a head. The moment the head appeared on the stage, the parts merged, and Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je exhaled deeply.
Then, looking at the teachers surrounding her, she clenched her teeth.
GOODBYE!
The teachers clapped gently with smiling faces.
Likely holding back a stream of expletives, Eun Ha-je's face was pale as she moved her feet.
Not by her own will.
The black holographic ropes forced her limbs to move, guiding her toward the scaffold amidst the crowd of teachers.
And then...
'This is the moment.'
Did you know?
Of course, any contact with the teacher chosen as the Hangman was strictly forbidden.
Any attempt to rescue them, even a last handshake or an item exchange, was prohibited.
Even if someone tried to risk a penalty, their actions would be blocked just before the attempt.
So, the only opportunity to act was during one specific moment... [The Hangman is ascending the scaffold! This is what happens when you guess correctly!]
When Eun Ha-je appeared on the stage and began ascending the scaffold, at the exact moment she passed directly beside the 'teachers'. Tuk.
One teacher gave her something.
"..."
Foreman Park Minseong, perfectly disguised as a kindergarten teacher, handed something to Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je.
Since Eun Ha-je's arms and legs were bound by ropes, she couldn't use them. Only small, movable parts of her body were functional. For example...
Her mouth.
The 'something' handed over in passing disappeared into Eun Ha-je's mouth in an instant.
As if nothing had happened.
Eun Ha-je continued walking, expressionless, and finally stepped onto the gallows.
This is where the second critical moment came.
[Now, let's begin the execution.]
'Braun!'
Now!
– Understood.
– Let's see your mask in a whole new light! Reframing the familiar... I frantically looked up at Eun Ha-je.
No change.
Thunk.
The black holographic rope around her neck gained physical form and texture.
[Hangman~!]
And then, it pulled upward.
'Damn it.'
I wanted to avert my gaze so badly, but I forced myself to watch, pretending to be unaffected.
The rope pulled with a disturbingly immense force, and then— Ting. Thud-thud-thud-thud...
"..."
The headless body tumbled down from the stage.
Thump.
The lifeless body part fell right in front of me, and I caught it. It was limp, devoid of any signs of life.
Then, it gradually faded until it completely vanished.
"..."
[The game has ended!]
[New teachers, please wait for your evaluation!]
"Ah, it's finally over."
"So you won the bet, Foreman Deer. Man, how'd you stop anyone from guessing twice?"
The other staff, who had been waiting at the back per the kindergarten's instruction to 'watch the Hangman's final moments in the playroom', approached with relieved sighs and complaints.
"..."
"Ah, is this your first time seeing a team member die?"
"Honestly, Eun Ha-je wasn't the kind of person who'd live long anyway." One of them gave my shoulder a light pat.
"Well... don't take it too hard, okay? She's dead now."
"..."
I smiled.
"...What?"
"Why are you smiling...?"
"She's not dead."
"What, what?"
"Huh?"
They stared at me like I'd lost my mind.
But then.
"Ugh, what is this?!"
Screams erupted from those who looked up at the stage. Not because they saw Eun Ha-je's severed head.
Rather...
"This, this!"
One of them pointed at the stage with a trembling voice.
"Why... is it a hand?"
Exactly.
"But, but it was definitely a head!"
I looked at Eun Ha-je's severed left hand lying on the stage and chuckled. I never thought I'd laugh at the sight of a severed body part, but I couldn't help it.
It worked!
– Ah, what a remarkable piece of craftsmanship!
– And what an amusing idea—switching the head and hand. Exactly.
The plan was to switch Eun Ha-je's head and hand while concealing it from everyone's eyes.
So during the execution, instead of her head, one of her hands would be severed!
– Using hands or feet to substitute for other body parts is a classic stage trick.
Braun, muttering about doing this only for a friend, was unexpectedly brilliant in this moment.
But this isn't over yet.
For the Hangman to 'escape', they have to die and leave as a corpse.
If Eun Ha-je had somehow survived the execution, the system would have noticed and enforced another way to follow the rules.
So...
– All I have to do is place this plum-sized apple in her mouth, right?
Foreman Park Minseong had been essential to the plan. While disguised as a teacher, in that fleeting moment that Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je passed by, what he had slipped into her mouth was none other than a Snow White Mountain Mini Apple.
It was an item I carried, designed to induce 'death-like sleep'. 'It was a stroke of luck that the wrist storage upgrade let me carry a whole apple instead of just juice.'
That's why I was able to give these instructions.
– Deputy Manager, when the apple enters your mouth as you ascend the scaffold, swallow the final piece just before your wrist is severed. – What?
– It will happen in that moment... That's all.
Eun Ha-je followed the instructions to the letter.
At the exact moment when her wrist—mistaken for her neck by everyone— was severed, Eun Ha-je swallowed the last piece of the apple.
This put her in a state identical to death.
Her body, now indistinguishable from a corpse, was recognized as having been 'executed as the Hangman' and successfully ejected from the ghost story.
Exactly.
Outside that outcome, no other possibility could have worked in this situation...!
...Success.
"Ha...!"
I pressed my hands against my face.
Even so, I wanted to leave and confirm his survival as soon as possible. What if someone mistook the body for a corpse and transported it away? It felt too early to feel catharsis or relief. I just wanted to get out of here quickly.
[The evaluation is ready!]
Thankfully, the TV displayed the final signal.
Soon, it would announce which participants contributed to completing the Hangman word and which didn't, assigning penalties or granting a pass accordingly.
From the looks of it, no one seemed contaminated enough to fail escaping. "Deer!"
As the teachers on the platform disappeared, Foreman Park Minseong finally jumped down from the stage.
"W-We did it, right?!"
"Yes."
"Waaaah!"
The Foreman collapsed onto the ground in relief and joy. "It was worth squeezing into that gap..."
Even though his face was pale, Park Minseong grinned earnestly as he finally removed the camouflage equipment.
"Foreman, you didn't guess a letter, so you'll probably get another penalty..."
"Ah, I can handle up to the second one."
As we had discussed earlier, the Foreman nodded, accepting the consequence.
"Honestly, it doesn't feel great, but... well, taking one penalty for missing a correct answer is way better than letting the Deputy Manager die! I'll stop at the second—there's no way I'll get a third, so I'll be fine..." [Goodness. Ding! Wrong!]
"..."
"..."
Wait, what?
[New teachers must remain at the bottom of the platform! Stepping onto the stage is prohibited.]
[As a penalty, you must read the handbook aloud for 10 minutes!] Park Minseong looked back up at the spot he had just stepped down from.
"...Ah."
The platform.
"I'm caught..."
And then, he was dragged away.