Chapter 366
Chapter 366
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 366
Chapter Title: Strange Invitation
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‘To fulfill this~ particular wish of yours, you must summon a being from the abyss.’
A cliché that’s overused in [Cthulhu World].
In short, just crazy talk.
I openly gathered my mana in preparation for Gong Yi-su suddenly screaming “Kieeeek!” or something—
But Gong Yi-su just kept blabbering on in his defenseless posture.
“Junior, hear me out to the end before you judge. To the end.”
Ha—
What to do?
It was probably nonsense not worth hearing anyway, but brushing it off carelessly…
“Hmm… Fine. Let’s hear it.”
This might be the prelude to yet another classic cliché.
The one where the protagonist listens to the cultist all the way through—then bursts into mad laughter and agrees to his proposal.
“Good to see a positive reaction.”
“You’re probably thinking, ‘A cautious response, that’s worrisome.’”
“Nice to see a reaction just like Kim Shin-hwa.”
“Haa—”
Gong Yi-su watched my sigh and spoke in a leisurely tone.
“The butler makes some great food.”
What random nonsense is he on about?
But—
The story that followed was more plausible than I expected.
“Ah… I know what you’re talking about. But there’s a problem, right?”
“I know what problem you mean, Junior. Let me tell you what Kim Shin-hwa said.”
That damn Kim Shin-hwa again.
To this Gong Yi-su, [Kim Shin-hwa] isn’t me.
In some ways, he seems like a cultist worshiping the conceptual entity known as [Kim Shin-hwa].
“Listen closely—”
Gong Yi-su told another new story.
This might actually…
“Really?”
“Really. I even experimented with it in the future. Now I get why that time—and why this time.”
“I get it, but—”
We talked at length.
And in the end, I decided to accept Gong Yi-su’s proposal.
“Uhahahaha!”
“Junior, what’s that? Why are you laughing like that?”
“Just felt like it fit the mood, so I tried a mad cackle.”
“My face is a camera, so I’m not great at reading expressions? Right now, I’m looking at you like you’re insane.”
“I’ll remember that expression.”
Anyway, for this plan, Gong Yi-su would need to stay at the [Hungry Manor] for a few days…
“…”
Still makes me uneasy.
I need to make sure Gong Yi-su doesn’t become [the future Kim Shin-hwa] who rewinds time for the fourth time.
* * *
Ten days and a week had passed since the day Kim Shin-hwa accepted Gong Yi-su’s proposal.
“Hmm…”
Im Hee-young, a combat civil servant with the Foreigner Management Agency’s Special Team 1, looked around and spoke to her junior, Bae Jin-woo.
“Come on, hurry up. It’s a small mountain less than 400 meters in radius. We could walk it in no time.”
“Argh—Senior, you’re enhanced physically, so it’s easy for you, but I’m dying here. Please take it slow.”
After waiting briefly for Bae Jin-woo, Im Hee-young prodded him.
“What do you think?”
“Senior, this place is insane. No joke. The yin energy, the mana, the terrain’s all eerie—and this unnaturally thick chill, you feel it too, right?”
Bae Jin-woo’s voice came out in a rush.
“Yeah. Doesn’t seem easy here.”
“Easy? No way. My detection’s already saturated—I’m telling you, if I scream and run, don’t blame me, okay?”
It was Bae Jin-woo, whose detection skills were exceptional.
Im Hee-young, whose own detection was relatively weaker, tightened the belts on the leather gauntlets equipped on her hands and asked carefully.
“Quit whining—how is it? Can we go deeper? Say no, and we’ll head back.”
The forest had a dangerous vibe even someone without superhuman senses could feel.
Trees so dense it was unnatural.
Darkness thick in every direction.
And from somewhere—
An eerie—
Whooo—
Meeeooow—
Nyaa—
Beast cries?
No, cat sounds?
Harbinger of supernatural phenomena? Or a sign that it’s safe enough for cats and small animals to survive?
“Hmm…”
Bae Jin-woo made a sound like he was concentrating, then slowly spoke.
“Seems okay. Let’s go a bit further—a bit more. No big issues.”
“Got it. But speak up if anything happens.”
Crunch—crunch.
They say you get used to it with experience, but right now, she really couldn’t adapt.
“Is it okay just the two of us?”
“It’ll be fine. We’re not chasing something massive, right?”
Bae Jin-woo’s voice, as if to reassure Im Hee-young.
“Well, if it were really dangerous, they wouldn’t send just us two.”
“Exactly. But Senior, stay sharp. This isn’t some other district—it’s [Paju]. Even the higher-ups can’t predict everything here.”
Hearing that, Im Hee-young frowned slightly.
‘Not wrong.’
People from other regions often wondered how anyone could live in a place like ‘Paju’.
A city right up against that horrific Great Wall.
A bizarre district packed with places that would’ve been sealed off with barriers and restricted to civilians long ago anywhere else.
Countless cultist strongholds you couldn’t even tally.
Ancient ruins that weren’t there yesterday but pop up overnight.
Heterogeneous races forming settlements everywhere.
Fixers strutting around openly armed.
Criminal syndicates using rocket launchers and machine guns instead of knives or fists, stirring up civil war-level chaos.
And so on—
Endless problems, but Paju was still a place where people lived.
As someone born and raised in Paju, Im Hee-young always felt a twinge of discomfort whenever outsiders put extra emphasis on [Paju].
“Senior—?”
“Even in [Paju], what could happen on a tiny mountain like this? Should be no big deal to the pension.”
Im Hee-young walked a bit faster, as if to prove her point.
“Plus, the fact that rumors about the pension are circulating means someone made it there and back, right? Don’t you think?”
“You’re right, Senior. Anyway, for Team Leader Yang Seo-ho’s sake, we gotta do our best.”
Bae Jin-woo’s voice carried a hint of amusement.
Suddenly, Im Hee-young felt something off.
“Team leader?”
“Didn’t hear that?”
“Didn’t we come to Paju with our team leader?”
“Yeah—we did.”
“Right. Wasn’t it just the two of us?”
Didn’t the team leader say groups of three?
“Three including the team leader? Or four with him?”
An obviously strange question.
But Im Hee-young didn’t notice anything odd in Bae Jin-woo’s question and kept walking.
“Hmm… Three? Or four?”
“Ah, three it is. Groups of three including Team Leader Yang Seo-ho.”
“I see.”
“Team leader went on ahead, so we fell behind. We should hurry to that pension.”
“Oh, right?”
“Can’t stop. If we’re too late, the team leader might… you know.”
“Yeah. Let’s hurry. But which way?”
“The pension. Remember. Pension.”
“Right. Heading to the pension.”
Rustle—swish rustle—
The sound of grass crunching underfoot.
Meeeooow—meoooow—
Cat cries echoing again.
Endless trees stretching on.
“Jin-woo.”
“Yes.”
“Why are we going to the pension again?”
“Weird rumors from Odo-dong brought us here, right?”
“Ah, Odo-dong.”
Odo-dong, Paju City.
A small neighborhood in Paju City.
And Jangmyeongsan, the mountain Im Hee-young was traversing, sat right next to Odo-dong.
Administratively, Jangmyeongsan was nestled within Odo-dong.
While investigating an incident, Im Hee-young and Bae Jin-woo had spoken with locals and heard rumors about a pension on Jangmyeongsan.
That’s why they came here—
‘Wait, something’s off? Doesn’t match what I just talked about with Jin-woo?’
A hazy memory.
“Senior, nothing strange at all. It’s a simple investigation.”
“Yeah, simple investigation.”
“If something weird’s going on, we investigate.”
Im Hee-young was a combat civil servant with the Foreigner Management Agency, tasked with tracking down bizarre phenomena or alien entities across regions for ‘capture’ or ‘elimination’.
Confirming suspicious info meant investigating—it was standard procedure.
So Im Hee-young felt she needed to go deeper.
“Jin-woo, the vibe’s getting weirder. You sure it’s okay?”
“It’s fine. Keep going.”
“Got it.”
‘Feels like we shouldn’t go deeper.’
But Im Hee-young felt she needed to go deeper.
‘Why?’
Some intuition she couldn’t put into words.
“Jin-woo, got a bad feeling. Guess we should check a bit further.”
“Exactly.”
Im Hee-young stared straight ahead without looking at Jin-woo.
“Jin-woo—”
She tried to turn and check on Jin-woo, but for some reason, didn’t.
“Jin-woo?”
She kept staring ahead.
“Jin…”
No need to worry.
“No need to worry.”
Keep going.
“Gotta keep going.”
Im Hee-young walked through Jangmyeongsan’s forest without a care.
“Jin-woo…?”
She’d come alone from the start—no need to look for a partner or make noise.
“…”
Now for the important part.
Im Hee-young walked on in silence.
It was clearly a small mountain, but the path seemed endless. Only after sunset did she finally reach the pension she’d sought.
A massive mansion of impressive scale.
Unclear if it was intentional, but anyway.
Now, knock.
No problem.
Act like a normal guest, and they’ll welcome you kindly.
Knock knock—
Im Hee-young knocked on the pension door.
Creeeak—
A young man with long, dyed blond hair opened it. Tall and handsome. Im Hee-young felt an inexplicable fondness for this stranger.
“…”
Feel fond. Smile and wait for his question.
“Are you a guest?”
Nod and say you’re a guest.
“Yes. A guest.”
“Oh dear…”
The blond man looked troubled for a moment, then shouted toward the interior.
“Wizard! Another guest’s here!”
No reply from the wizard.
The man glanced at Im Hee-young awkwardly, then forced a smile.
“Uh—come on in?”
She followed him inside.
Im Hee-young looked uneasy for a second, but relaxed with a sigh of relief upon seeing Bae Jin-woo already seated in the living room.
Yeah, everything’s fine.
“Now, guests. Time to prepare pasta for you.”
A man’s voice came from the kitchen.
“To ensure you stay safely at our pension, there are rules you must follow. I’ll explain them now.”