Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Cremong Restaurant
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Let's think of it this way.
The interior was more like an ordinary restaurant than I'd expected.
White tablecloths and candlelight, sparkling wine glasses.
Red curtains draped the walls, and a faint aroma of wine lingered in the air.
No view out the windows, just the light from the table candles reflecting gently off the glass.
And weaving through it all was the melody of a piano, its source unknown, filling the space.
I looked around slowly, without panic.
She did the same beside me, her movements familiar.
Neither of us spoke.
‘Where this place is.’
‘How we should proceed.’
No need to ask.
We'd already guessed, and avoided unnecessary actions.
Once I judged there were no immediate threats, my gaze naturally shifted forward.
In the center of the restaurant stood a single waiter, smiling.
Nothing odd about his face.
A neat but ordinary one.
At least on the surface, nothing grotesque.
Then, as if on cue—
The waiter approached slowly, smile intact.
As he drew closer, something I hadn't noticed before came into view.
Eyes devoid of any light.
Black, sunken glass beads for pupils, fixed on us.
‘…A doll.’
“Customers, this way, please.”
For now, I followed the waiter silently.
In rule anomalies, the most crucial thing to remember is this:
‘Never forget your role.’
Right now, we were customers who'd entered this anomaly.
The setting: a restaurant.
The approaching figure wore a waiter's uniform.
So we had to act like proper restaurant patrons.
Escape wasn't on my mind.
The view outside the window earlier had been pitch blackness.
From that, I predicted:
Simply entering and leaving the restaurant wouldn't end well.
Each step on the red rug brought a strange sensation underfoot.
Like stepping not on carpet, but something else.
I didn't look down.
The waiter stopped and indicated a seat.
Window side.
Two wine glasses sat on the table, half-filled with a dark liquid.
I sat without a word.
Across from me, she gave a slight bow of her head and took her seat.
Moments later, the waiter presented the menu.
At a glance, it looked normal.
Food photos, descriptions, prices.
But a closer look revealed the abnormalities right away.
[Picture]
Price: Thirteen fingers.
Description:
Clear broth made by simmering the spine bones of East Asians for a long time.
Slow-cooked over low heat until the marrow and oils fully melt into it, allowing you to savor every bit of nutrition without waste.
A dish made exclusively from those whose staples are rice and garlic. The broth is transparent yet deeply glossy, blending the sweetness of grains with the rich flavor of bone for a lingering aftertaste.
The words alone sounded like a normal dish description.
Except the ‘ingredients’ were human.
It was like appraising humans the way one would cattle or pigs.
And it got worse with each page.
The contents grew stranger and more grotesque.
Even the initially normal photos shifted to dishes with human brains or feet intact.
Once I'd checked it over, I quietly closed the menu.
I'd already confirmed the rulebook's presence.
Two taps on the table.
Tap—tap.
Then I flipped the menu upside down and turned the pages backward.
The previous contents vanished, replaced by something new.
The text gradually emerged.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
You have entered Area 103-KRE-11.
'Cremong Restaurant’ anomaly.
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━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
This space is not an ordinary restaurant.
Known as the 'Cremong Restaurant.'
The ‘meals’ served here demand your body as payment.
Jewelry or currency you possessed before entering this space are not valid here.
Memorize the rules.
Take proper actions.
Wrong choices and decisions are made at the cost of your life.
Violations may result in—
Mental corruption, bodily harm, or erasure.
The Anomaly Management Bureau bears no responsibility.
This guide is valid only within the restaurant.
[Cremong Restaurant Anomaly — Rulebook]
Rule 1. Do not ask the waiter detailed questions about the “menu” items on the menu.
If conversation begins, they will be pleased with your curiosity and bring even larger portions.
Rule 2. Always respond to the waiter with a smile.
Rule 3. When the shadows of objects on the table number three, extinguish the table's flame and hold your breath briefly.
Rule 4. If the menu includes “Today's Guest,” you must select it.
This is the escape route with the highest survival rate.
When the food arrives, you must somehow dispose of everything on the plate.
Rule 5. Always take the receipt after the meal.
Failure to do so may alter the bill.
Rule 6. Maintain formal etiquette befitting the restaurant.
Escape method: Complete all meals and pay the proper price.
Note: This anomaly is influenced by the flag at the entrance upon entry, so refer to it when consuming food.
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This rulebook felt slightly different from the ones I'd seen before.
After checking it, I looked up.
She sat across from me, staring back.
She held the menu upside down in her hands.
She'd already finished reading.
Her gaze asked what to do next.
Our eyes exchanged signals rapidly.
A brief moment of eye contact.
That's when the waiter approached.
Same smile as before.
“Have you decided on your orders?”
Seeing her nod slightly toward me, I spoke up immediately.
“…Two ‘Today's Guest,’ please.”
My voice echoed, and the candle flickered for a moment.
The restaurant's music cut off abruptly.
The waiter's smile widened slowly.
“…An excellent choice.”
The candle reignited.
The brief darkness vanished like a lie.
As if nothing had happened, the waiter said,
“Your meals will be ready shortly.”
Moments later.
A savory aroma accompanied the steaks placed on our table.
Sizzling steaks.
The knife sliced through the meat smoothly along the grain.
Blood pooled, but strangely, it wasn't repulsive or unpleasant.
Of course, I had no intention of eating it.
Once the waiter walked away, I stopped what I was doing.
The escape method stated that making the food disappear somehow would get us out of the anomaly.
Eat it, discard it, burn it—whatever.
I let out a small breath.
We're almost through at this point.
“…Easier than I thought.”
I set down my fork and looked ahead.
She remained silent.
But I could see her brow furrowed subtly.
Her hand stretched under the table.
Something felt off.
“…What are you doing right now?”
My voice trembled low.
She looked up at me suspiciously, as if wondering why I was asking something so obvious.
Her foot slowly extended toward mine.
I glanced down accordingly.
Just in case something was there.
Under the table.
She was untying her shoelaces.
Slowly—
Then she removed her shoe and carefully placed it beside her on the floor.
She looked up again.
A strange smugness on her face.
A vein pulsed on my forehead.
Patience.
Just in case.
“May I ask why—”
Her shoulders squared even more proudly.
“Well…”
The approaching waiter's gaze shifted from continuing the sentence to the floor.
“How is today's meal me...nu...”
The ceiling lights flickered all at once.
The waiter's eyes locked onto her bare foot, toes wiggling shoeless.
In an instant, his form swelled grotesquely.
His ordinary voice twisted into a scream-like wail.
■■■ ■■ ■■■■ ■■ ■■■■■■■■■■!
The restaurant's scenery collapsed in a flash.
Curtains flipped upward.
Countless hands crawled out from beneath the red rug.
The man—Harima—grabbed his senior by the waist and bolted without looking back.
A scream escaped his senior.
Waaahh—
...
“Too bad, Senior. In Korea, just like Japan, staff greet first, and customers don't remove their shoes upon entering. We're right next door geographically—our cultures aren't that different.”
At that explanation.
Narita's shoulders slumped dejectedly.
***
[Exiting the broadcast you were watching.]
The woman who'd drawn a number ticket approached.
“They said it'll be our turn soon, Do-yoon.”
Tilting her head toward my phone curiously, Kang Su-ji asked.
Her curiosity was plain to see.
“You've been watching so intently—what is it? Looked like some restaurant.”
I smiled faintly and replied.
“…It's just a pretty entertaining broadcast.”