Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 013
Chapter Title: Boogey Boogey Boogey (5)
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A haunted mansion filled with evil spirits. A situation like no other.
A blonde girl humming a tune to herself as she descended the stairs from the scene of a fatal accident where a human had died.
Any sane person could tell that Emily right now was far from normal.
And then Smith's disciple stepped forward and spoke.
"E-Emily! In that thin nightgown... without even shoes... your legs are all exposed!"
My face twisted immediately at Kim Suhyun's behavior.
'Damn it, looks like we had a lunatic in our midst after all.'
He seemed seriously displeased at the idea of another man seeing Emily's bare skin.
Now's the time to worry about that...?
Emily playfully lifted one pale leg and wiggled her foot at Suhyun's trembling gaze.
"What's wrong? You like my legs, don't you? You always sneak peeks when Grandpa's not looking~."
"N-No, that's not—!"
"You didn't think I hadn't noticed? That hurts my feelings."
Suhyun tried to deny it, but his eyes were glued to Emily's dainty wiggling toes.
Smith watched the scene in shock and let out a sigh.
"...E-Emily."
Everyone has their fetishes, and I didn't care about the time Emily, Smith, and Suhyun had spent together.
But letting ourselves get swept up like this wasn't good. To change the subject, I nodded toward the chandelier and spoke.
It was necessary anyway.
"For now, even if the police can't get here, let's cover the bodies with tablecloths or sheets or something. We can't just leave them like that."
"·········."
At my words—Yohan's words—Emily smirked mockingly before slipping delicately behind Suhyun.
"...I'm tired. I need to rest."
And Suhyun said in a trembling voice,
"She must be shaken from seeing the bodies... Emily seems confused, so I'll take her somewhere to rest."
Smith staggered toward Emily.
"Yohan, I'm sorry. I'm worried about Emily, so I'll stay with her too."
Fine, whatever. Even if it was haunted by evil spirits, leaving his granddaughter alone with a disciple who got excited over her legs would be worrying.
Pastor Go Juwon hesitated for a moment, glanced at the body under the chandelier,
fiddled with his cross, and joined Smith.
"I-I'm worried about Smith and Miss Emily too, so I'll stick with you."
I blinked as I watched the group taking Emily away.
Did they need that many people just to escort her to the infirmary?
Who was going to clean up the bodies, our ancestors?
-The retort nearly reached my throat, but it was pointless, so I held it back.
I looked up at the sticky, unpleasant air that was now unmistakably palpable.
The shaman had been the first affected, that was all.
The others weren't in their right minds either.
...Not all of them, though.
I lowered my gaze to Ellie, who knelt before the chandelier praying for the dead shaman.
"Lord, remember the dead, and grant them peace and rest."
Her pretty black hair fully exposed.
A fake nun without her veil, but her voice was solemn, poignant, and tender.
Ellie finished her prayer and stood.
"I want to help Emily. She's clearly not right."
She said to me with resolute determination.
"So I want professional help. Please help us, Ghostbuster."
The unexpected title made my face slacken for a moment.
"Huh?"
The maid, who'd been watching cautiously, joined in too.
"O-Others might laugh, but... I believe you. You seem the calmest and most reliable... so."
The offhand "Ghostbuster" comment I'd made earlier in the kitchen to lighten the mood.
I sighed inwardly.
...Come on, you're really buying that?
But there was no need to shatter the trust I'd gained, so I went with it.
I'd come here to exorcise evil spirits and earn thirty million won, after all.
I turned to Ellie and the maid...
"What's your name?"
"Ah, Kim Sora."
I said to Ellie and Sora,
"First, grab something to cover the bodies... and anything that could work as a censer?"
I gripped my grimoire and gazed out the window at the raging blizzard.
I'd prepared this and that, but...
I wasn't into cheap horror flicks.
Contrived plots and all that crap.
After covering the bodies with spare bedsheets draped over the fallen chandelier,
new maid Kim Sora mentioned that among the artworks and antiques Smith had received as gifts from friends, there was something that looked like a censer, so Ellie and Sora went to fetch it.
"If we delay any longer, it'll get dangerous, so I'll grab the bag with the tools I need from my room."
I stopped by my room to pick up the bag with my robe and holy water.
And since I was alone,
I decided to try the grimoire's search function, just like when it had taught me black magic.
No telling if it had info on evil spirits, but it couldn't hurt.
I pondered how to use it,
but the moment I focused, the grimoire's pages flipped open on their own.
"Evil spirit under the bed... the Boogeyman, huh."
Though right now it was inside Emily instead of under a bed.
With what I needed in hand, I headed up to the second-floor stairs to rejoin the others.
"·········."
A chill wind made me turn my head slightly toward the dark hallway where Emily's room was.
Smith's disciple Kim Suhyun... emerged, clutching a kitchen knife in one hand.
What the hell had the possessed Emily said to him in that short time?
His eyes glared at me with pure malice.
Eh, whatever the evil spirit said. Not that curious. Suhyun wasn't in his right mind anyway.
Probably promised him the body if he killed me or something.
Still, out of courtesy, I spoke to Suhyun in a calm voice.
"Suhyun, snap out of it. If you care about Emily, then more than anyone, you should know she's not herself right now—."
"Shut up shut up shut up! Emily's mine! I've hated your lecherous eyes from the start! I'll kill you! Damn old fart Emily's mine her toes between every one mine who the hell actually respects a relic like you hand over Emily."
...Looks like it wasn't Emily he liked, but her body and toes.
"What a freak."
Never thought I'd learn someone else's sexual preferences I didn't want to know and get stabbed, all at once.
"Dieeee!"
Kim Suhyun lunged, thrusting the knife forward.
Sensing his master's danger, Grizzly burst from the grimoire.
He swatted Suhyun mid-charge like swatting a fly—with his palm.
Following his master's prior orders.
The intent was to subdue him moderately. But the direction was unfortunate.
Thwack—Crunch!
Suhyun slammed into the railing, which shattered, sending him tumbling to the first floor.
And the angle of the fall was bad too.
Crack—!!
His neck snapped clean, killing him instantly.
Smith's disciple Kim Suhyun deceased.
"·········."
Grizzly and I peeked over the broken railing at Suhyun's corpse below.
"...Fuck."
"...Grah."