Chapter 43
Chapter 43
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Bait
-----------------------------------------------------------------
They decided to ask the villagers about the incident from five years ago.
An entity that appeared on the last day of the festival, made nine people vanish, and then disappeared.
Investigating that entity felt like it would lead to clues about the second tool.
"Let's start by asking the lady at the restaurant."
Se-hwa said as she stood up from her seat.
The restaurant was packed with people there for lunch.
Everyone wore happy smiles as they ate with family or friends.
Watching this, it felt just like a peaceful rural village straight out of a painting.
But something unsettling had happened in this very restaurant.
When Se-hwa was talking to the owner, every single person in the restaurant had been staring at her.
No matter how you looked at it, that scene wasn't normal.
"Here's the payment. And I have a question—do you have a moment?"
Se-hwa asked as she paid for lunch.
A puzzled expression crossed the restaurant owner's face.
"What is it?"
"How long have you been working here?"
"Over twenty years, at least. Compared to the other shops around here, that's still pretty young."
The kind-faced owner smiled proudly, emphasizing her words.
"Short history, but it's the most popular restaurant in the village."
"Impressive!"
Se-hwa tossed out a light compliment to win her over.
Then she asked the real question she'd planned.
"The entity incident that happened in this village five years ago. Do you know anything about it?"
The owner's expression darkened for a split second.
The shadow vanished in an instant, replaced by her usual kindly demeanor.
"A tragic event.... But how does a tourist like you know about it? It wasn't that famous."
"I got curious and looked it up online. Do you know any details? I couldn't find much there, and now I'm really interested."
Se-hwa chose her words carefully and asked gently.
Upon hearing the question, the owner avoided Se-hwa's eyes, staring off at some distant point behind her shoulder.
"An entity appeared during the finale of the festival, and nine people went missing. Poor souls...."
The owner explained the incident.
But it was all common knowledge anyone could find online—nothing new.
"Anything else? Like what the entity looked like, or details on the victims—anything related to the incident."
"I was busy running the restaurant, so I didn't see it myself. It's all just rumors I heard, so I can't really say much. And it's not exactly happy news."
Se-hwa tried to dig deeper, but got nothing more.
Wondering if the diners would stare again, she scanned the room, but this time everyone was just eating normally, ignoring her.
"Thank you for answering."
Se-hwa ended the conversation without much gain.
As she stepped outside, her smartphone buzzed.
"Call from the rental company. They're bringing a new car. Let's go pick it up."
They headed to the lodging where they'd parked, waited a bit, and the rental company employee arrived.
He gave a brief apology, handed over the new car, and towed away the broken one.
"Now we can head out."
"But we should investigate the village more."
"Exactly what I was thinking, right, Seo-hwa? There's definitely something off about this place."
Despite the new car, no plans to leave materialized.
Se-hwa suggested asking the lodging owner about the five-year-old incident while they were there.
They went back inside and questioned the elderly woman at the counter.
"Do you know anything about the entity incident during the festival five years ago?"
The old woman repeated what they already knew.
No new info again—just another dead end.
After that, they wandered the village, asking around.
But everyone gave the exact same answers, like they'd rehearsed it. No new leads.
"Ugh. How is it we haven't learned a single thing?"
Se-hwa stretched as she spoke.
The endless stagnation was getting to me too.
"No progress at all. Feels like we're stuck in a bottomless swamp."
Days had passed since arriving, but not even a trace of the entity.
The festival info was something, but no guarantee it tied to the second tool.
"Guess we just wait for the Kuiscaus Festival tomorrow."
Se-hwa slumped her shoulders in exhaustion.
The festival did start tomorrow.
Waiting it out would clarify things—entity shows or nothing happens, direction set.
But that wasn't my style.
"Shall we call out the hiding entity?"
Waiting's boring.
"Huh? What?"
"Sitting around for the festival is dull. Why not lure it out first?"
Se-hwa's eyes widened in shock.
"I-Is that even possible?"
"Not guaranteed."
Hearing that, Se-hwa realized I wasn't joking.
Her slumped shoulders straightened up.
"Dangerous? If it is, better not. Festival's only two days away anyway."
"Not dangerous at all."
"...Really?"
"Yeah, super safe."
Se-hwa eyed me suspiciously despite my assurance.
She deals with entities daily, but luring one terrifies her?
"Se-hwa, just watch from back. I'll handle it."
"Mm. Okay. I trust you, Seo-hwa. Let's do it."
"Need supplies to summon the entity."
We scoured the village shops with Se-hwa, gathering bait supplies.
Once ready, we settled in a quiet, empty lot.
"Kinda eerie vibe here."
The deserted lot contrasted sharply with the bustling village, giving off a chilling air.
Time to prepare the ritual.
"From chatting with villagers, one thing stood out. The entity appeared on the festival's last day."
I stacked kindling into a small pile.
"Specifically during the bonfire finale. Everyone said the same."
I placed human-shaped dolls in a circle around the bonfire spot.
"Mimicking the festival ritual. Arrange similarly, add a trick, and it might fool the entity."
Se-hwa watched from a few steps back as I set up.
Kindling and dolls roughly replicated the bonfire event.
Finally, I lit the fire. Flames roared up, heat washing over us.
"Copied the event's look. Not perfect, but with bait, it might work."
Entities sense differently than humans.
Unlike sight-reliant humans, they perceive in unique ways.
Hair, breath, blood—things they universally detect and crave.
I pulled out my special entity bait.
Crushed it and sprinkled over the dolls around the fire.
"D-Did it work?"
"Yeah. Now we wait for it to bite."
The entity that vanished nine villagers five years ago.
Not a whiff despite searching everywhere.
Waiting for it to take the bait.
Kugugugu—.
The ground trembled faintly.
Se-hwa didn't notice.
Something rose from underground, subtle vibrations giving it away.
Underground—that's why no scent.
Snap.
A hand burst from the earth, grabbing a doll.
The doll vanished underground in a flash.
"Huh? W-What was that? The doll just disappeared!"
Se-hwa missed the hand.
"Entity's hooked. Looks like a mole."
Time for fun mole hunting.