Chapter 236
Chapter 236
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 236
Chapter Title: Village Bus 44
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1
My jobs were truly diverse.
In the last episode, I got hired as a “DJ producer.” Depending on the cycle, I’ve moonlighted as a convenience store owner, O Dok-seo’s editor, Dang Seo-rin’s personal secretary, an academy instructor, a café barista—you name it, I’ve done a truly wide range of occupations.
Making a lifetime living off one job is tough, so juggling side gigs, multiple jobs, or N-jobs has always been the same, past or present. How could a regressor possibly sidestep this massive trend?
However, even amidst all that, my true profession has always been just one thing: Undertaker.
The one who buries corpses.
Today, let’s talk about my main line of work for the first time in ages.
2
[Undertaker. An anomaly has been observed.]
One day, the Saintess said.
True to form for someone who picks up on incidents faster than the “eternal elementary school glasses-wearing detective” or the “youth whose grandfather’s honor is infinite,” she’d sniffed out something eerie.
“What’s going on?”
[Head to National Highway Management Corps HQ for now. Someone there will explain.]
So I did.
There was a wide open lot in front of the Management Corps HQ, called Babel Square since the HQ’s nickname was the Babel Tower.
The moment I arrived at the square, I realized what the Saintess meant by “anomaly.”
“…A green village bus?”
Something that hadn’t been there before was parked smack in the middle of the square.
The side was a bit dented, but aside from that, it looked like a perfectly intact village bus.
“Ah. Your Excellency the Undertaker, you’ve arrived.”
Murmur murmur—.
Management Corps members were already gathered in front of the green village bus. Yoo Ji-won spotted me first and saluted.
“Yeah. What’s the situation?”
“We haven’t figured it out yet. One of our members found it early this morning on the way to work.”
“It wasn’t there last night?”
“No. The last employee to leave clocked out at 4 a.m., and the area in front of HQ was empty then. It appeared between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m.—a two-hour window.”
I glanced obliquely up at the sky.
[Yoo Ji-won’s right.]
…Which meant the village bus had suddenly dropped out of thin air.
Moving a vehicle this size would require fuel to drive it or an Awakener to carry it.
If fuel was used, there would’ve been witnesses. Engine noise, visibility—you couldn’t miss it.
Conversely, if an Awakener snuck it in, the Saintess’s [Clairvoyance] would’ve caught it. She shared sight with Awakeners 24/7.
The conclusion was simple.
“It’s definitely a grotesque, at least.”
“Yes. We confirmed it takes damage when struck from outside.”
You’re the one who dented the side, huh.
“What about the inside? Scouted it yet?”
“No, no one’s entered yet. I just got the call and came in.”
“Good thing. It might be a trap disguised as an intact exterior.”
“Ah. Such wise and righteous caution. Just give the order, and I’ll destroy it immediately, Your Excellency.”
I rubbed my chin, pondering briefly.
“No, destroying it outright feels off. Grab me a death row inmate, any one.”
“You mean this? I’ll fetch one right away.”
Soon, a prisoner dragged from sweet dawn sleep was hauled in.
The death row inmate, who’d been wearing a “Mom, just 10 more minutes…” face, snapped awake the instant he saw Yoo Ji-won and me.
“Gwaaaah! Spare me! Please spare me!”
“Toss him inside the bus.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
“Please spare me! I’m sorry! I really, truly messed up! Just let me live, pleeeaaase!”
Yoo Ji-won’s clean three-pointer shot.
With impressive boldness, the prisoner—who’d killed seven elderly patients targeting No Do-ha’s prosthetics and braces—was flung into the bus.
Pssshhh—.
As the inmate entered, the bus doors closed on their own. The death row inmate frantically clung to the door, pounding the glass.
-Spare me! Spare…
His struggles didn’t last long.
Splat! The glass door turned red.
The inmate’s body had burst, splattering the automatic door red.
From swelling to explosion, not even a second passed, so most people probably didn’t even register the process.
“Whoa. What was that? Did you see it?”
“Nope, not at all.”
The Management Corps members gathered in front of the bus were startled too.
I shrugged.
“It’s a trap type, confirmed.”
“As expected of Your Excellency. A wise and decisive call. Thanks to your precise orders, the National Highway Management Corps has efficiently expended expendable manpower.”
“If anything like this village bus pops up again, issue a warning in the Corps’ name: absolutely no entry. Post it on SG Net too.”
“Your Excellency worries for the masses and spares effort even for post-incident management—a stance worthy of eternal praise across millennia…”
“Not in front of the kids, or I won’t go easy.”
“Was that too much?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll keep it more succinct next time.”
I left the grotesque I arbitrarily named “Village Bus 44” and went about my business.
The next day.
I was leisurely browsing SG Net at my hideout café. A heartwarming post had gone up after ages.
-TodayIJoined: My dad’s health is backㅎㅎ
-He’s always had heart issues, but today his condition seems great. It’s the healthiest he’s been since the Saintess from the North healed him once^^
-Dad says he received tons of support and cheers from SG Net members. I joined today to say thanks after hearing that.
-Tough times, hard days, but let’s get through it together. Thanks. Fighting!
I nodded.
“Hm.”
Good story.
For reference, “TodayIJoined” was Lee Joo-ho’s nickname. Lee Joo-ho was the young guy who’d tagged along with me the first time I went to scold Goryeo Jang villain.
I was feeling heartened that he seemed to take good care of his father when a voice echoed in my head.
[Sorry to interrupt your break, Undertaker.]
“No worries at all. What’s up?”
[Village Bus 44 has vanished.]
“Pardon?”
I tilted my head.
“Vanished? I told them to park it near Management Corps HQ. Unless the kids screwed up…”
[No. It was parked there as you ordered. They took turns standing watch, monitoring nonstop.]
[It still disappeared.]
I furrowed my brow.
“That’s odd. Did it go missing during a watch shift change, in that brief gap?”
[No. Even shorter.]
[A guard was standing watch and glanced away for just a moment at something else, and poof—the bus evaporated.]
“…”
It literally evaporated, apparently.
The assigned guard was diligent, following protocol to the letter, never slacking even against a grotesque he deemed neutralized.
He’d set a plastic chair right in front of Village Bus 44 and never budged from it.
But then, hearing kids laughing on the far side of the square, he glanced over with a fond smile—and…
By the time he looked back, the bus was gone.
[No one saw it vanish. Not Awakeners, not civilians.]
“…Eerie.”
I stroked my chin.
“No other oddities besides the disappearance? Damage around it?”
[No. No reports of harm so far.]
“Then… Hm. Feels a bit iffy, but we can leave it be.”
[Really?]
“Yeah. The village bus exterior is unique, but it’s a classic trap type. Traps are most dangerous before triggering. Once people know and avoid them, they’re harmless. Just stay alert if another bus shows up.”
[Got it.]
The incident seemed resolved for now.
But afterward, “Village Bus 44” kept popping up nationwide.
In Yeongwol with its small community one time, at some bus stop in Incheon another, reappearing in Busan too.
We couldn’t always prevent casualties.
Awakeners could warn in the Constellations’ name, but if civilians spotted it first, nothing to be done.
Victims, hoping for scrap metal or usable junk, opened the door and turned to mush in seconds.
In those cases, the bus evaporated again within a day, making it hard to even notice deaths occurred.
‘What grotesque is behind this bus thing?’
I pondered.
…The first thing “bus” brought to mind was the Knight Bus from [Harry Potter].
But no commonalities with Village Bus 44. Ruled out.
Bus (vehicle) and bus (verse) sound identical in Korean.
Universe, multiverse, metaverse—plenty of “-verse” words to link to.
But still unrelated to Village Bus 44.
Maybe passengers who board get whisked to another world? Dunno. On hold.
…When Seongsu Bridge collapsed, a bus plunged in, killing the driver and many passengers.
But if tied to that tragedy, it’d appear near bridges, not randomly.
Hard to link to Village Bus 44. Ruled out.
‘Tricky. No clue.’
I mulled it over long after, but bus-related grotesques weren’t coming to mind.
I could board Village Bus 44 myself, sacrificing to uncover the truth… But bluntly, the risk wasn’t worth it.
At most, one or two deaths per appearance.
Sorry to the victims, but grotesques causing this level of harm were a dime a dozen.
Too many high-risk ones without solutions to waste my life on goblin-tier trash mobs.
Just a nagging unease in my gut.
‘Guess I’ll have to sit it out.’
Sigh—.
To clear my head lightly, I logged into SG Net.
Before writing my Three Kingdoms edutainment post, I skimmed today’s recommendations.
-Anonymous: A miracle happened in our family! Thought my sibling’s illness was hopeless, but since yesterday morning, their lungs don’t hurt at all…
-Anonymous: Holy shit, my mom can seeㅋㅋㅋ Eyes blinded by a grotesque 5 years ago, now she sees my face?ㅋㅋㅋ Crying about how skinny I got the second her sight returnedㅋㅋ Kids, remember when our dog died and I secretly got a lookalike and hid it pretending it lived?ㅋㅋ Busted if Mom finds out now??
-TodayIJoined: Dad update! Walked and jogged together today! Totally healthyㅎㅎ
“Hmm.”
Browsing the recommendations eased my mind a bit. Lately, SG Net had more heartwarming tales, hadn’t it?
‘Didn’t happen in past cycles. Maybe a new grotesque affecting people…’
That’s when it hit.
“Huh?”
A ridiculous hypothesis flashed.
I hurriedly pulled out my red T-shirt and waved it in the air—a quick-signal for the Saintess.
[What’s wrong?]
“Saintess. Any idea how many have died to Village Bus 44 so far?”
[…Not exact, but confirmed deaths: 5. Assuming 3-day intervals, add 2 to 4 more for safety.]
“Thanks.”
Roughly 7 to 11.
I searched SG Net.
Including posts I’d missed, four matched “family suddenly healed.”
Affected parts: heart, lungs, cornea, pancreas.
Posters were all Awakeners, naturally.
Meaning, if we factor in non-Awakener civilians suddenly healed—.
[Why the sudden question?]
“…Saintess. I might’ve figured out Village Bus 44’s true nature.”
Incurable disease cure.
Or more precisely.
“Organ harvesting. A grotesque that auto-transplants and heals.”