Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Secrets of the Mansion
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Following the butler who came out to guide us, we entered the mansion.
A dazzling chandelier and artwork welcomed us.
The skinny old man who introduced himself as the mansion's butler adjusted his glasses and spoke to me.
“Have you received word about our request?”
“Yes. People working at the mansion keep disappearing?”
“Correct. Just this month, we've already lost six new hires....”
The butler shook his head.
Following him to the innermost room, we entered what appeared to be a reception hall.
It was luxurious enough to call a king's audience chamber.
The grand space had various weapons hung on the walls. By their size, they didn't look like weapons for humans.
They were bigger than me, after all.
Red petals were scattered across the red carpet stretching from the entrance. On either side of the carpet stood rows of gold ornaments.
Step. Step. Step.
At the end of the red carpet sat the mansion's owner on a chair ornate enough to call a throne.
The giant of a man who could be called a giant clansman.
Jang Yu welcomed us.
“Come in.”
He was clad head to toe in medieval plate armor, so his face was hidden.
A goat-shaped mark stood out on the forehead of his helmet.
I bowed politely in greeting before continuing.
“I'm Kim Cheonjae. The ones behind me are with me.”
“Oh ho. They all look reliable.”
He rose from his seat and approached us, scanning each of us one by one as if trying to recognize our faces.
“This young lady has outstanding beauty. Care to work with us? I'm single, you see. Haha!”
A lecherous tone.
Yoo Sora's face darkened.
I reached out between Jang Yu and Yoo Sora, pushing him away.
“If you're looking to hire someone, please request through the job guild.”
“What?”
For a split second, I caught a glimpse of his eyes inside the helmet. He frowned with an unsettled expression.
It was a look showing displeasure at my action.
‘...As expected. This monster bastard.’
But perhaps because he was described as an expert merchant, he soon let out a laughing voice.
“Hahaha. Seems I was rude upon first meeting.”
“......Could you explain the request again? It's our principle to hear it directly from the client.”
“Of course, of course. The request... is simple. The people we hired keep going missing.”
“......”
Jang Yu dragged his heavy-looking armor back to his seat.
Clank. Clank.
“Honestly, missing people aren't a big issue. We can just hire more....”
“Then what's the problem?”
“The problem is the soldiers. They think the cause of the disappearances is in our house.”
I deliberately looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“What did the soldiers say?”
“That.... Major Kim Juncheol or something. Some guy inspected the house and said, ‘You could hide one or two people anywhere and no one would find them.’ What does that mean? He's suspecting me.”
“So the military believes the cause of the disappearances lies with you?”
“Exactly. And now strange rumors are spreading in the village, so we can't even find people to work.”
“Rumors? What kind?”
“That I eat people or something. Ridiculous. With all the delicious things around, why eat people!”
Jang Yu clicked his tongue and slapped the armrest with his palm.
Thwack!
He let out a hollow laugh as if it was absurd.
I stared at him without responding.
As silence continued, Jang Yu spoke again.
“So I want to find the cause of the disappearances myself. Clear my name. Ha. What a hassle.”
“What reason do the soldiers have to suspect you?”
“I don't know either. Anyway, if we don't find the missing people in time, the soldiers will eventually search the house and tear it apart. We need to find them before that.”
“......Understood. Can we start searching for the missing right away?”
Jang Yu rolled his eyes as if thinking, then beckoned the butler. He whispered something too quiet for us to hear.
The butler finished the conversation and rushed out of the reception hall.
Jang Yu cleared his throat a few times before speaking to me.
“Could you wait a moment? We need to prepare so you can start searching.”
“Yes. Take your time.”
I turned to look at Ma Jeongwoo. He tapped the ground with his toes, leaving black marks.
Michael quietly spat out his chewed gum and ground it into the carpet.
Yoo Sora pretended to fix her makeup, dropped her lipstick on the floor, then pretended to pick it up while drawing an X mark under a pillar.
Time passed, and the butler entered, wiping sweat from his forehead.
As he entered, Jang Yu rose and asked.
“All done?”
“Yes.”
“Good.... Then give these people the key bundle so they can search.”
“Understood.”
The butler removed the key bundle from his waist and handed it to me.
I took the keys and said to Jang Yu.
“Then we'll start the search.”
* * * * *
Once out of the reception hall, the main event began.
[System Message]
[Main Event Occurred!]
[Difficulty: A]
[Reward: Job Characteristic Unlock]
-Find the cause of the missing persons' disappearances.
We each took a different key and split up. To find clues about the missing, we needed items from random locations.
One person per floor.
Yoo Sora took 3rd floor.
Michael took 2nd floor.
Jeongwoo took 1st floor.
I took the top floor, 4th floor.
Step. Step. Step. Step.
At the top of the stairs, I looked around. A large space with two doors.
I began checking the rooms in order.
First, the bedroom of the mansion owner, Jang Yu.
Creeeak.
True to his personality shown by the building's exterior, the room was filled with flashy items.
Not even five minutes in, I found a clue related to the missing persons.
In the room of the man who claimed to be single, women's items lined up.
It was more a woman's room than a man's.
Cosmetics were standard, and clothes anyone would see as women's filled the space.
Of course, even a single man could have a live-in partner.
But the items from his room weren't ordinary.
The most eye-catching was a hair clip with yellow hair still attached.
A character hair clip far too cute for an adult.
“No way, even children....”
Having found the clue, I opened all the dressers in Jang Yu's room.
My goal was just the valuables in his room.
I pocketed all the usable gold items from the drawers. They're needed to craft defensive gear.
Just a few drawers, and my coat pockets were bulging.
Finally, I scanned Jang Yu's bed.
I took a lighter from my pocket and shone it under the bed.
Flick.
The dark space between bed and floor lit up.
I smiled at the sight.
“As expected.”
Finishing with the bedroom, I left his room and opened the door on the opposite side.
Thud. Thud.
It wouldn't open.
No key for this room in the bundle.
I curled my fingers and knocked on the door.
Knock knock knock.
“......Anyone there?”
No response.
Pressing my ear, I heard something moving inside. But no one opened or responded.
‘Gotcha.’
I lit the lighter and heated the door handle. After about 30 seconds, a short groan came from inside.
-Ugh.
Footsteps retreating from someone near the door.
Done.
My business here was finished.
I went down to the 1st floor, admired the artwork, and waited for the others. Everyone just needed to do their part.
* * * * *
Everyone finished investigating and gathered on the 1st floor of the mansion.
“Let's see the clues everyone found.”
I first showed the item that seemed key.
A hair clip tangled with yellow hair.
Next, Ma Jeongwoo brought a bloodstained handkerchief from the chapel in the mansion.
Michael, who checked the bathroom, collected various hair types in a plastic bag.
Finally, Yoo Sora.
She, who searched the study, showed us two books.
One was the thick red book with a goat face I requested.
[Book of Sin]
The other one.... What was that?
“Sora, what's that book?”
“Oh, I found this unusual one while looking for that book, so I brought it.”
“......Hieroglyphs? Sora, can you read this?”
“Huh? No! It's written in Hangul below the hieroglyphs.”
I took the book and looked it over. No Hangul, even if I scrubbed my eyes.
Yoo Sora looked puzzled at my face, then pointed below the hieroglyphs.
“Here, here.”
“......”
I couldn't see it?
She wouldn't joke in this situation. Ma Jeongwoo, listening beside us, said to her.
“I can't see it either?”
“Huh? You can't see this? It says Book of the Lion.”
[Book of the Lion]
A book said to guide the opener to the end of the Land of Ruin. Heard it's hidden where even God's Enforcers on PC can't find it.
Why was such a book here?
Was it the real one?
I asked Yoo Sora to read the book.
She carefully opened the Book of the Lion and began reading slowly from the first line.
“O Opener, to understand the calamity to come, you must seek the forgotten history from long ago on this continent.”
One line, and I was already sleepy.
Suppressing a yawn, I told her.
“......Keep reading.”
“The emergence of this book means the calamity created by the demon who came to the earth thousands of years ago has begun to move.”
Thousands of years ago?
Yoo Sora glanced at my face cautiously before continuing.
“If you allow the demon's resurrection, the way to stop him will vanish. O Opener, reseal him before he fully revives. I have recorded the method here.”
She finished the first page and turned to the next.
I reached out to stop her.
“Let's stop here.”
“......Okay. Do we not need this book?”
“No. You did well bringing it. It's exactly what we need.”
I looked at Ma Jeongwoo.
He nodded back at me.
The one with green eyes.
‘So that's what the system meant by the Opener's companion.’
Yoo Sora hit the jackpot.
I patted her head. She smiled brightly, pleased.
“Good thing. The letters were sparkling, so I brought it.”
“The letters sparkled?”
“Yes.”
“......I see. Well done anyway. Let's wrap up the mansion event first.”
After the talk, I returned the key bundle to the butler—after secretly removing one key—then left the mansion.
[Acquired 'Jang Yu's Mansion' Back Door Key]
* * * * *
Leaving the mansion, we headed to the military base in the village to find Major Kim Juncheol.
He had just returned for lunch, so we got to talk.
Major Kim Juncheol took us to his office for a private meeting.
Thud.
I placed the hair clip on the rectangular table.
“Major. Do you know what this is?”
“......A hair clip?”
“Yes.”
Kim Juncheol raised an eyebrow, picked up the hair clip, and pulled out the yellow hair stuck in it.
“Belongs to a woman with yellow hair.”
At my glance, Jeongwoo placed the bloodstained handkerchief.
Kim Juncheol tilted his head puzzled.
“And this?”
“What does it look like?”
“......A blood-soaked handkerchief?”
“Yes. Michael, show yours too.”
“Got it.”
Michael pulled a plastic bag from his bag and showed it.
Black. Brown. Yellow. White.
Bundles of hair in various colors and lengths.
Major Kim Juncheol scratched his head looking at them.
“Mr. Cheonjae, sorry, but I don't get what you're saying.”
“......Sora, bring out that book.”
Yoo Sora took out the Book of Sin and handed it to Major Kim Juncheol.
He read a few pages.
His nostrils flared in anger. Face red, he slammed the book on the table and gritted his teeth.
“Where did you get this book?”
“Jang Yu's mansion.”
“......These items too?”
“Yes.”
“That bastard....”
Kim Juncheol shot up from his seat.
“Teacher Kim Cheonjae. Impressive as expected. Our search teams tried twice and found nothing.... Thank you truly!”
He bowed to me.
[System Message]
[Kim Juncheol's trust in player 'Kim Cheonjae' increases.]
“No big deal.”
“Then.... I'll send a special forces team to Jang Yu's mansion immediately.”
I calmly told Kim Juncheol.
“Major, hold off. Start the operation after lunch?”
“......If you wish, but may I ask why?”
“......I want to see it myself. His end.”
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