Chapter 230
Chapter 230
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 230. Confession
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I should have studied religion a bit.
I always think this whenever we get tangled up with a church: that I need to brush up on religion.
It's just that I never have the time.
"What's myrrh?"
Park Ye-eun looked puzzled at Eileen, and Eileen looked back at Park Ye-eun and began explaining.
"The myrrh position is usually the mid position."
"The mid?"
"Unless it's a special situation, you just have to stick close to the back."
"Oh, that sounds easy?"
...
At Park Ye-eun's mutter, Eileen flicked her gaze briefly to the floor before looking at me.
"Gold."
Eileen muttered as she eyed my brooch.
"You have to take the lead."
"Take the lead?"
At my question, Eileen pointed to the manual.
Would it kill her to explain it to me too?
I flipped open the manual without a word.
[Office Manual]
[Guide for Church Exploration Team - Gold]
1. Your role is 'Gold.'
2. The Gold role stands at the position of leading the others.
3. It is the position closest to safety, and also closest to danger. Rest harder than anyone when you can rest, and suffer harder than anyone when it's time to suffer.
Anyone could see this was a position with a ton of crap to deal with.
I glanced at Eileen, and she gave a wry smile as she began explaining her own position.
"Frankincense... simply put, is the best bait."
"Bait?"
"Think of it as Gold making the judgments and decisions, Frankincense handling the execution and sacrifice, and Myrrh providing support throughout the entire process. That makes it easier."
"I see."
"Fortunately, Ye-eun's Myrrh."
Eileen let out a sigh of relief.
"At least it's the easy role."
"You were worried?"
"Of course. It's an adult's duty, isn't it?"
They look about the same age.
Of course, I didn't say that out loud.
I turned to look at the three following behind.
"What about the three of you?"
Their teamwork might be shaky, but as a composition, they were a perfect party.
In game terms, they had tank, DPS, and support all perfectly covered.
Balance-wise, they were way better than us.
"Let's see... I'm Myrrh?"
"I'm Gold."
"I'm Frankincense."
Jang Chaeyeon was Gold, Yoo Daon Myrrh, and Song Arin Frankincense.
Eileen looked at the three of them and explained their roles once more.
"What? So the white-haired one's our leader? Hey, you gotta speak up! If a boulder rolls down and you just say 'boulder rolling, everyone get crushed, boulder rolls down' after the fact, we're all dead, you crazy bitch!"
"She'll do better than you, so don't worry."
Song Arin snickered and teased Jang Chaeyeon, then clutched her side as if something had jabbed her there and let out a scream. Jang Chaeyeon watched her coldly and muttered.
"Arin-ssi does that too, but the follow-through... Hmm... Can Arin-ssi really handle the follow-through...?"
Yoo Daon had also tilted her head, hand on her chin, upon hearing Song Arin's position.
"I've never really seen her properly follow through..."
"Did you?"
"Well, yeah."
Song Arin glared at Yoo Daon, clutching her side and huffing.
"It says you're supposed to assist her, but what kind of assist can a computer-illiterate idiot provide? I'd be thrilled if you just didn't get in the way."
"You do it right."
"Just try failing to lead properly!"
The three were already bickering.
Already worrying.
Was calling these three really the right call?
Probably not.
"...You sure it'll be okay?"
And it seemed I wasn't the only one thinking that.
Eileen looked at me worriedly, and I had nothing to say either.
*
"Everyone seems ready, so let's start."
After the commotion died down, Eileen nodded at us.
"To repeat: Me, Kim Jaeheon, and Park Ye-eun are Team 1 going in first. The HR Team three will follow an hour later."
Due to the church's nature, teams too close together could cause variables, so they enter with an hour gap. That's the iron rule for church exploration teams.
"Everyone has their manuals, right?"
"...This thing gives me a headache just looking at it..."
Yoo Daon muttered as she pulled out her manual, and the others did the same.
"Good."
Eileen nodded at the sight, then took a rifle from her bag and slung it over her back.
"I'll take a gun too..."
"Here."
To the muttering Park Ye-eun, Eileen handed over an obsidian-shining bead.
"Throw it when it's dangerous. A kid who can't handle guns properly will just cause accidents."
"...Yes."
Park Ye-eun carefully took the bead, and Eileen handed me a pistol and a shotgun.
"I've never used that shotgun."
"Just aim well and shoot."
...
Still, I could shoot guns decently enough somehow.
I'd even gotten a perfect score in the Management Bureau's internal pistol range test out of curiosity.
I took the shotgun from Eileen and slung it over my back.
As I felt the unfamiliar heavy weight...
"I'm going first."
Eileen stood at the cathedral door.
"Take care! See you later!"
"Come back safe."
"Don't die on the way. Hard to retrieve the body."
The three cheered from behind like that, and I waved back as we entered the cathedral.
-Creeeak...
The heavy door opened, and the three of us went inside.
-Thud...
The door shut with a loud bang, and I took the front.
Positioning according to our roles.
Me as Gold in front, Park Ye-eun as Myrrh in the middle, and Eileen as Frankincense at the rear.
-Flip!
The manual opened.
[Office Manual]
[Church Exploration Internal Guide - Response Team Hwang Yuhun Latest Edition]
The reviser changed.
3. Upon entering the church entrance, you will see three staircases.
I looked up at the stairs.
Three staircases.
The center and right had gold cords across them, but the left one did not.
4. Head to the staircase without the gold cord. If none have cords, go right. Difficulty is right -> center -> left.
"...Whew."
Eileen let out a deep sigh.
We'd drawn the hardest route.
Tsk. I clicked my tongue and started up the left stairs.
As we climbed, a deathly silence enveloped us.
In the heavy air that seemed to forbid any sound, Park Ye-eun grabbed my collar with a terrified expression.
"...It's okay."
As I reassured her...
-Flip!
The manual showed a new page.
[Office Manual]
[Church Exploration Internal Guide - Response Team Hwang Yuhun Latest Edition]
[4-A. Left Staircase]
1. If you go up the left staircase, you will see a confessional.
I looked ahead.
A confessional came into view.
In the dark corridor, an orange light illuminated it as if beckoning us in.
2. Gold or Frankincense must enter the confessional and hear their sins.
Not me confessing? I have to listen?
2-1. During this, strong trauma and mental contamination often occur. If so, immediately throw the brooch outside the confessional and check the [T - Suicide Methods] procedure. Thank you.
2-2. Midway through confession from the other side, you may hear requests to show your face or let you hear their voice. Never respond. Immediate death.
Strong trauma and mental contamination.
The one to go was already decided.
As I took a step forward, both looked at me.
"I'll be right back."
"...If anything happens, throw the brooch."
"Won't be necessary."
Trauma aside, I was confident about mental contamination.
I arrived at the confessional and looked up.
The other side already seemed occupied; one door was shut.
Someone was already inside.
-Creeeak...
I opened the opposite door. It creaked with aged wood.
A rickety old chair sat in the middle.
I sat down.
The chair wobbled with a creak. Then, from the other side, someone spoke to me.
"Who is there?"
...
A voice came from the other side.
It sounded male yet female, old yet childlike.
I said nothing.
"If you've come, at least say something or show your face."
...
As I stayed silent, a brief silence followed from the other side before it continued.
"It didn't require many sacrifices to reach here... but a few gave up even their souls beyond for you."
...
"The weight is so heavy it will surely crush your shoulders and kill you."
-Eeeee...
Tinnitus rang, my temples throbbing.
But this was bearable enough.
After enduring this crap for so long, I'd gotten to gauge mental attack strength by headache intensity.
This level? Any trained Management Bureau member could tough it out just by keeping their head.
"You hold more than one person should ever possess."
It muttered again, and the manual fluttered open to a new page.
[Office Manual]
[Church Exploration Internal Guide - Response Team Hwang Yuhun Latest Edition]
[4-A. Left Staircase]
2-3. Once confession ends, the other side will tell you to go. Do not leave until then.
2-4. Maximum confession time is half a day.
The headache continued.
...
The silence continued as well.
A strange smell began to waft in.