Chapter 9
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Living Plaster Statue
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Living Plaster Statue
[15:25]
I blinked blankly.
How many times had I died so far?
Thinking back, it was four times.
Twice to the security guard, once to the computer.
And once to the painting.
Counting the number of times I died was strange in itself,
but in this unreal, insane school, it was just a normal way of thinking.
‘What was that just now?’
That last death was different from the others.
How should I put it? It felt like my body wasn't my own.
As if my mind had been completely stolen...
Thud.
While I was lost in thought, the picture frame suddenly fell.
“Shit!”
I jumped in surprise.
I let out a scream mixed with a curse, nearly fainting.
‘My heart nearly jumped out of my chest...’
A cheap jump scare like this?
A typical, forced horror trope.
It wasn't foreshadowing or anything, just a blatant, malicious attempt by the developers to startle the player.
I hate this kind of thing. I really do...
I managed to calm my racing heart.
They could have at least added some foreshadowing.
‘Damn bastards.’
I checked the painting that had fallen to the floor.
It was 'The Brontë Sisters.'
The women in the painting seemed to be staring right at me.
Of course, there were four of them.
'That means one of them is a ghost.'
This wasn't just any painting.
I stayed on edge, worried a ghost might jump out at any moment.
But how was I supposed to get rid of the ghost?
Just then, a drawer sparkled.
I opened it, just in case.
It was full of art supplies.
One of them caught my eye.
[You have acquired a Brush.]
A brush?
I brought up the detailed description.
[Brush]
【A brush used for painting. Used by dipping in paint.】
So this is it.
It seems I have to erase the ghost hidden in the painting with this brush.
By the way, who was the ghost again?
I recalled the messages from right before I died.
I quickly scribbled them on the chalkboard so I wouldn't forget.
[Charlotte: Emily is my sister.]
[Emily: Anne is a woman of the Brontë family.]
[Elizabeth: One of either Anne or Charlotte is lying.]
[Anne: What Charlotte and Emily said is true.]
“Hmm.”
With these kinds of logic puzzles, you can find the answer quickly by looking for a contradiction.
I scribbled on the board, thinking hard.
‘First, Anne isn't the ghost.’
If her statement were false, then Charlotte's and Emily's statements would also be false.
But there's only one ghost hiding in the painting. If Anne were the ghost, the other two would also be ghosts, creating a contradiction.
Therefore, Anne wasn't the ghost.
Which means what Anne said must be true.
I circled her statement with the chalk.
[Anne: What Charlotte and Emily said is true.]
‘Huh?’
Based on my previous deduction, Anne's statement is true.
Therefore, Charlotte's and Emily's statements are also naturally true.
Then there's only one person left.
If this is true, then only one person remains who isn't telling the truth.
‘Found it.’
I immediately grabbed the brush. I strode over to the painting of The Brontë Sisters.
[A liar is hiding.]
Just like before, a red liquid spread out. Looking closely, it was red paint.
‘So I'm supposed to dip the brush in this.’
I took out the brush.
A message popped up.
[Do you want to dip the brush in paint?]
[Yes/No]
My answer was an unhesitating ‘Yes’.
The brush soaked up the paint, becoming thoroughly drenched.
Red liquid dripped onto the floor.
‘Alright.’
With this, all preparations were complete.
I held the brush with a delicate touch.
Like a master painting a masterpiece.
Like a martial artist performing the Praying Mantis style.
Like a conductor leading an orchestra.
Fluid and gentle.
I slowly raised the hand holding the brush.
And then,
“Elizabeth, you fucking bitch!”
I furiously smeared it across Elizabeth.
-Splat!
Red paint stained Elizabeth's face. This time, I was sure I wouldn't die.
‘If Anne, Charlotte, and Emily aren't the ghosts, then it has to be her.’
The ghost hiding among the Brontë sisters.
Its identity was Elizabeth.
Why did I only realize this now?
Before, the situation changed so rapidly that normal thought was impossible.
If there hadn't been a time limit from the start, I would've figured it out right away.
-Sizzzle!
The Elizabeth in the painting shrieked in horror.
As the red paint touched her skin, she cried out in agony.
But she was still alive.
‘Is one brushstroke not enough?’
I immediately smeared the brush all over Elizabeth's body. Leaving no trace behind. Cleanly.
-Splat!
-Splat! Splat!
The picture frame trembled. It seemed to be struggling to escape the painting.
‘Where do you think you're going!’
I pressed the frame down firmly with both knees.
I pinned her face with the brush so she couldn't escape.
-Crack!
The ghost in the painting, its head held fast, trembled.
It struggled desperately as if wanting to live, but it couldn't overcome the weight of the brush.
Eventually, its movements slowed, and it went limp.
Its head was still pinned by the brush.
Only its body hung limply, dangling.
It looked like a hanged corpse.
Before long, the ghost's form slowly vanished.
Finally, only three women remained in the painting.
Charlotte, Emily, and Anne.
All of them were women of the Brontë family.
Their anxious and restless expressions also returned to normal.
‘Now that's what a family portrait should look like.’
Who does this ghost think it is, sneaking in here?
The artwork was finally restored to its proper state.
A piece of paper tucked into the frame fluttered down.
‘The content has changed?’
Unlike what I'd read before, the text had gradually changed.
[Branwell Brontë - The Brontë Sisters]
【From the left: Anne, Emily, Charlotte.
This painting was done by Branwell, Charlotte's younger brother and the older brother of Emily and Anne.
Originally, Branwell had painted himself between his sisters but later erased it, deeming it messy.
The faint shape between Emily and Charlotte is the remnant of that.】
“...”
There was never a ghost in this painting to begin with.
Titles like 'haunted painting' or 'cursed painting' never existed.
So, what exactly was Elizabeth's identity?
It was a mystery fit for a ghost story.
‘I should probably put it back.’
I returned the now-normal painting of The Brontë Sisters to its place.
At that moment,
-Click.
The sound of a door opening came from somewhere.
It was the supply room.
‘What a flashy gimmick.’
Since it was open, I headed to the supply room.
The 'Authorized Personnel Only' warning was a bit annoying, but I ignored it and went in.
-Creeak.
The supply room was extremely small.
It felt like a storage closet for the art room.
Canvases were stacked neatly, and there were several dense bundles of 4B pencils.
But what caught my eye the most were the plaster statues.
A whole row of pale, varied heads was lined up. A dozen or so heads, all facing my direction.
‘That's unnecessarily creepy.’
I gently pushed them to turn their heads away.
While doing so, I noticed an official document on the wall.
[School Accounting Budget Receipt]
[Art Room]
【The following items have been purchased.
Please be sure to verify the inventory.】
- Landscape P-type Canvas x100
- Portrait F-type Canvas x100
- 4B Pencils (1 dozen) x50
- Male Plaster Statue x3
- Female Plaster Statue x3
- Elderly Plaster Statue x3
- Child Plaster Statue x3
‘Is this a clue, too?’
I scanned the receipt.
I didn't see anything that looked like a problem.
I set it aside for now and continued to inspect the supply room.
[It's a dusty box. It won't open.]
[Palettes for painting are stacked neatly.]
[Brushes are sorted by size and type.]
[It's a large eraser. The size of a brick.]
I was just repeating a meaningless search when...
Something sparkled in the corner.
[You have acquired a Hammer.]
A hammer?
I immediately brought up the item description.
[Hammer]
【An old, cracked hammer. It's in such bad shape it looks like it will break after one swing.】
I struggled to lift the hammer.
Maybe because of the hunk of iron attached to it.
It was quite heavy.
‘Ugh, heavy.’
At the same time, I could guess how old the hammer was.
The metal part was heavily rusted and had dents in it.
The handle was the same.
The wood was in poor condition, looking like it would break easily with any force.
What am I supposed to do with this?
I recalled the definition of a hammer.
Hammers are traditionally for smashing things.
They're used for nailing things, retaliating against noisy neighbors, and even killing people.
But in RPG Maker games, they're mainly used for breaking things.
‘Is there anything in this supply room to smash...’
I turned my gaze behind me.
I saw the white, glossy heads.
“Aha.”
A jolt went through my head as I got a hunch.
I perfectly understood the puzzle creator's intention.
I immediately reread the document on the wall.
【The following items have been purchased.
Please be sure to verify the inventory.】
The part to note was the plaster statue purchase list.
- Male Plaster Statue x3
- Female Plaster Statue x3
- Elderly Plaster Statue x3
- Child Plaster Statue x3
‘It said to check the inventory properly, right?’
I checked the plaster statues one by one.
One male head, one elderly head...
Counting them one by one, I took stock of the supply room.
Sure enough, there were currently 13 plaster statues in the supply room.
‘There's one extra.’
The receipt couldn't be wrong.
It meant something was hiding in the supply room, pretending to be a plaster statue.
It seems I have to find it and split its skull with this hammer.
“Come out while I'm asking nicely.”
I swung the hammer through the air.
There was no response from the statues.
I had no choice but to take the initiative.
I took the heads out into the art room one by one.
An elderly head, a female head, a child's head...
I took out the statues one by one according to the receipt's purchase list.
Eventually, only four heads remained in the supply room.
[This is a plaster statue of a man's head.]
[This is a plaster statue of a man's head.]
[This is a plaster statue of a man's head.]
[This is a plaster statue of a man's head.]
One of these.
There's a fake head.
‘The problem is, how do I tell which one it is?’
I picked up one of the statues and felt it.
The surface was cold. The overall texture was smooth and sleek.
I touched the other statues too.
Of course, the texture was similar.
...except for one.
One statue alone was rough and bumpy.
It was heavy, like a chunk of iron.
And it was warm.
Like body heat.
“Is it you?”
The head brazenly remained silent.
It seems to still think it's a plaster statue.
Well then, there's no helping it.
[Use Hammer?]
[Yes/No]
I smashed the head with all my might.
Crack! It shattered with a loud noise.
[The hammer broke.]
In the aftermath, the hammer broke, becoming unusable.
Was it single-use?
I felt a tinge of regret; it would have been useful to have.
‘That aside.’
The plaster statue's head was caved in.
Blood gushed out from the crack.
A mushy lump also spilled out.
It was all clumped together.
It wasn't a pleasant sight.
‘Ugh.’
Looking at it made me feel as if I had actually smashed a real person's head.
The lump, presumably a brain, flowed toward me. I quickly backed away.
My stomach churned, and I felt like I was going to throw up.
As I averted my gaze, something glittered from within the crack of the split statue.
There was an item inside the head.
‘Ah, seriously.’
I cursed under my breath.
Then I stuck my hand into the crack in the head.
It slid in smoothly, as if lubricated.
A sticky, squishy sensation enveloped my hand.
I felt like I was losing my mind.
‘Where is it...’
For some reason, I couldn't grasp the item. I rummaged around inside the head.
The head twitched every time I moved my hand. It was disgustingly awful.
‘Come on, come on...’
Finally, I grabbed something.
I gripped it tightly and pulled my hand out. Clots of blood and brain matter oozed off like slime.
[You have acquired the Library Key.]
“Ugh...”
My right hand felt contaminated.
I didn't even glance at the message about the key. I ran to the nearest restroom.
Fortunately, the 4th-floor restroom was open, so I could wash it off.
Only then did I check the message.
The item I'd just acquired was the Library Key.
‘The library is right next to the art room.’
If it had been far away like on the first floor, I would have worried about running into the security guard,
but thankfully, there was no need to worry about that.
I headed straight for the library.
[Used the Library Key.]
As I entered, the library's characteristic smell of old books filled the air.
Our school library, in particular, had poor facilities, so most of the books were yellowed and discolored.
‘If it's the library, I bet it's a book-related puzzle.’
I was stepping inside without much thought when...
I sensed a presence from within.
I thought I was imagining it, but I wasn't.
Someone was clearly there.
A faint silhouette was visible between the books on a shelf.
I quickly hid behind a bookshelf.
‘Who is it?’
There's someone else in the library besides me.
I cautiously peeked over the bookshelf.
And there,
!
a female student was reading a book.