Chapter 33

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 33

Chapter Title: Snowfall on the Mountain

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My memories of wandering those deep places are hazy.

It was during the times when my condition was farthest from normal.

Still, I vaguely recall a few things.

This one here, the one handling the 'dolls,' is one of them.

I've eaten some doll-related things outside too, but nothing compares to that guy.

Looks like he found a way to get out as well.

"Ahem."

Well, it doesn't really concern me much.

He wasn't my type of fun anyway.

I might run into him again someday, but right now, I'm not all that interested.

With that thought, I turned my head.

"Ah, the fog's clearing up!"

"Get up quick! We need to move now!"

There were agents from the company, Utopia.

The ones that 'thing' had been playing with but hadn't finished off.

I approached them with a smile.

"Hi?"

They looked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at me.

With faces full of fear.

Quick thinkers.

Among explorers of this world, there's an unwritten rule: beware kids, elders, and women.

Even burly, well-armed adult men struggle to survive here.

So if someone like that shows up, they're probably an anomaly, right?

"Don't worry! I won't hurt you."

I said it to them with all sincerity.

"But you gotta switch jobs!"

I'd already lost most interest in the company, but this incident sparked a bit more curiosity.

If what that thing said was true, this Utopia company seemed connected to 'paradise.'

"Ah. Understood."

"Got it!"

Their eyes glazed over blankly as they nodded.

I smiled and led the two to a safe place.

The gathering of the faithful.

"Ta-da! Brought some very capable new believers!"

I introduced the new recruits to the existing ones.

"Welcome!"

"Welcome aboard!"

They welcomed the ones I'd personally brought with great enthusiasm.

I ordered the newbies to undergo the same training as the others.

To make better use of them, more 'efficiently.'

"And in your spare time, compile all the info on Utopia!"

"Yes!"

"Understood!"

After giving those orders.

I closed my eyes.

Time to head back and rest.

A few days of peaceful days followed.

Tea time with Dasom.

Occasionally playing with other anomalies.

But peace can also mean boredom.

"Bored!"

So, so bored!

I scoured everywhere for something fun, but nothing caught my eye.

Yuna and Seyeon still weren't out of isolation, and there were no intriguing anomalies in the Foundation.

"Uuuuum."

No good.

Guess I'll dig through the Foundation intranet again.

Last time, I found that kids' cafe there and had a blast.

I made up my mind and closed my eyes to check it out.

I already knew the list of isolated anomalies inside the Foundation.

So I looked into the info on anomalies or phenomena the Foundation had acquired.

The ones with uncertain details or not yet secured due to conditions.

"Hm."

Most were boring, not worth a second glance.

But as I kept scrolling, one caught ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my interest.

"Ooh!"

It was a ghost story about a 'mountain lodge.'

I clicked it right away to check.

Mountain lodge!

A place I'd always wanted to visit at least once.

You know, they show up a lot in movies and comics, right?

Those fun scenes of people hanging out at a lodge.

'Over there' had all sorts of places, but I'd never seen a mountain lodge.

And it felt totally different from the spots I'd visited before, which made it intriguing.

"You're the one!"

I decided and immediately pondered how to get there.

"Ah!"

Then I realized I didn't need to struggle searching.

I blinked back to the believers for a moment and told them to gather info on the lodge invitations.

Surprisingly, one already knew about it.

"You mean this one?"

It was an invitation exactly like the one in the files.

And it said one companion was allowed.

I smiled and told him.

"You're my uncle from now on!"

"Gasp! What an honor!"

With that, I took the believer and activated the invitation right away.

Normally, the holder wanders unconsciously until arriving at the lodge.

But when I infused a bit of my power, it flowed out immediately.

"Ah."

At the same time, the believer holding the invitation's eyes glazed over blankly, and he started walking somewhere.

I followed him with a smile.

Off to enjoy some fun mountain lodge games!

Whiiiiiish—.

The wind howled.

Jeongil looked outside with a worried face.

"It's snowing pretty hard."

Heavy snowflakes were swirling fiercely beyond the window.

It had been perfectly clear when they first arrived.

"Whoa, it's really coming down."

Jeongil, who had been peering out, turned at the voice beside him.

A heavily made-up woman stood there.

Some SNS influencer, she said.

She'd come here to relax in a quiet spot.

Jeongil sighed and said.

"Yeah. At this rate, wandering outside will be tough."

If he'd come just to relax like her, he wouldn't care about the snow.

But Jeongil had come to take photos.

With his exhibition coming up soon, he'd sought this place for standout shots.

"If it's for photos, why not just shoot right out front?"

The woman tilted her head.

Jeongil gave a wry smile.

"Unfortunately, that's not quite enough."

The view from the lodge was nice, but he wouldn't have come all this way for generic snowy mountain shots.

"I planned to roam around and find the perfect spots..."

"Hmm, looks impossible now."

"Yeah. Sigh. I'll head back to the living room."

"Okay. I'll watch the snow a bit longer."

Jeongil nodded and walked away.

The snow didn't seem like it'd stop anytime soon, so waiting by the window felt pointless.

"Whoa, really?"

"Haha! Yeah! Stepped on land after half a year again!"

In the living room, several people were chatting.

A man with a bushy beard.

A middle-aged woman with a somehow gloomy aura.

A man with tanned skin and a sharp look.

And a girl.

A truly mismatched group.

Which made sense.

Except for a few, they were all meeting here for the first time.

"Ah, Jeongil. How's outside?"

As he entered, the bearded man asked.

The deep-sea fisherman.

"Doesn't look like it'll let up in an hour or two."

"Oh no! The road looked rough coming in—we might be stuck here over a day."

"Seriously?"

The middle-aged woman asked the man with anxious eyes.

"Yeah. Can't move at all until it stops."

"Hmm."

Listening to them, Jeongil plopped into an empty chair.

He glanced at the girl sitting not far away.

Snow-white skin. Silver hair and blue eyes.

Among the colorful crowd at the lodge, she stood out the most.

A face closer to a doll than human. A mystical vibe.

Even as a young girl, she exuded an aura you couldn't ignore.

'What if I photographed her.'

The influencer woman ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had been hinting she wanted her photo taken, but he had zero interest.

Nothing special about her.

But this girl was different.

He'd shot many models, but none had her unique presence.

Finally, Jeongil couldn't hold back and spoke to her.

"Y-You came with your uncle, right?"

"Yeah. That's right."

The girl smiled as she replied.

Casual speech, but he didn't mind.

Her looks screamed mixed heritage.

Probably not fluent in Korean.

"That... your uncle's pretty quiet, huh?"

Jeongil glanced at the man beside her, the so-called uncle.

He looked nothing like the girl, and there was an odd distance between them.

Not quite strangers... more like he found her intimidating?

The girl answered simply.

"He's always the quiet type!"

"I-I see. Uh, what's your name?"

"Dawn."

Dawn.

Jeongil repeated the girl's name to himself.

He started to ask carefully.

If she'd consider modeling for photos.

But then.

"Check this out!"

The influencer who'd stayed by the window returned.

Holding something.

A letter.

"What's that?"

"It was at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the front door."

She placed it on the table for all to see.

The opened letter had neat handwriting with a few lines.

Jeongil's face paled as he read down the letter.

He looked up, eyes trembling, scanning the others' reactions—then froze.

Just one.

One person reacting differently.

The mystical Dawn.

She alone was smiling.

As if utterly delighted.