Chapter 52.3
The group immediately nced around at one another.
The three university students exchanged quick looks amongst themselves.
If grouped together, they had the most tapes.
“Wait, are we supposed to buy tapes off each other now?”
“I am merely exining the rules. It is not mandatory. You are free to negotiate your own exchange conditions as you see fit. The order is important, after all.”
“……”
A tense, meaningful silence passed between them.
“Shall I prepare your rooms, then? There are suitable bedrooms upstairs.”
“Ah, yes.” “Sounds good. Let’s get the rooms sorted first…”
“Excuse me, hold on.”
Baek Saheon’s voice cut through the group.
“I might have to leave due to urgent matters. Could you tell me the way out of here?”
“Of course.”
But that didn’t happen.
A momentter—
<b>========================</b>
<b>Entrants will inevitably find themselves isted at the disaster site for various reasons.</b>
<b>The mostmon would be due to abnormal weather conditions such as typhoons, heavy snowfall, orndslides.</b>
<b>========================</b>
“A torrential downpour has caused andslide outside, burying the roads. Thankfully, the electricity remains functional, so your stay will be unaffected.”
“……”
Baek Saheon turned to me with an expression that practically screamed <i>‘We’re fucked.’</i>
‘Exactly.’
I shrugged.
Now that things had reached this point, no one would be able to leave until everything that was meant to happen had unfolded.
‘Meanwhile, I’m racking my brain trying to figure out how to survive this without losing my head.’
At least one smallfort was that there wouldn’t be any ghosts…
‘…Just a serial killer.’
And wasn’t it obvious?
Every horror movie and mystery novel loves to use this twist, and ghost stories are no different.
The killer…
<b>One entrant will take on a special role within the narrative, embodying the predator archetype—</b>
…is among us.
<b>—and this individual is often referred to as the serial killer.</b>
I’ve got to find and avoid the person who would be the killer.
<b>This individual will firmly believe that they are inheriting the legendary murderer’s legacy and undergo mental and physical transformation.</b>
‘Hmm.’
Unless… I could try a slightly different approach.
As I stroked my chin, I noticed the civil servant quietly leaving the group.
“I’ll step outside to check the weather.”
“Go ahead.”
I followed the civil servant out to the veranda.
The wind and rain were growing fierce, darkening the surroundings and sshing enough to dampen our clothes. The downpour seemed loud enough to mask any conversation.
Carefully shielding my notepad from the rain, I showed him a message.
<b>[Excuse me, are you the person who bought the cookies? I’m wondering if I might have mistaken you for someone else.]</b>
Fortunately, the civil servant didn’t feign ignorance.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
But he looked me up and down, as if assessing me.
Hmm.
I nced around, pretending to check the area, and ensured no one was watching us before scribbling another note, this time with a tense expression.
<b>[I’m sorry, but is this… some kind of strange situation?]</b>
“……”
<b>[It’s just odd that only people carrying cassette tapes got lost and ended up here.]</b>
<b>[Do you think it’s… a ghost… or something?]</b>
Considering that he already knew I had experience with paranormal phenomena—after all, I’d sold him food tied to ghost stories—this level of questioning shouldn’t seem out of ce.
‘The real issue is whether he thinks I entered this ce intentionally.’
I’d much rather be treated as an innocent civilian. Depending on his response, I’d decide how to position myself moving forward.
‘Honestly, he’s most likely to give a safe answer like <i>I’m not sure yet</i>.”
“You are correct.”
……??
So direct?
The civil servant hesitated briefly before asking me,
“How did youe across the cassette tape?”
<b>[Actually, I don’t have one myself… It’s my colleague who has one. It gave me a bad feeling, so I told him to throw it away, but we ended up here anyway after getting on the bus.]</b>
“……”
The civil servant rested a hand on his chin, silent for a moment.
“Do you often find yourself in situations like this?”
I forced a sheepish smile, pretending to be awkward.
<b>[Sometimes?]</b>
“I see.”
After another moment of hesitation, he continued,
“I am… well, something like a government agent.”
He’s telling me this much?
<b>[Really? Like a ghost-hunting 007?]</b>
“…Yes.”
<b>[Wow!]</b>
The expression on his face screamed <i>‘This is not the time to be impressed.’</i>
“At any rate, this is indeed a supernatural phenomenon. Be cautious. As much as possible, stay close to me, or move in groups of at least three if it can’t be avoided.”
Hold on.
‘He’s treating me like an even more harmless civilian than I expected.’
I wasn’t sure why, but this was good. I quickly responded.
<b>[Thank you. But… what about the others?]</b>
The civil servant answered firmly.
“You don’t need to worry about them.”
Hmm.
<b>[Would it be okay if I told my colleague—]</b>
“No.”
Heck.
ncing toward the living room, the civil servant lowered his voice and spoke softly, as if revealing a massive secret.
“Actually.”
Actually?
“…There is a killer among us.”
Oh.
Yeah.
I already knew, of course… but I couldn’t let that show.
Feigning shock, I hastily scribbled another note.
<b>[A killer? How do you know that, sir??]</b>
“This mountain lodge is no ordinary ce. It’s never been publicly disclosed, but simr incidents have urred here multiple times. Guests were murdered by a killer.”
– Ah, a storied, legendary site where nightmares of the past are recreated… Truly a fine preference.
Now’s not the time, Mr. Host.
“No matter how close you may be to someone, don’t trust them. And under no circumstances should you open your door while alone in your room.”
‘Usually, isn’t it the person who barricades themselves in a room who ends up dying first…?’
Regardless, I felt I’d confirmed a few key facts about both the civil servant and this ghost story.
<b>[Thank you.]</b>
After expressing my gratitude and bidding him good night, I left the veranda.
I felt a bit more at ease as I headed to my assigned room.
I had made up my mind about what to do.
<i>“Huu.”</i>
I began inspecting the room.
I was looking for something specific.
– A weapon, I see.
Opening the wardrobe, I found two reasonablyrge, one-handed axes hanging as decorative pieces.
“……”
It was terrifying and exhausting to carry, but there was no choice.
– Ah, this is going to be so very fun!
Now that things hade to this…
‘I might as well strike first.’
Gripping one of the axes, I made my decision.
Serial killer? Fine. Let me have a go at it. <hr>
T/N: aaaahhhh this makes me want to y among us againnn
Side note:
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