"Tell me more about the granny."
Lee Seonbin’s whining.
"The granny story is over."
How old is this kid?
Lee Seonbin is someone who shouldn’t be able to appear alive in the first place.
Originally she was Moon Seunghee’s future-strategy advisor—meaning a specialist aide to handle the [Cthulhu World]’s surreal incidents—and she was fated to die in the underground parking lot where ghouls poured out.
Her face looks younger than the age suggested by the fragmentary setting we’ve seen, but her speech and behavior are far younger than that.
If you only listened with your eyes closed, she’d pass for a kid under ten.
‘No way that’s just a concept. Regression after all? Moon Seunghee really has her hands full.’
Lee Seonbin thumped my side with the long trailing sleeve of her restraint suit and spoke again.
"Then tell me another story."
"Once upon a time there lived a genius mage who wore a very stylish mask."
"Mm."
"One day, tricked by a terrible [One Without a Mask], he got chased by a superpowered granny who popped out of nowhere."
"Wow, back to the granny again."
In the last run the Conqueror probably fell into madness.
Which is why she would have tried some outrageous technique like a soul-return rite using the [Bongam Tome]. The [Guardian of Bongam Hall] seemed more worried about the Conqueror falling into such madness than about his own death...
What will she do this time?
Most likely chase me.
Because I’m carrying the precious [Bongam Tome].
"But the masked genius mage stole the sword that cuts time and escaped to Buyeo."
Right, there’s no need to waste time trying to talk to the Conqueror—who won’t listen anyway. I’ll just run to another town.
It’s a rational decision.
It is absolutely not because I fear the <beast of ruin so horrible that by its mere existence it erases the world’s peace and wounds people> at her side.
But if I want to obtain the [Blade of Flesh] before Moon Gyeongnam or the Conqueror do anything weird— I’ll need Moon Seunghee’s permission.
‘And under normal circumstances she won’t grant it, will she?’
I’d considered just sneaking in, but if my guess is right—just bringing Lee Seonbin along will solve that problem.
"Then what happens to the [One Without a Mask]? Aren’t you supposed to fight the villain?"
I’m saying random stuff and she’s listening with full attention.
"Well— the Masked Mage will probably defeat him soon with the power of friendship."
"Friendship? Do you have lots of friends, mister?"
"The Masked Mage has lots of friends."
"And you?"
"Me? I, uh..."
The Jang fellow and the Heo fellow—or maybe the Seo fellow—flicker across my mind for a moment, but do I get to call them friends on my own say-so?
"I’ve got none of that."
"None?"
"Right. Instead I have thirteen special masks, and thirty-nine masks with no special abilities but very stylish designs."
"Wow."
Lee Seonbin’s face sincerely says she thinks that’s cool.
"Yeah, if you’ve got masks, you don’t need friends. Masks are the best! You try it too—masks are the best!"
"Masks are the best!"
"Good, very peppy."
Thanks to my whims, Lee Seonbin—who should have died—is alive and playing a role she was never assigned in the game.
But what role?
The role of pestering me? I’ve already got a headache; now someone’s here to double it?
"By the way, why are you wandering around a place like this?"
"A certain sister called me."
"A certain sister?"
"Mm, a certain sister."
"What kind of sister?"
"A certain sister."
Harder to talk to than Curtain Call.
"Did this certain sister call you to come outside?"
"No, she told me to come down. But I hate down! I hate the dark underground! I don’t want to go down. Ah— Mr. Mage? Please save me! Please help me so I never go down again! I never want to be trapped in the darkness below! Aaah! Aaaaaah! That darkness! Blood! Death! Monsters! Monsters that eat people! Aaaah! Aaaaaah! I can hear it even now! Down! Down! No! No! I don’t want to go down! No!"
Whatever else, I can tell she’s got something like [Underground Phobia].
Viiiiiiiiiin!
[System: ‘Enhanced Vigilance’ activates.]
Lee Seonbin huddles, clutching her head.
A baleful formula rises from both her hands.
[Eldritch Claw]
Krrr-rrrk—
Enormous talons sprout from Lee Seonbin’s hands, hidden by the restraint suit.
"Ah, that—"
Not a proper spell. No chant, no signs—just magic forced into shape by pure madness and aggression.
Threatening, but not hard to counter.
[Mana Loss]
Shhhhhh—
I break the seam in the formula she formed and disrupt the mana focus, and on top of that trigger a trait to seize control outright.
[System: The trait ‘Spell Thief’ activates.]
[Binding Chains]
[Exhaustion Shackles]
Chrarararak!
The evil claws she made unravel and turn into chains that coil the target and shackles that sap the target’s stamina.
"Kyaaaaa! Kyaaaaaaaa!"
Bzzzt! Bzzzt!
The physical-binding chains remain, but the debuffing shackles bounce off.
"Huh? Higher magic resistance than I thought."
[Chains of Dominion]
Chrarararak!
I even manipulate the belts of the restraint suit to bind her movement—and in any case, I pin her to the ground in a condition where she can’t move further.
"Hold still!"
She’s delirious, so mind-magic (like sleep spells) will probably be mostly ignored. What do I do?
Just zap her unconscious?
"Hic, hhic... Sister, I’m scared..."
Lee Seonbin suddenly stops convulsing and starts sobbing like a child.
"Ah, this’ll drive me nuts."
I sigh, reach a hand toward her, and trigger a spell.
[Ka’s Golden Sand]
Golden motes that induce sleep pour over her face.
It’s a low-performance spell compared to other debuffs, but this will probably work.
It’s the spell I used when I rescued Lee Seonbin in the underground parking lot.
"Sister, help me... Sister, help me... Sister, help me... Sister..."
She doesn’t fall asleep, but at least the frenzy stops.
"Ah— I’ve got plenty to do without this."
I sit beside her and let out a sigh.
How much time passes?
"Mister, I’m okay now. Let me go."
Lee Seonbin speaks in a fairly steady voice.
"Lie down a little longer."
"Ah, I don’t wanna."
Looks like the delirium is over, but she’s regressed again.
Bound in the restraint suit, she mumbles, but doesn’t resist further.
What’s going to become of this woman?
"Just so you know, if you suddenly get kidnapped or whatever, I absolutely won’t rescue you."
No, saying that to her is pointless.
"Hey! You hear me? I’m not rescuing her! One murder-granny is enough! Don’t pile any more useless side quests onto an already convoluted event!"
Watching me shake my fist at the air and shout, Lee Seonbin speaks in a strangely clear voice.
"Why? You rescued me before."
Saying that out of the blue is a little eerie.
"So you did remember I was the one who saved you?"
"I remember. My sister talked about you a lot. But when are we going home? I want to see my sister soon."
Moon Seunghee talked about me a lot?
The time I met Moon Seunghee before was very short, and we didn’t manage any special conversation.
So it’s not that I suddenly dazzled her; it means Lee Seonbin was that special to Moon Seunghee.
"Let’s get up. I’ll take you to your sister."
I also want to get back quickly.
Now around 4 a.m.?
Almost 5 o’clock.
It’s more like an excessively early morning than excessively late night, but the construction site is in a commotion.
Wondering what’s up, I glance around and address someone who looks suitable.
"Something happen?"
"Yikes! Oh, Kim Sinhwa, huh? Whew, don’t pop up like that. Your mask is scary."
A fixer who works with Curtain Call. The guy who gets smacked around by Curtain Call all the time but still follows him everywhere.
His fixer name is Vaukalak (ваўкалак). Usually we call him Bahu. Who bothers saying a five-letter nickname in full?
"Now that you know it’s me, talk. What does Ba-ukalak mean? Ah, no, that’s drug-withdrawal babble. So, Bahu. What’s going on?"
Bahu scratches the bushy beard that runs into his sideburns.
"Dunno. They’ve been in an uproar without telling us anything. We’re ‘outsiders,’ is the line."
"Aha?"
"But you can’t hide what won’t hide. Word is— you know that beautiful female director here?"
"Hm, Director Moon Seunghee?"
"Yeah, looks like the thing she keeps—dog or monster—went missing. Uwaah—!? Kim Sinhwa? What’s wrong? Why’d you suddenly move over there?"
"No, I can hear fine from here too."
Looks like this phobia is locked to fleeing no matter what.
Any madness is a headache, but at least it’s better than charging in thoughtlessly and dying helplessly.
I head back to where I was and ask:
"So what about it?"
"There, see that? You’ll notice one difference from when you stepped away a moment."
"That? Aha."
A very easy spot-the-difference.
There’s one thing different from when we set out from this construction site.
A broad wall piled up to block outside intrusion.
Ground dug up wide for surveying ruins instead of building.
And containers, makeshift buildings, and tents arranged to the extent that you could move a small village to support the site staff.
Heavy equipment, armed trucks, and weapons holding position in perfect order.
Even that alone makes for a striking scene, but there’s one thing completely different from when we left here.
"Looks like something escaped from there?"
"Right."
One of the containers is smashed completely.
Just being smashed would be notable, but it must have been notable even before it broke. Reinforced with incredibly thick iron bars—and judging by the scattered magic stones, a barrier was set up too.
It could have held a bear or a magical beast...
"Wait. Did you break out of there?"
"Yup."
Lee Seonbin answers breezily.
"Eesh."
"Huh? Who’s the girl? Sniff. Come to think of it, that smell."
Bahu sniffs at Lee Seonbin.
"Aha, I get it. Kim Sinhwa. This must be who the director’s looking for, right?"
Quick on the uptake. Or just a good nose? Also, what does Vaukalak even mean? What are you saying? Hold still.
"Seems that way. So where is Director Moon Seunghee?"
"Over there, probably with Colly."
In the direction Bahu points, containers and prefab buildings are jumbled together, so I can’t see Moon Seunghee yet, but Curtain Call’s mana is pretty distinctive.
"Thanks."
"Hey, Kim Sinhwa. But don’t you smell a corpse?"
"A corpse? Hm, can’t say I do."
Given I was at a scene where people were dropping dead a few hours ago, it could cling to me. I play dumb and part ways with Bahu.
‘Anyway, from the look of things, just bringing Lee Seonbin to Moon Seunghee will make everyone happy.’
The negotiation I need with Moon Seunghee to go down into the underground ruins just got much easier.
With a spring in my step, I start toward the source of Curtain Call’s mana—when someone in my head grabs my ankle.
Hold on—didn’t that sound like some weird foreshadowing?
What? What foreshadowing?
The corpse smell Bahu mentioned.
Corpse smell?
You didn’t forget something because of your newly acquired madness, did you?
That’s an unsettling thought.
But thinking it over, the phobia I have now is...
[Madness – Cynophobia]
Right, that one.
Among the monsters that appear in the [Cthulhu World], is there that shows up stinking of corpses?
"Hmm..."
But nothing in particular comes to mind.
