Chapter 35

An abandoned house, where we were trapped after being bewitched by a changgwi.

"Is anyone there...?"

Once again, someone called from outside the front door. This time, it was a low male voice.

"N-no...! Wh-who on earth..."

The section chief clamped a hand over his mouth and wailed.

"Please open the door..."

"..."

"A d-dead person. Who is it? Who's here? Haaah... L-let's run! Run!"

"It's so cold out here."

Hmm.

"Th-this time, I absolutely won't answ—Aaagh??"

I walked over to the door and pulled the handle.

"Huaaagh?!"

The door opened to reveal...

"Wow, I thought I was going to die... Thank you..."

A perfectly normal human with a slender build and light-colored hair, wearing a worn navy uniform.

"...!?"

"Section Chief Lee Byeongjin, please say hello."

I nodded respectfully.

"This is the chief of Security Team 3."

"...??? ...?!"

That's right. The chief of Security Team 3, who'd been sucked into the ghost story along with me.

'His face looks ready to burst.'

His face scarlet, Section Chief Lee Byeongjin alternated between pointing at me and the security chief, then startled himself, curled his finger back, and let out a bizarre groan.

"Why... H-how...?!"

What did he mean, why?

'You told me yourself...'

["Every single day, it comes once, using the voices of my dead family, friends, and neighbors...!"]

He'd said it only came once a night.

For the record, something similar was spelled out in <Records of Dark Exploration>, too.

When a victim is taken to the abandoned house, a changgwi visits the door every night and pleads in the voice of a deceased loved one, inflicting mental anguish and confusion upon the victim.

'“Every day” means it operates on a daily cycle.'

But I couldn't exactly say, “I have a magical record corroborating your statement,” so...

"A hunch."

"..."

For some reason, the section chief looked dazed.

I was right anyway, so just roll with it.

Meanwhile, once I'd made sure the security chief was inside, I immediately closed the door and secured the handle.

Just looking outside gave me the chills.

"Thank you..."

"Not at all."

It was astounding that this man had managed to knock on the door without being dragged off by the changgwi...

'Well... he is on the security team.'

What was more surprising was that he wasn't alone.

He was supporting someone.

"... Who's that?"

The chief answered brightly.

"Look, I found the missing person!"

"... The missing person is this gentleman here."

"Oh. Got mixed up..."

"..."

They're not even the same gender...

I examined the person the security chief unceremoniously deposited on the floor.

A stranger.

Absolutely filthy, too. Without regard for anyone else in the house, she slumped to the floor and began sobbing.

"Waaah, it's all over. It's all over!"

"She's been doing that the whole time. Oh, it's nicer here... I came to in some sort of shaman's house... Cold, dark, and damp. Not a fan."

"Aaaagh!"

"..."

'What a shitshow.'

All I'd wanted was something as simple as a sane colleague...

'I miss you, my Team D superiors...'

Still, I took a closer look at the wailing woman. She wore a filthy white coat with a name tag on the chest.

[Go Seonha]

'Huh?'

I immediately took out the little business card—the one tucked inside the old book titled A Way to Live.

Go Seonha

Department of History, Jugang University

“Getting out tomorrow” had been written on the back.

"If this is your business card, did you try what was written in the book?"

"Hic..."

The woman nodded.

"Yes... But it's all useless."

"Huh? Wait! U-useless? What do you mean..."

"Exactly what I said."

Looking despondent, she took something out of her coat.

"That's—"

"If you leave here and walk about a hundred paces, there's a shrine, just like the book says... I'm pretty sure it's the 'sanctuary' the book mentions."

"..."

"And this is what I copied from the wooden tablet there."

She glanced at me wearily.

"It looks like you managed to read that book properly, too. ... Do you study Korean history? It's written in a style from centuries ago..."

No. I just have a monster friend...

"A-anyway!! Then c-can't we just do what it says on that tablet?! Why are you crying and carrying on about how nothing will wor—"

"Because it won't!!"

"...!"

"Mister, I'm not an idiot. I tried following the instructions on the tablet. Finding three plums, crushing them in a cup and sprinkling them outside, all of it! I did everything, but..."

"..."

Go Seonha stared into space and caught her breath, then thrust the back of the paper she'd taken out toward us.

"Read that."

Braun took the hint and began reading.

"'Prepare a tune to offer to the Lord of the Mountain. The more widely known it is, the greater its effect. Write down its lyrics and place them in the incense altar. Sing at the top of your voice, clapping with every step and bowing every thirty paces.'"

"A tune to offer to the Lord of the Mountain..."

"Yes! That!"

Go Seonha's eyes rolled wildly as she asked,

"The Lord of the Mountain is a tiger! So what immediately comes to mind? A tune about a tiger, praising a tiger—anything from a children's song to a folk song."

"W-well..."

Section Chief Lee Byeongjin began haltingly.

"The he-ro of the mountains..."

"'It was Lord Tiger's birthday.' Yes, that one! I thought of that, too. So I was going to use it, but..."

Go Seonha hung her head.

"... You can't use a tune that's already been used."

"...!"

"Underneath the incense altar was stuffed full of lyric sheets people had already used! And of course 'Hero of the Mountains' was among them...!"

Good God.

"'The Lord of the Mountain is capricious and delights in music, and will not accept the same offering twice.' I mean, sure, tigers smoke pipes and dance in folk tales, but this... This!!"

Go Seonha screamed into the air as though she might breathe fire, then turned to us with a desperate expression.

"A children's song, a folk song, an instrumental piece about a tiger... Can you think of anything besides 'Hero of the Mountains'? Anything, anything at all..."

No.

"You can't, can you? Of course you can't!"

She tore at her hair.

"It's not like we're traditional music majors, and we can't look anything up. Aah, ah..."

"..."

Wait.

Even I hadn't known repeats weren't allowed.

<Records of Dark Exploration> had three or four accounts of rituals performed in the space people reached after being bewitched by the changgwi. They had used a different song each time, true.

Everything from traditional musical games to instrumental pieces...

'I thought they'd just listed different songs for fun, since it was a crowdsourced wiki.'

I hadn't known a detail like this was hidden in there.

And even if I wanted to use the songs listed on that wiki, all it had were titles. I had no way of knowing the lyrics or melodies.

'Damn it.'

A chill settled over the abandoned house.

"..."

I sighed.

With Braun's help, I carefully read every character on the paper copied from the shrine's wooden tablet.

Then I asked,

"Ms. Go Seonha."

"... Yes."

"Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?"

"What is it?"

"How many days have you been here?"

"... Ten."

Go Seonha's face paled.

"But after two or three days, I heard some crazy old guy wandering around... so I hid in the attic."

The “crazy old guy” turned toward her, looking a little aggrieved.

"Then a few days later... I heard kids, too. I had no idea what to do, so I just... When the full moon came today, I snuck outside while this man was dozing."

"And went to the shrine to try performing the ritual."

"Yes."

I nodded and moved on to my next question.

"But that's strange."

"What?"

"It explicitly says the ritual requires a sacrifice. Why did you go alone?"

"... I'm not going to claim I went to sacrifice myself to save the kids."

Go Seonha clenched her fists until her knuckles went white.

"I was going to see how it worked first... then decide. But, yes. While I was doing it, I realized what the situation was. I saw the records left by people who'd done it before, too."

"..."

"Tonight's the full moon. Once tonight is over, it's all over! We can't last fifteen days until the next full moon. The ghost will definitely... definitely open the door, and—"

"Yes. So we need to perform the ritual before sunrise."

Remembering the single talisman barely hanging on to the door handle, I found myself nodding.

"But I'm telling you, we can't!"

"No."

I shook my head and stood.

"I think it's possible."

"What?"

"The ritual."

For now, I'd thought of an alternative that seemed promising.

"I'll get things ready."

"W-wait. But, uh, even if something does work, you still have to find all the supplies outside and prepare them again... I already used everything I found!"

I looked again at the paper with the copied ritual instructions.

Ingredients: 3 plums, salt, ash from burned peach branches, one doe of well water

So all of this had to be gathered outside...

In the dead of night, with the changgwi roaming around.

But a way to move around here safely, alone...

'Just my luck. There is one.'

For me alone.

"Shall I switch off your spotlight now, Mr. Roe Deer?"

"..."

Wow.

Do I seriously have to go out there alone?

I instinctively looked back at the others.

My cowardly heart was screaming for us all to stick together, but my brain grabbed it by the collar and told it not to be stupid.

Aaaagh, this is driving me insane!

In the end, reason won.

"Please wait here, everyone."

Actually, I'd really like you to come with me.

If anyone feels like volunteering to come along... Wait, someone does?

To my surprise, Go Seonha raised a hand.

"... I've done it before. I could at least show you where—"

"Now, now! D-don't get in his way. Sit down, young lady."

But Section Chief Lee Byeongjin sprang up in alarm and stopped her.

"You can't think of him as someone like us! Hm? He's no ordinary person!"

"..."

No, that's a bit much.

"Don't get in his way. Just mark the locations for him. Quickly!"

"Uh..."

Go Seonha looked dubious.

But after looking at me, she nodded as though somehow convinced.

'...!?'

Then she marked where she'd found the supplies in a blank space on the ritual sheet and held it out.

"Oh! And... be careful of water."

"..."

"A changgwi is a ghost killed by a tiger and enslaved to it. But... in the past, the word also meant a water ghost..."

Go Seonha swallowed, her face pale.

"Riverbanks, the sound of water, streams—if you see any sign of something in the water, avoid it. Don't even look. Just keep walking."

"Yes."

This is fucking terrifying...

Anyway, the moment was upon me, and I stood before the door.

The security chief spoke up.

"Oh... You're going out alone?"

"Yes."

It makes me want to cry, but that's how it turned out.

"If anything goes wrong, please look after the others."

The security team wasn't a department devoted to protecting people, but he would be far better than a civilian. Especially against monsters in a ghost story.

But the security chief just stared at me.

"Hey."

"Yes?"

"You really don't seem like someone who works at our company..."

"...?!"

"How curious... All right. I'll just sit here... Don't have my equipment anyway..."

Then he sprawled out near the door.

"..."

So we're all settled, right?

'... Let's go.'

I took a silent, deep breath and pulled the door handle.

CREEEAK.

The hinges gave an eerie creak, revealing the outside.

Darkness, thick with fog.

It was deathly still.

"..."

CREAK, THUD.

The door closed behind me.

They'd definitely said it was a full moon, but the fog was so dense that not a ray of moonlight shone through.

Pale things flickered in the deep darkness. Branches swayed in the wind, shadows gathered beneath trees and bushes.

I barely managed to take a step.

TRUDGE, TRUDGE.

"My friend, I shall now switch off your spotlight. You will disappear into the camera's blind spot, behind the stage..."

With every step, something like a dense shadow pressed darkly down on me.

'It's a strange feeling, even the second time...'

Now faint and dark, I quietly melted into the foggy forest.

"Phew. It's rather easier here!"

Of course, I was still terrified. I felt like I'd drop dead of a heart attack.

[Walk straight toward the upper left from the abandoned house. You'll see a very large tree. A taboo rope is hung around it.]

Still, Go Seonha's rough map, arrows, and notes surfaced in my mind, guiding my steps.

I could barely tell which way was forward. I was almost in awe of how she'd managed to gather the ritual supplies.

'Upper left.'

Had a few minutes passed, each feeling like an hour?

"Ah, Mr. Roe Deer. I can see something over there."

Just as Braun said, something began to emerge.

It was... an enormous tree shrouded in dense fog.

A waft of air.

Every time its branches swayed, a sweet scent drifted over.

... Peaches.

'Why does it smell like that when there's no fruit?'

The scent was undeniably sweet, yet somehow unsettling...

A taboo rope hung around the tree, with another length sagging between two thick branches.

Beyond it, I could see a small field.

"Oh, farmland? A little vegetable patch in the mountains has quite a pleasing aesthetic. Still not to my taste!"

Braun sounded quite cheerful, but my state of mind was anything but.

Hadn't the book I'd read earlier called this place the “Lord of the Mountain's burial ground”?

And these were the places containing the ritual ingredients, no less?

'Definitely supernatural territory.'

Moving slowly and with extreme caution, I approached and circled the area, collecting the ingredients.

'Plums... found them.'

[With the large tree on your right, look to the left. Small trees. Plum trees.]

I picked up fallen fruit beneath the plum trees and some bone-dry branches near the giant peach tree.

For the record, I absolutely did not pluck any fruit or break off any branches.

'Why ask for trouble?'

Standing alone in the mountains at midnight would be frightening enough. Now imagine standing alone in mountains where you're trapped after being bewitched by a ghost.

And you have a mission to complete?

You'd become a safety-first fanatic without even trying.

'... Good.'

Finally, I gathered into a piece of paper some salt scattered over an old stone cairn, seemingly to ward off evil.

... To be honest, before this, I'd nearly screamed when I heard the bucket knock against the inside of the well while drawing water.

'Still, I've got everything.'

My surroundings remained silent.

I let out the faintest sigh of relief.

'Now, back to the peach tree, and if I retrace my steps, I should reach the house...'

As I began following my route in reverse to avoid losing my way, something I'd missed earlier caught my eye.

A piece of clean silk was tied by one end to the end of the peach tree's taboo rope.

'Huh?'

There were words written on it.

You who are unqualified

Turn back

Wow.

'Definitely not touching that.'

I nodded to myself, maintaining a safe distance of one meter.

"You seem tense, Mr. Roe Deer."

'Oh. It looks like you need to qualify to cross this rope.'

"Hmm."

'No matter how I look at it, someone bewitched by a ghost can't possibly qualif—'

"And you qualify!"

'...'

What?

"Would you look at your wrist?"

I raised my hand and looked at the inside of my wrist, where the theme park admission bracelet had once been.

: Socius :

The tattoo left after the Membership burned away was gleaming strangely.

"...!!"

'Socius... Was that the word?'

Latin for things like companion, member, or kin.

"Oh, so this mark is accepted more widely than I expected!"

"I can't say whether that theme park mascot is remarkably well-connected for what it is, or simply has another part-time job."

"..."

"Well, my friend, will you try using your Membership?"

I stepped right up to the taboo rope and slowly reached out.

The rope swayed and passed through my arm with an impossibly gentle ease.

"...!"

"As I thought."

Carefully, I took a step forward.

Into the orchard I had been permitted to enter.