Chapter 36

My foot landed on the ground beyond the taboo rope. In game terms, it felt as though I had entered some special zone.

As if by magic, the fog vanished, revealing the scenery in full.

But...

'... It's huge.'

The field in the mountains beneath the full moon was far larger than I had expected. Vast enough to cover the entire ridge.

Quiet, dark greens swayed beneath the deep blue moonlight. Yet the sight felt neither particularly peaceful nor pleasant.

It felt ominous and uncanny.

“What a peculiar fragrance.”

He was right.

And those tiny red berries nestled among the swaying greenery were... W-wait a second.

'... Ginseng?'

That was definitely what it was.

Was this a ginseng field?

Wait. Cultivated ginseng was grown artificially by people, and strictly speaking, this didn't seem to have been grown by humans, so...

'... Wild ginseng?'

All of this was wild ginseng??

'No, surely not...'

I hastily looked around the field and spotted a sign planted at its edge.

[One Thousand Years]

“...”

I immediately turned around to cross back over the taboo rope.

“Mr. Roe Deer?”

'Let's get out of here.'

Thousand-year-old wild ginseng?

It felt like opening a friend's pencil case to borrow a pen, only to find it full of gold bars instead.

Just as I was about to cross the rope—

[Benefactor!]

“...!”

[Oh, benefactor. Please don't leave...]

A delicate voice sobbed behind me.

Very slowly, I turned just my head halfway around.

[The ghosts serving the tiger are coming to steal me! The day draws near when that fearsome tiger will tear off my limbs, chew them up, and spit them onto the ground! Save me, save me...!]

A berry rising above the field was swaying gently. Then, as though it had noticed me looking, its leaves drooped.

[Ah, it is my turn now. I shall be ruthlessly torn to pieces, with not a scrap of flesh left...]

“...”

I turned to face the wild ginseng. Under my gaze, its cluster of berries shook fervently.

[I would rather be eaten by you, benefactor, than carried off in that wicked tiger's jaws! Take me with you and simmer me thoroughly in a great iron pot. Eat me, and every illness will be cured! Even your elderly parents will rise with the strength of able-bodied young men!]

Come to think of it, wild ginseng had always been depicted in folktales as something benevolent and mysterious.

A reward bestowed on good people.

I bent my knees toward the ginseng shaking its berries.

[Benefactoooor!]

And reached toward it...

Only to straighten back up.

[...?]

“You're lying.”

The berries froze.

Then the earth shuddered, and a deep, sinister, cracked voice erupted from it.

[You noticed! You miserable worm!]

Yep.

'This is supposed to be the Lord of the Mountain's burial ground.'

Ever heard the saying that ghosts do everything backward?

And this was a place we'd been bewitched into entering, named a burial ground, no less?

'As if wild ginseng growing here would be normal.'

It wouldn't be strange if every one of its properties were reversed. I'd figured it would be something like this.

[Ehehehe, hehehehe!]

The wild ginseng began writhing up out of the earth.

Eeeeeek!!

Its half-exposed body was a livid bluish purple. It looked exactly like a miniature zombie.

It was even spewing up mouthfuls of some dark red sap!

'It's scary even when I'm prepared for it!'

[Be buried too! Be buried here as ginseng! Have your hands and feet cut off so you can't run, and rot! Feel the agony of dying aliiiiive!]

Even the surrounding leaves twisted like tentacles as roots wriggled out of the soil. Aaaaaah!

Without wasting a moment, I pulled an item from my waist.

'S-Snow White's Apples!'

An item with the peculiar effect of putting anyone who ate it into a deathlike sleep immediately.

But what was I going to do with it?

'I figured chewing through an apple in an emergency would be hard enough already, so...'

I'd ground them all up into juice!

SPLAT.

I took out a sealed pouch of juice made from Snow White's Apples and splashed the entire contents over the field in front of me.

The wild ginseng...

[Keehehehe! It won't work! It won't work, you fool! I'll rip off your li—]

SNORE.

Fell into a dead sleep.

“...”

Snow White's Apples... They certainly worked.

I moved cautiously closer. The hideous wild ginseng, still halfway out of the soil, lay unconscious and utterly motionless on the ground.

It was a strange sight, somewhere between a cockroach laid out after being sprayed and a dog or cat fast asleep with its belly exposed.

“Oh! A rude fellow, but quite entertaining! Why not take it along as a souvenir?”

Normally, I would have asked if he was insane.

But I carefully examined the wild ginseng.

It spoke, expressed emotions, and assessed the situation while trying to deceive me. It also seemed to have something like sap flowing inside it.

In that case, wasn't this...

'A sapient being?'

Found it. A substitute sacrifice.

* * *

“... So, you've gathered all the materials, finished preparing for the ritual, and we can use this strange wild ginseng as the sacrifice... Is that what you're saying?”

“Yes.”

“...”

The abandoned house's occupants looked dumbfounded after hearing the abridged version of ‘What Happened to Kim Soleum (Currently Impersonating Security) While He Was Out~.’

Had I abridged it too much?

But I had no choice. Since I couldn't explain how I'd done any of it, it had boiled down to ‘Anyway, I got everything.’

'Digging up the wild ginseng does bother me a little... But it'll be better for my mental health than randomly picking a person to kill.'

I didn't know whose field it was, but I figured Braun would have sounded the alarm if there were a truly serious problem.

In any case, I looked at everyone with the most nonchalant expression I could manage. They were still staring openmouthed between me, the supplies, and the wild ginseng.

But the explanation more or less worked.

“A-as expected of security... To think you can even do this!”

No, really.

Feeling needlessly guilty, I glanced at the actual security employee, but the security chief was merely lying among the middle schoolers, looking as though everything was a bother.

They must have introduced themselves at some point, because the kids were clustered around him, chattering away.

“You don't look all that strong, though.”

“No... I'm super strong.”

The kids laughed. Having more people around must have helped them relax a little.

Section Chief Lee Byeongjin anxiously watched me and Go Seonha, whose face had brightened as she checked the supplies. He swallowed before speaking.

“Th-then, are we all going to the shrine now? To perform the ritual...?”

“Yes.”

“... The shrine is nearby, so we should be fine if we're careful. Nothing happened while I was there, either...”

Go Seonha turned toward me, her expression tense.

“Did you happen to visit the shrine while you were out?”

“Yes.”

I'd taken advantage of Braun concealing my presence to burn the peach branches there.

I'd nearly cried from nerves about three times.

“... That should make it easier, then. We just need to walk quickly and quietly, without making a sound. We'll be in the fog, so we just can't afford any mistakes.”

“Understood.”

“... Then let's go to the shrine together.”

The time had come.

After taking a moment to catch our breath and steel ourselves, we lined up in front of the closed door.

“Kids. You mustn't stop, no matter what. Keep walking.”

“Okay...”

The kids nodded at Go Seonha with frightened faces, but the adults' reassurance soon had them pressing their lips shut and taking places in the line.

“...”

But how had I ended up at the very front...?

Everyone, why were you all so naturally moving behind me?

'Did I leave out too much about how I got the supplies...?!'

Apparently, everyone thought I was some extraordinarily fearless, inquisitive, highly capable individual. Oh, please...

'They wouldn't believe me if I said I was scared now, would they?'

... Still, maybe this was better than being at the very back.

Resigned, I opened the door again.

CREEEAK.

The mountainside, shrouded in darkness and fog, came into view once more.

I sucked in a breath.

“Uh...”

“Shh.”

The frightened kids clamped their mouths shut.

We began moving slowly, as quietly as possible.

TRUDGE, TRUDGE.

With every little sound, our footsteps quickened.

I could feel the whole group gripped by the pressure of expecting a tiger's ghostly servant to come chasing after us at any moment, calling to us from behind.

“My friend! There's no need to hurry so much. Even if the worst happens, never forget that I, Braun, am always here...”

Fortunately, that ‘worst’ never happened.

Beyond the darkness and fog, old roof tiles came into view.

An old red-and-blue building bent at strange angles.

The shrine.

THUD.

“Whew.”

“E-everyone's inside, right?”

Having made it safely into the shrine, everyone caught their breath.

The security chief, the last to amble inside, closed and bolted the green paper-paneled door.

Section Chief Lee Byeongjin hurriedly tried to paste a talisman he'd picked up from the abandoned house's floor over it, but Go Seonha stopped him.

“It could interfere with the ritual. Let's leave it alone. We just have to finish quickly and get out!”

“R-right.”

Meanwhile, I looked around the shrine. My eyes, now adjusted to the darkness, picked out shapes in the shadows.

The interior was uncannily clean, but extremely old.

A shattered incense burner stood between two rusted, headless Maitreya statues. Above it was a worm-eaten wooden tablet.

“That must be the tablet with the ritual written on it. Quite atmospheric...”

I read along as Braun relayed its contents.

“... The human most stout of body and spirit shall step forward and conduct the ritual.”

Wow. Definitely not me, then.

“...”

No, seriously. Both of you, stop looking at me.

I naturally turned my gaze toward the security chief. The other two followed my gaze, but...

“I can't.”

“... Pardon??”

“I can't do it, so don't make me...”

“U-understood.”

Section Chief Lee Byeongjin meekly backed down and looked at me.

I stared straight at him.

“...”

“... Um...”

“Go ahead.”

“Y-yes...”

Even with your nerves shot, you're probably less of a coward than I am...

Section Chief Lee Byeongjin stepped forward on trembling legs, then suddenly turned back toward Go Seonha and me in alarm.

“W-wait! ‘Hero of the Mountains’!”

Go Seonha looked horrified too.

“That's right! The ‘tune to offer the Lord of the Mountain’!”

“Yes, that! We don't have anything to replace that tiger nursery rhyme or folk song! Even with all the supplies, without that...”

Oh.

“We do.”

“...??”

“One moment.”

I called the middle schoolers over, then asked very politely.

“Kids. You said you were on a school trip, right?”

“Yes...”

“Did any of you listen to music the whole ride down? Or does anyone know a lot about celebrities?”

The kids exchanged glances, then indicated a student with no bangs.

I quickly addressed her.

“What's your name?”

“L-Lee Nayeon.”

“All right, Nayeon. I have a question for you.”

I tried to look as kindly as possible. Question marks appeared on all the adults' faces.

“...?? Excuse me, what are you doing...?”

“Some famous idol songs have tigers in the lyrics, don't they?”

“...!!”

I turned toward the adults.

They looked stupefied.

“B-but, um, can we write down p-pop songs? Something like an idol song...”

“Yes.”

I held up the ritual notes Go Seonha had written.

“As you can see, it only says ‘a tune.’ There's absolutely no requirement to use a folk song or nursery rhyme.”

“...!”

This wasn't the Ghost Story Wiki's submission page. There was neither any need nor any reason to choose a song that suited a ghost story's atmosphere.

Human prejudice had narrowed the options.

“Oh...”

I turned back to the child.

“Nayeon. Can you think of any songs, then? Words like ‘Lord of the Mountain’ or ‘tiger’ work too.”

“Oh!”

Nayeon's face immediately lit up as she answered.

“Yes! Saint U's ‘Peekaboo’!”

Bingo.

“A-and there's a VTiC song too...”

“Do you know all the lyrics to any of them? One that's famous, too.”

“Yes! Saint U's ‘Peekaboo’!”

Okay.

I turned to the adults and solemnly declared,

“We will use Saint U's ‘Peekaboo’ as our tune to offer the Lord of the Mountain.”

Have an idol song, tiger!

* * *

Inside the silent shrine.

Section Chief Lee Byeongjin stepped forward through the darkness and shook ash into the incense burner with trembling hands.

Ash from burned peach branches.

“First.

“‘The one conducting the ritual shall step forward, burn peach branches in the incense burner, and inhale their fragrance.’

“‘Carefully close the burner's lid, then open it again once the fragrance has dissipated.’”

With shaking hands, the section chief covered the battered old incense burner with its equally aged lid. After waiting a few seconds, he removed it.

Astonishingly, the pile of ash was gone.

In its place, a single intact piece of incense was burning.

Shaped like a little twig, it released a heady incense fragrance tinged with peach.

“...!!”

“‘If the incense is burning, the Lord of the Mountain has recognized your devotion’... Oh, everything is falling into place as planned. Splendid!”

“Ugh.”

Apparently finding the incense too pungent, Go Seonha covered her nose and stepped back.

The section chief hurried on to the next action.

“Second.

“‘Open the paper-paneled door.’”

RATTLE.

The dark forest came into view beyond the open door. The children hid behind the adults.

“‘Crush three plums in a brass cup and scatter them on the soil beneath the floorboards. Throw the remaining cup to the east, and under no circumstances look at it.’”

I handed Section Chief Lee Byeongjin the three plums. He mashed them vigorously with his fingers in the bronze cup, then scattered them onto the soil.

A sickeningly sweet-and-sour fragrance rose into the air.

Go Seonha stepped forward from where she'd retreated. She sniffed, looking a little better, then gestured to Section Chief Lee Byeongjin.

It was time for the third step.

“Third.

“‘Prepare a tune to offer the Lord of the Mountain. The more widely known it is, the greater its effect.’”

Section Chief Lee Byeongjin picked up the sheet of lyrics prepared earlier, carefully rolled it up, and placed it in the drawer beneath the incense altar.

“‘Write down the lyrics and place them in the incense altar. Sing at the top of your voice, clap with every step, and bow every thirty paces.’”

One by one, everyone stepped through the open door.

Section Chief Lee Byeongjin began joining in with the lyrics the student named Lee Nayeon had taught him.

“... Peekaboo. Here I come.”

The middle schoolers sang in chorus.

A tune dedicated to the Lord of the Mountain.