Chapter 64

Deputy Eun Haje had decidedly mixed feelings.

'If I had to go, I wanted to go in peace.'

Apparently, that had been far too much to ask.

“Hey! Get back! You think I don’t know you already got one right?”

“Aagh! Get back already! I haven’t gotten a single one right yet!”

'Fucking trolls...'

It was utter pandemonium.

Until a moment ago, they had been looking out for themselves and acting like spectators at a sporting event. That had been ugly enough, but watching them scream as they monitored and obstructed one another was even worse.

Survival and points.

Twice the objectives, twice the conflict.

It was like watching a cartwheel that couldn’t move for all the friction, only grow hotter and hotter...

'Roe Deer really is something else... '

It had been a long time since she’d seen such masterful political maneuvering.

'Thank goodness he’s a good kid.'

Judging by this mess, his plan might really buy them well over an hour.

'Has it been twenty minutes now?'

_ _ T R A _ _ R

And they had only filled in one more blank.

[Here is your hint for the sixth letter!]

[Whose death was announced in the phone call that gave Teacher Eun Haje her trauma involving airplanes?]

“Deputy Eun, who died...?”

“Yeah, fuck off.”

But what was the point of postponing it, anyway?

'I’ll still die with every detail of my life exposed.'

Not that she had any reputation left to protect now... but the longer this dragged on, the more bitter and exhausted she felt.

Besides, every guess at what her two juniors were planning made her head spin.

'I think those two are about to do something insane.'

She recalled what Roe Deer had whispered to her earlier.

[“When you’re executed, remember this...”]

“...”

He had delivered it as an announcement, as though he wouldn’t hear any arguments.

But if they truly insisted on doing it, didn’t she owe it to them to try her hardest to survive?

... Though, of course, she couldn’t know whether their resolve would remain unchanged a little while from now.

'Let’s wait and see.'

Eun Haje folded her arms in spirit.

Then twenty minutes,

thirty minutes,

forty minutes...

“Yes! That’s it! B for Believe!”

[Correct!]

B _ T R A Y _ R

The word was nearing completion.

And by this point, some people were bound to realize what it was.

“Wait a second.”

“Huh?”

“This word is...”

* * *

“Roe Deer, look.”

I raised my head.

One hour and eight minutes had passed.

... The word was complete.

B E T R A Y E R

Betrayer.

“...”

[The word that best describes Teacher Eun Haje is ‘betrayer’!]

What?

[Four years ago, when Teacher Eun Haje was a reporter, she betrayed her longtime boss and her team to publish a scoop on her own, only to fail and have her story stolen.]

[In the process, false reports were published, and she left her informants to suffer such terrible emotional distress that they actually died!]

“...”

[What lesson can we learn from this?]

[The answer is ‘Those who betray their workplace are punished’!]

Ha.

[Hangman is an excellent simulation game that teaches the children of our ■■ Kindergarten that good is rewarded and evil punished.]

“Seriously... I’ve never regretted not being able to swear this much.”

“...”

“Roe Deer.”

The supervisor gripped my shoulder.

“If that’s all you hear, she sounds like a really messed-up person, but...”

“We won’t know what really happened until we hear it from her.”

“...!”

“That’s the kind of Darkness this is.”

Inflicting psychological pain. Isolating the victim.

Controlling the other explorers’ behavior by frightening them with penalties.

“I think we can wait to talk about it until we all get out alive.”

His face brightened.

“Exactly! That’s our Roe Deer! So... ah.”

TRUDGE, TRUDGE, TRUDGE...

I turned my head.

“... They’re coming.”

Beyond the open door of the Activity Room, figures were walking in slowly and smoothly, their footsteps in unison.

There was no melting black substance, no screaming.

Neat pastel clothing, smiling faces. Aprons and name tags.

Brands on their foreheads.

[Sunshine Class ■■■]

[Chick Class ■■■]

[Sapling Class ■■■]

“... People who were completely contaminated and trapped here. No, monsters that used to be people... Don’t look them in the eye.”

“...”

“If you get scared, they might affect you.”

I averted my eyes from the figures as much as possible.

[The game is over!]

[Now, let’s hang the hangman to finish!]

“It’s time.”

“...”

I recalled the conversation we’d had while preparing just a little earlier.

[“Supervisor, if this is too much for you...”]

[“I should dump it on you?”]

[“Pardon?”]

[“Come on, don’t say that. It’s my Exclusive Equipment. You couldn’t use it anyway!”]

'I really wasn’t offering to do it myself, but, um, thank you... '

And now, his very own Exclusive Equipment was in his hands.

A camouflage cloth.

'Did he call it the Mimic Scarf?'

At any rate, it looked no different from when he’d helped me at the exhibition, with one exception.

“It’s soaking wet.”

It was saturated.

I had poured every last drop of my remaining <Alice Picnic Set> drink over it.

The very same drink I’d used to double the Smile Sticker’s effect during The Tuesday Quiz Show.

'I really soaked that scarf in it.'

Getting too much foreign matter on the floor was also grounds for a penalty, so I’d spread my suit jacket underneath it, effectively sacrificing the jacket.

And if that drink worked...

'The camouflage equipment should be incredibly powerful, even if only once.'

Until it dried, anyway.

Since we were working against the clock regardless, it was perfect.

“I’ll put it on, then.”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

The supervisor glanced at the kindergarten teachers beginning to climb onto the platform, then quietly pulled the scarf up over his face.

And...

He became one of them. Perfectly.

[Sprout Class ■■■]

“...!”

-Ah, excellent. A fine disguise. Though I doubt it will last long...

'It only has to last a little while.'

About three minutes.

And I had to move, too.

I waited just long enough for him to blend in with the teachers, then followed after a short delay.

'Now.'

I had to get as close to the platform as possible so Braun could use his ability.

And if I could draw a little attention to myself to make it easier for Supervisor Park Minseong to maneuver among those monsters, all the better.

'Let’s get start—'

Then I looked up.

“...”

'Ah.'

I’d forgotten something crucial.

I was a coward.

Teacher Kim Soleum, listen.

I finished reading the teaching manual!

1. ■■ Affiliated Kindergarten is eternal.

2. I obey the rules.

Then it’s perfect I’m a perfect teacher everyone is safe happy there are never any accidents no one jumped off it’s a perfect safe kindergarten everyone follows the rules while caring for children I’m a perfect teacher everyone follows the rules on and on forever here once you finish reading the teaching manual once you attend our ■■ Affiliated Kindergarten Teacher Kim Soleum you’ll soon be just like me now just read the teaching manual hurry

On the platform.

Countless teachers from ■■ Affiliated Kindergarten stood smiling they were absolutely not human they had absolutely not been human.

The instinct that I’d be f***ed if I approached those things seized me by the scruff of the neck, almost making me scream. I have to read the teaching manual too

I knew it intellectually. The more frightened I became, the worse the mental contamination would get I just had to hold on.

And I knew I had to stand close with their eyes on me, that what I had to do was really nothing compared to Supervisor Park Minseong, who had to mingle with them himself.

But...

mark

Had I held back a scream?

What, what even was this?

He said fear caused contamination, didn’t he?

Was my fear drawing the contamination in?

I had to draw their attention? I had to get those things to look at

mark

“...”

DRIP.

Cold sweat fell from my chin.

I barely managed to put my left foot forward and advance.

One step.

RATATATATATATAT!

Their gazes struck me.

I T ’ S A N E W T E A C H E R !

'S-sticker.'

The tattoo sticker! I had to use it. Right now. I couldn’t take—

No, hold on. Not yet.

This was panic. I needed reason, not courage... No, I’d use...

-Mr. Roe Deer.

“...”

-I’m curious what your favorite fruit is.

“...”

-Mr. Roe Deer, a humble audience of one named Braun awaits your answer!

The question...

-Your favorite fruit!

...

“Grapes.”

-Ah! An excellent choice. A symbol of abundance and ripeness. Worshipped as a sacred fruit in ancient Egypt, and in Greece, the source of a profoundly social and cultural beverage, was it not?

-Shall we go into more detail? Let’s move forward...

I slowly took a step.

New Teacher Eun Haje will dangle from a rope until her neck snaps and she dies!

That’s how we play Hangman!

I moved forward, looking at the floor.

-What about wine? A beverage that has evolved alongside human civilization. From the grape varieties to the harvest season and the aging process.

-Refined over thousands of years, the desires of producers and consumers became the will that sustained those methods and their products...

One step.

One more step...

“...”

Before long, the edge of the platform entered my field of vision.

I had reached its base.

-Mr. Roe Deer, the same holds true of your steps.

I raised my head.

-Anyone can be bold on a show. Otherwise, they disappear.

-And Mr. Roe Deer. You were a contestant worthy of remaining. Ah, now I remember. Yes... The MVP.

-Let us follow your desire and will this time as well.

Braun spoke cheerfully.

-And shall we play our assigned roles splendidly?

...

Right.

'Thank you.'

-Encouraging the crew has always been my specialty!

I really was grateful.

I took a deep breath.

The smiling teachers’ gazes pierced me again, but it was a little better.

Meaning I wasn’t so terrified that their whispers and phrases burrowed into my brain enough to contaminate me.

'Don’t let fear overwhelm you.'

I could do this.

I took my position and looked up at the teachers packed tightly together on the platform.

[New Teacher Eun Haje, please come up onto the platform~]

The hanging began.

* * *

Kindergarten teachers crowded the bright, colorful, pretty platform. It looked as though an event might begin at any moment...

But what they surrounded was an execution scaffold.

A black scaffold for hangings. A gallows.

A straight black line appeared, leading to it.

At the end of the line were assembled human body parts.

Both legs, both arms, thighs, waist, chest, neck.

Finally, the head.

The instant it appeared on the platform, all the parts joined together, and Deputy Eun Haje exhaled.

Then she gritted her teeth at the teachers crowded around her.

G O O D B Y E !

The teachers applauded politely, smiling.

Pale-faced and probably holding back a stream of profanity, Eun Haje moved her feet.

Not willingly. Black holographic ropes forced her limbs to move, guiding her through the teachers toward the gallows.

And...

'This is the moment.'

Did you know?

Naturally, contact with the teacher selected as hangman was grounds for a penalty.

Attempting a direct rescue was forbidden, as was even a final handshake or an exchange of goods.

You couldn’t just accept the penalty and try anyway. The action would be blocked immediately before the attempt.

Which meant we had exactly one chance...

[Here is the hangman mounting the gallows! This is what happens when you get the answers right.]

The moment Eun Haje materialized on the platform and approached the gallows.

When she passed right beside the ‘teachers.’

TAP.

A teacher could give her something.

“...”

Disguised as a perfect teacher, Supervisor Park Minseong ‘handed’ Deputy Eun Haje something.

For the record, all four of her limbs were bound by ropes and unusable. Only small parts of her body could move.

For instance...

'Her mouth.'

The ‘something’ he passed her in that fleeting moment vanished into her mouth.

As though nothing had happened.

And Eun Haje continued walking, expressionless, until she finally mounted the gallows.

Here came our second opening.

[Now we will begin the hanging.]

'Braun!'

Now!

-Very well.

-Let us encounter your mask in a different way! Seeing the familiar anew...

I hastily looked up at Eun Haje.

Nothing changed.

THUNK.

The black hologram around her neck acquired form and texture.

[Hangman~!]

Then it pulled her upward.

'Damn it.'

I desperately wanted to look away, but I watched, pretending to be calm.

An unnaturally tremendous force pulled the rope taut...

And finally.

SNAP.

It rolled...

“...”

The headless body fell from the platform.

THUD.

I caught it as it fell directly in front of me.

There were no signs of life in the limp body.

Then it grew faint and vanished...

“...”

[The game is over!]

[New teachers, please wait a moment for your evaluations!]

“Ah, finally over.”

“Supervisor Roe Deer, you won. Seriously, why wouldn’t anyone let me get a second one right?”

The employees approached from behind, sighing with relief and grumbling.

They had been waiting there since just before the execution began, following the kindergarten’s instruction: ‘New teachers, come to the Activity Room now and watch the conclusion of Hangman.’

“...”

“Oh, is this your first time losing a teammate?”

“With that personality, Eun Haje was never going to live long anyway.”

Then someone clapped my shoulder.

“Well... You don’t have to be that shocked, you know? About her dying.”

“...”

I smiled.

“...?!”

“Why are you smil—”

“She isn’t dead.”

“Wh-what?”

“Huh.”

The employees looked at me as though I’d lost my mind.

But just then.

“Urgh, what is that?!”

Those looking at the platform screamed.

Not because they had seen Deputy Eun Haje’s severed head.

Quite the opposite...

“That, that!”

They had seen something else instead.

One employee pointed at the platform, voice trembling.

“Why... is it a hand?”

Exactly.

“I-it was definitely a head!”

I smiled at Eun Haje’s left hand lying on the platform.

I’d never thought the day would come when I’d smile at a severed body part, but I couldn’t help it.

'It worked!'

-Ah, marvelous work! I wonder whose it could be!

-And quite an amusing idea. Switching a hand and a head.

Yes.

I had tried to make Eun Haje’s head and hand ‘appear switched.’

So that when she was executed, one hand would be cut off instead of her head!

-Using a hand or foot as though it were another body part is a classic stage trick.

Braun grumbled that he was only doing this for someone who wasn’t even a guest because of his friend, but I couldn’t have been prouder of him!

'Of course, that wasn’t all.'

The hangman absolutely had to die and become a corpse to leave.

If Eun Haje had remained alive after the execution, the kindergarten would surely have noticed something amiss and done something else to enforce its rules.

Which was why...

[“I just have to put this plum-sized apple in her mouth?”]

We had needed Supervisor Park Minseong.

What he had slipped into Eun Haje’s mouth while disguised as a teacher was a Snow Mountain Mini Apple.

An item I possessed that induced ‘deathlike sleep.’

'Thank goodness I got that storage space in my wrist, so I could carry an apple that hadn’t been ground into juice.'

That had allowed me to tell her this.

[“Deputy, when you mount the gallows and an apple is put into your mouth, swallow the last piece just before your hand is severed at the wrist.”]

[“What?”]

[“That will happen. ... That is all.”]

Eun Haje had followed those instructions to the letter.

Ultimately, the instant her wrist—which everyone mistook for her neck—was severed, she swallowed the last piece of apple.

And entered a state completely identical to death.

Her corpse-like body was judged to have been ‘executed as the hangman’ and successfully left the ghost story.

Yes.

There was no other possible explanation for what had just happened...!

... We’d succeeded.

“Ha...!”

I pressed my hands hard against my face.

Still, I wanted to get out quickly and confirm she was alive.

'Someone might mistake her for a corpse and cart her away.'

It still felt a little too soon for catharsis or relief. I wanted to leave as soon as possible...

[Your evaluations are ready!]

Fortunately, the TV gave the signal that we were wrapping up.

It would soon announce that anyone who hadn’t contributed to completing the Hangman word would receive a penalty, while those who had would pass.

Judging by how things looked, at least no one seemed likely to be too contaminated to escape.

“Roe Deer!”

And as the teachers descended from the platform and disappeared, Supervisor Park Minseong finally jumped down as well.

“I-it worked, right?”

“Yes.”

“Aaah!”

He sank to the floor in joy and relief.

“So squeezing in among them was worth it...”

His face was pale too, but he grinned with genuine happiness and only then removed his disguise equipment.

“Supervisor, since you didn’t get any letters right, you’ll accumulate another penalty...”

“Oh, I can handle a second one.”

As we had discussed earlier, he nodded, willing to endure it.

“Honestly, it doesn’t feel great... But hey, one dose of contamination for not getting an answer right is better than the deputy dying! There won’t be a third, so it’s fi—”

[Oh dear, wrong!]

“...”

“...”

Huh?

[New teachers were supposed to stand below the platform! You must not set foot on it.]

[As your penalty, please read the teaching manual aloud for ten minutes!]

Supervisor Park Minseong looked up at the place he had just jumped down from.

“Ah.”

The platform.

“They caught—”

Then he was dragged in.