Chapter 48
"How are the kids?"
"They haven't woken up yet. I guess we'll have to wait and see."
"..."
"Cheer up. Thanks to the nun's cross, there won't be any immediate danger. It's hard to believe even items with purifying properties would be barely of use. Without her, the situation would have become really difficult."
"I should say thank you to Maria... And you too."
"There's no need for that. I promised, didn't I? To help. My feet is a bit sore from kicking away those giant arms, though."
"Normally, people can't fend that off. The building seemed unstable too..."
"Hehehe... Well, I think I was useful in some way. But even with my power, all I can do is support these children. Arachne is a step above me when it comes to mental attacks."
"In the end, we have no choice but to trust the kids."
POV Switch - Ha-rim
"Ahh!"
I opened my eyes.
I still vividly remember the huge eyeballs.
I think there was someone on the left of them, but I can't remember.
Right now I'm on a bed.
I don't remember there being beds at school. Is this the infirmary?
"You finally woke up, Ha-rim."
"Huh? Oh, Kyeong-min."
Kyeong-min greeted me warmly.
I asked him what happened.
Then he tilted his head as if he didn't understand what I meant.
"Nothing happened. It's normal. I play, eat, and sleep at home."
For some reason, Kyeong-min's condition was strange.
He might be shocked from what just happened, so it's not surprising.
I have to ask the others.
"What about the others?"
"They're playing Gonggi in the corner over there. Guys~! Ha-rim woke up!"1
Suho and Eun-jeong, who were playing in the corner of the room, came over.
At this moment, I glanced around the room and realized that this was not the infirmary.
There are 4 beds. There is only 1 window.
There is also a door leading to the bathroom.
And there were various toys rolling around on the floor. A few pieces of paper can also be seen occasionally.
"Ha-rim is a sleepyhead. But as soon as she wakes up, her complexion looks bad."
"If you're tired, keep resting. It's not good to overdo it."
"Hmm... Thank you for your concern, but where are we?"
"Where is it? It's our home. Did you forget that too?"
"Uh... I see."
Strange.
What do you mean by home?
Why isn't anyone finding it weird?
Their conditions are strange too. They're laughing in a creepy way, and their expressions don't change. It's as if they're completely empty inside.
I got up from the bed, hiding my unease.
Then I passed them and looked out the window.
I saw a small village using old Western-style architecture.
There are bright lights as if there is a party going on.
"Do you want to go outside?"
Suho asked.
"What?"
"No."
"...Why?"
"Because mom said the village is dangerous."
"..."
After hearing that, I quickly started rummaging around the room.
The group must have been attacked by a monster.
Eun-jeong's bell is very effective when people act weird like that.
I have to find it.
"What are you looking for? A toy?"
"Eun-jeong. Where did you put your bell?"
"Bell? I don’t know anything about that."
I'm going crazy.
Maybe if I give them a good hit, they'll come to their senses.
You shouldn't hesitate to go to the extreme when your survival is at stake.
I raised my hand and approached Eun-jeong, who was still smiling brightly.
"?"
"I'm sorry, Eun-jeong!"
Thump! When I hit her with a pillow, Eun-jeong staggered for a moment.
But that's it. Eun-jeong just smiled as if asking what had happened.
She didn't even question it.
It's creepy.
I feel like I'm going crazy.
...Let's calm down and sort out the situation.
It was definitely the classroom at the last moment.
But suddenly we find ourselves in this strange place and the others are in a weird state.
It looks like we we're kidnapped.
So it may be natural that you don't have the items you had.
First of all, there is no immediate danger, so I need to gather information thoroughly.
"Where is our... mom?"
"Mom is sleeping in the room on the second floor. If she had woken up, she would have made a lot of noise walking across the hallway on her eight legs."
"Eight... It sounds like a spider."
A spider... I moved away from the window and headed out the door.
First, let's investigate.
I need to find out the structure of this house.
I opened the door and peeked outside, and a surprisingly clean hallway caught my eye.
She seem to care about cleanliness. It had been wiped clean.
"Mommy says she doesn't like us being out of the room, so come back quickly before she comes."
I took a step into the hallway and looked around.
Left and right... Where should I go?
At this time, the smell of grilled meat came from the right.
Looks like there's a kitchen there.
'Let's go to the right.'
Since there was no door to the kitchen, I stuck my head out and looked inside.
The kitchen is clean too.
Plates and spoons on the table. And the dinner menu was written down. I read it.
"Today's dinner menu. Potato soup. Wheat porridge (Emily only). Fruit. Roasted villagers..."
Wait a second.
"Roasting people?!"
I quickly looked at the oven.
There, something in the shape of a person was occupying the space, half burned.
The fingernail marks in the oven, clearly visible to the naked eye, shook my mind.
"Urgh."
I hold back the nausea.
I feel like there is nothing good about leaving a trace here.
I've already seen a lot of scary things.
I barely managed to stop myself from vomiting and continued exploring.
What I can get here is... Maybe a kitchen knife.
I took a knife. I can use the blade if needed.
Woosh.
"Isn't it a note?"
A note that fell out of nowhere.
It seems that it fell when I touched the cutting board behind it while picking up the kitchen knife.
It's best to read it.
Rustling.
The moment I was about to read the note.
Clack clack clack clack clack clack.
"?!"
I heard the sound of several people moving at the same time upstairs.
8 legs.
It's clear that the mother that the group were talking about is coming.
But the speed is too fast.
It's late to go back to the bedroom. I hid myself for now.
The sound of footsteps came down to the first floor.
I held my breath and held the knife in my hand.
"..."
...Rustle. Rustle.
Rattle.
Squeak... Bang!
Clack clack clack clack clack clack.
The sound of footsteps grew distant and then disappeared completely.
They walked to the left.
If they haven't stopped walking, they probably got out of the house.
...The entrance is on the left. Are the stairs to the second floor right next to it?
And then I heard the sound of keys being used.
Looks like you need a key to get out.
It's complicated, so it's better to go out the window.
I left the kitchen and went back to the room.
I secretly unfolded the note while hiding it.
I'm sorry to you guys, but it's a bit hard to believe you with those bright smiles... Sorry!
[I'm scared! Kyeong-min and Suho are both strange. There are human bones in the kitchen too... Ha-rim, please wake up quickly. I'm scared to death.
Suho and Kyeong-min saw the note that was on the bed and are heading to the second-floor storage room.
I feel like someone who seems to be our mother is constantly watching.
If I succeed, I'll leave a note under the pillow. -Kim Eun-jeong's note- ]
"?!"
Eun-jeong wrote it?
Is this Eun-jeong, the one who is playing with the others and smiling brightly?
I looked at her. She was smiling and waving her hand. I nodded for now.
First of all, Eun-jeong was not in her right mind, but there seemed to be a time when she was sane.
Judging from the contents of the note, I was asleep and she saw both Suho and Kyeong-min acting weird.
I'm experiencing the same thing as her.
I looked at Eun-jeong's pillow.
...There was a note.
I searched Suho and Kyeong-min's bed and found two other notes.
First, Suho.
[When I woke up, you all were asleep and didn't wake up even when I shook you.
So, I'll leave a note first. Nothing is out of the ordinary here.
A woman with 4 arms and spider legs is pretending to be our mother.
If you listen to her carefully, she won't attack you.
For now, I'm going to keep pretending to be that woman's child. I'll find out more and leave a message. -Yoo Suho- ]
Was Suho the first to wake up?
Then, Suho. Kyeong-min. Eun-jeong. We woke up in that order.
If you listen well, she won't attack?
The goal isn't to eat us like the person in the kitchen?
That's useful information.
Next, let's read Kyeong-min's note.
[If you're reading this note, it's probably either Ha-rim or Eun-jeong.
Did you see the note on Suho's pillow? I recommend reading that first.
It may be a little awkward, but let me start with some precautions.
First of all, don't trust a person who's smiling brightly.
It looks like Suho, but the inside is completely different. No. More like it's empty.
Second, don't get caught leaving the door. I haven't been caught yet, but it seems like our mother keeps an eye on us from time to time. I don't think anything good will come of being caught.
Third, don't even think about going out the window. There are traps on all of them. I nearly died, really.
Lastly, you know that token-like thing we got from Mr. Pierrot last time? That person pretending to be our mom snatched it away as soon as she saw it. It's suspicious. It's probably in the second-floor storage room.
I'll find out more and leave a message if there's anything dangerous.]
As expected, it's Kyeong-min after all. There's a lot of information.
If I had gone out the window, I would have been in big trouble. The token given to me by Mr. Pierrot... And now that I think about it, it's gone. There were a total of 4.
"Since I'm the only one left, I guess I'll just put the notes away."
I'm the last one, so no one will see the messages next.
...I'm left alone again.
But if the fake mother goes out, I shouldn't just wait until she comes back.
In the contents of the messages so far, there was no mention of her going outside.
...Now might be my chance to safely explore the second-floor storage room.
Gulp.
Let's go.
I'm nervous. Of course, it's natural to be nervous, but something is different this time.
I guess it's because I'm alone.
Even though we've been apart, it feels like everyone is doing their best somewhere.
It felt like everyone was fighting together.
...Not right now. I can't shake off the anxious thoughts.
What if the brightly smiling members are empty and fake?
Where is the real thing? In fact, I just thought that maybe everyone is dead and I would be the only one left.
It's so painful to be alone again and not be together.
...I hate loneliness.
After school, I was always alone. This is the time I fear the most.
The fear of having to overcome it alone is not enjoyable.
After a scary experience, we were all scared- It's scary not being able to laugh and share the same experiences.
I'm scared of being left alone when it's all over.
It's scary that our adventure doesn't end as an adventure.
"..."
-Especially Ha-rim, I decided to show you an adventure.
...Who said that?
I came out of the room again.
Right now, I thought it would be better to move quickly rather than being careful.
I broke trough the hallway at a fast pace. Door. Door. Door. Door. Numerous doors pass by.
They were all marked with an "X", as if not being used anymore.
It appears that there were originally a lot of people.
I stood in front of the entrance. There was a staircase right next to it.
There are stairs to the upper floor... And stairs to the lower floor, the basement.
First of all, let's go up.
It's suspicious that all the things we were holding were gone, and the token that Mr. Pierrot gave us was the only thing that remained.
The priority is to quickly find the hat-shaped badge in the storage room.
I climbed the stairs.
The hallway on the second floor was less clean.
And it was also narrower.
In the long corridor, there was only one private room, and the rest were storage rooms, bathrooms, and what seemed like windows.
It seems like the fake mom is using one of the private rooms.
It's better to keep it simple. I walked past the bedroom and headed toward the storage room.
I turned the doorknob. Click. It doesn't open.
"...Maybe."
I noticed a flower pot sitting next to the door, so I moved it.
This is because I had the same thought that the others who went first might have left a clue.
Sure enough, there was a note.
[The key was in a box on the shelf in the bathroom on the second floor. -Kim Eun-jeong's note- ]
I took the box off the bathroom shelf and got the key.
There is no time to relax. I immediately opened the door to the storage room and entered.
"Cough cough."
A dusty storage room.
There were no spider webs.
Usually, mass media uses spider webs to express oldness, but for a place where a woman with eight legs like a spider lives, it is surprising that there are no webs at all.
...There are a lot of things. Most of them are child care products.
There are lots of children's clothes and toys.
It seems that many of the room were occupied by kids. There are a lot of things like crutches and prosthetic. I think it was a place that cared for child patients.
"Let's see where she left the tokens... Oh, a box."
Two small boxes caught my eye.
One was open and the other was tied tightly with cloth.
I looked into the open one.
"I found it right away!"
Three hat-shaped badges!
...Three? Where is the last one?
It's not going to be that easy.
I took the three tokens.
Next was the box wrapped in cloth.
It's tied so tightly that I don't think I can untie it.
"...This knife will help."
Gradually, slowly.
I cut the cloth with the knife and opened the box.
When I opened it, there were a lot of papers.
It feels like an old-fashioned newspaper. It was difficult to read because it was written in complicated English.
The only things I could read were phrases like "selling dolls", which were basic words.
There was a also a photo, and it looked like a store with a sign of an apple on it was selling dolls.
"I guess it's a store in the town."
I saw that village through the window.
"Now that we have taken care of everything, let's go back."
I stood up and walked down the second floor hallway. It was then. Squeak.
The sound of a door opening?!
Clack clack clack clack clack clack.
It's even coming this way.
I quickly found a place to hide. The place choosen was the fake mom's private room.
Clack clack clack clack clack clack!
It's nearby. Where should I hide?
...I saw a box that was just right.
I opened the lid and tried to go in. But there was one note.
[Don't hide here!]
Hastily scribbled letters.
Squeak!
Creak...
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