Ch. 31 Last Carnival
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 31 – Last Carnival
A dark night, half the world asleep.
The streets are quiet, with few cars passing by, leaving the area in silence.
Except for one voice.
“The priest had been keeping a tight grip on you, so my messages couldn’t get through. Finally, they’ve reached you! Yes, that’s right. Now we can take things step by step.”
“Ah, okay.”
In the end, I accepted Hongryeon’s offer of employment.
I no longer felt like I’d be overwhelmed or lose to her, and I also wanted to overcome the trauma from our first encounter.
But.
“Wait, what do you mean by ‘step by step’…?”
“Of course, it’s about building connections! Relationships with people are built slowly, like this. I read it in a book recently.”
The problem is, I’m still an introverted loner, and Hongryeon is exceptionally outgoing even for her age.
She’s overflowing with energy and showers me with inexplicable kindness, which makes me uncomfortable.
We’re just too incompatible.
Can I cancel the contract and leave?
But I was afraid to bring it up.
I’m not cruel enough to come all this way and then reject her outright.
I just don’t like that I can be easily swayed when someone shows me kindness.
I can’t spit on a smiling face. I’m not heartless enough to push away someone who’s so eager to be close to me.
And while it’s uncomfortable, it’s not like there aren’t any good points.
‘It’s convenient that she’s so talkative. If she can entertain herself like that, then….’
In that regard, we might actually be a good match.
In terms of preventing awkward situations, I should be grateful.
Anyway, we’re now standing in front of a school.
The private high school where Hongryeon is enrolled.
I just found out that Hongryeon is the same age as me.
I cautiously asked her,
“Where did you learn that you have to build relationships from the ground up for connections…?”
“I told you earlier, from a book. What was the title again? ‘First Steps in Human Relationships’ or something….”
…I’m worried.
Of course, someone like her wouldn’t adapt well to society.
But Hongryeon dismissed my concerns and said,
“No way. I’ve adapted really well to school. There are only boring people around, but I’ve made friends too.”
If she says so, then someone like me has no right to criticize.
Meddling too much is toxic.
Hongryeon looked around and said,
“There are many ways for mercenaries to earn money. Some take on contracts, complete them, and receive payment. Others, like us vampire hunters, use the ‘bounty’ system. Many companies place indirect contracts through Round Ark.”
“Bounties, huh….”
According to her, we’re now in front of this school at midnight for a “bounty hunt.”
I haven’t heard a proper explanation about this job yet, but if it’s a bounty hunt in the underworld, it’s probably not something ordinary.
A bounty hunt in such a creepy place only gives me a bad feeling.
‘If something strange is happening at this school, all I can think of are school ghost stories….’
Do I have a tolerance for horror?
I’m not sure.
But I do know one thing.
A school in the middle of the city, where even the crickets are silent in the dead of night, is eerily unsettling.
“This is your first time doing something like this, right? You haven’t been a mercenary for long. If you’ve been sticking with the priest, you wouldn’t have done anything this fun.”
“No, fun…? This doesn’t seem like it’ll be fun….”
“You’ll see once you start. Things usually get interesting once you dive in.”
Hongryeon took a deep breath.
She looked at the large school in front of her and said,
“A terrifying demon-summoning ritual is happening at this school!”
“…Ah, a demon-summoning ritual.”
“That’s why we’re here tonight.”
My head is spinning.
I’m sure I’ve heard the term “demon-summoning ritual” somewhere before.
But I can’t remember now. Isn’t this a term from comics?
Hongryeon continued,
“A demon-summoning ritual involves drawing a pentagram, chanting ominous incantations, and summoning some transcendent entity from beyond the cosmos.”
“…Really? At this school?”
Hongryeon nodded vigorously.
“Human sacrifices, blood, screams, and a sinister ritual taking place in the school at night with no witnesses. Isn’t it fascinating?”
“….”
“Vampire Lord?”
“…No, no. Go on.”
Pointing out the difference in perception wouldn’t get me anywhere.
Fascinating?
Is this a common reaction?
Seeing me sigh, Hongryeon smirked.
“Jobs like this usually pay a lot. If it’s not just a vampire or a criminal but an organized group taking over a facility, the danger level is high, so the reward will be substantial. At least 30 million won, right? Since it involves public facilities, the compensation will come from a government front company.”
“…30 million?”
I started doubting my sense of money.
The reward for my first completed contract was…
I don’t want to think about it, but excluding the billions in damages.
It was definitely in the hundreds of millions.
Was the reward for my first contract abnormally high?
Or are bounties generally lower than contract rewards?
Since Hongryeon usually hunts bounties, I guess I’ll never know the truth.
I looked back and forth between Hongryeon and the school.
“So, uh. Hongryeon? Guren? What should I call you?”
“Just call me Hongryeon! Callsigns are too stiff, don’t you think?”
That’s not important.
I rubbed my temples.
‘Is this all just Hongryeon’s delusion?’
It seems like she’s just jumping to conclusions without any evidence.
Plus, the job seems like an afterthought, and it looks like she just called me here to hang out.
The job might just be an excuse.
What evidence does she have that something so terrifying is happening at a public facility?
But there’s no way to confirm the truth with just speculation.
“Let’s go, Vampire Lord. I’ll show you what I’ve found first.”
“…Huh?”
“Hm?”
…So it’s not just an excuse?
That’s unexpected.
I brushed it off and followed Hongryeon, watching her back.
She seems a bit odd, but she doesn’t seem like a bad person.
‘Though I’m not sure if someone who wanted to taxidermy me from the start can really be considered good.’
Of course, Hongryeon is a vampire hunter, and I’m a vampire.
I silently followed her.
* * *
“What about the night duty? The security? Can we just walk past them?”
“Don’t worry. I’ve done this more than once or twice.”
I’m nervous. Really nervous.
If we get caught here, Hongryeon might get off easy since she’s a student, but I’m an outsider, so it’ll definitely be a problem.
From this point on, even Hongryeon stayed quiet.
Carefully hiding in the shadows cast by the school, we soon entered a dark hallway through a side door on the west side of the main building.
The doors to the faculty and administrative offices scattered here and there were tightly shut, with no sign of opening.
The school was eerily silent.
No signs of life.
Is someone really gathering here at this hour to perform a demon-summoning ritual?
Why here of all places?
Why take such a risk in a place patrolled by security?
‘I can’t understand it.’
If they wanted to do something like this, there are plenty of better places, like the mountains behind the school.
I wondered if it was some kind of strange belief.
Meanwhile, Hongryeon kept moving forward.
Carefully tiptoeing past the night duty room, she led me to a large green bulletin board next to the central staircase on the first floor.
Hongryeon finally stopped.
“Here.”
“…Here?”
I looked up at the bulletin board.
It was cluttered with various notices, messy due to the start of the school year.
Among them, Hongryeon pointed to one notice.
“The Underground Class. Our target and one of the most mysterious groups at this school. It’s a club recruitment poster that only appears at dawn. It disappears without a trace during the day.”
The content was simple.
[Those with ample time, strong mental fortitude, and a healthy body. Come to the 2nd clubroom on the 5th floor at 2 AM. A gathering for the eternal preservation and revival of the human spirit – The Underground Class.]
“Could it be a prank?”
“Unlikely.”
Hongryeon was right.
The fact that it only appears at dawn suggests there’s something to it.
If it’s a prank, it’s an absurdly elaborate and dangerous one.
So now it’s half-confirmed.
‘Then what does Hongryeon plan to do about it?’
If it’s a dangerous organization, is she planning to crush it?
Hongryeon placed a hand on my shoulder and said,
“Let’s go, Vampire Lord. First, we need to find out exactly what this club is up to.”
“…Now?”
“Yes, now.”
In many ways, her decisiveness is impressive.
AlucardLovesFish
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