Chapter 452: Saving Maid Eunbyul (3)

Finding Eunbyul’s location itself wasn’t as difficult as I thought.

All I had to do was follow the red arrow showing her current location, according to the current ‘Sexual Desire Management Hunter’ function’s guidance.

Perhaps thanks to the mysterious mask, the other servants didn’t find my presence particularly strange, and thanks to that, I was somehow able to reach the 4th floor of the mansion without much suspicion.

…But the problem was, what came next.

“Umm….”

The arrow still pointed almost vertically upwards, but the problem was that I had no way to go up to the 5th floor or higher from inside the building.

I could somehow go up and down to the 4th floor using the stairs, but from the 5th floor upwards, I absolutely had to use the elevator.

This mansion’s elevator seemed like it wouldn’t operate without a designated keycard.

“Should I get the keycard first? The problem is where to get it….”

For starters, it was daunting just figuring out where to get it, let alone whether just stealing the keycard would even solve the problem.

There was a high possibility of security facilities even on the upper floors accessible by elevator.

The fact that the area accessible by stairs was only up to the 4th floor meant that the areas above the 5th floor must have had a reason why others couldn’t freely enter.

Perhaps the reason was related to the awakening abilities of the two sisters I mentioned on the way here.

In other words, precisely because it was such a place, the possibility that Eunbyul was imprisoned on these upper floors was even greater.

This was also why I had to find a way to get to the upper floors of this mansion.

“…For now, I’ll have to look for another way in.”

After briefly examining the malfunctioning elevator, instead of wasting time, I abandoned the elevator route at an appropriate point.

With a slight sense of regret, I walked out of the non-functioning elevator.

If entering via the elevator was impossible, the only option left was to use an external route….

“…You there!”

‘Oops.’

I had tried to move as inconspicuously as possible, but unfortunately, I was caught by another servant in an unfavorable situation.

I hesitated for a moment on how to react in this situation, then quickly made a decision.

If I tried to run or play dumb unnecessarily, it would only arouse more suspicion, so for now, I just had to somehow bluff my way through.

“Y-yes!”

“…You, you look unfamiliar. What’s your affiliation?”

“Ah, um, I’m….”

“You?”

“Uh, I’m a new butler working at the mansion of the Geumhyang Group’s Yecheon branch!”

“….”

I almost blurted out that I was Do Yehee’s butler in my confusion, but I quickly changed my story and stopped myself.

The butler of Do Yehee, who was currently in the reception room on the 1st floor, loitering in front of the elevator on the 4th floor was ridiculous in itself, not to mention if things went wrong, this butler, sensing something suspicious, could view not only me but also Do Yehee strangely.

Rather than revealing my affiliation, saying I belonged to the Geumhyang Group offered a slightly better chance of reducing suspicion.

“…You made a mistake.”

“……What?”

“This isn’t the Geumhyang Group’s Yecheon branch, it’s the Geumhyang Shinga. Don’t make that mistake again.”

…Haa, that scared me. I thought I was caught immediately.

At the words of the male butler, who looked to be in his late thirties, I nodded and somehow played along.

“Y-yes! I’ll be careful next time!”

“And when asked for your affiliation, state your name along with it. What’s your name?”

“I-I’m Kim Minsoo….”

“Hmm. I think I might have heard it… but I’m not sure.”

Well, I deliberately chose one of the most common names and just threw it out there.

If you randomly picked 100 men in South Korea, it was the kind of name that one or two might have.

Conversely, it was such an unremarkable name that it was enough to confuse someone’s memory.

“Well, setting that aside. Why were you hanging around this elevator?”

“An, an senior colleague asked me to bring something from the storage room, and since the elevator was right there, I thought I’d use it….”

“You didn’t even receive basic training that servants shouldn’t use the elevator?”

“I apologize! It was a mistake!”

“Good grief. Where did they send such a piece of trash to the Shinga….”

Although my acting was clumsy in many ways, the butler in front of me muttered with a sigh, seemingly having no idea that I was Do Yehee’s servant.

In my heart, I quietly breathed a sigh of relief that I had succeeded in deceiving him for now.

“Anyway, from now on, use the stairs when moving between floors. It’s fortunate I saw you this time, but if the Master or the Young Master had seen you, you would have been in serious trouble.”

“I’ll keep that in mind!”

“Alright, you can go.”

…I aged ten years in that moment.

Still, it was a relief that I managed to get away without being caught, otherwise the Eunbyul rescue operation might have faltered from the start without me even being able to do anything.

Being inside the enemy’s lair, my and Do Yehee’s safety being endangered was just a bonus.

Since we were already in the same boat, Do Yehee was now someone I had to look out for as much as possible, at least concerning the current Eunbyul rescue operation.

She was the one who got us this far, after all, so I didn’t want to cause trouble for her now.

The way to get up to the 5th floor and above was probably by using the windows from the outside of the mansion….

“…Wait, you.”

“Y-yes?!”

“Looking again, something still feels off. Come back here.”

“……Yes.”

What is it…?

At the sudden voice of the man calling me back, my head slowly turned.

Could it be, he noticed I was an unfamiliar face in this mansion?

Of course, since I was wearing a mysterious mask right now, my appearance would be quite vague, so he couldn’t possibly identify me as an outsider based on my face alone.

If he had noticed, it meant my suspicious acting had raised his suspicions.

‘…Should I subdue him?’

If I decided to, subduing him and escaping would be child’s play.

Between men, I, possessing awakening abilities, would naturally have a significant physical advantage.

If one of the ‘Blessing of Deep Sleep’ skills from my ‘Blessing’ ability worked properly, I might be able to subdue him without causing a scene.

The problem was that I had never actually used the ‘Blessing of Deep Sleep’ on a person, so using that skill was also a gamble.

If it didn’t work properly, it could lead to a major commotion, or I might end up having to resort to some violence.

‘I wanted to rescue Eunbyul without involving anyone else if possible, but if necessary, I’d have to subdue him using force.’

With those thoughts, preparing to use the ‘Blessing of Deep Sleep’ or other skills at any moment, I approached the nameless butler again.

The moment his hands suddenly grabbed my collar, I almost reflexively became wary and cast a spell.

“As I thought, the length of your tie is off.”

“……What?”

“Adjust the front and back lengths of your tie to a 2:1 ratio. That is a basic virtue that a servant of the Geumhyang Group must possess.”

“Ah, understood.”

“That’s better. You can go now.”

Having my tie adjusted unexpectedly, I bowed my head and slowly backed away from him.

…Seriously, I thought I was caught and nearly had a heart attack.

---

A short while later, from the moment I nearly got caught trying to operate the elevator to go upstairs.

For now, I moved to the location closest to where Eunbyul was confined, among the places reachable from the 4th floor.

‘Judging by the location, it’s right above me….’

Seeing the arrow appear exactly vertically above my head, Eunbyul must surely be somewhere above.

Whether it was one floor up, two floors up, or even higher, I couldn’t confirm just from this.

‘It would be better to check directly from the outside.’

Of course, since I was already inside the mansion, it was impossible for me to go out and check myself, so this time, I had to rely on Sihee, who was searching outside.

After putting the small earpiece I had prepared into one ear, I contacted her outside.

Before the first ring even finished, Sihee’s voice came through the receiver.

“Yes, Sungchul-ssi.”

“I’ve roughly located Nari-ssi’s position, but it seems the structure doesn’t allow ordinary people to enter freely.”

“…Is that so.”

“So, from now on, I plan to enter through the mansion’s outer wall.”

“…Huh…?”

“You don’t need to worry. I have my own way.”

The plant magic and cold magic I learned how to use today. Plus, with Sihee’s awakening abilities, it shouldn’t be impossible somehow.

“First, Sihee-ssi. Confirm my location. Can you see where I am right now?”

“Yes. You’re waving at me from a 4th-floor window of the mansion.”

“In that case, can you find an ‘open window’ on the upper floors from my current location?”

“…There’s one diagonally up on the 5th floor, and the window directly above on the 6th floor seems unlocked. It looks like it can probably be opened from the outside too.”

“In that case, let’s slowly head that way. Sihee-ssi, please watch my ascent direction from outside and guide me. And get ready to shoot arrows too.”

“Ascending direction? What do you mean….”

Thinking it would be much better to show her directly than explain, I used plant magic on the mansion’s exterior wall from outside the 4th-floor window.

The thick ‘vine plant’ created by my magic began to grow upwards along the exterior wall.

From this perspective, plant magic, while certainly difficult to use for hunting, is quite useful in many other ways.

Of course, as it was, there were no handholds to support my body, so there was a risk of slipping while climbing.

To mean ‘create suitable handholds’, I called her name again.

“Sihee-ssi.”

“…Yes.”

“In the direction the vines are growing, shoot arrows at appropriate intervals to create ‘handholds’.”

“…That’s too dangerous, Sungchul-ssi. Maybe a safer method….”

“If not now, there won’t be time or opportunity. Hurry, Sihee-ssi.”

“…….”

“Just as much as you care about Nari-ssi, I am also serious about rescuing her. If you were in a situation where you had to make the same judgment as me, would you have given up because it was dangerous?”

“…I’ll start shooting now, so please be careful not to hurt your hands.”

With Sihee’s final words, an arrow flew through the wind from the darkness.

It pierced precisely into the vine plant I had extended towards the 5th-floor window.

Then, I used my ice magic to securely fix the shot arrow to the wall and the vine plant, so it could properly serve as a handhold.

…If it’s embedded this deeply, it seems like it can support my weight.

“Good. Let’s continue like this.”

“Okay.”

Subsequently, several arrows continuously flew, piercing the darkness.

Even from this distance, thanks to Sihee accurately planting arrows through the darkness, the makeshift ladder we created on the spot gradually extended upwards.

Feeling the chilly winter air all over my body, I slowly reached one arm upwards towards the upper part of the building.

It would be a lie to say I felt no fear, but now was the time to overcome it all and climb upwards.

Perhaps, thinking of Eunbyul, who might be waiting for someone to come rescue her.