episode_0178

“How deep is the swamp?”

“No matter how deep it is, it only reaches a person’s waist.”

It may not be visible to them, but it is clearly visible to me.

Dead bodies are packed in clear water.

Since it does not rot, there is no gas to swell, so it just sinks. Their height and skin color are different, and their clothing and gender are also different.

One thing that was consistent was that everyone had their arms tied and everyone lost their heads.

It’s creepy.

I secretly put my finger in the water and looked at the water they had scooped out without them seeing, but it didn’t do me any harm.

It would be a good idea to go in now.

When you put your hand on clothes.

“You’d better not even think about going in.”

The swamp keeper spoke as if to stop me.

It’s a meaningful statement, as if he read my thoughts.

At that sound, Shir also looked at me, but like a swamp keeper, he did not stop my actions.

He just looks at me with anxious eyes.

But because it looks so bad, it’s just funny.

“I have some business to do in this swamp.”

“What can you find by going into a black swamp like that? No, what are you looking for?”

“This is a ghost whose head flew off.”

Although the swamp keeper’s face cannot be seen, it is clear that he is mesmerized.

“····You’re crazy. If you go in, you die. I clearly warned you.”

“Yes.”

After taking off my clothes and throwing them away, I slipped into the river wearing only my underwear. I gently put my toe in as a test, but I couldn’t feel anything.

I mustered up the courage to go into the water, but it was still the same.

“Shir, don’t follow me─””Oh, it’s hot───?!!”

Was it a little late?

Shir is shaking his fingers as if they were burned. ···Did you put your finger in the river?

“···What are you doing?”

“Oh, no. It looked okay, so I thought it wasn’t as dangerous as it looked.”

I burst out laughing at the dumbfounded voice.

But Shir was staring at me, mesmerized.

“Are you not sick?”

“Not at all. To my eyes, it looks so transparent that even the corpse inside can be clearly seen. It doesn’t seem to have any smell.”

Now that I know it’s safe, I have no hesitation in going in. Go inside and find the body─ “you.”

“Yes?”

Before I knew it, the swamp keeper was staring at me.

“······Are you dead?”

Dead?

You’ve been spouting nonsense since a while ago.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but as you can see, it’s alive.”

“What did you come here for?”

“I came to meet a ghost.”

“What do you plan to do when you meet?”

“I intend to at least relieve Han. Furthermore, I want to find the servant who made the swamp like this.”

“What do you plan to do when you find the servant?”

“First of all, when you show up, I will punch you in the solar plexus. I can’t tell you any more than that.”

The swamp keeper stares at me.

I waited to see if he was going to say something, and then looked away.

“······When you’re done with your business, stop by my house.”

“I will stop by when I have time.”

“Know. The swamp is watching you.”

The swamp keeper makes another meaningful noise.

The swamp is not alive…

“Yes.”

Leaving the monster behind, I took a step into the swamp littered with countless corpses.

*

I heard it was a swamp, but this is not a swamp.

Because swamps have very slow flow or are stagnant, bees with decomposed organisms are likely to form at the bottom.

But there is nothing like that here.

In other words, I can only feel the feeling of stepping on crumbly sand in my feet.

Additionally, when the wind blows, waves tend to form in the waves, but there are no such things at all. As the swamp keeper said, the depth of the water was extremely shallow.

In that shallow area, there were numerous corpses lying face down, as if they had died with their noses stuck in a piece of water. Since I couldn’t see anything foreign, it was a creepy swamp.

‘If I touch this, I’ll be cursed.’

I burst out laughing.

First, we have to rescue it and investigate. Suddenly, a corpse appears. He is a man wearing shorts and red short sleeves.

It must have been in the water for quite some time, but the color of its clothes hasn’t faded, so it’s very noticeable.

Pull the corpse by its ankles and raise it up―― Bump!

with a splash!

····.

The skin peeled off and I missed it.

It was like a swollen dumpling skin. When I actually rubbed it, my skin was crushed. I got goosebumps, so I wiped my hands, pulled on my clothes, and pulled out the body. Only then is the body slowly dragged out.

Take the body out of the water…

“What is that—?! Throw it away right now──?!!”

Shir suddenly gets angry.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“It’s pitch black and smelly!”

It’s amazing.

This was disgusting even to me, who had not been mentally manipulated. It made me wonder if Pluto had used mental manipulation on Ain for his mental health.

The body was brought to land.

The body was in terrible shape. That’s right, because it was a corpse that had swelled without decaying for decades.

Buuuuk─

Thanks to this, the moment I was dragged out, all the skin and flesh that had been dragged by the sand was ripped off.

“Uweek──?!”

Shir ended up vomiting.

You should at least pat me on the back.

“Are you okay?”

“Don’t come! Because it stinks!!”

Shir is scared and screams.

Meanwhile, the expression on his face as he looked at me was full of resentment.

On the other hand, the swamp keeper looks at the corpse with interest, and approaches me without hesitation.

“What are you?”

“The hand of the consul.”

When it looks like something is grasping, the swamp keeper frowns.

“Don’t play around. In 130 years, no one has gone in there and come out alive.”

“···The purpose of my visit is to meet the servant, as I said before. I am just a simple human slave.”

good.

Now it’s time to look for clues in the corpse.

Of the corpse…

“I don’t know what you’re trying to scavenge for by picking up the body, but it’s a futile effort, so it’s better not to touch it.”

···It’s a wasted effort?

Do you know something? I looked at the swamp keeper as he sat down hesitantly and stretched out his hand towards the corpse.

It’s not that fun for me to search or tear apart a corpse that’s not rotten, but swollen to the point where it falls apart when I touch it.

“Do you know what I want?”

“Aren’t you curious about the dead?”

···Dead?

Are you talking about the soul? In any case, there is no difference in the relationship between the dead and the soul and Pluto.

“Yes. I need information about the dead.”

“Why?”

“Because the dead are the key to meeting Pluto.”

The swamp keeper stares at me.

“···If you keep your mouth shut, maybe I can help you.”

‘You know something?’

Those were meaningful words.

The fact that they insisted on it in the first place meant that it didn’t matter if I didn’t keep it secret.

Because people who have really big secrets would never reveal them to outsiders they met for the first time.

If we infer, it also means that the swamp keeper wants something from me.

“If you can help us, we will act as cooperatively as possible.”

“When I help you, if you forget what I just said and become uncooperative, I will have no choice but to kill you.”

“I won’t do that.”

“You are the only one who can come into my house.”

“Wait!” “Yes.”

“Rishi─ Uweek──?!”

Shir held out his hand to me, then turned away, gagging. ···What on earth does this smell mean?

“I think I’ll get hurt if you keep saying that.”

“Don’t play around! I have the right to know too!”

“Calm down. I told you not to come in, but I never told you not to listen, right?”

There’s nothing you can do if you don’t let them hear it.

Shir’s eyes, which were looking at me with angry eyes, turned to the swamp keeper. The swamp keeper who caught Shir’s gaze glanced this way and went inside the house without responding.

It is acceptance.

I followed the swamp keeper.

Compared to Shir’s extreme reaction, that lamia doesn’t react that strongly to the stench of my body. You might think it’s because you’ve gotten used to it after living with it for a long time, but I don’t think the writer, Servant, is that simple.

There must be some reason.

“Come in.”

“You might smell something from me, are you okay?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

If you don’t mind, I have no intention of declining it.

Let’s hear what on earth they can tell us about the dead.

As we enter Raima’s house, Shir lingers behind us.

“I’ll be out soon.”

As the door closed, I immediately heard the sound of something leaning against the wall.

I feel sorry for Shir, but there is nothing I can do. The inside of the house was extremely cramped. The curtains were drawn to block out the light, and there was a damp smell and a smell of candle wax.

On the table attached to the wall were prepared herbal medicines, various crushed medicines, meat, etc. There is a small mismatched bed and a few one-piece clothes hanging there.

“Sit anywhere.”

I sat down on a chair that was a bit low for me.

Lamia curls her tail and pulls out something from a corner.

What are you trying to show me?

···dagger.

I don’t know what it is, but based on my reaction, it’s going to kill me.

“Oh, now that I think about it, it looks like Ramrat was there earlier. Where have you gone?”

“I was just about to introduce you. Jenny, I am someone who can see your true colors.”

“···Can you see me?”

A voice came from the small bed.

Perfect!

A Ramrat popped his head out from under the bed.

Ramrat looked up at me and bowed his head.

“Hello?”

“Ah, yes. Hello.”

It is a ramrat with a cat face and impressive blue eyes.

She wears clothes that are a little too big for her and looks up at me with her big, transparent eyes.

The fur was fluffy.

cute. This is a Ramrat that will make you smile.

“Now, I would like you to explain. How can you help me?”

“···Jenny, please explain.”

This Ramrat’s name is Jenny.

Ramrat looks at me after hearing the swamp keeper’s words.

Just a few seconds to explore me like that.

“How do I look to you?”

“This is Ramrat. It has clear blue eyes, resembles a cat, and fur is furry…”

Ramrat looks with a straight face.

It was a compliment in its own way, but do you hate things like this?

“Don’t play around. I am dead.”

“I also saw a dead person. But…”

“I’m not talking about the soul. I am a dead person.”

Soul?

Dead?

“Are the soul and the dead different?”

Ramrat nods.

“The soul is invisible to human eyes, but the dead are visible to human eyes. The soul dwelling in a living body is called a strong spirit, and the soul dwelling in a dead body is called a dead person.”

···The first example is Juul.

But what does the second example mean?

Dead bodies moving is only possible in media.

“I don’t understand.”

“It means that the dead body moves.”

“It is impossible. You are alive.”

“That’s how you see it. I don’t look like that to other people. The sweet medicine you took was made from my meat. To deceive the swamp.”

······no way.

If so, it would mean that Shir was nauseated because he ate the meat of a dead man.

I can’t smell it, but they say you can smell the corpses in that swamp even if you cover your nose.

In that case, this Ramrat naturally has some kind of relationship with that swamp.

“Can you prove it?”

“Yes.”

Ramrat laughs and puts his hand to his chest.

“Huh?”

How do you get your hands inside your body?

Pop!

Despite having vibrant body hair and complexion, no blood comes out when you stick your hand into your chest. As soon as the cute hand came out, the black, shriveled heart was lifted out.

But there is still no scar on Ramrat’s chest.

“Can you believe it now?”

“···Yes.”

It looks like a human to me, but I know very well that it isn’t. It will definitely look ugly.

That’s why the swamp keeper made a strange threat, saying that he would kill me if I revealed the identity of this Ramrat.

“···It was true. Dead.”

“Thank you for your trust. May I know your purpose?”

“I am trying to stimulate the soul sleeping in the swamp and make Pluto appear before my eyes.”

Ramrat shakes his head and sits down on his bed.

“It’s impossible.”

“Why?”

“Because they have no brains.”

No head?

What does it mean to have no head?

Are you saying there is no leader?

“Please explain.”

“Where do you think the soul is contained?”

Of course─ “I think it must be the heart or head.”

Ramrat nods and points to his head.

“As they say, the soul is in the head. In the brain, where memories are stored. Do you know what happens if a person’s head is cut off in an instant?”

“I’ve never cut it before, so I’m not sure.”

“You don’t die right away. You’re alive for a few seconds. When the head falls into the basket, you only find out. My head was cut off. And by the time I think of that, I die.”

It was vivid testimony that even though the head was still attached, it had never been cut off.

“I understand. So what should I do?”

“If you want to face the soul, you must come to the soul’s head, not search this place. Animals think with their heads, right?”

“It is impossible. The head has been lost for a long time.”

All the heads were placed on a catapult and flown over the wall of the large intestine.

They are soldiers and an organization that works for their own people.

A funeral must have been held for the blown head, and it must have been buried or placed in a shrine.

Ramrat shook his head.

“No. The place where a person died is inside the guillotine’s head basket. All heads are in it.”

The guillotine’s head basket?

Come to think of it, Dennis was like that.

‘During the Cold War. There was a time when barbarians committed provocations against North Korea. ‘He cut off the heads of thousands of Drekkar with a single guillotine.’

Called.

“Does this mean that no matter how much you stimulate that body, you will get nothing?”

I’m confused.

“Yes. You can’t get anything. The soul also needs to have emotions to react, but the abandoned body over there is just a body.”

It was a very unusual and awkward conclusion.

Find the ghost’s head.

“Thank you for providing the information. Also, would you mind if I ask you one question?”

“Yes.”

“Who are you?”

Zombies, mummies…

There are many monsters that come to mind.

What bothers me is that these ramrats are similar to the undead that appear in media.

Unless I was seeing a magician’s gimmick, this Ramrat clearly pulled out his own heart, which looked like the organ of a terminally ill cancer patient.

The body cannot move.

There is nothing special about living creatures.

The body is a machine made of meat.

This is the same as running a car without fuel.

“How do you move and why don’t you rot?”

“I don’t even know who I am. That’s also why it doesn’t rot. All I know is that I’m part of that swamp.”

“Ghosts cannot exist. From what I know, absolutely.”

“But we have it. If someone outside sees me, will they faint?”

“If the dead came back to life and wandered around like this, this world would have been destroyed long ago in the evening. Death is not a tragedy, it is everyday life.”

If there are ghosts, they must of course exist on Earth.

However, in that case, Baek Ki, who killed 400,000 people by burying them alive, Mao Zedong, who massacred his own people, and Hitler, a war criminal, should all be torn limb from limb by ghosts and chewed up with golden teeth to be eaten.

“I’m curious about myself too. That’s why I help you.”

Jenny laughs awkwardly.

···The revived undead are curious about their identity.

Perhaps this undead wants to meet Pluto and confirm his identity.

To do that, you’ll first need to get a hair basket.

“Thank you for your advice.”

As I stand up, Ramrat shakes his head.

What I am seeing is probably what Ramrat looked like when he was alive.

Since the original appearance is half rotten, they must have put a chain and lock on the door and covered all the glass with curtains.

However, all those who died in this swamp were Drekkar.

So when on earth did this Ramrat die and for what reason did he become a dead person?

As I left the swamp keeper’s residence with these questions in mind, Shir, who had been waiting for me, glanced in my direction.

“····I can never just take you away. Absolutely not unless you wash it.”

uh?

“What is it? Did you know how to speak Lamrat?”

“No? They both speak Hosot.”

You spoke Hosot?

That can’t be possible. Especially when it comes to ramrats, which have a short lifespan.

But how—huh?

I got goosebumps.

“······Shir.”

“Huh?”

“Do you know where the body I rescued went?”

The body disappeared.