episode_0299

Sizzle!

The sound of tearing paper.

The sound of crickets at this time of year.

The [Guide to Community Living] that the Pumpkin Bee tore out of the [Black Book] falls to the floor in a fluttering manner.

Hot and sour.

A piece of paper dropped in a dark hallway on the 7th basement floor.

The ‘Director’, who was approaching the ‘Mouse’ with the sword stuck in his chest pulled out, stops moving.

『… … .』

A guidebook torn from the [Black Book].

What does that mean to the monster… ‘Mouse’ couldn’t figure it out.

『Ah… uh…』

But at least,

Until Eunha came to this orphanage herself…

I [the cohabitation guide],

For years and decades, I will never reach the North Star.

A future that cannot reach the bright North Star and is buried in the dark underground, rotting away.

Perhaps, what the monsters who live forever fear most is,

Could that be it?

『Ah …

It’s natural to get angry when you give and then take away.

The moment the ‘rules of one’s own’ written in the [black book] were torn away,

The ‘Director’, whose whole body was strangely twisted, let out a strange scream.

A cry buried in resentment.

He raises his body with long limbs like a blind spider, pulls out the sword stuck in his chest in one hand, and crawls on three legs.

What ‘that’ is looking at is the ‘Fly’, a pumpkin wasp with black hair and yellow vertical stripes.

And the [black book] the girl is holding.

Blink. Blink.

With the flicker of a light, something that was the ‘director’ crawls across the floor.

Blink. Blink.

The knife he was holding in one hand was the one that stabbed Banharin in the heart.

‘That thing’ approaches the stairs with the cold air and swings a sword.

Tick!

And, the ‘mouse’ that was frozen in fear of death,

He started moving again, generating mana within his body.

Tick!!

The sound of the second hand ticking faster.

[Speed Control] I instantly picked up ‘Fly’ with the skill.

Kagakak!

Immediately afterwards, a sharp blade passes by, scraping the spot where ‘Fly’ was standing.

Purrr!

‘Mouse’, who dodged the slashing knife once more, throws a ‘fly’ at the dark dragon leader Kim Yu-hee.

A pumpkin bee, which flew up while hugging a [black book], lands in Kim Yu-hee’s arms.

“Soft glutinous rice cake secured! Soft glutinous rice cake secured!”

“Everyone, get up! To the ground!”

“Don’t you add ‘nya’ at the end of a word?”

“Shut up!”

The end of the orphanage investigation.

Running away like a rat.

‘Mouse’ started to climb the stairs, urging the Dark Dragon members.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

– Do you think that if you live together, you can show everything?

– The closer you are to someone, the more things you have to keep in mind, and we call this etiquette.

​

– The more we wear the mask of etiquette, the less we will spit at each other.

1. Don’t run.

– You’ve probably heard it often. Maybe you heard it at school.

– We always tried to move quickly, but the first step of courtesy was usually calmness.

​

– Do not run in the hallways or on the stairs.

– You might fall.

​

3. Don’t make noise at night.

– They say that mice can hear what’s said at night.

– There’s always one person who sleeps lightly.

– As long as you don’t make too much noise, you can wander around at night without any problem.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wow, Detective Do Jong-ha is unexpectedly heavy.”

“What does this guy keep in his coat…!”

“Huh huh… That’s detective… Woof…”

Two members of the Dark Dragon Corps, who were taking care of Do Jong-ha who collapsed due to ‘lack of mana’, are groaning.

Do Jong-ha, smiling weakly and appealing to something as a detective.

Even when he was absent-minded, he never let go of the detective notebook he was holding tightly, which showed his great tenacity.

Knock!

Thanks to the ‘Silver Gang Potion’, the condition seems to be quite good.

The ‘mouse’, having once again reflected on the ‘rules’ of this place, wrapped its long tail around its waist.

Knock!

Don’t make any noise at night.

Now that Do Jong-ha’s [Secret Review] skill has disappeared, it’s approximately 3 PM outside.

Without hesitation, ‘Mouse’ raised his voice and pushed the group up the stairs.

“Don’t run! If you run, everyone else will fall behind!”

Just one,

Just follow the no-run rule and climb the stairs as fast as you can.

Tick! Tick!

The footsteps that came when I got on the accelerated time with [speed manipulation] were extremely fast.

I moved my legs hard in a world where everything had slowed down.

‘Mouse’ asks a question to the pumpkin bee that Kim Yu-hee is holding.

“Malang-ah! If you tear up the guidebook and provoke me, is there a way to escape?”

Hot and sour.

After hearing her question, ‘Fly’ pointed to the ceiling with his small hand.

Does this mean I should shut up and go up the stairs?

The ‘mouse’ nodded and tapped Kim Yu-hee on the back of the head.

“Ah, why are you hitting me.”

“Then you hit that brat?”

‘Mouse’ and the Dark Dragons climbed the stairs.

Blink. Blink.

Accelerating time.

A staircase that you take one step at a time.

The ‘Guide’ said that both monsters and humans are equal.

That ‘Director’ won’t be able to jump up the stairs either.

Blink.

So, if we continue like this,

I thought I could get out to the ground without any problems…

It was around the time I was thinking that way.

『Ahhh!!!』

Hurry up.

If there’s one problem,

Could it be that the ‘Director’ chasing after us from below is not an ordinary being?

Blink. Blink.

Hurry up.

The lights on the stairs flicker.

The smell of blood flows down the stairs that darkens and then brightens.

Hurry up.

And, not the stairs,

Through the gap between the twisted stairs,

The ‘Director’s’ long arm reaches up and grabs the railing.

“Crazy…”

I intend to climb up.

‘That thing’ with long limbs like a blind spider,

Chasing an intruder fleeing from the basement,

Through the gap between the stairs… the open space in the middle,

Climb up in a straight line.

“Wow! Giraffe!”

“Shut up, Sister!”

Blink.

Do not run in the hallways or on the stairs.

I climbed the stairs with great effort.

It’s so frustrating that even walking at a fast pace is painful.

Tick!

Mana is instantly revealed through [speed manipulation] for 7 people.

‘Mouse’ guarded the very back of the group.

Blink.

Basement 5th floor.

A relatively slow world.

A long, muscular arm extends from below and grabs the railing.

Knock knock!

‘That thing’ crawls through the gap.

Chasing the ‘mouse’ using [speed manipulation],

With long arms like a blind spider, he held onto the stairs to the upper floor,

Step by step… getting closer little by little.

Blink.

Basement 4th floor.

I’m suffocating from the boiling fear.

The hand holding the railing was faster than before,

The face of the ‘Director’ appears from under the stairs.

Knock knock knock.

The sound of fingers scraping against the railing.

Little by little, I’m catching up.

The bloodshot eyes of the ‘Director’ look at the [Black Book].

The evil ‘mouse’ climbed the stairs with all his might.

Blink. Blink.

Basement 3.

The hand holding the railing was faster than before.

The ‘Director’s’ face rises above the railing.

“ah.”

Eye level has become similar.

The round eyes move around to check for intruders.

Blink.

Immediately afterwards, he stretched out his limp arms like a blind spider,

Just before ‘Fly’ grabbed the [Black Book] he was holding…

Tick!

The ‘mouse’, which has accelerated its speed even further, pushes Kim Yu-hee away to avoid ‘that thing’s’ touch.

Chomp!

A grudge so severe it makes your teeth chatter.

The ‘mouse’, whose cheek was grazed by a sword swung as if venting anger, lets out the breath he had been holding.

“Haa…! Haa…!”

Still on the 3rd basement floor.

We’re about halfway there.

I climbed the stairs on wobbly legs.

I don’t know anymore.

Will I be able to get out alive?

What kind of rules is that ‘Director’ bound to that he tries to harm people so directly?

I couldn’t figure it out.

At least it’s not a proper ‘rule’.

‘Then what can we do! Where can we complain that the rules are a mess!’

I couldn’t figure it out.

So I climbed the stairs.

It was the only thing I could do to survive, to overcome my fear.

The bumblebee also pointed to the ceiling with his finger,

Whether it worked or not, we went to the ground.

“Everyone, go up 3 spaces at a time. It’s so fast.”

“Ah, seriously, shut that bastard’s mouth!”

Blink. Blink.

So, how many stairs did I climb?

As the ‘thing’ that had completely caught up with them stretched out its long arms and grabbed the ‘mouse’ by the nape of its neck,

I heard a sound.

Blink.

The sound of the lights flashing,

The sound of a pumpkin bee’s breathing as it pounded Kim Yu-hee, asking why she was so slow.

… … Knock knock!

And, at the top of the stairs,

Tiny, thudding footsteps were coming down.

… … .

… … .

Ta-da-dak…!

It was a small sound of footsteps.

A light sound that you might miss if you’re not paying attention.

“Cluck…!”

Do Jong-ha, who was being carried by the Dark Dragon, looked up at the ceiling with blurry eyes.

A state where you can’t even move a finger because you’ve used up all your mana.

But I can hear the sound.

Knock knock. Knock knock.

Something is coming down from upstairs.

Is it a monster?

Or is it the hunter from the [Blue Dragon Guild] that came after the Dark Dragon?

Either way is the worst.

Do Jong-ha vomited blood. She lifted her eyelids with difficulty and caught sight of ‘someone’ coming down the stairs.

Knock knock…

Knock knock…

They were children.

The ‘red mannequin’ created with Do Jong-ha’s [Secret Room Reflection] skill.

Even though I’ve already stopped using the skill, something vague remains.

It’s not disappearing, but moving in an ambiguous manner.

Is this just an unfulfilled regret?

Knock knock… Knock knock…

With every step, the body of the ‘red mannequin’ crumbled like a sand castle,

I take frightened steps and come down the stairs.

Ta-da-dak.

Something in between.

The red mannequins are the children of the orphanage.

( – Don’t look at the window )

( – Quietly. Quietly. And quietly. )

( – They say stars live underground )

Boys and girls who dreamed of meeting the stars in the underground,

He passed by Do Jong-ha and blocked the path of the ‘Director’ who was crawling towards him with a sword.

( – The director doesn’t come up to the second floor )

( – It’s our rule. )

Knock knock. Knock knock.

One. Two. Three…

Small-sized mannequins come down the stairs.

Past regrets push Do Jong-ha back to the ground.

(Thank you always, Harin unnie.)

(It would be nice if my older sister could run away from here.)

A half-hearted grudge.

How many children were here?

What kind of grudge did you live with?

Although, I couldn’t figure out how to do it,

Somehow, a corner of my chest tightened, so I slowly exhaled.

“Hoo…”

Turn your head.

The children blocking the stairs,

The figure of the ‘Director’ standing in front of it is visible.

『Ugh… Aaaah…!』

‘That thing’ that makes a strange scream.

Could it be that they can’t even touch the children?

『Ah …

But, the momentary embarrassment soon turned into anger.

A loud scream.

The ‘Director’, holding a bloody knife, looks down at the children.

“… … .”

Dojong bit his lip.

Should I just go up the stairs like this?

While those kids waste time venting their anger on the ‘principal’, should I just quietly go upstairs?

If it’s a galaxy,

What would you do?

“… … That director is so dirty.”

The worries were short.

Gurruk, Do Jong-ha used the [Secret Room Review] skill once again and wiped away the blood flowing from his nose.

Kiiing!

What I’m trying to do is nothing special.

The opponent is something outside the laws of the world.

Killing it is probably impossible, so it’ll just be a bit of a hassle.

Kiiing!

Turn back time.

Blue mana flows out of Do Jong-ha’s body, projecting the past that passed through the dark underground.

Just a little bit.

Roughly 12 hours in the past.

The scenery around dawn covers the basement.

『Ahhh!!』

Overlapping time zones.

Present, lunchtime. Past, midnight.

If I say it like this, it starts to get confusing, so to put it simply, you can say that the current time zone has been changed to night using the [Secret Room Review] skill.

To meet the conditions of the ‘rule’.

『Ahhhh!!!』

Thanks to the ‘kids’ who came down the stairs.

Because the ‘principal’ was screaming loudly in anger at the children who were blocking him.

A mediocre role, like a mediocre obsession.

But, it’s just a little bit of time-waster.

I survived thanks to that.

『Ahhh!!』

And now,

The ‘Director’ guy who screams so loudly in the middle of the night,

The experts in this field will personally punish you.

『Ahhhh…… Huh?』

Dada dadadak!

The effect was clear.

Behind the back of the ‘director’ who was about to swing a knife at the children,

There,

A ‘monster’ approached me without me knowing,

He was glaring at the ‘Director’ with bloodshot eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3. Don’t make noise at night.

– They say that mice can hear what’s said at night.

– There’s always one person who sleeps lightly.

– As long as you don’t make too much noise, you can wander around at night without any problem.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A monster with its eyelids cut off.

He looks at the ‘Director’ with his round eyes.

He’s the guy who harassed the Dark Dragon Commander Kim Yu-hee when he came down from the basement earlier.

Was he really that trustworthy a person?

『… … .』

『… … Ah… Ahh…』

A grudge bordering on monstrosity.

And then, the ‘real’ monster approached quietly.

An eerie gaze glares at the ‘Director’.

『Ah… Ah… Aaaah!!』

And then, as if the string of reason had been broken,

The ‘Director’ swung his sword at ‘that thing’,

“……I’m sleepy.”

Euddeuddeuk!

‘That thing’ that keeps me up at night due to loud noises,

He nervously tears off the ‘Director’s’ arm.

Pitter-patter! Pitter-patter!

Blood is spurting.

‘The director’ falls down the stairs screaming.

The ‘mouse’ noticed what Do Jong-ha was doing and quickly started climbing the stairs with the ‘children’.

The ‘red mannequins’ who have encountered the real monster tremble and follow the ‘mice’ back to the ground.

『Ahhh! Ouch! Ouch!』

“… … .”

An eerie scream coming from the dark basement.

They covered their mouths quietly, afraid that someone might hear something.

So, the third basement floor.

Basement 2nd floor.

I reached the basement level,

An exit leading to the ground was visible.

Starting with the Dark Dragon Corps surrounding Do Jong-ha, the ‘Red Mannequins’ who bravely came to help went up to the ground,

The ending is Kim Yu-hee leaving while holding ‘Fly’.

The ‘mouse’ stepped onto the stairs to the exit and turned his head.

“… … .”

Wood! Pitter-patter! Urgh!

The sound of the flesh being torn off of the ‘Director’ who fell down to the 7th floor underground.

A scream of pain.

Listening to those sounds…

The ‘mouse’ exhaled softly,

“… … Well, until Eunha comes to visit later, isn’t that what you’re saying? Live well while suffering? ”

『Ahhh! Aahhhh!!』

Like a child burying a time capsule deep in the ground,

He smiled brightly and raised his middle finger.

(Please let me forget. So that Eunha can be happy.)

someday,

Thinking back on the promise that Banharin and Eunha had made.

As if I was giving a full dose of medicine,

“Goodbye, you piece of shit.”

Rattling!

The ‘mouse’ that escaped from the basement closed the door.

… … .

… … .

3pm.

I escaped from the basement of the orphanage.

“Hmm… It’s pretty late. Still, it’s fortunate that we secured the lead.”

A huge curtain made from Do Jong-ha’s [Artifact].

Inside the ‘curtain’ that surrounded the orphanage, an old man who was comfortably peeling apples spoke to the returned Amryongdae.

[Blue Dragon Guild]’s elders… the ones who called the Dark Dragons to this place.

He found Do Jong-ha surrounded by the Dark Dragons and smiled with satisfaction.

“Hoo… Hoo…”

“The dregs of the Dark Dragons have a knack for rolling. I thought half of them would come out after digging through it… Well, does it matter? ”

“Hoo……”

“I’ll use it as I see fit. Each person should apply for overtime pay to the guild… If you have nothing more to say, get out of my sight quickly…”

“Touch!”

bang!

But, the satisfied smile was short-lived,

Kim Yu-hee, the leader of the Dark Dragons, strides toward the elders of the council who are chatting excitedly, grits his teeth and punches the elders in the mouth.

Still!

A creepy sound,

The body of an old man with his jaw turned upside down and rolled around in the mud.

… … will not die.

If it’s the elders of a large guild, then they’ll probably be hunters.

However, if you don’t quickly heal yourself with a potion or ‘recovery skill’, you will have to live the rest of your life eating only porridge.

“Wow…”

“Huh. Now, should I go to Euncheon-gu?”

She is a surprisingly hot woman.

Thud… Kim Yu-hee brushes away the fallen pieces of her tooth.

She took off her black mask, bent down, and bit the arm of her boss who had fallen into the mud with all her might.

He sat up with a somewhat shy gesture and looked back at the ‘mouse’ with the most refreshing face in the world.

The bright orange cat ears perk up with joy.

“That crazy boss. He said he’d eat his boss’s butt when he resigned from the guild, and he really did.”

“Meanwhile, look at that dirty butt and just bite your arms. Is that a person?”

“I can hear you all. Line up so I can give you a kiss one by one.”

“No, you fucking boss!”

“Shut up, sisters.”

Swish.

The pouring weather is rain.

A cool stream of water washes away the past.

Hot and spicy!

‘Fly’, holding the [Black Book] tightly in his arms, rolled his short legs around in the pouring rain.

“Whew…”

The air I breathed in after leaving the basement was refreshing,

The ‘mouse’ burst into laughter and looked back at Kim Yu-hee as he opened his mouth.

“First, how about going to see Eunha?”

One day,

It was an afternoon where memories of the past were washed away by the rain.

… … .

… … .

… … All of a suddenㅡ.

And time passes.

As always.

“I guess I should report this.”

The time capsule resembles a seed.

The seeds planted deep in the ground return to our embrace as time passes.

Beep beep beep… Beep.

– It’s me. What’s going on?

“Yes, sir. [Potion Preparation Room] Team 1… Yes…”

A seed planted in a dark underground.

That which has been soaked in rainwater sprouts.

“Isn’t that the one that [Cheongryong Guild] contacted you about today? Hanbit Orphanage… Yes… Yes, Manager.”

Swish.

‘Hanbit Orphanage’ where everyone has left.

A researcher quietly entered the basement,

I picked up something that fell from the 7th basement floor.

“I was looking through the basement as you instructed, and I found something strange… Yes… It seems like Detective Do Jong-ha found something.”

What the researcher picked up.

‘Fly’ tore it from [the black book],

[Guide to living together].

– … … .

“Yes, that’s right… Yes, this could be a clue to finding out about the ‘experiment’ carried out at the ‘Hanbit Orphanage’… Yes, that’s right.”

The time capsule resembles a seed.

A seed buried in the past.

As you sow, so shall you reap.

Knock knock…

One day,

The time when everyone left.

“Yes… I understand……. Then I will take it to [facility].”

The inexperienced researcher picked up the torn ‘guide’ and left the basement.

… … .

… … .

Purrr!

“Oh, ‘Fly’? You’re soaking wet?… Wait, you don’t have to stick that much to make me fart…”

“Ms. Galaxy…”

“Mr. ‘Mouse’? Where did you go today… Who are those people behind you?”

Wow!

“Sleep… No, why are you suddenly hugging me?”

Meanwhile, at that time.

Eunha was resting in the cafe lounge,

She smiled awkwardly as she was hugged by a crowd of acquaintances and women she was seeing for the first time.

Hot and sour.

The sad sound of insect footsteps.

The sound of rain falling outside the window.

What is this?

The galaxy laughed.